(529) Abstinence from sake

  People have many kinds of wishes. Students pray for passing examinations. Young people pray for the fulfillment of romance. Fathers wish for family safety. Mothers pray for a safe and easy delivery.

  People also know how to make a wish. There are several ways. Close your eyes and silently ask for something to happen. This is an ordinal way of making a wish. Visiting temples and shrines might be a more powerful way to make a wish in Japan.

  "Cut off, TACHIMONO in Japanese" is another method of making a wish. You can make a wish by cutting off something that is important to you or something that you are obsessed with.

  Once there lived a man in Edo period. His favorite thing was drinking sake.

禁酒（江戸こばなし）

夜、ひとりで酒をのんでいるところに、友達がやってきました。

「お前、禁酒したんじゃないのか？」

「うん、願いごとがあって、一年間禁酒することにしたんだが、どうしてもがまんできないで、二年にのばした。昼間はやめて、夜はゆるしてもらうことにしたんだ」

それを聞いた友達が、

「そんなら、三年に伸ばして、昼も夜も飲めばいい」

子どもも、おとなも楽しめる 江戸こばなし(4) 江戸小ばなし

• 出版社/メーカー: フレーベル館
• 発売日: 2020/12/14
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子どもも、おとなも楽しめる　江戸こばなし（4）【電子書籍】[ 岡本和明 ]

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Abstinence from sake (a short funny story of Edo)

  When a man was drinking sake alone at night, his friend came and said,
"Hey, you stopped drinking sake, didn't you?"
"Yes, I made up my mind not to drink sake for one year, to make my wish come true. But I cannot live without sake, so I changed the period from one year to two years. Now I give up drinking sake in the daytime, but I can drink sake at night."
Then the friend said,
"If so, change the period to three years then you can drink sake day and night."
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