News of the old man's miracle reached the town and before long, even the
ears of the king, who promptly sent for the old man.
The old man was brought to the king, carrying his box of ashes. "Now I'll
make the flowers bloom." He sprinkled the ashes onto the nearby trees,
and immediately, beautiful white cherry flowers appeared.
"Splendid!" exclaimed the king, who was very pleased. "Well done.
You are the greatest flower bloomer in all of Japan. You will be rewarded."
At that moment,
the greedy old man came running, carrying the leftover ashes which he
had gathered from the stove. "Wait! I'm the greatest flower bloomer in Japan.
" With that, he began to sprinkle his ashes. Instead of landing on the flowers,
however, the ash flew into the eyes and nose of the king, choking him.
"You impudent!" the king stormed, and promptly threw the greedy old man
into prison.