Japanese Children's Favorite Stories Book 1 Read online

  The old woodcutter had been watching all this from behind a tree. When the monkey was gone, he said to himself, "Surely the monkey won't mind if I just borrowed some of his wine." So he ran to the hollow tree and filled his own gourd with some of the wine. "This is wonderful," he thought. "If this wine tastes as good as it smells, it must be very fine indeed! I'll give this to my wife— if I can find my way home."

  While the old woodcutter was lost in the mountains, his wife was having her own adventure. She was washing clothes under a tree when she noticed the sparrows above her having a party. They were drinking a wine that smelled so good the old woman just had to have some.

  So, when the sparrows had finished dancing and singing, the old woman quickly tucked one of their wine gourds under her robe and hurried home. "I'll give this to my husband," she thought, "and if it tastes as good as it smells, it must be very fine indeed!"

  No sooner had she arrived home than her husband also appeared, having finally found his way. "I have something for you!" they said at the same time. They told each other their amazing stories, then exchanged their wine gourds and drank deeply.

  The wine tasted delicious. But no sooner had they drunk it than they both felt an uncontrollable desire to dance and sing. The old woman began to chatter and jump around like a monkey, while the old woodcutter held out his arms and chirped like a sparrow.

  First the old woodcutter sang:

  "One hundred sparrows dance in the spring,

  Chirp-a chirp, chirp-a chirp, ching!"

  Then the old woman sang:

  "One hundred monkeys making a clatter,

  Chatter-chat, chatter-chat, chatter!"

  They made so much noise that their landlord came running to their house. There he saw the old woman dancing like a monkey, and the old woodcutter dancing like a sparrow.

  "Here, here!" said the landlord. "This will never do! A woman's dance should be graceful and ladylike, like a sparrow's, and a man's dance should be bold and manly, like a monkey's! Not the other way round!"

  When the old couple finally stopped dancing, they told the landlord their adventures. "Well, of course!" He said. "You've been drinking the wrong wine. Why don't you exchange gourds and see what happens."

  After that the old woodcutter always drank the monkey wine, and danced in a very manly way. And the old woman always drank the sparrow wine, and danced in a very ladylike way. Everyone who saw them dance thought them very lovely and started imitating them. And that is why to this day men leap about nimbly and boldly when they dance, while women are much more graceful and birdlike when they dance.

  The Long-Nosed Goblins

  Long ago there were two long-nosed goblins who lived in the high mountains of northern Japan. One was a green goblin and the other a red goblin. They were both very proud of their noses, which they could extend for many, many leagues across the land, and they were always arguing as to who had the most beautiful nose.

  One day the green goblin was resting on top of his mountain when he smelled something very good coming from somewhere down on the plains. "My, but something smells good," he said. "I wonder what it is!"

  So he started extending his nose, making it grow longer and longer as it followed the smell. His nose grew so long that it crossed seven mountains, went down into the plains, and finally ended up at a great lord's mansion.

  Inside the mansion, the lord's young daughter, Princess White Flower, was having a party. Many princesses had come to the party, and Princess White Flower was showing them her rare and beautiful robes. They had opened the treasure house and taken out the wonderful clothes, all packed in incense. It was the incense that the green goblin had smelled.

  Princess White Flower was looking for a place to hang her robes so that everyone could see them better. When she caught sight of the green goblin's nose, she said, "Oh, look, someone's hung a green pole here. We'll hang the robes on it!"

  So the princess called her maids and they hung the beautiful robes on the goblin's nose. The green goblin, sitting far away on his mountain, felt something tickling his nose, so he began pulling it back in.

  When the princesses saw the beautiful robes flying away through the air, they were very surprised. They tried to take back the robes, but they were too late.

  The green goblin was very pleased when he saw the beautiful robes hanging from his nose. He gathered them up and took them home with him. Then he invited the red goblin, who lived on the next mountain, to come and see him.

  "Just look what a wonderful nose I have," he said to the red goblin. "It's brought me all these wonderful robes!"

  The red goblin was jealous when he saw the robes. He would have turned green with envy except that red goblins can't turn green.

  "I'll show you whose nose is the best," the red goblin said. "Just you wait and I'll show you."

  And so the red goblin sat on top of his mountain every day, rubbing his long red nose and sniffing the air. Many days passed and he still hadn't smelled anything good. He became very impatient and said, "Well, I won't wait any longer. I'll send my nose down to the plains anyway, and it's sure to find something good there."

  So the red goblin started extending his nose, making it grow longer and longer, until it crossed seven mountains, went down into the plains, and finally ended up at the same lord's mansion.

  At that moment the lord's young son, Prince Valorous, and his little friends were playing in the garden. When Prince Valorous caught sight of the red goblin's nose, he cried, "Look at this red pole that someone's put here. Let's use it as a swing!"

  So the children tied some ropes to the red pole to make swings. Then how they played! They swung high up into the sky and climbed all over the red pole. One boy even cut his name into the pole with a knife.

  How this hurt the red goblin, sitting back on his mountain! His nose was so heavy that he couldn't pull it back. But when his nose got cut, the red goblin shook the children off with all his might and pulled it back to his mountain as fast as he could.

