"Alas," answered the farmer in disguise, "I cannot do so without shame."
"Do not trifle with me," said the priest, "for I am very much in earnest. Tell me who you are. I should very much like to know."
Pressed so earnestly to reveal himself, the host could no longer refuse.
"Since you wish so earnestly to know, I will tell who I am, without reserve," he answered. "I am no farmer, as you rightly guessed. I am in reality a _samurai_, and my name is Sano Genzaemon Tsuneyo."
"Indeed? Are you Sano Genzaemon Tsuneyo? I have heard of you. You are a _samurai_ of high rank, I know. But tell me, how is it that you are now in such reduced circumstances?"
"Oh, that is a long story," replied Sano. "It was through the dishonesty of an unworthy relation. He seized my property, little by little, without my knowing it, and one day I found that he had taken everything and that I was left with nothing except this farmhouse and the land on which it stands."
"I am sorry for you," said Tokiyori; "but why haven't you brought a lawsuit against your relation? Were you to do that, I am sure you would recover your lost property."
"Oh yes, I have thought of that," said the farmer; "but now that Tokiyori, the just Regent, has died, and as Tokimune his successor is very young, I felt that it was useless to present my petition, so that I determined to resign myself to poverty. But though I live and work like a farmer, in heart and soul I am still a _samurai_. Should war break out or even a call to arms be sounded, I shall be the first to go to Kamakura, wearing my armour, dilapidated and torn though it may be, carrying my halberd, rusty as it is, and riding my old horse, emaciated and unpresentable though he is, and I will do glorious deeds once more and die a knight's death. I never for one moment forget my ambition. This alone buoys me up through all my trouble and poverty," he added cheerfully, looking up at his listener with a smile.
"Your purpose is a good one, and worthy of a true _samurai_," said the priest, and he smiled and looked at the knight intently. "I prophesy that you will rise in life in the near future, and I feel sure that I shall see you and congratulate you at Kamakura on obtaining your heart's desire."