Story: The Stonecutter's wife

There once was a beautiful town in the mountains of Japan. The town was full of people of varying stature. There was the royal family, the royal court, the merchants, and the stonecutters. In this town lived a young married couple who had both grown up in the stonecutting business. They were content in their lives and were grateful for each other even though they didn't have much. They were deeply in love and were able to spend a great deal of time together and for a while all was well in their little world.

One day, the wife made her usual trip to the market. However, she was tired and was feeling a little down because her husband had a large order to fill and was away for a few days. She could have gone with him as she usually did, but she decided to stay home this time. She started to wonder what it would have been like if she had married wealthy. She watched as the merchant wives gabbed in their beautiful clothes. They look so happy, she thought. I wish I could be that happy. If only I had a beautiful dress to wear like them.

Suddenly she heard a voice say, "Your wish is my command." Now the woman had heard stories about the mountain spirit and how it granted the heart's desires, but she never really believed them. So, she decided she was imagining things. She finished her trip at the market and returned home. The rest of the day went on like any other and the woman went to bed feeling glum.

The next morning, she woke up and went to the closet to get dressed. When she opened the door she saw a stunning dress hanging where her old clothes had been. She gasped with surprise. She quickly put the dress on and admired herself in the mirror. She was sure that she had never been so happy in her life. She was so excited that she decided to wear the dress to the market.

Once she got to the market she went about her business, going from stall to stall. As she was shopping, she caught a glimpse inside an elegant carriage where a beautiful woman from the royal court was sitting and smiling. Wow, I've never seen someone look so happy. That woman has a stunning carriage. It must be what is making her so happy, she thought to herself. The woman began to lose her newfound happiness. "If only I had an elegant carriage like her," she said aloud. "Your wish is my command," she heard in response. This time she was sure it had come from the mountain spirit. The woman knew she would get her wish because she had gotten her previous one. She rushed home in excitement and arrived to find a beautiful carriage awaiting her. She shrieked, overcome with joy, and couldn't wait to take it to the market the next day.

The next day, she could barely contain herself as she threw on her beautiful dress and practically flung herself into the carriage to go to the market. On her way she passed by the palace where the royal family resided. The princess was sitting outside in her garden when the prince came out to join her. Her face lit up and a huge smile spread across her face. Wow, the woman thought to herself. She must be the happiest person in the world. It must be because she is married to a prince. If only my husband were a prince. "Your wish is my command," she heard immediately. She could hardly wait to return home to see what awaited her.

She had the carriage turn around and raced home. When she arrived there was no longer a little cottage awaiting her, but a magnificent palace in its place instead.

She ran inside to find her husband and tell him what happened. She ran to every room in the palace, but couldn't find him. She finally came across an attending who informed her that her husband was taking care of important royal matters, but that he would make time for her later. She was disappointed, but waited anxiously.

Days passed and she hadn't seen her husband for more than ten minutes collectively. He had many royal matters to oversee and didn't have much time for her. So, she wandered around her giant palace aimlessly. She started thinking about her old life and remembered how much time her and her husband got to spend together. Even though they never had much, they always had each other and that had always been enough. What a selfish girl am I? I had everything anyone could ever need. I had a home and a loving husband who adored me. We didn't have a lot of material things, but we had a love that most people dream of. I wish I could go back to my old life, she thought. "Your wish is my command," was the response. However, nothing happened. So, she went through the rest of the day thinking that her life would always be this way, lonely and empty. The woman went to bed that night with a heavy heart.

Morning came and she could barely bring herself to rise out of bed. She swung her feet over the side of her bed and didn't even open her eyes. She placed her feet on the dirt floor and worked up the courage to open her eyes. Wait, she thought. This is a dirt floor, not a marble floor! Her eyes flung open and she took in the plain room of her cottage. She was thrilled. She ran out the door and saw her husband returning home and ran into his arms. He was taken by surprise, but loved any chance he got to hold her. So there they stood holding each other and the woman vowed to never again take her beautiful life for granted.


Author's note: My story was inspired by the Japanese fairytale The Stonecutter. The Stonecutter is about a stonecutter who is dissatisfied with his life. He asks the mountain spirit to turn him into different things that he thinks are more powerful than himself. He goes from being a stonecutter, to a wealthy man, to the sun, to a cloud, to rain, to a rock, and then ultimately back to a stonecutter. I took the basic plot and kept it the same. I also kept the occupation of a stonecutter involved in the story to help further the connection to the original. However I changed the main character to a female and made it be about the role of a stonecutter's wife. I also changed the way that she transformed. Instead of having her transform into different objects and changing power status, I had her transform into different classes of wealth. I thought that this would make the story a little bit more interesting because she wasn't changing physically, but rather socially. I also wanted to give it an aspect of love to go along with my portfolio theme. The woman realizes that all the wealth in the world can't make her as happy as the love of her husband and the time they spend together. Overall the moral is the same, that greed can take us away from what really matters most.

Bibliography: Japanese Fairy Tales retold by Andrew Lang; Mythology and Folklore Untextbook

Image Information:
Image 1- clipart taken from clker.com
Image 2- Photo of the main gate of the Imperial Palace in Japan taken by KenPei found on Wikipedia Commons