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+The Project Gutenberg eBook of Japanese Fairy Tales, by Yei Theodora Ozaki
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
+most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
+whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
+of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
+www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you
+will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before
+using this eBook.
+
+Title: Japanese Fairy Tales
+
+Author: Yei Theodora Ozaki
+
+Release Date: October 11, 2001 [eBook #4018]
+[Most recently updated: November 4, 2021]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+Produced by: Charles Franks, Greg Weeks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. HTML version by Al Haines.
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JAPANESE FAIRY TALES ***
+
+
+
+
+Japanese Fairy Tales
+
+COMPILED BY
+
+by Yei Theodora Ozaki
+
+Profusely Illustrated by Japanese Artists
+
+
+Contents
+
+ PREFACE
+ JAPANESE FAIRY TALES
+ MY LORD BAG OF RICE
+ THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW
+ THE STORY OF URASHIMA TARO, THE FISHER LAD
+ THE FARMER AND THE BADGER
+ THE “SHINANSHA,” OR THE SOUTH POINTING CARRIAGE
+ THE ADVENTURES OF KINTARO, THE GOLDEN BOY
+ THE STORY OF PRINCESS HASE. A STORY OF OLD JAPAN
+ THE STORY OF THE MAN WHO DID NOT WISH TO DIE
+ THE BAMBOO-CUTTER AND THE MOON-CHILD
+ THE MIRROR OF MATSUYAMA A STORY OF OLD JAPAN
+ THE GOBLIN OF ADACHIGAHARA
+ THE SAGACIOUS MONKEY AND THE BOAR
+ THE HAPPY HUNTER AND THE SKILLFUL FISHER
+ THE STORY OF THE OLD MAN WHO MADE WITHERED TREES TO FLOWER
+ THE JELLY FISH AND THE MONKEY
+ THE QUARREL OF THE MONKEY AND THE CRAB
+ THE WHITE HARE AND THE CROCODILES
+ THE STORY OF PRINCE YAMATO TAKE
+ MOMOTARO, OR THE STORY OF THE SON OF A PEACH
+ THE OGRE OF RASHOMON
+ HOW AN OLD MAN LOST HIS WEN
+ THE STONES OF FIVE COLORS AND THE EMPRESS JOKWA. AN OLD CHINESE STORY
+
+
+
+
+TO
+ELEANOR MARION-CRAWFORD.
+
+I DEDICATE THIS BOOK TO YOU AND TO THE SWEET CHILD-FRIENDSHIP THAT YOU
+GAVE ME IN THE DAYS SPENT WITH YOU BY THE SOUTHERN SEA, WHEN YOU USED
+TO LISTEN WITH UNFEIGNED PLEASURE TO THESE FAIRY STORIES FROM FAR
+JAPAN. MAY THEY NOW REMIND YOU OF MY CHANGELESS LOVE AND REMEMBRANCE.
+
+Y. T. O.
+Tokio, 1908.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+This collection of Japanese fairy tales is the outcome of a suggestion
+made to me indirectly through a friend by Mr. Andrew Lang. They have
+been translated from the modern version written by Sadanami Sanjin.
+These stories are not literal translations, and though the Japanese
+story and all quaint Japanese expressions have been faithfully
+preserved, they have been told more with the view to interest young
+readers of the West than the technical student of folk-lore.
+
+Grateful acknowledgment is due to Mr. Y. Yasuoka, Miss Fusa Okamoto, my
+brother Nobumori Ozaki, Dr. Yoshihiro Takaki, and Miss Kameko Yamao,
+who have helped me with translations.
+
+The story which I have named “The Story of the Man who did not Wish to
+Die” is taken from a little book written a hundred years ago by one
+Shinsui Tamenaga. It is named Chosei Furo, or “Longevity.” “The
+Bamboo-cutter and the Moon-child” is taken from the classic “Taketari
+Monogatari,” and is NOT classed by the Japanese among their fairy
+tales, though it really belongs to this class of literature.
+
+The pictures were drawn by Mr. Kakuzo Fujiyama, a Tokio artist.
+
+In telling these stories in English I have followed my fancy in adding
+such touches of local color or description as they seemed to need or as
+pleased me, and in one or two instances I have gathered in an incident
+from another version. At all times, among my friends, both young and
+old, English or American, I have always found eager listeners to the
+beautiful legends and fairy tales of Japan, and in telling them I have
+also found that they were still unknown to the vast majority, and this
+has encouraged me to write them for the children of the West.
+
+Y. T. O.
+Tokio, 1908.
+
+
+
+
+JAPANESE FAIRY TALES
+
+
+
+
+MY LORD BAG OF RICE
+
+
+Long, long ago there lived, in Japan a brave warrior known to all as
+Tawara Toda, or “My Lord Bag of Rice.” His true name was Fujiwara
+Hidesato, and there is a very interesting story of how he came to
+change his name.
+
+One day he sallied forth in search of adventures, for he had the nature
+of a warrior and could not bear to be idle. So he buckled on his two
+swords, took his huge bow, much taller than himself, in his hand, and
+slinging his quiver on his back started out. He had not gone far when
+he came to the bridge of Seta-no-Karashi spanning one end of the
+beautiful Lake Biwa. No sooner had he set foot on the bridge than he
+saw lying right across his path a huge serpent-dragon. Its body was so
+big that it looked like the trunk of a large pine tree and it took up
+the whole width of the bridge. One of its huge claws rested on the
+parapet of one side of the bridge, while its tail lay right against the
+other. The monster seemed to be asleep, and as it breathed, fire and
+smoke came out of its nostrils.
+
+At first Hidesato could not help feeling alarmed at the sight of this
+horrible reptile lying in his path, for he must either turn back or
+walk right over its body. He was a brave man, however, and putting
+aside all fear went forward dauntlessly. Crunch, crunch! he stepped now
+on the dragon’s body, now between its coils, and without even one
+glance backward he went on his way.
+
+He had only gone a few steps when he heard some one calling him from
+behind. On turning back he was much surprised to see that the monster
+dragon had entirely disappeared and in its place was a strange-looking
+man, who was bowing most ceremoniously to the ground. His red hair
+streamed over his shoulders and was surmounted by a crown in the shape
+of a dragon’s head, and his sea-green dress was patterned with shells.
+Hidesato knew at once that this was no ordinary mortal and he wondered
+much at the strange occurrence. Where had the dragon gone in such a
+short space of time? Or had it transformed itself into this man, and
+what did the whole thing mean? While these thoughts passed through his
+mind he had come up to the man on the bridge and now addressed him:
+
+“Was it you that called me just now?”
+
+“Yes, it was I,” answered the man: “I have an earnest request to make
+to you. Do you think you can grant it to me?”
+
+“If it is in my power to do so I will,” answered Hidesato, “but first
+tell me who you are?”
+
+“I am the Dragon King of the Lake, and my home is in these waters just
+under this bridge.”
+
+“And what is it you have to ask of me?” said Hidesato.
+
+“I want you to kill my mortal enemy the centipede, who lives on the
+mountain beyond,” and the Dragon King pointed to a high peak on the
+opposite shore of the lake.
+
+“I have lived now for many years in this lake and I have a large family
+of children and grand-children. For some time past we have lived in
+terror, for a monster centipede has discovered our home, and night
+after night it comes and carries off one of my family. I am powerless
+to save them. If it goes on much longer like this, not only shall I
+lose all my children, but I myself must fall a victim to the monster. I
+am, therefore, very unhappy, and in my extremity I determined to ask
+the help of a human being. For many days with this intention I have
+waited on the bridge in the shape of the horrible serpent-dragon that
+you saw, in the hope that some strong brave man would come along. But
+all who came this way, as soon as they saw me were terrified and ran
+away as fast as they could. You are the first man I have found able to
+look at me without fear, so I knew at once that you were a man of great
+courage. I beg you to have pity upon me. Will you not help me and kill
+my enemy the centipede?”
+
+Hidesato felt very sorry for the Dragon King on hearing his story, and
+readily promised to do what he could to help him. The warrior asked
+where the centipede lived, so that he might attack the creature at
+once. The Dragon King replied that its home was on the mountain Mikami,
+but that as it came every night at a certain hour to the palace of the
+lake, it would be better to wait till then. So Hidesato was conducted
+to the palace of the Dragon King, under the bridge. Strange to say, as
+he followed his host downwards the waters parted to let them pass, and
+his clothes did not even feel damp as he passed through the flood.
+Never had Hidesato seen anything so beautiful as this palace built of
+white marble beneath the lake. He had often heard of the Sea King’s
+palace at the bottom of the sea, where all the servants and retainers
+were salt-water fishes, but here was a magnificent building in the
+heart of Lake Biwa. The dainty goldfishes, red carp, and silvery trout,
+waited upon the Dragon King and his guest.
+
+Hidesato was astonished at the feast that was spread for him. The
+dishes were crystallized lotus leaves and flowers, and the chopsticks
+were of the rarest ebony. As soon as they sat down, the sliding doors
+opened and ten lovely goldfish dancers came out, and behind them
+followed ten red-carp musicians with the koto and the samisen. Thus the
+hours flew by till midnight, and the beautiful music and dancing had
+banished all thoughts of the centipede. The Dragon King was about to
+pledge the warrior in a fresh cup of wine when the palace was suddenly
+shaken by a tramp, tramp! as if a mighty army had begun to march not
+far away.
+
+Hidesato and his host both rose to their feet and rushed to the
+balcony, and the warrior saw on the opposite mountain two great balls
+of glowing fire coming nearer and nearer. The Dragon King stood by the
+warrior’s side trembling with fear.
+
+“The centipede! The centipede! Those two balls of fire are its eyes. It
+is coming for its prey! Now is the time to kill it.”
+
+Hidesato looked where his host pointed, and, in the dim light of the
+starlit evening, behind the two balls of fire he saw the long body of
+an enormous centipede winding round the mountains, and the light in its
+hundred feet glowed like so many distant lanterns moving slowly towards
+the shore.
+
+Hidesato showed not the least sign of fear. He tried to calm the Dragon
+King.
+
+“Don’t be afraid. I shall surely kill the centipede. Just bring me my
+bow and arrows.”
+
+The Dragon King did as he was bid, and the warrior noticed that he had
+only three arrows left in his quiver. He took the bow, and fitting an
+arrow to the notch, took careful aim and let fly.
+
+The arrow hit the centipede right in the middle of its head, but
+instead of penetrating, it glanced off harmless and fell to the ground.
+
+Nothing daunted, Hidesato took another arrow, fitted it to the notch of
+the bow and let fly. Again the arrow hit the mark, it struck the
+centipede right in the middle of its head, only to glance off and fall
+to the ground. The centipede was invulnerable to weapons! When the
+Dragon King saw that even this brave warrior’s arrows were powerless to
+kill the centipede, he lost heart and began to tremble with fear.
+
+The warrior saw that he had now only one arrow left in his quiver, and
+if this one failed he could not kill the centipede. He looked across
+the waters. The huge reptile had wound its horrid body seven times
+round the mountain and would soon come down to the lake. Nearer and
+nearer gleamed fireballs of eyes, and the light of its hundred feet
+began to throw reflections in the still waters of the lake.
+
+Then suddenly the warrior remembered that he had heard that human
+saliva was deadly to centipedes. But this was no ordinary centipede.
+This was so monstrous that even to think of such a creature made one
+creep with horror. Hidesato determined to try his last chance. So
+taking his last arrow and first putting the end of it in his mouth, he
+fitted the notch to his bow, took careful aim once more and let fly.
+
+This time the arrow again hit the centipede right in the middle of its
+head, but instead of glancing off harmlessly as before, it struck home
+to the creature’s brain. Then with a convulsive shudder the serpentine
+body stopped moving, and the fiery light of its great eyes and hundred
+feet darkened to a dull glare like the sunset of a stormy day, and then
+went out in blackness. A great darkness now overspread the heavens, the
+thunder rolled and the lightning flashed, and the wind roared in fury,
+and it seemed as if the world were coming to an end. The Dragon King
+and his children and retainers all crouched in different parts of the
+palace, frightened to death, for the building was shaken to its
+foundation. At last the dreadful night was over. Day dawned beautiful
+and clear. The centipede was gone from the mountain.
+
+Then Hidesato called to the Dragon King to come out with him on the
+balcony, for the centipede was dead and he had nothing more to fear.
+
+Then all the inhabitants of the palace came out with joy, and Hidesato
+pointed to the lake. There lay the body of the dead centipede floating
+on the water, which was dyed red with its blood.
+
+The gratitude of the Dragon King knew no bounds. The whole family came
+and bowed down before the warrior, calling him their preserver and the
+bravest warrior in all Japan.
+
+Another feast was prepared, more sumptuous than the first. All kinds of
+fish, prepared in every imaginable way, raw, stewed, boiled and
+roasted, served on coral trays and crystal dishes, were put before him,
+and the wine was the best that Hidesato had ever tasted in his life. To
+add to the beauty of everything the sun shone brightly, the lake
+glittered like a liquid diamond, and the palace was a thousand times
+more beautiful by day than by night.
+
+His host tried to persuade the warrior to stay a few days, but Hidesato
+insisted on going home, saying that he had now finished what he had
+come to do, and must return. The Dragon King and his family were all
+very sorry to have him leave so soon, but since he would go they begged
+him to accept a few small presents (so they said) in token of their
+gratitude to him for delivering them forever from their horrible enemy
+the centipede.
+
+As the warrior stood in the porch taking leave, a train of fish was
+suddenly transformed into a retinue of men, all wearing ceremonial
+robes and dragon’s crowns on their heads to show that they were
+servants of the great Dragon King. The presents that they carried were
+as follows:
+
+First, a large bronze bell.
+Second, a bag of rice.
+Third, a roll of silk.
+Fourth, a cooking pot.
+Fifth, a bell.
+
+
+Hidesato did not want to accept all these presents, but as the Dragon
+King insisted, he could not well refuse.
+
+The Dragon King himself accompanied the warrior as far as the bridge,
+and then took leave of him with many bows and good wishes, leaving the
+procession of servants to accompany Hidesato to his house with the
+presents.
+
+The warrior’s household and servants had been very much concerned when
+they found that he did not return the night before, but they finally
+concluded that he had been kept by the violent storm and had taken
+shelter somewhere. When the servants on the watch for his return caught
+sight of him they called to every one that he was approaching, and the
+whole household turned out to meet him, wondering much what the retinue
+of men, bearing presents and banners, that followed him, could mean.
+
+As soon as the Dragon King’s retainers had put down the presents they
+vanished, and Hidesato told all that had happened to him.
+
+The presents which he had received from the grateful Dragon King were
+found to be of magic power. The bell only was ordinary, and as Hidesato
+had no use for it he presented it to the temple near by, where it was
+hung up, to boom out the hour of day over the surrounding neighborhood.
+
+The single bag of rice, however much was taken from it day after day
+for the meals of the knight and his whole family, never grew less—the
+supply in the bag was inexhaustible.
+
+The roll of silk, too, never grew shorter, though time after time long
+pieces were cut off to make the warrior a new suit of clothes to go to
+Court in at the New Year.
+
+The cooking pot was wonderful, too. No matter what was put into it, it
+cooked deliciously whatever was wanted without any firing—truly a very
+economical saucepan.
+
+The fame of Hidesato’s fortune spread far and wide, and as there was no
+need for him to spend money on rice or silk or firing, he became very
+rich and prosperous, and was henceforth known as My Lord Bag of Rice.
+
+
+
+
+THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW
+
+
+Long, long ago in Japan there lived an old man and his wife. The old
+man was a good, kind-hearted, hard-working old fellow, but his wife was
+a regular cross-patch, who spoiled the happiness of her home by her
+scolding tongue. She was always grumbling about something from morning
+to night. The old man had for a long time ceased to take any notice of
+her crossness. He was out most of the day at work in the fields, and as
+he had no child, for his amusement when he came home, he kept a tame
+sparrow. He loved the little bird just as much as if she had been his
+child.
+
+When he came back at night after his hard day’s work in the open air it
+was his only pleasure to pet the sparrow, to talk to her and to teach
+her little tricks, which she learned very quickly. The old man would
+open her cage and let her fly about the room, and they would play
+together. Then when supper-time came, he always saved some tit-bits
+from his meal with which to feed his little bird.
+
+Now one day the old man went out to chop wood in the forest, and the
+old woman stopped at home to wash clothes. The day before, she had made
+some starch, and now when she came to look for it, it was all gone; the
+bowl which she had filled full yesterday was quite empty.
+
+While she was wondering who could have used or stolen the starch, down
+flew the pet sparrow, and bowing her little feathered head—a trick
+which she had been taught by her master—the pretty bird chirped and
+said:
+
+“It is I who have taken the starch. I thought it was some food put out
+for me in that basin, and I ate it all. If I have made a mistake I beg
+you to forgive me! tweet, tweet, tweet!”
+
+You see from this that the sparrow was a truthful bird, and the old
+woman ought to have been willing to forgive her at once when she asked
+her pardon so nicely. But not so.
+
+The old woman had never loved the sparrow, and had often quarreled with
+her husband for keeping what she called a dirty bird about the house,
+saying that it only made extra work for her. Now she was only too
+delighted to have some cause of complaint against the pet. She scolded
+and even cursed the poor little bird for her bad behavior, and not
+content with using these harsh, unfeeling words, in a fit of rage she
+seized the sparrow—who all this time had spread out her wings and bowed
+her head before the old woman, to show how sorry she was—and fetched
+the scissors and cut off the poor little bird’s tongue.
+
+“I suppose you took my starch with that tongue! Now you may see what it
+is like to go without it!” And with these dreadful words she drove the
+bird away, not caring in the least what might happen to it and without
+the smallest pity for its suffering, so unkind was she!
+
+The old woman, after she had driven the sparrow away, made some more
+rice-paste, grumbling all the time at the trouble, and after starching
+all her clothes, spread the things on boards to dry in the sun, instead
+of ironing them as they do in England.
+
+In the evening the old man came home. As usual, on the way back he
+looked forward to the time when he should reach his gate and see his
+pet come flying and chirping to meet him, ruffling out her feathers to
+show her joy, and at last coming to rest on his shoulder. But to-night
+the old man was very disappointed, for not even the shadow of his dear
+sparrow was to be seen.
+
+He quickened his steps, hastily drew off his straw sandals, and stepped
+on to the veranda. Still no sparrow was to be seen. He now felt sure
+that his wife, in one of her cross tempers, had shut the sparrow up in
+its cage. So he called her and said anxiously:
+
+“Where is Suzume San (Miss Sparrow) today?”
+
+The old woman pretended not to know at first, and answered:
+
+“Your sparrow? I am sure I don’t know. Now I come to think of it, I
+haven’t seen her all the afternoon. I shouldn’t wonder if the
+ungrateful bird had flown away and left you after all your petting!”
+
+But at last, when the old man gave her no peace, but asked her again
+and again, insisting that she must know what had happened to his pet,
+she confessed all. She told him crossly how the sparrow had eaten the
+rice-paste she had specially made for starching her clothes, and how
+when the sparrow had confessed to what she had done, in great anger she
+had taken her scissors and cut out her tongue, and how finally she had
+driven the bird away and forbidden her to return to the house again.
+
+Then the old woman showed her husband the sparrow’s tongue, saying:
+
+“Here is the tongue I cut off! Horrid little bird, why did it eat all
+my starch?”
+
+“How could you be so cruel? Oh! how could you so cruel?” was all that
+the old man could answer. He was too kind-hearted to punish his be
+shrew of a wife, but he was terribly distressed at what had happened to
+his poor little sparrow.
+
+“What a dreadful misfortune for my poor Suzume San to lose her tongue!”
+he said to himself. “She won’t be able to chirp any more, and surely
+the pain of the cutting of it out in that rough way must have made her
+ill! Is there nothing to be done?”
+
+The old man shed many tears after his cross wife had gone to sleep.
+While he wiped away the tears with the sleeve of his cotton robe, a
+bright thought comforted him: he would go and look for the sparrow on
+the morrow. Having decided this he was able to go to sleep at last.
+
+The next morning he rose early, as soon as ever the day broke, and
+snatching a hasty breakfast, started out over the hills and through the
+woods, stopping at every clump of bamboos to cry:
+
+“Where, oh where does my tongue-cut sparrow stay? Where, oh where, does
+my tongue-cut sparrow stay!”
+
+He never stopped to rest for his noonday meal, and it was far on in the
+afternoon when he found himself near a large bamboo wood. Bamboo groves
+are the favorite haunts of sparrows, and there sure enough at the edge
+of the wood he saw his own dear sparrow waiting to welcome him. He
+could hardly believe his eyes for joy, and ran forward quickly to greet
+her. She bowed her little head and went through a number of the tricks
+her master had taught her, to show her pleasure at seeing her old
+friend again, and, wonderful to relate, she could talk as of old. The
+old man told her how sorry he was for all that had happened, and
+inquired after her tongue, wondering how she could speak so well
+without it. Then the sparrow opened her beak and showed him that a new
+tongue had grown in place of the old one, and begged him not to think
+any more about the past, for she was quite well now. Then the old man
+knew that his sparrow was a fairy, and no common bird. It would be
+difficult to exaggerate the old man’s rejoicing now. He forgot all his
+troubles, he forgot even how tired he was, for he had found his lost
+sparrow, and instead of being ill and without a tongue as he had feared
+and expected to find her, she was well and happy and with a new tongue,
+and without a sign of the ill-treatment she had received from his wife.
+And above all she was a fairy.
+
+The sparrow asked him to follow her, and flying before him she led him
+to a beautiful house in the heart of the bamboo grove. The old man was
+utterly astonished when he entered the house to find what a beautiful
+place it was. It was built of the whitest wood, the soft cream-colored
+mats which took the place of carpets were the finest he had ever seen,
+and the cushions that the sparrow brought out for him to sit on were
+made of the finest silk and crape. Beautiful vases and lacquer boxes
+adorned the tokonoma[1] of every room.
+
+[1] An alcove where precious objects are displayed.
+
+
+The sparrow led the old man to the place of honor, and then, taking her
+place at a humble distance, she thanked him with many polite bows for
+all the kindness he had shown her for many long years.
+
+Then the Lady Sparrow, as we will now call her, introduced all her
+family to the old man. This done, her daughters, robed in dainty crape
+gowns, brought in on beautiful old-fashioned trays a feast of all kinds
+of delicious foods, till the old man began to think he must be
+dreaming. In the middle of the dinner some of the sparrow’s daughters
+performed a wonderful dance, called the “suzume-odori” or the
+“Sparrow’s dance,” to amuse the guest.
+
+Never had the old man enjoyed himself so much. The hours flew by too
+quickly in this lovely spot, with all these fairy sparrows to wait upon
+him and to feast him and to dance before him.
+
+But the night came on and the darkness reminded him that he had a long
+way to go and must think about taking his leave and return home. He
+thanked his kind hostess for her splendid entertainment, and begged her
+for his sake to forget all she had suffered at the hands of his cross
+old wife. He told the Lady Sparrow that it was a great comfort and
+happiness to him to find her in such a beautiful home and to know that
+she wanted for nothing. It was his anxiety to know how she fared and
+what had really happened to her that had led him to seek her. Now he
+knew that all was well he could return home with a light heart. If ever
+she wanted him for anything she had only to send for him and he would
+come at once.
+
+The Lady Sparrow begged him to stay and rest several days and enjoy the
+change, but the old man said he must return to his old wife—who would
+probably be cross at his not coming home at the usual time—and to his
+work, and there-fore, much as he wished to do so, he could not accept
+her kind invitation. But now that he knew where the Lady Sparrow lived
+he would come to see her whenever he had the time.
+
+When the Lady Sparrow saw that she could not persuade the old man to
+stay longer, she gave an order to some of her servants, and they at
+once brought in two boxes, one large and the other small. These were
+placed before the old man, and the Lady Sparrow asked him to choose
+whichever he liked for a present, which she wished to give him.
+
+The old man could not refuse this kind proposal, and he chose the
+smaller box, saying:
+
+“I am now too old and feeble to carry the big and heavy box. As you are
+so kind as to say that I may take whichever I like, I will choose the
+small one, which will be easier for me to carry.”
+
+Then the sparrows all helped him put it on his back and went to the
+gate to see him off, bidding him good-by with many bows and entreating
+him to come again whenever he had the time. Thus the old man and his
+pet sparrow separated quite happily, the sparrow showing not the least
+ill-will for all the unkindness she had suffered at the hands of the
+old wife. Indeed, she only felt sorrow for the old man who had to put
+up with it all his life.
+
+When the old man reached home he found his wife even crosser than
+usual, for it was late on in the night and she had been waiting up for
+him for a long time.
+
+“Where have you been all this time?” she asked in a big voice. “Why do
+you come back so late?”
+
+The old man tried to pacify her by showing her the box of presents he
+had brought back with him, and then he told her of all that had
+happened to him, and how wonderfully he had been entertained at the
+sparrow’s house.
+
+“Now let us see what is in the box,” said the old man, not giving her
+time to grumble again. “You must help me open it.” And they both sat
+down before the box and opened it.
+
+To their utter astonishment they found the box filled to the brim with
+gold and silver coins and many other precious things. The mats of their
+little cottage fairly glittered as they took out the things one by one
+and put them down and handled them over and over again. The old man was
+overjoyed at the sight of the riches that were now his. Beyond his
+brightest expectations was the sparrow’s gift, which would enable him
+to give up work and live in ease and comfort the rest of his days.
+
+He said: “Thanks to my good little sparrow! Thanks to my good little
+sparrow!” many times.
+
+But the old woman, after the first moments of surprise and satisfaction
+at the sight of the gold and silver were over, could not suppress the
+greed of her wicked nature. She now began to reproach the old man for
+not having brought home the big box of presents, for in the innocence
+of his heart he had told her how he had refused the large box of
+presents which the sparrows had offered him, preferring the smaller one
+because it was light and easy to carry home.
+
+“You silly old man,” said she, “Why did you not bring the large box?
+Just think what we have lost. We might have had twice as much silver
+and gold as this. You are certainly an old fool!” she screamed, and
+then went to bed as angry as she could be.
+
+The old man now wished that he had said nothing about the big box, but
+it was too late; the greedy old woman, not contented with the good luck
+which had so unexpectedly befallen them and which she so little
+deserved, made up her mind, if possible, to get more.
+
+Early the next morning she got up and made the old man describe the way
+to the sparrow’s house. When he saw what was in her mind he tried to
+keep her from going, but it was useless. She would not listen to one
+word he said. It is strange that the old woman did not feel ashamed of
+going to see the sparrow after the cruel way she had treated her in
+cutting off her tongue in a fit of rage. But her greed to get the big
+box made her forget everything else. It did not even enter her thoughts
+that the sparrows might be angry with her—as, indeed, they were—and
+might punish her for what she had done.
+
+Ever since the Lady Sparrow had returned home in the sad plight in
+which they had first found her, weeping and bleeding from the mouth,
+her whole family and relations had done little else but speak of the
+cruelty of the old woman. “How could she,” they asked each other,
+“inflict such a heavy punishment for such a trifling offense as that of
+eating some rice-paste by mistake?” They all loved the old man who was
+so kind and good and patient under all his troubles, but the old woman
+they hated, and they determined, if ever they had the chance, to punish
+her as she deserved. They had not long to wait.
+
+After walking for some hours the old woman had at last found the bamboo
+grove which she had made her husband carefully describe, and now she
+stood before it crying out:
+
+“Where is the tongue-cut sparrow’s house? Where is the tongue-cut
+sparrow’s house?”
+
+At last she saw the eaves of the house peeping out from amongst the
+bamboo foliage. She hastened to the door and knocked loudly.
+
+When the servants told the Lady Sparrow that her old mistress was at
+the door asking to see her, she was somewhat surprised at the
+unexpected visit, after all that had taken place, and she wondered not
+a little at the boldness of the old woman in venturing to come to the
+house. The Lady Sparrow, however, was a polite bird, and so she went
+out to greet the old woman, remembering that she had once been her
+mistress.
+
+The old woman intended, however, to waste no time in words, she went
+right to the point, without the least shame, and said:
+
+“You need not trouble to entertain me as you did my old man. I have
+come myself to get the box which he so stupidly left behind. I shall
+soon take my leave if you will give me the big box—that is all I want!”
+
+The Lady Sparrow at once consented, and told her servants to bring out
+the big box. The old woman eagerly seized it and hoisted it on her
+back, and without even stopping to thank the Lady Sparrow began to
+hurry homewards.
+
+The box was so heavy that she could not walk fast, much less run, as
+she would have liked to do, so anxious was she to get home and see what
+was inside the box, but she had often to sit down and rest herself by
+the way.
+
+While she was staggering along under the heavy load, her desire to open
+the box became too great to be resisted. She could wait no longer, for
+she supposed this big box to be full of gold and silver and precious
+jewels like the small one her husband had received.
+
+At last this greedy and selfish old woman put down the box by the
+wayside and opened it carefully, expecting to gloat her eyes on a mine
+of wealth. What she saw, however, so terrified her that she nearly lost
+her senses. As soon as she lifted the lid, a number of horrible and
+frightful looking demons bounced out of the box and surrounded her as
+if they intended to kill her. Not even in nightmares had she ever seen
+such horrible creatures as her much-coveted box contained. A demon with
+one huge eye right in the middle of its forehead came and glared at
+her, monsters with gaping mouths looked as if they would devour her, a
+huge snake coiled and hissed about her, and a big frog hopped and
+croaked towards her.
+
+The old woman had never been so frightened in her life, and ran from
+the spot as fast as her quaking legs would carry her, glad to escape
+alive. When she reached home she fell to the floor and told her husband
+with tears all that had happened to her, and how she had been nearly
+killed by the demons in the box.
+
+Then she began to blame the sparrow, but the old man stopped her at
+once, saying:
+
+“Don’t blame the sparrow, it is your wickedness which has at last met
+with its reward. I only hope this may be a lesson to you in the
+future!”
+
+The old woman said nothing more, and from that day she repented of her
+cross, unkind ways, and by degrees became a good old woman, so that her
+husband hardly knew her to be the same person, and they spent their
+last days together happily, free from want or care, spending carefully
+the treasure the old man had received from his pet, the tongue-cut
+sparrow.
+
+
+
+
+THE STORY OF URASHIMA TARO, THE FISHER LAD
+
+
+Long, long ago in the province of Tango there lived on the shore of
+Japan in the little fishing village of Mizu-no-ye a young fisherman
+named Urashima Taro. His father had been a fisherman before him, and
+his skill had more than doubly descended to his son, for Urashima was
+the most skillful fisher in all that country side, and could catch more
+Bonito and Tai in a day than his comrades could in a week.
+
+But in the little fishing village, more than for being a clever fisher
+of the sea was he known for his kind heart. In his whole life he had
+never hurt anything, either great or small, and when a boy, his
+companions had always laughed at him, for he would never join with them
+in teasing animals, but always tried to keep them from this cruel
+sport.
+
+One soft summer twilight he was going home at the end of a day’s
+fishing when he came upon a group of children. They were all screaming
+and talking at the tops of their voices, and seemed to be in a state of
+great excitement about something, and on his going up to them to see
+what was the matter he saw that they were tormenting a tortoise. First
+one boy pulled it this way, then another boy pulled it that way, while
+a third child beat it with a stick, and the fourth hammered its shell
+with a stone.
+
+Now Urashima felt very sorry for the poor tortoise and made up his mind
+to rescue it. He spoke to the boys:
+
+“Look here, boys, you are treating that poor tortoise so badly that it
+will soon die!”
+
+The boys, who were all of an age when children seem to delight in being
+cruel to animals, took no notice of Urashima’s gentle reproof, but went
+on teasing it as before. One of the older boys answered:
+
+“Who cares whether it lives or dies? We do not. Here, boys, go on, go
+on!”
+
+And they began to treat the poor tortoise more cruelly than ever.
+Urashima waited a moment, turning over in his mind what would be the
+best way to deal with the boys. He would try to persuade them to give
+the tortoise up to him, so he smiled at them and said:
+
+“I am sure you are all good, kind boys! Now won’t you give me the
+tortoise? I should like to have it so much!”
+
+“No, we won’t give you the tortoise,” said one of the boys. “Why should
+we? We caught it ourselves.”
+
+“What you say is true,” said Urashima, “but I do not ask you to give it
+to me for nothing. I will give you some money for it—in other words,
+the Ojisan (Uncle) will buy it of you. Won’t that do for you, my boys?”
+He held up the money to them, strung on a piece of string through a
+hole in the center of each coin. “Look, boys, you can buy anything you
+like with this money. You can do much more with this money than you can
+with that poor tortoise. See what good boys you are to listen to me.”
+
+The boys were not bad boys at all, they were only mischievous, and as
+Urashima spoke they were won by his kind smile and gentle words and
+began “to be of his spirit,” as they say in Japan. Gradually they all
+came up to him, the ringleader of the little band holding out the
+tortoise to him.
+
+“Very well, Ojisan, we will give you the tortoise if you will give us
+the money!” And Urashima took the tortoise and gave the money to the
+boys, who, calling to each other, scampered away and were soon out of
+sight.
+
+Then Urashima stroked the tortoise’s back, saying as he did so:
+
+“Oh, you poor thing! Poor thing!—there, there! you are safe now! They
+say that a stork lives for a thousand years, but the tortoise for ten
+thousand years. You have the longest life of any creature in this
+world, and you were in great danger of having that precious life cut
+short by those cruel boys. Luckily I was passing by and saved you, and
+so life is still yours. Now I am going to take you back to your home,
+the sea, at once. Do not let yourself be caught again, for there might
+be no one to save you next time!”
+
+All the time that the kind fisherman was speaking he was walking
+quickly to the shore and out upon the rocks; then putting the tortoise
+into the water he watched the animal disappear, and turned homewards
+himself, for he was tired and the sun had set.
+
+The next morning Urashima went out as usual in his boat. The weather
+was fine and the sea and sky were both blue and soft in the tender haze
+of the summer morning. Urashima got into his boat and dreamily pushed
+out to sea, throwing his line as he did so. He soon passed the other
+fishing boats and left them behind him till they were lost to sight in
+the distance, and his boat drifted further and further out upon the
+blue waters. Somehow, he knew not why, he felt unusually happy that
+morning; and he could not help wishing that, like the tortoise he set
+free the day before, he had thousands of years to live instead of his
+own short span of human life.
+
+He was suddenly startled from his reverie by hearing his own name
+called:
+
+“Urashima, Urashima!”
+
+Clear as a bell and soft as the summer wind the name floated over the
+sea.
+
+He stood up and looked in every direction, thinking that one of the
+other boats had overtaken him, but gaze as he might over the wide
+expanse of water, near or far there was no sign of a boat, so the voice
+could not have come from any human being.
+
+Startled, and wondering who or what it was that had called him so
+clearly, he looked in all directions round about him and saw that
+without his knowing it a tortoise had come to the side of the boat.
+Urashima saw with surprise that it was the very tortoise he had rescued
+the day before.
+
+“Well, Mr. Tortoise,” said Urashima, “was it you who called my name
+just now?”
+
+The tortoise nodded its head several times and said:
+
+“Yes, it was I. Yesterday in your honorable shadow (o kage sama de) my
+life was saved, and I have come to offer you my thanks and to tell you
+how grateful I am for your kindness to me.”
+
+“Indeed,” said Urashima, “that is very polite of you. Come up into the
+boat. I would offer you a smoke, but as you are a tortoise doubtless
+you do not smoke,” and the fisherman laughed at the joke.
+
+“He-he-he-he!” laughed the tortoise; “sake (rice wine) is my favorite
+refreshment, but I do not care for tobacco.”
+
+“Indeed,” said Urashima, “I regret very much that I have no “sake” in
+my boat to offer you, but come up and dry your back in the
+sun—tortoises always love to do that.”
+
+So the tortoise climbed into the boat, the fisherman helping him, and
+after an exchange of complimentary speeches the tortoise said:
+
+“Have you ever seen Rin Gin, the Palace of the Dragon King of the Sea,
+Urashima?”
+
+The fisherman shook his head and replied; “No; year after year the sea
+has been my home, but though I have often heard of the Dragon King’s
+realm under the sea I have never yet set eyes on that wonderful place.
+It must be very far away, if it exists at all!”
+
+“Is that really so? You have never seen the Sea King’s Palace? Then you
+have missed seeing one of the most wonderful sights in the whole
+universe. It is far away at the bottom of the sea, but if I take you
+there we shall soon reach the place. If you would like to see the Sea
+King’s land I will be your guide.”
+
+“I should like to go there, certainly, and you are very kind to think
+of taking me, but you must remember that I am only a poor mortal and
+have not the power of swimming like a sea creature such as you are—”
+
+Before the fisherman could say more the tortoise stopped him, saying:
+
+“What? You need not swim yourself. If you will ride on my back I will
+take you without any trouble on your part.”
+
+“But,” said Urashima, “how is it possible for me to ride on your small
+back?”
+
+“It may seem absurd to you, but I assure you that you can do so. Try at
+once! Just come and get on my back, and see if it is as impossible as
+you think!”
+
+As the tortoise finished speaking, Urashima looked at its shell, and
+strange to say he saw that the creature had suddenly grown so big that
+a man could easily sit on its back.
+
+“This is strange indeed!” said Urashima; “then. Mr. Tortoise, with your
+kind permission I will get on your back. Dokoisho!”[2] he exclaimed as
+he jumped on.
+
+[2] “All right” (only used by lower classes).
+
+
+The tortoise, with an unmoved face, as if this strange proceeding were
+quite an ordinary event, said:
+
+“Now we will set out at our leisure,” and with these words he leapt
+into the sea with Urashima on his back. Down through the water the
+tortoise dived. For a long time these two strange companions rode
+through the sea. Urashima never grew tired, nor his clothes moist with
+the water. At last, far away in the distance a magnificent gate
+appeared, and behind the gate, the long, sloping roofs of a palace on
+the horizon.
+
+“Ya,” exclaimed Urashima. “That looks like the gate of some large
+palace just appearing! Mr. Tortoise, can you tell what that place is we
+can now see?”
+
+“That is the great gate of the Rin Gin Palace, the large roof that you
+see behind the gate is the Sea King’s Palace itself.”
+
+“Then we have at last come to the realm of the Sea King and to his
+Palace,” said Urashima.
+
+“Yes, indeed,” answered the tortoise, “and don’t you think we have come
+very quickly?” And while he was speaking the tortoise reached the side
+of the gate. “And here we are, and you must please walk from here.”
+
+The tortoise now went in front, and speaking to the gatekeeper, said:
+
+“This is Urashima Taro, from the country of Japan. I have had the honor
+of bringing him as a visitor to this kingdom. Please show him the way.”
+
+Then the gatekeeper, who was a fish, at once led the way through the
+gate before them.
+
+The red bream, the flounder, the sole, the cuttlefish, and all the
+chief vassals of the Dragon King of the Sea now came out with courtly
+bows to welcome the stranger.
+
+“Urashima Sama, Urashima Sama! welcome to the Sea Palace, the home of
+the Dragon King of the Sea. Thrice welcome are you, having come from
+such a distant country. And you, Mr. Tortoise, we are greatly indebted
+to you for all your trouble in bringing Urashima here.” Then, turning
+again to Urashima, they said, “Please follow us this way,” and from
+here the whole band of fishes became his guides.
+
+Urashima, being only a poor fisher lad, did not know how to behave in a
+palace; but, strange though it was all to him, he did not feel ashamed
+or embarrassed, but followed his kind guides quite calmly where they
+led to the inner palace. When he reached the portals a beautiful
+Princess with her attendant maidens came out to welcome him. She was
+more beautiful than any human being, and was robed in flowing garments
+of red and soft green like the under side of a wave, and golden threads
+glimmered through the folds of her gown. Her lovely black hair streamed
+over her shoulders in the fashion of a king’s daughter many hundreds of
+years ago, and when she spoke her voice sounded like music over the
+water. Urashima was lost in wonder while he looked upon her, and he
+could not speak. Then he remembered that he ought to bow, but before he
+could make a low obeisance the Princess took him by the hand and led
+him to a beautiful hall, and to the seat of honor at the upper end, and
+bade him be seated.
+
+“Urashima Taro, it gives me the highest pleasure to welcome you to my
+father’s kingdom,” said the Princess. “Yesterday you set free a
+tortoise, and I have sent for you to thank you for saving my life, for
+I was that tortoise. Now if you like you shall live here forever in the
+land of eternal youth, where summer never dies and where sorrow never
+comes, and I will be your bride if you will, and we will live together
+happily forever afterwards!”
+
+And as Urashima listened to her sweet words and gazed upon her lovely
+face his heart was filled with a great wonder and joy, and he answered
+her, wondering if it was not all a dream:
+
+“Thank you a thousand times for your kind speech. There is nothing I
+could wish for more than to be permitted to stay here with you in this
+beautiful land, of which I have often heard, but have never seen to
+this day. Beyond all words, this is the most wonderful place I have
+ever seen.”
