東北のある村にイタコの婆さまがひとり住んでいた。ある夜、子供もおらず、もう半月もひとりで寝たきりになっている婆さまの家に、腹を減らした狐が山から迷い込んできた。力が衰えてしまった婆さまには狐を追い払う気力もない。それどころか今まで散々狐をいじめてきた罪滅ぼしにと、家中の食べ物を狐に食べさせようとするのだった。狐はその恩返しにと、浄瑠璃を歌い始める。

In a village in Tohoku lived an older woman who was a shaman. One night, a hungry fox wandered into her house from the mountains. The old woman had been bedridden alone for half a month – her strength has waned, and was unable to drive the fox away. On the contrary, she tried to feed the fox with all the food in the house to atone for all the times she had done harm to the fox. To repay her, the fox began to sing a joruri song.