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Japan, from ancient times, there were many mystic legends told. One of them was a legend handed down for a long time in a village. Far inside a deep forest, there was a waterfall, and its water had the power to make any poor soil into rich soil, the villagers said. If a person gave even a drop of that water to his land, the products would never die again, and the land would have a good harvest every year, forever. The only problem was that nobody knew where it was. Some men tried to go to the waterfall, but even if they did reach the place, they could not remember where it was. Once, there was a man in the village. He was a poor farmer, and his land was so poor that how hard he tried, no product ever grew on it. So one day, he decided to go seek out the waterfall. He left his wife and children, and started off for the falls. He had with him only some food and a tray, the only proper container his family had. He walked days and nights, and finally on the fifth day, he found the waterfall. By that time, his food was running out. The fall was reflecting the light and shining brightly. He immediately drank some of its water and rested for a while. Then he scooped some water into the tray and cautiously headed back home. Finally, he got on the last long, down slope. He was very tired. He could bear it any longer and slowly started to run home. That is when he had an accident. He tripped over a stone, and as you can imagine, the water spilled from the tray into the forest. All the water was gone from the tray, and it soaked into the ground. No matter how he cried or shouted, it did not come back. He was desparate to find the waterfall again. Once you have done something, it is irretrievable. This is the meaning of "Fuku sui bon ni kaerazu". Also, it is equivalent to the English saying, "It's no use crying over spilt milk." |