Tonight’s story is a bittersweet one that I’m sure will leave many animal lovers in tears. I’ve seen plenty of rat yokai stories over the years, but none quite as heartbreaking as this one.

I hope you enjoy it!

The Rat’s Gratitude; or, The Miraculous Cure for Rat-Bite Fever

The mother of a man named Saigō Ichizaemon had a pet rat which she loved dearly. Yet, for some reason, the rat bit her on the finger. It was extremely painful and her finger swelled up, so Ichizaemon stopped by.

“What a detestable thing! This stupid beast doesn’t understand how much affection it is given, and it does something as outrageous as this!” he said. Then he struck the rat, and it fled.

That night, the rat appeared to the mother in a dream and said, “If you apply dried white azalea to your finger, the infection will vanish instantly and you will heal.” Then it placed a white azalea flower next to her pillow, and the mother woke from her dream.

Startled from her dream, she looked beside her pillow and discovered her rat dead, clutching the white azalea flower in its mouth. She applied the flower to the wound on her finger, and the swelling instantly subsided and healed.