People say I am the most beautiful dancer in Yedo. My father was a samurai, but after he died, my mother and I had no food to eat, so I sold myself into bondage. The money that bought me is called Namida no Kané, which means “the money of tears.” I dwell in the narrow...
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Makoma the Hero
Themes: Bondage | Escape | Power
The head of the giant rose out of the river. His long moustaches trailed up and down the channel as far as the eye could see. He said his name was Chin-debou-Mau-giri. He told me that he is the one who makes the fever-mist that hangs over the water. With it, he binds...
Mother Mansrot
Themes: Bondage | Captivity | Underworld
I fell down through the glass mountain, miles into the earth. Why had my father built the glass mountain in the first place? And by what magic did it open up like a trap door and swallow me whole? An old fellow with a long grey beard came to meet me where I landed. He...
Blue Light
Themes: Bondage | Disgust | Power
In the beginning, I belonged to a witch who kept me underground, hidden in her hoard of treasure. Then one day, a solider unearthed me. When he lit his pipe by me, a little black dwarf appeared, and carried out the soldier’s orders. So now my master, who was once a...
Raven Princess
Themes: Bondage | Enchantment | Hope
My mother has turned me into a raven, and though I have told a young man how to set me free, he can't resist the temptation to eat and drink. For three days, he has failed to stay awake. He has lost his chances now, and so I have left him with several gifts. I have...
Maiden About to Be Eaten
Themes: Bondage | Exposure | Vulnerability
I am chained to a rock in the middle of a torrent, waiting for a seven-headed serpent to get hungry. When he does, he'll eat me. Who could possibly save me? No one from my country. The serpent has already eaten all the men and most of the women in this land. My...
Fairies’ Child
Themes: Bondage | Captivity | Refusal
The fairies have raised me and given me everything beautiful and rare, and yet they confine me in a tower, high in the air. I only know fairies. I have no other companions but a parrot and a dog who can both talk. Yet they can tell me nothing more than I already know....
Princess in the Marble Tower
Themes: Bondage | Captivity | Exposure
My father doesn't give a whit for his country. He spends all his time on riddles! He has shut me into a marble tower with seventy windows, seventy feet from the ground. Now he has sent his heralds out to proclaim that whoever can climb the walls to my windows will...
Hopeful Ferryman
Themes: Bondage | Longing | Underworld
When did I begin to ferry the dead over the wide river? I cannot remember. It was such a long time ago. Back and forth, back and forth.... It is all I know, except for a growing longing to be free, which is making my job a hellish suffering. Today, I ferried a young...