Original Author: Ryuunosuke Akutagawa

The Spider’s Thread (Pre-Intermediate)

Kandata was an evil thief when was alive, and now he lives in Hell. Buddha remembers a time when Kandata did good, and decides to give him a chance to show that he isn’t truly evil. Will Kandata become good, or is he simply a bad person?

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The Monk’s Nose

Once upon a time, in old Japan, there was a Buddhist monk named Zenchi. Zenchi was well-known at the temple where he lived because of his nose. It was about five or six inches long, and it hung down his face, from his upper lip to the bottom of his chin. It was fat at the top and fat at the bottom, and looked like a long sausage, which hung off his face and swung from side to side.

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The Hair Thief

It was a cold, wet evening in Kyoto. The servant of a samurai stood under Rashoumon, a big gate. It was raining a lot, and he was waiting for the rain to stop.

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The Spider’s Thread

One time, Kandata was walking through a thick forest. He was going to steal from a man who lived in the forest. As he was walking, he saw a spider beside him. Kandata raised his foot, and was about to stand on the spider and kill it, but then he stopped. ‘No, no. Even something this small has a reason to live. It would be truly evil to take its life away.’

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