should we? We caught it ourselves."

"What you say is true," said Urashima, "but I do not ask you to give
it to me for nothing. I will give you some money for it--in other
words, the Ojisan (Uncle) will buy it of you. Won't that do for you,
my boys?" He held up the money to them, strung on a piece of string
through a hole in the center of each coin. "Look, boys, you can buy
anything you like with this money. You can do much more with this
money than you can with that poor tortoise. See what good boys you
are to listen to me"

The boys were not bad boys at all, they were only mischievous, and
as Urashima spoke they were won by his kind smile and gentle words
and began "to be of his spirit," as they say in Japan. Gradually
they all came up to him, the ringleader of the little band holding
out the tortoise to him.

"Very well, Ojisan, we will give you the tortoise if you will give
us the money!" And Urashima took the tortoise and gave the money to
the boys, who, calling to each other, scampered away and were soon
out of sight.

Then Urashima stroked the tortoise's back, saying as he did so:

"Oh, you poor thing! Poor thing!--there, there! you are safe now!
They say that a stork lives for a thousand years, but the tortoise
for ten thousand years. You have the longest life of any creature in
this world, and you were in great danger of having that precious
life cut short by those cruel boys. Luckily I was passing by and
saved you, and so life is still yours. Now I am going to take you