long, long ago in japan there lived an old man and his wife. the old man was a good, kind-hearted, hard-working old fellow, but his wife was a regular cross-patch, who spoiled the happiness of her home by her scolding tongue. she was always grumbling about something from morning to night. the old man had for a long time ceased to take any notice of her crossness. he was out most of the day at work in the fields, and as he had no child, for his amusement when he came home, he kept a tame sparrow. he loved the little bird just as much as if she had been his child.