Japanese Fairy Tales
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