When the Festival of Bon arrived, the time of returning souls, the good folk of Yedo took lanterns and visited the graves of their loved ones. They would bring us food and flowers to care for us. On the night of the thirteenth day of the seventh month, my beloved...
Story Themes Results
Your Search Results
Young Fool Who Makes a Wise Wish
I begged my brothers to let me go with them when they set out to see the world, but they would have nothing of it. We’d all been given a wish, and we were told to make sure it was our best wish. My two elder brothers wished that every time they put their hands in...
Princess in a Copper Palace
Someone was coming to my copper palace! I laid out a fine dinner and made my guest a comfortable bed. Later when I came down to the dining room, I saw that the food had been eaten. I went upstairs and found my guest resting in bed. I said, "Thou who art in my house,...
Owl’s Wife
My sister and I had gone seeking food because there was scarcely anything to eat in our town. After walking a long way, we made our beds and fell asleep. We slept a long time because we were tired and weak. When we looked up, we saw a great eagle and an owl watching...
Giant Friend
One day when my friend and I came into the castle, I smelled a man. It's a distinct odor that some giants find appetizing. We found him in the treasure room, filling his little coat with pieces of gold. "Let's cook him for supper," said my friend. But he was a scrawny...
Mother Duck
Down by the edge of the canal, in a forest of great burdocks, I built my first nest and laid my first eggs. I laid six of them. Five were white and perfect, but the sixth was an ugly grey color. It puzzled me, that egg. How did it come to be so different from the...
Forest Hut Where Food Is Free
I am a simple hut in the forest. I was useful to no one for a long time, except for the occasional band of robbers, or wanderers who happened by. Then one day, I was repaired. I was given a new door and a new window. I was cleaned from cellar to rafters. The hearth...
Starving Cobbler
I couldn't make a living as a cobbler, for all my hard work. My wife and I went without eating, but that couldn't go on forever. Finally I borrowed a neighbor's fishing rod and went out to fish in the stream. I was there for days and didn't hook anything, and then one...
Old Goat Woman
I'm an old widow living in a small village and I haven't any children or relations of any kind. I have my goats, that's all, and I make my living selling their milk. I am strong. I must be strong because if I am too ill to look after my goats, I will have no means at...