The fairy crane
Once upon a time there was an old man and his wife alone in a small town. They had no children. One day, the old man was walking along the road when he heard the sound of wings. Following the sound he found a beautiful white 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 woman opened the door, a young voice said, “May I come in?” It was a twelve year old girl. The girl said, “I am lost. Please let me stay at your place tonight.”
The elders were very happy to have a girl among them. When the girl told them she had no parents, the elderly couple wanted to adopt her. The girl agreed. So the girl was happy with them.
Every day, the old man wove some cloth and put 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 knit some fabric 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 looked out the window of the knitting room and saw an arrangement. There, sitting at the loom was not his daughter, but a beautiful white crane, who used her own white feather to weave cloth.
That night, when they were sitting together for dinner, the crane girl said, “I am the crane you saved a long time ago. I have been weaving cloth to pay for your kindness, but now that you know my secret I cannot stay here any longer.”
The elders were very sad and their eyes filled with tears. They understood the crane and knew they had to release their crane daughter. “Goodbye and good luck,” said the girl and transformed into a beautiful white crane. The elderly couple watched her fly away sadly.