When you look at the moon,
you can see a hare…

Once upon a time, a hare and a monkey
they befriended a fox.
During the day, they was playing in the fields,
at sunset, they returned to the forest.
In this way the years passed,
until the King of Heaven,
heard the fact, to know the truth,
in the guise of old,
was staggering and said to the animals:
" I hear the three of you play together,
despite being different species.
If this is true,
save an old man who is starving."
And he threw the stick, and rested.
" It’s very simple," the animals answered.
Without hesitation, the monkey returned
from the nearby forest bringing fruit;
the fox with a fish caught in the stream.
The hare also got around,
but found nothing to offer the old man.
Despised, it suffered, in its heart.
Finally, it said:
" You, monkey, bring wood from the wood;
And You, fox, kindle the fire."
Having the two fulfilled the order,
the hare threw himself into the fire,
offering himself as a gift to the hungry old man.
At this sight, the old man lifted up.
his eyes to heaven and fell to the ground, in tears.
Beating his chest, he said to the animals:
" All three of you, as good friends, did well.
But the hare moved me."
He resumed the form of King of Heaven.
He collected from the fire the remains of the hare
and laid them in the Temple of the Moon.
This is the story of the hare on the moon,
handed down to this day.
When I hear it, my robe gets wet with tears.

master Ryokan, Monk and Japanese Zen poet
lived at the turn of the century XVIII-XIX d.C.