r was greatly pleased with his two
daughters-in-law, and for many months they all lived very happily
together.

At last the two young wives asked to go home to visit their friends.
Among the Japanese the sons and the sons' wives must always obey the
father, so the two wives said, "Father-in-law, it is a long, long time
since we have seen our friends. May we go to our old home and visit
them?" The father-in-law answered, "No." After many months they asked
again, and again he answered, "No." Once more they asked. The
father-in-law thought, "They care nothing for me, or they would not wish
to leave me, but I have a plan, and I can soon know whether they love
their father-in-law or not." Then he said to the older of the two wives,
"You may go if you wish, but you must never come back unless you bring
me fire wrapped in paper." To the younger he said, "You may go if you
wish, but you must never come back unless you bring me wind wrapped in
paper." The father-in-law thought, "Now I shall find out. If they care
for me, they will search the country through till they find paper that
will hold fire and wind."

The two young wives were so glad to visit their old friends that for
almost a month they forgot all about the gifts that they were to carry
to their father-in-law. At last, when it was time to go home, they were
greatly troubled about what they must carry with them, and they asked a
wise man where to find the strange things. "Paper that will hold fire
and wind!" he cried. "There is no such paper in Japan." The two women
asked one wise man after another, and every one declared, "There is no
such paper in Japan." What should they do? They feared they would never
see their home again. They were so sad that they left their friends and
wandered a long distance into the forest. Great tears fell from their
eyes.

"I do not let people cry in my woods," said a voice. "My trees do not
grow well in salt water."

The poor wives were so sorrowful that they forgot to be afraid, and the
older one said, "Can we help crying? Unless I can carry to my
father-in-law fire wrapped in paper, I can never go home." "And I,"
wailed the younger, "unless I can carry wind wrapped in paper, I can
never go home. None of the wise men ever heard of such things. What
shall we do?"

"It is easy enough to wrap fire in paper," answered the voice. "Here is
a piece of paper. Now watch." They watched, and the strangest thing in
all the world happened right