Kaeru-san Lakeside (3)

Got up in the morning of the morning, Kaeru-san was so hungry and could not move. Kaeru-san was kaeru, so it was no matter to wash the face. After washing the face, Kaeru-san remembered he had been hungry. He was too hungry to move, and he left Inukami River to Cafe Kaeru to have breakfast.

The cherry tree at Mashiya Electric start flowering. There were another cherry trees at the grave along Inukami River, but they was not out yet. Kaeru-san was kaeru. When he found the cherry blossoms, he jumped without being asked. He touched down. He had gotten a petal in his long tongue. The petal was rather dusty, but it tasted like a cherry rice cake. Kaeru-san had not experienced a cherry rice cake, so he felt it something new.

Kaeru-san wondered whether he should swallow or spit it off. He repeated tightening and loosing his tongue. He noticed the taste was really new. Not sweet, not bitter. A new phrase was needed. A phrase like "Twins of spring, amazing 32 thousands colors at tremendous savings! " Kaeru-san decided to keep the petal in the mouth on the way to the cafe. Drinking the water with this petal, the water will no more the water. It will be New Water. Kaeru-san imaged the taste of mosquitoes after drinking New Water.

Sitting on his usual seat in Cafe Kaeru, Kaeru-san found the notice from Masutah. "Today' s breakfast: Twins of spring. I serve it with cherry water, because the cherry blossoms come out." Kaeru-san loosed his tongue carefully and said to Masutah. "Please serve me pure water" "Very well, sir" "I like cherry water, but please." Masutah did not ask the reason. He prepared lukewarm water of Lake Biwa as usual. Is the taste of the cherry water same as the taste of the pure water? Kaeru-san took a long breath. Masutah kept preparing breakfast.

Notes

it was no matter to wash the face: There is a Japanese saying "Watering off a frog face. (It's like water off a duck's back.)"
he jumped ...: Once a frog finds something, it repeats to jump until getting it. This behavior is (believed to be) so persistant that it sometimes encourages people in trouble. When a famous Japanese master of writing ONONO Tohu had trouble to make his own style and almost gave up, he found a frog trying to reach the branch of a willow tree. The frog jumped and fell again and again. Tohu was astonished the effort and began to chear the frog. Finally the frog jumped up to the branch. Encouraged by the effort of the frog, Tohu decided to continue his excersise again. The moral of this story is, with cheers or not, the frog will jump without reason.
a cherry rice cake or "Sakura-mochi": Sakura-mochi is a rice cake filled with bean jam. The rice is cherry colored and rapped by preserved cherry leaf with salt.
Masutah: The cool way to call a barkeeper or a cafekeeper in Japanese. "Masutah" is cooler than "master".

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