While she was staggering along under the heavy load, her desire to
open the box became too great to be resisted. She could wait no
longer, for she supposed this big box to be full of gold and silver
and precious jewels like the small one her husband had received.

At last this greedy and selfish old woman put down the box by the
wayside and opened it carefully, expecting to gloat her eyes on a
mine of wealth. What she saw, however, so terrified her that she
nearly lost her senses. As soon as she lifted the lid, a number of
horrible and frightful looking demons bounced out of the box and
surrounded her as if they intended to kill her. Not even in
nightmares had she ever seen such horrible creatures as her much-
coveted box contained. A demon with one huge eye right in the middle
of its forehead came and glared at her, monsters with gaping mouths
looked as if they would devour her, a huge snake coiled and hissed
about her, and a big frog hopped and croaked towards her.

The old woman had never been so frightened in her life, and ran from
the spot as fast as her quaking legs would carry her, glad to escape
alive. When she reached home she fell to the floor and told her
husband with tears all that had happened to her, and how she had
been nearly killed by the demons in the box.

Then she began to blame the sparrow, but the old man stopped her at
once, saying:

"Don't blame the sparrow, it is your wickedness which has at last
met with its reward. I only hope this may be a lesson to you in the
future!"