Speaker 1: Cool Zone Media.
Speaker 2: Book Club book Club, book Club. It's the Cool Zone
Speaker 2: Media book Club. Hello, welcome to the Cool Zone Media
Speaker 2: book Club. I'm your host, Margaret Kiljoy, and every week
Speaker 2: I read you stories. This week, I'm going to read
Speaker 2: you three stories, all for the price of I guess
Speaker 2: zero stories. Well, I guess the price of advertisers on
Speaker 2: our podcast. But I have stories for you. This is
Speaker 2: a folklore a week. I'm going to read you three
Speaker 2: stories from an eighteen eighty book of Japanese folklore. And
Speaker 2: this particular book was written by American man who lived
Speaker 2: in Japan for a very long time named William Elliott Griffiths,
Speaker 2: and in eighteen eighty he published a book called Japanese
Speaker 2: Fairy World that seemed to have been written with help
Speaker 2: from his Japanese students and is illustrated with art from
Speaker 2: Japanese artists. There's no particular moral or whatever that I'm
Speaker 2: going for with this week's stories. I just kind of
Speaker 2: liked them, and I thought you might like them too.
Speaker 2: I like fairy tales, especially of two particular types, adventures
Speaker 2: and guy falls in love with a mystical lady. And
Speaker 2: so today I'm going to manage to read you two adventures,
Speaker 2: and one guy falls in love with a mystical lady.
Speaker 2: So here we go. The first story is called Watanabe
Speaker 2: cuts off the one's arm. When the capital of Japan
Speaker 2: was the city of Kyoto and the Mikado dwelt in
Speaker 2: it with all his court, there lived a brave captain
Speaker 2: of the guard named Yoramitsu, who belonged to the famous
Speaker 2: Minimotok family. He was also called Raiko, and by this
Speaker 2: name he is best known to all the boys and
Speaker 2: girls in Great Japan. Under Captain Rako there were three
Speaker 2: brave guardsmen, one of whom was named Wuanatabe Suna. The
Speaker 2: duty of these men at arms was to watch at
Speaker 2: the gates leading to the palace. It had come to
Speaker 2: pass that the Blossom capital had fallen in a dreadful
Speaker 2: condition because the guards at the other gates had been neglected.
Speaker 2: Thieves were numerous, and murders were frequent, so that every
Speaker 2: one of the city was afraid to go out into
Speaker 2: the streets at night. Worse than all else was the
Speaker 2: report that one or imps were prowling around in the
Speaker 2: dark to seize people by the hair of their head.
Speaker 2: Then they would drag them away to the mountains, tear
Speaker 2: the flesh off their bones, and eat them up. The
Speaker 2: worst place in the city to which the horned imps
Speaker 2: came oftenest was at the southwestern gate, called the Rajaman.
Speaker 2: To this post of danger, Raiko sent Suna, the bravest
Speaker 2: of all of his guards. It was on a dark,
Speaker 2: rainy and dismal night that soun Sa started, well armed
Speaker 2: to stand sentinel at the gate. His trusty helmet was
Speaker 2: knotted over his chin, and all the pieces of his
Speaker 2: armor wore well laced up. His sandals were girt tight
Speaker 2: to his feet, and in his belt was thrust the
Speaker 2: trusty sword, freshly ground until its edge was like a razor's,
Speaker 2: and with it the owner could cut asunder a hare
Speaker 2: floating in the air. Arriving at the red pillar of
Speaker 2: the gate, Soona paced up and down the stone way
Speaker 2: with eyes and ears wide open. The wind was blowing frightfully,
Speaker 2: The storm howled, and the rain fell in such torrents
Speaker 2: that soon the cords of Sonna's armor and his dress
Speaker 2: were soaked through. The great bronze bell of the temples
Speaker 2: on the hills boomed out the hours one after another,
Speaker 2: until a single stroke told Suna. It was the hour
Speaker 2: of the rat midnight. Two hours passed and the hour
Speaker 2: of the bowl sounded two a m. And Suna was
Speaker 2: still wide awake. The storm had lulled, but it was
Speaker 2: darker than ever. The hour of the Tiger three o'clock
Speaker 2: rung out, and the soft, mellow notes of the temple
Speaker 2: bell died away like a lullaby, wooing one to sleep.
