Long ago in a certain village lived a poor younger brother and his rich elder brother.
At the end of the year, with nothing to eat, the younger brother went to borrow rice.
But his brother gave him nothing.
On the way home he met an old man with a white beard.
"Go to the shrine on the mountain and trade this bun for the stone mill."
The brother did just as he was told, and truly received a small millstone.
Turn the mill to the right and whatever you wish for pours out; turn it left and it stops.
He ground out rice and clothes, and shared them with the villagers too.
Seeing this, the elder brother stole the mill one night and set out to sea in a boat.
Out on the water he turned the mill to the right and said, "Give me salt."
White salt came pouring out until the boat was full to the brim.
But the brother did not know how to make it stop.
Weighed down by the salt, the boat sank to the bottom of the sea.
The mill is turning down there still.
And that, they say, is why the sea is salty.
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