In a tiny mountain village blanketed with snow, there lived a poor but kind farmer named Yohei. His rice fields were small, his clothes were patched, and his meals were simple. But he never complained, for he was grateful for the beauty of the mountains and the kindness of his neighbors.
One cold winter evening, as Yohei walked home through the falling snow, he heard a terrible cry. A beautiful white crane was trapped in a hunter's snare, its wing caught in the cruel rope. Without hesitation, Yohei knelt down and gently freed the crane. It stretched its great white wings and flew away into the grey sky.
That same night, there was a knock at Yohei's door. A beautiful young woman stood in the snow, her skin as white as the winter moon. "I am lost and cold," she said softly. "May I stay the night?" Yohei welcomed her in, shared his meager supper, and gave her his warmest blanket.
The woman, who called herself Tsuru, did not leave the next day, or the day after that. She cooked, cleaned, and filled the tiny house with warmth and gentle laughter. Before long, Yohei asked her to be his wife, and she agreed with a smile as bright as spring sunshine.
One evening, Tsuru said she would weave a special cloth. She closed herself in the back room with a small loom. "Please," she said earnestly, her dark eyes meeting his, "promise me you will never watch me while I weave." Yohei, puzzled but trusting, gave his word.
For three days and nights, the sound of the loom filled the house — clack, clack, clack. When Tsuru emerged, she looked pale and thin, but in her arms she held the most beautiful cloth Yohei had ever seen. It shimmered like woven moonlight, with patterns of clouds and feathers.
Yohei took the cloth to market, where a wealthy merchant gasped at its beauty and paid a fortune for it. Yohei and Tsuru had never known such wealth. The merchant begged for more, offering even higher prices. Tsuru agreed to weave again, though she looked sad and tired.
Each time Tsuru wove, the cloth was more magnificent than the last, but she grew thinner and weaker. The merchant demanded more and more, and Yohei, dazzled by the gold, urged Tsuru to weave once more. She retreated to the room, and the loom began its lonely song again.
This time, Yohei could not contain his curiosity. He crept to the door and slid it open just a crack. Instead of his wife, he saw a slender white crane sitting at the loom, plucking feathers from its own breast and weaving them into the shimmering cloth. The crane's body was thin and bare in places, and tears glistened in its dark eyes.
The crane turned and saw Yohei watching. In a flash of white light, Tsuru stood before him, pale and trembling. "I am the crane you saved," she whispered. "I wanted to repay your kindness. But now that you have seen my true form, I cannot stay." She walked out into the snow, spread her great white wings, and flew away over the mountains, never to return.
