In ancient times, there was a poor fisherman by the sea named Kitagawa Shigeru. His entire property consisted of only a slanted little house, a broken boat, and a fishing rod.
One day, a cold west wind was blowing. Suddenly, someone knocked on Kitagawa Shigeru's door. He opened it and saw an old man standing outside, looking weak.
"Please let me stay at your house for one night," the old man pleaded. "I've been walking for dozens of miles without rest, so please give me shelter and some food."
Kitagawa Shigeru replied awkwardly, "Master, I am very poor, so I can only offer you a small fish."
Then Kitagawa Shigeru showed the old man his stove, where indeed a very small fish was boiling in a pot.
"But this fish is for your own meal," the old man said.
After hearing this, Kitagawa Shigeru told a lie for the first time in his life: "I have already eaten dinner and am quite full." He reassured his guest, saying, "Please don't reject me; eat this food!"
After the old man finished eating, Kitagawa Shigeru arranged a mat for him to sleep on, while he himself lay on the muddy ground, hungry.
Late at night, the old man's groaning woke Kitagawa Shigeru.
"Master, what's wrong? Are you in pain?" Kitagawa Shigeru asked anxiously.
"I'm cold; I feel extremely cold! If you don't start a fire immediately, I will freeze to death!"
Kitagawa Shigeru thought: What should I do? I don't have any dry firewood. Can I not save this old man and let him die because of my fault?
So Kitagawa Shigeru grabbed an axe and hurried to the shore, where his broken boat was docked. Swinging the axe, it didn’t take long for his boat to turn into a pile of firewood. He returned home and started a fire in the portable heater.