The Little Girl and the Boulder

Directions:  Read this Japanese folktale.  Then answer the questions .

            Long ago, in a small Japanese village, an earthquake shook the ground.  It sent a huge boulder rolling into the road.  Happily, no one was hurt.  But the people in the village were angry because the boulder blocked the road.  They could not drive their carts and wagons along the road to market.

            The strongest man in the village bragged, “I will move the boulder.”  But no matter how hard he pushed, the boulder would not budge.  Some villagers tried to push it.  It just would not move.  Others tried to pull it.  Still, nothing happened.

            A few people decided that the village should construct a new road.  But they could not agree on where to build the road.  The villagers were not happy.  None of them wanted a new road built in the middle of their field. 

            While people argued with one another, a little girl sat quietly nearby with her hands under her chin.  She thought and thought.  At last, she stood up.  Then she said, “I know how to get the boulder out of the road.”  Everyone laughed at her.  They did not believe that such a little girl could move such a huge boulder.

            Soon, everyone grew tired of fighting about the road.  They all went home.  Early the next morning, the sound of shouting filled the village.  “The boulder is gone!” someone cried.  Everyone hurried to look at the spot where the boulder had been.  “The boulder has disappeared,” they exclaimed.  Where did it go?”

            The little girl calmly replied, “I buried it during the night.”  The people scratched their heads.  “How could a little girl move such a huge boulder?” they asked.

            The little girl walked over to the place where the boulder had been in the road.  “I dug a hole right next to the boulder,” she explained.  “Then  I made the hole wider and wider until the boulder tumbled into the hole.  After it tipped and rolled into the hole, I covered the boulder with dirt.” 

            All the villagers were amazed.  The smallest among them had solved the biggest problem.