Speaker 2: Spite of will and vow. The warrior, almost without knowing it,
Speaker 2: grew sleepy and fell into a doze. He started and
Speaker 2: woke up. He shook himself, jingled his armor, pinched himself,
Speaker 2: and even pulled out his little knife from the wooden
Speaker 2: scabbard of his dirk, and pricked his leg with the
Speaker 2: point of it to keep awake, but all in vain.
Speaker 2: Unconsciously overcome, he leaned against the gate post and fell asleep.
Speaker 2: This is just what the imp wanted all the time
Speaker 2: he had been squatting on the cross piece at the
Speaker 2: top of the gate, waiting his opportunity. He now slid
Speaker 2: down as softly as a monkey, and with his iron
Speaker 2: like claws, grabbed Sooner by the helmet and began to
Speaker 2: drag him into the air. In an instant, Suna was awake,
Speaker 2: seizing the hairy wrist of the imp with his left hand,
Speaker 2: and with his right he drew his sword. He swept
Speaker 2: it around his head and cut off the demon's arm.
Speaker 2: The one, frightened and howling with pain, leaped up the
Speaker 2: post and disappeared in the Clouds. Soon awaited with drawn
Speaker 2: sword in hand, lest the onone might come again. But
Speaker 2: in a few hours morning dawned. The sun rose on
Speaker 2: the pagodas and gardens and temples of the capital, and
Speaker 2: the ninefold circle of flowery hills. Everything was beautiful and bright.
Speaker 2: Soona returned to report to his captain, carrying the one's
Speaker 2: arm in triumph. Raicho examined it and loudly praised Soona
Speaker 2: for his bravery, and rewarded him with a silken sash.
Speaker 2: Now it is said that if an one's arm be
Speaker 2: cut off, it cannot be made to unite with the
Speaker 2: body again if kept apart for a week. So Raiko
Speaker 2: warned Suna to lock it up and watch it night
Speaker 2: and day, lest it be stolen from him. So Souna
Speaker 2: went to the stone cutters, who made idols of Buddha
Speaker 2: mortars for pounding rice and coffers for bearing money in
Speaker 2: to be hidden away in the ground, and bought a
Speaker 2: strong box cut out of the solid stone. It had
Speaker 2: a heavy lid on it, which slid in a groove
Speaker 2: and came out only by touching a secret spring. Then
Speaker 2: settling it in his bed chamber, he guarded it day
Speaker 2: and night, keeping the gate and all his doors locked.
Speaker 2: He allowed no one who was a stranger to look
Speaker 2: at the trophy. Six days passed by, and soon A
Speaker 2: began to think his prize was sure, for were not
Speaker 2: all his doors tight shut. So he set the box
Speaker 2: out in the middle of the room, and twisting some
Speaker 2: rice straw fringe in token of shore victory and rejoicing,
Speaker 2: he sat down in ease before it. He took off
Speaker 2: his armor and put on his court robes. During the evening,
Speaker 2: but rather late, there was a feeble knock like that
Speaker 2: of an old woman at the gate outside. Suna cried out,
Speaker 2: who's there. The squeaky voice of his aunt, as it seemed,
Speaker 2: who was a very old woman, replied me, I want
Speaker 2: to see my nephew to praise him for his bravery
Speaker 2: and cutting the one's arm off. So Soona let her
Speaker 2: in and carefully locking the door behind her. Helped the
Speaker 2: old crone into the room, where she sat down on
Speaker 2: the mats in front of the box and very close
Speaker 2: to it. Then she grew very talkative and praised her
Speaker 2: nephew's exploit, until Suna felt very proud all the time.
