The Slaying of the Tanuki
From the Japanische Murchen und Sagen.
Near a big river, and between two high mountains, a man and his wife lived
in a cottage a long, long time ago. A dense forest lay all round the
cottage, and there was hardly a path or a tree in the whole wood that was
not familiar to the peasant from his boyhood. In one of his wanderings he
had made friends with a hare, and many an hour the two passed together,
when the man was resting by the roadside, eating his dinner.
Now this strange friendship was observed by the Tanuki, a wicked,
quarrelsome beast, who hated the peasant, and was never tired of doing him
an ill turn. Again and again he had crept to the hut, and finding some
choice morsel put away for the little hare, had either eaten it if he
thought it nice, or trampled it to pieces so that no one else should get
it, and at last the peasant lost patience, and made up his mind he would
have the Tanuki's blood.
So for many days the man lay hidden, waiting for the Tanuki to come by,
and when one morning he marched up the road thinking of nothing but the
dinner he was going to steal, the peasant threw himself upon him and bound
his four legs tightly, so that he could not move. Then he dragged his
enemy joyfully to the house, feeling that at length he had got the better
of the mischievous beast which had done him so many ill turns. 'He shall
pay for them with his skin,' he said to his wife. 'We will first kill him,
and then cook him.' So saying, he hanged the Tanuki, head downwards, to a
beam, and went out to gather wood for a fire.
Meanwhile the old woman was standing at the mortar pounding the rise that
was to serve them for the week with a pestle that made her arms ache with
its weight. Suddenly she heard something whining and weeping in the
corner, and, stopping her work, she looked round to see what it was. That
was all that the rascal wanted, and he put on directly his most humble
air, and begged the woman in his softest voice to loosen his bonds, which
her hurting him sorely. She was filled with pity for him, but did not dare
to set him free, as she knew that her husband would be very angry. The
Tanuki, however, did not despair, and seeing that her heart was softened,
began his prayers anew. 'He only asked to have his bonds taken from him,'
he said. 'He would give his word not to attempt to escape, and if he was
once set free he could soon pound her rice for her.' 'Then you can have a
little rest,' he went on, 'for rice pounding is very tiring work, and not
at all fit for weak women.' These last words melted the good woman
completely, and she unfastened the bonds that held him. Poor foolish
creature! In one moment the Tanuki had seized her, stripped off all her
clothes, and popped her in the mortar. In a few minutes more she was
pounded as fine as the rice; and not content with that, the Tanuki placed
a pot on the hearth and made ready to cook the peasant a dinner from the
flesh of his own wife!
When everything was complete he looked out of the door, and saw the old
man coming from the forest carrying a large bundle of wood. Quick as
lightning the Tanuki not only put on the woman's clothes, but, as he was a
magician, assumed her form as well. Then he took the wood, kindled the
fire, and very soon set a large dinner before the old man, who was very
hungry, and had forgotten for the moment all about his enemy. But when the
Tanuki saw that he had eaten his fill and would be thinking about his
prisoner, he hastily shook off the clothes behind a door and took his own
shape. Then he said to the peasant, 'You are a nice sort of person to
seize animals and to talk of killing them! You are caught in your own net.
It is your own wife that you have eaten, and if you want to find her bones
you have only to look under the floor.' With these words he turned and
made for the forest.
The old peasant grew cold with horror as he listened, and seemed frozen to
the place where he stood. When he had recovered himself a little, he
collected the bones of his dead wife, buried them in the garden, and swore
over the grave to be avenged on the Tanuki. After everything was done he
sat himself down in his lonely cottage and wept bitterly, and the
bitterest thought of all was that he would never be able to forget that he
had eaten his own wife.
While he was thus weeping and wailing his friend the hare passed by, and,
hearing the noise, pricked up his ears and soon recognised the old man's
voice. He wondered what had happened, and put his head in at the door and
asked if anything was the matter. With tears and groans the peasant told
him the whole dreadful story, and the hare, filled with anger and
compassion, comforted him as best he could, and promised to help him in
his revenge. 'The false knave shall not go unpunished,' said he.
So the first thing he did was to search the house for materials to make an
ointment, which he sprinkled plentifully with pepper and then put in his
pocket. Next he took a hatchet, bade farewell to the old man, and departed
to the forest. He bent his steps to the dwelling of the Tanuki and knocked
at the door. The Tanuki, who had no cause to suspect the hare, was greatly
pleased to see him, for he noticed the hatchet at once, and began to lay
plots how to get hold of it.
To do this he thought he had better offer to accompany the hare, which was
exactly what the hare wished and expected, for he knew all the Tanuki's
cunning, and understood his little ways. So he accepted the rascal's
company with joy, and made himself very pleasant as they strolled along.
When they were wandering in this manner through the forest the hare
carelessly raised his hatchet in passing, and cut down some thick boughs
that were hanging over the path, but at length, after cutting down a good
big tree, which cost him many hard blows, he declared that it was too
heavy for him to carry home, and he must just leave it where it was. This
delighted the greedy Tanuki, who said that they would be no weight for
him, so they collected the large branches, which the hare bound tightly on
his back. Then he trotted gaily to the house, the hare following after
with his lighter bundle.
By this time the hare had decided what he would do, and as soon as they
arrived, he quietly set on fire the wood on the back of the Tanuki. The
Tanuki, who was busy with something else, observed nothing, and only
called out to ask what was the meaning of the crackling that he heard. 'It
is just the rattle of the stones which are rolling down the side of the
mountain,' the hare said; and the Tanuki was content, and made no further
remarks, never noticing that the noise really sprang from the burning
boughs on his back, until his fur was in flames, and it was almost too
late to put it out. Shrieking with pain, he let fall the burning wood from
his back, and stamped and howled with agony. But the hare comforted him,
and told him that he always carried with him an excellent plaster in case
of need, which would bring him instant relief, and taking out his ointment
he spread it on a leaf of bamboo, and laid it on the wound. No sooner did
it touch him than the Tanuki leapt yelling into the air, and the hare
laughed, and ran to tell his friend the peasant what a trick he had played
on their enemy. But the old man shook his head sadly, for he knew that the
villain was only crushed for the moment, and that he would shortly be
revenging himself upon them. No, the only way every to get any peace and
quiet was to render the Tanuki harmless for ever. Long did the old man and
the hare puzzle together how this was to be done, and at last they decided
that they would make two boats, a small one of wood and a large one of
clay. Then they fell to work at once, and when the boats were ready and
properly painted, the hare went to the Tanuki, who was still very ill, and
invited him to a great fish-catching. The Tanuki was still feeling angry
with the hare about the trick he had played him, but he was weak and very
hungry, so he gladly accepted the proposal, and accompanied the hare to
the bank of the river, where the two boats were moored, rocked by the
waves. They both looked exactly alike, and the Tanuki only saw that one
was bigger than the other, and would hold more fish, so he sprang into the
large one, while the hare climbed into the one which was made of wood.
They loosened their moorings, and made for the middle of the stream, and
when they were at some distance from the bank, the hare took his oar, and
struck such a heavy blow at the other boat, that it broke in two. The
Tanuki fell straight into the water, and was held there by the hare till
he was quite dead. Then he put the body in his boat and rowed to land, and
told the old man that his enemy was dead at last. And the old man rejoiced
that his wife was avenged, and he took the hare into his house, and they
lived together all their days in peace and quietness upon the mountain.
Book: The Pink Fairy Book
Author: Various, edited by Andrew Lang
Page: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/5615/5615-h/5615-h.htm#link2H_4_0007
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