My named is Matsu, which, in the speech of my country, means the Pine Tree. And, as the pine tree, I am strong and evergreen; unchanging and enduring. I served in the house of Idé, and my charge was Fugiwaka, the son of the samurai and his wife. His father Idé had...
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King Who Loses His Wife
Perhaps I tried too hard to please my neighbors. I was too kind. I created false expectations, rivalries and the jealousies. The long and the short is, I was always at war. Shortly after I married, I lost a hard battle and we had to retreat behind the walls of my...
Lime-Tree
The hapless maiden sat at my foot and waited for her true love to return. He had gone into the world to get his father's blessing. I doubted that he would ever find his way back. The sun set and rose again, set and rose, and rose again. On the fourth day, the maiden...
Wounded Soldier
I was making my way toward the city when I met an old woman on the road. She noticed that I was badly wounded and asked me where I was going. “I really don’t know myself,” I said. I had heard about the kings’ twelve daughters, and how they had been wearing out their...
Princess Coming Out of Isolation
When the green knight stopped coming to the castle, I became frantic. What happened to my love? Surely he did not give his heart to another. Yet, what could I know, isolated on that lonely island? It was the only place where I could live safely, out of the reach of my...
Maiden Betrothed to a Lindworm
I did not want to marry the lindworm! He had eaten his two other brides! I did nothing to deserve being wed to such a monster. I ran to my mother's grave and I prayed earnestly for her help. Then I became very peaceful and fell asleep. When the sun woke me in the...
Ferko’s Wolf
Defeat, Kinship, Resolve, Retribution
I ran up to my dear friend Ferko who had healed my injured leg. He was sitting on the stump of a tree, all by himself. "If I can help you in any way, say the word," I said. Ferko not only needed me. He needed all the wolves to come to his aid. Not a problem. I told...
Unlooked-for Prince
Discovery, Resolve, Underworld
There was no family in the whole kingdom happier than ours, or so it seemed. Then one day I met a little old man as he was hunting in a lonely part of the woods. “How are you, my unlooked-for Prince?” he said. “You have kept us waiting a good long time!” “And who are...
Brother Who Gets to the Bottom of It
My two older brothers fell asleep but I did not. I stayed awake through the night, and I saw the hawk that has been breaking through the church window. I shot it in the wing. It fell right here, and under this great stone an abyss has opened up. I wonder what is down...
Prince in Search of Flowers
Persistence, Purpose, Pursuit, Resolve
I searched the world over for the daughter of the flower queen. After a year, my horse died of exhaustion. I didn't bother to find another horse. I went on looking, on foot. I came to the hut of an old man. He said to go down the road for a year. I did, and I came to...
Simpleton with a Big Dream
Ambition, Imagination, Persistence, Resolve
I could never please my old mother. My brothers did. They were always buying her fine clothes that made her look really smart. Me, I just got in her way. I was too slow, too stupid. She had no patience for me. When the king decreed that he would marry his daughter to...
Star Princess
Reconciliation, Reparation, Resolve
I was born with a star on my forehead, and my father lavished his affection on me. My mother was more restrained. She loved me, but not the way my father did. One day when a great washing was taking place, I noticed twelve shirts among the linens. They were too small...
Hunting Friend of Prince Ring
Confusion, Loss, Resolve, Separation
We were chasing a peculiar deer with a ring on its horns, and Prince Ring was determined to catch it. We chased it all day, until our horses began to founder beneath us. At last the prince's horse gave way, and a darkness fell upon us that was so black we could no...
True Princess
Authenticity, Exposure, Resolve
I have not publicly declared myself to be a true princess. I simply feel everything, and believe me, that is not easy. I know that the prince has become dangerously dispirited. He has been looking for me, but I have avoided public places. I have not gone anywhere I...
Swan Sister
Challenge, Persistence, Resolve
When my six brothers shake off their swan feathers, I am so glad to see them! But there isn't much time. They will only be in their human forms for a quarter of an hour. "If you wish to free us, you must sew us six shirts from starwort," they say. "For seven years you...
Hippo
One day, the most beautiful princess came up the river in a barge. She and several servants built a small home on an island in the middle of the river. It was a very lonely place for her to be. Nobody ever came up this part of the river. Every day, she would come and...
24th Suitor
At last I found the beauty of the world! She had been locked into a remote room of a castle that stood beyond the farthest reaches of the world. But she was not beautiful. She was a bleary-eyed, grey skinned, withering old woman. "This is not my form," she said....
Vizier
What burns me is not that the upstart has built a castle more splendid than the Sultan's. It's that he has left a window for the Sultan to finish. He mocks my master! He will never match the splendor! Where did he get such magic? There's a demon at work underneath...
Beauty
"Here is the rose you asked for," said my father, giving me the flower. "Little do you know the cost." I soon discovered the cost. My father had taken it from the garden of a beast who wanted one of his daughters in exchange. If none of us would go, then Father must...
Blindfolded Cobbler
I open my stall early today and get myself a prime spot near the gates of town. Then a beautiful young woman approaches me. A vision! She puts a piece of gold in my hand and tells me to take my needle and thread and follow her. I assume she has some stitchwork for me...