Four Japanese Fairy Stories

1. Hanasaka Jisan
   - An old man made blossoms

   Once upon a time, there were two old men. One was very honest, and the other was a liar. The honest man had a dog, named "pochi". One day, pochi barked in the middle of field. So the honest man dag there. From beneath the soil appeared an amount of gold. The liar envied him. He took pochi out, and ordered to search gold for him. Pochi reluctantly barked in his field. When he dag the field, only ugly serpents and toads emerged from the earth. He got angry, and killed pochi.

   The honest old man was sorrowful. He buried pochi's body and planted a tree as its tomb. The tree grew rapidly. So he cut the tree and made a mortar out of the wood. When he made rice cake with the mortar, gold coins poured out from the mortar. So he got more rich. The liar old man envied him again. He borrowed the mortar from the honest man, and used it to made rice cake. Again, he got only worms, frogs and snakes. He got angry, and burned the wooden mortar.

   The honest old man was sorrowful again. He brought the ashes of the mortar back, and strew it. The ashes were carried by wind to dead trees, and to his surprise, the dead tree revived and blossomed. The lord of the region saw it, and very amazed. So he was rewarded much. The liar old man envied him three times. He stole the remained ashes, and went to the lord's castle. He said he could make dead trees blossomed, and demonstrated in front of the lord. However, he was betrayed three times. The tree didn't revive. And the ashes flew into the eyes of the lord, making the lord very angry. So the old man liar was executed at last.

   
   

2. Kaguya Hime
   - Princess Kaguya

   Unce upon a time, there was an old bamboocrafter. One day he found a glimmering bamboo in a mountain. When he cut the bamboo, a small girl baby came out. He brought the baby, named Kaguya and brought her up with his wife. Kaguya grew at a surprising speed, and became a beautiful girl of 4 feet tall in several months. Her beauty attracted many noble princes.

   Five princes proposed marriage to her, but she requested each of the candidate to bring an legendary treasure, such as an orb of dragon, skin of fire-mouse, and so on, in return for marriage with her. One lost his life in his quest. One faked the treasure, but was exposed soon. Others simply failed. After that, the Emperor proposed marriage. But she rejected him to.

   Several years past. The bamboosmith noticed that Kaguya seemed melancholy when she saw the moon. He asked about it to her. At first she rejected to answer, but at last told him,

   I'm a child of the lunar, and they will came here to bring me back to the moon soon on the next full moon night.

   He was surprised, and decided to keep her from the lunar. The Emperor sent an army to guard her house. On the full moon night, a carriage descended from the moon to her house. The army tried to shoot it down but in vein. The soldiers were incapaciated by strange forces. The lunar came to Kaguya and told her to ride the carriage to go back to the moon. Then she cried, saying thanks and good-bye to the bamboocrafter and his wife, then returned to the moon.

   
   

3. Shitakiri Suzume
   - A tounge-cut spallow

   Once upon a time, there were an old man and his wife. One day he came across a wounded sparrow and he brought the sparrow to his house and treated it, so the sparrow was tamed by him. But when he was out, the sparrow ate starch made by his wife. She got angry and cut the tongue of the sparrow. The sparrow was wounded again, and flew away.

   When he came back, he found that sparrow was lost. He searched for the sparrow thoroughout the mountains, and finally found the hidden kingdom of the sparrow. Sparrows gave a warm reception to him. When he returned to his home, sparrows proposed him a present. They showed him two boxes, one small and the other large, and told him to choose one. He chose the small one, because he was old and couldn't carry much. After he came back home, he found the box full of gold.

   He was pleased, but his wife got angry, rebuked him saying why he had not chosen the bigger box, so she made him reveal the location of the kingdom and went there to get more gold. Though the sparrows tryied to give a warm reception to her, she rejected, and wanted only the last present. The bigger box was very heavy. She got tired on the way home, so took a rest, and opened the box. In the box was not gold, but grotesque monsters assaulting her.

   
   

4. Tsuru no on-gaeshi
   - A repaying crane

   Once upon a time, there was a poor hunter. One day, he came across a trapped crane, he took pity on the crane and released it.
   A few days later, a lovely woman visited his house, and asked him to shelter for the night. She didn't go next day, then the two got married.

   The bride was well disposed as well as beautiful, so they lived happily. But the hunter couldn't afford to support his new wife. One day she said that she would weave cloth so that he would sell it to make money (weaving was common for a woman's side job those days). But she told him never to see her weaving.

   She kept in a weaving hut during three days. When the weaving sound stopped, she came out with a beautiful fabric. He brought the fabric to town, where merchants was surprised and paid gold for it. The fabric was very rare, one called it "Tsuru-no-senba-ori" (thousand feathers of crane). Since then, the wife weaved the valuable fabric several times. The hunter came to live in comfort. However, his wife got thinner little by litte.

   One day, she said that she could weave the fabric no longer. She was so consumed. Though, her husband had learned greed, and asked her to weave once more. At last she was persuaded and started to weave again. That time, she didn't came out on the third day. And more three days passed. He got worried, and finally broke their promise, peeping her weaving. To his surprise, it was not a woman but a crane that was weaving.

   On the next morning, his wife came out from the weaving hut, with the last fabric in her hands. She said "you have seen my true form, so I can stay with you any no longer." And then, she turned into a crane and flew away, leaving the hunter's criyng.