Gon the Fox and Other Stories

  This is the kind of ridiculous thing that he would tell people in order to protect the business he had grown accustomed to. Every time he said something like this though, he felt a pang of guilt.

  When the town council was over and he heard that electric lighting was finally coming to the village of Yanabe Shinden, he felt as if he'd just received another smack over the head. He thought to himself, if I keep getting smacked over the head like this I'll start going crazy.

  And that's exactly what happened. He started going crazy. For three days after the town council, Minosuke stayed in bed with the covers pulled over his head. And that's when he started losing his mind.

  More than anything else he wanted someone to blame. So he decided to blame the mayor who had acted as the chairman on the town council. Then he thought of all the different reasons why he should despise the mayor. Even someone who is ordinarily an intelligent person, when it comes to a crucial moment where their livelihoods are at stake, loses their ability to make rational decisions. They start bearing the most ridiculous grudges.

  Chapter 5

  The night sky was lit up by the moon and the rape blossoms were in full bloom. Far in the distance came the sound of drums, announcing the start of a spring festival.

  Minosuke didn't take the normal road. He ran along the ditches like a ferret, stooped down low, and barged through the thickets like a stray dog. People do this when they want to avoid being seen.

  Because he'd stayed there for so many years, he was very familiar with the layout of the mayor's home. He'd decided the moment he left the house that the best place to light a fire would be the cowshed, because of its straw-thatched roof.

  In the main house everyone was sound asleep. And it was quiet in the cow shed too. That's not to say that the cows were necessarily asleep, because cows are quiet whether they are awake or asleep. But even if they were awake, it wasn't going to stop him from lighting the fire.

  Instead of bringing matches, he'd brought his old flint and steel he had used before matches had become available. He'd searched around the wood cooking stove for some matches before leaving the house, but hadn't been able to find any. Luckily his hand had fallen on the flint and steel, so he'd brought that instead.

  He started striking the steel against the flint. It sent out a burst of sparks, but because the char cloth was damp, it wouldn't light. This flint and steel isn't very convenient, thought Minosuke to himself. Not only can't it start a fire, it's so loud, it's bound to wake everyone up.

  "Damn! I should've brought matches. What an old piece of junk! The one time you really need it and it doesn't even work."

  Suddenly he stopped and thought about what he'd just said.

  "...old piece of junk! The one time you really need it and it doesn't even work...old piece of junk! The one time you really need it and it doesn't even work..."

  With these words, Minosuke's head suddenly cleared, like the moon breaking through the clouds.

  He finally realized his error. The kerosene lamp was now an outdated device. The world had a new and far more convenient device called the electric light. The world had become that much more advanced. Cultural enlightenment had progressed. If Minosuke really was a citizen of this nation of Japan, he should be proud that his country had made this much progress. Attempting to stand in the way of social progress out of fear of losing his own outdated business, and trying to set a fire because he bore a grudge against someone who'd done nothing wrong, was a disgraceful way for a man to act. If the world had moved on and no longer needed this kind of outdated business, then shouldn't he act like a man, discard his old business, and start a new business that will be of more use to people?

  Minosuke went back to his house the way he'd come.

  So what did he do then?

  He woke up his sleeping wife and he asked her to get all the lamps that were in the house and fill them with kerosene.

  When she asked him what he was intending to do at such a late hour of the night, Minosuke said nothing, for if she had known what he was planning then surely she would have stopped him.

  After they'd all been brought out there were fifty lamps in total, all of varying sizes. And they were all filled with kerosene. He hung them from his cart, just as he always did when he went out selling lamps, and headed off. This time he made sure he took his matches.

  Along the road heading to the western mountain pass is a large lake called Lake Handa. After the spring rains it was filled to the brim, and beneath the light of the moon its smoky surface glimmered like a silver plate. Next to the lake were willows and alder trees, leaning over the water as if trying to see their own reflection.

  Minosuke had purposefully chosen a place where there were no people.

  So what did he do with the lamps?

  He started lighting them. He lit each lamp and then hung it from a branch of one of the trees next to the lake. He hung lamps of all different sizes, side by side. When there was no more room on one tree, he moved to the next one along. Eventually he managed to hang all fifty lamps from three trees.

  It was a windless night and each of the lamps burned steadily, without a flicker, lighting up the area like it was day. Attracted by the light, fish glimmered on the surface of the water like shimmering knives.

  "This is my way of quitting," said Minosuke out loud.

  But he was reluctant to leave, and stood gazing at the trees, their branches crammed with lamps, his arms dangling loosely by his side.

  Lamps, lamps, my good old lamps. Been with me for so long.

  "This is my way of quitting," he repeated.

  Minosuke walked back to the main road on the near side of the lake. He could see the lamps burning above the shore on the other side. All fifty lamps continued burning steadily. Another fifty lamps were burning upside down on the lake's surface. Again he stopped and stared at them for a long time.

  Lamps, lamps, good old lamps.