+
+While he was speaking a train of fishes appeared, all dressed in
+ceremonial, trailing garments. One by one, silently and with stately
+steps, they entered the hall, bearing on coral trays delicacies of fish
+and seaweed, such as no one can dream of, and this wondrous feast was
+set before the bride and bridegroom. The bridal was celebrated with
+dazzling splendor, and in the Sea King’s realm there was great
+rejoicing. As soon as the young pair had pledged themselves in the
+wedding cup of wine, three times three, music was played, and songs
+were sung, and fishes with silver scales and golden tails stepped in
+from the waves and danced. Urashima enjoyed himself with all his heart.
+Never in his whole life had he sat down to such a marvelous feast.
+
+When the feast was over the Princes asked the bridegroom if he would
+like to walk through the palace and see all there was to be seen. Then
+the happy fisherman, following his bride, the Sea King’s daughter, was
+shown all the wonders of that enchanted land where youth and joy go
+hand in hand and neither time nor age can touch them. The palace was
+built of coral and adorned with pearls, and the beauties and wonders of
+the place were so great that the tongue fails to describe them.
+
+But, to Urashima, more wonderful than the palace was the garden that
+surrounded it. Here was to be seen at one time the scenery of the four
+different seasons; the beauties of summer and winter, spring and
+autumn, were displayed to the wondering visitor at once.
+
+First, when he looked to the east, the plum and cherry trees were seen
+in full bloom, the nightingales sang in the pink avenues, and
+butterflies flitted from flower to flower.
+
+Looking to the south all the trees were green in the fullness of
+summer, and the day cicala and the night cricket chirruped loudly.
+
+Looking to the west the autumn maples were ablaze like a sunset sky,
+and the chrysanthemums were in perfection.
+
+Looking to the north the change made Urashima start, for the ground was
+silver white with snow, and trees and bamboos were also covered with
+snow and the pond was thick with ice.
+
+And each day there were new joys and new wonders for Urashima, and so
+great was his happiness that he forgot everything, even the home he had
+left behind and his parents and his own country, and three days passed
+without his even thinking of all he had left behind. Then his mind came
+back to him and he remembered who he was, and that he did not belong to
+this wonderful land or the Sea King’s palace, and he said to himself:
+
+“O dear! I must not stay on here, for I have an old father and mother
+at home. What can have happened to them all this time? How anxious they
+must have been these days when I did not return as usual. I must go
+back at once without letting one more day pass.” And he began to
+prepare for the journey in great haste.
+
+Then he went to his beautiful wife, the Princess, and bowing low before
+her he said:
+
+“Indeed, I have been very happy with you for a long time, Otohime Sama”
+(for that was her name), “and you have been kinder to me than any words
+can tell. But now I must say good-by. I must go back to my old
+parents.”
+
+Then Otohime Sama began to weep, and said softly and sadly:
+
+“Is it not well with you here, Urashima, that you wish to leave me so
+soon? Where is the haste? Stay with me yet another day only!”
+
+But Urashima had remembered his old parents, and in Japan the duty to
+parents is stronger than everything else, stronger even than pleasure
+or love, and he would not be persuaded, but answered:
+
+“Indeed, I must go. Do not think that I wish to leave you. It is not
+that. I must go and see my old parents. Let me go for one day and I
+will come back to you.”
+
+“Then,” said the Princess sorrowfully, “there is nothing to be done. I
+will send you back to-day to your father and mother, and instead of
+trying to keep you with me one more day, I shall give you this as a
+token of our love—please take it back with you;” and she brought him a
+beautiful lacquer box tied about with a silken cord and tassels of red
+silk.
+
+Urashima had received so much from the Princess already that he felt
+some compunction in taking the gift, and said:
+
+“It does not seem right for me to take yet another gift from you after
+all the many favors I have received at your hands, but because it is
+your wish I will do so,” and then he added:
+
+“Tell me what is this box?”
+
+“That,” answered the Princess “is the tamate-bako (Box of the Jewel
+Hand), and it contains something very precious. You must not open this
+box, whatever happens! If you open it something dreadful will happen to
+you! Now promise me that you will never open this box!”
+
+And Urashima promised that he would never, never open the box whatever
+happened.
+
+Then bidding good-by to Otohime Sama he went down to the seashore, the
+Princess and her attendants following him, and there he found a large
+tortoise waiting for him.
+
+He quickly mounted the creature’s back and was carried away over the
+shining sea into the East. He looked back to wave his hand to Otohime
+Sama till at last he could see her no more, and the land of the Sea
+King and the roofs of the wonderful palace were lost in the far, far
+distance. Then, with his face turned eagerly towards his own land, he
+looked for the rising of the blue hills on the horizon before him.
+
+At last the tortoise carried him into the bay he knew so well, and to
+the shore from whence he had set out. He stepped on to the shore and
+looked about him while the tortoise rode away back to the Sea King’s
+realm.
+
+But what is the strange fear that seizes Urashima as he stands and
+looks about him? Why does he gaze so fixedly at the people that pass
+him by, and why do they in turn stand and look at him? The shore is the
+same and the hills are the same, but the people that he sees walking
+past him have very different faces to those he had known so well
+before.
+
+Wondering what it can mean he walks quickly towards his old home. Even
+that looks different, but a house stands on the spot, and he calls out:
+
+“Father, I have just returned!” and he was about to enter, when he saw
+a strange man coming out.
+
+“Perhaps my parents have moved while I have been away, and have gone
+somewhere else,” was the fisherman’s thought. Somehow he began to feel
+strangely anxious, he could not tell why.
+
+“Excuse me,” said he to the man who was staring at him, “but till
+within the last few days I have lived in this house. My name is
+Urashima Taro. Where have my parents gone whom I left here?”
+
+A very bewildered expression came over the face of the man, and, still
+gazing intently on Urashima’s face, he said:
+
+“What? Are you Urashima Taro?”
+
+“Yes,” said the fisherman, “I am Urashima Taro!”
+
+“Ha, ha!” laughed the man, “you must not make such jokes. It is true
+that once upon a time a man called Urashima Taro did live in this
+village, but that is a story three hundred years old. He could not
+possibly be alive now!”
+
+When Urashima heard these strange words he was frightened, and said:
+
+“Please, please, you must not joke with me, I am greatly perplexed. I
+am really Urashima Taro, and I certainly have not lived three hundred
+years. Till four or five days ago I lived on this spot. Tell me what I
+want to know without more joking, please.”
+
+But the man’s face grew more and more grave, and he answered:
+
+“You may or may not be Urashima Taro, I don’t know. But the Urashima
+Taro of whom I have heard is a man who lived three hundred years ago.
+Perhaps you are his spirit come to revisit your old home?”
+
+“Why do you mock me?” said Urashima. “I am no spirit! I am a living
+man—do you not see my feet;” and “don-don,” he stamped on the ground,
+first with one foot and then with the other to show the man. (Japanese
+ghosts have no feet.)
+
+“But Urashima Taro lived three hundred years ago, that is all I know;
+it is written in the village chronicles,” persisted the man, who could
+not believe what the fisherman said.
+
+Urashima was lost in bewilderment and trouble. He stood looking all
+around him, terribly puzzled, and, indeed, something in the appearance
+of everything was different to what he remembered before he went away,
+and the awful feeling came over him that what the man said was perhaps
+true. He seemed to be in a strange dream. The few days he had spent in
+the Sea King’s palace beyond the sea had not been days at all: they had
+been hundreds of years, and in that time his parents had died and all
+the people he had ever known, and the village had written down his
+story. There was no use in staying here any longer. He must get back to
+his beautiful wife beyond the sea.
+
+He made his way back to the beach, carrying in his hand the box which
+the Princess had given him. But which was the way? He could not find it
+alone! Suddenly he remembered the box, the tamate-bako.
+
+“The Princess told me when she gave me the box never to open it—that it
+contained a very precious thing. But now that I have no home, now that
+I have lost everything that was dear to me here, and my heart grows
+thin with sadness, at such a time, if I open the box, surely I shall
+find something that will help me, something that will show me the way
+back to my beautiful Princess over the sea. There is nothing else for
+me to do now. Yes, yes, I will open the box and look in!”
+
+And so his heart consented to this act of disobedience, and he tried to
+persuade himself that he was doing the right thing in breaking his
+promise.
+
+Slowly, very slowly, he untied the red silk cord, slowly and
+wonderingly he lifted the lid of the precious box. And what did he
+find? Strange to say only a beautiful little purple cloud rose out of
+the box in three soft wisps. For an instant it covered his face and
+wavered over him as if loath to go, and then it floated away like vapor
+over the sea.
+
+Urashima, who had been till that moment like a strong and handsome
+youth of twenty-four, suddenly became very, very old. His back doubled
+up with age, his hair turned snowy white, his face wrinkled and he fell
+down dead on the beach.
+
+Poor Urashima! because of his disobedience he could never return to the
+Sea King’s realm or the lovely Princess beyond the sea.
+
+Little children, never be disobedient to those who are wiser than you
+for disobedience was the beginning of all the miseries and sorrows of
+life.
+
+
+
+
+THE FARMER AND THE BADGER
+
+
+Long, long ago, there lived an old farmer and his wife who had made
+their home in the mountains, far from any town. Their only neighbor was
+a bad and malicious badger. This badger used to come out every night
+and run across to the farmer’s field and spoil the vegetables and the
+rice which the farmer spent his time in carefully cultivating. The
+badger at last grew so ruthless in his mischievous work, and did so
+much harm everywhere on the farm, that the good-natured farmer could
+not stand it any longer, and determined to put a stop to it. So he lay
+in wait day after day and night after night, with a big club, hoping to
+catch the badger, but all in vain. Then he laid traps for the wicked
+animal.
+
+The farmer’s trouble and patience was rewarded, for one fine day on
+going his rounds he found the badger caught in a hole he had dug for
+that purpose. The farmer was delighted at having caught his enemy, and
+carried him home securely bound with rope. When he reached the house
+the farmer said to his wife:
+
+“I have at last caught the bad badger. You must keep an eye on him
+while I am out at work and not let him escape, because I want to make
+him into soup to-night.”
+
+Saying this, he hung the badger up to the rafters of his storehouse and
+went out to his work in the fields. The badger was in great distress,
+for he did not at all like the idea of being made into soup that night,
+and he thought and thought for a long time, trying to hit upon some
+plan by which he might escape. It was hard to think clearly in his
+uncomfortable position, for he had been hung upside down. Very near
+him, at the entrance to the storehouse, looking out towards the green
+fields and the trees and the pleasant sunshine, stood the farmer’s old
+wife pounding barley. She looked tired and old. Her face was seamed
+with many wrinkles, and was as brown as leather, and every now and then
+she stopped to wipe the perspiration which rolled down her face.
+
+“Dear lady,” said the wily badger, “you must be very weary doing such
+heavy work in your old age. Won’t you let me do that for you? My arms
+are very strong, and I could relieve you for a little while!”
+
+“Thank you for your kindness,” said the old woman, “but I cannot let
+you do this work for me because I must not untie you, for you might
+escape if I did, and my husband would be very angry if he came home and
+found you gone.”
+
+Now, the badger is one of the most cunning of animals, and he said
+again in a very sad, gentle, voice:
+
+“You are very unkind. You might untie me, for I promise not to try to
+escape. If you are afraid of your husband, I will let you bind me again
+before his return when I have finished pounding the barley. I am so
+tired and sore tied up like this. If you would only let me down for a
+few minutes I would indeed be thankful!”
+
+The old woman had a good and simple nature, and could not think badly
+of any one. Much less did she think that the badger was only deceiving
+her in order to get away. She felt sorry, too, for the animal as she
+turned to look at him. He looked in such a sad plight hanging downwards
+from the ceiling by his legs, which were all tied together so tightly
+that the rope and the knots were cutting into the skin. So in the
+kindness of her heart, and believing the creature’s promise that he
+would not run away, she untied the cord and let him down.
+
+The old woman then gave him the wooden pestle and told him to do the
+work for a short time while she rested. He took the pestle, but instead
+of doing the work as he was told, the badger at once sprang upon the
+old woman and knocked her down with the heavy piece of wood. He then
+killed her and cut her up and made soup of her, and waited for the
+return of the old farmer. The old man worked hard in his fields all
+day, and as he worked he thought with pleasure that no more now would
+his labor be spoiled by the destructive badger.
+
+Towards sunset he left his work and turned to go home. He was very
+tired, but the thought of the nice supper of hot badger soup awaiting
+his return cheered him. The thought that the badger might get free and
+take revenge on the poor old woman never once came into his mind.
+
+The badger meanwhile assumed the old woman’s form, and as soon as he
+saw the old farmer approaching came out to greet him on the veranda of
+the little house, saying:
+
+“So you have come back at last. I have made the badger soup and have
+been waiting for you for a long time.”
+
+The old farmer quickly took off his straw sandals and sat down before
+his tiny dinner-tray. The innocent man never even dreamed that it was
+not his wife but the badger who was waiting upon him, and asked at once
+for the soup. Then the badger suddenly transformed himself back to his
+natural form and cried out:
+
+“You wife-eating old man! Look out for the bones in the kitchen!”
+
+Laughing loudly and derisively he escaped out of the house and ran away
+to his den in the hills. The old man was left behind alone. He could
+hardly believe what he had seen and heard. Then when he understood the
+whole truth he was so scared and horrified that he fainted right away.
+After a while he came round and burst into tears. He cried loudly and
+bitterly. He rocked himself to and fro in his hopeless grief. It seemed
+too terrible to be real that his faithful old wife had been killed and
+cooked by the badger while he was working quietly in the fields,
+knowing nothing of what was going on at home, and congratulating
+himself on having once for all got rid of the wicked animal who had so
+often spoiled his fields. And oh! the horrible thought; he had very
+nearly drunk the soup which the creature had made of his poor old
+woman. “Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!” he wailed aloud. Now, not far away
+there lived in the same mountain a kind, good-natured old rabbit. He
+heard the old man crying and sobbing and at once set out to see what
+was the matter, and if there was anything he could do to help his
+neighbor. The old man told him all that had happened. When the rabbit
+heard the story he was very angry at the wicked and deceitful badger,
+and told the old man to leave everything to him and he would avenge his
+wife’s death. The farmer was at last comforted, and, wiping away his
+tears, thanked the rabbit for his goodness in coming to him in his
+distress.
+
+The rabbit, seeing that the farmer was growing calmer, went back to his
+home to lay his plans for the punishment of the badger.
+
+The next day the weather was fine, and the rabbit went out to find the
+badger. He was not to be seen in the woods or on the hillside or in the
+fields anywhere, so the rabbit went to his den and found the badger
+hiding there, for the animal had been afraid to show himself ever since
+he had escaped from the farmer’s house, for fear of the old man’s
+wrath.
+
+The rabbit called out:
+
+“Why are you not out on such a beautiful day? Come out with me, and we
+will go and cut grass on the hills together.”
+
+The badger, never doubting but that the rabbit was his friend,
+willingly consented to go out with him, only too glad to get away from
+the neighborhood of the farmer and the fear of meeting him. The rabbit
+led the way miles away from their homes, out on the hills where the
+grass grew tall and thick and sweet. They both set to work to cut down
+as much as they could carry home, to store it up for their winter’s
+food. When they had each cut down all they wanted they tied it in
+bundles and then started homewards, each carrying his bundle of grass
+on his back. This time the rabbit made the badger go first.
+
+When they had gone a little way the rabbit took out a flint and steel,
+and, striking it over the badger’s back as he stepped along in front,
+set his bundle of grass on fire. The badger heard the flint striking,
+and asked:
+
+“What is that noise. ‘Crack, crack’?”
+
+“Oh, that is nothing.” replied the rabbit; “I only said ‘Crack, crack’
+because this mountain is called Crackling Mountain.”
+
+The fire soon spread in the bundle of dry grass on the badger’s back.
+The badger, hearing the crackle of the burning grass, asked, “What is
+that?”
+
+“Now we have come to the ‘Burning Mountain,’” answered the rabbit.
+
+By this time the bundle was nearly burned out and all the hair had been
+burned off the badger’s back. He now knew what had happened by the
+smell of the smoke of the burning grass. Screaming with pain the badger
+ran as fast as he could to his hole. The rabbit followed and found him
+lying on his bed groaning with pain.
+
+“What an unlucky fellow you are!” said the rabbit. “I can’t imagine how
+this happened! I will bring you some medicine which will heal your back
+quickly!”
+
+The rabbit went away glad and smiling to think that the punishment upon
+the badger had already begun. He hoped that the badger would die of his
+burns, for he felt that nothing could be too bad for the animal, who
+was guilty of murdering a poor helpless old woman who had trusted him.
+He went home and made an ointment by mixing some sauce and red pepper
+together.
+
+He carried this to the badger, but before putting it on he told him
+that it would cause him great pain, but that he must bear it patiently,
+because it was a very wonderful medicine for burns and scalds and such
+wounds. The badger thanked him and begged him to apply it at once. But
+no language can describe the agony of the badger as soon as the red
+pepper had been pasted all over his sore back. He rolled over and over
+and howled loudly. The rabbit, looking on, felt that the farmer’s wife
+was beginning to be avenged.
+
+The badger was in bed for about a month; but at last, in spite of the
+red pepper application, his burns healed and he got well. When the
+rabbit saw that the badger was getting well, he thought of another plan
+by which he could compass the creature’s death. So he went one day to
+pay the badger a visit and to congratulate him on his recovery.
+
+During the conversation the rabbit mentioned that he was going fishing,
+and described how pleasant fishing was when the weather was fine and
+the sea smooth.
+
+The badger listened with pleasure to the rabbit’s account of the way he
+passed his time now, and forgot all his pains and his month’s illness,
+and thought what fun it would be if he could go fishing too; so he
+asked the rabbit if he would take him the next time he went out to
+fish. This was just what the rabbit wanted, so he agreed.
+
+Then he went home and built two boats, one of wood and the other of
+clay. At last they were both finished, and as the rabbit stood and
+looked at his work he felt that all his trouble would be well rewarded
+if his plan succeeded, and he could manage to kill the wicked badger
+now.
+
+The day came when the rabbit had arranged to take the badger fishing.
+He kept the wooden boat himself and gave the badger the clay boat. The
+badger, who knew nothing about boats, was delighted with his new boat
+and thought how kind it was of the rabbit to give it to him. They both
+got into their boats and set out. After going some distance from the
+shore the rabbit proposed that they should try their boats and see
+which one could go the quickest. The badger fell in with the proposal,
+and they both set to work to row as fast as they could for some time.
+In the middle of the race the badger found his boat going to pieces,
+for the water now began to soften the clay. He cried out in great fear
+to the rabbit to help him. But the rabbit answered that he was avenging
+the old woman’s murder, and that this had been his intention all along,
+and that he was happy to think that the badger had at last met his
+deserts for all his evil crimes, and was to drown with no one to help
+him. Then he raised his oar and struck at the badger with all his
+strength till he fell with the sinking clay boat and was seen no more.
+
+Thus at last he kept his promise to the old farmer. The rabbit now
+turned and rowed shorewards, and having landed and pulled his boat upon
+the beach, hurried back to tell the old farmer everything, and how the
+badger, his enemy, had been killed.
+
+The old farmer thanked him with tears in his eyes. He said that till
+now he could never sleep at night or be at peace in the daytime,
+thinking of how his wife’s death was unavenged, but from this time he
+would be able to sleep and eat as of old. He begged the rabbit to stay
+with him and share his home, so from this day the rabbit went to stay
+with the old farmer and they both lived together as good friends to the
+end of their days.
+
+
+
+
+THE “SHINANSHA,” OR THE SOUTH POINTING CARRIAGE
+
+
+The compass, with its needle always pointing to the North, is quite a
+common thing, and no one thinks that it is remarkable now, though when
+it was first invented it must have been a wonder.
+
+Now long ago in China, there was a still more wonderful invention
+called the shinansha. This was a kind of chariot with the figure of a
+man on it always pointing to the South. No matter how the chariot was
+placed the figure always wheeled about and pointed to the South.
+
+This curious instrument was invented by Kotei, one of the three Chinese
+Emperors of the Mythological age. Kotei was the son of the Emperor
+Yuhi. Before he was born his mother had a vision which foretold that
+her son would be a great man.
+
+One summer evening she went out to walk in the meadows to seek the cool
+breezes which blow at the end of the day and to gaze with pleasure at
+the star-lit heavens above her. As she looked at the North Star,
+strange to relate, it shot forth vivid flashes of lightning in every
+direction. Soon after this her son Kotei came into the world.
+
+Kotei in time grew to manhood and succeeded his father the Emperor
+Yuhi. His early reign was greatly troubled by the rebel Shiyu. This
+rebel wanted to make himself King, and many were the battles which he
+fought to this end. Shiyu was a wicked magician, his head was made of
+iron, and there was no man that could conquer him.
+
+At last Kotei declared war against the rebel and led his army to
+battle, and the two armies met on a plain called Takuroku. The Emperor
+boldly attacked the enemy, but the magician brought down a dense fog
+upon the battlefield, and while the royal army were wandering about in
+confusion, trying to find their way, Shiyu retreated with his troops,
+laughing at having fooled the royal army.
+
+No matter however strong and brave the Emperor’s soldiers were, the
+rebel with his magic could always escape in the end.
+
+Kotei returned to his Palace, and thought and pondered deeply as to how
+he should conquer the magician, for he was determined not to give up
+yet. After a long time he invented the shinansha with the figure of a
+man always pointing South, for there were no compasses in those days.
+With this instrument to show him the way he need not fear the dense
+fogs raised up by the magician to confound his men.
+
+Kotei again declared war against Shiyu. He placed the shinansha in
+front of his army and led the way to the battlefield.
+
+The battle began in earnest. The rebel was being driven backward by the
+royal troops when he again resorted to magic, and upon his saying some
+strange words in a loud voice, immediately a dense fog came down upon
+the battlefield.
+
+But this time no soldier minded the fog, not one was confused. Kotei by
+pointing to the shinansha could find his way and directed the army
+without a single mistake. He closely pursued the rebel army and drove
+them backward till they came to a big river. This river Kotei and his
+men found was swollen by the floods and impossible to cross.
+
+Shiyu by using his magic art quickly passed over with his army and shut
+himself up in a fortress on the opposite bank.
+
+When Kotei found his march checked he was wild with disappointment, for
+he had very nearly overtaken the rebel when the river stopped him.
+
+He could do nothing, for there were no boats in those days, so the
+Emperor ordered his tent to be pitched in the pleasantest spot that the
+place afforded.
+
+One day he stepped forth from his tent and after walking about for a
+short time he came to a pond. Here he sat down on the bank and was lost
+in thought.
+
+It was autumn. The trees growing along the edge of the water were
+shedding their leaves, which floated hither and thither on the surface
+of the pond. By and by, Kotei’s attention was attracted to a spider on
+the brink of the water. The little insect was trying to get on to one
+of the floating leaves near by. It did so at last, and was soon
+floating over the water to the other side of the pond.
+
+This little incident made the clever Emperor think that he might try to
+make something that could carry himself and his men over the river in
+the same way that the leaf had carried over the spider. He set to work
+and persevered till he invented the first boat. When he found that it
+was a success he set all his men to make more, and in time there were
+enough boats for the whole army.
+
+Kotei now took his army across the river, and attacked Shiyu’s
+headquarters. He gained a complete victory, and so put an end to the
+war which had troubled his country for so long.
+
+This wise and good Emperor did not rest till he had secured peace and
+prosperity throughout his whole land. He was beloved by his subjects,
+who now enjoyed their happiness of peace for many long years under him.
+He spent a great deal of time in making inventions which would benefit
+his people, and he succeeded in many besides the boat and the South
+Pointing shinansha.
+
+He had reigned about a hundred years when one day, as Kotei was looking
+upwards, the sky became suddenly red, and something came glittering
+like gold towards the earth. As it came nearer Kotei saw that it was a
+great Dragon. The Dragon approached and bowed down its head before the
+Emperor. The Empress and the courtiers were so frightened that they ran
+away screaming.
+
+But the Emperor only smiled and called to them to stop, and said:
+
+“Do not be afraid. This is a messenger from Heaven. My time here is
+finished!” He then mounted the Dragon, which began to ascend towards
+the sky.
+
+When the Empress and the courtiers saw this they all cried out
+together:
+
+“Wait a moment! We wish to come too.” And they all ran and caught hold
+of the Dragon’s beard and tried to mount him.
+
+But it was impossible for so many people to ride on the Dragon. Several
+of them hung on to the creature’s beard so that when it tried to mount
+the hair was pulled out and they fell to the ground.
+
+Meanwhile the Empress and a few of the courtiers were safely seated on
+the Dragon’s back. The Dragon flew up so high in the heavens that in a
+short time the inmates of the Palace, who had been left behind
+disappointed, could see them no more.
+
+After some time a bow and an arrow dropped to the earth in the
+courtyard of the Palace. They were recognized as having belonged to the
+Emperor Kotei. The courtiers took them up carefully and preserved them
+as sacred relics in the Palace.
+
+
+
+
+THE ADVENTURES OF KINTARO, THE GOLDEN BOY
+
+
+Long, long ago there lived in Kyoto a brave soldier named Kintoki. Now
+he fell in love with a beautiful lady and married her. Not long after
+this, through the malice of some of his friends, he fell into disgrace
+at Court and was dismissed. This misfortune so preyed upon his mind
+that he did not long survive his dismissal—he died, leaving behind him
+his beautiful young wife to face the world alone. Fearing her husband’s
+enemies, she fled to the Ashigara Mountains as soon as her husband was
+dead, and there in the lonely forests where no one ever came except
+woodcutters, a little boy was born to her. She called him Kintaro or
+the Golden Boy. Now the remarkable thing about this child was his great
+strength, and as he grew older he grew stronger and stronger, so that
+by the time he was eight years of age he was able to cut down trees as
+quickly as the woodcutters. Then his mother gave him a large ax, and he
+used to go out in the forest and help the woodcutters, who called him
+“Wonder-child,” and his mother the “Old Nurse of the Mountains,” for
+they did not know her high rank. Another favorite pastime of Kintaro’s
+was to smash up rocks and stones. You can imagine how strong he was!
+
+Quite unlike other boys, Kintaro, grew up all alone in the mountain
+wilds, and as he had no companions he made friends with all the animals
+and learned to understand them and to speak their strange talk. By
+degrees they all grew quite tame and looked upon Kintaro as their
+master, and he used them as his servants and messengers. But his
+special retainers were the bear, the deer, the monkey and the hare.
+
+The bear often brought her cubs for Kintaro to romp with, and when she
+came to take them home Kintaro would get on her back and have a ride to
+her cave. He was very fond of the deer too, and would often put his
+arms round the creature’s neck to show that its long horns did not
+frighten him. Great was the fun they all had together.
+
+One day, as usual, Kintaro went up into the mountains, followed by the
+bear, the deer, the monkey, and the hare. After walking for some time
+up hill and down dale and over rough roads, they suddenly came out upon
+a wide and grassy plain covered with pretty wild flowers.
+
+Here, indeed, was a nice place where they could all have a good romp
+together. The deer rubbed his horns against a tree for pleasure, the
+monkey scratched his back, the hare smoothed his long ears, and the
+bear gave a grunt of satisfaction.
+
+Kintaro said, “Here is a place for a good game. What do you all say to
+a wrestling match?”
+
+The bear being the biggest and the oldest, answered for the others:
+
+“That will be great fun,” said she. “I am the strongest animal, so I
+will make the platform for the wrestlers;” and she set to work with a
+will to dig up the earth and to pat it into shape.
+
+“All right,” said Kintaro, “I will look on while you all wrestle with
+each other. I shall give a prize to the one who wins in each round.”
+
+“What fun! we shall all try to get the prize,” said the bear.
+
+The deer, the monkey and the hare set to work to help the bear raise
+the platform on which they were all to wrestle. When this was finished,
+Kintaro cried out:
+
+“Now begin! the monkey and the hare shall open the sports and the deer
+shall be umpire. Now, Mr. Deer, you are to be umpire!”
+
+“He, he!” answered the deer. “I will be umpire. Now, Mr. Monkey and Mr.
+Hare, if you are both ready, please walk out and take your places on
+the platform.”
+
+Then the monkey and the hare both hopped out, quickly and nimbly, to
+the wrestling platform. The deer, as umpire, stood between the two and
+called out:
+
+“Red-back! Red-back!” (this to the monkey, who has a red back in
+Japan). “Are you ready?”
+
+Then he turned to the hare:
+
+“Long-ears! Long-ears! are you ready?”
+
+Both the little wrestlers faced each other while the deer raised a leaf
+on high as signal. When he dropped the leaf the monkey and the hare
+rushed upon each other, crying “Yoisho, yoisho!”
+
+While the monkey and the hare wrestled, the deer called out
+encouragingly or shouted warnings to each of them as the hare or the
+monkey pushed each other near the edge of the platform and were in
+danger of falling over.
+
+“Red-back! Red-back! stand your ground!” called out the deer.
+
+“Long-ears! Long-ears! be strong, be strong—don’t let the monkey beat
+you!” grunted the bear.
+
+So the monkey and the hare, encouraged by their friends, tried their
+very hardest to beat each other. The hare at last gained on the monkey.
+The monkey seemed to trip up, and the hare giving him a good push sent
+him flying off the platform with a bound.
+
+The poor monkey sat up rubbing his back, and his face was very long as
+he screamed angrily. “Oh, oh! how my back hurts—my back hurts me!”
+
+Seeing the monkey in this plight on the ground, the deer holding his
+leaf on high said:
+
+“This round is finished—the hare has won.”
+
+Kintaro then opened his luncheon box and taking out a rice-dumpling,
+gave it to the hare saying:
+
+“Here is your prize, and you have earned, it well!”
+
+Now the monkey got up looking very cross, and as they say in Japan “his
+stomach stood up,” for he felt that he had not been fairly beaten. So
+he said to Kintaro and the others who were standing by:
+
+“I have not been fairly beaten. My foot slipped and I tumbled. Please
+give me another chance and let the hare wrestle with me for another
+round.”
+
+Then Kintaro consenting, the hare and the monkey began to wrestle
+again. Now, as every one knows, the monkey is a cunning animal by
+nature, and he made up his mind to get the best of the hare this time
+if it were possible. To do this, he thought that the best and surest
+way would be to get hold of the hare’s long ear. This he soon managed
+to do. The hare was quite thrown off his guard by the pain of having
+his long ear pulled so hard, and the monkey seizing his opportunity at
+last, caught hold of one of the hare’s legs and sent him sprawling in
+the middle of the dais. The monkey was now the victor and received, a
+rice-dumpling from Kintaro, which pleased him so much that he quite
+forgot his sore back.
+
+The deer now came up and asked the hare if he felt ready for another
+round, and if so whether he would try a round with him, and the hare
+consenting, they both stood up to wrestle. The bear came forward as
+umpire.
+
+The deer with long horns and the hare with long ears, it must have been
+an amusing sight to those who watched this queer match. Suddenly the
+deer went down on one of his knees, and the bear with the leaf on high
+declared him beaten. In this way, sometimes the one, sometimes the
+other, conquering, the little party amused themselves till they were
+tired.
+
+At last Kintaro got up and said:
+
+“This is enough for to-day. What a nice place we have found for
+wrestling; let us come again to-morrow. Now, we will all go home. Come
+along!” So saying, Kintaro led the way while the animals followed.
+
+After walking some little distance they came out on the banks of a
+river flowing through a valley. Kintaro and his four furry friends
+stood and looked about for some means of crossing. Bridge there was
+none. The river rushed “don, don” on its way. All the animals looked
+serious, wondering how they could cross the stream and get home that
+evening.
+
+Kintaro, however, said:
+
+“Wait a moment. I will make a good bridge for you all in a few
+minutes.”
+
+The bear, the deer, the monkey and the hare looked at him to see what
+he would do now.
+
+Kintaro went from one tree to another that grew along the river bank.
+At last he stopped in front of a very large tree that was growing at
+the water’s edge. He took hold of the trunk and pulled it with all his
+might, once, twice, thrice! At the third pull, so great was Kintaro’s
+strength that the roots gave way, and “meri, meri” (crash, crash), over
+fell the tree, forming an excellent bridge across the stream.
+
+“There,” said Kintaro, “what do you think of my bridge? It is quite
+safe, so follow me,” and he stepped across first. The four animals
+followed. Never had they seen any one so strong before, and they all
+exclaimed:
+
+“How strong he is! how strong he is!”
+
+While all this was going on by the river a woodcutter, who happened to
+be standing on a rock overlooking the stream, had seen all that passed
+beneath him. He watched with great surprise Kintaro and his animal
+companions. He rubbed his eyes to be sure that he was not dreaming when
+he saw this boy pull over a tree by the roots and throw it across the
+stream to form a bridge.
+
+The woodcutter, for such he seemed to be by his dress, marveled at all
+he saw, and said to himself:
+
+“This is no ordinary child. Whose son can he be? I will find out before
+this day is done.”
+
+He hastened after the strange party and crossed the bridge behind them.
+Kintaro knew nothing of all this, and little guessed that he was being
+followed. On reaching the other side of the river he and the animals
+separated, they to their lairs in the woods and he to his mother, who
+was waiting for him.
+
+As soon as he entered the cottage, which stood like a matchbox in the
+heart of the pine-woods, he went to greet his mother, saying:
+
+“Okkasan (mother), here I am!”
+
+“O, Kimbo!” said his mother with a bright smile, glad to see her boy
+home safe after the long day. “How late you are to-day. I feared that
+something had happened to you. Where have you been all the time?”
+
+“I took my four friends, the bear, the deer, the monkey, and the hare,
+up into the hills, and there I made them try a wrestling match, to see
+which was the strongest. We all enjoyed the sport, and are going to the
+same place to-morrow to have another match.”
+
+“Now tell me who is the strongest of all?” asked his mother, pretending
+not to know.
+
+“Oh, mother,” said Kintaro, “don’t you know that I am the strongest?
+There was no need for me to wrestle with any of them.”
+
+“But next to you then, who is the strongest?”
+
+“The bear comes next to me in strength,” answered Kintaro.
+
+“And after the bear?” asked his mother again.
+
+“Next to the bear it is not easy to say which is the strongest, for the
+deer, the monkey, and the hare all seem to be as strong as each other,”
+said Kintaro.
+
+Suddenly Kintaro and his mother were startled by a voice from outside.
+
+“Listen to me, little boy! Next time you go, take this old man with you
+to the wrestling match. He would like to join the sport too!”
+
+It was the old woodcutter who had followed Kintaro from the river. He
+slipped off his clogs and entered the cottage. Yama-uba and her son
+were both taken by surprise. They looked at the intruder wonderingly
+and saw that he was some one they had never seen before.
+
+“Who are you?” they both exclaimed.
+
+Then the woodcutter laughed and said:
+
+“It does not matter who I am yet, but let us see who has the strongest
+arm—this boy or myself?”
+
+Then Kintaro, who had lived all his life in the forest, answered the
+old man without any ceremony, saying:
+
+“We will have a try if you wish it, but you must not be angry whoever
+is beaten.”
+
+Then Kintaro and the woodcutter both put out their right arms and
+grasped each other’s hands. For a long time Kintaro and the old man
+wrestled together in this way, each trying to bend the other’s arm, but
+the old man was very strong, and the strange pair were evenly matched.
+At last the old man desisted, declaring it a drawn game.
+
+“You are, indeed, a very strong child. There are few men who can boast
+of the strength of my right arm!” said the woodcutter. “I saw you first
+on the banks of the river a few hours ago, when you pulled up that
+large tree to make a bridge across the torrent. Hardly able to believe
+what I saw I followed you home. Your strength of arm, which I have just
+tried, proves what I saw this afternoon. When you are full-grown you
+will surely be the strongest man in all Japan. It is a pity that you
+are hidden away in these wild mountains.”
+
+Then he turned to Kintaro’s mother:
+
+“And you, mother, have you no thought of taking your child to the
+Capital, and of teaching him to carry a sword as befits a samurai (a
+Japanese knight)?”
+
+“You are very kind to take so much interest in my son.” replied the
+mother; “but he is as you see, wild and uneducated, and I fear it would
+be very difficult to do as you say. Because of his great strength as an
+infant I hid him away in this unknown part of the country, for he hurt
+every one that came near him. I have often wished that I could, one
+day, see my boy a knight wearing two swords, but as we have no
+influential friend to introduce us at the Capital, I fear my hope will
+never come true.”
+
+“You need not trouble yourself about that. To tell you the truth I am
+no woodcutter! I am one of the great generals of Japan. My name is
+Sadamitsu, and I am a vassal of the powerful Lord Minamoto-no-Raiko. He
+ordered me to go round the country and look for boys who give promise
+of remarkable strength, so that they may be trained as soldiers for his
+army. I thought that I could best do this by assuming the disguise of a
+woodcutter. By good fortune, I have thus unexpectedly come across your
+son. Now if you really wish him to be a SAMURAI (a knight), I will take
+him and present him to the Lord Raiko as a candidate for his service.
+What do you say to this?”
+
+As the kind general gradually unfolded his plan the mother’s heart was
+filled with a great joy. She saw that here was a wonderful chance of
+the one wish of her life being fulfilled—that of seeing Kintaro a
+SAMURAI before she died.
+
+Bowing her head to the ground, she replied:
+
+“I will then intrust my son to you if you really mean what you say.”
+
+Kintaro had all this time been sitting by his mother’s side listening
+to what they said. When his mother finished speaking, he exclaimed:
+
+“Oh, joy! joy! I am to go with the general and one day I shall be a
+SAMURAI!”
+
+Thus Kintaro’s fate was settled, and the general decided to start for
+the Capital at once, taking Kintaro with him. It need hardly be said
+that Yama-uba was sad at parting with her boy, for he was all that was
+left to her. But she hid her grief with a strong face, as they say in
+Japan. She knew that it was for her boy’s good that he should leave her
+now, and she must not discourage him just as he was setting out.
+Kintaro promised never to forget her, and said that as soon as he was a
+knight wearing two swords he would build her a home and take care of
+her in her old age.
+
+All the animals, those he had tamed to serve him, the bear, the deer,
+the monkey, and the hare, as soon as they found out that he was going
+away, came to ask if they might attend him as usual. When they learned
+that he was going away for good they followed him to the foot of the
+mountain to see him off.
+
+“Kimbo,” said his mother, “mind and be a good boy.”
+
+“Mr. Kintaro,” said the faithful animals, “we wish you good health on
+your travels.”
+
+Then they all climbed a tree to see the last of him, and from that
+height they watched him and his shadow gradually grow smaller and
+smaller, till he was lost to sight.
+
+The general Sadamitsu went on his way rejoicing at having so
+unexpectedly found such a prodigy as Kintaro.
+
+Having arrived at their destination the general took Kintaro at once to
+his Lord, Minamoto-no-Raiko, and told him all about Kintaro and how he
+had found the child. Lord Raiko was delighted with the story, and
+having commanded Kintaro to be brought to him, made him one of his
+vassals at once.
+
+Lord Raiko’s army was famous for its band called “The Four Braves.”
+These warriors were chosen by himself from amongst the bravest and
+strongest of his soldiers, and the small and well-picked band was
+distinguished throughout the whole of Japan for the dauntless courage
+of its men.
+
+When Kintaro grew up to be a man his master made him the Chief of the
+Four Braves. He was by far the strongest of them all. Soon after this
+event, news was brought to the city that a cannibal monster had taken
+up his abode not far away and that people were stricken with fear. Lord
+Raiko ordered Kintaro to the rescue. He immediately started off,
+delighted at the prospect of trying his sword.
+
+Surprising the monster in its den, he made short work of cutting off
+its great head, which he carried back in triumph to his master.
+
+Kintaro now rose to be the greatest hero of his country, and great was
+the power and honor and wealth that came to him. He now kept his
+promise and built a comfortable home for his old mother, who lived
+happily with him in the Capital to the end of her days.
+
+Is not this the story of a great hero?
+
+
+
+
+THE STORY OF PRINCESS HASE.
+A STORY OF OLD JAPAN
+
+
+Many, many years ago there lived in Nara, the ancient Capital of Japan,
+a wise State minister, by name Prince Toyonari Fujiwara. His wife was a
+noble, good, and beautiful woman called Princess Murasaki (Violet).
