The fairy crane

Once upon a time there was an old man and his wife who lived alone in a small town. They had no children. One day the old man was walking down the road when he heard the sound of wings. Following the sound, he found a beautiful whooping crane caught in a trap.

“Oh poor thing!” he said. “I’ll help you.” He released the crane and flew into the sky. That night there was a knock on his door. When the old lady opened the door, a young voice said, “May I come in?” She was a twelve year old girl. The girl said, “I have lost my way. Please let me stay at your place tonight.”

The elders were very happy to have a young lady among them. When the girl told them that she had no parents, the old couple wanted to adopt her. The girl agreed. So the girl happily stayed with them.

Every day, the old man wove a cloth and woven it in the market and the old woman helped him. The girl saw how hard the old people worked, to live. So she told her new parents, “If you promise not to look at me once while I’m working, I’ll weave some cloth in the knitting room.” After that, they only heard the sound of the loom during the day and at night the girl gave them the most beautiful piece of cloth they had ever seen. Everyone wanted to see and buy the fine and beautiful fabric. Soon the old man and his wife began to live more comfortably.

The old woman was curious and wanted to see her daughter make the cloth. So one day she peeked out of the knitting room window and saw an arranged view. There, sitting at the loom was not her daughter but a beautiful white crane, using her own white feather to weave cloth.

That night, when they were sitting together for dinner, the crane said, “I am the crane you saved long ago. I have been weaving cloth to repay your kindness, but now that you know my secret, I cannot stay here any longer.”

The old people were very sad and their eyes filled with tears. They understood the crane and knew that they had to let go of their crane-daughter. “Bye and good luck,” the girl said, and she transformed into a beautiful whooping crane. The old couple watched her fly away sadly.