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102 HONDA THE SAMURAI. That night Mr. Rai allowed all the children to stay up while he told the story of "The Court Noble and the Rain Frog." " In the grand and ancient days when the Mikado's court was at Nara, there lived a noble named Ono no Tofu who was very proud of his rank and robes and high cap. At this time learning was held in high honor by the emperor and his people, and a man, however rich and high in office, could not enjoy the honors which a scholar, however humble, might win. " So great was the ardor of the nobility for learn- ing that the proverb was then made which is still so often quoted, ' One day at school is worth a thousand gold coins.' The necessity of perseverance in study and the dangers of idleness were exposed by another proverb, ' Learning is like a wagon going up hill.' These sentiments were often inscribed in great black letters made with wide brush-pens and hung up on tablets in the palaces and schools. "Now this Ono no Tofu, when a boy, had neglected to learn, and when grown up had not the patience to attempt an education. He could write very little. He could not read the books of the sages. While the composition of poetry was one of the accomplishments of every nobleman and court lady, Ono no Tofu could not write a single line nor get the meter of it correctly, even if he had been able to compose a verse. For this reason Ono was often snubbed by the literary men, who slyly laughed at him behind his back, in their baggy sleeves, and

THE COURT NOBLE PEERING AFTER THE FROG. See page 103.

THE COURT NOBLE PEERING AFTER THE FROG. See page 103.

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