The Straw Millionaire

Long ago in Japan, a destitute man prayed to Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy, for relief from his poverty. Kannon spoke to him in a dream, telling him to leave the temple and keep the very first thing his hand touched upon the ground. As he stepped outside, he tripped and his hand landed on a single piece of straw. Though it seemed worthless, he remembered the Goddess's words and kept it. While walking, a horsefly began buzzing around him; he caught it and tied it to the straw. A crying child saw the toy and stopped weeping; in gratitude, the child's mother gave the man three oranges. Later, he met a thirsty noblewoman who was fainting in the heat. He offered her his oranges for refreshment, and she rewarded him with three bolts of fine silk. Further down the road, he encountered a samurai with a dying horse. He traded his silk for the horse, nursed it back to health, and eventually traded the strong animal to a wealthy landlord for a field and a house. Through a sequence of selfless gestures and divine luck, the man who started with nothing but a straw became a wealthy and respected landowner.