The old man said so, but upon learning that Minamoto Tamako was mocked at school because of it, he quit the street sweeping job.
Even so, he didn't idle but started tending to the flowers and plants in the garden. No matter how difficult it was to care for azaleas, Gioiko cherry blossoms, or five-needle pines from Nasu, he cultivated them so well that they thrived profusely, and every year the garden was a riot of color during the flowering season.
As long as his granddaughter liked them, he would pick a few of the most beautiful flowers, put them in a vase, and place it in the living room.
Minamoto Tamako still remembers that when she was in middle school, a nasty stray dog came to the town district and often snuck into the garden to mess with the flowers and plants. Her grandfather waged a battle of wits and courage with the stray dog, guarding the garden and repeatedly driving it away, which caused the dog to hold a grudge against him.
