Japanese Children's Favorite Stories Book 1 (4 page)

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.