long long time ago, there lived in a quiet spot, a young man and his wife. They had one child, a little daughter, whom they both loved with all their hearts. I cannot tell you their names, for they have been long since forgotten, but the name of the place where they lived was Matsuyama, in the province of Echigo.
It happened once, while the little girl was still a baby, that the father was obliged to go to the great city, the capital of Japan,...
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