  Eventually he bent over and picked up a stone at his feet. Then, taking aim at the lamp with the biggest flame, he threw it as hard as he could. The glass smashed and the largest flame disappeared.

  "Your time has passed. The world has moved on," said Minosuke.

  He picked up another stone. The glass smashed on the second biggest lamp and its flame was gone too.

  "The world has moved on. Now it's the age of electricity."

  After he'd broken the third lamp, tears began to well in his eyes, so he could no longer see the lamps properly to aim at them.

  And that was how Minosuke quit his business. After that he went into town and started a new business. A book store.

  ___________________________________

  "Minosuke still owns a book store. Of course now he's gotten quite old, so his son's taken over," said Toichi's grandfather, finishing up his story, and sipping his tea that had grown cold.

  Of course Minosuke was Toichi's grandpa, and Toichi was now looking earnestly into his grandpa's face. Toichi had sat up while listening to the story, with his hands on his grandpa's lap.

  "So, what happened to the other forty seven lamps?" he asked.

  "I don't know. Maybe some people traveling along the road found them and took them home."

  "So, didn't you even have one lamp in your house?"

  "No, not even one. All that was left was this lamp stand," said grandpa, looking over at the lamp Toichi had dragged out that afternoon.

  "You lost money, didn't you grandpa? Someone took away forty seven of your lamps," said Toichi.

  "Yes, I lost money alright. When I think about that now, I didn't really need to go and do that. Even after electric light finally made it to Yanabe Shinden, I still could have easily sold fifty lamps or so. There was a small village south of Yanabe Shinden called Fukadani, and they still use lamps even now, and there were other villages that kept using lamps for some time. But anyway, in those days I had a lot of energy. If I thought of something, I just went and did it, without thinking too deeply about it."

&
nbsp; "You were silly weren't you grandpa?" said Toichi, who felt his grandpa was someone he could speak his mind to.

  "Yes, I was silly alright. But I'll tell you one thing Toichi," said grandpa, gripping the tobacco pipe upon his knee tightly between his fingers. "The way I did it may have been silly, but I have to say, I think the way I quit my business was the best way of doing it. I'll tell you what I mean. If the country moves on, and a business is no longer of any use, then it's better to just do away with it and start over. Don't be forever hanging on to a stale, outdated business, always talking about the good old days when business was good, resenting the world for having moved on. You never want to be gutless like that."

  Toichi sat staring quietly at his grandpa's animated face for some time. Finally, he said,

  "You had guts, didn't you grandpa?"

  Then he looked with fondness at the old lamp next to him.

  THE END

  The Story of the Giant

  by Nankichi Niimi

  Chapter 1

  The giant lived with his mother in the woods, far, far away.

  His mother was a frightening witch; you know the one, that scary witch with a long nose like an eagle, and piercing eyes like a snake.

  One moonlit night, when the witch and the giant were already asleep, there was a knock on the door outside. The giant got out of bed and opened the door, and standing there were two women and a young girl.

  "This child is the princess of this land," said one of the women. "We are her attendants. Today we took her highness into the forest to play, but we became lost and have only now come upon your house. Please take mercy on us and grant us shelter for the night," she asked.

  "Our house is only poor," called out the witch in a caring voice, "but please do come in and rest." So the three of them came inside and went to sleep.

  When the giant woke the next morning the two women had been turned into black birds, and the princess into a swan. The witch had cast a spell on them.

  Despite the giant's efforts to stop her, the witch then pitched all three of the birds out the window, and they all flew away. However, when evening came, the swan, whimpering sadly, returned to the witch's house. Taking pity on the swan, the giant decided that he would raise it in secret. During the daytime he let it free in the fields, and during the night, he let it sleep in his bed.

  As the giant grew bigger and bigger, the witch gradually became old, and eventually she could no longer move. She would spend each day lying on her bed teaching her son the giant how to cast spells. But all of that magic was for turning humans into different kinds of birds and animals.

  The witch was becoming weaker and weaker and was finally close to death. The giant thought that if he didn't ask her how to break the spells now, the swan would never go back to being a princess. He leant down beside her pillow and he said,

  "Mother, you've taught me how to turn humans into all kinds of birds and animals, but you haven't told me how the spells are broken. Please, tell me how it's done."

  "Alright then, I will teach you," replied the witch, but she was quite out of breath and her voice was no bigger than a mosquito's.

  "Mother, please say it clearly!" said the giant and placed his ear right next to the witch's mouth.

  "If the creatures shed tears, they return to their original form…" said the witch, and then her head fell limp and she was dead.

  The giant placed the dead witch in a white coffin and buried her beneath a palm tree. Then taking the swan with him, he left their house in the woods.

  He had decided to go to the capital. On his way there he tried to make the swan shed tears. He tried knocking it on the head, and he tried pinching its tail. But the swan didn't shed even a single tear. It just whimpered sadly. The giant felt terrible, and eventually he ended up with his cheek pressed against that of the swan's. And it was the giant's eyes in which tears began to well.

