Storytelling Week 6: Mittens and The Beast

Often on beautiful days like this, Mittens would go for a walk and soak in the suns rays. It gave the hero time to reflect on the people he’d saved and the savage creatures he’d conquered. While walking through the forest, he heard a whimper-like sound coming from a bush nearby. Confused as to why something could whimper on a day like this, Mittens peered into the bush to see another cat. He was in awe. He did not understand why a cat as beautiful as she was upset, and on such a beautiful day too.

“What is the problem? Why do you whimper on a day so beautiful?”

“I’m sorry,” she replied. “I am afraid for my life; I am the only member of my family left.” She went on, “In the last two weeks, I have lost my mother, father, and my three brothers.”

Shocked and confused, Mittens replied, “What evil has caused this? What can I do to help?”

“Again, I’m sorry but there isn’t a thing you can do that will change my fate.” Dejected, she went on to explain that there was a mighty wolf who had caused the fall of the rest of her family. “But there’s something I haven’t mentioned,” the cat continued, “This wolf who has destroyed my kin and ruined my life, is a wolf from the supernatural. Instead of one head with one mouth, this wolf bears eight heads with eight mouths.”

“Well,” Mittens began, “You’ve come to the right place. I will take great pleasure in seeking out this beast and putting a stop to him.”

“I see that you have no lack of confidence, but that may be your greatest folly.”

Mittens told her of his past and the creatures he had defeated before. Then, he claimed that he was so confident that he would be successful in his quest that when he returned, she would marry him. She agreed, and Mittens got right to work. He had once heard a story of a god, Susa-wo-no, who had defeated an eight-headed serpent using his wits and a sacred sword, so he knew that his task was doable.

(Image Information: Mittens searching for the beast;
a personal photo from 2014)

After several days of searching, he heard what sounded like the growling of an entire pack of wolves. He snuck into a nearby bush and peeked through to the other side. There, in a small opening, was the eight-headed wolf preying on three rabbits at once. Mittens decided he would stalk the beast until the sun set, then put his plan into action.

Just after the sun set, Mittens let out a little meow, and the beast turned its sixteen eyes towards him. The eight-headed wolf chased the hero through several bushes until the cat climbed up into the highest tree in the forest. The creature tried to climb, but the cat was up so high that the wolf would try to get up there, only to lose his grip and fall back to the ground. The wolf, knowing Mittens would have to come down at some point, decided to simply wait at the base of the tree. One day passed, then another, and as the sun set on the third day, the beast was growing tired. It had to stay alert while the cat could comfortably nap up in the safety of the trees many branches. So when the beast had dozed off, the cat finished his plan. Using his claws, he had cut a branch almost completely off of the tree. This branch was right above the eight-headed wolf. So that night, with the creature fast asleep, Mittens finished sawing off the branch and it struck the beast on all eight of his heads, knocking it out cold. He then climbed down the tree and plucked out all sixteen of the beast’s eyes, so that it could never again see prey to chase.

Triumphantly, the hero returned to the female and informed her of his success. After relief washed over her, she was enamored with the cunning of her hero. The two spent the rest of their days together, comfortably walking through the forest on beautiful days.

Author’s Note: This story is based on The Eight-Forked Serpent of Koshi. In this story, Susa-wo-no comes across a maiden with her two parents, and all three of them are visibly upset. Susa-wo-no learns that the family has lost many daughters to an eight-forked serpent, and soon they will lose their last daughter. The maiden is so beautiful that Susa-wo-no says he will slay the monster in he can have her hand in marriage. The father agrees, and Sus-wo-no holds up his end of the deal. In this version I included cats because meow meow.

“The Eight-Forked Serpent of Koshi” from Romance of Old Japan, Part 1: Mythology and Legend by E.W. Champney and F. Champney (1917)

Reading Diary B: Japanese Mythology

Here are some notes on Japanese Mythology.

(Image Information: A statue of Yamato Takeru; Web Source: Britannica)

The Golden Apple (Yamato)

Yamato has been infatuated with a siren since before he married his princess. After finding the siren again in the grotto, Yamato says he will do anything for her love; the siren tells him to bring her a golden apple. In this story, the siren tells a story of old Jofuku. This man went to the island of eternal life and successfully returned with a golden apple.

The Demon Boar (Yamato)

Not much to say about this story other than Yamato is officially the Japanese Hercules (that rhymes). He just uses his sheer awesomeness to defeat terribly things and preform inconceivable tasks.

The Grass-Cleaving Sword (Yamato)

Here, the great Yamato is actually successfully deceived, but when all seems lost and the fire that encloses him and his comrades inches closer to burning them. Princess Tacibana runs through the fire with a sword that Yamato uses to save them. Tacibana risks her life to save the man she is so devoted to.

The Sacred Sword (Yamato)

Returning to the siren proved a great mistake for Yamato. She deceived him and took his sacred sword. Then lost, the great goddess Kwannon came to his aid. She told him that the sacred sword would be found in the antlers of a stag. With the goddess’s help, Yamato slayed the stag and got the sword back.

The Dragon (Yamato)

Yamato, happy to have the sacred sword in his possession, returned to the siren one last time to charge her with her deception. But the siren was waiting for him, and claimed that he would never leave her until the love of another was greater. Fortunately, that love was Tacibana, and Yamato was saved. When he awoke in his home, Tacibana was nowhere to be found; he waited, but still there was nothing. Finally he found Tacibana trying to protect the city from the evil dragon, Susa-no-wo. It didn’t take long for Yamato to slay the dragon and profess his love for the princess.

One last time, Yamato set out to sea. Tacibana was unsure of how the sea god would react, but Yamato had no fear. He had already defeated Susa-no-wo once, so why not again. Unfortunately, the god was angered by these words and raged a monstrous storm that would kill Yamato unless someone took his place. Of course, ever-faithful Tacibana did, and Yamato was heartbroken.