+They had been married by their respective families according to
+Japanese custom when very young, and had lived together happily ever
+since. They had, however, one cause for great sorrow, for as the years
+went by no child was born to them. This made them very unhappy, for
+they both longed to see a child of their own who would grow up to
+gladden their old age, carry on the family name, and keep up the
+ancestral rites when they were dead. The Prince and his lovely wife,
+after long consultation and much thought, determined to make a
+pilgrimage to the temple of Hase-no-Kwannon (Goddess of Mercy at Hase),
+for they believed, according to the beautiful tradition of their
+religion, that the Mother of Mercy, Kwannon, comes to answer the
+prayers of mortals in the form that they need the most. Surely after
+all these years of prayer she would come to them in the form of a
+beloved child in answer to their special pilgrimage, for that was the
+greatest need of their two lives. Everything else they had that this
+life could give them, but it was all as nothing because the cry of
+their hearts was unsatisfied.
+
+So the Prince Toyonari and his wife went to the temple of Kwannon at
+Hase and stayed there for a long time, both daily offering incense and
+praying to Kwannon, the Heavenly Mother, to grant them the desire of
+their whole lives. And their prayer was answered.
+
+A daughter was born at last to the Princess Murasaki, and great was the
+joy of her heart. On presenting the child to her husband, they both
+decided to call her Hase-Hime, or the Princess of Hase, because she was
+the gift of the Kwannon at that place. They both reared her with great
+care and tenderness, and the child grew in strength and beauty.
+
+When the little girl was five years old her mother fell dangerously ill
+and all the doctors and their medicines could not save her. A little
+before she breathed her last she called her daughter to her, and gently
+stroking her head, said:
+
+“Hase-Hime, do you know that your mother cannot live any longer? Though
+I die, you must grow up a good girl. Do your best not to give trouble
+to your nurse or any other of your family. Perhaps your father will
+marry again and some one will fill my place as your mother. If so do
+not grieve for me, but look upon your father’s second wife as your true
+mother, and be obedient and filial to both her and your father.
+Remember when you are grown up to be submissive to those who are your
+superiors, and to be kind to all those who are under you. Don’t forget
+this. I die with the hope that you will grow up a model woman.”
+
+Hase-Hime listened in an attitude of respect while her mother spoke,
+and promised to do all that she was told. There is a proverb which says
+“As the soul is at three so it is at one hundred,” and so Hase-Hime
+grew up as her mother had wished, a good and obedient little Princess,
+though she was now too young to understand how great was the loss of
+her mother.
+
+Not long after the death of his first wife, Prince Toyonari married
+again, a lady of noble birth named Princess Terute. Very different in
+character, alas! to the good and wise Princess Murasaki, this woman had
+a cruel, bad heart. She did not love her step-daughter at all, and was
+often very unkind to the little motherless girl, saying to herself:
+
+“This is not my child! this is not my child!”
+
+But Hase-Hime bore every unkindness with patience, and even waited upon
+her step-mother kindly and obeyed her in every way and never gave any
+trouble, just as she had been trained by her own good mother, so that
+the Lady Terute had no cause for complaint against her.
+
+The little Princess was very diligent, and her favorite studies were
+music and poetry. She would spend several hours practicing every day,
+and her father had the most proficient of masters he could find to
+teach her the koto (Japanese harp), the art of writing letters and
+verse. When she was twelve years of age she could play so beautifully
+that she and her step-mother were summoned to the Palace to perform
+before the Emperor.
+
+It was the Festival of the Cherry Flowers, and there were great
+festivities at the Court. The Emperor threw himself into the enjoyment
+of the season, and commanded that Princess Hase should perform before
+him on the koto, and that her mother Princess Terute should accompany
+her on the flute.
+
+The Emperor sat on a raised dais, before which was hung a curtain of
+finely-sliced bamboo and purple tassels, so that His Majesty might see
+all and not be seen, for no ordinary subject was allowed to look upon
+his sacred face.
+
+Hase-Hime was a skilled musician though so young, and often astonished
+her masters by her wonderful memory and talent. On this momentous
+occasion she played well. But Princess Terute, her step-mother, who was
+a lazy woman and never took the trouble to practice daily, broke down
+in her accompaniment and had to request one of the Court ladies to take
+her place. This was a great disgrace, and she was furiously jealous to
+think that she had failed where her step-daughter succeeded; and to
+make matters worse the Emperor sent many beautiful gifts to the little
+Princess to reward her for playing so well at the Palace.
+
+There was also now another reason why Princess Terute hated her
+step-daughter, for she had had the good fortune to have a son born to
+her, and in her inmost heart she kept saying:
+
+“If only Hase-Hime were not here, my son would have all the love of his
+father.”
+
+And never having learned to control herself, she allowed this wicked
+thought to grow into the awful desire of taking her step-daughter’s
+life.
+
+So one day she secretly ordered some poison and poisoned some sweet
+wine. This poisoned wine she put into a bottle. Into another similar
+bottle she poured some good wine. It was the occasion of the Boys’
+Festival on the fifth of May, and Hase-Hime was playing with her little
+brother. All his toys of warriors and heroes were spread out and she
+was telling him wonderful stories about each of them. They were both
+enjoying themselves and laughing merrily with their attendants when his
+mother entered with the two bottles of wine and some delicious cakes.
+
+“You are both so good and happy.” said the wicked Princess Terute with
+a smile, “that I have brought you some sweet wine as a reward—and here
+are some nice cakes for my good children.”
+
+And she filled two cups from the different bottles.
+
+Hase-Hime, never dreaming of the dreadful part her step-mother was
+acting, took one of the cups of wine and gave to her little step
+brother the other that had been poured out for him.
+
+The wicked woman had carefully marked the poisoned bottle, but on
+coming into the room she had grown nervous, and pouring out the wine
+hurriedly had unconsciously given the poisoned cup to her own child.
+All this time she was anxiously watching the little Princess, but to
+her amazement no change whatever took place in the young girl’s face.
+Suddenly the little boy screamed and threw himself on the floor,
+doubled up with pain. His mother flew to him, taking the precaution to
+upset the two tiny jars of wine which she had brought into the room,
+and lifted him up. The attendants rushed for the doctor, but nothing
+could save the child—he died within the hour in his mother’s arms.
+Doctors did not know much in those ancient times, and it was thought
+that the wine had disagreed with the boy, causing convulsions of which
+he died.
+
+Thus was the wicked woman punished in losing her own child when she had
+tried to do away with her step-daughter; but instead of blaming herself
+she began to hate Hase-Hime more than ever in the bitterness and
+wretchedness of her own heart, and she eagerly watched for an
+opportunity to do her harm, which was, however, long in coming.
+
+When Hase-Hime was thirteen years of age, she had already become
+mentioned as a poetess of some merit. This was an accomplishment very
+much cultivated by the women of old Japan and one held in high esteem.
+
+It was the rainy season at Nara, and floods were reported every day as
+doing damage in the neighborhood. The river Tatsuta, which flowed
+through the Imperial Palace grounds, was swollen to the top of its
+banks, and the roaring of the torrents of water rushing along a narrow
+bed so disturbed the Emperor’s rest day and night, that a serious
+nervous disorder was the result. An Imperial Edict was sent forth to
+all the Buddhist temples commanding the priests to offer up continuous
+prayers to Heaven to stop the noise of the flood. But this was of no
+avail.
+
+Then it was whispered in Court circles that the Princess Hase, the
+daughter of Prince Toyonari Fujiwara, second minister at Court, was the
+most gifted poetess of the day, though still so young, and her masters
+confirmed the report. Long ago, a beautiful and gifted maiden-poetess
+had moved Heaven by praying in verse, had brought down rain upon a land
+famished with drought—so said the ancient biographers of the poetess
+Ono-no-Komachi. If the Princess Hase were to write a poem and offer it
+in prayer, might it not stop the noise of the rushing river and remove
+the cause of the Imperial illness? What the Court said at last reached
+the ears of the Emperor himself, and he sent an order to the minister
+Prince Toyonari to this effect.
+
+Great indeed was Hase-Hime’s fear and astonishment when her father sent
+for her and told her what was required of her. Heavy, indeed, was the
+duty that was laid on her young shoulders—that of saving the Emperor’s
+life by the merit of her verse.
+
+At last the day came and her poem was finished. It was written on a
+leaflet of paper heavily flecked with gold-dust. With her father and
+attendants and some of the Court officials, she proceeded to the bank
+of the roaring torrent and raising up her heart to Heaven, she read the
+poem she had composed, aloud, lifting it heavenwards in her two hands.
+
+Strange indeed it seemed to all those standing round. The waters ceased
+their roaring, and the river was quiet in direct answer to her prayer.
+After this the Emperor soon recovered his health.
+
+His Majesty was highly pleased, and sent for her to the Palace and
+rewarded her with the rank of Chinjo—that of Lieutenant-General—to
+distinguish her. From that time she was called Chinjo-hime, or the
+Lieutenant-General Princess, and respected and loved by all.
+
+There was only one person who was not pleased at Hase-Hime’s success.
+That one was her stepmother. Forever brooding over the death of her own
+child whom she had killed when trying to poison her step-daughter, she
+had the mortification of seeing her rise to power and honor, marked by
+Imperial favor and the admiration of the whole Court. Her envy and
+jealousy burned in her heart like fire. Many were the lies she carried
+to her husband about Hase-Hime, but all to no purpose. He would listen
+to none of her tales, telling her sharply that she was quite mistaken.
+
+At last the step-mother, seizing the opportunity of her husband’s
+absence, ordered one of her old servants to take the innocent girl to
+the Hibari Mountains, the wildest part of the country, and to kill her
+there. She invented a dreadful story about the little Princess, saying
+that this was the only way to prevent disgrace falling upon the
+family—by killing her.
+
+Katoda, her vassal, was bound to obey his mistress. Anyhow, he saw that
+it would be the wisest plan to pretend obedience in the absence of the
+girl’s father, so he placed Hase-Hime in a palanquin and accompanied
+her to the most solitary place he could find in the wild district. The
+poor child knew there was no good in protesting to her unkind
+step-mother at being sent away in this strange manner, so she went as
+she was told.
+
+But the old servant knew that the young Princess was quite innocent of
+all the things her step-mother had invented to him as reasons for her
+outrageous orders, and he determined to save her life. Unless he killed
+her, however, he could not return to his cruel task-mistress, so he
+decided to stay out in the wilderness. With the help of some peasants
+he soon built a little cottage, and having sent secretly for his wife
+to come, these two good old people did all in their power to take care
+of the now unfortunate Princess. She all the time trusted in her
+father, knowing that as soon as he returned home and found her absent,
+he would search for her.
+
+Prince Toyonari, after some weeks, came home, and was told by his wife
+that his daughter Hime had done something wrong and had run away for
+fear of being punished. He was nearly ill with anxiety. Every one in
+the house told the same story—that Hase-Hime had suddenly disappeared,
+none of them knew why or whither. For fear of scandal he kept the
+matter quiet and searched everywhere he could think of, but all to no
+purpose.
+
+One day, trying to forget his terrible worry, he called all his men
+together and told them to make ready for a several days’ hunt in the
+mountains. They were soon ready and mounted, waiting at the gate for
+their lord. He rode hard and fast to the district of the Hibari
+Mountains, a great company following him. He was soon far ahead of
+every one, and at last found himself in a narrow picturesque valley.
+
+Looking round and admiring the scenery, he noticed a tiny house on one
+of the hills quite near, and then he distinctly heard a beautiful clear
+voice reading aloud. Seized with curiosity as to who could be studying
+so diligently in such a lonely spot, he dismounted, and leaving his
+horse to his groom, he walked up the hillside and approached the
+cottage. As he drew nearer his surprise increased, for he could see
+that the reader was a beautiful girl. The cottage was wide open and she
+was sitting facing the view. Listening attentively, he heard her
+reading the Buddhist scriptures with great devotion. More and more
+curious, he hurried on to the tiny gate and entered the little garden,
+and looking up beheld his lost daughter Hase-Hime. She was so intent on
+what she was saying that she neither heard nor saw her father till he
+spoke.
+
+“Hase-Hime!” he cried, “it is you, my Hase-Hime!”
+
+Taken by surprise, she could hardly realize that it was her own dear
+father who was calling her, and for a moment she was utterly bereft of
+the power to speak or move.
+
+“My father, my father! It is indeed you—oh, my father!” was all she
+could say, and running to him she caught hold of his thick sleeve, and
+burying her face burst into a passion of tears.
+
+Her father stroked her dark hair, asking her gently to tell him all
+that had happened, but she only wept on, and he wondered if he were not
+really dreaming.
+
+Then the faithful old servant Katoda came out, and bowing himself to
+the ground before his master, poured out the long tale of wrong,
+telling him all that had happened, and how it was that he found his
+daughter in such a wild and desolate spot with only two old servants to
+take care of her.
+
+The Prince’s astonishment and indignation knew no bounds. He gave up
+the hunt at once and hurried home with his daughter. One of the company
+galloped ahead to inform the household of the glad news, and the
+step-mother hearing what had happened, and fearful of meeting her
+husband now that her wickedness was discovered, fled from the house and
+returned in disgrace to her father’s roof, and nothing more was heard
+of her.
+
+The old servant Katoda was rewarded with the highest promotion in his
+master’s service, and lived happily to the end of his days, devoted to
+the little Princess, who never forgot that she owed her life to this
+faithful retainer. She was no longer troubled by an unkind step-mother,
+and her days passed happily and quietly with her father.
+
+As Prince Toyonari had no son, he adopted a younger son of one of the
+Court nobles to be his heir, and to marry his daughter Hase-Hime, and
+in a few years the marriage took place. Hase-Hime lived to a good old
+age, and all said that she was the wisest, most devout, and most
+beautiful mistress that had ever reigned in Prince Toyonari’s ancient
+house. She had the joy of presenting her son, the future lord of the
+family, to her father just before he retired from active life.
+
+To this day there is preserved a piece of needle-work in one of the
+Buddhist temples of Kioto. It is a beautiful piece of tapestry, with
+the figure of Buddha embroidered in the silky threads drawn from the
+stem of the lotus. This is said to have been the work of the hands of
+the good Princess Hase.
+
+
+
+
+THE STORY OF THE MAN WHO DID NOT WISH TO DIE
+
+
+Long, long ago there lived a man called Sentaro. His surname meant
+“Millionaire,” but although he was not so rich as all that, he was
+still very far removed from being poor. He had inherited a small
+fortune from his father and lived on this, spending his time
+carelessly, without any serious thoughts of work, till he was about
+thirty-two years of age.
+
+One day, without any reason whatsoever, the thought of death and
+sickness came to him. The idea of falling ill or dying made him very
+wretched.
+
+“I should like to live,” he said to himself, “till I am five or six
+hundred years old at least, free from all sickness. The ordinary span
+of a man’s life is very short.”
+
+He wondered whether it were possible, by living simply and frugally
+henceforth, to prolong his life as long as he wished.
+
+He knew there were many stories in ancient history of emperors who had
+lived a thousand years, and there was a Princess of Yamato, who, it was
+said, lived to the age of five hundred. This was the latest story of a
+very long life record.
+
+Sentaro had often heard the tale of the Chinese King named
+Shin-no-Shiko. He was one of the most able and powerful rulers in
+Chinese history. He built all the large palaces, and also the famous
+great wall of China. He had everything in the world he could wish for,
+but in spite of all his happiness and the luxury and the splendor of
+his Court, the wisdom of his councilors and the glory of his reign, he
+was miserable because he knew that one day he must die and leave it
+all.
+
+When Shin-no-Shiko went to bed at night, when he rose in the morning,
+as he went through his day, the thought of death was always with him.
+He could not get away from it. Ah—if only he could find the “Elixir of
+Life,” he would be happy.
+
+The Emperor at last called a meeting of his courtiers and asked them
+all if they could not find for him the “Elixir of Life” of which he had
+so often read and heard.
+
+One old courtier, Jofuku by name, said that far away across the seas
+there was a country called Horaizan, and that certain hermits lived
+there who possessed the secret of the “Elixir of Life.” Whoever drank
+of this wonderful draught lived forever.
+
+The Emperor ordered Jofuku to set out for the land of Horaizan, to find
+the hermits, and to bring him back a phial of the magic elixir. He gave
+Jofuku one of his best junks, fitted it out for him, and loaded it with
+great quantities of treasures and precious stones for Jofuku to take as
+presents to the hermits.
+
+Jofuku sailed for the land of Horaizan, but he never returned to the
+waiting Emperor; but ever since that time Mount Fuji has been said to
+be the fabled Horaizan and the home of hermits who had the secret of
+the elixir, and Jofuku has been worshiped as their patron god.
+
+Now Sentaro determined to set out to find the hermits, and if he could,
+to become one, so that he might obtain the water of perpetual life. He
+remembered that as a child he had been told that not only did these
+hermits live on Mount Fuji, but that they were said to inhabit all the
+very high peaks.
+
+So he left his old home to the care of his relatives, and started out
+on his quest. He traveled through all the mountainous regions of the
+land, climbing to the tops of the highest peaks, but never a hermit did
+he find.
+
+At last, after wandering in an unknown region for many days, he met a
+hunter.
+
+“Can you tell me,” asked Sentaro, “where the hermits live who have the
+Elixir of Life?”
+
+“No.” said the hunter; “I can’t tell you where such hermits live, but
+there is a notorious robber living in these parts. It is said that he
+is chief of a band of two hundred followers.”
+
+This odd answer irritated Sentaro very much, and he thought how foolish
+it was to waste more time in looking for the hermits in this way, so he
+decided to go at once to the shrine of Jofuku, who is worshiped as the
+patron god of the hermits in the south of Japan.
+
+Sentaro reached the shrine and prayed for seven days, entreating Jofuku
+to show him the way to a hermit who could give him what he wanted so
+much to find.
+
+At midnight of the seventh day, as Sentaro knelt in the temple, the
+door of the innermost shrine flew open, and Jofuku appeared in a
+luminous cloud, and calling to Sentaro to come nearer, spoke thus:
+
+“Your desire is a very selfish one and cannot be easily granted. You
+think that you would like to become a hermit so as to find the Elixir
+of Life. Do you know how hard a hermit’s life is? A hermit is only
+allowed to eat fruit and berries and the bark of pine trees; a hermit
+must cut himself off from the world so that his heart may become as
+pure as gold and free from every earthly desire. Gradually after
+following these strict rules, the hermit ceases to feel hunger or cold
+or heat, and his body becomes so light that he can ride on a crane or a
+carp, and can walk on water without getting his feet wet.”
+
+“You, Sentaro, are fond of good living and of every comfort. You are
+not even like an ordinary man, for you are exceptionally idle, and more
+sensitive to heat and cold than most people. You would never be able to
+go barefoot or to wear only one thin dress in the winter time! Do you
+think that you would ever have the patience or the endurance to live a
+hermit’s life?”
+
+“In answer to your prayer, however, I will help you in another way. I
+will send you to the country of Perpetual Life, where death never
+comes—where the people live forever!”
+
+Saying this, Jofuku put into Sentaro’s hand a little crane made of
+paper, telling him to sit on its back and it would carry him there.
+
+Sentaro obeyed wonderingly. The crane grew large enough for him to ride
+on it with comfort. It then spread its wings, rose high in the air, and
+flew away over the mountains right out to sea.
+
+Sentaro was at first quite frightened; but by degrees he grew
+accustomed to the swift flight through the air. On and on they went for
+thousands of miles. The bird never stopped for rest or food, but as it
+was a paper bird it doubtless did not require any nourishment, and
+strange to say, neither did Sentaro.
+
+After several days they reached an island. The crane flew some distance
+inland and then alighted.
+
+As soon as Sentaro got down from the bird’s back, the crane folded up
+of its own accord and flew into his pocket.
+
+Now Sentaro began to look about him wonderingly, curious to see what
+the country of Perpetual Life was like. He walked first round about the
+country and then through the town. Everything was, of course, quite
+strange, and different from his own land. But both the land and the
+people seemed prosperous, so he decided that it would be good for him
+to stay there and took up lodgings at one of the hotels.
+
+The proprietor was a kind man, and when Sentaro told him that he was a
+stranger and had come to live there, he promised to arrange everything
+that was necessary with the governor of the city concerning Sentaro’s
+sojourn there. He even found a house for his guest, and in this way
+Sentaro obtained his great wish and became a resident in the country of
+Perpetual Life.
+
+Within the memory of all the islanders no man had ever died there, and
+sickness was a thing unknown. Priests had come over from India and
+China and told them of a beautiful country called Paradise, where
+happiness and bliss and contentment fill all men’s hearts, but its
+gates could only be reached by dying. This tradition was handed down
+for ages from generation to generation—but none knew exactly what death
+was except that it led to Paradise.
+
+Quite unlike Sentaro and other ordinary people, instead of having a
+great dread of death, they all, both rich and poor, longed for it as
+something good and desirable. They were all tired of their long, long
+lives, and longed to go to the happy land of contentment called
+Paradise of which the priests had told them centuries ago.
+
+All this Sentaro soon found out by talking to the islanders. He found
+himself, according to his ideas, in the land of Topsyturvydom.
+Everything was upside down. He had wished to escape from dying. He had
+come to the land of Perpetual Life with great relief and joy, only to
+find that the inhabitants themselves, doomed never to die, would
+consider it bliss to find death.
+
+What he had hitherto considered poison these people ate as good food,
+and all the things to which he had been accustomed as food they
+rejected. Whenever any merchants from other countries arrived, the rich
+people rushed to them eager to buy poisons. These they swallowed
+eagerly, hoping for death to come so that they might go to Paradise.
+
+But what were deadly poisons in other lands were without effect in this
+strange place, and people who swallowed them with the hope of dying,
+only found that in a short time they felt better in health instead of
+worse.
+
+Vainly they tried to imagine what death could be like. The wealthy
+would have given all their money and all their goods if they could but
+shorten their lives to two or three hundred years even. Without any
+change to live on forever seemed to this people wearisome and sad.
+
+In the chemist shops there was a drug which was in constant demand,
+because after using it for a hundred years, it was supposed to turn the
+hair slightly gray and to bring about disorders of the stomach.
+
+Sentaro was astonished to find that the poisonous globe-fish was served
+up in restaurants as a delectable dish, and hawkers in the streets went
+about selling sauces made of Spanish flies. He never saw any one ill
+after eating these horrible things, nor did he ever see any one with as
+much as a cold.
+
+Sentaro was delighted. He said to himself that he would never grow
+tired of living, and that he considered it profane to wish for death.
+He was the only happy man on the island. For his part he wished to live
+thousands of years and to enjoy life. He set himself up in business,
+and for the present never even dreamed of going back to his native
+land.
+
+As years went by, however, things did not go as smoothly as at first.
+He had heavy losses in business, and several times some affairs went
+wrong with his neighbors. This caused him great annoyance.
+
+Time passed like the flight of an arrow for him, for he was busy from
+morning till night. Three hundred years went by in this monotonous way,
+and then at last he began to grow tired of life in this country, and he
+longed to see his own land and his old home. However long he lived
+here, life would always be the same, so was it not foolish and
+wearisome to stay on here forever?
+
+Sentaro, in his wish to escape from the country of Perpetual Life,
+recollected Jofuku, who had helped him before when he was wishing to
+escape from death—and he prayed to the saint to bring him back to his
+own land again.
+
+No sooner did he pray than the paper crane popped out of his pocket.
+Sentaro was amazed to see that it had remained undamaged after all
+these years. Once more the bird grew and grew till it was large enough
+for him to mount it. As he did so, the bird spread its wings and flew,
+swiftly out across the sea in the direction of Japan.
+
+Such was the willfulness of the man’s nature that he looked back and
+regretted all he had left behind. He tried to stop the bird in vain.
+The crane held on its way for thousands of miles across the ocean.
+
+Then a storm came on, and the wonderful paper crane got damp, crumpled
+up, and fell into the sea. Sentaro fell with it. Very much frightened
+at the thought of being drowned, he cried out loudly to Jofuku to save
+him. He looked round, but there was no ship in sight. He swallowed a
+quantity of sea-water, which only increased his miserable plight. While
+he was thus struggling to keep himself afloat, he saw a monstrous shark
+swimming towards him. As it came nearer it opened its huge mouth ready
+to devour him. Sentaro was all but paralyzed with fear now that he felt
+his end so near, and screamed out as loudly as ever he could to Jofuku
+to come and rescue him.
+
+Lo, and behold, Sentaro was awakened by his own screams, to find that
+during his long prayer he had fallen asleep before the shrine, and that
+all his extraordinary and frightful adventures had been only a wild
+dream. He was in a cold perspiration with fright, and utterly
+bewildered.
+
+Suddenly a bright light came towards him, and in the light stood a
+messenger. The messenger held a book in his hand, and spoke to Sentaro:
+
+“I am sent to you by Jofuku, who in answer to your prayer, has
+permitted you in a dream to see the land of Perpetual Life. But you
+grew weary of living there, and begged to be allowed to return to your
+native land so that you might die. Jofuku, so that he might try you,
+allowed you to drop into the sea, and then sent a shark to swallow you
+up. Your desire for death was not real, for even at that moment you
+cried out loudly and shouted for help.”
+
+“It is also vain for you to wish to become a hermit, or to find the
+Elixir of Life. These things are not for such as you—your life is not
+austere enough. It is best for you to go back to your paternal home,
+and to live a good and industrious life. Never neglect to keep the
+anniversaries of your ancestors, and make it your duty to provide for
+your children’s future. Thus will you live to a good old age and be
+happy, but give up the vain desire to escape death, for no man can do
+that, and by this time you have surely found out that even when selfish
+desires are granted they do not bring happiness.”
+
+“In this book I give you there are many precepts good for you to
+know—if you study them, you will be guided in the way I have pointed
+out to you.”
+
+The angel disappeared as soon as he had finished speaking, and Sentaro
+took the lesson to heart. With the book in his hand he returned to his
+old home, and giving up all his old vain wishes, tried to live a good
+and useful life and to observe the lessons taught him in the book, and
+he and his house prospered henceforth.
+
+
+
+
+THE BAMBOO-CUTTER AND THE MOON-CHILD
+
+
+Long, long ago, there lived an old bamboo wood-cutter. He was very poor
+and sad also, for no child had Heaven sent to cheer his old age, and in
+his heart there was no hope of rest from work till he died and was laid
+in the quiet grave. Every morning he went forth into the woods and
+hills wherever the bamboo reared its lithe green plumes against the
+sky. When he had made his choice, he would cut down these feathers of
+the forest, and splitting them lengthwise, or cutting them into joints,
+would carry the bamboo wood home and make it into various articles for
+the household, and he and his old wife gained a small livelihood by
+selling them.
+
+One morning as usual he had gone out to his work, and having found a
+nice clump of bamboos, had set to work to cut some of them down.
+Suddenly the green grove of bamboos was flooded with a bright soft
+light, as if the full moon had risen over the spot. Looking round in
+astonishment, he saw that the brilliance was streaming from one bamboo.
+The old man, full of wonder, dropped his ax and went towards the light.
+On nearer approach he saw that this soft splendor came from a hollow in
+the green bamboo stem, and still more wonderful to behold, in the midst
+of the brilliance stood a tiny human being, only three inches in
+height, and exquisitely beautiful in appearance.
+
+“You must be sent to be my child, for I find you here among the bamboos
+where lies my daily work,” said the old man, and taking the little
+creature in his hand he took it home to his wife to bring up. The tiny
+girl was so exceedingly beautiful and so small, that the old woman put
+her into a basket to safeguard her from the least possibility of being
+hurt in any way.
+
+The old couple were now very happy, for it had been a lifelong regret
+that they had no children of their own, and with joy they now expended
+all the love of their old age on the little child who had come to them
+in so marvelous a manner.
+
+From this time on, the old man often found gold in the notches of the
+bamboos when he hewed them down and cut them up; not only gold, but
+precious stones also, so that by degrees he became rich. He built
+himself a fine house, and was no longer known as the poor bamboo
+woodcutter, but as a wealthy man.
+
+Three months passed quickly away, and in that time the bamboo child
+had, wonderful to say, become a full-grown girl, so her foster-parents
+did up her hair and dressed her in beautiful kimonos. She was of such
+wondrous beauty that they placed her behind the screens like a
+princess, and allowed no one to see her, waiting upon her themselves.
+It seemed as if she were made of light, for the house was filled with a
+soft shining, so that even in the dark of night it was like daytime.
+Her presence seemed to have a benign influence on those there. Whenever
+the old man felt sad, he had only to look upon his foster-daughter and
+his sorrow vanished, and he became as happy as when he was a youth.
+
+At last the day came for the naming of their new-found child, so the
+old couple called in a celebrated name-giver, and he gave her the name
+of Princess Moonlight, because her body gave forth so much soft bright
+light that she might have been a daughter of the Moon God.
+
+For three days the festival was kept up with song and dance and music.
+All the friends and relations of the old couple were present, and great
+was their enjoyment of the festivities held to celebrate the naming of
+Princess Moonlight. Everyone who saw her declared that there never had
+been seen any one so lovely; all the beauties throughout the length and
+breadth of the land would grow pale beside her, so they said. The fame
+of the Princess’s loveliness spread far and wide, and many were the
+suitors who desired to win her hand, or even so much as to see her.
+
+Suitors from far and near posted themselves outside the house, and made
+little holes in the fence, in the hope of catching a glimpse of the
+Princess as she went from one room to the other along the veranda. They
+stayed there day and night, sacrificing even their sleep for a chance
+of seeing her, but all in vain. Then they approached the house, and
+tried to speak to the old man and his wife or some of the servants, but
+not even this was granted them.
+
+Still, in spite of all this disappointment they stayed on day after
+day, and night after night, and counted it as nothing, so great was
+their desire to see the Princess.
+
+At last, however, most of the men, seeing how hopeless their quest was,
+lost heart and hope both, and returned to their homes. All except five
+Knights, whose ardor and determination, instead of waning, seemed to
+wax greater with obstacles. These five men even went without their
+meals, and took snatches of whatever they could get brought to them, so
+that they might always stand outside the dwelling. They stood there in
+all weathers, in sunshine and in rain.
+
+Sometimes they wrote letters to the Princess, but no answer was
+vouchsafed to them. Then when letters failed to draw any reply, they
+wrote poems to her telling her of the hopeless love which kept them
+from sleep, from food, from rest, and even from their homes. Still
+Princes Moonlight gave no sign of having received their verses.
+
+In this hopeless state the winter passed. The snow and frost and the
+cold winds gradually gave place to the gentle warmth of spring. Then
+the summer came, and the sun burned white and scorching in the heavens
+above and on the earth beneath, and still these faithful Knights kept
+watch and waited. At the end of these long months they called out to
+the old bamboo-cutter and entreated him to have some mercy upon them
+and to show them the Princess, but he answered only that as he was not
+her real father he could not insist on her obeying him against her
+wishes.
+
+The five Knights on receiving this stern answer returned to their
+several homes, and pondered over the best means of touching the proud
+Princess’s heart, even so much as to grant them a hearing. They took
+their rosaries in hand and knelt before their household shrines, and
+burned precious incense, praying to Buddha to give them their heart’s
+desire. Thus several days passed, but even so they could not rest in
+their homes.
+
+So again they set out for the bamboo-cutter’s house. This time the old
+man came out to see them, and they asked him to let them know if it was
+the Princess’s resolution never to see any man whatsoever, and they
+implored him to speak for them and to tell her the greatness of their
+love, and how long they had waited through the cold of winter and the
+heat of summer, sleepless and roofless through all weathers, without
+food and without rest, in the ardent hope of winning her, and they were
+willing to consider this long vigil as pleasure if she would but give
+them one chance of pleading their cause with her.
+
+The old man lent a willing ear to their tale of love, for in his inmost
+heart he felt sorry for these faithful suitors and would have liked to
+see his lovely foster-daughter married to one of them. So he went in to
+Princess Moonlight and said reverently:
+
+“Although you have always seemed to me to be a heavenly being, yet I
+have had the trouble of bringing you up as my own child and you have
+been glad of the protection of my roof. Will you refuse to do as I
+wish?”
+
+Then Princess Moonlight replied that there was nothing she would not do
+for him, that she honored and loved him as her own father, and that as
+for herself she could not remember the time before she came to earth.
+
+The old man listened with great joy as she spoke these dutiful words.
+Then he told her how anxious he was to see her safely and happily
+married before he died.
+
+“I am an old man, over seventy years of age, and my end may come any
+time now. It is necessary and right that you should see these five
+suitors and choose one of them.”
+
+“Oh, why,” said the Princess in distress, “must I do this? I have no
+wish to marry now.”
+
+“I found you,” answered the old man, “many years ago, when you were a
+little creature three inches high, in the midst of a great white light.
+The light streamed from the bamboo in which you were hid and led me to
+you. So I have always thought that you were more than mortal woman.
+While I am alive it is right for you to remain as you are if you wish
+to do so, but some day I shall cease to be and who will take care of
+you then? Therefore I pray you to meet these five brave men one at a
+time and make up your mind to marry one of them!”
+
+Then the Princess answered that she felt sure that she was not as
+beautiful as perhaps report made her out to be, and that even if she
+consented to marry any one of them, not really knowing her before, his
+heart might change afterwards. So as she did not feel sure of them,
+even though her father told her they were worthy Knights, she did not
+feel it wise to see them.
+
+“All you say is very reasonable,” said the old man, “but what kind of
+men will you consent to see? I do not call these five men who have
+waited on you for months, light-hearted. They have stood outside this
+house through the winter and the summer, often denying themselves food
+and sleep so that they may win you. What more can you demand?”
+
+Then Princess Moonlight said she must make further trial of their love
+before she would grant their request to interview her. The five
+warriors were to prove their love by each bringing her from distant
+countries something that she desired to possess.
+
+That same evening the suitors arrived and began to play their flutes in
+turn, and to sing their self-composed songs telling of their great and
+tireless love. The bamboo-cutter went out to them and offered them his
+sympathy for all they had endured and all the patience they had shown
+in their desire to win his foster-daughter. Then he gave them her
+message, that she would consent to marry whosoever was successful in
+bringing her what she wanted. This was to test them.
+
+The five all accepted the trial, and thought it an excellent plan, for
+it would prevent jealousy between them.
+
+Princess Moonlight then sent word to the First Knight that she
+requested him to bring her the stone bowl which had belonged to Buddha
+in India.
+
+The Second Knight was asked to go to the Mountain of Horai, said to be
+situated in the Eastern Sea, and to bring her a branch of the wonderful
+tree that grew on its summit. The roots of this tree were of silver,
+the trunk of gold, and the branches bore as fruit white jewels.
+
+The Third Knight was told to go to China and search for the fire-rat
+and to bring her its skin.
+
+The Fourth Knight was told to search for the dragon that carried on its
+head the stone radiating five colors and to bring the stone to her.
+
+The Fifth Knight was to find the swallow which carried a shell in its
+stomach and to bring the shell to her.
+
+The old man thought these very hard tasks and hesitated to carry the
+messages, but the Princess would make no other conditions. So her
+commands were issued word for word to the five men who, when they heard
+what was required of them, were all disheartened and disgusted at what
+seemed to them the impossibility of the tasks given them and returned
+to their own homes in despair.
+
+But after a time, when they thought of the Princess, the love in their
+hearts revived for her, and they resolved to make an attempt to get
+what she desired of them.
+
+The First Knight sent word to the Princess that he was starting out
+that day on the quest of Buddha’s bowl, and he hoped soon to bring it
+to her. But he had not the courage to go all the way to India, for in
+those days traveling was very difficult and full of danger, so he went
+to one of the temples in Kyoto and took a stone bowl from the altar
+there, paying the priest a large sum of money for it. He then wrapped
+it in a cloth of gold and, waiting quietly for three years, returned
+and carried it to the old man.
+
+Princess Moonlight wondered that the Knight should have returned so
+soon. She took the bowl from its gold wrapping, expecting it to make
+the room full of light, but it did not shine at all, so she knew that
+it was a sham thing and not the true bowl of Buddha. She returned it at
+once and refused to see him. The Knight threw the bowl away and
+returned to his home in despair. He gave up now all hopes of ever
+winning the Princess.
+
+The Second Knight told his parents that he needed change of air for his
+health, for he was ashamed to tell them that love for the Princess
+Moonlight was the real cause of his leaving them. He then left his
+home, at the same time sending word to the Princess that he was setting
+out for Mount Horai in the hope of getting her a branch of the gold and
+silver tree which she so much wished to have. He only allowed his
+servants to accompany him half-way, and then sent them back. He reached
+the seashore and embarked on a small ship, and after sailing away for
+three days he landed and employed several carpenters to build him a
+house contrived in such a way that no one could get access to it. He
+then shut himself up with six skilled jewelers, and endeavored to make
+such a gold and silver branch as he thought would satisfy the Princess
+as having come from the wonderful tree growing on Mount Horai. Every
+one whom he had asked declared that Mount Horai belonged to the land of
+fable and not to fact.
+
+When the branch was finished, he took his journey home and tried to
+make himself look as if he were wearied and worn out with travel. He
+put the jeweled branch into a lacquer box and carried it to the
+bamboo-cutter, begging him to present it to the Princess.
+
+The old man was quite deceived by the travel-stained appearance of the
+Knight, and thought that he had only just returned from his long
+journey with the branch. So he tried to persuade the Princess to
+consent to see the man. But she remained silent and looked very sad.
+The old man began to take out the branch and praised it as a wonderful
+treasure to be found nowhere in the whole land. Then he spoke of the
+Knight, how handsome and how brave he was to have undertaken a journey
+to so remote a place as the Mount of Horai.
+
+Princess Moonlight took the branch in her hand and looked at it
+carefully. She then told her foster-parent that she knew it was
+impossible for the man to have obtained a branch from the gold and
+silver tree growing on Mount Horai so quickly or so easily, and she was
+sorry to say she believed it artificial.
+
+The old man then went out to the expectant Knight, who had now
+approached the house, and asked where he had found the branch. Then the
+man did not scruple to make up a long story.
+
+“Two years ago I took a ship and started in search of Mount Horai.
+After going before the wind for some time I reached the far Eastern
+Sea. Then a great storm arose and I was tossed about for many days,
+losing all count of the points of the compass, and finally we were
+blown ashore on an unknown island. Here I found the place inhabited by
+demons who at one time threatened to kill and eat me. However, I
+managed to make friends with these horrible creatures, and they helped
+me and my sailors to repair the boat, and I set sail again. Our food
+gave out, and we suffered much from sickness on board. At last, on the
+five-hundredth day from the day of starting, I saw far off on the
+horizon what looked like the peak of a mountain. On nearer approach,
+this proved to be an island, in the center of which rose a high
+mountain. I landed, and after wandering about for two or three days, I
+saw a shining being coming towards me on the beach, holding in his
+hands a golden bowl. I went up to him and asked him if I had, by good
+chance, found the island of Mount Horai, and he answered:”
+
+“‘Yes, this is Mount Horai!’”
+
+“With much difficulty I climbed to the summit, here stood the golden
+tree growing with silver roots in the ground. The wonders of that
+strange land are many, and if I began to tell you about them I could
+never stop. In spite of my wish to stay there long, on breaking off the
+branch I hurried back. With utmost speed it has taken me four hundred
+days to get back, and, as you see, my clothes are still damp from
+exposure on the long sea voyage. I have not even waited to change my
+raiment, so anxious was I to bring the branch to the Princess quickly.”
+
+Just at this moment the six jewelers, who had been employed on the
+making of the branch, but not yet paid by the Knight, arrived at the
+house and sent in a petition to the Princess to be paid for their
+labor. They said that they had worked for over a thousand days making
+the branch of gold, with its silver twigs and its jeweled fruit, that
+was now presented to her by the Knight, but as yet they had received
+nothing in payment. So this Knight’s deception was thus found out, and
+the Princess, glad of an escape from one more importunate suitor, was
+only too pleased to send back the branch. She called in the workmen and
+had them paid liberally, and they went away happy. But on the way home
+they were overtaken by the disappointed man, who beat them till they
+were nearly dead, for letting out the secret, and they barely escaped
+with their lives. The Knight then returned home, raging in his heart;
+and in despair of ever winning the Princess gave up society and retired
+to a solitary life among the mountains.
+
+Now the Third Knight had a friend in China, so he wrote to him to get
+the skin of the fire-rat. The virtue of any part of this animal was
+that no fire could harm it. He promised his friend any amount of money
+he liked to ask if only he could get him the desired article. As soon
+as the news came that the ship on which his friend had sailed home had
+come into port, he rode seven days on horseback to meet him. He handed
+his friend a large sum of money, and received the fire-rat’s skin. When
+he reached home he put it carefully in a box and sent it in to the
+Princess while he waited outside for her answer.
+
+The bamboo-cutter took the box from the Knight and, as usual, carried
+it in to her and tried to coax her to see the Knight at once, but
+Princess Moonlight refused, saying that she must first put the skin to
+test by putting it into the fire. If it were the real thing it would
+not burn. So she took off the crape wrapper and opened the box, and
+then threw the skin into the fire. The skin crackled and burnt up at
+once, and the Princess knew that this man also had not fulfilled his
+word. So the Third Knight failed also.
