A summary of the Rubato porridge
R. Akutagawa
Batatova porridge
A long time ago among the samurai regent Mototsune Fujiwara was a kind of ugly and miserable little man who performed some simple duties. Everyone treated him disrespectfully: both coworkers and servants. He was surrounded by universal contempt, he lived a truly dog-life. His clothes were old, worn, the sword second-hand to the extreme.
However, the hero of the story, a man born for general contempt, had one passionate desire: he wanted to eat the sweet potato porridge before the snap. This sweet dish was served to the imperial table, and a man of a lower rank at the annual receptions of delicacy got a little.
Once, on January 2, the solemn feast was held at the residence of the regent. The rest of the food was given to the samurai. There was potato porridge there. But this time it was especially small. And so it seemed to the hero that the porridge should be especially tasty. So without eating it properly, he said, not turning
– I wonder if I’ll ever have to eat it for nothing? – And with a sigh added: – Yes, where, a simple samurai batat porridge is not fed…
And then Toshihito Fujiwara laughed, the regent’s bodyguard Mototsune, a powerful, broad-shouldered man of enormous growth. He was already pretty drunk.
“If you want, I’ll feed you to the dump.”
The unnamed hero of this story, not believing his happiness, agreed and after a few days went along with Toshihito Fujiwara to his estate.
We drove for a very long time. The hero of the story would surely turn back, if not for the hope of “getting drunk with the sweet potato”. On the way Toshihito drove and caught the fox and in a pompous tone told her: “This night you will come to my estate and say that I intended to invite a guest to me.” Let tomorrow they send me out to meet people and two horses under saddles. “With the last word, he once shook the fox and tossed it far into the thickets of the bush. Fox escaped.
The next day at the appointed place travelers
When they were all gathered, the lady deigned to say these words: “The master set out to suddenly invite his guest in. Tomorrow send him to meet people, and with them drive two horses under saddles.” And then she fell asleep. She’s still asleep.
“Even the animals serve Toshihito!” – Said the mighty samurai.
While the guests were resting, the servants collected a huge amount of sweet potato, and in the morning they cooked several large boiled potato kettles. And while the woken poor samurai looked at how they cook such a chasm of goodness and thought that he was deliberately dragging himself here from the capital, in order to eat this same sweet potato porridge, his appetite diminished by half.
An hour later, at breakfast, he was offered a silver pot, filled to the brim with potato porridge.
“You did not have to eat the sweet potato porridge,” the owners told him. “Do not be embarrassed.”
Before him were put a few silver pots with sweet potato porridge, but he overpowered only one. And then the yesterday’s fox-messenger appeared and, on Toshihito’s order, she was given porridge too. Looking at the fox, the lapping sweet potato porridge, the rich poor fellow thought sadly how happy he was, cherishing his dream to eat the sweet potato porridge. And from the realization that he will never take this sweet potato porridge in his life, he calmed down on him.
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