  The green goblin laughed and laughed at the sight. But the red goblin only sat stroking his nose and said, "This is what I get for being jealous. I'm never going to send my nose down into the plains again!"

  The Rabbit in the Moon

  Once the Old-Man-of-the-Moon looked down into a big forest on the earth. He saw a rabbit, a monkey and a fox living there together in the forest as very good friends.

  "Now, I wonder which of them is the kindest," said the Old Man to himself. "I think I'll go down and see."

  So he changed himself into an old beggar and came down from the moon to the forest where the three friends were.

  "Please help me," he said to them. "I'm very, very hungry."

  "Oh! What a poor old beggar!" said the three friends, and they went hurrying off to find some food for him.

  The monkey found and brought the beggar a lot of fruit. And the fox caught a big fish for him to eat. But the rabbit just couldn't find anything at all to bring.

  "Oh my! Oh my! What shall I do?" the rabbit cried. But just then he had an idea.

  "Please, Mr Monkey," the rabbit said, "gather some firewood for me. And please, Mr Fox, make a big fire with the firewood."

  They did as their friend had asked, and when the fire was burning brightly, the rabbit said to the beggar, "I don't have anything to give you. So I'll put myself in this fire, and when I'm cooked you can eat me."

  The rabbit was just about to jump into the fire when the beggar suddenly changed himself back into the Old-Man-of-the-Moon.

  "You're very kind, Mr Rabbit," he said, "but you should never do anything to harm yourself! Since you're the kindest of all, I'll take you home to live with me."

  And then the Old-Man-of-the-Moon took the rabbit in his arms and carried him up to the moon. So when you look at the moon when it is shining brightly, you can still see the rabbit there where the Old Man took him so long ago.

  The Tongue-Cut Sparrow

  There was once a kind old farmer who
had a very mean wife with a terrible temper. They didn't have any children, so the old farmer kept a tiny sparrow. He took loving care of the little bird, and when he came home from work every day he would pet and talk to it until suppertime, and then feed it with food from his own bowl. He treated the sparrow as if it were his own child.

  But the old woman wouldn't ever show any kindness to anyone or anything. She particularly disliked the sparrow and was always scolding her husband for keeping such a nuisance around the house. Her temper was particularly bad on wash days, because she hated hard work.

  One day while the old farmer was working in the field, the old woman got ready to do the washing. She had made some starch and set it in a wooden bowl to cool. While her back was turned, the sparrow hopped onto the edge of the bowl and pecked at the starch. Just then the old woman turned around and saw what the sparrow was doing. She became so angry that she grabbed a pair of scissors—and cut the sparrow's tongue right off! Then she threw the sparrow into the sky, crying, "Now get away from here, you nasty little bird!" And the poor sparrow went flying away into the woods.

  A little while later the old farmer came home and found his sparrow gone. He looked and looked for it but couldn't find it. Finally the old woman told him what she had done. The old farmer was very sad, and the next morning he started out into the forest to look for the sparrow. As he walked he kept calling, "Where are you, little sparrow? Where are you, little sparrow?"

  Suddenly the sparrow came flying up to the old farmer. It was dressed in the kimono of a beautiful woman, and it spoke with a human voice. "Hello, my dear master," said the sparrow. "You must be very tired, so please come to my house and rest."

  When the old farmer heard the sparrow speaking, he knew it must be a fairy sparrow. He followed the sparrow and came to a beautiful house in the forest. The sparrow had many daughters, and they prepared a feast for the old farmer, giving him many wonderful things to eat and drink. Four of the daughters performed a beautiful Sparrow-Dance. They danced so gracefully that the old farmer clapped and sang along.

  Before the old farmer knew it, the sun had begun to set. When he saw that it was getting dark, he said he had to hurry home because his wife would be worried about him. The sparrow asked him to stay longer, and he was having such a good time that he didn't want to leave. But still he said, "No, I really must go."

  "Well, then," said the sparrow, "for all your kindness to me, I would like to give you a gift to take home with you."

  The sparrow brought out two baskets, one very big and heavy and the other small and light. "Please choose one," the sparrow said. The old farmer gratefully chose the small basket and started for home.

  When he arrived home, the old farmer told his wife everything that had happened. When they opened the basket, it was full of wonderful things—gold and silver, diamonds and rubies, coral and coins. There was enough in the basket to make them rich for the rest of their lives.

  The old farmer was very grateful for the treasure, but the old woman became angry. "You fool!" she said. "Why didn't you choose the big basket? Then we would've had much more. I'm going to the sparrow's house to get the other basket!"

  The old farmer begged her not to be greedy, saying that they already had enough. But the old woman was determined. She put on her straw sandals and started off.

  When she reached the sparrow's house, the old woman spoke very sweetly to the sparrow. The sparrow invited her into the house and gave her some tea. When the old woman stood up to leave, the sparrow again brought out a big basket and a small basket and told the woman to choose one as a gift. The old woman grabbed the big basket. It was so heavy she could hardly lift it up, but still she carried it and started home.