+
+Now the Fourth Knight was no more enterprising than the rest. Instead
+of starting out on the quest of the dragon bearing on its head the
+five-color-radiating jewel, he called all his servants together and
+gave them the order to seek for it far and wide in Japan and in China,
+and he strictly forbade any of them to return till they had found it.
+
+His numerous retainers and servants started out in different
+directions, with no intention, however, of obeying what they considered
+an impossible order. They simply took a holiday, went to pleasant
+country places together, and grumbled at their master’s
+unreasonableness.
+
+The Knight meanwhile, thinking that his retainers could not fail to
+find the jewel, repaired to his house, and fitted it up beautifully for
+the reception of the Princess, he felt so sure of winning her.
+
+One year passed away in weary waiting, and still his men did not return
+with the dragon-jewel. The Knight became desperate. He could wait no
+longer, so taking with him only two men he hired a ship and commanded
+the captain to go in search of the dragon; the captain and the sailors
+refused to undertake what they said was an absurd search, but the
+Knight compelled them at last to put out to sea.
+
+When they had been but a few days out they encountered a great storm
+which lasted so long that, by the time its fury abated, the Knight had
+determined to give up the hunt of the dragon. They were at last blown
+on shore, for navigation was primitive in those days. Worn out with his
+travels and anxiety, the fourth suitor gave himself up to rest. He had
+caught a very heavy cold, and had to go to bed with a swollen face.
+
+The governor of the place, hearing of his plight, sent messengers with
+a letter inviting him to his house. While he was there thinking over
+all his troubles, his love for the Princess turned to anger, and he
+blamed her for all the hardships he had undergone. He thought that it
+was quite probable she had wished to kill him so that she might be rid
+of him, and in order to carry out her wish had sent him upon his
+impossible quest.
+
+At this point all the servants he had sent out to find the jewel came
+to see him, and were surprised to find praise instead of displeasure
+awaiting them. Their master told them that he was heartily sick of
+adventure, and said that he never intended to go near the Princess’s
+house again in the future.
+
+Like all the rest, the Fifth Knight failed in his quest—he could not
+find the swallow’s shell.
+
+By this time the fame of Princess Moonlight’s beauty had reached the
+ears of the Emperor, and he sent one of the Court ladies to see if she
+were really as lovely as report said; if so he would summon her to the
+Palace and make her one of the ladies-in-waiting.
+
+When the Court lady arrived, in spite of her father’s entreaties,
+Princess Moonlight refused to see her. The Imperial messenger insisted,
+saying it was the Emperor’s order. Then Princess Moonlight told the old
+man that if she was forced to go to the Palace in obedience to the
+Emperor’s order, she would vanish from the earth.
+
+When the Emperor was told of her persistence in refusing to obey his
+summons, and that if pressed to obey she would disappear altogether
+from sight, he determined to go and see her. So he planned to go on a
+hunting excursion in the neighborhood of the bamboo-cutter’s house, and
+see the Princess himself. He sent word to the old man of his intention,
+and he received consent to the scheme. The next day the Emperor set out
+with his retinue, which he soon managed to outride. He found the
+bamboo-cutter’s house and dismounted. He then entered the house and
+went straight to where the Princess was sitting with her attendant
+maidens.
+
+Never had he seen any one so wonderfully beautiful, and he could not
+but look at her, for she was more lovely than any human being as she
+shone in her own soft radiance. When Princess Moonlight became aware
+that a stranger was looking at her she tried to escape from the room,
+but the Emperor caught her and begged her to listen to what he had to
+say. Her only answer was to hide her face in her sleeves.
+
+The Emperor fell deeply in love with her, and begged her to come to the
+Court, where he would give her a position of honor and everything she
+could wish for. He was about to send for one of the Imperial palanquins
+to take her back with him at once, saying that her grace and beauty
+should adorn a Court, and not be hidden in a bamboo-cutter’s cottage.
+
+But the Princess stopped him. She said that if she were forced to go to
+the Palace she would turn at once into a shadow, and even as she spoke
+she began to lose her form. Her figure faded from his sight while he
+looked.
+
+The Emperor then promised to leave her free if only she would resume
+her former shape, which she did.
+
+It was now time for him to return, for his retinue would be wondering
+what had happened to their Royal master when they missed him for so
+long. So he bade her good-by, and left the house with a sad heart.
+Princess Moonlight was for him the most beautiful woman in the world;
+all others were dark beside her, and he thought of her night and day.
+His Majesty now spent much of his time in writing poems, telling her of
+his love and devotion, and sent them to her, and though she refused to
+see him again she answered with many verses of her own composing, which
+told him gently and kindly that she could never marry any one on this
+earth. These little songs always gave him pleasure.
+
+At this time her foster-parents noticed that night after night the
+Princess would sit on her balcony and gaze for hours at the moon, in a
+spirit of the deepest dejection, ending always in a burst of tears. One
+night the old man found her thus weeping as if her heart were broken,
+and he besought her to tell him the reason of her sorrow.
+
+With many tears she told him that he had guessed rightly when he
+supposed her not to belong to this world—that she had in truth come
+from the moon, and that her time on earth would soon be over. On the
+fifteenth day of that very month of August her friends from the moon
+would come to fetch her, and she would have to return. Her parents were
+both there, but having spent a lifetime on the earth she had forgotten
+them, and also the moon-world to which she belonged. It made her weep,
+she said, to think of leaving her kind foster-parents, and the home
+where she had been happy for so long.
+
+When her attendants heard this they were very sad, and could not eat or
+drink for sadness at the thought that the Princess was so soon to leave
+them.
+
+The Emperor, as soon as the news was carried to him, sent messengers to
+the house to find out if the report were true or not.
+
+The old bamboo-cutter went out to meet the Imperial messengers. The
+last few days of sorrow had told upon the old man; he had aged greatly,
+and looked much more than his seventy years. Weeping bitterly, he told
+them that the report was only too true, but he intended, however, to
+make prisoners of the envoys from the moon, and to do all he could to
+prevent the Princess from being carried back.
+
+The men returned and told His Majesty all that had passed. On the
+fifteenth day of that month the Emperor sent a guard of two thousand
+warriors to watch the house. One thousand stationed themselves on the
+roof, another thousand kept watch round all the entrances of the house.
+All were well trained archers, with bows and arrows. The bamboo-cutter
+and his wife hid Princess Moonlight in an inner room.
+
+The old man gave orders that no one was to sleep that night, all in the
+house were to keep a strict watch, and be ready to protect the
+Princess. With these precautions, and the help of the Emperor’s
+men-at-arms, he hoped to withstand the moon-messengers, but the
+Princess told him that all these measures to keep her would be useless,
+and that when her people came for her nothing whatever could prevent
+them from carrying out their purpose. Even the Emperors men would be
+powerless. Then she added with tears that she was very, very sorry to
+leave him and his wife, whom she had learned to love as her parents,
+that if she could do as she liked she would stay with them in their old
+age, and try to make some return for all the love and kindness they had
+showered upon her during all her earthly life.
+
+The night wore on! The yellow harvest moon rose high in the heavens,
+flooding the world asleep with her golden light. Silence reigned over
+the pine and the bamboo forests, and on the roof where the thousand
+men-at-arms waited.
+
+Then the night grew gray towards the dawn and all hoped that the danger
+was over—that Princess Moonlight would not have to leave them after
+all. Then suddenly the watchers saw a cloud form round the moon—and
+while they looked this cloud began to roll earthwards. Nearer and
+nearer it came, and every one saw with dismay that its course lay
+towards the house.
+
+In a short time the sky was entirely obscured, till at last the cloud
+lay over the dwelling only ten feet off the ground. In the midst of the
+cloud there stood a flying chariot, and in the chariot a band of
+luminous beings. One amongst them who looked like a king and appeared
+to be the chief stepped out of the chariot, and, poised in air, called
+to the old man to come out.
+
+“The time has come,” he said, “for Princess Moonlight to return to the
+moon from whence she came. She committed a grave fault, and as a
+punishment was sent to live down here for a time. We know what good
+care you have taken of the Princess, and we have rewarded you for this
+and have sent you wealth and prosperity. We put the gold in the bamboos
+for you to find.”
+
+“I have brought up this Princess for twenty years and never once has
+she done a wrong thing, therefore the lady you are seeking cannot be
+this one,” said the old man. “I pray you to look elsewhere.”
+
+Then the messenger called aloud, saying:
+
+“Princess Moonlight, come out from this lowly dwelling. Rest not here
+another moment.”
+
+At these words the screens of the Princess’s room slid open of their
+own accord, revealing the Princess shining in her own radiance, bright
+and wonderful and full of beauty.
+
+The messenger led her forth and placed her in the chariot. She looked
+back, and saw with pity the deep sorrow of the old man. She spoke to
+him many comforting words, and told him that it was not her will to
+leave him and that he must always think of her when looking at the
+moon.
+
+The bamboo-cutter implored to be allowed to accompany her, but this was
+not allowed. The Princess took off her embroidered outer garment and
+gave it to him as a keepsake.
+
+One of the moon beings in the chariot held a wonderful coat of wings,
+another had a phial full of the Elixir of Life which was given the
+Princess to drink. She swallowed a little and was about to give the
+rest to the old man, but she was prevented from doing so.
+
+The robe of wings was about to be put upon her shoulders, but she said:
+
+“Wait a little. I must not forget my good friend the Emperor. I must
+write him once more to say good-by while still in this human form.”
+
+In spite of the impatience of the messengers and charioteers she kept
+them waiting while she wrote. She placed the phial of the Elixir of
+Life with the letter, and, giving them to the old man, she asked him to
+deliver them to the Emperor.
+
+Then the chariot began to roll heavenwards towards the moon, and as
+they all gazed with tearful eyes at the receding Princess, the dawn
+broke, and in the rosy light of day the moon-chariot and all in it were
+lost amongst the fleecy clouds that were now wafted across the sky on
+the wings of the morning wind.
+
+Princess Moonlight’s letter was carried to the Palace. His Majesty was
+afraid to touch the Elixir of Life, so he sent it with the letter to
+the top of the most sacred mountain in the land. Mount Fuji, and there
+the Royal emissaries burnt it on the summit at sunrise. So to this day
+people say there is smoke to be seen rising from the top of Mount Fuji
+to the clouds.
+
+
+
+
+THE MIRROR OF MATSUYAMA
+A STORY OF OLD JAPAN
+
+
+Long years ago in old Japan there lived in the Province of Echigo, a
+very remote part of Japan even in these days, a man and his wife. When
+this story begins they had been married for some years and were blessed
+with one little daughter. She was the joy and pride of both their
+lives, and in her they stored an endless source of happiness for their
+old age.
+
+What golden letter days in their memory were these that had marked her
+growing up from babyhood; the visit to the temple when she was just
+thirty days old, her proud mother carrying her, robed in ceremonial
+kimono, to be put under the patronage of the family’s household god;
+then her first dolls festival, when her parents gave her a set of dolls
+and their miniature belongings, to be added to as year succeeded year;
+and perhaps the most important occasion of all, on her third birthday,
+when her first OBI (broad brocade sash) of scarlet and gold was tied
+round her small waist, a sign that she had crossed the threshold of
+girlhood and left infancy behind. Now that she was seven years of age,
+and had learned to talk and to wait upon her parents in those several
+little ways so dear to the hearts of fond parents, their cup of
+happiness seemed full. There could not be found in the whole of the
+Island Empire a happier little family.
+
+One day there was much excitement in the home, for the father had been
+suddenly summoned to the capital on business. In these days of railways
+and jinrickshas and other rapid modes of traveling, it is difficult to
+realize what such a journey as that from Matsuyama to Kyoto meant. The
+roads were rough and bad, and ordinary people had to walk every step of
+the way, whether the distance were one hundred or several hundred
+miles. Indeed, in those days it was as great an undertaking to go up to
+the capital as it is for a Japanese to make a voyage to Europe now.
+
+So the wife was very anxious while she helped her husband get ready for
+the long journey, knowing what an arduous task lay before him. Vainly
+she wished that she could accompany him, but the distance was too great
+for the mother and child to go, and besides that, it was the wife’s
+duty to take care of the home.
+
+All was ready at last, and the husband stood in the porch with his
+little family round him.
+
+“Do not be anxious, I will come back soon,” said the man. “While I am
+away take care of everything, and especially of our little daughter.”
+
+“Yes, we shall be all right—but you—you must take care of yourself and
+delay not a day in coming back to us,” said the wife, while the tears
+fell like rain from her eyes.
+
+The little girl was the only one to smile, for she was ignorant of the
+sorrow of parting, and did not know that going to the capital was at
+all different from walking to the next village, which her father did
+very often. She ran to his side, and caught hold of his long sleeve to
+keep him a moment.
+
+“Father, I will be very good while I am waiting for you to come back,
+so please bring me a present.”
+
+As the father turned to take a last look at his weeping wife and
+smiling, eager child, he felt as if some one were pulling him back by
+the hair, so hard was it for him to leave them behind, for they had
+never been separated before. But he knew that he must go, for the call
+was imperative. With a great effort he ceased to think, and resolutely
+turning away he went quickly down the little garden and out through the
+gate. His wife, catching up the child in her arms, ran as far as the
+gate, and watched him as he went down the road between the pines till
+he was lost in the haze of the distance and all she could see was his
+quaint peaked hat, and at last that vanished too.
+
+“Now father has gone, you and I must take care of everything till he
+comes back,” said the mother, as she made her way back to the house.
+
+“Yes, I will be very good,” said the child, nodding her head, “and when
+father comes home please tell him how good I have been, and then
+perhaps he will give me a present.”
+
+“Father is sure to bring you something that you want very much. I know,
+for I asked him to bring you a doll. You must think of father every
+day, and pray for a safe journey till he comes back.”
+
+“O, yes, when he comes home again how happy I shall be,” said the
+child, clapping her hands, and her face growing bright with joy at the
+glad thought. It seemed to the mother as she looked at the child’s face
+that her love for her grew deeper and deeper.
+
+Then she set to work to make the winter clothes for the three of them.
+She set up her simple wooden spinning-wheel and spun the thread before
+she began to weave the stuffs. In the intervals of her work she
+directed the little girl’s games and taught her to read the old stories
+of her country. Thus did the wife find consolation in work during the
+lonely days of her husband’s absence. While the time was thus slipping
+quickly by in the quiet home, the husband finished his business and
+returned.
+
+It would have been difficult for any one who did not know the man well
+to recognize him. He had traveled day after day, exposed to all
+weathers, for about a month altogether, and was sunburnt to bronze, but
+his fond wife and child knew him at a glance, and flew to meet him from
+either side, each catching hold of one of his sleeves in their eager
+greeting. Both the man and his wife rejoiced to find each other well.
+It seemed a very long time to all till—the mother and child helping—his
+straw sandals were untied, his large umbrella hat taken off, and he was
+again in their midst in the old familiar sitting-room that had been so
+empty while he was away.
+
+As soon as they had sat down on the white mats, the father opened a
+bamboo basket that he had brought in with him, and took out a beautiful
+doll and a lacquer box full of cakes.
+
+“Here,” he said to the little girl, “is a present for you. It is a
+prize for taking care of mother and the house so well while I was
+away.”
+
+“Thank you,” said the child, as she bowed her head to the ground, and
+then put out her hand just like a little maple leaf with its eager
+wide-spread fingers to take the doll and the box, both of which, coming
+from the capital, were prettier than anything she had ever seen. No
+words can tell how delighted the little girl was—her face seemed as if
+it would melt with joy, and she had no eyes and no thought for anything
+else.
+
+Again the husband dived into the basket, and brought out this time a
+square wooden box, carefully tied up with red and white string, and
+handing it to his wife, said:
+
+“And this is for you.”
+
+The wife took the box, and opening it carefully took out a metal disk
+with a handle attached. One side was bright and shining like a crystal,
+and the other was covered with raised figures of pine-trees and storks,
+which had been carved out of its smooth surface in lifelike reality.
+Never had she seen such a thing in her life, for she had been born and
+bred in the rural province of Echigo. She gazed into the shining disk,
+and looking up with surprise and wonder pictured on her face, she said:
+
+“I see somebody looking at me in this round thing! What is it that you
+have given me?”
+
+The husband laughed and said:
+
+“Why, it is your own face that you see. What I have brought you is
+called a mirror, and whoever looks into its clear surface can see their
+own form reflected there. Although there are none to be found in this
+out of the way place, yet they have been in use in the capital from the
+most ancient times. There the mirror is considered a very necessary
+requisite for a woman to possess. There is an old proverb that ‘As the
+sword is the soul of a samurai, so is the mirror the soul of a woman,’
+and according to popular tradition, a woman’s mirror is an index to her
+own heart—if she keeps it bright and clear, so is her heart pure and
+good. It is also one of the treasures that form the insignia of the
+Emperor. So you must lay great store by your mirror, and use it
+carefully.”
+
+The wife listened to all her husband told her, and was pleased at
+learning so much that was new to her. She was still more pleased at the
+precious gift—his token of remembrance while he had been away.
+
+“If the mirror represents my soul, I shall certainly treasure it as a
+valuable possession, and never will I use it carelessly.” Saying so,
+she lifted it as high as her forehead, in grateful acknowledgment of
+the gift, and then shut it up in its box and put it away.
+
+The wife saw that her husband was very tired, and set about serving the
+evening meal and making everything as comfortable as she could for him.
+It seemed to the little family as if they had not known what true
+happiness was before, so glad were they to be together again, and this
+evening the father had much to tell of his journey and of all he had
+seen at the great capital.
+
+Time passed away in the peaceful home, and the parents saw their
+fondest hopes realized as their daughter grew from childhood into a
+beautiful girl of sixteen. As a gem of priceless value is held in its
+proud owner’s hand, so had they reared her with unceasing love and
+care: and now their pains were more than doubly rewarded. What a
+comfort she was to her mother as she went about the house taking her
+part in the housekeeping, and how proud her father was of her, for she
+daily reminded him of her mother when he had first married her.
+
+But, alas! in this world nothing lasts forever. Even the moon is not
+always perfect in shape, but loses its roundness with time, and flowers
+bloom and then fade. So at last the happiness of this family was broken
+up by a great sorrow. The good and gentle wife and mother was one day
+taken ill.
+
+In the first days of her illness the father and daughter thought that
+it was only a cold, and were not particularly anxious. But the days
+went by and still the mother did not get better; she only grew worse,
+and the doctor was puzzled, for in spite of all he did the poor woman
+grew weaker day by day. The father and daughter were stricken with
+grief, and day or night the girl never left her mother’s side. But in
+spite of all their efforts the woman’s life was not to be saved.
+
+One day as the girl sat near her mother’s bed, trying to hide with a
+cheery smile the gnawing trouble at her heart, the mother roused
+herself and taking her daughter’s hand, gazed earnestly and lovingly
+into her eyes. Her breath was labored and she spoke with difficulty:
+
+“My daughter. I am sure that nothing can save me now. When I am dead,
+promise me to take care of your dear father and to try to be a good and
+dutiful woman.”
+
+“Oh, mother,” said the girl as the tears rushed to her eyes, “you must
+not say such things. All you have to do is to make haste and get
+well—that will bring the greatest happiness to father and myself.”
+
+“Yes, I know, and it is a comfort to me in my last days to know how
+greatly you long for me to get better, but it is not to be. Do not look
+so sorrowful, for it was so ordained in my previous state of existence
+that I should die in this life just at this time; knowing this, I am
+quite resigned to my fate. And now I have something to give you whereby
+to remember me when I am gone.”
+
+Putting her hand out, she took from the side of the pillow a square
+wooden box tied up with a silken cord and tassels. Undoing this very
+carefully, she took out of the box the mirror that her husband had
+given her years ago.
+
+“When you were still a little child your father went up to the capital
+and brought me back as a present this treasure; it is called a mirror.
+This I give you before I die. If, after I have ceased to be in this
+life, you are lonely and long to see me sometimes, then take out this
+mirror and in the clear and shining surface you will always see me—so
+will you be able to meet with me often and tell me all your heart; and
+though I shall not be able to speak, I shall understand and sympathize
+with you, whatever may happen to you in the future.” With these words
+the dying woman handed the mirror to her daughter.
+
+The mind of the good mother seemed to be now at rest, and sinking back
+without another word her spirit passed quietly away that day.
+
+The bereaved father and daughter were wild with grief, and they
+abandoned themselves to their bitter sorrow. They felt it to be
+impossible to take leave of the loved woman who till now had filled
+their whole lives and to commit her body to the earth. But this frantic
+burst of grief passed, and then they took possession of their own
+hearts again, crushed though they were in resignation. In spite of this
+the daughter’s life seemed to her desolate. Her love for her dead
+mother did not grow less with time, and so keen was her remembrance,
+that everything in daily life, even the falling of the rain and the
+blowing of the wind, reminded her of her mother’s death and of all that
+they had loved and shared together. One day when her father was out,
+and she was fulfilling her household duties alone, her loneliness and
+sorrow seemed more than she could bear. She threw herself down in her
+mother’s room and wept as if her heart would break. Poor child, she
+longed just for one glimpse of the loved face, one sound of the voice
+calling her pet name, or for one moment’s forgetfulness of the aching
+void in her heart. Suddenly she sat up. Her mother’s last words had
+rung through her memory hitherto dulled by grief.
+
+“Oh! my mother told me when she gave me the mirror as a parting gift,
+that whenever I looked into it I should be able to meet her—to see her.
+I had nearly forgotten her last words—how stupid I am; I will get the
+mirror now and see if it can possibly be true!”
+
+She dried her eyes quickly, and going to the cupboard took out the box
+that contained the mirror, her heart beating with expectation as she
+lifted the mirror out and gazed into its smooth face. Behold, her
+mother’s words were true! In the round mirror before her she saw her
+mother’s face; but, oh, the joyful surprise! It was not her mother thin
+and wasted by illness, but the young and beautiful woman as she
+remembered her far back in the days of her own earliest childhood. It
+seemed to the girl that the face in the mirror must soon speak, almost
+that she heard the voice of her mother telling her again to grow up a
+good woman and a dutiful daughter, so earnestly did the eyes in the
+mirror look back into her own.
+
+“It is certainly my mother’s soul that I see. She knows how miserable I
+am without her and she has come to comfort me. Whenever I long to see
+her she will meet me here; how grateful I ought to be!”
+
+And from this time the weight of sorrow was greatly lightened for her
+young heart. Every morning, to gather strength for the day’s duties
+before her, and every evening, for consolation before she lay down to
+rest, did the young girl take out the mirror and gaze at the reflection
+which in the simplicity of her innocent heart she believed to be her
+mother’s soul. Daily she grew in the likeness of her dead mother’s
+character, and was gentle and kind to all, and a dutiful daughter to
+her father.
+
+A year spent in mourning had thus passed away in the little household,
+when, by the advice of his relations, the man married again, and the
+daughter now found herself under the authority of a step-mother. It was
+a trying position; but her days spent in the recollection of her own
+beloved mother, and of trying to be what that mother would wish her to
+be, had made the young girl docile and patient, and she now determined
+to be filial and dutiful to her father’s wife, in all respects.
+Everything went on apparently smoothly in the family for some time
+under the new regime; there were no winds or waves of discord to ruffle
+the surface of every-day life, and the father was content.
+
+But it is a woman’s danger to be petty and mean, and step-mothers are
+proverbial all the world over, and this one’s heart was not as her
+first smiles were. As the days and weeks grew into months, the
+step-mother began to treat the motherless girl unkindly and to try and
+come between the father and child.
+
+Sometimes she went to her husband and complained of her step-daughter’s
+behavior, but the father knowing that this was to be expected, took no
+notice of her ill-natured complaints. Instead of lessening his
+affection for his daughter, as the woman desired, her grumblings only
+made him think of her the more. The woman soon saw that he began to
+show more concern for his lonely child than before. This did not please
+her at all, and she began to turn over in her mind how she could, by
+some means or other, drive her step-child out of the house. So crooked
+did the woman’s heart become.
+
+She watched the girl carefully, and one day peeping into her room in
+the early morning, she thought she discovered a grave enough sin of
+which to accuse the child to her father. The woman herself was a little
+frightened too at what she had seen.
+
+So she went at once to her husband, and wiping away some false tears
+she said in a sad voice:
+
+“Please give me permission to leave you today.”
+
+The man was completely taken by surprise at the suddenness of her
+request, and wondered whatever was the matter.
+
+“Do you find it so disagreeable,” he asked, “in my house, that you can
+stay no longer?”
+
+“No! no! it has nothing to do with you—even in my dreams I have never
+thought that I wished to leave your side; but if I go on living here I
+am in danger of losing my life, so I think it best for all concerned
+that you should allow me to go home!”
+
+And the woman began to weep afresh. Her husband, distressed to see her
+so unhappy, and thinking that he could not have heard aright, said:
+
+“Tell me what you mean! How is your life in danger here?”
+
+“I will tell you since you ask me. Your daughter dislikes me as her
+step-mother. For some time past she has shut herself up in her room
+morning and evening, and looking in as I pass by, I am convinced that
+she has made an image of me and is trying to kill me by magic art,
+cursing me daily. It is not safe for me to stay here, such being the
+case; indeed, indeed, I must go away, we cannot live under the same
+roof any more.”
+
+The husband listened to the dreadful tale, but he could not believe his
+gentle daughter guilty of such an evil act. He knew that by popular
+superstition people believed that one person could cause the gradual
+death of another by making an image of the hated one and cursing it
+daily; but where had his young daughter learned such knowledge?—the
+thing was impossible. Yet he remembered having noticed that his
+daughter stayed much in her room of late and kept herself away from
+every one, even when visitors came to the house. Putting this fact
+together with his wife’s alarm, he thought that there might be
+something to account for the strange story.
+
+His heart was torn between doubting his wife and trusting his child,
+and he knew not what to do. He decided to go at once to his daughter
+and try to find out the truth. Comforting his wife and assuring her
+that her fears were groundless, he glided quietly to his daughter’s
+room.
+
+The girl had for a long time past been very unhappy. She had tried by
+amiability and obedience to show her goodwill and to mollify the new
+wife, and to break down that wall of prejudice and misunderstanding
+that she knew generally stood between step-parents and their
+step-children. But she soon found that her efforts were in vain. The
+step-mother never trusted her, and seemed to misinterpret all her
+actions, and the poor child knew very well that she often carried
+unkind and untrue tales to her father. She could not help comparing her
+present unhappy condition with the time when her own mother was alive
+only a little more than a year ago—so great a change in this short
+time! Morning and evening she wept over the remembrance. Whenever she
+could she went to her room, and sliding the screens to, took out the
+mirror and gazed, as she thought, at her mother’s face. It was the only
+comfort that she had in these wretched days.
+
+Her father found her occupied in this way. Pushing aside the fusama, he
+saw her bending over something or other very intently. Looking over her
+shoulder, to see who was entering her room, the girl was surprised to
+see her father, for he generally sent for her when he wished to speak
+to her. She was also confused at being found looking at the mirror, for
+she had never told any one of her mother’s last promise, but had kept
+it as the sacred secret of her heart. So before turning to her father
+she slipped the mirror into her long sleeve. Her father noting her
+confusion, and her act of hiding something, said in a severe manner:
+
+“Daughter, what are you doing here? And what is that that you have
+hidden in your sleeve?”
+
+The girl was frightened by her father’s severity. Never had he spoken
+to her in such a tone. Her confusion changed to apprehension, her color
+from scarlet to white. She sat dumb and shamefaced, unable to reply.
+
+Appearances were certainly against her; the young girl looked guilty,
+and the father thinking that perhaps after all what his wife had told
+him was true, spoke angrily:
+
+“Then, is it really true that you are daily cursing your step-mother
+and praying for her death? Have you forgotten what I told you, that
+although she is your step-mother you must be obedient and loyal to her?
+What evil spirit has taken possession of your heart that you should be
+so wicked? You have certainly changed, my daughter! What has made you
+so disobedient and unfaithful?”
+
+And the father’s eyes filled with sudden tears to think that he should
+have to upbraid his daughter in this way.
+
+She on her part did not know what he meant, for she had never heard of
+the superstition that by praying over an image it is possible to cause
+the death of a hated person. But she saw that she must speak and clear
+herself somehow. She loved her father dearly, and could not bear the
+idea of his anger. She put out her hand on his knee deprecatingly:
+
+“Father! father! do not say such dreadful things to me. I am still your
+obedient child. Indeed, I am. However stupid I may be, I should never
+be able to curse any one who belonged to you, much less pray for the
+death of one you love. Surely some one has been telling you lies, and
+you are dazed, and you know not what you say—or some evil spirit has
+taken possession of YOUR heart. As for me I do not know—no, not so much
+as a dew-drop, of the evil thing of which you accuse me.”
+
+But the father remembered that she had hidden something away when he
+first entered the room, and even this earnest protest did not satisfy
+him. He wished to clear up his doubts once for all.
+
+“Then why are you always alone in your room these days? And tell me
+what is that that you have hidden in your sleeve—show it to me at
+once.”
+
+Then the daughter, though shy of confessing how she had cherished her
+mother’s memory, saw that she must tell her father all in order to
+clear herself. So she slipped the mirror out from her long sleeve and
+laid it before him.
+
+“This,” she said, “is what you saw me looking at just now.”
+
+“Why,” he said in great surprise, “this is the mirror that I brought as
+a gift to your mother when I went up to the capital many years ago! And
+so you have kept it all this time? Now, why do you spend so much of
+your time before this mirror?”
+
+Then she told him of her mother’s last words, and of how she had
+promised to meet her child whenever she looked into the glass. But
+still the father could not understand the simplicity of his daughter’s
+character in not knowing that what she saw reflected in the mirror was
+in reality her own face, and not that of her mother.
+
+“What do you mean?” he asked. “I do not understand how you can meet the
+soul of your lost mother by looking in this mirror?”
+
+“It is indeed true,” said the girl: “and if you don’t believe what I
+say, look for yourself,” and she placed the mirror before her. There,
+looking back from the smooth metal disk, was her own sweet face. She
+pointed to the reflection seriously:
+
+“Do you doubt me still?” she asked earnestly, looking up into his face.
+
+With an exclamation of sudden understanding the father smote his two
+hands together.
+
+“How stupid I am! At last I understand. Your face is as like your
+mother’s as the two sides of a melon—thus you have looked at the
+reflection of your face all this time, thinking that you were brought
+face to face with your lost mother! You are truly a faithful child. It
+seems at first a stupid thing to have done, but it is not really so, It
+shows how deep has been your filial piety, and how innocent your heart.
+Living in constant remembrance of your lost mother has helped you to
+grow like her in character. How clever it was of her to tell you to do
+this. I admire and respect you, my daughter, and I am ashamed to think
+that for one instant I believed your suspicious step-mother’s story and
+suspected you of evil, and came with the intention of scolding you
+severely, while all this time you have been so true and good. Before
+you I have no countenance left, and I beg you to forgive me.”
+
+And here the father wept. He thought of how lonely the poor girl must
+have been, and of all that she must have suffered under her
+step-mother’s treatment. His daughter steadfastly keeping her faith and
+simplicity in the midst of such adverse circumstances—bearing all her
+troubles with so much patience and amiability—made him compare her to
+the lotus which rears its blossom of dazzling beauty out of the slime
+and mud of the moats and ponds, fitting emblem of a heart which keeps
+itself unsullied while passing through the world.
+
+The step-mother, anxious to know what would happen, had all this while
+been standing outside the room. She had grown interested, and had
+gradually pushed the sliding screen back till she could see all that
+went on. At this moment she suddenly entered the room, and dropping to
+the mats, she bowed her head over her outspread hands before her
+step-daughter.
+
+“I am ashamed! I am ashamed!” she exclaimed in broken tones. “I did not
+know what a filial child you were. Through no fault of yours, but with
+a step-mother’s jealous heart, I have disliked you all the time. Hating
+you so much myself, it was but natural that I should think you
+reciprocated the feeling, and thus when I saw you retire so often to
+your room I followed you, and when I saw you gaze daily into the mirror
+for long intervals, I concluded that you had found out how I disliked
+you, and that you were out of revenge trying to take my life by magic
+art. As long as I live I shall never forget the wrong I have done you
+in so misjudging you, and in causing your father to suspect you. From
+this day I throw away my old and wicked heart, and in its place I put a
+new one, clean and full of repentance. I shall think of you as a child
+that I have borne myself. I shall love and cherish you with all my
+heart, and thus try to make up for all the unhappiness I have caused
+you. Therefore, please throw into the water all that has gone before,
+and give me, I beg of you, some of the filial love that you have
+hitherto given to your own lost mother.”
+
+Thus did the unkind step-mother humble herself and ask forgiveness of
+the girl she had so wronged.
+
+Such was the sweetness of the girl’s disposition that she willingly
+forgave her step-mother, and never bore a moment’s resentment or malice
+towards her afterwards. The father saw by his wife’s face that she was
+truly sorry for the past, and was greatly relieved to see the terrible
+misunderstanding wiped out of remembrance by both the wrong-doer and
+the wronged.
+
+From this time on, the three lived together as happily as fish in
+water. No such trouble ever darkened the home again, and the young girl
+gradually forgot that year of unhappiness in the tender love and care
+that her step-mother now bestowed on her. Her patience and goodness
+were rewarded at last.
+
+
+
+
+THE GOBLIN OF ADACHIGAHARA
+
+
+Long, long ago there was a large plain called Adachigahara, in the
+province of Mutsu in Japan. This place was said to be haunted by a
+cannibal goblin who took the form of an old woman. From time to time
+many travelers disappeared and were never heard of more, and the old
+women round the charcoal braziers in the evenings, and the girls
+washing the household rice at the wells in the mornings, whispered
+dreadful stories of how the missing folk had been lured to the goblin’s
+cottage and devoured, for the goblin lived only on human flesh. No one
+dared to venture near the haunted spot after sunset, and all those who
+could, avoided it in the daytime, and travelers were warned of the
+dreaded place.
+
+One day as the sun was setting, a priest came to the plain. He was a
+belated traveler, and his robe showed that he was a Buddhist pilgrim
+walking from shrine to shrine to pray for some blessing or to crave for
+forgiveness of sins. He had apparently lost his way, and as it was late
+he met no one who could show him the road or warn him of the haunted
+spot.
+
+He had walked the whole day and was now tired and hungry, and the
+evenings were chilly, for it was late autumn, and he began to be very
+anxious to find some house where he could obtain a night’s lodging. He
+found himself lost in the midst of the large plain, and looked about in
+vain for some sign of human habitation.
+
+At last, after wandering about for some hours, he saw a clump of trees
+in the distance, and through the trees he caught sight of the glimmer
+of a single ray of light. He exclaimed with joy:
+
+“Oh. surely that is some cottage where I can get a night’s lodging!”
+
+Keeping the light before his eyes he dragged his weary, aching feet as
+quickly as he could towards the spot, and soon came to a
+miserable-looking little cottage. As he drew near he saw that it was in
+a tumble-down condition, the bamboo fence was broken and weeds and
+grass pushed their way through the gaps. The paper screens which serve
+as windows and doors in Japan were full of holes, and the posts of the
+house were bent with age and seemed scarcely able to support the old
+thatched roof. The hut was open, and by the light of an old lantern an
+old woman sat industriously spinning.
+
+The pilgrim called to her across the bamboo fence and said:
+
+“O Baa San (old woman), good evening! I am a traveler! Please excuse
+me, but I have lost my way and do not know what to do, for I have
+nowhere to rest to-night. I beg you to be good enough to let me spend
+the night under your roof.”
+
+The old woman as soon as she heard herself spoken to stopped spinning,
+rose from her seat and approached the intruder.
+
+“I am very sorry for you. You must indeed be distressed to have lost
+your way in such a lonely spot so late at night. Unfortunately I cannot
+put you up, for I have no bed to offer you, and no accommodation
+whatsoever for a guest in this poor place!”
+
+“Oh, that does not matter,” said the priest; “all I want is a shelter
+under some roof for the night, and if you will be good enough just to
+let me lie on the kitchen floor I shall be grateful. I am too tired to
+walk further to-night, so I hope you will not refuse me, otherwise I
+shall have to sleep out on the cold plain.” And in this way he pressed
+the old woman to let him stay.
+
+She seemed very reluctant, but at last she said:
+
+“Very well, I will let you stay here. I can offer you a very poor
+welcome only, but come in now and I will make a fire, for the night is
+cold.”
+
+The pilgrim was only too glad to do as he was told. He took off his
+sandals and entered the hut. The old woman then brought some sticks of
+wood and lit the fire, and bade her guest draw near and warm himself.
+
+“You must be hungry after your long tramp,” said the old woman. “I will
+go and cook some supper for you.” She then went to the kitchen to cook
+some rice.
+
+After the priest had finished his supper the old woman sat down by the
+fire-place, and they talked together for a long time. The pilgrim
+thought to himself that he had been very lucky to come across such a
+kind, hospitable old woman. At last the wood gave out, and as the fire
+died slowly down he began to shiver with cold just as he had done when
+he arrived.
+
+“I see you are cold,” said the old woman; “I will go out and gather
+some wood, for we have used it all. You must stay and take care of the
+house while I am gone.”
+
+“No, no,” said the pilgrim, “let me go instead, for you are old, and I
+cannot think of letting you go out to get wood for me this cold night!”
+
+The old woman shook her head and said:
+
+“You must stay quietly here, for you are my guest.” Then she left him
+and went out.
+
+In a minute she came back and said:
+
+“You must sit where you are and not move, and whatever happens don’t go
+near or look into the inner room. Now mind what I tell you!”
+
+“If you tell me not to go near the back room, of course I won’t,” said
+the priest, rather bewildered.
+
+The old woman then went out again, and the priest was left alone. The
+fire had died out, and the only light in the hut was that of a dim
+lantern. For the first time that night he began to feel that he was in
+a weird place, and the old woman’s words, “Whatever you do don’t peep
+into the back room,” aroused his curiosity and his fear.
+
+What hidden thing could be in that room that she did not wish him to
+see? For some time the remembrance of his promise to the old woman kept
+him still, but at last he could no longer resist his curiosity to peep
+into the forbidden place.
+
+He got up and began to move slowly towards the back room. Then the
+thought that the old woman would be very angry with him if he disobeyed
+her made him come back to his place by the fireside.
+
+As the minutes went slowly by and the old woman did not return, he
+began to feel more and more frightened, and to wonder what dreadful
+secret was in the room behind him. He must find out.
+
+“She will not know that I have looked unless I tell her. I will just
+have a peep before she comes back,” said the man to himself.
+
+With these words he got up on his feet (for he had been sitting all
+this time in Japanese fashion with his feet under him) and stealthily
+crept towards the forbidden spot. With trembling hands he pushed back
+the sliding door and looked in. What he saw froze the blood in his
+veins. The room was full of dead men’s bones and the walls were
+splashed and the floor was covered with human blood. In one corner
+skull upon skull rose to the ceiling, in another was a heap of arm
+bones, in another a heap of leg bones. The sickening smell made him
+faint. He fell backwards with horror, and for some time lay in a heap
+with fright on the floor, a pitiful sight. He trembled all over and his
+teeth chattered, and he could hardly crawl away from the dreadful spot.
+
+“How horrible!” he cried out. “What awful den have I come to in my
+travels? May Buddha help me or I am lost. Is it possible that that kind
+old woman is really the cannibal goblin? When she comes back she will
+show herself in her true character and eat me up at one mouthful!”
+
+With these words his strength came back to him and, snatching up his
+hat and staff, he rushed out of the house as fast as his legs could
+carry him. Out into the night he ran, his one thought to get as far as
+he could from the goblin’s haunt. He had not gone far when he heard
+steps behind him and a voice crying: “Stop! stop!”
+
+He ran on, redoubling his speed, pretending not to hear. As he ran he
+heard the steps behind him come nearer and nearer, and at last he
+recognized the old woman’s voice which grew louder and louder as she
+came nearer.
+
+“Stop! stop, you wicked man, why did you look into the forbidden room?”
+
+The priest quite forgot how tired he was and his feet flew over the
+ground faster than ever. Fear gave him strength, for he knew that if
+the goblin caught him he would soon be one of her victims. With all his
+heart he repeated the prayer to Buddha:
+
+“Namu Amida Butsu, Namu Amida Butsu.”
+
+And after him rushed the dreadful old hag, her hair flying in the wind,
+and her face changing with rage into the demon that she was. In her
+hand she carried a large blood-stained knife, and she still shrieked
+after him, “Stop! stop!”
