In a small village in Japan, there lived a kind - hearted Rice Cake Grandma. The rice cakes she made were fragrant and glutinous, and the aroma of rice cakes filled the whole village. Grandma's small house was right in the center of the village. It was a tiny yet warm place, and the chimney on the roof was always emitting wisps of blue smoke.
Grandma made rice cakes meticulously every day. She ground the glutinous rice into fine powder, added an appropriate amount of water, and then used her wrinkled yet very dexterous hands to shape the rice cakes into various forms. There were round ones like the moon, and long ones like small pillows. However, Grandma was always alone. She didn't have many friends and just stayed in her rice cake store every day.
One day, a group of children in the village smelled the aroma of rice cakes and ran to the entrance of Grandma's store. Their eyes were shining brightly as they looked at the rice cakes in Grandma's store, and their little mouths were almost drooling with greed. When Grandma saw these lovely children, she was overjoyed. She smiled and said to the children, "My little darlings, do you want to have some rice cakes?" The children nodded one after another. So, Grandma took out a lot of rice cakes and distributed them to the children. After getting the rice cakes, the children jumped up and down happily and kept saying "Thank you" to Grandma.
Since then, these children often came to Grandma's store. Sometimes they would help Grandma clean the house, and sometimes they would tell Grandma some interesting things that happened in the village. Grandma, in turn, would teach the children how to make rice cakes. She told them to choose the best glutinous rice and pay attention to the amount of water. The children all learned very seriously, and they thought making rice cakes was a very interesting thing.
Gradually, the adults in the village also knew that Grandma was a very kind - hearted person. So, they also began to come to Grandma's store and make rice cakes with her. When making rice cakes, everyone was laughing and talking, and the whole house was filled with a happy atmosphere. Some villagers were in charge of grinding glutinous rice powder, some were in charge of making a fire, and Grandma was on the side guiding everyone, telling everyone some tips for making rice cakes. In this way, Grandma's store was always bustling, and she no longer felt lonely.
When the cherry blossoms were in full bloom once a year, Grandma decided to hold a rice cake feast. She invited all her friends in the village, and everyone brought their own special - family - made delicacies to Grandma's small yard. There was a large table placed in the yard, piled high with all kinds of rice cakes and other delicacies. Everyone sat around together, enjoying the beautiful cherry blossoms while tasting the delicious food. Looking at everyone enjoying the food happily, Grandma had a happy smile on her face. She knew that because of sharing rice cakes, she had gained precious friendship, and now she was a beloved member in the village.