  The giant walked all through the day and all through the night, arriving at his destination of the capital on the seventh day after leaving his house. But the people in the capital knew the giant was the son of that terrifying witch, so they thought up a round-about way in which they could kill him. They then sent a representative to the king's palace. When he met the king, this is what he said:

  "Your majesty's palace is beautiful, however a passing traveler was once heard to say that a palace without a marble structure is a blemish on the king's reputation. Why not build a tower of marble?"

  "Yes, that's a very good idea. But where on earth can one find marble?"

  "If you walk a long, long way south of here, over a mountain and across a desert, you will come to a small village. It is said that in that village one can obtain as much marble as one might want."

  "I see, but who will go and get it?"

  "For that, the giant who is now in the capital would be perfect. He is as tall as a palm tree and can climb over a small hill in just one stride."

  "Then bring him here."

  So the giant was brought to the Royal Palace and ordered by the king to go and fetch the marble. To stop him from running away, they attached an iron chain to his leg.

  "I shall bring it for you," said the giant, and taking the swan with him, he headed south. As the giant traveled further and further south, the chain remaining at the palace grew shorter and shorter. Finally on the nineteenth day, the end of the chain was reached and it pulled taut against the thick pillar it was tied to.

  At the same time, after overcoming all kinds of troubles, the giant finally arrived in the marble village. As the villagers were very kind, they allowed him to take as much marble as he wanted. The giant took three large marble slabs, placed them on his back, and with the swan perched on top, set off again for the capital.

  In the capital, the chain became slack, so the people began hauling it back in. This time, because he was carrying such heavy rock, it was thirty days before the he finally arrived back in the capital.

  After such a long arduous journey the giant had become thin and haggard like a withered old tree. But that wasn't enough for them to let him be. From that day, he was ordered to build a tower of marble next to the spring that ran through the palace gardens. But the giant was pure of heart and never complained, nor felt sorry for himself. Instead he did just as he had been ordered, working every day and every night, splitting the marble with his mallet and chisel, gradually piling the blocks higher and higher. The swan was perched on his back the whole time he worked. And there it sat peacefully. While he was swinging his mallet he would talk to the swan like he were talking to a person.

  "How can I get you to shed tears? When will you cry? I feel so sorry for you, if you don't shed tears you can never be a princess again. Please go back to being a beautiful princess soon."

  At those times the swan would bend her neck down to listen to the giant, but she never shed any tears.

  The giant's tower progressed further and further. Even late at night, the sound of his mallet echoed through the air from the top of the tower. The people in the capital would make sure to open their windows and look up at the tower where the giant was working before going to bed. Up there they could see a light that shone like that of a star.

  After three months all the marble the giant had brought, had been used up. The tower was now taller than any other building in the palace grounds. But that still wasn't enough for the king. So the giant headed south once more. With the long chain dragging behind him and the swan on his shoulder, the giant walked day after day through the endless desert. He received another three slabs of marble and returned to the capital. The same day he returned, he took up his mallet and chisel and began cutting up the marble.

  The tower grew higher and higher.

  Even on cloudy nights when no stars could be seen, the light from the giant's tower hung in the night sky as if it were the only star.

  One evening when the wind was quite strong, the people in the capital looked out their windows at the light of the giant in the
tower above. It was swaying back and forth in the wind. It was only then that the people began to feel sorry for the giant. The king also put his head out the window and looked up at the tower. In between the bellowing of the wind he could hear the sound of the giant's mallet. Did the king finally feel sorry for the giant?

  "It is a terrible thing to make him work on a night such as this. And he is such a gentle fellow. Tomorrow I will put a stop to this work," said the king to himself. Of course the giant was unaware of any of this, and steadily continued his work. And while he worked he thought of how he could make the swan shed tears and turn her back into a princess. Suddenly it occurred to him - what if I were to die. Turning to the swan that was sleeping on his warm back, he asked her,

  "Would you be sad if I died?"

  The swan's eyes popped open and she flapped her wings as if to say,

  You mustn't do that!

  " I mustn't die? Then if I were to die then you would definitely shed tears. Right! I will go to heaven for you."

  The giant stood up straight, and removed the swan from his back. The swan tugged at his clothes to try and stop him. The giant rubbed his cheek against the swan's one last time, and said,

  "Beautiful swan, farewell, you will soon return to being the beautiful princess you once were...," and he flung himself from the top of that tall tower.

  He died the instant he hit the ground.

  Oh how that swan did cry. Her tears flowed like a waterfall. The spell was finally broken and she returned to being the beautiful princess she once was. The princess wept uncontrollably as she half-ran, half-fell down the steps of the tall tower, flying into her father the king's room.

  She then told him all that had happened. When he heard this, the king lowered his head, begging forgiveness from the giant, and expressing his gratitude.

  The king soon told the people of the capital what had happened, and the people cried and apologized to the giant.

  The giant's body was covered in the leaves from a laurel tree and buried in a sand hill east of the city.

  The princess often said to the king and her mother the queen,

  "All I wanted was to stay a swan, sitting on the giant's back, forever and ever."