+
+At last, when the priest felt he could run no more, the dawn broke, and
+with the darkness of night the goblin vanished and he was safe. The
+priest now knew that he had met the Goblin of Adachigahara, the story
+of whom he had often heard but never believed to be true. He felt that
+he owed his wonderful escape to the protection of Buddha to whom he had
+prayed for help, so he took out his rosary and bowing his head as the
+sun rose he said his prayers and made his thanksgiving earnestly. He
+then set forward for another part of the country, only too glad to
+leave the haunted plain behind him.
+
+
+
+
+THE SAGACIOUS MONKEY AND THE BOAR
+
+
+Long, long ago, there lived in the province of Shinshin in Japan, a
+traveling monkey-man, who earned his living by taking round a monkey
+and showing off the animal’s tricks.
+
+One evening the man came home in a very bad temper and told his wife to
+send for the butcher the next morning.
+
+The wife was very bewildered and asked her husband:
+
+“Why do you wish me to send for the butcher?”
+
+“It’s no use taking that monkey round any longer, he’s too old and
+forgets his tricks. I beat him with my stick all I know how, but he
+won’t dance properly. I must now sell him to the butcher and make what
+money out of him I can. There is nothing else to be done.”
+
+The woman felt very sorry for the poor little animal, and pleaded for
+her husband to spare the monkey, but her pleading was all in vain, the
+man was determined to sell him to the butcher.
+
+Now the monkey was in the next room and overheard every word of the
+conversation. He soon understood that he was to be killed, and he said
+to himself:
+
+“Barbarous, indeed, is my master! Here I have served him faithfully for
+years, and instead of allowing me to end my days comfortably and in
+peace, he is going to let me be cut up by the butcher, and my poor body
+is to be roasted and stewed and eaten? Woe is me! What am I to do. Ah!
+a bright thought has struck me! There is, I know, a wild boar living in
+the forest near by. I have often heard tell of his wisdom. Perhaps if I
+go to him and tell him the strait I am in he will give me his counsel.
+I will go and try.”
+
+There was no time to lose. The monkey slipped out of the house and ran
+as quickly as he could to the forest to find the boar. The boar was at
+home, and the monkey began his tale of woe at once.
+
+“Good Mr. Boar, I have heard of your excellent wisdom. I am in great
+trouble, you alone can help me. I have grown old in the service of my
+master, and because I cannot dance properly now he intends to sell me
+to the butcher. What do you advise me to do? I know how clever you
+are!”
+
+The boar was pleased at the flattery and determined to help the monkey.
+He thought for a little while and then said:
+
+“Hasn’t your master a baby?”
+
+“Oh, yes,” said the monkey, “he has one infant son.”
+
+“Doesn’t it lie by the door in the morning when your mistress begins
+the work of the day? Well, I will come round early and when I see my
+opportunity I will seize the child and run off with it.”
+
+“What then?” said the monkey.
+
+“Why the mother will be in a tremendous scare, and before your master
+and mistress know what to do, you must run after me and rescue the
+child and take it home safely to its parents, and you will see that
+when the butcher comes they won’t have the heart to sell you.”
+
+The monkey thanked the boar many times and then went home. He did not
+sleep much that night, as you may imagine, for thinking of the morrow.
+His life depended on whether the boar’s plan succeeded or not. He was
+the first up, waiting anxiously for what was to happen. It seemed to
+him a very long time before his master’s wife began to move about and
+open the shutters to let in the light of day. Then all happened as the
+boar had planned. The mother placed her child near the porch as usual
+while she tidied up the house and got her breakfast ready.
+
+The child was crooning happily in the morning sunlight, dabbing on the
+mats at the play of light and shadow. Suddenly there was a noise in the
+porch and a loud cry from the child. The mother ran out from the
+kitchen to the spot, only just in time to see the boar disappearing
+through the gate with her child in its clutch. She flung out her hands
+with a loud cry of despair and rushed into the inner room where her
+husband was still sleeping soundly.
+
+He sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes, and crossly demanded what his
+wife was making all that noise about. By the time that the man was
+alive to what had happened, and they both got outside the gate, the
+boar had got well away, but they saw the monkey running after the thief
+as hard as his legs would carry him.
+
+Both the man and wife were moved to admiration at the plucky conduct of
+the sagacious monkey, and their gratitude knew no bounds when the
+faithful monkey brought the child safely back to their arms.
+
+“There!” said the wife. “This is the animal you want to kill—if the
+monkey hadn’t been here we should have lost our child forever.”
+
+“You are right, wife, for once,” said the man as he carried the child
+into the house. “You may send the butcher back when he comes, and now
+give us all a good breakfast and the monkey too.”
+
+When the butcher arrived he was sent away with an order for some boar’s
+meat for the evening dinner, and the monkey was petted and lived the
+rest of his days in peace, nor did his master ever strike him again.
+
+
+
+
+THE HAPPY HUNTER AND THE SKILLFUL FISHER
+
+
+Long, long ago Japan was governed by Hohodemi, the fourth Mikoto (or
+Augustness) in descent from the illustrious Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess.
+He was not only as handsome as his ancestress was beautiful, but he was
+also very strong and brave, and was famous for being the greatest
+hunter in the land. Because of his matchless skill as a hunter, he was
+called “Yama-sachi-hiko” or “The Happy Hunter of the Mountains.”
+
+His elder brother was a very skillful fisher, and as he far surpassed
+all rivals in fishing, he was named “Umi-sachi-hiko” or the “Skillful
+Fisher of the Sea.” The brothers thus led happy lives, thoroughly
+enjoying their respective occupations, and the days passed quickly and
+pleasantly while each pursued his own way, the one hunting and the
+other fishing.
+
+One day the Happy Hunter came to his brother, the Skillful Fisher, and
+said:
+
+“Well, my brother, I see you go to the sea every day with your fishing
+rod in your hand, and when you return you come laden with fish. And as
+for me, it is my pleasure to take my bow and arrow and to hunt the wild
+animals up the mountains and down in the valleys. For a long time we
+have each followed our favorite occupation, so that now we must both be
+tired, you of your fishing and I of my hunting. Would it not be wise
+for us to make a change? Will you try hunting in the mountains and I
+will go and fish in the sea?”
+
+The Skillful Fisher listened in silence to his brother, and for a
+moment was thoughtful, but at last he answered:
+
+“O yes, why not? Your idea is not a bad one at all. Give me your bow
+and arrow and I will set out at once for the mountains and hunt for
+game.”
+
+So the matter was settled by this talk, and the two brothers each
+started out to try the other’s occupation, little dreaming of all that
+would happen. It was very unwise of them, for the Happy Hunter knew
+nothing of fishing, and the Skillful Fisher, who was bad tempered, knew
+as much about hunting.
+
+The Happy Hunter took his brother’s much-prized fishing hook and rod
+and went down to the seashore and sat down on the rocks. He baited his
+hook and then threw it into the sea clumsily. He sat and gazed at the
+little float bobbing up and down in the water, and longed for a good
+fish to come and be caught. Every time the buoy moved a little he
+pulled up his rod, but there was never a fish at the end of it, only
+the hook and the bait. If he had known how to fish properly, he would
+have been able to catch plenty of fish, but although he was the
+greatest hunter in the land he could not help being the most bungling
+fisher.
+
+The whole day passed in this way, while he sat on the rocks holding the
+fishing rod and waiting in vain for his luck to turn. At last the day
+began to darken, and the evening came; still he had caught not a single
+fish. Drawing up his line for the last time before going home, he found
+that he had lost his hook without even knowing when he had dropped it.
+
+He now began to feel extremely anxious, for he knew that his brother
+would be angry at his having lost his hook, for, it being his only one,
+he valued it above all other things. The Happy Hunter now set to work
+to look among the rocks and on the sand for the lost hook, and while he
+was searching to and fro, his brother, the Skillful Fisher, arrived on
+the scene. He had failed to find any game while hunting that day, and
+was not only in a bad temper, but looked fearfully cross. When he saw
+the Happy Hunter searching about on the shore he knew that something
+must have gone wrong, so he said at once:
+
+“What are you doing, my brother?”
+
+The Happy Hunter went forward timidly, for he feared his brother’s
+anger, and said:
+
+“Oh, my brother, I have indeed done badly.”
+
+“What is the matter?—what have you done?” asked the elder brother
+impatiently.
+
+“I have lost your precious fishing hook—”
+
+While he was still speaking his brother stopped him, and cried out
+fiercely:
+
+“Lost my hook! It is just what I expected. For this reason, when you
+first proposed your plan of changing over our occupations I was really
+against it, but you seemed to wish it so much that I gave in and
+allowed you to do as you wished. The mistake of our trying unfamiliar
+tasks is soon seen! And you have done badly. I will not return you your
+bow and arrow till you have found my hook. Look to it that you find it
+and return it to me quickly.”
+
+The Happy Hunter felt that he was to blame for all that had come to
+pass, and bore his brother’s scornful scolding with humility and
+patience. He hunted everywhere for the hook most diligently, but it was
+nowhere to be found. He was at last obliged to give up all hope of
+finding it. He then went home, and in desperation broke his beloved
+sword into pieces and made five hundred hooks out of it.
+
+He took these to his angry brother and offered them to him, asking his
+forgiveness, and begging him to accept them in the place of the one he
+had lost for him. It was useless; his brother would not listen to him,
+much less grant his request.
+
+The Happy Hunter then made another five hundred hooks, and again took
+them to his brother, beseeching him to pardon him.
+
+“Though you make a million hooks,” said the Skillful Fisher, shaking
+his head, “they are of no use to me. I cannot forgive you unless you
+bring me back my own hook.”
+
+Nothing would appease the anger of the Skillful Fisher, for he had a
+bad disposition, and had always hated his brother because of his
+virtues, and now with the excuse of the lost fishing hook he planned to
+kill him and to usurp his place as ruler of Japan. The Happy Hunter
+knew all this full well, but he could say nothing, for being the
+younger he owed his elder brother obedience; so he returned to the
+seashore and once more began to look for the missing hook. He was much
+cast down, for he had lost all hope of ever finding his brother’s hook
+now. While he stood on the beach, lost in perplexity and wondering what
+he had best do next, an old man suddenly appeared carrying a stick in
+his hand. The Happy Hunter afterwards remembered that he did not see
+from whence the old man came, neither did he know how he was there—he
+happened to look up and saw the old man coming towards him.
+
+“You are Hohodemi, the Augustness, sometimes called the Happy Hunter,
+are you not?” asked the old man. “What are you doing alone in such a
+place?”
+
+“Yes, I am he,” answered the unhappy young man. “Unfortunately, while
+fishing I lost my brother’s precious fishing hook. I have hunted this
+shore all over, but alas! I cannot find it, and I am very troubled, for
+my brother won’t forgive me till I restore it to him. But who are you?”
+
+“My name is Shiwozuchino Okina, and I live near by on this shore. I am
+sorry to hear what misfortune has befallen you. You must indeed be
+anxious. But if I tell you what I think, the hook is nowhere here—it is
+either at the bottom of the sea or in the body of some fish who has
+swallowed it, and for this reason, though you spend your whole life in
+looking for it here, you will never find it.”
+
+“Then what can I do?” asked the distressed man.
+
+“You had better go down to Ryn Gu and tell Ryn Jin, the Dragon King of
+the Sea, what your trouble is and ask him to find the hook for you. I
+think that would be the best way.”
+
+“Your idea is a splendid one,” said the Happy Hunter, “but I fear I
+cannot get to the Sea King’s realm, for I have always heard that it is
+situated at the bottom of the sea.”
+
+“Oh, there will be no difficulty about your getting there,” said the
+old man; “I can soon make something for you to ride on through the
+sea.”
+
+“Thank you,” said the Happy Hunter, “I shall be very grateful to you if
+you will be so kind.”
+
+The old man at once set to work, and soon made a basket and offered it
+to the Happy Hunter. He received it with joy, and taking it to the
+water, mounted it, and prepared to start. He bade good by to the kind
+old man who had helped him so much, and told him that he would
+certainly reward him as soon as he found his hook and could return to
+Japan without fear of his brother’s anger. The old man pointed out the
+direction he must take, and told him how to reach the realm of Ryn Gu,
+and watched him ride out to sea on the basket, which resembled a small
+boat.
+
+The Happy Hunter made all the haste he could, riding on the basket
+which had been given him by his friend. His queer boat seemed to go
+through the water of its own accord, and the distance was much shorter
+than he had expected, for in a few hours he caught sight of the gate
+and the roof of the Sea King’s Palace. And what a large place it was,
+with its numberless sloping roofs and gables, its huge gateways, and
+its gray stone walls! He soon landed, and leaving his basket on the
+beach, he walked up to the large gateway. The pillars of the gate were
+made of beautiful red coral, and the gate itself was adorned with
+glittering gems of all kinds. Large katsura trees overshadowed it. Our
+hero had often heard of the wonders of the Sea King’s Palace beneath
+the sea, but all the stories he had ever heard fell short of the
+reality which he now saw for the first time.
+
+The Happy Hunter would have liked to enter the gate there and then, but
+he saw that it was fast closed, and also that there was no one about
+whom he could ask to open it for him, so he stopped to think what he
+should do. In the shade of the trees before the gate he noticed a well
+full of fresh spring water. Surely some one would come out to draw
+water from the well some time, he thought. Then he climbed into the
+tree overhanging the well, and seated himself to rest on one of the
+branches, and waited for what might happen. Ere long he saw the huge
+gate swing open, and two beautiful women came out. Now the Mikoto
+(Augustness) had always heard that Ryn Gu was the realm of the Dragon
+King under the Sea, and had naturally supposed that the place was
+inhabited by dragons and similar terrible creatures, so that when he
+saw these two lovely princesses, whose beauty would be rare even in the
+world from which he had just come, he was exceedingly surprised, and
+wondered what it could mean.
+
+He said not a word, however, but silently gazed at them through the
+foliage of the trees, waiting to see what they would do. He saw that in
+their hands they carried golden buckets. Slowly and gracefully in their
+trailing garments they approached the well, standing in the shade of
+the katsura trees, and were about to draw water, all unknowing of the
+stranger who was watching them, for the Happy Hunter was quite hidden
+among the branches of the tree where he had posted himself.
+
+As the two ladies leaned over the side of the well to let down their
+golden buckets, which they did every day in the year, they saw
+reflected in the deep still water the face of a handsome youth gazing
+at them from amidst the branches of the tree in whose shade they stood.
+Never before had they seen the face of mortal man; they were
+frightened, and drew back quickly with their golden buckets in their
+hands. Their curiosity, however, soon gave them courage, and they
+glanced timidly upwards to see the cause of the unusual reflection, and
+then they beheld the Happy Hunter sitting in the tree looking down at
+them with surprise and admiration. They gazed at him face to face, but
+their tongues were still with wonder and could not find a word to say
+to him.
+
+When the Mikoto saw that he was discovered, he sprang down lightly from
+the tree and said:
+
+“I am a traveler, and as I was very thirsty I came to the well in the
+hopes of quenching my thirst, but I could find no bucket with which to
+draw the water. So I climbed into the tree, much vexed, and waited for
+some one to come. Just at that moment, while I was thirstily and
+impatiently waiting, you noble ladies appeared, as if in answer to my
+great need. Therefore I pray you of your mercy give me some water to
+drink, for I am a thirsty traveler in a strange land.”
+
+His dignity and graciousness overruled their timidity, and bowing in
+silence they both once more approached the well, and letting down their
+golden buckets drew up some water and poured it into a jeweled cup and
+offered it to the stranger.
+
+He received it from them with both hands, raising it to the height of
+his forehead in token of high respect and pleasure, and then drank the
+water quickly, for his thirst was great. When he had finished his long
+draught he set the cup down on the edge of the well, and drawing his
+short sword he cut off one of the strange curved jewels (magatama), a
+necklace of which hung round his neck and fell over his breast. He
+placed the jewel in the cup and returned it to them, and said, bowing
+deeply:
+
+“This is a token of my thanks!”
+
+The two ladies took the cup, and looking into it to see what he had put
+inside—for they did not yet know what it was—they gave a start of
+surprise, for there lay a beautiful gem at the bottom of the cup.
+
+“No ordinary mortal would give away a jewel so freely. Will you not
+honor us by telling us who you are?” said the elder damsel.
+
+“Certainly,” said the Happy Hunter, “I am Hohodemi, the fourth Mikoto,
+also called in Japan, the Happy Hunter.”
+
+“Are you indeed Hohodemi, the grandson of Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess?”
+asked the damsel who had spoken first. “I am the eldest daughter of Ryn
+Jin, the King of the Sea, and my name is Princess Tayotama.”
+
+“And,” said the younger maiden, who at last found her tongue, “I am her
+sister, the Princess Tamayori.”
+
+“Are you indeed the daughters of Ryn Jin, the King of the Sea? I cannot
+tell you how glad I am to meet you,” said the Happy Hunter. And without
+waiting for them to reply he went on:
+
+“The other day I went fishing with my brother’s hook and dropped it,
+how, I am sure I can’t tell. As my brother prizes his fishing hook
+above all his other possessions, this is the greatest calamity that
+could have befallen me. Unless I find it again I can never hope to win
+my brother’s forgiveness, for he is very angry at what I have done. I
+have searched for it many, many times, but I cannot find it, therefore
+I am much troubled. While I was hunting for the hook, in great
+distress, I met a wise old man, and he told me that the best thing I
+could do was to come to Ryn Gu, and to Ryn Jin, the Dragon King of the
+Sea, and ask him to help me. This kind old man also showed me how to
+come. Now you know how it is I am here and why. I want to ask Ryn Jin,
+if he knows where the lost hook is. Will you be so kind as to take me
+to your father? And do you think he will see me?” asked the Happy
+Hunter anxiously.
+
+Princess Tayotama listened to this long story, and then said:
+
+“Not only is it easy for you to see my father, but he will be much
+pleased to meet you. I am sure he will say that good fortune has
+befallen him, that so great and noble a man as you, the grandson of
+Amaterasu, should come down to the bottom of the sea.” And then turning
+to her younger sister, she said:
+
+“Do you not think so, Tamayori?”
+
+“Yes, indeed,” answered the Princess Tamayori, in her sweet voice. “As
+you say, we can know no greater honor than to welcome the Mikoto to our
+home.”
+
+“Then I ask you to be so kind as to lead the way,” said the Happy
+Hunter.
+
+“Condescend to enter, Mikoto (Augustness),” said both the sisters, and
+bowing low, they led him through the gate.
+
+The younger Princess left her sister to take charge of the Happy
+Hunter, and going faster than they, she reached the Sea King’s Palace
+first, and running quickly to her father’s room, she told him of all
+that had happened to them at the gate, and that her sister was even now
+bringing the Augustness to him. The Dragon King of the Sea was much
+surprised at the news, for it was but seldom, perhaps only once in
+several hundred years, that the Sea King’s Palace was visited by
+mortals.
+
+Ryn Jin at once clapped his hands and summoned all his courtiers and
+the servants of the Palace, and the chief fish of the sea together, and
+solemnly told them that the grandson of the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu, was
+coming to the Palace, and that they must be very ceremonious and polite
+in serving the august visitor. He then ordered them all to the entrance
+of the Palace to welcome the Happy Hunter.
+
+Ryn Jin then dressed himself in his robes of ceremony, and went out to
+welcome him. In a few moments the Princess Tayotama and the Happy
+Hunter reached the entrance, and the Sea King and his wife bowed to the
+ground and thanked him for the honor he did them in coming to see them.
+The Sea King then led the Happy Hunter to the guest room, and placing
+him in the uppermost seat, he bowed respectfully before him, and said:
+
+“I am Ryn Jin, the Dragon King of the Sea, and this is my wife.
+Condescend to remember us forever!”
+
+“Are you indeed Ryn Jin, the King of the Sea, of whom I have so often
+heard?” answered the Happy Hunter, saluting his host most
+ceremoniously. “I must apologize for all the trouble I am giving you by
+my unexpected visit.” And he bowed again, and thanked the Sea King.
+
+“You need not thank me,” said Ryn Jin. “It is I who must thank you for
+coming. Although the Sea Palace is a poor place, as you see, I shall be
+highly honored if you will make us a long visit.”
+
+There was much gladness between the Sea King and the Happy Hunter, and
+they sat and talked for a long time. At last the Sea King clapped his
+hands, and then a huge retinue of fishes appeared, all robed in
+ceremonial garments, and bearing in their fins various trays on which
+all kinds of sea delicacies were served. A great feast was now spread
+before the King and his Royal guest. All the fishes-in-waiting were
+chosen from amongst the finest fish in the sea, so you can imagine what
+a wonderful array of sea creatures it was that waited upon the Happy
+Hunter that day. All in the Palace tried to do their best to please him
+and to show him that he was a much honored guest. During the long
+repast, which lasted for hours, Ryn Jin commanded his daughters to play
+some music, and the two Princesses came in and performed on the KOTO
+(the Japanese harp), and sang and danced in turns. The time passed so
+pleasantly that the Happy Hunter seemed to forget his trouble and why
+he had come at all to the Sea King’s Realm, and he gave himself up to
+the enjoyment of this wonderful place, the land of fairy fishes! Who
+has ever heard of such a marvelous place? But the Mikoto soon
+remembered what had brought him to Ryn Gu, and said to his host:
+
+“Perhaps your daughters have told you, King Ryn Jin, that I have come
+here to try and recover my brother’s fishing hook, which I lost while
+fishing the other day. May I ask you to be so kind as to inquire of all
+your subjects if any of them have seen a fishing hook lost in the sea?”
+
+“Certainly,” said the obliging Sea King, “I will immediately summon
+them all here and ask them.”
+
+As soon as he had issued his command, the octopus, the cuttlefish, the
+bonito, the oxtail fish, the eel, the jelly fish, the shrimp, and the
+plaice, and many other fishes of all kinds came in and sat down before
+Ryn Jin their King, and arranged themselves and their fins in order.
+Then the Sea King said solemnly:
+
+“Our visitor who is sitting before you all is the august grandson of
+Amaterasu. His name is Hohodemi, the fourth Augustness, and he is also
+called the Happy Hunter of the Mountains. While he was fishing the
+other day upon the shore of Japan, some one robbed him of his brother’s
+fishing hook. He has come all this way down to the bottom of the sea to
+our Kingdom because he thought that one of you fishes may have taken
+the hook from him in mischievous play. If any of you have done so you
+must immediately return it, or if any of you know who the thief is you
+must at once tell us his name and where he is now.”
+
+All the fishes were taken by surprise when they heard these words, and
+could say nothing for some time. They sat looking at each other and at
+the Dragon King. At last the cuttlefish came forward and said:
+
+“I think the TAI (the red bream) must be the thief who has stolen the
+hook!”
+
+“Where is your proof?” asked the King.
+
+“Since yesterday evening the TAI has not been able to eat anything, and
+he seems to be suffering from a bad throat! For this reason I think the
+hook may be in his throat. You had better send for him at once!”
+
+All the fish agreed to this, and said:
+
+“It is certainly strange that the TAI is the only fish who has not
+obeyed your summons. Will you send for him and inquire into the matter.
+Then our innocence will be proved.”
+
+“Yes,” said the Sea King, “it is strange that the TAI has not come, for
+he ought to be the first to be here. Send for him at once!”
+
+Without waiting for the King’s order the cuttlefish had already started
+for the TAI’S dwelling, and he now returned, bringing the TAI with him.
+He led him before the King.
+
+The TAI sat there looking frightened and ill. He certainly was in pain,
+for his usually red face was pale, and his eyes were nearly closed and
+looked but half their usual size.
+
+“Answer, O TAI!” cried the Sea King, “why did you not come in answer to
+my summons today?”
+
+“I have been ill since yesterday,” answered the TAI; “that is why I
+could not come.”
+
+“Don’t say another word!” cried out Ryn Jin angrily. “Your illness is
+the punishment of the gods for stealing the Mikoto’s hook.”
+
+“It is only too true!” said the TAI; “the hook is still in my throat,
+and all my efforts to get it out have been useless. I can’t eat, and I
+can scarcely breathe, and each moment I feel that it will choke me, and
+sometimes it gives me great pain. I had no intention of stealing the
+Mikoto’s hook. I heedlessly snapped at the bait which I saw in the
+water, and the hook came off and stuck in my throat. So I hope you will
+pardon me.”
+
+The cuttlefish now came forward, and said to the King:
+
+“What I said was right. You see the hook still sticks in the TAI’S
+throat. I hope to be able to pull it out in the presence of the Mikoto,
+and then we can return it to him safely!”
+
+“O please make haste and pull it out!” cried the TAI, pitifully, for he
+felt the pains in his throat coming on again; “I do so want to return
+the hook to the Mikoto.”
+
+“All right, TAI SAN,” said his friend the cuttlefish, and then opening
+the TAI’S mouth as wide as he could and putting one of his feelers down
+the TAI’S throat, he quickly and easily drew the hook out of the
+sufferer’s large mouth. He then washed it and brought it to the King.
+
+Ryn Jin took the hook from his subject, and then respectfully returned
+it to the Happy Hunter (the Mikoto or Augustness, the fishes called
+him), who was overjoyed at getting back his hook. He thanked Ryn Jin
+many times, his face beaming with gratitude, and said that he owed the
+happy ending of his quest to the Sea King’s wise authority and
+kindness.
+
+Ryn Jin now desired to punish the TAI, but the Happy Hunter begged him
+not to do so; since his lost hook was thus happily recovered he did not
+wish to make more trouble for the poor TAI. It was indeed the TAI who
+had taken the hook, but he had already suffered enough for his fault,
+if fault it could be called. What had been done was done in
+heedlessness and not by intention. The Happy Hunter said he blamed
+himself; if he had understood how to fish properly he would never have
+lost his hook, and therefore all this trouble had been caused in the
+first place by his trying to do something which he did not know how to
+do. So he begged the Sea King to forgive his subject.
+
+Who could resist the pleading of so wise and compassionate a judge? Ryn
+Jin forgave his subject at once at the request of his august guest. The
+TAI was so glad that he shook his fins for joy, and he and all the
+other fish went out from the presence of their King, praising the
+virtues of the Happy Hunter.
+
+Now that the hook was found the Happy Hunter had nothing to keep him in
+Ryn Gu, and he was anxious to get back to his own kingdom and to make
+peace with his angry brother, the Skillful Fisher; but the Sea King,
+who had learnt to love him and would fain have kept him as a son,
+begged him not to go so soon, but to make the Sea Palace his home as
+long as ever he liked. While the Happy Hunter was still hesitating, the
+two lovely Princesses, Tayotama and Tamayori, came, and with the
+sweetest of bows and voices joined with their father in pressing him to
+stay, so that without seeming ungracious he could not say them “Nay,”
+and was obliged to stay on for some time.
+
+Between the Sea Realm and the Earth there was no difference in the
+night of time, and the Happy Hunter found that three years went
+fleeting quickly by in this delightful land. The years pass swiftly
+when any one is truly happy. But though the wonders of that enchanted
+land seemed to be new every day, and though the Sea King’s kindness
+seemed rather to increase than to grow less with time, the Happy Hunter
+grew more and more homesick as the days passed, and he could not
+repress a great anxiety to know what had happened to his home and his
+country and his brother while he had been away.
+
+So at last he went to the Sea King and said:
+
+“My stay with you here has been most happy and I am very grateful to
+you for all your kindness to me, but I govern Japan, and, delightful as
+this place is, I cannot absent myself forever from my country. I must
+also return the fishing hook to my brother and ask his forgiveness for
+having deprived him of it for so long. I am indeed very sorry to part
+from you, but this time it cannot be helped. With your gracious
+permission, I will take my leave to-day. I hope to make you another
+visit some day. Please give up the idea of my staying longer now.”
+
+King Ryn Jin was overcome with sorrow at the thought that he must lose
+his friend who had made a great diversion in the Palace of the Sea, and
+his tears fell fast as he answered:
+
+“We are indeed very sorry to part with you, Mikoto, for we have enjoyed
+your stay with us very much. You have been a noble and honored guest
+and we have heartily made you welcome. I quite understand that as you
+govern Japan you ought to be there and not here, and that it is vain
+for us to try and keep you longer with us, much as we would like to
+have you stay. I hope you will not forget us. Strange circumstances
+have brought us together and I trust the friendship thus begun between
+the Land and the Sea will last and grow stronger than it has ever been
+before.”
+
+When the Sea King had finished speaking he turned to his two daughters
+and bade them bring him the two Tide-Jewels of the Sea. The two
+Princesses bowed low, rose and glided out of the hall. In a few minutes
+they returned, each one carrying in her hands a flashing gem which
+filled the room with light. As the Happy Hunter looked at them he
+wondered what they could be. The Sea King took them from his daughters
+and said to his guest:
+
+“These two valuable talismans we have inherited from our ancestors from
+time immemorial. We now give them to you as a parting gift in token of
+our great affection for you. These two gems are called the nanjiu and
+the kanjiu.”
+
+The Happy Hunter bowed low to the ground and said:
+
+“I can never thank you enough for all your kindness to me. And now will
+you add one more favor to the rest and tell me what these jewels are
+and what I am to do with them?”
+
+“The nanjiu,” answered the Sea King, “is also called the Jewel of the
+Flood Tide, and whoever holds it in his possession can command the sea
+to roll in and to flood the land at any time that he wills. The kanjiu
+is also called the Jewel of the Ebbing Tide, and this gem controls the
+sea and the waves thereof, and will cause even a tidal wave to recede.”
+
+Then Ryn Jin showed his friend how to use the talismans one by one and
+handed them to him. The Happy Hunter was very glad to have these two
+wonderful gems, the Jewel of the Flood Tide and the Jewel of the Ebbing
+Tide, to take back with him, for he felt that they would preserve him
+in case of danger from enemies at any time. After thanking his kind
+host again and again, he prepared to depart. The Sea King and the two
+Princesses, Tayotama and Tamayori, and all the inmates of the Palace,
+came out to say “Good-by,” and before the sound of the last farewell
+had died away the Happy Hunter passed out from under the gateway, past
+the well of happy memory standing in the shade of the great KATSURA
+trees on his way to the beach.
+
+Here he found, instead of the queer basket on which he had come to the
+Realm of Ryn Gu, a large crocodile waiting for him. Never had he seen
+such a huge creature. It measured eight fathoms in length from the tip
+of its tail to the end of its long mouth. The Sea King had ordered the
+monster to carry the Happy Hunter back to Japan. Like the wonderful
+basket which Shiwozuchino Okina had made, it could travel faster than
+any steamboat, and in this strange way, riding on the back of a
+crocodile, the Happy Hunter returned to his own land.
+
+As soon as the crocodile landed him, the Happy Hunter hastened to tell
+the Skillful Fisher of his safe return. He then gave him back the
+fishing hook which had been found in the mouth of the TAI and which had
+been the cause of so much trouble between them. He earnestly begged his
+brother’s forgiveness, telling him all that had happened to him in the
+Sea King’s Palace and what wonderful adventures had led to the finding
+of the hook.
+
+Now the Skillful Fisher had used the lost hook as an excuse for driving
+his brother out of the country. When his brother had left him that day
+three years ago, and had not returned, he had been very glad in his
+evil heart and had at once usurped his brother’s place as ruler of the
+land, and had become powerful and rich. Now in the midst of enjoying
+what did not belong to him, and hoping that his brother might never
+return to claim his rights, quite unexpectedly there stood the Happy
+Hunter before him.
+
+The Skillful Fisher feigned forgiveness, for he could make no more
+excuses for sending his brother away again, but in his heart he was
+very angry and hated his brother more and more, till at last he could
+no longer bear the sight of him day after day, and planned and watched
+for an opportunity to kill him.
+
+One day when the Happy Hunter was walking in the rice fields his
+brother followed him with a dagger. The Happy Hunter knew that his
+brother was following him to kill him, and he felt that now, in this
+hour of great danger, was the time to use the Jewels of the Flow and
+Ebb of the Tide and prove whether what the Sea King had told him was
+true or not.
+
+So he took out the Jewel of the Flood Tide from the bosom of his dress
+and raised it to his forehead. Instantly over the fields and over the
+farms the sea came rolling in wave upon wave till it reached the spot
+where his brother was standing. The Skillful Fisher stood amazed and
+terrified to see what was happening. In another minute he was
+struggling in the water and calling on his brother to save him from
+drowning.
+
+The Happy Hunter had a kind heart and could not bear the sight of his
+brother’s distress. He at once put back the Jewel of the Flood Tide and
+took out the Jewel of the Ebb Tide. No sooner did he hold it up as high
+as his forehead than the sea ran back and back, and ere long the
+tossing rolling floods had vanished, and the farms and fields and dry
+land appeared as before.
+
+The Skillful Fisher was very frightened at the peril of death in which
+he had stood, and was greatly impressed by the wonderful things he had
+seen his brother do. He learned now that he was making a fatal mistake
+to set himself against his brother, younger than he thought he was, for
+he now had become so powerful that the sea would flow in and the tide
+ebb at his word of command. So he humbled himself before the Happy
+Hunter and asked him to forgive him all the wrong he had done him. The
+Skillful Fisher promised to restore his brother to his rights and also
+swore that though the Happy Hunter was the younger brother and owed him
+allegiance by right of birth, that he, the Skillful Fisher, would exalt
+him as his superior and bow before him as Lord of all Japan.
+
+Then the Happy Hunter said that he would forgive his brother if he
+would throw into the receding tide all his evil ways. The Skillful
+Fisher promised and there was peace between the two brothers. From this
+time he kept his word and became a good man and a kind brother.
+
+The Happy Hunter now ruled his Kingdom without being disturbed by
+family strife, and there was peace in Japan for a long, long time.
+Above all the treasures in his house he prized the wonderful Jewels of
+the Flow and Ebb of the Tide which had been given him by Ryn Jin, the
+Dragon King of the Sea.
+
+This is the congratulatory ending of the Happy Hunter and the Skillful
+Fisher.
+
+
+
+
+THE STORY OF THE OLD MAN WHO MADE WITHERED TREES TO FLOWER
+
+
+Long, long ago there lived an old man and his wife who supported
+themselves by cultivating a small plot of land. Their life had been a
+very happy and peaceful one save for one great sorrow, and this was
+they had no child. Their only pet was a dog named Shiro, and on him
+they lavished all the affection of their old age. Indeed, they loved
+him so much that whenever they had anything nice to eat they denied
+themselves to give it to Shiro. Now Shiro means “white,” and he was so
+called because of his color. He was a real Japanese dog, and very like
+a small wolf in appearance.
+
+The happiest hour of the day both for the old man and his dog was when
+the man returned from his work in the field, and having finished his
+frugal supper of rice and vegetables, would take what he had saved from
+the meal out to the little veranda that ran round the cottage. Sure
+enough, Shiro was waiting for his master and the evening tit-bit. Then
+the old man said “Chin, chin!” and Shiro sat up and begged, and his
+master gave him the food. Next door to this good old couple there lived
+another old man and his wife who were both wicked and cruel, and who
+hated their good neighbors and the dog Shiro with all their might.
+Whenever Shiro happened to look into their kitchen they at once kicked
+him or threw something at him, sometimes even wounding him.
+
+One day Shiro was heard barking for a long time in the field at the
+back of his master’s house. The old man, thinking that perhaps some
+birds were attacking the corn, hurried out to see what was the matter.
+As soon as Shiro saw his master he ran to meet him, wagging his tail,
+and, seizing the end of his kimono, dragged him under a large yenoki
+tree. Here he began to dig very industriously with his paws, yelping
+with joy all the time. The old man, unable to understand what it all
+meant, stood looking on in bewilderment. But Shiro went on barking and
+digging with all his might.
+
+The thought that something might be hidden beneath the tree, and that
+the dog had scented it, at last struck the old man. He ran back to the
+house, fetched his spade and began to dig the ground at that spot. What
+was his astonishment when, after digging for some time, he came upon a
+heap of old and valuable coins, and the deeper he dug the more gold
+coins did he find. So intent was the old man on his work that he never
+saw the cross face of his neighbor peering at him through the bamboo
+hedge. At last all the gold coins lay shining on the ground. Shiro sat
+by erect with pride and looking fondly at his master as if to say, “You
+see, though only a dog, I can make some return for all the kindness you
+show me.”
+
+The old man ran in to call his wife, and together they carried home the
+treasure. Thus in one day the poor old man became rich. His gratitude
+to the faithful dog knew no bounds, and he loved and petted him more
+than ever, if that were possible.
+
+The cross old neighbor, attracted by Shiro’s barking, had been an
+unseen and envious witness of the finding of the treasure. He began to
+think that he, too, would like to find a fortune. So a few days later
+he called at the old man’s house and very ceremoniously asked
+permission to borrow Shiro for a short time.
+
+Shiro’s master thought this a strange request, because he knew quite
+well that not only did his neighbor not love his pet dog, but that he
+never lost an opportunity of striking and tormenting him whenever the
+dog crossed his path. But the good old man was too kind-hearted to
+refuse his neighbor, so he consented to lend the dog on condition that
+he should be taken great care of.
+
+The wicked old man returned to his home with an evil smile on his face,
+and told his wife how he had succeeded in his crafty intentions. He
+then took his spade and hastened to his own field, forcing the
+unwilling Shiro to follow him. As soon as he reached a yenoki tree, he
+said to the dog, threateningly:
+
+“If there were gold coins under your master’s tree, there must also be
+gold coins under my tree. You must find them for me! Where are they?
+Where? Where?”
+
+And catching hold of Shiro’s neck he held the dog’s head to the ground,
+so that Shiro began to scratch and dig in order to free himself from
+the horrid old man’s grasp.
+
+The old man was very pleased when he saw the dog begin to scratch and
+dig, for he at once supposed that some gold coins lay buried under his
+tree as well as under his neighbor’s, and that the dog had scented them
+as before; so pushing Shiro away he began to dig himself, but there was
+nothing to be found. As he went on digging a foul smell was noticeable,
+and he at last came upon a refuse heap.
+
+The old man’s disgust can be imagined. This soon gave way to anger. He
+had seen his neighbor’s good fortune, and hoping for the same luck
+himself, he had borrowed the dog Shiro; and now, just as he seemed on
+the point of finding what he sought, only a horrid smelling refuse heap
+had rewarded him for a morning’s digging. Instead of blaming his own
+greed for his disappointment, he blamed the poor dog. He seized his
+spade, and with all his strength struck Shiro and killed him on the
+spot. He then threw the dog’s body into the hole which he had dug in
+the hope of finding a treasure of gold coins, and covered it over with
+the earth. Then he returned to the house, telling no one, not even his
+wife, what he had done.
+
+After waiting several days, as the dog Shiro did not return, his master
+began to grow anxious. Day after day went by and the good old man
+waited in vain. Then he went to his neighbor and asked him to give him
+back his dog. Without any shame or hesitation, the wicked neighbor
+answered that he had killed Shiro because of his bad behavior. At this
+dreadful news Shiro’s master wept many sad and bitter tears. Great
+indeed, was his woful surprise, but he was too good and gentle to
+reproach his bad neighbor. Learning that Shiro was buried under the
+yenoki tree in the field, he asked the old man to give him the tree, in
+remembrance of his poor dog Shiro.
+
+Even the cross old neighbor could not refuse such a simple request, so
+he consented to give the old man the tree under which Shiro lay buried.
+Shiro’s master then cut the tree down and carried it home. Out of the
+trunk he made a mortar. In this his wife put some rice, and he began to
+pound it with the intention of making a festival to the memory of his
+dog Shiro.
+
+A strange thing happened! His wife put the rice into the mortar, and no
+sooner had he begun to pound it to make the cakes, than it began to
+increase in quantity gradually till it was about five times the
+original amount, and the cakes were turned out of the mortar as if an
+invisible hand were at work.
+
+When the old man and his wife saw this, they understood that it was a
+reward to them from Shiro for their faithful love to him. They tasted
+the cakes and found them nicer than any other food. So from this time
+they never troubled about food, for they lived upon the cakes with
+which the mortar never ceased to supply them.
+
+The greedy neighbor, hearing of this new piece of good luck, was filled
+with envy as before, and called on the old man and asked leave to
+borrow the wonderful mortar for a short time, pretending that he, too,
+sorrowed for the death of Shiro, and wished to make cakes for a
+festival to the dog’s memory.
+
+The old man did not in the least wish to lend it to his cruel neighbor,
+but he was too kind to refuse. So the envious man carried home the
+mortar, but he never brought it back.
+
+Several days passed, and Shiro’s master waited in vain for the mortar,
+so he went to call on the borrower, and asked him to be good enough to
+return the mortar if he had finished with it. He found him sitting by a
+big fire made of pieces of wood. On the ground lay what looked very
+much like pieces of a broken mortar. In answer to the old man’s
+inquiry, the wicked neighbor answered haughtily:
+
+“Have you come to ask me for your mortar? I broke it to pieces, and now
+I am making a fire of the wood, for when I tried to pound cakes in it
+only some horrid smelling stuff came out.”
