Gift for the lover

　　Once upon a distant time, people made love by givin g up some part of their bodies to their lovers. Everyone possessed leather bags into which their mates placed some part of their bodies as they made love. A fingernail [?f??g??ne?l](手指甲) or strand [str?nd](縷)of hair, an eyelash [?a??l??](睫毛) or a bit of skin were commonly exchanged. But it was not uncommon to hear of fingers or ears or a whole arm or leg being slipped into a bag in moments of great love or great passion. There were even a few stories of lovers who actually climbed into the leather bags and disappeared, literally swept away by their emotions.

　　The donated body parts sometimes rejuvenated(復(fù)原) miraculously [m??r?kj?l?sl?](奇跡般地), the handicap [?h?ndik?p](缺陷) evoked(喚起) by their love. Of course, t hose who climbed into the leather bags of another never emerged(出現(xiàn)) again. It was commonly thought that such people were reborn [ri:?b?:n](重生), perhaps as a family member of their lovers .

　　In those days the phrases "giving yourself to your lover" and "making sacrifices for love" were taken quite literally.