Speaker 2: The old woman's left shoulder was covered with her dress,
Speaker 2: while her right hand was out. Then she begged earnestly
Speaker 2: to be allowed to see the limb. Soona at first
Speaker 2: politely refused, but she urged until yielding affectionately, he slid
Speaker 2: back the stone lid just a little. This is my arm,
Speaker 2: cried the old hag, turning into an onony and dragging
Speaker 2: out the arm. She flew up to the ceiling and
Speaker 2: was out of the smoke, slide through the roof in
Speaker 2: a twinkling. Sooner rushed out of the house to shoot
Speaker 2: her with an arrow, but he saw only a demon
Speaker 2: far off in the clouds. Grinning horribly. He noted carefully, however,
Speaker 2: that the direction of the IMP's flight was to the northwest.
Speaker 2: A council was now held by Rako's band, and it
Speaker 2: was decided that the lurking place of the demons must
Speaker 2: be in the mountains of oh ye in the province
Speaker 2: of Tango. It was resolved to hunt out and destroy
Speaker 2: the imps the end of that story. The other stories
Speaker 2: continue on from there. You'll be shocked to know. But
Speaker 2: what will come before those stories is advertisers. And that's
Speaker 2: why I would like to remind all of you that
Speaker 2: Cool Zone Media book Club is sponsored by by your
Speaker 2: trans Friend's Swords. They all want them. No one is
Speaker 2: sad when they are given a sword, as long as
Speaker 2: it's like, you know, politely and not stabbily. You might
Speaker 2: want to check with people first, but remember this podcast
Speaker 2: brought to you by fire Transfriend's Swords. Here's some other
Speaker 2: ads to and Rebecca. This story is called Raiko in
Speaker 2: the she ten Doji, quite pathless were the desolate mountains
Speaker 2: of Tango, for no one ever went into them, except
Speaker 2: once in a while a poor woodcutter or charcoal burner.
Speaker 2: Yet Raiko and his men set out with stout hearts.
Speaker 2: There were no bridges over the streams, and frightful precipices abounded.
Speaker 2: Once they had to stop and build a bridge by
Speaker 2: felling a tree and walking across it over a dangerous chasm.
Speaker 2: Once they came to a steep rock to descend, which
Speaker 2: they must make a ladder of creeping vines. At last
Speaker 2: they reached a dense grove at the top of a
Speaker 2: cliff far up to the clouds, which seemed as if
Speaker 2: it might contain the demon's castle. Approaching, they found a
Speaker 2: pretty maiden washing some clothes which had spots of blood
Speaker 2: on them. They said to her, sister, miss, why are
Speaker 2: you here and what are you doing? Ah, said she,
Speaker 2: with a deep sigh. You must not come here. This
Speaker 2: is the haunt of demons. They eat human flesh, and
Speaker 2: they will eat yours. Look there, said she, pointing to
Speaker 2: a pile of white bones of men, women and children.
Speaker 2: You must go down the mountain as quickly as you came.
Speaker 2: Saying this, she burst into tears. But instead of being
Speaker 2: frightened or sorrowful, the brave fellows nearly danced for joy.
Speaker 2: We have come here for the purpose of destroying the
Speaker 2: demons by the Mikido's order, said Riicho, patting his breast,
Speaker 2: where inside his dress in the damask bag was the
Speaker 2: imperial order. At this the maiden dried her tears and
Speaker 2: smiled so sweetly that Riiko's heart was touched by her beauty.
Speaker 2: But how came you to live among these cannibal demons,
Speaker 2: asked Raicho. She blushed deeply as she replied sadly. Although
Speaker 2: they eat men and old women, they keep the young
Speaker 2: maidens to wait on them. It's a great pity, said Riicho.
Speaker 2: But we shall now avenge our fellow subjects of the mikido,
Speaker 2: as well as your shame and cruel treatment, if you
Speaker 2: will show us the way up the cliff to the den.
Speaker 2: They began to climb the hill, but they had not
Speaker 2: gone far before they met a young one who was
Speaker 2: a cook in the Great Doji's kitchen. He was carrying
Speaker 2: a human limb for his master's lunch. They gnashed their
Speaker 2: teeth silently and clutched their swords under their coats. Yet
Speaker 2: they courteously saluted the cook demon and asked for an
Speaker 2: interview with the chief. The demon smiled in his sleeve,
Speaker 2: thinking what a fine dinner his master would make of
Speaker 2: the four men. A few feet forward in a turn
Speaker 2: in the path brought them to the front of the
Speaker 2: demon's castle. Among tall and mighty bowlders of rock which
Speaker 2: loomed up to the clouds, there was an opening in
Speaker 2: the dense groves covered with vines and mosses like an arbor.