+
+The good old man said:
+
+“I am very sorry for that. It is a great pity you did not ask me for
+the cakes if you wanted them. I would have given you as many as ever
+you wanted. Now please give me the ashes of the mortar, as I wish to
+keep them in remembrance of my dog.”
+
+The neighbor consented at once, and the old man carried home a basket
+full of ashes.
+
+Not long after this the old man accidentally scattered some of the
+ashes made by the burning of the mortar on the trees of his garden. A
+wonderful thing happened!
+
+It was late in autumn and all the trees had shed their leaves, but no
+sooner did the ashes touch their branches than the cherry trees, the
+plum trees, and all other blossoming shrubs burst into bloom, so that
+the old man’s garden was suddenly transformed into a beautiful picture
+of spring. The old man’s delight knew no bounds, and he carefully
+preserved the remaining ashes.
+
+The story of the old man’s garden spread far and wide, and people from
+far and near came to see the wonderful sight.
+
+One day, soon after this, the old man heard some one knocking at his
+door, and going to the porch to see who it was he was surprised to see
+a Knight standing there. This Knight told him that he was a retainer of
+a great Daimio (Earl); that one of the favorite cherry trees in this
+nobleman’s garden had withered, and that though every one in his
+service had tried all manner of means to revive it, none took effect.
+The Knight was sore perplexed when he saw what great displeasure the
+loss of his favorite cherry tree caused the Daimio. At this point,
+fortunately, they had heard that there was a wonderful old man who
+could make withered trees to blossom, and that his Lord had sent him to
+ask the old man to come to him.
+
+“And,” added the Knight, “I shall be very much obliged if you will come
+at once.”
+
+The good old man was greatly surprised at what he heard, but
+respectfully followed the Knight to the nobleman’s Palace.
+
+The Daimio, who had been impatiently awaiting the old man’s coming, as
+soon as he saw him asked him at once:
+
+“Are you the old man who can make withered trees flower even out of
+season?”
+
+The old man made an obeisance, and replied:
+
+“I am that old man!”
+
+Then the Daimio said:
+
+“You must make that dead cherry tree in my garden blossom again by
+means of your famous ashes. I shall look on.”
+
+Then they all went into the garden—the Daimio and his retainers and the
+ladies-in waiting, who carried the Daimio’s sword.
+
+The old man now tucked up his kimono and made ready to climb the tree.
+Saying “Excuse me,” he took the pot of ashes which he had brought with
+him, and began to climb the tree, every one watching his movements with
+great interest.
+
+At last he climbed to the spot where the tree divided into two great
+branches, and taking up his position here, the old man sat down and
+scattered the ashes right and left all over the branches and twigs.
+
+Wonderful, indeed, was the result! The withered tree at once burst into
+full bloom! The Daimio was so transported with joy that he looked as if
+he would go mad. He rose to his feet and spread out his fan, calling
+the old man down from the tree. He himself gave the old man a wine cup
+filled with the best SAKE, and rewarded him with much silver and gold
+and many other precious things. The Daimio ordered that henceforth the
+old man should call himself by the name of Hana-Saka-Jijii, or “The Old
+Man who makes the Trees to Blossom,” and that henceforth all were to
+recognize him by this name, and he sent him home with great honor.
+
+The wicked neighbor, as before, heard of the good old man’s fortune,
+and of all that had so auspiciously befallen him, and he could not
+suppress all the envy and jealousy that filled his heart. He called to
+mind how he had failed in his attempt to find the gold coins, and then
+in making the magic cakes; this time surely he must succeed if he
+imitated the old man, who made withered trees to flower simply by
+sprinkling ashes on them. This would be the simplest task of all.
+
+So he set to work and gathered together all the ashes which remained in
+the fire-place from the burning of the wonderful mortar. Then he set
+out in the hope of finding some great man to employ him, calling out
+loudly as he went along:
+
+“Here comes the wonderful man who can make withered trees blossom! Here
+comes the old man who can make dead trees blossom!”
+
+The Daimio in his Palace heard this cry, and said:
+
+“That must be the Hana-Saka-Jijii passing. I have nothing to do to-day.
+Let him try his art again; it will amuse me to look on.”
+
+So the retainers went out and brought in the impostor before their
+Lord. The satisfaction of false old man can now be imagined.
+
+But the Daimio looking at him, thought it strange that he was not at
+all like the old man he had seen before, so he asked him:
+
+“Are you the man whom I named Hana-Saka-Jijii?”
+
+And the envious neighbor answered with a lie:
+
+“Yes, my Lord!”
+
+“That is strange!” said the Daimio. “I thought there was only one
+Hana-Saka-Jijii in the world! Has he now some disciples?”
+
+“I am the true Hana-Saka-Jijii. The one who came to you before was only
+my disciple!” replied the old man again.
+
+“Then you must be more skillful than the other. Try what you can do and
+let me see!”
+
+The envious neighbor, with the Daimio and his Court following, then
+went into the garden, and approaching a dead tree, took out a handful
+of the ashes which he carried with him, and scattered them over the
+tree.
+
+But not only did the tree not burst into flower, but not even a bud
+came forth. Thinking that he had not used enough ashes, the old man
+took handfuls and again sprinkled them over the withered tree. But all
+to no effect. After trying several times, the ashes were blown into the
+Daimio’s eyes. This made him very angry, and he ordered his retainers
+to arrest the false Hana-Saka-Jijii at once and put him in prison for
+an impostor. From this imprisonment the wicked old man was never freed.
+Thus did he meet with punishment at last for all his evil doings.
+
+The good old man, however, with the treasure of gold coins which Shiro
+had found for him, and with all the gold and the silver which the
+Daimio had showered on him, became a rich and prosperous man in his old
+age, and lived a long and happy life, beloved and respected by all.
+
+
+
+
+THE JELLY FISH AND THE MONKEY
+
+
+Long, long ago, in old Japan, the Kingdom of the Sea was governed by a
+wonderful King. He was called Rin Jin, or the Dragon King of the Sea.
+His power was immense, for he was the ruler of all sea creatures both
+great and small, and in his keeping were the Jewels of the Ebb and Flow
+of the Tide. The Jewel of the Ebbing Tide when thrown into the ocean
+caused the sea to recede from the land, and the Jewel of the Flowing
+Tide made the waves to rise mountains high and to flow in upon the
+shore like a tidal wave.
+
+The Palace of Rin Jin was at the bottom of the sea, and was so
+beautiful that no one has ever seen anything like it even in dreams.
+The walls were of coral, the roof of jadestone and chrysoprase, and the
+floors were of the finest mother-of-pearl. But the Dragon King, in
+spite of his wide-spreading Kingdom, his beautiful Palace and all its
+wonders, and his power which none disputed throughout the whole sea,
+was not at all happy, for he reigned alone. At last he thought that if
+he married he would not only be happier, but also more powerful. So he
+decided to take a wife. Calling all his fish retainers together, he
+chose several of them as ambassadors to go through the sea and seek for
+a young Dragon Princess who would be his bride.
+
+At last they returned to the Palace bringing with them a lovely young
+dragon. Her scales were of glittering green like the wings of summer
+beetles, her eyes threw out glances of fire, and she was dressed in
+gorgeous robes. All the jewels of the sea worked in with embroidery
+adorned them.
+
+The King fell in love with her at once, and the wedding ceremony was
+celebrated with great splendor. Every living thing in the sea, from the
+great whales down to the little shrimps, came in shoals to offer their
+congratulations to the bride and bridegroom and to wish them a long and
+prosperous life. Never had there been such an assemblage or such gay
+festivities in the Fish-World before. The train of bearers who carried
+the bride’s possessions to her new home seemed to reach across the
+waves from one end of the sea to the other. Each fish carried a
+phosphorescent lantern and was dressed in ceremonial robes, gleaming
+blue and pink and silver; and the waves as they rose and fell and broke
+that night seemed to be rolling masses of white and green fire, for the
+phosphorus shone with double brilliancy in honor of the event.
+
+Now for a time the Dragon King and his bride lived very happily. They
+loved each other dearly, and the bridegroom day after day took delight
+in showing his bride all the wonders and treasures of his coral Palace,
+and she was never tired of wandering with him through its vast halls
+and gardens. Life seemed to them both like a long summer’s day.
+
+Two months passed in this happy way, and then the Dragon Queen fell ill
+and was obliged to stay in bed. The King was sorely troubled when he
+saw his precious bride so ill, and at once sent for the fish doctor to
+come and give her some medicine. He gave special orders to the servants
+to nurse her carefully and to wait upon her with diligence, but in
+spite of all the nurses’ assiduous care and the medicine that the
+doctor prescribed, the young Queen showed no signs of recovery, but
+grew daily worse.
+
+Then the Dragon King interviewed the doctor and blamed him for not
+curing the Queen. The doctor was alarmed at Rin Jin’s evident
+displeasure, and excused his want of skill by saying that although he
+knew the right kind of medicine to give the invalid, it was impossible
+to find it in the sea.
+
+“Do you mean to tell me that you can’t get the medicine here?” asked
+the Dragon King.
+
+“It is just as you say!” said the doctor.
+
+“Tell me what it is you want for the Queen?” demanded Rin Jin.
+
+“I want the liver of a live monkey!” answered the doctor.
+
+“The liver of a live monkey! Of course that will be most difficult to
+get,” said the King.
+
+“If we could only get that for the Queen, Her Majesty would soon
+recover,” said the doctor.
+
+“Very well, that decides it; we MUST get it somehow or other. But where
+are we most likely to find a monkey?” asked the King.
+
+Then the doctor told the Dragon King that some distance to the south
+there was a Monkey Island where a great many monkeys lived.
+
+“If only you could capture one of these monkeys?” said the doctor.
+
+“How can any of my people capture a monkey?” said the Dragon King,
+greatly puzzled. “The monkeys live on dry land, while we live in the
+water; and out of our element we are quite powerless! I don’t see what
+we can do!”
+
+“That has been my difficulty too,” said the doctor. “But amongst your
+innumerable servants you surely can find one who can go on shore for
+that express purpose!”
+
+“Something must be done,” said the King, and calling his chief steward
+he consulted him on the matter.
+
+The chief steward thought for some time, and then, as if struck by a
+sudden thought, said joyfully:
+
+“I know what we must do! There is the kurage (jelly fish). He is
+certainly ugly to look at, but he is proud of being able to walk on
+land with his four legs like a tortoise. Let us send him to the Island
+of Monkeys to catch one.”
+
+The jelly fish was then summoned to the King’s presence, and was told
+by His Majesty what was required of him.
+
+The jelly fish, on being told of the unexpected mission which was to be
+intrusted to him, looked very troubled, and said that he had never been
+to the island in question, and as he had never had any experience in
+catching monkeys he was afraid that he would not be able to get one.
+
+“Well,” said the chief steward, “if you depend on your strength or
+dexterity you will never catch a monkey. The only way is to play a
+trick on one!”
+
+“How can I play a trick on a monkey? I don’t know how to do it,” said
+the perplexed jelly fish.
+
+“This is what you must do,” said the wily chief steward. “When you
+approach the Island of Monkeys and meet some of them, you must try to
+get very friendly with one. Tell him that you are a servant of the
+Dragon King, and invite him to come and visit you and see the Dragon
+King’s Palace. Try and describe to him as vividly as you can the
+grandeur of the Palace and the wonders of the sea so as to arouse his
+curiosity and make him long to see it all!”
+
+“But how am I to get the monkey here? You know monkeys don’t swim?”
+said the reluctant jelly fish.
+
+“You must carry him on your back. What is the use of your shell if you
+can’t do that!” said the chief steward.
+
+“Won’t he be very heavy?” queried kurage again.
+
+“You mustn’t mind that, for you are working for the Dragon King,”
+replied the chief steward.
+
+“I will do my best then,” said the jelly fish, and he swam away from
+the Palace and started off towards the Monkey Island. Swimming swiftly
+he reached his destination in a few hours, and landed by a convenient
+wave upon the shore. On looking round he saw not far away a big
+pine-tree with drooping branches and on one of those branches was just
+what he was looking for—a live monkey.
+
+“I’m in luck!” thought the jelly fish. “Now I must flatter the creature
+and try to entice him to come back with me to the Palace, and my part
+will be done!”
+
+So the jelly fish slowly walked towards the pine-tree. In those ancient
+days the jelly fish had four legs and a hard shell like a tortoise.
+When he got to the pine-tree he raised his voice and said:
+
+“How do you do, Mr. Monkey? Isn’t it a lovely day?”
+
+“A very fine day,” answered the monkey from the tree. “I have never
+seen you in this part of the world before. Where have you come from and
+what is your name?”
+
+“My name is kurage or jelly fish. I am one of the servants of the
+Dragon King. I have heard so much of your beautiful island that I have
+come on purpose to see it,” answered the jelly fish.
+
+“I am very glad to see you,” said the monkey.
+
+“By the bye,” said the jelly fish, “have you ever seen the Palace of
+the Dragon King of the Sea where I live?”
+
+“I have often heard of it, but I have never seen it!” answered the
+monkey.
+
+“Then you ought most surely to come. It is a great pity for you to go
+through life without seeing it. The beauty of the Palace is beyond all
+description—it is certainly to my mind the most lovely place in the
+world,” said the jelly fish.
+
+“Is it so beautiful as all that?” asked the monkey in astonishment.
+
+Then the jelly fish saw his chance, and went on describing to the best
+of his ability the beauty and grandeur of the Sea King’s Palace, and
+the wonders of the garden with its curious trees of white, pink and red
+coral, and the still more curious fruits like great jewels hanging on
+the branches. The monkey grew more and more interested, and as he
+listened he came down the tree step by step so as not to lose a word of
+the wonderful story.
+
+“I have got him at last!” thought the jelly fish, but aloud he said:
+
+“Mr. Monkey. I must now go back. As you have never seen the Palace of
+the Dragon King, won’t you avail yourself of this splendid opportunity
+by coming with me? I shall then be able to act as guide and show you
+all the sights of the sea, which will be even more wonderful to you—a
+land-lubber.”
+
+“I should love to go,” said the monkey, “but how am I to cross the
+water! I can’t swim, as you surely know!”
+
+“There is no difficulty about that. I can carry you on my back.”
+
+“That will be troubling you too much,” said the monkey.
+
+“I can do it quite easily. I am stronger than I look, so you needn’t
+hesitate,” said the jelly fish, and taking the monkey on his back he
+stepped into the sea.
+
+“Keep very still, Mr. monkey,” said the jelly fish. “You mustn’t fall
+into the sea; I am responsible for your safe arrival at the King’s
+Palace.”
+
+“Please don’t go so fast, or I am sure I shall fall off,” said the
+monkey.
+
+Thus they went along, the jelly fish skimming through the waves with
+the monkey sitting on his back. When they were about half-way, the
+jelly fish, who knew very little of anatomy, began to wonder if the
+monkey had his liver with him or not!
+
+“Mr. Monkey, tell me, have you such a thing as a liver with you?”
+
+The monkey was very much surprised at this queer question, and asked
+what the jelly fish wanted with a liver.
+
+“That is the most important thing of all,” said the stupid jelly fish,
+“so as soon as I recollected it, I asked you if you had yours with
+you?”
+
+“Why is my liver so important to you?” asked the monkey.
+
+“Oh! you will learn the reason later,” said the jelly fish.
+
+The monkey grew more and more curious and suspicious, and urged the
+jelly fish to tell him for what his liver was wanted, and ended up by
+appealing to his hearer’s feelings by saying that he was very troubled
+at what he had been told.
+
+Then the jelly fish, seeing how anxious the monkey looked, was sorry
+for him, and told him everything. How the Dragon Queen had fallen ill,
+and how the doctor had said that only the liver of a live monkey would
+cure her, and how the Dragon King had sent him to find one.
+
+“Now I have done as I was told, and as soon as we arrive at the Palace
+the doctor will want your liver, so I feel sorry for you!” said the
+silly jelly fish.
+
+The poor monkey was horrified when he learnt all this, and very angry
+at the trick played upon him. He trembled with fear at the thought of
+what was in store for him.
+
+But the monkey was a clever animal, and he thought it the wisest plan
+not to show any sign of the fear he felt, so he tried to calm himself
+and to think of some way by which he might escape.
+
+“The doctor means to cut me open and then take my liver out! Why I
+shall die!” thought the monkey. At last a bright thought struck him, so
+he said quite cheerfully to the jelly fish:
+
+“What a pity it was, Mr. Jelly Fish, that you did not speak of this
+before we left the island!”
+
+“If I had told why I wanted you to accompany me you would certainly
+have refused to come,” answered the jelly fish.
+
+“You are quite mistaken,” said the monkey. “Monkeys can very well spare
+a liver or two, especially when it is wanted for the Dragon Queen of
+the Sea. If I had only guessed of what you were in need. I should have
+presented you with one without waiting to be asked. I have several
+livers. But the greatest pity is, that as you did not speak in time, I
+have left all my livers hanging on the pine-tree.”
+
+“Have you left your liver behind you?” asked the jelly fish.
+
+“Yes,” said the cunning monkey, “during the daytime I usually leave my
+liver hanging up on the branch of a tree, as it is very much in the way
+when I am climbing about from tree to tree. To-day, listening to your
+interesting conversation, I quite forgot it, and left it behind when I
+came off with you. If only you had spoken in time I should have
+remembered it, and should have brought it along with me!”
+
+The jelly fish was very disappointed when he heard this, for he
+believed every word the monkey said. The monkey was of no good without
+a liver. Finally the jelly fish stopped and told the monkey so.
+
+“Well,” said the monkey, “that is soon remedied. I am really sorry to
+think of all your trouble; but if you will only take me back to the
+place where you found me, I shall soon be able to get my liver.”
+
+The jelly fish did not at all like the idea of going all the way back
+to the island again; but the monkey assured him that if he would be so
+kind as to take him back he would get his very best liver, and bring it
+with him the next time. Thus persuaded, the jelly fish turned his
+course towards the Monkey Island once more.
+
+No sooner had the jelly fish reached the shore than the sly monkey
+landed, and getting up into the pine-tree where the jelly fish had
+first seen him, he cut several capers amongst the branches with joy at
+being safe home again, and then looking down at the jelly fish said:
+
+“So many thanks for all the trouble you have taken! Please present my
+compliments to the Dragon King on your return!”
+
+The jelly fish wondered at this speech and the mocking tone in which it
+was uttered. Then he asked the monkey if it wasn’t his intention to
+come with him at once after getting his liver.
+
+The monkey replied laughingly that he couldn’t afford to lose his
+liver: it was too precious.
+
+“But remember your promise!” pleaded the jelly fish, now very
+discouraged.
+
+“That promise was false, and anyhow it is now broken!” answered the
+monkey. Then he began to jeer at the jelly fish and told him that he
+had been deceiving him the whole time; that he had no wish to lose his
+life, which he certainly would have done had he gone on to the Sea
+King’s Palace to the old doctor waiting for him, instead of persuading
+the jelly fish to return under false pretenses.
+
+“Of course, I won’t GIVE you my liver, but come and get it if you can!”
+added the monkey mockingly from the tree.
+
+There was nothing for the jelly fish to do now but to repent of his
+stupidity, and to return to the Dragon King of the Sea and to confess
+his failure, so he started sadly and slowly to swim back. The last
+thing he heard as he glided away, leaving the island behind him, was
+the monkey laughing at him.
+
+Meanwhile the Dragon King, the doctor, the chief steward, and all the
+servants were waiting impatiently for the return of the jelly fish.
+When they caught sight of him approaching the Palace, they hailed him
+with delight. They began to thank him profusely for all the trouble he
+had taken in going to Monkey Island, and then they asked him where the
+monkey was.
+
+Now the day of reckoning had come for the jelly fish. He quaked all
+over as he told his story. How he had brought the monkey halfway over
+the sea, and then had stupidly let out the secret of his commission;
+how the monkey had deceived him by making him believe that he had left
+his liver behind him.
+
+The Dragon King’s wrath was great, and he at once gave orders that the
+jelly fish was to be severely punished. The punishment was a horrible
+one. All the bones were to be drawn out from his living body, and he
+was to be beaten with sticks.
+
+The poor jelly fish, humiliated and horrified beyond all words, cried
+out for pardon. But the Dragon King’s order had to be obeyed. The
+servants of the Palace forthwith each brought out a stick and
+surrounded the jelly fish, and after pulling out his bones they beat
+him to a flat pulp, and then took him out beyond the Palace gates and
+threw him into the water. Here he was left to suffer and repent his
+foolish chattering, and to grow accustomed to his new state of
+bonelessness.
+
+From this story it is evident that in former times the jelly fish once
+had a shell and bones something like a tortoise, but, ever since the
+Dragon King’s sentence was carried out on the ancestor of the jelly
+fishes, his descendants have all been soft and boneless just as you see
+them to-day thrown up by the waves high upon the shores of Japan.
+
+
+
+
+THE QUARREL OF THE MONKEY AND THE CRAB
+
+
+Long, long ago, one bright autumn day in Japan, it happened, that a
+pink-faced monkey and a yellow crab were playing together along the
+bank of a river. As they were running about, the crab found a
+rice-dumpling and the monkey a persimmon-seed.
+
+The crab picked up the rice-dumpling and showed it to the monkey,
+saying:
+
+“Look what a nice thing I have found!”
+
+Then the monkey held up his persimmon-seed and said:
+
+“I also have found something good! Look!”
+
+Now though the monkey is always very fond of persimmon fruit, he had no
+use for the seed he had just found. The persimmon-seed is as hard and
+uneatable as a stone. He, therefore, in his greedy nature, felt very
+envious of the crab’s nice dumpling, and he proposed an exchange. The
+crab naturally did not see why he should give up his prize for a hard
+stone-like seed, and would not consent to the monkey’s proposition.
+
+Then the cunning monkey began to persuade the crab, saying:
+
+“How unwise you are not to think of the future! Your rice-dumpling can
+be eaten now, and is certainly much bigger than my seed; but if you sow
+this seed in the ground it will soon grow and become a great tree in a
+few years, and bear an abundance of fine ripe persimmons year after
+year. If only I could show it to you then with the yellow fruit hanging
+on its branches! Of course, if you don’t believe me I shall sow it
+myself; though I am sure, later on, you will be very sorry that you did
+not take my advice.”
+
+The simple-minded crab could not resist the monkey’s clever persuasion.
+He at last gave in and consented to the monkey’s proposal, and the
+exchange was made. The greedy monkey soon gobbled up the dumpling, and
+with great reluctance gave up the persimmon-seed to the crab. He would
+have liked to keep that too, but he was afraid of making the crab angry
+and of being pinched by his sharp scissor-like claws. They then
+separated, the monkey going home to his forest trees and the crab to
+his stones along the river-side. As soon as the crab reached home he
+put the persimmon-seed in the ground as the monkey had told him.
+
+In the following spring the crab was delighted to see the shoot of a
+young tree push its way up through the ground. Each year it grew
+bigger, till at last it blossomed one spring, and in the following
+autumn bore some fine large persimmons. Among the broad smooth green
+leaves the fruit hung like golden balls, and as they ripened they
+mellowed to a deep orange. It was the little crab’s pleasure to go out
+day by day and sit in the sun and put out his long eyes in the same way
+as a snail puts out its horn, and watch the persimmons ripening to
+perfection.
+
+“How delicious they will be to eat!” he said to himself.
+
+At last, one day, he knew the persimmons must be quite ripe and he
+wanted very much to taste one. He made several attempts to climb the
+tree, in the vain hope of reaching one of the beautiful persimmons
+hanging above him; but he failed each time, for a crab’s legs are not
+made for climbing trees but only for running along the ground and over
+stones, both of which he can do most cleverly. In his dilemma he
+thought of his old playmate the monkey, who, he knew, could climb trees
+better than any one else in the world. He determined to ask the monkey
+to help him, and set out to find him.
+
+Running crab-fashion up the stony river bank, over the pathways into
+the shadowy forest, the crab at last found the monkey taking an
+afternoon nap in his favorite pine-tree, with his tail curled tight
+around a branch to prevent him from falling off in his dreams. He was
+soon wide awake, however, when he heard himself called, and eagerly
+listening to what the crab told him. When he heard that the seed which
+he had long ago exchanged for a rice-dumpling had grown into a tree and
+was now bearing good fruit, he was delighted, for he at once devised a
+cunning plan which would give him all the persimmons for himself.
+
+He consented to go with the crab to pick the fruit for him. When they
+both reached the spot, the monkey was astonished to see what a fine
+tree had sprung from the seed, and with what a number of ripe
+persimmons the branches were loaded.
+
+He quickly climbed the tree and began to pluck and eat, as fast as he
+could, one persimmon after another. Each time he chose the best and
+ripest he could find, and went on eating till he could eat no more. Not
+one would he give to the poor hungry crab waiting below, and when he
+had finished there was little but the hard, unripe fruit left.
+
+You can imagine the feelings of the poor crab after waiting patiently,
+for so long as he had done, for the tree to grow and the fruit to
+ripen, when he saw the monkey devouring all the good persimmons. He was
+so disappointed that he ran round and round the tree calling to the
+monkey to remember his promise. The monkey at first took no notice of
+the crab’s complaints, but at last he picked out the hardest, greenest
+persimmon he could find and aimed it at the crab’s head. The persimmon
+is as hard as stone when it is unripe. The monkey’s missile struck home
+and the crab was sorely hurt by the blow. Again and again, as fast as
+he could pick them, the monkey pulled off the hard persimmons and threw
+them at the defenseless crab till he dropped dead, covered with wounds
+all over his body. There he lay a pitiful sight at the foot of the tree
+he had himself planted.
+
+When the wicked monkey saw that he had killed the crab he ran away from
+the spot as fast as he could, in fear and trembling, like a coward as
+he was.
+
+Now the crab had a son who had been playing with a friend not far from
+the spot where this sad work had taken place. On the way home he came
+across his father dead, in a most dreadful condition—his head was
+smashed and his shell broken in several places, and around his body lay
+the unripe persimmons which had done their deadly work. At this
+dreadful sight the poor young crab sat down and wept.
+
+But when he had wept for some time he told himself that this crying
+would do no good; it was his duty to avenge his father’s murder, and
+this he determined to do. He looked about for some clue which would
+lead him to discover the murderer. Looking up at the tree he noticed
+that the best fruit had gone, and that all around lay bits of peel and
+numerous seeds strewn on the ground as well as the unripe persimmons
+which had evidently been thrown at his father. Then he understood that
+the monkey was the murderer, for he now remembered that his father had
+once told him the story of the rice-dumpling and the persimmon-seed.
+The young crab knew that monkeys liked persimmons above all other
+fruit, and he felt sure that his greed for the coveted fruit had been
+the cause of the old crab’s death. Alas!
+
+He at first thought of going to attack the monkey at once, for he
+burned with rage. Second thoughts, however, told him that this was
+useless, for the monkey was an old and cunning animal and would be hard
+to overcome. He must meet cunning with cunning and ask some of his
+friends to help him, for he knew it would be quite out of his power to
+kill him alone.
+
+The young crab set out at once to call on the mortar, his father’s old
+friend, and told him of all that had happened. He besought the mortar
+with tears to help him avenge his father’s death. The mortar was very
+sorry when he heard the woful tale and promised at once to help the
+young crab punish the monkey to death. He warned him that he must be
+very careful in what he did, for the monkey was a strong and cunning
+enemy. The mortar now sent to fetch the bee and the chestnut (also the
+crab’s old friends) to consult them about the matter. In a short time
+the bee and the chestnut arrived. When they were told all the details
+of the old crab’s death and of the monkey’s wickedness and greed, they
+both gladly consented to help the young crab in his revenge.
+
+After talking for a long time as to the ways and means of carrying out
+their plans they separated, and Mr. Mortar went home with the young
+crab to help him bury his poor father.
+
+While all this was taking place the monkey was congratulating himself
+(as the wicked often do before their punishment comes upon them) on all
+he had done so neatly. He thought it quite a fine thing that he had
+robbed his friend of all his ripe persimmons and then that he had
+killed him. Still, smile as hard as he might, he could not banish
+altogether the fear of the consequences should his evil deeds be
+discovered. IF he were found out (and he told himself that this could
+not be for he had escaped unseen) the crab’s family would be sure to
+bear him hatred and seek to take revenge on him. So he would not go
+out, and kept himself at home for several days. He found this kind of
+life, however, extremely dull, accustomed as he was to the free life of
+the woods, and at last he said:
+
+“No one knows that it was I who killed the crab! I am sure that the old
+thing breathed his last before I left him. Dead crabs have no mouths!
+Who is there to tell that I am the murderer? Since no one knows, what
+is the use of shutting myself up and brooding over the matter? What is
+done cannot be undone!”
+
+With this he wandered out into the crab settlement and crept about as
+slyly as possible near the crab’s house and tried to hear the
+neighbors’ gossip round about. He wanted to find out what the crabs
+were saving about their chief’s death, for the old crab had been the
+chief of the tribe. But he heard nothing and said to himself:
+
+“They are all such fools that they don’t know and don’t care who
+murdered their chief!”
+
+Little did he know in his so-called “monkey’s wisdom” that this seeming
+unconcern was part of the young crab’s plan. He purposely pretended not
+to know who killed his father, and also to believe that he had met his
+death through his own fault. By this means he could the better keep
+secret the revenge on the monkey, which he was meditating.
+
+So the monkey returned home from his walk quite content. He told
+himself he had nothing now to fear.
+
+One fine day, when the monkey was sitting at home, he was surprised by
+the appearance of a messenger from the young crab. While he was
+wondering what this might mean, the messenger bowed before him and
+said:
+
+“I have been sent by my master to inform you that his father died the
+other day in falling from a persimmon tree while trying to climb the
+tree after fruit. This, being the seventh day, is the first anniversary
+after his death, and my master has prepared a little festival in his
+father’s honor, and bids you come to participate in it as you were one
+of his best friends. My master hopes you will honor his house with your
+kind visit.”
+
+When the monkey heard these words he rejoiced in his inmost heart, for
+all his fears of being suspected were now at rest. He could not guess
+that a plot had just been set in motion against him. He pretended to be
+very surprised at the news of the crab’s death, and said:
+
+“I am, indeed, very sorry to hear of your chief’s death. We were great
+friends as you know. I remember that we once exchanged a rice-dumpling
+for a persimmon-seed. It grieves me much to think that that seed was in
+the end the cause of his death. I accept your kind invitation with many
+thanks. I shall be delighted to do honor to my poor old friend!” And he
+screwed some false tears from his eyes.
+
+The messenger laughed inwardly and thought, “The wicked monkey is now
+dropping false tears, but within a short time he shall shed real ones.”
+But aloud he thanked the monkey politely and went home.
+
+When he had gone, the wicked monkey laughed aloud at what he thought
+was the young crab’s innocence, and without the least feeling began to
+look forward to the feast to be held that day in honor of the dead
+crab, to which he had been invited. He changed his dress and set out
+solemnly to visit the young crab.
+
+He found all the members of the crab’s family and his relatives waiting
+to receive and welcome him. As soon as the bows of meeting were over
+they led him to a hall. Here the young chief mourner came to receive
+him. Expressions of condolence and thanks were exchanged between them,
+and then they all sat down to a luxurious feast and entertained the
+monkey as the guest of honor.
+
+The feast over, he was next invited to the tea-ceremony room to drink a
+cup of tea. When the young crab had conducted the monkey to the tearoom
+he left him and retired. Time passed and still he did not return. At
+last the monkey became impatient. He said to himself:
+
+“This tea ceremony is always a very slow affair. I am tired of waiting
+so long. I am very thirsty after drinking so much sake at the dinner!”
+
+He then approached the charcoal fire-place and began to pour out some
+hot water from the kettle boiling there, when something burst out from
+the ashes with a great pop and hit the monkey right in the neck. It was
+the chestnut, one of the crab’s friends, who had hidden himself in the
+fireplace. The monkey, taken by surprise, jumped backward, and then
+started to run out of the room.
+
+The bee, who was hiding outside the screens, now flew out and stung him
+on the cheek. The monkey was in great pain, his neck was burned by the
+chestnut and his face badly stung by the bee, but he ran on screaming
+and chattering with rage.
+
+Now the stone mortar had hidden himself with several other stones on
+the top of the crab’s gate, and as the monkey ran underneath, the
+mortar and all fell down on the top of the monkey’s head. Was it
+possible for the monkey to bear the weight of the mortar falling on him
+from the top of the gate? He lay crushed and in great pain, quite
+unable to get up. As he lay there helpless the young crab came up, and,
+holding his great claw scissors over the monkey, he said:
+
+“Do you now remember that you murdered my father?”
+
+“Then you—are—my—enemy?” gasped the monkey brokenly.
+
+“Of course,” said the young crab.
+
+“It—was—your—father’s—fault—not—mine!” gasped the unrepentant monkey.
+
+“Can you still lie? I will soon put an end to your breath!” and with
+that he cut off the monkey’s head with his pitcher claws. Thus the
+wicked monkey met his well-merited punishment, and the young crab
+avenged his father’s death.
+
+This is the end of the story of the monkey, the crab, and the
+persimmon-seed.
+
+
+
+
+THE WHITE HARE AND THE CROCODILES
+
+
+Long, long ago, when all the animals could talk, there lived in the
+province of Inaba in Japan, a little white hare. His home was on the
+island of Oki, and just across the sea was the mainland of Inaba.
+
+Now the hare wanted very much to cross over to Inaba. Day after day he
+would go out and sit on the shore and look longingly over the water in
+the direction of Inaba, and day after day he hoped to find some way of
+getting across.
+
+One day as usual, the hare was standing on the beach, looking towards
+the mainland across the water, when he saw a great crocodile swimming
+near the island.
+
+“This is very lucky!” thought the hare. “Now I shall be able to get my
+wish. I will ask the crocodile to carry me across the sea!”
+
+But he was doubtful whether the crocodile would consent to do what
+wanted. So he thought instead of asking a favor he would try to get
+what he wanted by a trick.
+
+So with a loud voice he called to the crocodile, and said:
+
+“Oh, Mr. Crocodile, isn’t it a lovely day?”
+
+The crocodile, who had come out all by itself that day to enjoy the
+bright sunshine, was just beginning to feel a bit lonely when the
+hare’s cheerful greeting broke the silence. The crocodile swam nearer
+the shore, very pleased to hear some one speak.
+
+“I wonder who it was that spoke to me just now! Was it you, Mr. Hare?
+You must be very lonely all by yourself!”
+
+“Oh, no, I am not at all lonely,” said the hare, “but as it was such a
+fine day I came out here to enjoy myself. Won’t you stop and play with
+me a little while?”
+
+The crocodile came out of the sea and sat on the shore, and the two
+played together for some time. Then the hare said:
+
+“Mr. Crocodile, you live in the sea and I live on this island, and we
+do not often meet, so I know very little about you. Tell me, do you
+think the number of your company is greater than mine?”
+
+“Of course, there are more crocodiles than hares,” answered the
+crocodile. “Can you not see that for yourself? You live on this small
+island, while I live in the sea, which spreads through all parts of the
+world, so if I call together all the crocodiles who dwell in the sea
+you hares will be as nothing compared to us!” The crocodile was very
+conceited.
+
+The hare, who meant to play a trick on the crocodile, said:
+
+“Do you think it possible for you to call up enough crocodiles to form
+a line from this island across the sea to Inaba?”
+
+The crocodile thought for a moment and then answered:
+
+“Of course, it is possible.”
+
+“Then do try,” said the artful hare, “and I will count the number from
+here!”
+
+The crocodile, who was very simple-minded, and who hadn’t the least
+idea that the hare intended to play a trick on him, agreed to do what
+the hare asked, and said:
+
+“Wait a little while I go back into the sea and call my company
+together!”
+
+The crocodile plunged into the sea and was gone for some time. The
+hare, meanwhile, waited patiently on the shore. At last the crocodile
+appeared, bringing with him a large number of other crocodiles.
+
+“Look, Mr. Hare!” said the crocodile, “it is nothing for my friends to
+form a line between here and Inaba. There are enough crocodiles to
+stretch from here even as far as China or India. Did you ever see so
+many crocodiles?”
+
+Then the whole company of crocodiles arranged themselves in the water
+so as to form a bridge between the Island of Oki and the mainland of
+Inaba. When the hare saw the bridge of crocodiles, he said:
+
+“How splendid! I did not believe this was possible. Now let me count
+you all! To do this, however, with your permission, I must walk over on
+your backs to the other side, so please be so good as not to move, or
+else I shall fall into the sea and be drowned!”
+
+So the hare hopped off the island on to the strange bridge of
+crocodiles, counting as he jumped from one crocodile’s back to the
+other:
+
+“Please keep quite still, or I shall not be able to count. One, two,
+three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine—”
+
+Thus the cunning hare walked right across to the mainland of Inaba. Not
+content with getting his wish, he began to jeer at the crocodiles
+instead of thanking them, and said, as he leapt off the last one’s
+back:
+
+“Oh! you stupid crocodiles, now I have done with you!”
+
+And he was just about to run away as fast as he could. But he did not
+escape so easily, for so soon as the crocodiles understood that this
+was a trick played upon them by the hare so as to enable him to cross
+the sea, and that the hare was now laughing at them for their
+stupidity, they became furiously angry and made up their minds to take
+revenge. So some of them ran after the hare and caught him. Then they
+all surrounded the poor little animal and pulled out all his fur. He
+cried out loudly and entreated them to spare him, but with each tuft of
+fur they pulled out they said:
+
+“Serve you right!”
+
+When the crocodiles had pulled out the last bit of fur, they threw the
+poor hare on the beach, and all swam away laughing at what they had
+done.
+
+The hare was now in a pitiful plight, all his beautiful white fur had
+been pulled out, and his bare little body was quivering with pain and
+bleeding all over. He could hardly move, and all he could do was to lie
+on the beach quite helpless and weep over the misfortune that had
+befallen him. Notwithstanding that it was his own fault that had
+brought all this misery and suffering upon the white hare of Inaba, any
+one seeing the poor little creature could not help feeling sorry for
+him in his sad condition, for the crocodiles had been very cruel in
+their revenge.
+
+Just at this time a number of men, who looked like King’s sons,
+happened to pass by, and seeing the hare lying on the beach crying,
+stopped and asked what was the matter.
+
+The hare lifted up his head from between his paws, and answered them,
+saying:
+
+“I had a fight with some crocodiles, but I was beaten, and they pulled
+out all my fur and left me to suffer here—that is why I am crying.”
+
+Now one of these young men had a bad and spiteful disposition. But he
+feigned kindness, and said to the hare:
+
+“I feel very sorry for you. If you will only try it, I know of a remedy
+which will cure your sore body. Go and bathe yourself in the sea, and
+then come and sit in the wind. This will make your fur grow again, and
+you will be just as you were before.”
+
+Then all the young men passed on. The hare was very pleased, thinking
+that he had found a cure. He went and bathed in the sea and then came
+out and sat where the wind could blow upon him.
+
+But as the wind blew and dried him, his skin became drawn and hardened,
+and the salt increased the pain so much that he rolled on the sand in
+his agony and cried aloud.
+
+Just then another King’s son passed by, carrying a great bag on his
+back. He saw the hare, and stopped and asked why he was crying so
+loudly.
+
+But the poor hare, remembering that he had been deceived by one very
+like the man who now spoke to him, did not answer, but continued to
+cry.
+
+But this man had a kind heart, and looked at the hare very pityingly,
+and said:
+
+“You poor thing! I see that your fur is all pulled out and that your
+skin is quite bare. Who can have treated you so cruelly?”
+
+When the hare heard these kind words he felt very grateful to the man,
+and encouraged by his gentle manner the hare told him all that had
+befallen him. The little animal hid nothing from his friend, but told
+him frankly how he had played a trick on the crocodiles and how he had
+come across the bridge they had made, thinking that he wished to count
+their number: how he had jeered at them for their stupidity, and then
+how the crocodiles had revenged themselves on him. Then he went on to
+say how he had been deceived by a party of men who looked very like his
+kind friend: and the hare ended his long tale of woe by begging the man
+to give him some medicine that would cure him and make his fur grow
+again.
+
+When the hare had finished his story, the man was full of pity towards
+him, and said:
+
+“I am very sorry for all you have suffered, but remember, it was only
+the consequence of the deceit you practiced on the crocodiles.”
+
+“I know,” answered the sorrowful hare, “but I have repented and made up
+my mind never to use deceit again, so I beg you to show me how I may
+cure my sore body and make the fur grow again.”
+
+“Then I will tell you of a good remedy,” said the man. “First go and
+bathe well in that pond over there and try to wash all the salt from
+your body. Then pick some of those kaba flowers that are growing near
+the edge of the water, spread them on the ground and roll yourself on
+them. If you do this the pollen will cause your fur to grow again, and
+you will be quite well in a little while.”