  As she walked along, the basket became heavier and heavier. The old woman began wondering what treasures she would find in it. Finally she sat down by the path to rest, and her curiosity got the better of her. She just had to open the basket!

  When she did, all sorts of terrible things jumped out at her! There was a devil's head that made frightening noises, and a wasp that came flying at her with a long stinger, and snakes and toads and other slimy things! How frightened she was!

  The old woman jumped up and ran as fast as she could all the way home. She told the old farmer what had happened, then said, "I promise never to be mean or greedy again!" And it seems she learned her lesson, because after that she became very kind and always helped the old farmer feed any birds that flew into their garden.

  Silly Saburo

  Long ago there was a boy who lived on a farm in Japan. His name was Saburo, but he always did such silly things that people called him Silly Saburo. He could only remember one thing at a time, and then would do that one thing, no matter how silly it was. Saburo's father and mother were very worried for him, but they hoped he would get smarter as he grew older, and they were always very patient with him.

  One day Saburo's father said to him, "Saburo, I need your help in the fields today. Please go to the potato patch and dig up the potatoes. After you've dug them up, spread them out carefully on the ground and leave them to dry in the sun."

  "I understand, father," said Saburo. And he put his hoe over his shoulder and went out to the potato patch.

  Saburo was busy digging up the potatoes when all of a sudden his hoe hit something buried in the earth. He dug deeper and found a big pot that had been buried there. When he looked inside it he found many gold coins. It was a great treasure that someone had buried long ago.

  "Father says I must dig things up and then leave them to dry in the sun," Saburo said to himself. So he very carefully spread the gold coins on the ground. When he got home, Saburo told his mother and father, "I found a pot of gold coins and spread them out in the sun to dry."

  Saburo's father and mother were very surprised to hear this. They ran back to the potato patch, but someone had already taken the coins. There was not a single coin left. "The next time you find something like this," Saburo's father said to him, "you must wrap it up very carefully and bring it home. Now don't forget!"

  "I understand, father," said Saburo.

  The next day Saburo found a smelly cat in the field. He wrapped it up very carefully and brought it home with him, very proud of having remembered. But Saburo's father said to him, "Don't be so silly. The next time you find something like this, you must wash it in the river."

  The next day Saburo dug up a huge tree stump. He thought very hard and remembered what his father had said about the smelly cat. So he took the stump and threw it with a great splash into the river.

  Just then a neighbor was passing by and said, "You mustn't throw away valuable things like that! That stump would have made good firewood. You should have broken it up into pieces and taken it home."

  "I understand," said Saburo, and started on his way home. Along the way he saw a teapot and teacup that somebody had left beside the road.

  "Oh, here's something valuable!" said Saburo. So he took his hoe and broke the teapot and teacup into small pieces. Then he gathered up all the pieces and took them home with him.

  "Hello, Mother," he said. "Look what I found and brought home." Then he showed his mother the broken pieces of the teapot and teacup.

  "Oh, my!" said Saburo's mother. "That's the brand-new teapot and teacup I gave your father to take with his lunch today. And now you've completely ruined them!"

  The next day Saburo's father and mother said to him, "Everything you do, you do wrongly. We'll go out into the fields and work today. Stay home and take care of the house." So they left Saburo alone at home.

  "I really don't understand why people call me Silly Saburo," Saburo said to himself. "I do exactly what people tell me to do!"

  The Toothpick Warriors

  Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess who had a very bad habit. Every night before she slept she would lie in bed and pick her teeth with a toothpick. That wasn't so bad, but after she was done, instead of throwing away the used toothpicks as she should have, s
he would stick them between the cracks of the straw mats where she slept. Now, this was not a very clean habit, and since the princess did this every night, the cracks of her straw mats were soon filled with dozens and dozens of used toothpicks.

  One night the princess was suddenly awakened by the sound of fighting. She heard the voices of warriors and the sound of swords. Frightened, she sat up and lit the lamp beside her bed. She could hardly believe what she saw.

  There, right beside her quilt, were many tiny warriors! Some were fighting, some were singing and some were dancing, but all of them were making a great deal of noise.

  The princess thought that she was dreaming, so she pinched herself hard. But, no, she was wide awake, and the tiny warriors were still there! Though they didn't bother the princess, they made so much noise all night that she couldn't sleep at all, and when she finally did doze off, she suddenly woke up again because it was so quiet. It was morning and the tiny warriors were gone.

  The princess was very afraid, but she was ashamed to tell the lord, her father, because he wouldn't have believed her. Yet when she went to bed the following night, the tiny warriors appeared again, and again the night after that.

  In fact, the tiny warriors made so much noise every night that the princess couldn't get any sleep, and each day she became a little paler. Soon she became quite ill from not sleeping.

  The princess' father kept asking her what the matter was, and finally she told him. At first he didn't believe,her story, but he finally decided to see for himself. He told her to sleep in his room that night and he would stand watch in hers.

  And so he did. But though he remained awake all night and watched and waited, the tiny warriors did not come.

  While waiting, however, the princess' father noticed a toothpick on the straw mat. He picked it up and looked carefully at it, then called the princess to him the next morning.