Japanese Ghost Stories - Story 8

STORY 8 The mirror and the bell They rang the bell as hard as they could. But it was a strong bell, and nobody could break it. Eight hundred years ago, the priests of Mugenyama in Totomi [blank_start]wanted[blank_end] a big bell for their temple. They [blank_start]needed[blank_end] metal. They [blank_start]asked[blank_end] local women to give their old metal mirrors to the temple. These could be [blank_start]used[blank_end] to make the bell.

Many women [blank_start]brought[blank_end] their mirrors to the temple, but one young woman soon [blank_start]began[blank_end] to miss her mirror very badly. She remembered her mother’s stories about it. She remembered that it [blank_start]belonged[blank_end] to her grandmother before her mother. She [blank_start]remembered[blank_end] her own happy smiles in it.

“If I offer the priests enough money, I can buy it back,” she [blank_start]thought[blank_end]. “But I do not have enough money,” she remembered. Her husband was a farmer, and they [blank_start]were[blank_end] not rich.

Every time she [blank_start]went[blank_end] to the temple, she saw her mirror. It lay on top of a pile of mirrors. She knew that it was her mirror. It had pictures of trees and flowers on the back. “I have always [blank_start]loved[blank_end] those pictures,” she remembered. “My mother first [blank_start]showed[blank_end] them to me when I was a baby.” She wanted to steal the mirror and hide it.

“Then I will always keep it safe,” she [blank_start]thought[blank_end]. But she could see no way to steal it. She [blank_start]became[blank_end] very unhappy. “I feel I have given away part of my life,” she thought. “People say that a mirror is the spirit of a woman. They are right.”

All the mirrors for the Mugenyama bell were [blank_start]sent[blank_end] to the bell-makers. They [blank_start]heated[blank_end] all the mirrors and [blank_start]turned[blank_end] them into hot metal –all except on mirror. Again and again, they [blank_start]tried[blank_end] to heat it, but it stayed cold. The mirror [blank_start]stayed[blank_end] a mirror.

They [blank_start]understood[blank_end] the reason. The owner [blank_start]wanted[blank_end] the mirror back. She did not give her gift with all her heart; her selfish spirit in the mirror, and the mirror [blank_start]stayed[blank_end] hard and cold.

Of course, everybody [blank_start]heard[blank_end] about the matter. And, of course, everybody soon [blank_start]knew[blank_end] the owner’s name. The woman was very sorry but very angry at the same time. She [blank_start]wrote[blank_end] a short letter:

“When I am [blank_start]dead[blank_end], it will be easy to heat the mirror. Then you can use it for the bell. Ring the bell hard! If someone [blank_start]can[blank_end] break the bell, my ghost will return with a gift of money.” And then she [blank_start]jumped[blank_end] in the river.

When an angry person kills herself, her final promise always [blank_start]comes[blank_end] true. That is what people say. The dead woman’s mirror was [blank_start]added[blank_end] to the bell metal and the bell was [blank_start]made[blank_end] at last. They [blank_start]named[blank_end] it the bell of Mugen. People did not forget about the dead woman’s letter. As soon as the bell was hanging in the temple, everybody wanted to ring it. They [blank_start]rang[blank_end] the bell as hard as they could. But it was a strong bell and nobody [blank_start]could[blank_end] break it.