Speaker 2: From this point, the view over the plains below commanded
Speaker 2: a space of hundreds of miles. In the distance, the
Speaker 2: red pagodas, white temple gables, and castle towers of Kyoto
Speaker 2: were visible. Inside the cave was a banqueting hall large
Speaker 2: enough to seat one hundred persons. The floor was neatly
Speaker 2: covered in new, clean mats of sea green rice straw,
Speaker 2: on which tables, silken cushions, armrests, drinking cups, bottles, and
Speaker 2: many other articles of comfort lay about. The stone walls
Speaker 2: were richly decorated with curtains and hangings of fine silken stuffs.
Speaker 2: At the end of the long haul, on a raised
Speaker 2: dais our, heroes presently observed as a curtain was lifted.
Speaker 2: The chief demon she ten Doji, of a gust yet
Speaker 2: frightful appearance. He was seated on a heap of luxurious
Speaker 2: cushions made of blue and crimson crape, stuffed with swans down.
Speaker 2: He was leaning on a golden armrest. His body was
Speaker 2: quite red, and he was round and fat, like a
Speaker 2: baby grown up. He had very black hair cut like
Speaker 2: a small boy's, and on top of his head just
Speaker 2: peeping through the hair were two very short horns. Around
Speaker 2: him were a score of lovely maidens, the fairest of Kioto,
Speaker 2: on whose beautiful faces was stamped the misery they dared
Speaker 2: not fully show, yet could not entirely conceal. Along the wall,
Speaker 2: other demons sat or lay at full length, each one
Speaker 2: with his handmaiden seated beside him to wait on him
Speaker 2: and pour out his wine. All of them were of
Speaker 2: horrible aspect, which only made the beauty of the maidens
Speaker 2: more conspicuous. Seeing our heroes walk in the hall led
Speaker 2: by the cook, each one of the demons was happy
Speaker 2: as a spider when in his lurking hole he feels
Speaker 2: the jerk on his web thread that tells him a
Speaker 2: fly is caught. All of them at once poured out
Speaker 2: a fresh saucer of sake and drank it down. Raiko
Speaker 2: and his men separated and began talking freely with the demons,
Speaker 2: until the partitions at one corner were slid aside, and
Speaker 2: a troop of little demons who were waiter boys entered.
Speaker 2: They brought in a host of dishes, and the onees
Speaker 2: fell to and ate. The noise of their jaws sounded
Speaker 2: like the pounding of a rice mill. Our heroes were
Speaker 2: nearly sickened at the repast, for it consisted chiefly of
Speaker 2: human flesh, while the wine cups were made of empty
Speaker 2: human skulls. However, they laughed and talked and excused themselves
Speaker 2: from eating, saying they had just lunched. As the demons
Speaker 2: drank more and more, they grew lively, laughed till the
Speaker 2: cave echoed and sang up roarious songs. They showed their
Speaker 2: terrible tusks and teeth like fangs. All of them had horns,
Speaker 2: though most of these were very short. The Dojie became
Speaker 2: especially hilarious and drank the health of every one of
Speaker 2: his four guests and a skull full of wine. To
Speaker 2: supply him. There was a tub full of sake at hand,
Speaker 2: and his usual drinking vessel was a dish which seemed
Speaker 2: to Suma to be as large as a full moon.
