I read this story on Neo Site. I think this is a nice story. Please read carefully.

The real URL for this story you can read here.

Far, far away in Japan, there was once an old man who lived up on a mountain with his grandson. The ground was flat all around his little house on the mountain. The ground was also very rich. So rich that all the rice was planted up there on the mountain.

Many people lived in a village at the bottom of the mountain. They would come up the mountain and work in the rice fields everyday. Every morning and evening, the old man and his grandson would look down from the mountain at all the people who were working in the village. They would also watch the blue sea that was next to the village.


There was no place to grow rice down at the bottom of the mountain because the sea was so near. The only things between the mountain and the sea were people and houses. That was why all the rice was grown on the mountain.

The little boy loved the rice fields. The rice was tall and beautiful. The boy knew how delicious the rice was that came from the fields. He loved to help his grandfather watch over them.

One day, the grandfather was standing alone in front of his house. He was looking far down at the people, and out at the sea. Then, he saw something very strange far away where the sea met the sky. It looked like a large cloud was growing up out of the sea. It was like the sea was growing up high into the sky.

The old man put his hands to his eyes and looked again. He looked and looked as hard as he could. Then he turned around and ran to the house.

Grandson! Grandson! he cried, hurry, get a burning stick from the fire!

The little boy did not know what his grandfather wanted with fire, but he always listened. He ran quickly and got the burning stick. The old man already had one, and he was running to the rice fields. The boy ran after him. But it was terrible for the boy to see his grandfather throw his burning stick into the dry rice field.

Oh, Grandfather, Grandfather! screamed the little boy, what are you doing?

Quick, set fire to the rice field! Throw your stick in! said the grandfather.

The boy was thinking his dear grandfather had become crazy. He started to cry; but a little boy always listened. Even as he cried, he ran to the rice field and threw in his burning stick. Hot fire ran up the dry rice. It was burning red and yellow. In no time, the field was on fire. Thick black smoke grew up the mountainside. It went up in a terrible black cloud.

Quickly the people at the bottom of the mountain saw that their beautiful rice fields were on fire. Ah, how they ran! Men, women, and children ran up the mountain, running as fast as they could to save the rice. Not one person stayed in the village.

And when they came to the mountain top, and saw the beautiful rice fields all on fire. It was too late to help. They cried out, Who has done this? How did it happen?

I set the fields on fire, said the old man, very sadly.

Still crying the little boy said, Yes, it was Grandfather that set the fire.

The people were very angry. They came all around the old man saying, Why? Why?”

The old man only turned and pointed to the sea. Look! he said.

They all turned and looked. And there, where the blue sea had been so quiet, a giant wall of water, reaching up, up high into sky, was coming in. No one could cry out, so terrible was it to see.

The wall of water, a giant wave came in on the land. It went right over the place where the village had been. It hit with a loud crash on the mountainside. The whole mountain shook. One wave, and then one more, came. Then all was water, as far as they could look. At the bottom of the mountain, the village where the people had been was under the sea. But the people were all safe.

When they saw what the old man had done, they honored him over all men, for his smart thinking had saved them all from the tidal wave.