It is much better to keep it safely here, and think sometimes of what it means, than to wear it only for display. You can show that you are a son of the Samurai, by acting as a gentleman should act. You do not need the sword for that. A Samurai should never do a mean thing. He should keep his life clean and shining, like the sword. And he must always do what is best for Japan, whether it is best for him or not."This was a long speech. The Twins listened with all their ears,--four of them,--but they did not quite understand it all. They understood that their Father loved the sword, and that some time it was to be Taro's, and that he must be a brave, good boy or he would not be worthy of it; and that was a good deal, after all.
"May I touch it?" Taro asked.
"You may take it in your own hands," said his Father. And he gave it to Taro almost as tenderly as he had given Bot'Chan to Take that morning.
He showed him the polite way to hold it, with the edge toward himself.
Then while Taro held the sword, his Father said: "I want to tell you a poem that our Emperor's father wrote while he was Emperor, and by and by when you are bigger I want you to learn it by heart. Then, when you are a man, and look at the sword, you will remember it. This is the poem:
"There is no second way whereby to show The love of Fatherland, Whether one stand, A soldier under arms, against the foe, Or stay at home a peaceful citizen, The way of loyalty is still the same."The Father's voice was very solemn as he said this verse.
The Twins were quite still as he wrapped the sword in its silken coverings and put it back again on the high shelf.
This was a long time for Take to be quiet, but she was thinking.
When their Father had locked the Kura and they were on their way to the house with the picture of the birds, she said to him, "Father, am I not a child of the Samurai, too?""Yes, my daughter," her Father answered, "but you are a girl. It is not your fault, little one," he added kindly. "We cannot all be boys, of course. But to the keeping of the Sons is given the honor of the Family. It is a great trust.""Don't I do anything at all for the honor of my Family?" asked Take.
"When you are grown up you will marry and live with your husband's family and serve them in every way you can," her Father answered. "You will belong to them, you see. Now, you must just be a good girl and mind your Father and Grandmother, and Mother, and your brothers.""I'm just as old as Taro," said little Take, "and I think I know just as much. Why can't he mind me some of the time? I think it would be fair to take turns!""But Taro is a boy," said her Father. "That makes all the difference in the world. Japanese girls must always mind their brothers!""Must I mind Bot'Chan, too?" asked Take.
"Yes, Bot'Chan, too."
"Won't anybody ever mind me at all?" asked Take.
"When you get to be a mother-in-law, then you can have your turn," said her Father, smiling. "Your son's wife will obey you.""Will my son obey me, too?" asked Take.
"No, you must obey him if he is the head of the house," her Father explained.
"It's a very long time to wait," sighed Take, "and nothing but a daughter-in-law to mind me at last."Her under lip puckered a little and she frowned--a little frown--right in the middle of her forehead.
"Tut, tut," said her Father. "Girls and women should always be gentle and smiling. You must never frown."He looked quite shocked at the very idea of such a thing.
Take tried to look pleasant, and a funny thing is that when you make yourself look pleasant, you begin to feel so, too. Take felt pleasant almost right away.
They went into the house and hung the picture of the mother bird in the place of the crow, beside the spray of plum. When it was all done, this is the way the honorable recess looked.
Take looked at it for a while, and then she said, "I don't believe I shall feel sorry about minding Bot'Chan after all, because I love him so much.""That's the way a little Japanese girl should feel," said her Father. "Now, come in and let us take a look at him."They found Bot'Chan awake. Take knelt down on the mat in front of him, to see him better.
"Put your head down on the matting, Take," her Father said, and Take bowed her head to the floor.
Then the Father took the Baby in his arms and placed his tiny foot on Take's neck.
"That means that you must always do what he wants you to," he said.
"I will," said little Take. The Mother smiled at Take as she knelt on the floor with the Baby's foot on her neck.
Then she turned her face the other way on her little wooden pillow and sighed--just a very gentle little sigh, that nobody heard at all.