Speaker 2: Raiko now offered to return the courtesies shown them by
Speaker 2: dancing the Kyoto dance for which he was famous. Stepping
Speaker 2: out in the center of the hall with his fan
Speaker 2: in one hand, he danced gracefully and with such wonderful
Speaker 2: ease that the one screamed with delight and clapped their
Speaker 2: hands in applause, saying they had never seen anything to
Speaker 2: equal it. Even the maidens, lost in admiration of the
Speaker 2: polished courtier, forgot their sorrow and felt as happy for
Speaker 2: the time as though they were at home dancing. The
Speaker 2: dance finished, Raiko took from his bosom a bottle of
Speaker 2: sake and offered it to the chief demon as a gift,
Speaker 2: saying it was the best wine of Sakai. The delighted
Speaker 2: Doji drank and gave a sip to each of his lords, saying,
Speaker 2: this is the best liquor I ever tasted. You must
Speaker 2: drink the health of our friends in it. Now, Riicho
Speaker 2: had bought at the most skillful druggists in the capitol
Speaker 2: a powerful sleeping potion and mixed it with the wine,
Speaker 2: which made it taste very sweet. In a few minutes,
Speaker 2: all the demons had dropped off asleep, and their snores
Speaker 2: sounded like the rolling thunder of the mountains. Then Riicho
Speaker 2: rose up and gave the signal to his comrades, whispering
Speaker 2: to the maidens to leave the room quietly. They drew
Speaker 2: their swords, and with as little noise as possible, cut
Speaker 2: the throats of the demons. No sound was heard but
Speaker 2: the gurgling of blood that ran out in floods on
Speaker 2: the floor. The Doji, lying like a lion on his cushions,
Speaker 2: was still sleeping, the snores issuing out of his nose
Speaker 2: like thunder from a cloud. The four warriors approached him, and,
Speaker 2: like loyal vassals as they were, they first turned their
Speaker 2: faces towards Kyoto, reverenced the mikido and prayed for the
Speaker 2: blessing of the gods who made Japan. Riicho then drew near, and,
Speaker 2: measuring the width of the dome Oji's neck with his sword,
Speaker 2: found that it would be too short. Suddenly, the blade
Speaker 2: lengthened of itself. Then, lifting his weapon, he smote with
Speaker 2: all his might and cut the neck clean through in
Speaker 2: an instant. The bloody head flew up in the air,
Speaker 2: gnashing its teeth and rolling its yellow eyes, while the
Speaker 2: horns sprouted out to a horrible length, the jaws opening
Speaker 2: and shutting like the edges of an earthquake fissure. It
Speaker 2: flew up and whirled round the room seven times. Then
Speaker 2: with a rush, it flew at Raiko's head and bit
Speaker 2: through the straw hat into the iron helmet inside. But
Speaker 2: this final effort exhausted its strength, its motion ceased, and
Speaker 2: it fell heavily to the floor. Anxiously, the comrades helped
Speaker 2: their fallen leader to rise and examined his head, but
Speaker 2: he was unhurt. Not a scratch was on him. Then
Speaker 2: the heroes congratulated each other, and after dispatching the smaller demons,
Speaker 2: brought out all the treasure and divided it equally. Then
Speaker 2: they set the castle on fire and buried the bones
Speaker 2: of the victims, setting up a stone to mark the spot.
Speaker 2: All the maidens and captives were assembled together, and in
Speaker 2: great state and pomp they returned to Kyoto. The virgins
Speaker 2: were restored to their parents, and many a desolate home
Speaker 2: was made joyful, and many mourning garments taken off. Raiko
Speaker 2: was honored by the Mikado in being made a coujay,
Speaker 2: a court noble, and was appointed chief of the entire
Speaker 2: garrison of Kyoto. Then all the people were grateful for
Speaker 2: his valor. The end of that story, but not of
Speaker 2: this episode, because there's one more story to go. But
Speaker 2: first you get to learn about products and services. Really,
Speaker 2: they are their own fairy tale. They tell you sweet,
Speaker 2: beautiful untruthful things. Here they are, and we're back.
Speaker 1: All right.
Speaker 2: The story is not part of the same continuity as
Speaker 2: the other two stories. This story is called The Fisherman
Speaker 2: and the Moon Maiden. Pearly and lustrous, white like a
Speaker 2: cloud in the far off blue sky, seemed the floating
Speaker 2: figure of the Moon Maiden as she flew to Earth.
Speaker 2: She was one of the fifteen glistening virgins that weait
Speaker 2: attendant upon the Moon in her chambers in the sky.