+
+The hare was very glad to be told what to do, so kindly. He crawled to
+the pond pointed out to him, bathed well in it, and then picked the
+kaba flowers growing near the water, and rolled himself on them.
+
+To his amazement, even while he was doing this, he saw his nice white
+fur growing again, the pain ceased, and he felt just as he had done
+before all his misfortunes.
+
+The hare was overjoyed at his quick recovery, and went hopping joyfully
+towards the young man who had so helped him, and kneeling down at his
+feet, said:
+
+“I cannot express my thanks for all you have done for me! It is my
+earnest wish to do something for you in return. Please tell me who you
+are?”
+
+“I am no King’s son as you think me. I am a fairy, and my name is
+Okuni-nushi-no-Mikoto,” answered the man, “and those beings who passed
+here before me are my brothers. They have heard of a beautiful Princess
+called Yakami who lives in this province of Inaba, and they are on
+their way to find her and to ask her to marry one of them. But on this
+expedition I am only an attendant, so I am walking behind them with
+this great big bag on my back.”
+
+The hare humbled himself before this great fairy Okuni-nushi-no-Mikoto,
+whom many in that part of the land worshiped as a god.
+
+“Oh, I did not know that you were Okuni-nushi-no-Mikoto. How kind you
+have been to me! It is impossible to believe that that unkind fellow
+who sent me to bathe in the sea is one of your brothers. I am quite
+sure that the Princess, whom your brothers have gone to seek, will
+refuse to be the bride of any of them, and will prefer you for your
+goodness of heart. I am quite sure that you will win her heart without
+intending to do so, and she will ask to be your bride.”
+
+Okuni-nushi-no-Mikoto took no notice of what the hare said, but bidding
+the little animal goodby, went on his way quickly and soon overtook his
+brothers. He found them just entering the Princess’s gate.
+
+Just as the hare had said, the Princess could not be persuaded to
+become the bride of any of the brothers, but when she looked at the
+kind brother’s face she went straight up to him and said:
+
+“To you I give myself,” and so they were married.
+
+This is the end of the story. Okuni-nushi-no-Mikoto is worshiped by the
+people in some parts of Japan, as a god, and the hare has become famous
+as “The White Hare of Inaba.” But what became of the crocodiles nobody
+knows.
+
+
+
+
+THE STORY OF PRINCE YAMATO TAKE
+
+
+The insignia of the great Japanese Empire is composed of three
+treasures which have been considered sacred, and guarded with jealous
+care from time immemorial. These are the Yatano-no-Kagami or the Mirror
+of Yata, the Yasakami-no-Magatama or the Jewel of Yasakami, and the
+Murakumo-no-Tsurugi or the Sword of Murakumo.
+
+Of these three treasures of the Empire, the sword of Murakumo,
+afterwards known as Kusanagi-no-Tsrugugi, or the grass-cleaving sword,
+is considered the most precious and most highly to be honored, for it
+is the symbol of strength to this nation of warriors and the talisman
+of invincibility for the Emperor, while he holds it sacred in the
+shrine of his ancestors.
+
+Nearly two thousand years ago this sword was kept at the shrines of
+Ite, the temples dedicated to the worship of Amaterasu, the great and
+beautiful Sun Goddess from whom the Japanese Emperors are said to be
+descended.
+
+There is a story of knightly adventure and daring which explains why
+the name of the sword was changed from that of Murakumo to Kasanagi,
+which means grass clearing.
+
+Once, many, many years ago, there was born a son to the Emperor Keiko,
+the twelfth in descent from the great Jimmu, the founder of the
+Japanese dynasty. This Prince was the second son of the Emperor Keiko,
+and he was named Yamato. From his childhood he proved himself to be of
+remarkable strength, wisdom and courage, and his father noticed with
+pride that he gave promise of great things, and he loved him even more
+than he did his elder son.
+
+Now when Prince Yamato had grown to manhood (in the olden days of
+Japanese history, a boy was considered to have reached man’s estate at
+the early age of sixteen) the realm was much troubled by a band of
+outlaws whose chiefs were two brothers, Kumaso and Takeru. These rebels
+seemed to delight in rebelling against the King, in breaking the laws
+and defying all authority.
+
+At last King Keiko ordered his younger son Prince Yamato to subdue the
+brigands and, if possible, to rid the land of their evil lives. Prince
+Yamato was only sixteen years of age, he had but reached his manhood
+according to the law, yet though he was such a youth in years he
+possessed the dauntless spirit of a warrior of fuller age and knew not
+what fear was. Even then there was no man who could rival him for
+courage and bold deeds, and he received his father’s command with great
+joy.
+
+He at once made ready to start, and great was the stir in the precincts
+of the Palace as he and his trusty followers gathered together and
+prepared for the expedition, and polished up their armor and donned it.
+Before he left his father’s Court he went to pray at the shrine of Ise
+and to take leave of his aunt the Princess Yamato, for his heart was
+somewhat heavy at the thought of the dangers he had to face, and he
+felt that he needed the protection of his ancestress, Amaterasu, the
+Sun Goddess. The Princess his aunt came out to give him glad welcome,
+and congratulated him on being trusted with so great a mission by his
+father the King. She then gave him one of her gorgeous robes as a
+keepsake to go with him and to bring him good luck, saying that it
+would surely be of service to him on this adventure. She then wished
+him all success in his undertaking and bade him good speed.
+
+The young Prince bowed low before his aunt, and received her gracious
+gift with much pleasure and many respectful bows.
+
+“I will now set out,” said the Prince, and returning to the Palace he
+put himself at the head of his troops. Thus cheered by his aunt’s
+blessing, he felt ready for all that might befall, and marching through
+the land he went down to the Southern Island of Kiushiu, the home of
+the brigands.
+
+Before many days had passed he reached the Southern Island, and then
+slowly but surely made his way to the head-quarters of the chiefs
+Kumaso and Takeru. He now met with great difficulties, for he found the
+country exceedingly wild and rough. The mountains were high and steep,
+the valleys dark and deep, and huge trees and bowlders of rock blocked
+up the road and stopped the progress of his army. It was all but
+impossible to go on.
+
+Though the Prince was but a youth he had the wisdom of years, and,
+seeing that it was vain to try and lead his men further, he said to
+himself:
+
+“To attempt to fight a battle in this impassable country unknown to my
+men only makes my task harder. We cannot clear the roads and fight as
+well. It is wiser for me to resort to stratagem and come upon my
+enemies unawares. In that way I may be able to kill them without much
+exertion.”
+
+So he now bade his army halt by the way. His wife, the Princess
+Ototachibana, had accompanied him, and he bade her bring him the robe
+his aunt the priestess of Ise had given him, and to help him attire
+himself as a woman. With her help he put on the robe, and let his hair
+down till it flowed over his shoulders. Ototachibana then brought him
+her comb, which he put in his black tresses, and then adorned himself
+with strings of strange jewels just as you see in the picture. When he
+had finished his unusual toilet, Ototachibana brought him her mirror.
+He smiled as he gazed at himself—the disguise was so perfect.
+
+He hardly knew himself, so changed was he. All traces of the warrior
+had disappeared, and in the shining surface only a beautiful lady
+looked back at him.
+
+Thus completely disguised, he set out for the enemy’s camp alone. In
+the folds of his silk gown, next his strong heart, was hidden a sharp
+dagger.
+
+The two chiefs Kumaso and Takeru wore sitting in their tent, resting in
+the cool of the evening, when the Prince approached. They were talking
+of the news which had recently been carried to them, that the King’s
+son had entered their country with a large army determined to
+exterminate their band. They had both heard of the young warrior’s
+renown, and for the first time in their wicked lives they felt afraid.
+In a pause in their talk they happened to look up, and saw through the
+door of the tent a beautiful woman robed in sumptuous garments coming
+towards them. Like an apparition of loveliness she appeared in the soft
+twilight. Little did they dream that it was their enemy whose coming
+they so dreaded who now stood before them in this disguise.
+
+“What a beautiful woman! Where has she come from?” said the astonished
+Kumaso, forgetting war and council and everything as he looked at the
+gentle intruder.
+
+He beckoned to the disguised Prince and bade him sit down and serve
+them with wine. Yamato Take felt his heart swell with a fierce glee for
+he now knew that his plan would succeed. However, he dissembled
+cleverly, and putting on a sweet air of shyness he approached the rebel
+chief with slow steps and eyes glancing like a frightened deer. Charmed
+to distraction by the girl’s loveliness Kumaso drank cup after cup of
+wine for the pleasure of seeing her pour it out for him, till at last
+he was quite overcome with the quantity he had drunk.
+
+This was the moment for which the brave Prince had been waiting.
+Flinging down the wine jar, he seized the tipsy and astonished Kumaso
+and quickly stabbed him to death with the dagger which he had secretly
+carried hidden in his breast.
+
+Takeru, the brigand’s brother, was terror-struck as soon as he saw what
+was happening and tried to escape, but Prince Yamato was too quick for
+him. Ere he could reach the tent door the Prince was at his heel, his
+garments were clutched by a hand of iron, and a dagger flashed before
+his eyes and he lay stabbed to the earth, dying but not yet dead.
+
+“Wait one moment!” gasped the brigand painfully, and he seized the
+Prince’s hand.
+
+Yamato relaxed his hold somewhat and said.
+
+“Why should I pause, thou villain?”
+
+The brigand raised himself fearfully and said:
+
+“Tell me from whence you come, and whom I have the honor of addressing?
+Hitherto I believed that my dead brother and I were the strongest men
+in the land, and that there was no one who could overcome us. Alone you
+have ventured into our stronghold, alone you have attacked and killed
+us! Surely you are more than mortal?”
+
+Then the young Prince answered with a proud smile:—“I am the son of the
+King and my name is Yamato, and I have been sent by my father as the
+avenger of evil to bring death to all rebels! No longer shall robbery
+and murder hold my people in terror!” and he held the dagger dripping
+red above the rebel’s head.
+
+“Ah,” gasped the dying man with a great effort, “I have often heard of
+you. You are indeed a strong man to have so easily overcome us. Allow
+me to give you a new name. From henceforth you shall be known as Yamato
+Take. Our title I bequeath to you as the bravest man in Yamato.”
+
+And with these noble words, Takeru fell back and died.
+
+The Prince having thus successfully put an end to his father’s enemies
+in the world, was prepared to return to the capital. On the way back he
+passed through the province of Idum. Here he met with another outlaw
+named Idzumo Takeru who he knew had done much harm in the land. He
+again resorted to stratagem, and feigned friendship with the rebel
+under an assumed name. Having done this he made a sword of wood and
+jammed it tightly in the shaft of his own strong sword. This he
+purposedly buckled to his side and wore on every occasion when he
+expected to meet the third robber Takeru.
+
+He now invited Takeru to the bank of the River Hinokawa, and persuaded
+him to try a swim with him in the cool refreshing waters of the river.
+
+As it was a hot summer’s day, the rebel was nothing loath to take a
+plunge in the river, while his enemy was still swimming down the stream
+the Prince turned back and landed with all possible haste. Unperceived,
+he managed to change swords, putting his wooden one in place of the
+keen steel sword of Takeru.
+
+Knowing nothing of this, the brigand came up to the bank shortly. As
+soon as he had landed and donned his clothes, the Prince came forward
+and asked him to cross swords with him to prove his skill, saying:
+
+“Let us two prove which is the better swordsman of the two!”
+
+The robber agreed with delight, feeling certain of victory, for he was
+famous as a fencer in his province and he did not know who his
+adversary was. He seized quickly what he thought was his sword and
+stood on guard to defend himself. Alas! for the rebel the sword was the
+wooden one of the young Prince and in vain Takeru tried to unsheathe
+it—it was jammed fast, not all his exerted strength could move it. Even
+if his efforts had been successful the sword would have been of no use
+to him for it was of wood. Yamato Take saw that his enemy was in his
+power, and swinging high the sword he had taken from Takeru he brought
+it down with great might and dexterity and cut off the robber’s head.
+
+In this way, sometimes by using his wisdom and sometimes by using his
+bodily strength, and at other times by resorting to craftiness, which
+was as much esteemed in those days as it is despised in these, he
+prevailed against all the King’s foes one by one, and brought peace and
+rest to the land and the people.
+
+When he returned to the capital the King praised him for his brave
+deeds, and held a feast in the Palace in honor of his safe coming home
+and presented him with many rare gifts. From this time forth the King
+loved him more than ever and would not let Yamato Take go from his
+side, for he said that his son was now as precious to him as one of his
+arms.
+
+But the Prince was not allowed to live an idle life long. When he was
+about thirty years old, news was brought that the Ainu race, the
+aborigines of the islands of Japan, who had been conquered and pushed
+northwards by the Japanese, had rebelled in the Eastern provinces, and
+leaving the vicinity which had been allotted to them were causing great
+trouble in the land. The King decided that it was necessary to send an
+army to do battle with them and bring them to reason. But who was to
+lead the men?
+
+Prince Yamato Take at once offered to go and bring the newly arisen
+rebels into subjection. Now as the King loved the Prince dearly, and
+could not bear to have him go out of his sight even for the length of
+one day, he was of course very loath to send him on his dangerous
+expedition. But in the whole army there was no warrior so strong or so
+brave as the Prince his son, so that His Majesty, unable to do
+otherwise, reluctantly complied with Yamato’s wish.
+
+When the time came for the Prince to start, the King gave him a spear
+called the Eight-Arms-Length-Spear of the Holly Tree (the handle was
+probably made from the wood of the holly tree), and ordered him to set
+out to subjugate the Eastern Barbarians as the Ainu were then called.
+
+The Eight-Arms-Length-Spear of the Holly Tree of those old days, was
+prized by warriors just as much as the Standard or Banner is valued by
+a regiment in these modern days, when given by the King to his soldiers
+on the occasion of setting out for war.
+
+The Prince respectfully and with great reverence received the King’s
+spear, and leaving the capital, marched with his army to the East. On
+his way he visited first of all the temples of Ise for worship, and his
+aunt the Princess of Yamato and High Priestess came out to greet him.
+She it was who had given him her robe which had proved such a boon to
+him before in helping him to overcome and slay the brigands of the
+West.
+
+He told her all that had happened to him, and of the great part her
+keepsake had played in the success of his previous undertaking, and
+thanked her very heartily. When she heard that he was starting out once
+again to do battle with his father’s enemies, she went into the temple,
+and reappeared bearing a sword and a beautiful bag which she had made
+herself, and which was full of flints, which in those times people used
+instead of matches for making fire. These she presented to him as a
+parting gift.
+
+The sword was the sword of Murakumo, one of the three sacred treasures
+which comprise the insignia of the Imperial House of Japan. No more
+auspicious talisman of luck and success could she have given her
+nephew, and she bade him use it in the hour of his greatest need.
+
+Yamato Take now bade farewell to his aunt, and once more placing
+himself at the head of his men he marched to the farthest East through
+the province of Owari, and then he reached the province of Suruga. Here
+the governor welcomed the Prince right heartily and entertained him
+royally with many feasts. When these were over, the governor told his
+guest that his country was famous for its fine deer, and proposed a
+deer hunt for the Prince’s amusement. The Prince was utterly deceived
+by the cordiality of his host, which was all feigned, and gladly
+consented to join in the hunt.
+
+The governor then led the Prince to a wild and extensive plain where
+the grass grew high and in great abundance. Quite ignorant that the
+governor had laid a trap for him with the desire to compass his death,
+the Prince began to ride hard and hunt down the deer, when all of a
+sudden to his amazement he saw flames and smoke bursting out from the
+bush in front of him. Realizing his danger he tried to retreat, but no
+sooner did he turn his horse in the opposite direction than he saw that
+even there the prairie was on fire. At the same time the grass on his
+left and right burst into flames, and these began to spread swiftly
+towards him on all sides. He looked round for a chance of escape. There
+was none. He was surrounded by fire.
+
+“This deer hunt was then only a cunning trick of the enemy!” said the
+Prince, looking round on the flames and the smoke that crackled and
+rolled in towards him on every side. “What a fool I was to be lured
+into this trap like a wild beast!” and he ground his teeth with rage as
+he thought of the governor’s smiling treachery.
+
+Dangerous as was his situation now, the Prince was not in the least
+confounded. In his dire extremity he remembered the gifts his aunt had
+given him when they parted, and it seemed to him as if she must, with
+prophetic foresight, have divined this hour of need. He coolly opened
+the flint-bag that his aunt had given him and set fire to the grass
+near him. Then drawing the sword of Murakumo from its sheath he set to
+work to cut down the grass on either side of him with all speed. He
+determined to die, if that were necessary, fighting for his life and
+not standing still waiting for death to come to him.
+
+Strange to say the wind began to change and to blow from the opposite
+direction, and the fiercest portion of the burning bush which had
+hitherto threatened to come upon him was now blown right away from him,
+and the Prince, without even a scratch on his body or a single hair
+burned, lived to tell the tale of his wonderful escape, while the wind
+rising to a gale overtook the governor, and he was burned to death in
+the flames he had set alight to kill Yamato Take.
+
+Now the Prince ascribed his escape entirely to the virtue of the sword
+of Murakumo, and to the protection of Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess of
+Ise, who controls the wind and all the elements and insures the safety
+of all who pray to her in the hour of danger. Lifting the precious
+sword he raised it above his head many times in token of his great
+respect, and as he did this he re-named it Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi or the
+Grass-Cleaving Sword, and the place where he set fire to the grass
+round him and escaped from death in the burning prairie, he called
+Yaidzu. To this day there is a spot along the great Tokaido railway
+named Yaidzu, which is said to be the very place where this thrilling
+event took place.
+
+Thus did the brave Prince Yamato Take escape out of the snare laid for
+him by his enemy. He was full of resource and courage, and finally
+outwitted and subdued all his foes. Leaving Yaidzu he marched eastward,
+and came to the shore at Idzu from whence he wished to cross to
+Kadzusa.
+
+In these dangers and adventures he had been followed by his faithful
+loving wife the Princess Ototachibana. For his sake she counted the
+weariness of the long journeys and the dangers of war as nothing, and
+her love for her warrior husband was so great that she felt well repaid
+for all her wanderings if she could but hand him his sword when he
+sallied forth to battle, or minister to his wants when he returned
+weary to the camp.
+
+But the heart of the Prince was full of war and conquest and he cared
+little for the faithful Ototachibana. From long exposure in traveling,
+and from care and grief at her lord’s coldness to her, her beauty had
+faded, and her ivory skin was burnt brown by the sun, and the Prince
+told her one day that her place was in the Palace behind the screens at
+home and not with him upon the warpath. But in spite of rebuffs and
+indifference on her husband’s part, Ototachibana could not find it in
+her heart to leave him. But perhaps it would have been better for her
+if she had done so, for on the way to Idzu, when they came to Owari,
+her heart was well-nigh broken.
+
+Here dwelt in a Palace shaded by pine-trees and approached by imposing
+gates, the Princess Miyadzu, beautiful as the cherry blossom in the
+blushing dawn of a spring morning. Her garments were dainty and bright,
+and her skin was white as snow, for she had never known what it was to
+be weary along the path of duty or to walk in the heat of a summer’s
+sun. And the Prince was ashamed of his sunburnt wife in her
+travel-stained garments, and bade her remain behind while he went to
+visit the Princess Miyadzu. Day after day he spent hours in the gardens
+and the Palace of his new friend, thinking only of his pleasure, and
+caring little for his poor wife who remained behind to weep in the tent
+at the misery which had come into her life. Yet she was so faithful a
+wife, and her character so patient, that she never allowed a reproach
+to escape her lips, or a frown to mar the sweet sadness of her face,
+and she was ever ready with a smile to welcome her husband back or
+usher him forth wherever he went.
+
+At last the day came when the Prince Yamato Take must depart for Idzu
+and cross over the sea to Kadzusa, and he bade his wife follow in his
+retinue as an attendant while he went to take a ceremonious farewell of
+the Princess Miyadzu. She came out to greet him dressed in gorgeous
+robes, and she seemed more beautiful than ever, and when Yamato Take
+saw her he forgot his wife, his duty, and everything except the joy of
+the idle present, and swore that he would return to Owari and marry her
+when the war was over. And as he looked up when he had said these words
+he met the large almond eyes of Ototachibana fixed full upon him in
+unspeakable sadness and wonder, and he knew that he had done wrong, but
+he hardened his heart and rode on, caring little for the pain he had
+caused her.
+
+When they reached the seashore at Idzu his men sought for boats in
+which to cross the straits to Kadzusa, but it was difficult to find
+boats enough to allow all the soldiers to embark. Then the Prince stood
+on the beach, and in the pride of his strength he scoffed and said:
+
+“This is not the sea! This is only a brook! Why do you men want so many
+boats? I could jump this if I would.”
+
+When at last they had all embarked and were fairly on their way across
+the straits, the sky suddenly clouded and a great storm arose. The
+waves rose mountains high, the wind howled, the lightning flashed and
+the thunder rolled, and the boat which held Ototachibana and the Prince
+and his men was tossed from crest to crest of the rolling waves, till
+it seemed that every moment must be their last and that they must all
+be swallowed up in the angry sea. For Kin Jin, the Dragon King of the
+Sea, had heard Yamato Take jeer, and had raised this terrible storm in
+anger, to show the scoffing Prince how awful the sea could be though it
+did but look like a brook.
+
+The terrified crew lowered the sails and looked after the rudder, and
+worked for their dear lives’ sake, but all in vain—the storm only
+seemed to increase in violence, and all gave themselves up for lost.
+Then the faithful Ototachibana rose, and forgetting all the grief that
+her husband had caused her, forgetting even that he had wearied of her,
+in the one great desire of her love to save him, she determined to
+sacrifice her life to rescue him from death if it were possible.
+
+While the waves dashed over the ship and the wind whirled round them in
+fury she stood up and said:
+
+“Surely all this has come because the Prince has angered Rin Jin, the
+God of the Sea, by his jesting. If so, I, Ototachibana, will appease
+the wrath of the Sea God who desires nothing less than my husband’s
+life!”
+
+Then addressing the sea she said:
+
+“I will take the place of His Augustness, Yamato Take. I will now cast
+myself into your outraged depths, giving my life for his. Therefore
+hear me and bring him safely to the shore of Kadzusa.”
+
+With these words she leaped quickly into the boisterous sea, and the
+waves soon whirled her away and she was lost to sight. Strange to say,
+the storm ceased at once, and the sea became as calm and smooth as the
+matting on which the astonished onlookers were sitting. The gods of the
+sea were now appeased, and the weather cleared and the sun shone as on
+a summer’s day.
+
+Yamato Take soon reached the opposite shore and landed safely, even as
+his wife Ototachibana had prayed. His prowess in war was marvelous, and
+he succeeded after some time in conquering the Eastern Barbarians, the
+Ainu.
+
+He ascribed his safe landing wholly to the faithfulness of his wife,
+who had so willingly and lovingly sacrificed herself in the hour of his
+utmost peril. His heart was softened at the remembrance of her, and he
+never allowed her to pass from his thoughts even for a moment. Too late
+had he learned to esteem the goodness of her heart and the greatness of
+her love for him.
+
+As he was returning on his homeward way he came to the high pass of the
+Usui Toge, and here he stood and gazed at the wonderful prospect
+beneath him. The country, from this great elevation, all lay open to
+his sight, a vast panorama of mountain and plain and forest, with
+rivers winding like silver ribbons through the land; then far off he
+saw the distant sea, which shimmered like a luminous mist in the great
+distance, where Ototachibana had given her life for him, and as he
+turned towards it he stretched out his arms, and thinking of her love
+which he had scorned and his faithlessness to her, his heart burst out
+into a sorrowful and bitter cry:
+
+“Azuma, Azuma, Ya!” (Oh! my wife, my wife!) And to this day there is a
+district in Tokio called Azuma, which commemorates the words of Prince
+Yamato Take, and the place where his faithful wife leapt into the sea
+to save him is still pointed out. So, though in life the Princess
+Ototachibana was unhappy, history keeps her memory green, and the story
+of her unselfishness and heroic death will never pass away.
+
+Yamato Take had now fulfilled all his father’s orders, he had subdued
+all rebels, and rid the land of all robbers and enemies to the peace,
+and his renown was great, for in the whole land there was no one who
+could stand up against him, he was so strong in battle and wise in
+council.
+
+He was about to return straight for home by the way he had come, when
+the thought struck him that he would find it more interesting to take
+another route, so he passed through the province of Owari and came to
+the province of Omi.
+
+When the Prince reached Omi he found the people in a state of great
+excitement and fear. In many houses as he passed along he saw the signs
+of mourning and heard loud lamentations. On inquiring the cause of this
+he was told that a terrible monster had appeared in the mountains, who
+daily came down from thence and made raids on the villages, devouring
+whoever he could seize. Many homes had been made desolate and the men
+were afraid to go out to their daily work in the fields, or the women
+to go to the rivers to wash their rice.
+
+When Yamato Take heard this his wrath was kindled, and he said
+fiercely:
+
+“From the western end of Kiushiu to the eastern corner of Yezo I have
+subdued all the King’s enemies—there is no one who dares to break the
+laws or to rebel against the King. It is indeed a matter for wonder
+that here in this place, so near the capital, a wicked monster has
+dared to take up his abode and be the terror of the King’s subjects.
+Not long shall it find pleasure in devouring innocent folk. I will
+start out and kill it at once.”
+
+With these words he set out for the Ibuki Mountain, where the monster
+was said to live. He climbed up a good distance, when all of a sudden,
+at a winding in the path, a monster serpent appeared before him and
+stopped the way.
+
+“This must be the monster,” said the Prince; “I do not need my sword
+for a serpent. I can kill him with my hands.”
+
+He thereupon sprang upon the serpent and tried to strangle it to death
+with his bare arms. It was not long before his prodigious strength
+gained the mastery and the serpent lay dead at his feet. Now a sudden
+darkness came over the mountain and rain began to fall, so that for the
+gloom and the rain the Prince could hardly see which way to take. In a
+short time, however, while he was groping his way down the pass, the
+weather cleared, and our brave hero was able to make his way quickly
+down the mountain.
+
+When he got back he began to feel ill and to have burning pains in his
+feet, so he knew that the serpent had poisoned him. So great was his
+suffering that he could hardly move, much less walk, so he had himself
+carried to a place in the mountains famous for its hot mineral springs,
+which rose bubbling out of the earth, and almost boiling from the
+volcanic fires beneath.
+
+Yamato Take bathed daily in these waters, and gradually he felt his
+strength come again, and the pains left him, till at last one day he
+found with great joy that he was quite recovered. He now hastened to
+the temples of Ise, where you will remember that he prayed before
+undertaking this long expedition. His aunt, priestess of the shrine,
+who had blessed him on his setting out, now came to welcome him back.
+He told her of the many dangers he had encountered and of how
+marvelously his life had been preserved through all—and she praised his
+courage and his warrior’s prowess, and then putting on her most
+magnificent robes she returned thanks to their ancestress the Sun
+Goddess Amaterasu, to whose protection they both ascribed the Prince’s
+wonderful preservation.
+
+Here ends the story of Prince Yamato Take of Japan.
+
+
+
+
+MOMOTARO, OR THE STORY OF THE SON OF A PEACH
+
+
+Long, long ago there lived, an old man and an old woman; they were
+peasants, and had to work hard to earn their daily rice. The old man
+used to go and cut grass for the farmers around, and while he was gone
+the old woman, his wife, did the work of the house and worked in their
+own little rice field.
+
+One day the old man went to the hills as usual to cut grass and the old
+woman took some clothes to the river to wash.
+
+It was nearly summer, and the country was very beautiful to see in its
+fresh greenness as the two old people went on their way to work. The
+grass on the banks of the river looked like emerald velvet, and the
+pussy willows along the edge of the water were shaking out their soft
+tassels.
+
+The breezes blew and ruffled the smooth surface of the water into
+wavelets, and passing on touched the cheeks of the old couple who, for
+some reason they could not explain, felt very happy that morning.
+
+The old woman at last found a nice spot by the river bank and put her
+basket down. Then she set to work to wash the clothes; she took them
+one by one out of the basket and washed them in the river and rubbed
+them on the stones. The water was as clear as crystal, and she could
+see the tiny fish swimming to and fro, and the pebbles at the bottom.
+
+As she was busy washing her clothes a great peach came bumping down the
+stream. The old woman looked up from her work and saw this large peach.
+She was sixty years of age, yet in all her life she had never seen such
+a big peach as this.
+
+“How delicious that peach must be!” she said to herself. “I must
+certainly get it and take it home to my old man.”
+
+She stretched out her arm to try and get it, but it was quite out of
+her reach. She looked about for a stick, but there was not one to be
+seen, and if she went to look for one she would lose the peach.
+
+Stopping a moment to think what she would do, she remembered an old
+charm-verse. Now she began to clap her hands to keep time to the
+rolling of the peach down stream, and while she clapped she sang this
+song:
+
+“Distant water is bitter,
+The near water is sweet;
+Pass by the distant water
+And come into the sweet.”
+
+
+Strange to say, as soon as she began to repeat this little song the
+peach began to come nearer and nearer the bank where the old woman was
+standing, till at last it stopped just in front of her so that she was
+able to take it up in her hands. The old woman was delighted. She could
+not go on with her work, so happy and excited was she, so she put all
+the clothes back in her bamboo basket, and with the basket on her back
+and the peach in her hand she hurried homewards.
+
+It seemed a very long time to her to wait till her husband returned.
+The old man at last came back as the sun was setting, with a big bundle
+of grass on his back—so big that he was almost hidden and she could
+hardly see him. He seemed very tired and used the scythe for a walking
+stick, leaning on it as he walked along.
+
+As soon as the old woman saw him she called out:
+
+“O Fii San! (old man) I have been waiting for you to come home for such
+a long time to-day!”
+
+“What is the matter? Why are you so impatient?” asked the old man,
+wondering at her unusual eagerness. “Has anything happened while I have
+been away?”
+
+“Oh, no!” answered the old woman, “nothing has happened, only I have
+found a nice present for you!”
+
+“That is good,” said the old man. He then washed his feet in a basin of
+water and stepped up to the veranda.
+
+The old woman now ran into the little room and brought out from the
+cupboard the big peach. It felt even heavier than before. She held it
+up to him, saying:
+
+“Just look at this! Did you ever see such a large peach in all your
+life?”
+
+When the old man looked at the peach he was greatly astonished and
+said:
+
+“This is indeed the largest peach I have ever seen! Wherever did you
+buy it?”
+
+“I did not buy it,” answered the old woman. “I found it in the river
+where I was washing.” And she told him the whole story.
+
+“I am very glad that you have found it. Let us eat it now, for I am
+hungry,” said the O Fii San.
+
+He brought out the kitchen knife, and, placing the peach on a board,
+was about to cut it when, wonderful to tell, the peach split in two of
+itself and a clear voice said:
+
+“Wait a bit, old man!” and out stepped a beautiful little child.
+
+The old man and his wife were both so astonished at what they saw that
+they fell to the ground. The child spoke again:
+
+“Don’t be afraid. I am no demon or fairy. I will tell you the truth.
+Heaven has had compassion on you. Every day and every night you have
+lamented that you had no child. Your cry has been heard and I am sent
+to be the son of your old age!”
+
+On hearing this the old man and his wife were very happy. They had
+cried night and day for sorrow at having no child to help them in their
+lonely old age, and now that their prayer was answered they were so
+lost with joy that they did not know where to put their hands or their
+feet. First the old man took the child up in his arms, and then the old
+woman did the same; and they named him MOMOTARO, OR SON OF A PEACH,
+because he had come out of a peach.
+
+The years passed quickly by and the child grew to be fifteen years of
+age. He was taller and far stronger than any other boys of his own age,
+he had a handsome face and a heart full of courage, and he was very
+wise for his years. The old couple’s pleasure was very great when they
+looked at him, for he was just what they thought a hero ought to be
+like.
+
+One day Momotaro came to his foster-father and said solemnly:
+
+“Father, by a strange chance we have become father and son. Your
+goodness to me has been higher than the mountain grasses which it was
+your daily work to cut, and deeper than the river where my mother
+washes the clothes. I do not know how to thank you enough.”
+
+“Why,” answered the old man, “it is a matter of course that a father
+should bring up his son. When you are older it will be your turn to
+take care of us, so after all there will be no profit or loss between
+us—all will be equal. Indeed, I am rather surprised that you should
+thank me in this way!” and the old man looked bothered.
+
+“I hope you will be patient with me,” said Momotaro; “but before I
+begin to pay back your goodness to me I have a request to make which I
+hope you will grant me above everything else.”
+
+“I will let you do whatever you wish, for you are quite different to
+all other boys!”
+
+“Then let me go away at once!”
+
+“What do you say? Do you wish to leave your old father and mother and
+go away from your old home?”
+
+“I will surely come back again, if you let me go now!”
+
+“Where are you going?”
+
+“You must think it strange that I want to go away,” said Momotaro,
+“because I have not yet told you my reason. Far away from here to the
+northeast of Japan there is an island in the sea. This island is the
+stronghold of a band of devils. I have often heard how they invade this
+land, kill and rob the people, and carry off all they can find. They
+are not only very wicked but they are disloyal to our Emperor and
+disobey his laws. They are also cannibals, for they kill and eat some
+of the poor people who are so unfortunate as to fall into their hands.
+These devils are very hateful beings. I must go and conquer them and
+bring back all the plunder of which they have robbed this land. It is
+for this reason that I want to go away for a short time!”
+
+The old man was much surprised at hearing all this from a mere boy of
+fifteen. He thought it best to let the boy go. He was strong and
+fearless, and besides all this, the old man knew he was no common
+child, for he had been sent to them as a gift from Heaven, and he felt
+quite sure that the devils would be powerless to harm him.
+
+“All you say is very interesting, Momotaro,” said the old man. “I will
+not hinder you in your determination. You may go if you wish. Go to the
+island as soon as ever you like and destroy the demons and bring peace
+to the land.”
+
+“Thank you, for all your kindness,” said Momotaro, who began to get
+ready to go that very day. He was full of courage and did not know what
+fear was.
+
+The old man and woman at once set to work to pound rice in the kitchen
+mortar to make cakes for Momotaro to take with him on his journey.
+
+At last the cakes were made and Momotaro was ready to start on his long
+journey.
+
+Parting is always sad. So it was now. The eyes of the two old people
+were filled with tears and their voices trembled as they said:
+
+“Go with all care and speed. We expect you back victorious!”
+
+Momotaro was very sorry to leave his old parents (though he knew he was
+coming back as soon as he could), for he thought of how lonely they
+would be while he was away. But he said “Good-by!” quite bravely.
+
+“I am going now. Take good care of yourselves while I am away.
+Good-by!” And he stepped quickly out of the house. In silence the eyes
+of Momotaro and his parents met in farewell.
+
+Momotaro now hurried on his way till it was midday. He began to feel
+hungry, so he opened his bag and took out one of the rice-cakes and sat
+down under a tree by the side of the road to eat it. While he was thus
+having his lunch a dog almost as large as a colt came running out from
+the high grass. He made straight for Momotaro, and showing his teeth,
+said in a fierce way:
+
+“You are a rude man to pass my field without asking permission first.
+If you leave me all the cakes you have in your bag you may go;
+otherwise I will bite you till I kill you!”
+
+Momotaro only laughed scornfully:
+
+“What is that you are saying? Do you know who I am? I am Momotaro, and
+I am on my way to subdue the devils in their island stronghold in the
+northeast of Japan. If you try to stop me on my way there I will cut
+you in two from the head downwards!”
+
+The dog’s manner at once changed. His tail dropped between his legs,
+and coming near he bowed so low that his forehead touched the ground.
+
+“What do I hear? The name of Momotaro? Are you indeed Momotaro? I have
+often heard of your great strength. Not knowing who you were I have
+behaved in a very stupid way. Will you please pardon my rudeness? Are
+you indeed on your way to invade the Island of Devils? If you will take
+such a rude fellow with you as one of your followers, I shall be very
+grateful to you.”
+
+“I think I can take you with me if you wish to go,” said Momotaro.
+
+“Thank you!” said the dog. “By the way, I am very very hungry. Will you
+give me one of the cakes you are carrying?”
+
+“This is the best kind of cake there is in Japan,” said Momotaro. “I
+cannot spare you a whole one; I will give you half of one.”
+
+“Thank you very much,” said the dog, taking the piece thrown to him.
+
+Then Momotaro got up and the dog followed. For a long time they walked
+over the hills and through the valleys. As they were going along an
+animal came down from a tree a little ahead of them. The creature soon
+came up to Momotaro and said:
+
+“Good morning, Momotaro! You are welcome in this part of the country.
+Will you allow me to go with you?”
+
+The dog answered jealously:
+
+“Momotaro already has a dog to accompany him. Of what use is a monkey
+like you in battle? We are on our way to fight the devils! Get away!”
+
+The dog and the monkey began to quarrel and bite, for these two animals
+always hate each other.
+
+“Now, don’t quarrel!” said Momotaro, putting himself between them.
+“Wait a moment, dog!”
+
+“It is not at all dignified for you to have such a creature as that
+following you!” said the dog.
+
+“What do you know about it?” asked Momotaro; and pushing aside the dog,
+he spoke to the monkey:
+
+“Who are you?”
+
+“I am a monkey living in these hills,” replied the monkey. “I heard of
+your expedition to the Island of Devils, and I have come to go with
+you. Nothing will please me more than to follow you!”
+
+“Do you really wish to go to the Island of Devils and fight with me?”
+
+“Yes, sir,” replied the monkey.
+
+“I admire your courage,” said Momotaro. “Here is a piece of one of my
+fine rice-cakes. Come along!”
+
+So the monkey joined Momotaro. The dog and the monkey did not get on
+well together. They were always snapping at each other as they went
+along, and always wanting to have a fight. This made Momotaro very
+cross, and at last he sent the dog on ahead with a flag and put the
+monkey behind with a sword, and he placed himself between them with a
+war-fan, which is made of iron.
+
+By and by they came to a large field. Here a bird flew down and
+alighted on the ground just in front of the little party. It was the
+most beautiful bird Momotaro had ever seen. On its body were five
+different robes of feathers and its head was covered with a scarlet
+cap.
+
+The dog at once ran at the bird and tried to seize and kill it. But the
+bird struck out its spurs and flew at the dog’s tail, and the fight
+went hard with both.
+
+Momotaro, as he looked on, could not help admiring the bird; it showed
+so much spirit in the fight. It would certainly make a good fighter.
+
+Momotaro went up to the two combatants, and holding the dog back, said
+to the bird:
+
+“You rascal! you are hindering my journey. Surrender at once, and I
+will take you with me. If you don’t I will set this dog to bite your
+head off!”
+
+Then the bird surrendered at once, and begged to be taken into
+Momotaro’s company.
+
+“I do not know what excuse to offer for quarreling with the dog, your
+servant, but I did not see you. I am a miserable bird called a
+pheasant. It is very generous of you to pardon my rudeness and to take
+me with you. Please allow me to follow you behind the dog and the
+monkey!”
+
+“I congratulate you on surrendering so soon,” said Momotaro, smiling.
+“Come and join us in our raid on the devils.”
+
+“Are you going to take this bird with you also?” asked the dog,
+interrupting.
+
+“Why do you ask such an unnecessary question? Didn’t you hear what I
+said? I take the bird with me because I wish to!”
+
+“Humph!” said the dog.
+
+Then Momotaro stood and gave this order:
+
+“Now all of you must listen to me. The first thing necessary in an army
+is harmony. It is a wise saying which says that ‘Advantage on earth is
+better than advantage in Heaven!’ Union amongst ourselves is better
+than any earthly gain. When we are not at peace amongst ourselves it is
+no easy thing to subdue an enemy. From now, you three, the dog, the
+monkey and the pheasant, must be friends with one mind. The one who
+first begins a quarrel will be discharged on the spot!”
+
+All the three promised not to quarrel. The pheasant was now made a
+member of Momotaro’s suite, and received half a cake.
+
+Momotaro’s influence was so great that the three became good friends,
+and hurried onwards with him as their leader.
+
+Hurrying on day after day they at last came out upon the shore of the
+North-Eastern Sea. There was nothing to be seen as far as the
+horizon—not a sign of any island. All that broke the stillness was the
+rolling of the waves upon the shore.
+
+Now, the dog and the monkey and the pheasant had come very bravely all
+the way through the long valleys and over the hills, but they had never
+seen the sea before, and for the first time since they set out they
+were bewildered and gazed at each other in silence. How were they to
+cross the water and get to the Island of Devils?
+
+Momotaro soon saw that they were daunted by the sight of the sea, and
+to try them he spoke loudly and roughly:
+
+“Why do you hesitate? Are you afraid of the sea? Oh! what cowards you
+are! It is impossible to take such weak creatures as you with me to
+fight the demons. It will be far better for me to go alone. I discharge
+you all at once!”
