Synopsis by William Disbro, created from: Beyond The Hero, Classic Stories of Men in Search of Soul.by Allan Chinen, Jeremy Tarcher/Putnam Books, 1993.
Dr. Chinen's explanation of the symbolism involved in this tale is fascinating and enlightening as elders deal with reflection and self-confrontation.
The old man had a pet sparrow, fed it tidbits from his own plate. After the man went to work one day his wife became angry at the sparrow for mostly imagined misdeeds and she cut out the sparrow's tongue. The sparrow flew into the woods in pain. After learning what his wife had done the husband searched for his pet in the woods. He found the bird and learned it had grown a new tongue and it invited the man to its home in the woods. After entertaining the man the bird offered a gift - either the large or the small box. When his wife opened the small box it was filled with gold coins. She berated her husband for not selecting the large box and she made her way to the sparrow's home to ask for the large one. She struggled toward her home with the heavy box and finally set it down and opened it. Demons leaped out at her and chased her home. She found her husband in the field and hid behind him. The husband told her she was the wicked one and not the bird and the demons returned to the woods. The old woman changed her ways and did not complain or lose her temper. With each day the couple treasured their gifts of gold and wisdom.
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