Reading Diary A: Japanese Mythology

Here are some notes on Japanese Mythology.

The Eight Forked Serpent of Koshi

I felt that this story was a lot like the story of Perseus and Andromeda. Susa-no-wo came across a beautiful maiden in peril, and he offered to save the girl if he could have her hand in marriage. Much like the Greek myth, it was up to the parents of the girl to decide whom she should marry. Obviously, willing to do anything, the father agreed and Susa-no-wo used his wits to kill the serpent and gain a wife.

The Fortunate Fish-Hook

Two brothers, Ho-weri (hunter) and Ho-deri (fisherman) were both very skilled in their arts. But one day, Ho-deri grew impatient and decided that he should swap duties with his younger brother for a while. After a day of less than no success, he met with Ho-weri and asked to return to his role as fisherman. Ho-weri had the same problem and desired to be a hunter again; however, Ho-weri had lost his brother’s fish-hook. Ho-deri was inconsolable. Ho-weri, grieving, went to search for the hook and ended up marrying the daughter of the sea god.

In the second part, the sea god helps to find the lost fish-hook, and after several years, Ho-weri decides he must return the fish-hook to his brother. Ho-deri is incredibly grateful for his brother and thanks him one-thousand times over. Then, the daughter of the sea god meets Ho-weri and births a son. The son spends all of his time with his father, until Ho-weri passes. Then, he spends his days at sea.

The Rescue of the Princess (Yamato)

Yamato, much like a Japanese Hercules in that he is a very strong, very skilled warrior with high intelligence too, saves his princess from a large group of bandits using his skill and deception.

(Image Information: Yamato dressed as a woman; Web Source: Wikipedia)

Essay: Animal Wit

(Image Information: A fox; Web Source: Wikipedia)

In every case, the last man, or animal, standing was not the strongest, or the fastest, but was the most intelligent. This week was a nice shift of gears from mythology and into some shorter fables. The Tortoise and the Geese and Other Fables of Bidpai had plenty of stories, and almost every story, at the end, included a “winner” who was more cunning than his peers. Also, it is interesting to note that, in each story, there was usually one person who thought he was the smartest, but ended up being bested by another who was better than him.

For example, in The Hare, the Fox, and the Wolf, the hare intends to use the wolf as a means of removing the pesky fox from the hare’s worries. The hare devises an entire plan to have the wolf kill the fox; however, in the end it is the fox (commonly recognized as a cunning, or sly, animal) who emerges victorious, and the wolf who the hare was going to use to kill the fox, actually killed the hare. The fox was the smartest of the three creatures, so he survived in the end, capturing both the hare and the wolf.

Again, in The Camel Driver and the Adder, wit wins out. And this time, a fox is again involved in the victory. The camel driver, out of the goodness of his heart, saves the adder from certain death, only to be told that the adder still must kill him. He tries to wiggle out of it, but is unable to do so multiple times. Finally, before it’s over, a fox comes along and helps the camel driver. The fox tricks the adder into returning to the tiny bag he was saved in, and the camel driver closes the bag and kills the adder. Again, the fox (and the camel driver) wins.

Finally, there was the story of The Three Fish. This story blatantly says that wit is a most important quality. The fish who always used his wits was able to escape, the fish who sometimes used his wits was able to survive, and the stupid fish… he died. The moral of the story is be smart.

Storytelling Week 5: The Merchant and His Cat

There was once a merchant who was sent by the king on a daring mission. Afraid he would not return, the night before he was scheduled to depart, the merchant went to his old friend to ask a favor. The two had been friends for so long, that the merchant knew he could trust his friend.

“My old friend,” began the merchant, “I have known you for as long as I have been able to walk. You have stood with me through thick and thin. Now, I must ask you to do me one favor more. I am going on a mission and it may be awhile before I return. I need you to watch over my two tons of iron so that nobody will steal it while I’m gone.”

The friend, seeing this as an opportunity to gain immense wealth, replied that he would be happy to keep an eye on the merchant’s iron. “I’ll watch it as if it were my own.”

Once the merchant left, the friend sold every last piece of iron and grew extensively wealthy. The friend, expecting the merchant to perish on his travels, was shocked to see him return several fortnights later.

Upon his return, the merchant paid a visit to his friends house, expecting to be returned his iron. “Good friend,” the merchant began. “I have returned successfully from my mission and am glad that you have watched over my iron while I have been away. You have watched my iron, haven’t you?” To his dismay, the friend said that it had been lost, but the merchant knew that the friend had come into a large amount of money recently and expected that he sold the iron to accomplish this.

After telling the friend that everything was ok, the merchant left the friend’s house, but not before stealing the friend’s most prized possession, his cat. That night, when the friend went to bed, he called, “Kitty, kitty, kitty. Come here kitty, kitty,” but the cat did not come. Suddenly, the friend heard someone open his door. “Who is there? Reveal yourself you coward!!” the friend screamed. Then, the merchant appeared in the doorway.

“Return me my iron,” the merchant said defiantly.

“What have you done with my beautiful kitty?!”

“Your cat will be returned to you once you give me my iron back. I know that you sold my iron for your own gain, and for that you will be punished.” And so the friend was punished. The merchant retook all of the profits from the iron and let the cat walk right out the front door. His kitty was never seen again.

(Image Information: A collage of cats; Web Source: Wikipedia)

Author's Note: This story is similar to The Merchant and His Iron, except instead of abducting the friend's child, the merchant takes his cat because cats are better than people meow.

"The Merchant and His Iron" from The Tortoise and the Geese and Other Fables of Bidpai by Maude Barrows Dutton, with illustrations by E. Boyd Smith (1908).