+
+The three animals were taken aback at this sharp reproof, and clung to
+Momotaro’s sleeve, begging him not to send them away.
+
+“Please, Momotaro!” said the dog.
+
+“We have come thus far!” said the monkey.
+
+“It is inhuman to leave us here!” said the pheasant.
+
+“We are not at all afraid of the sea,” said the monkey again.
+
+“Please do take us with you,” said the pheasant.
+
+“Do please,” said the dog.
+
+They had now gained a little courage, so Momotaro said:
+
+“Well, then, I will take you with me, but be careful!”
+
+Momotaro now got a small ship, and they all got on board. The wind and
+weather were fair, and the ship went like an arrow over the sea. It was
+the first time they had ever been on the water, and so at first the
+dog, the monkey and the pheasant were frightened at the waves and the
+rolling of the vessel, but by degrees they grew accustomed to the water
+and were quite happy again. Every day they paced the deck of their
+little ship, eagerly looking out for the demons’ island.
+
+When they grew tired of this, they told each other stories of all their
+exploits of which they were proud, and then played games together; and
+Momotaro found much to amuse him in listening to the three animals and
+watching their antics, and in this way he forgot that the way was long
+and that he was tired of the voyage and of doing nothing. He longed to
+be at work killing the monsters who had done so much harm in his
+country.
+
+As the wind blew in their favor and they met no storms the ship made a
+quick voyage, and one day when the sun was shining brightly a sight of
+land rewarded the four watchers at the bow.
+
+Momotaro knew at once that what they saw was the devils’ stronghold. On
+the top of the precipitous shore, looking out to sea, was a large
+castle. Now that his enterprise was close at hand, he was deep in
+thought with his head leaning on his hands, wondering how he should
+begin the attack. His three followers watched him, waiting for orders.
+At last he called to the pheasant:
+
+“It is a great advantage for us to have you with us.” said Momotaro to
+the bird, “for you have good wings. Fly at once to the castle and
+engage the demons to fight. We will follow you.”
+
+The pheasant at once obeyed. He flew off from the ship beating the air
+gladly with his wings. The bird soon reached the island and took up his
+position on the roof in the middle of the castle, calling out loudly:
+
+“All you devils listen to me! The great Japanese general Momotaro has
+come to fight you and to take your stronghold from you. If you wish to
+save your lives surrender at once, and in token of your submission you
+must break off the horns that grow on your forehead. If you do not
+surrender at once, but make up your mind to fight, we, the pheasant,
+the dog and the monkey, will kill you all by biting and tearing you to
+death!”
+
+The horned demons looking up and only seeing a pheasant, laughed and
+said:
+
+“A wild pheasant, indeed! It is ridiculous to hear such words from a
+mean thing like you. Wait till you get a blow from one of our iron
+bars!”
+
+Very angry, indeed, were the devils. They shook their horns and their
+shocks of red hair fiercely, and rushed to put on tiger skin trousers
+to make themselves look more terrible. They then brought out great iron
+bars and ran to where the pheasant perched over their heads, and tried
+to knock him down. The pheasant flew to one side to escape the blow,
+and then attacked the head of first one and then another demon. He flew
+round and round them, beating the air with his wings so fiercely and
+ceaselessly, that the devils began to wonder whether they had to fight
+one or many more birds.
+
+In the meantime, Momotaro had brought his ship to land. As they had
+approached, he saw that the shore was like a precipice, and that the
+large castle was surrounded by high walls and large iron gates and was
+strongly fortified.
+
+Momotaro landed, and with the hope of finding some way of entrance,
+walked up the path towards the top, followed by the monkey and the dog.
+They soon came upon two beautiful damsels washing clothes in a stream.
+Momotaro saw that the clothes were blood-stained, and that as the two
+maidens washed, the tears were falling fast down their cheeks. He
+stopped and spoke to them:
+
+“Who are you, and why do you weep?”
+
+“We are captives of the Demon King. We were carried away from our homes
+to this island, and though we are the daughters of Daimios (Lords), we
+are obliged to be his servants, and one day he will kill us”—and the
+maidens held up the blood-stained clothes—“and eat us, and there is no
+one to help us!”
+
+And their tears burst out afresh at this horrible thought.
+
+“I will rescue you,” said Momotaro. “Do not weep any more, only show me
+how I may get into the castle.”
+
+Then the two ladies led the way and showed Momotaro a little back door
+in the lowest part of the castle wall—so small that Momotaro could
+hardly crawl in.
+
+The pheasant, who was all this time fighting hard, saw Momotaro and his
+little band rush in at the back.
+
+Momotaro’s onslaught was so furious that the devils could not stand
+against him. At first their foe had been a single bird, the pheasant,
+but now that Momotaro and the dog and the monkey had arrived they were
+bewildered, for the four enemies fought like a hundred, so strong were
+they. Some of the devils fell off the parapet of the castle and were
+dashed to pieces on the rocks beneath; others fell into the sea and
+were drowned; many were beaten to death by the three animals.
+
+The chief of the devils at last was the only one left. He made up his
+mind to surrender, for he knew that his enemy was stronger than mortal
+man.
+
+He came up humbly to Momotaro and threw down his iron bar, and kneeling
+down at the victor’s feet he broke off the horns on his head in token
+of submission, for they were the sign of his strength and power.
+
+“I am afraid of you,” he said meekly. “I cannot stand against you. I
+will give you all the treasure hidden in this castle if you will spare
+my life!”
+
+Momotaro laughed.
+
+“It is not like you, big devil, to beg for mercy, is it? I cannot spare
+your wicked life, however much you beg, for you have killed and
+tortured many people and robbed our country for many years.”
+
+Then Momotaro tied the devil chief up and gave him into the monkey’s
+charge. Having done this, he went into all the rooms of the castle and
+set the prisoners free and gathered together all the treasure he found.
+
+The dog and the pheasant carried home the plunder, and thus Momotaro
+returned triumphantly to his home, taking with him the devil chief as a
+captive.
+
+The two poor damsels, daughters of Daimios, and others whom the wicked
+demon had carried off to be his slaves, were taken safely to their own
+homes and delivered to their parents.
+
+The whole country made a hero of Momotaro on his triumphant return, and
+rejoiced that the country was now freed from the robber devils who had
+been a terror of the land for a long time.
+
+The old couple’s joy was greater than ever, and the treasure Momotaro
+had brought home with him enabled them to live in peace and plenty to
+the end of their days.
+
+
+
+
+THE OGRE OF RASHOMON
+
+
+Long, long ago in Kyoto, the people of the city were terrified by
+accounts of a dreadful ogre, who, it was said, haunted the Gate of
+Rashomon at twilight and seized whoever passed by. The missing victims
+were never seen again, so it was whispered that the ogre was a horrible
+cannibal, who not only killed the unhappy victims but ate them also.
+Now everybody in the town and neighborhood was in great fear, and no
+one durst venture out after sunset near the Gate of Rashomon.
+
+Now at this time there lived in Kyoto a general named Raiko, who had
+made himself famous for his brave deeds. Some time before this he made
+the country ring with his name, for he had attacked Oeyama, where a
+band of ogres lived with their chief, who instead of wine drank the
+blood of human beings. He had routed them all and cut off the head of
+the chief monster.
+
+This brave warrior was always followed by a band of faithful knights.
+In this band there were five knights of great valor. One evening as the
+five knights sat at a feast quaffing SAKE in their rice bowls and
+eating all kinds of fish, raw, and stewed, and broiled, and toasting
+each other’s healths and exploits, the first knight, Hojo, said to the
+others:
+
+“Have you all heard the rumor that every evening after sunset there
+comes an ogre to the Gate of Rashomon, and that he seizes all who pass
+by?”
+
+The second knight, Watanabe, answered him, saying:
+
+“Do not talk such nonsense! All the ogres were killed by our chief
+Raiko at Oeyama! It cannot be true, because even if any ogres did
+escape from that great killing they would not dare to show themselves
+in this city, for they know that our brave master would at once attack
+them if he knew that any of them were still alive!”
+
+“Then do you disbelieve what I say, and think that I am telling you a
+falsehood?”
+
+“No, I do not think that you are telling a lie,” said Watanabe; “but
+you have heard some old woman’s story which is not worth believing.”
+
+“Then the best plan is to prove what I say, by going there yourself and
+finding out yourself whether it is true or not,” said Hojo.
+
+Watanabe, the second knight, could not bear the thought that his
+companion should believe he was afraid, so he answered quickly:
+
+“Of course, I will go at once and find out for myself!”
+
+So Watanabe at once got ready to go—he buckled on his long sword and
+put on a coat of armor, and tied on his large helmet. When he was ready
+to start he said to the others:
+
+“Give me something so that I can prove I have been there!”
+
+Then one of the men got a roll of writing paper and his box of Indian
+ink and brushes, and the four comrades wrote their names on a piece of
+paper.
+
+“I will take this,” said Watanabe, “and put it on the Gate of Rashomon,
+so to-morrow morning will you all go and look at it? I may be able to
+catch an ogre or two by then!” and he mounted his horse and rode off
+gallantly.
+
+It was a very dark night, and there was neither moon nor star to light
+Watanabe on his way. To make the darkness worse a storm came on, the
+rain fell heavily and the wind howled like wolves in the mountains. Any
+ordinary man would have trembled at the thought of going out of doors,
+but Watanabe was a brave warrior and dauntless, and his honor and word
+were at stake, so he sped on into the night, while his companions
+listened to the sound of his horse’s hoofs dying away in the distance,
+then shut the sliding shutters close and gathered round the charcoal
+fire and wondered what would happen—and whether their comrade would
+encounter one of those horrible Oni.
+
+At last Watanabe reached the Gate of Rashomon, but peer as he might
+through the darkness he could see no sign of an ogre.
+
+“It is just as I thought,” said Watanabe to himself; “there are
+certainly no ogres here; it is only an old woman’s story. I will stick
+this paper on the gate so that the others can see I have been here when
+they come to-morrow, and then I will take my way home and laugh at them
+all.”
+
+He fastened the piece of paper, signed by all his four companions, on
+the gate, and then turned his horse’s head towards home.
+
+As he did so he became aware that some one was behind him, and at the
+same time a voice called out to him to wait. Then his helmet was seized
+from the back. “Who are you?” said Watanabe fearlessly. He then put out
+his hand and groped around to find out who or what it was that held him
+by the helmet. As he did so he touched something that felt like an
+arm—it was covered with hair and as big round as the trunk of a tree!
+
+Watanabe knew at once that this was the arm of an ogre, so he drew his
+sword and cut at it fiercely.
+
+There was a loud yell of pain, and then the ogre dashed in front of the
+warrior.
+
+Watanabe’s eyes grew large with wonder, for he saw that the ogre was
+taller than the great gate, his eyes were flashing like mirrors in the
+sunlight, and his huge mouth was wide open, and as the monster
+breathed, flames of fire shot out of his mouth.
+
+The ogre thought to terrify his foe, but Watanabe never flinched. He
+attacked the ogre with all his strength, and thus they fought face to
+face for a long time. At last the ogre, finding that he could neither
+frighten nor beat Watanabe and that he might himself be beaten, took to
+flight. But Watanabe, determined not to let the monster escape, put
+spurs to his horse and gave chase.
+
+But though the knight rode very fast the ogre ran faster, and to his
+disappointment he found himself unable to overtake the monster, who was
+gradually lost to sight.
+
+Watanabe returned to the gate where the fierce fight had taken place,
+and got down from his horse. As he did so he stumbled upon something
+lying on the ground.
+
+Stooping to pick it up he found that it was one of the ogre’s huge arms
+which he must have slashed off in the fight. His joy was great at
+having secured such a prize, for this was the best of all proofs of his
+adventure with the ogre. So he took it up carefully and carried it home
+as a trophy of his victory.
+
+When he got back, he showed the arm to his comrades, who one and all
+called him the hero of their band and gave him a great feast. His
+wonderful deed was soon noised abroad in Kyoto, and people from far and
+near came to see the ogre’s arm.
+
+Watanabe now began to grow uneasy as to how he should keep the arm in
+safety, for he knew that the ogre to whom it belonged was still alive.
+He felt sure that one day or other, as soon as the ogre got over his
+scare, he would come to try to get his arm back again. Watanabe
+therefore had a box made of the strongest wood and banded with iron. In
+this he placed the arm, and then he sealed down the heavy lid, refusing
+to open it for anyone. He kept the box in his own room and took charge
+of it himself, never allowing it out of his sight.
+
+Now one night he heard some one knocking at the porch, asking for
+admittance.
+
+When the servant went to the door to see who it was, there was only an
+old woman, very respectable in appearance. On being asked who she was
+and what was her business, the old woman replied with a smile that she
+had been nurse to the master of the house when he was a little baby. If
+the lord of the house were at home she begged to be allowed to see him.
+
+The servant left the old woman at the door and went to tell his master
+that his old nurse had come to see him. Watanabe thought it strange
+that she should come at that time of night, but at the thought of his
+old nurse, who had been like a foster-mother to him and whom he had not
+seen for a long time, a very tender feeling sprang up for her in his
+heart. He ordered the servant to show her in.
+
+The old woman was ushered into the room, and after the customary bows
+and greetings were over, she said:
+
+“Master, the report of your brave fight with the ogre at the Gate of
+Rashomon is so widely known that even your poor old nurse has heard of
+it. Is it really true, what every one says, that you cut off one of the
+ogre’s arms? If you did, your deed is highly to be praised!”
+
+“I was very disappointed,” said Watanabe, “that I was not able take the
+monster captive, which was what I wished to do, instead of only cutting
+off an arm!”
+
+“I am very proud to think,” answered the old woman, “that my master was
+so brave as to dare to cut off an ogre’s arm. There is nothing that can
+be compared to your courage. Before I die it is the great wish of my
+life to see this arm,” she added pleadingly.
+
+“No,” said Watanabe, “I am sorry, but I cannot grant your request.”
+
+“But why?” asked the old woman.
+
+“Because,” replied Watanabe, “ogres are very revengeful creatures, and
+if I open the box there is no telling but that the ogre may suddenly
+appear and carry off his arm. I have had a box made on purpose with a
+very strong lid, and in this box I keep the ogre’s arm secure; and I
+never show it to any one, whatever happens.”
+
+“Your precaution is very reasonable,” said the old woman. “But I am
+your old nurse, so surely you will not refuse to show ME the arm. I
+have only just heard of your brave act, and not being able to wait till
+the morning I came at once to ask you to show it to me.”
+
+Watanabe was very troubled at the old woman’s pleading, but he still
+persisted in refusing. Then the old woman said:
+
+“Do you suspect me of being a spy sent by the ogre?”
+
+“No, of course I do not suspect you of being the ogre’s spy, for you
+are my old nurse,” answered Watanabe.
+
+“Then you cannot surely refuse to show me the arm any longer.”
+entreated the old woman; “for it is the great wish of my heart to see
+for once in my life the arm of an ogre!”
+
+Watanabe could not hold out in his refusal any longer, so he gave in at
+last, saying:
+
+“Then I will show you the ogre’s arm, since you so earnestly wish to
+see it. Come, follow me!” and he led the way to his own room, the old
+woman following.
+
+When they were both in the room Watanabe shut the door carefully, and
+then going towards a big box which stood in a corner of the room, he
+took off the heavy lid. He then called to the old woman to come near
+and look in, for he never took the arm out of the box.
+
+“What is it like? Let me have a good look at it,” said the old nurse,
+with a joyful face.
+
+She came nearer and nearer, as if she were afraid, till she stood right
+against the box. Suddenly she plunged her hand into the box and seized
+the arm, crying with a fearful voice which made the room shake:
+
+“Oh, joy! I have got my arm back again!”
+
+And from an old woman she was suddenly transformed into the towering
+figure of the frightful ogre!
+
+Watanabe sprang back and was unable to move for a moment, so great was
+his astonishment; but recognizing the ogre who had attacked him at the
+Gate of Rashomon, he determined with his usual courage to put an end to
+him this time. He seized his sword, drew it out of its sheath in a
+flash, and tried to cut the ogre down.
+
+So quick was Watanabe that the creature had a narrow escape. But the
+ogre sprang up to the ceiling, and bursting through the roof,
+disappeared in the mist and clouds.
+
+In this way the ogre escaped with his arm. The knight gnashed his teeth
+with disappointment, but that was all he could do. He waited in
+patience for another opportunity to dispatch the ogre. But the latter
+was afraid of Watanabe’s great strength and daring, and never troubled
+Kyoto again. So once more the people of the city were able to go out
+without fear even at night time, and the brave deeds of Watanabe have
+never been forgotten!
+
+
+
+
+HOW AN OLD MAN LOST HIS WEN
+
+
+Many, many years ago there lived a good old man who had a wen like a
+tennis-ball growing out of his right cheek. This lump was a great
+disfigurement to the old man, and so annoyed him that for many years he
+spent all his time and money in trying to get rid of it. He tried
+everything he could think of. He consulted many doctors far and near,
+and took all kinds of medicines both internally and externally. But it
+was all of no use. The lump only grew bigger and bigger till it was
+nearly as big as his face, and in despair he gave up all hopes of ever
+losing it, and resigned himself to the thought of having to carry the
+lump on his face all his life.
+
+One day the firewood gave out in his kitchen, so, as his wife wanted
+some at once, the old man took his ax and set out for the woods up
+among the hills not very far from his home. It was a fine day in the
+early autumn, and the old man enjoyed the fresh air and was in no hurry
+to get home. So the whole afternoon passed quickly while he was
+chopping wood, and he had collected a goodly pile to take back to his
+wife. When the day began to draw to a close, he turned his face
+homewards.
+
+The old man had not gone far on his way down the mountain pass when the
+sky clouded and rain began to fall heavily. He looked about for some
+shelter, but there was not even a charcoal-burner’s hut near. At last
+he espied a large hole in the hollow trunk of a tree. The hole was near
+the ground, so he crept in easily, and sat down in hopes that he had
+only been overtaken by a mountain shower, and that the weather would
+soon clear.
+
+But much to the old man’s disappointment, instead of clearing the rain
+fell more and more heavily, and finally a heavy thunderstorm broke over
+the mountain. The thunder roared so terrifically, and the heavens
+seemed to be so ablaze with lightning, that the old man could hardly
+believe himself to be alive. He thought that he must die of fright. At
+last, however, the sky cleared, and the whole country was aglow in the
+rays of the setting sun. The old man’s spirits revived when he looked
+out at the beautiful twilight, and he was about to step out from his
+strange hiding-place in the hollow tree when the sound of what seemed
+like the approaching steps of several people caught his ear. He at once
+thought that his friends had come to look for him, and he was delighted
+at the idea of having some jolly companions with whom to walk home. But
+on looking out from the tree, what was his amazement to see, not his
+friends, but hundreds of demons coming towards the spot. The more he
+looked, the greater was his astonishment. Some of these demons were as
+large as giants, others had great big eyes out of all proportion to the
+rest of their bodies, others again had absurdly long noses, and some
+had such big mouths that they seemed to open from ear to ear. All had
+horns growing on their foreheads. The old man was so surprised at what
+he saw that he lost his balance and fell out of the hollow tree.
+Fortunately for him the demons did not see him, as the tree was in the
+background. So he picked himself up and crept back into the tree.
+
+While he was sitting there and wondering impatiently when he would be
+able to get home, he heard the sounds of gay music, and then some of
+the demons began to sing.
+
+“What are these creatures doing?” said the old man to himself. “I will
+look out, it sounds very amusing.”
+
+On peeping out, the old man saw that the demon chief himself was
+actually sitting with his back against the tree in which he had taken
+refuge, and all the other demons were sitting round, some drinking and
+some dancing. Food and wine was spread before them on the ground, and
+the demons were evidently having a great entertainment and enjoying
+themselves immensely.
+
+It made the old man laugh to see their strange antics.
+
+“How amusing this is!” laughed the old man to himself “I am now quite
+old, but I have never seen anything so strange in all my life.”
+
+He was so interested and excited in watching all that the demons were
+doing, that he forgot himself and stepped out of the tree and stood
+looking on.
+
+The demon chief was just taking a big cup of SAKE and watching one of
+the demons dancing. In a little while he said with a bored air:
+
+“Your dance is rather monotonous. I am tired of watching it. Isn’t
+there any one amongst you all who can dance better than this fellow?”
+
+Now the old man had been fond of dancing all his life, and was quite an
+expert in the art, and he knew that he could do much better than the
+demon.
+
+“Shall I go and dance before these demons and let them see what a human
+being can do? It may be dangerous, for if I don’t please them they may
+kill me!” said the old fellow to himself.
+
+His fears, however, were soon overcome by his love of dancing. In a few
+minutes he could restrain himself no longer, and came out before the
+whole party of demons and began to dance at once. The old man,
+realizing that his life probably depended on whether he pleased these
+strange creatures or not, exerted his skill and wit to the utmost.
+
+The demons were at first very surprised to see a man so fearlessly
+taking part in their entertainment, and then their surprise soon gave
+place to admiration.
+
+“How strange!” exclaimed the horned chief. “I never saw such a skillful
+dancer before! He dances admirably!”
+
+When the old man had finished his dance, the big demon said:
+
+“Thank you very much for your amusing dance. Now give us the pleasure
+of drinking a cup of wine with us,” and with these words he handed him
+his largest wine-cup.
+
+The old man thanked him very humbly:
+
+“I did not expect such kindness from your lordship. I fear I have only
+disturbed your pleasant party by my unskillful dancing.”
+
+“No, no,” answered the big demon. “You must come often and dance for
+us. Your skill has given us much pleasure.”
+
+The old man thanked him again and promised to do so.
+
+“Then will you come again to-morrow, old man?” asked the demon.
+
+“Certainly, I will,” answered the old man.
+
+“Then you must leave some pledge of your word with us,” said the demon.
+
+“Whatever you like,” said the old man.
+
+“Now what is the best thing he can leave with us as a pledge?” asked
+the demon, looking round.
+
+Then said one of the demon’s attendants kneeling behind the chief:
+
+“The token he leaves with us must be the most important thing to him in
+his possession. I see the old man has a wen on his right cheek. Now
+mortal men consider such a wen very fortunate. Let my lord take the
+lump from the old man’s right cheek, and he will surely come to-morrow,
+if only to get that back.”
+
+“You are very clever,” said the demon chief, giving his horns an
+approving nod. Then he stretched out a hairy arm and claw-like hand,
+and took the great lump from the old man’s right cheek. Strange to say,
+it came off as easily as a ripe plum from the tree at the demon’s
+touch, and then the merry troop of demons suddenly vanished.
+
+The old man was lost in bewilderment by all that had happened. He
+hardly knew for some time where he was. When he came to understand what
+had happened to him, he was delighted to find that the lump on his
+face, which had for so many years disfigured him, had really been taken
+away without any pain to himself. He put up his hand to feel if any
+scar remained, but found that his right cheek was as smooth as his
+left.
+
+The sun had long set, and the young moon had risen like a silver
+crescent in the sky. The old man suddenly realized how late it was and
+began to hurry home. He patted his right cheek all the time, as if to
+make sure of his good fortune in having lost the wen. He was so happy
+that he found it impossible to walk quietly—he ran and danced the whole
+way home.
+
+He found his wife very anxious, wondering what had happened to make him
+so late. He soon told her all that had passed since he left home that
+afternoon. She was quite as happy as her husband when he showed her
+that the ugly lump had disappeared from his face, for in her youth she
+had prided herself on his good looks, and it had been a daily grief to
+her to see the horrid growth.
+
+Now next door to this good old couple there lived a wicked and
+disagreeable old man. He, too, had for many years been troubled with
+the growth of a wen on his left cheek, and he, too, had tried all
+manner of things to get rid of it, but in vain.
+
+He heard at once, through the servant, of his neighbor’s good luck in
+losing the lump on his face, so he called that very evening and asked
+his friend to tell him everything that concerned the loss of it. The
+good old man told his disagreeable neighbor all that had happened to
+him. He described the place where he would find the hollow tree in
+which to hide, and advised him to be on the spot in the late afternoon
+towards the time of sunset.
+
+The old neighbor started out the very next afternoon, and after hunting
+about for some time, came to the hollow tree just as his friend had
+described. Here he hid himself and waited for the twilight.
+
+Just as he had been told, the band of demons came at that hour and held
+a feast with dance and song. When this had gone on for some time the
+chief of the demons looked around and said:
+
+“It is now time for the old man to come as he promised us. Why doesn’t
+he come?”
+
+When the second old man heard these words he ran out of his
+hiding-place in the tree and, kneeling down before the Oni, said:
+
+“I have been waiting for a long time for you to speak!”
+
+“Ah, you are the old man of yesterday,” said the demon chief. “Thank
+you for coming, you must dance for us soon.”
+
+The old man now stood up and opened his fan and began to dance. But he
+had never learned to dance, and knew nothing about the necessary
+gestures and different positions. He thought that anything would please
+the demons, so he just hopped about, waving his arms and stamping his
+feet, imitating as well as he could any dancing he had ever seen.
+
+The Oni were very dissatisfied at this exhibition, and said amongst
+themselves:
+
+“How badly he dances to-day!”
+
+Then to the old man the demon chief said:
+
+“Your performance to-day is quite different from the dance of
+yesterday. We don’t wish to see any more of such dancing. We will give
+you back the pledge you left with us. You must go away at once.”
+
+With these words he took out from a fold of his dress the lump which he
+had taken from the face of the old man who had danced so well the day
+before, and threw it at the right cheek of the old man who stood before
+him. The lump immediately attached itself to his cheek as firmly as if
+it had grown there always, and all attempts to pull it off were
+useless. The wicked old man, instead of losing the lump on his left
+cheek as he had hoped, found to his dismay that he had but added
+another to his right cheek in his attempt to get rid of the first.
+
+He put up first one hand and then the other to each side of his face to
+make sure if he were not dreaming a horrible nightmare. No, sure enough
+there was now a great wen on the right side of his face as on the left.
+The demons had all disappeared, and there was nothing for him to do but
+to return home. He was a pitiful sight, for his face, with the two
+large lumps, one on each side, looked just like a Japanese gourd.
+
+
+
+
+THE STONES OF FIVE COLORS AND THE EMPRESS JOKWA.
+AN OLD CHINESE STORY
+
+
+Long, long ago there lived a great Chinese Empress who succeeded her
+brother the Emperor Fuki. It was the age of giants, and the Empress
+Jokwa, for that was her name, was twenty-five feet high, nearly as tall
+as her brother. She was a wonderful woman, and an able ruler. There is
+an interesting story of how she mended a part of the broken heavens and
+one of the terrestrial pillars which upheld the sky, both of which were
+damaged during a rebellion raised by one of King Fuki’s subjects.
+
+The rebel’s name was Kokai. He was twenty-six feet high. His body was
+entirely covered with hair, and his face was as black as iron. He was a
+wizard and a very terrible character indeed. When the Emperor Fuki
+died, Kokai was bitten with the ambition to be Emperor of China, but
+his plan failed, and Jokwa, the dead Emperor’s sister, mounted the
+throne. Kokai was so angry at being thwarted in his desire that he
+raised a revolt. His first act was to employ the Water Devil, who
+caused a great flood to rush over the country. This swamped the poor
+people out of their homes, and when the Empress Jokwa saw the plight of
+her subjects, and knew it was Kokai’s fault, she declared war against
+him.
+
+Now Jokwa, the Empress, had two young warriors called Hako and Eiko,
+and the former she made General of the front forces. Hako was delighted
+that the Empress’s choice should fall on him, and he prepared himself
+for battle. He took up the longest lance he could find and mounted a
+red horse, and was just about to set out when he heard some one
+galloping hard behind him and shouting:
+
+“Hako! Stop! The general of the front forces must be I!”
+
+He looked back and saw Eiko his comrade, riding on a white horse, in
+the act of unsheathing a large sword to draw upon him. Hako’s anger was
+kindled, and as he turned to face his rival he cried:
+
+“Insolent wretch! I have been appointed by the Empress to lead the
+front forces to battle. Do you dare to stop me?”
+
+“Yes,” answered Eiko. “I ought to lead the army. It is you who should
+follow me.”
+
+At this bold reply Hako’s anger burst from a spark into a flame.
+
+“Dare you answer me thus? Take that,” and he lunged at him with his
+lance.
+
+But Eiko moved quickly aside, and at the same time, raising his sword,
+he wounded the head of the General’s horse. Obliged to dismount, Hako
+was about to rush at his antagonist, when Eiko, as quick as lightning,
+tore from his breast the badge of commandership and galloped away. The
+action was so quick that Hako stood dazed, not knowing what to do.
+
+The Empress had been a spectator of the scene, and she could not but
+admire the quickness of the ambitious Eiko, and in order to pacify the
+rivals she determined to appoint them both to the Generalship of the
+front army.
+
+So Hako was made commander of the left wing of the front army, and Eiko
+of the right. One hundred thousand soldiers followed them and marched
+to put down the rebel Kokai.
+
+Within a short time the two Generals reached the castle where Kokai had
+fortified himself. When aware of their approach, the wizard said:
+
+“I will blow these two poor children away with one breath.” (He little
+thought how hard he would find the fight.)
+
+With these words Kokai seized an iron rod and mounted a black horse,
+and rushed forth like an angry tiger to meet his two foes.
+
+As the two young warriors saw him tearing down upon them, they said to
+each other: “We must not let him escape alive,” and they attacked him
+from the right and from the left with sword and with lance. But the
+all-powerful Kokai was not to be easily beaten—he whirled his iron rod
+round like a great water-wheel, and for a long time they fought thus,
+neither side gaining nor losing. At last, to avoid the wizard’s iron
+rod, Hako turned his horse too quickly; the animal’s hoofs struck
+against a large stone, and in a fright the horse reared as straight on
+end as a screen, throwing his master to the ground.
+
+Thereupon Kokai drew his three-edged sword and was about to kill the
+prostrate Hako, but before the wizard could work his wicked will the
+brave Eiko had wheeled his horse in front of Kokai and dared him to try
+his strength with him, and not to kill a fallen man. But Kokai was
+tired, and he did not feel inclined to face this fresh and dauntless
+young soldier, so suddenly wheeling his horse round, he fled from the
+fray.
+
+Hako, who had been only slightly stunned, had by this time got upon his
+feet, and he and his comrade rushed after the retreating enemy, the one
+on foot and the other on horseback.
+
+Kokai, seeing that he was pursued, turned upon his nearest assailant,
+who was, of course, the mounted Eiko, and drawing forth an arrow from
+the quiver at his back, fitted it to his bow and drew upon Eiko.
+
+As quick as lightning the wary Eiko avoided the shaft, which only
+touched his helmet strings, and glancing off, fell harmless against
+Hako’s coat of armor.
+
+The wizard saw that both his enemies remained unscathed. He also knew
+that there was no time to pull a second arrow before they would be upon
+him, so to save himself he resorted to magic. He stretched forth his
+wand, and immediately a great flood arose, and Jokwa’s army and her
+brave young Generals were swept away like a falling of autumn leaves on
+a stream.
+
+Hako and Eiko found themselves struggling neck deep in water, and
+looking round they saw the ferocious Kokai making towards them through
+the water with his iron rod on high. They thought every moment that
+they would be cut down, but they bravely struck out to swim as far as
+they could from Kokai’s reach. All of a sudden they found themselves in
+front of what seemed to be an island rising straight out of the water.
+They looked up, and there stood an old man with hair as white as snow,
+smiling at them. They cried to him to help them. The old man nodded his
+head and came down to the edge of the water. As soon as his feet
+touched the flood it divided, and a good road appeared, to the
+amazement of the drowning men, who now found themselves safe.
+
+Kokai had by this time reached the island which had risen as if by a
+miracle out of the water, and seeing his enemies thus saved he was
+furious. He rushed through the water upon the old man, and it seemed as
+if he would surely be killed. But the old man appeared not in the least
+dismayed, and calmly awaited the wizard’s onslaught.
+
+As Kokai drew near, the old man laughed aloud merrily, and turning into
+a large and beautiful white crane, flapped his wings and flew upwards
+into the heavens.
+
+When Hako and Eiko saw this, they knew that their deliverer was no mere
+human being—was perhaps a god in disguise—and they hoped later on to
+find out who the venerable old man was.
+
+In the meantime they had retreated, and it being now the close of day,
+for the sun was setting, both Kokai and the young warriors gave up the
+idea of fighting more that day.
+
+That night Hako and Eiko decided that it was useless to fight against
+the wizard Kokai, for he had supernatural powers, while they were only
+human. So they presented themselves before the Empress Jokwa. After a
+long consultation, the Empress decided to ask the Fire King, Shikuyu,
+to help her against the rebel wizard and to lead her army against him.
+
+Now Shikuyu, the Fire King, lived at the South Pole. It was the only
+safe place for him to be in, for he burnt up everything around him
+anywhere else, but it was impossible to burn up ice and snow. To look
+at he was a giant, and stood thirty feet high. His face was just like
+marble, and his hair and beard long and as white as snow. His strength
+was stupendous, and he was master of all fire just as Kokai was of
+water.
+
+“Surely,” thought the Empress, “Shikuyu can conquer Kokai.” So she sent
+Eiko to the South Pole to beg Shikuyu to take the war against Kokai
+into his own hands and conquer him once for all.
+
+The Fire King, on hearing the Empress’s request, smiled and said:
+
+“That is an easy matter, to be sure! It was none other than I who came
+to your rescue when you and your companion were drowning in the flood
+raised by Kokai!”
+
+Eiko was surprised at learning this. He thanked the Fire King for
+coming to the rescue in their dire need, and then besought him to
+return with him and lead the war and defeat the wicked Kokai.
+
+Shikuyu did as he was asked, and returned with Eiko to the Empress. She
+welcomed the Fire King cordially, and at once told him why she had sent
+for him—to ask him to be the Generalissimo of her army. His reply was
+very reassuring:
+
+“Do not have any anxiety. I will certainly kill Kokai.”
+
+Shikuyu then placed himself at the head of thirty thousand soldiers,
+and with Hako and Eiko showing him the way, marched to the enemy’s
+castle. The Fire King knew the secret of Kokai’s power, and he now told
+all the soldiers to gather a certain kind of shrub. This they burned in
+large quantities, and each soldier was then ordered to fill a bag full
+of the ashes thus obtained.
+
+Kokai, on the other hand, in his own conceit, thought that Shikuyu was
+of inferior power to himself, and he murmured angrily:
+
+“Even though you are the Fire King, I can soon extinguish you.”
+
+Then he repeated an incantation, and the water-floods rose and welled
+as high as mountains. Shikuyu, not in the least frightened, ordered his
+soldiers to scatter the ashes which he had caused them to make. Every
+man did as he was bid, and such was the power of the plant that they
+had burned, that as soon as the ashes mingled with the water a stiff
+mud was formed, and they were all safe from drowning.
+
+Now Kokai the wizard was dismayed when he saw that the Fire King was
+superior in wisdom to himself, and his anger was so great that he
+rushed headlong towards the enemy.
+
+Eiko rode to meet him, and the two fought together for some time. They
+were well matched in a hand-to-hand combat. Hako, who was carefully
+watching the fray, saw that Eiko began to tire, and fearing that his
+companion would be killed, he took his place.
+
+But Kokai had tired as well, and feeling him self unable to hold out
+against Hako, he said artfully:
+
+“You are too magnanimous, thus to fight for your friend and run the
+risk of being killed. I will not hurt such a good man.”
+
+And he pretended to retreat, turning away the head of his horse. His
+intention was to throw Hako off his guard and then to wheel round and
+take him by surprise.
+
+But Shikuyu understood the wily wizard, and he spoke at once:
+
+“You are a coward! You cannot deceive me!”
+
+Saying this, the Fire King made a sign to the unwary Hako to attack
+him. Kokai now turned upon Shikuyu furiously, but he was tired and
+unable to fight well, and he soon received a wound in his shoulder. He
+now broke from the fray and tried to escape in earnest.
+
+While the fight between their leaders had been going on the two armies
+had stood waiting for the issue. Shikuyu now turned and bade Jokwa’s
+soldiers charge the enemy’s forces. This they did, and routed them with
+great slaughter, and the wizard barely escaped with his life.
+
+It was in vain that Kokai called upon the Water Devil to help him, for
+Shikuyu knew the counter-charm. The wizard found that the battle was
+against him. Mad with pain, for his wound began to trouble him, and
+frenzied with disappointment and fear, he dashed his head against the
+rocks of Mount Shu and died on the spot.
+
+There was an end of the wicked Kokai, but not of trouble in the Empress
+Jokwa’s Kingdom, as you shall see. The force with which the wizard fell
+against the rocks was so great that the mountain burst, and fire rushed
+out from the earth, and one of the pillars upholding the Heavens was
+broken so that one corner of the sky dropped till it touched the earth.
+
+Shikuyu, the Fire King, took up the body of the wizard and carried it
+to the Empress Jokwa, who rejoiced greatly that her enemy was
+vanquished, and her generals victorious. She showered all manner of
+gifts and honors upon Shikuyu.
+
+But all this time fire was bursting from the mountain broken by the
+fall of Kokai. Whole villages were destroyed, rice-fields burnt up,
+river beds filled with the burning lava, and the homeless people were
+in great distress. So the Empress left the capital as soon as she had
+rewarded the victor Shikuyu, and journeyed with all speed to the scene
+of disaster. She found that both Heaven and earth had sustained damage,
+and the place was so dark that she had to light her lamp to find out
+the extent of the havoc that had been wrought.
+
+Having ascertained this, she set to work at repairs. To this end she
+ordered her subjects to collect stones of five colors—blue, yellow,
+red, white and black. When she had obtained these, she boiled them with
+a kind of porcelain in a large caldron, and the mixture became a
+beautiful paste, and with this she knew that she could mend the sky.
+Now all was ready.
+
+Summoning the clouds that were sailing ever so high above her head, she
+mounted them, and rode heavenwards, carrying in her hands the vase
+containing the paste made from the stones of five colors. She soon
+reached the corner of the sky that was broken, and applied the paste
+and mended it. Having done this, she turned her attention to the broken
+pillar, and with the legs of a very large tortoise she mended it. When
+this was finished she mounted the clouds and descended to the earth,
+hoping to find that all was now right, but to her dismay she found that
+it was still quite dark. Neither the sun shone by day nor the moon by
+night.
+
+Greatly perplexed, she at last called a meeting of all the wise men of
+the Kingdom, and asked their advice as to what she should do in this
+dilemma.
+
+Two of the wisest said:
+
+“The roads of Heaven have been damaged by the late accident, and the
+Sun and Moon have been obliged to stay at home. Neither the Sun could
+make his daily journey nor the Moon her nightly one because of the bad
+roads. The Sun and Moon do not yet know that your Majesty has mended
+all that was damaged, so we will go and inform them that since you have
+repaired them the roads are safe.”
+
+The Empress approved of what the wise men suggested, and ordered them
+to set out on their mission. But this was not easy, for the Palace of
+the Sun and Moon was many, many hundreds of thousands of miles distant
+into the East. If they traveled on foot they might never reach the
+place, they would die of old age on the road. But Jokwa had recourse to
+magic. She gave her two ambassadors wonderful chariots which could
+whirl through the air by magic power a thousand miles per minute. They
+set out in good spirits, riding above the clouds, and after many days
+they reached the country where the Sun and the Moon were living happily
+together.
+
+The two ambassadors were granted an interview with their Majesties of
+Light and asked them why they had for so many days secluded themselves
+from the Universe? Did they not know that by doing so they plunged the
+world and all its people into uttermost darkness both day and night?
+
+Replied the Sun and the Moon:
+
+“Surely you know that Mount Shu has suddenly burst forth with fire, and
+the roads of Heaven have been greatly damaged! I, the Sun, found it
+impossible to make my daily journey along such rough roads—and
+certainly the Moon could not issue forth at night! so we both retired
+into private life for a time.”
+
+Then the two wise men bowed themselves to the ground and said:
+
+“Our Empress Jokwa has already repaired the roads with the wonderful
+stones of five colors, so we beg to assure your Majesties that the
+roads are just as they were before the eruption took place.”
+
+But the Sun and the Moon still hesitated, saying that they had heard
+that one of the pillars of Heaven had been broken as well, and they
+feared that, even if the roads had been remade, it would still be
+dangerous for them to sally forth on their usual journeys.
+
+“You need have no anxiety about the broken pillar,” said the two
+ambassadors. “Our Empress restored it with the legs of a great
+tortoise, and it is as firm as ever it was.”
+
+Then the Sun and Moon appeared satisfied, and they both set out to try
+the roads. They found that what the Empress’s deputies had told them
+was correct.
+
+After the examination of the heavenly roads, the Sun and Moon again
+gave light to the earth. All the people rejoiced greatly, and peace and
+prosperity were secured in China for a long time under the reign of the
+wise Empress Jokwa.
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
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