Speaker 2: Looking down from her high home to the earth, she
Speaker 2: became enraptured with the glorious scenery of Surroga's ocean shore,
Speaker 2: and longed for a bath in the blue waters of
Speaker 2: the sea. So this fairy maid sped to the Earth
Speaker 2: one morning early when the moon, having shone through the night,
Speaker 2: was about to retire for the day. The sun was
Speaker 2: rising bright and red over the eastern seas, flushing the
Speaker 2: mountains and purpling the valleys. Out amid the sparkling waves.
Speaker 2: The shit sailed toward the sun, and the fishermen cast
Speaker 2: their nets. It was early spring, when the air was
Speaker 2: full of the fragrance of plum blossoms, and the zephyrs
Speaker 2: blew so softly that scarce, a bamboo leaf quivered, or
Speaker 2: a wave lapsed with sound on the silvery shore. The
Speaker 2: moon maiden was so charmed with the scenery of earth
Speaker 2: that she longed to linger above it, to gaze tranquility.
Speaker 2: Floating slowly through the air, she directed her course to
Speaker 2: the pine groves that fringe the strand, near Cape Miwoh,
Speaker 2: lying at the base of Fuji Mountain, whose snowy crown
Speaker 2: glistens above, fronting the ocean, whose blue plaine undulates in
Speaker 2: liquid glory till it meets the bending sky. The scenery
Speaker 2: of Miwo is renowned everywhere under the whole heavens, but
Speaker 2: especially in the land which the Mikido's rain blesses with peace.
Speaker 2: Full of happiness, the fairy maiden played sweet music from
Speaker 2: her flute until the air was full of it, and
Speaker 2: it sounded to the dweller on earth like the sweet
Speaker 2: falling of rain drops on the thirsty ground. Her body
Speaker 2: shed sweet fragrance through the air, and flowers fell from
Speaker 2: her robes as she passed, though none saw her form,
Speaker 2: all wondered. Arriving over a charming spot on the sea shore,
Speaker 2: she descended to the strand and stood at the foot
Speaker 2: of a pine tree. She laid her musical instrument on
Speaker 2: a rock near by, and, taking off her wings and
Speaker 2: feathered suit, hung them carefully on the pine tree bough.
Speaker 2: Then she strolled off along the shore to dip her
Speaker 2: shining feet in the curling waves. Picking up some shells,
Speaker 2: she wondered with innocent joy at the rich tints, which
Speaker 2: seemed more beautiful than any color in the moon world,
Speaker 2: with one a large smooth scallop. She was particularly pleased
Speaker 2: for inside one valve was a yellow disk, and on
Speaker 2: its mate was a white one. How strange, said she,
Speaker 2: here is the sun and there is the moon. I
Speaker 2: shall call this the suki Kai sun and moon unshell,
Speaker 2: and she put them in her girdle. It chanced that
Speaker 2: near the edge of the pine grove, not far away,
Speaker 2: there dwelt a lone fishermen, who, coming down the shore,
Speaker 2: caught a whiff of sweet perfume, such as had never
Speaker 2: before delighted his nostrils. What could it be? The spring
Speaker 2: zephyrs blowing from the west seemed laden with the sweet odor.
Speaker 2: Curiosity prompted him to seek the cause. He walked toward
Speaker 2: the pine tree, and looking up, caught sight of the
Speaker 2: feathery suit of wings. Oh, how his eyes sparkled. He
Speaker 2: danced for joy, and, taking down the robe, carried it
Speaker 2: to his neighbors. All were delighted, and one old man
Speaker 2: said that the fairy must herself be nearby. He advised
Speaker 2: the man to seek until he found her. So, with
Speaker 2: feathered robe in hand, the fisherman went out again to
Speaker 2: the strand and took his place near the pine tree.
Speaker 2: He had not waited long before a lovely bean with
Speaker 2: rose tinted white skin and of perfect form appeared. Please get, sir,
Speaker 2: give me back my feathered robe, said she, in a
Speaker 2: sad v of liquid sweetness, though she seemed greatly frightened. No,
Speaker 2: I must keep it as a sacred treasure, a relic
Speaker 2: from a heavenly visitor, and dedicated in the shrine yonder
Speaker 2: as a memorial of an angel's visit, said the fisherman. Oh,
Speaker 2: wicked man, what a wretched and impious thing to rob
Speaker 2: an inhabitant of heaven of the robe by which she moves.
