Un-Textbook Japanese Fairy Tales (Lang)
I've chosen my favorite of the six stories from Part B to write about below:
Schippeitaro: A young man goes off on a "coming of age" journey when he gets lost in a forest. He hears some mysterious cats shrieking a cryptic message: "Do not tell Schippeitaro!" Confused, he disregards it until the next day, when he comes across a village of huts. He hears a damsel in distress, but the men of the village tell him there is nothing they can do because she will be sacrificed to the "Spirit of the Mountain" soon. The main character figures out this ritual has something to do with the cats in the chapel he heard the other night, so he inquires about Schippeitaro. Schippeitaro is a great dog that belongs to the prince. The young man persuades the dog's caretaker to let him borrow the dog for the night, and he is able to save the girl from being sacrificed to the Mountain Spirit with the help of the great dog. The dog and boy kill most of the evil cats when they think they are coming out to feast on the poor girl. The girls of the village are safe from being sacrificed for good.
The Crab and the Monkey: A monkey offers a crab the kernel of a kaki fruit in exchange for some of the crab's rice. Thinking he got a good deal, the monkey leaves only to return one day and find an entire kaki tree near the crab. Asking if the crab can spare some fruit, the monkey proceeds to take ALL of the good kakis from the tree. The crab tries to get some back but is beaten up by the monkey. Feeling betrayed, the crab sets up a Home Alone style trap with a rice mortar, egg, and a wasp. The next time the monkey comes back to speak to the crab, he is startled by the bursting egg, stung by the wasp, and struck dead by the mortar. Don't mess with the crab!
Uraschimataro and the Turtle: Uraschimataro lives a happy life with his loving parents as a fisherman. One day his net pulls in a turtle, who asks to be set free. Being the good-natured man he is, Uraschimataro sets the turtle free, who promises to return the favor in the future. Eventually, the turtle comes back and offers the boy a ride on his back. The turtle takes him on a days long journey and shows him the beautiful Palace of Ringu where he meets and falls in love with a princess. After some time, the boy wishes to visit his parents whom he hasn't seen in a while. The princess reluctantly lets him go and gives him a gold box which he mustn't open if he is going to return to the palace. Upon returning home, the boy finds that 300 years have passed and his parents are long gone. Devastated (and not thinking clearly), he opens the box and ages 300 years himself to become a deathly old man. The turtle never comes back for Uraschimataro (presumably because he opened the box).
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