A monkey, a fox, and a rabbit come across a shabby old man who has collapsed, exhausted, in the mountains. The three decide to help the old man. The monkey gathers nuts, and the fox catches fish from the river, and they each give them to the old man as food. However, the rabbit, no matter how hard he tries, is unable to gather anything. Lamenting his own weakness, the rabbit decides to help the old man somehow, and finally asks the monkey and fox to light a fire and jumps into the fire to offer himself as food. Seeing this, the old man reveals his true identity as Taishakuten, and sends the rabbit up to the moon to tell the story of the rabbit's selfless act of mercy to future generations. The smoky shadow that can be seen around the rabbit's figure on the moon is said to be the smoke from the rabbit burning itself.