ABOUT JAPANESE RULERS. 139

“Rick is probably right in his guess,” said Dr. Walton, “for that is
a way a story-teller may have. They will work up the children to a
hot stage of interest, and then will not cool them off until the cash
comes in. The Japanese like to tell stories, and the children like to
hear them. The better class of story-tellers have places where they
narrate their stories, and charge an admission fee. I remember once
I was travellmg im the country, and as I passed by an open door I
heard voices. As I looked in I saw a man, who, I think, was a father

 

sitting on the floor, and two children were in his lap. He held a bowl
in his hand, and while one of the children was pouring something into
it, he seemed to be telling them a story; laughing away as he
went on. There are some funny stories, the Japanese story-tellers
recite.”

“ Doctor,” asked Uncle Nat, “does not Japanese history go back a
long way? You tell us, and we three boys will listen.”