Speaker 2: How can I fly back to my home again? Give
Speaker 2: me your wings? Oh ye. Wild geese that fly across
Speaker 2: the face of the moon and on tireless pinions seek
Speaker 2: the icy shores in springtime, and soar unwearied homeward in autumn.
Speaker 2: Lend me your wings, But the geese overhead only word
Speaker 2: and scream and bit their sprays of pine which they
Speaker 2: carried in their mouth. Oh ye, circling gulls, lend me
Speaker 2: but for a day your downy wings. I am prisoner here,
Speaker 2: cried the weeping fairy. But the graceful gulls, hovering for
Speaker 2: a moment, swept on and widening circles out to the
Speaker 2: farther sea. Oh breezes of air which blow whither ye live,
Speaker 2: Oh tide of ocean, which ebbs and flows at will,
Speaker 2: Ye may move all. But I am prisoner here, devoid
Speaker 2: of motion. Oh good sir, have pity and give me
Speaker 2: back my wings, cried the moon maiden, pressing her hands
Speaker 2: together in grief. The fisher's heart was touched by the
Speaker 2: pathos of her voice and the glittering of her tears.
Speaker 2: I'll give back your winged robe if you'll dance and
Speaker 2: make music for me, said he. Oh yes, good sir,
Speaker 2: I will dance and make music. But first let me
Speaker 2: put on my feather robe, for without it I have
Speaker 2: no power of motion. Oh yes, said the suspicious mortal.
Speaker 2: If I give you back your wings, you'll fly straight
Speaker 2: to heaven. What can you not believe the word of
Speaker 2: a heavenly being without doubting? Trust me in good faith
Speaker 2: and you'll lose nothing. Then, with shamed face, the fisherman
Speaker 2: handed the moon Maaiden her feathered robe, which she donned
Speaker 2: and began to dance. She poured out sweet strains from
Speaker 2: her upright flute that, with eye and ear full of rapture,
Speaker 2: the fisherman imagined himself in heaven. Then she sang a
Speaker 2: sweet song in which she described the lights of life
Speaker 2: in the moon and the pleasure of celestial residence. The
Speaker 2: fisherman was so overjoyed that he longed to detain the fairy.
Speaker 2: He begged her to dwell with him on earth, but
Speaker 2: in vain as he looked, he saw her rising. A
Speaker 2: fresh breeze rippling the face of the sea. Now sprang
Speaker 2: up wafted the pearly Maiden over the pine clad hills
Speaker 2: and past Fuji Mountain. All the time sweet music rained
Speaker 2: through the air, until as the fisherman strained his eyes
Speaker 2: towards the fresh fallen snow on Fuji's crest, he could
Speaker 2: no longer distinguish the moon Maiden from the fleecy clouds
Speaker 2: that filled the thin air. Pondering long upon the marvelous apparition,
Speaker 2: the fisherman resolved to mark the spot where the fairy
Speaker 2: first descended to earth. So he prevailed upon the simple
Speaker 2: villagers to build a railing of stone around the now
Speaker 2: sacred pine. Daily, they garlanded the the old trunk with
Speaker 2: festoons of tasseled and twisted rice straw. Long after, when,
Speaker 2: by the storms of centuries, the old pine, in spite
Speaker 2: of bandages and crutches, and tired of wrestling with the blast,
Speaker 2: fell down like an old man to rise no more.
Speaker 2: A grateful posterity cleared the space and built the shrine
Speaker 2: of miw Woe, which still dots with its sacred enclosure
Speaker 2: the strand of Surroga on which the fairy danced the end.
Speaker 2: I like those stories. Maybe you like them too, And
Speaker 2: if you didn't, well, maybe you'll like next week's story.
Speaker 2: And if you did, maybe you'll like next week's story too.
Speaker 2: And if you listen to this on Cool People Did
Speaker 2: Cool Stuff, make sure to check out it could happen here.
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