Once upon a time, in a quiet village near the mountains, there lived a kind old man who made a humble living by chopping firewood. One day, while returning from the forest, he noticed a small fox cub struggling to reach a piece of fruit hanging high on a tree. Feeling sorry for the little creature, he gently picked the fruit and handed it to the cub. The fox looked at him with wide, grateful eyes and silently watched him walk away into the distance.
A few days later, as the old man was coming back from the town market, he saw the same fox cub again. This time, the cub waved at him. Curious, the old man followed it deep into the forest until they reached a peaceful clearing, where the cub’s mother was waiting. She bowed her head in gratitude and offered the old man a small gift: a faded headscarf. Although it looked like nothing special, the man accepted it with kindness. Sometimes, a gift that seems simple can hold hidden magic when given with sincerity.
The next day, while chopping wood in the hills, the scarf slipped from his pocket. He picked it up and tied it around his head without thinking. Suddenly, he began to hear the birds differently. Their chirping sounded like actual words. He paused, listening carefully, and realized he could understand them. He had gained the incredible ability to hear and understand the language of animals.
From then on, he wore the scarf regularly, quietly listening to the voices of birds, squirrels, and other woodland creatures. One day, he overheard two crows talking about the daughter of a wealthy man in the village. She had been ill for weeks, and no doctor could find the cause. But the crows said that her sickness came from the camphor trees that had been disturbed by a new warehouse built on her family's land. What people could not explain, nature had already understood and spoken about.
The old man decided to help. He visited the rich man’s home and walked near the warehouse. As he stood there, he heard whispers coming from the roots beneath the ground. The voice of a sacred camphor tree spoke of pain. Its roots had been damaged, and its spirit was in distress, which had unknowingly cursed the girl. The old man shared everything he had learned, speaking on behalf of the silent forest.
Although doubtful at first, the wealthy man agreed to remove the warehouse. Remarkably, the daughter’s condition began to improve, and soon she fully recovered. Grateful beyond words, her father gave the old man a generous reward. But instead of keeping the riches, the kind man used them to buy large amounts of fried tofu. He returned to the forest and shared the meal with the animals, showing that true kindness asks for nothing in return but gives everything it can.