Week Seven Reading Notes Part A - Lang

Source Story: "Japanese Fairytales" from The Violet Fairy Book by Andrew Lang, illustrated by H. J. Ford (1901).

• "The Two Frogs"
• Two frogs dwell in Japan, one in Osaka and one in Kioto, and both happen to decide at the same time that they wish to travel and see the other city. They meet at the top of a mountain just by chance, and decide to peer off from the mountain towards the cities they intend to visit in order to decide if the journey is worth it. However, they mistakenly each look at the city they are from instead and, each believing the city they intend to visit is the same as the city they are from, they simply go home.
• "The Stonecutter"
• A stonecutter's wishes of becoming a rich man are granted. Then his subsequent wishes of being the next great thing continue to be granted, and he is in turn a prince, the sun, a cloud, and a large stone, only to become a stonecutter again and be content with his own life.
• "The Maiden with the Wooden Helmet"
• A once-rich but now impoverished couple has a daughter of surpassing beauty. They both die, but before she passes the mother entreats the daughter to keep her beauty hidden beneath a wooden helmet to keep herself safe from men who might do her ill because of it. She does this, and works for a rich man and his ailing wife, until their eldest son catches a glimpse of her with her helmet tilted back and begs to marry her. His parents protest, so she says no, but after her mother comes to her in a dream to urge her to get married, she consents. Before the wedding, she and the maids attempt to take the helmet off, but it will not come off, so she gets married in it. When the marriage ceremony is finished, it breaks off and pours precious stones on the floor. She and her husband live happily ever after.
• "The Envious Neighbour"
• A poor old couple has no children, so they dote on their dog, who finds a treasure buried in their yard. With their new riches they treat him even better than before, but their envious neighbor begs them day in and day out to borrow their dog so he can find a treasure, too. When the dog instead digs up stinky old bones, the neighbor kills the dog and lies about it to the owners, who are heartbroken. The dog comes to the old man in a dream and tells him to cut down their tree and use it to make a mortar, which ends up turning rice into gold. The neighbor borrows the mortar, but it turns his rice into smelly berries and he breaks and burns it. The dog comes again in a dream, and the old man takes the ashes from the mortar and sprinkles them on a bare cherry tree in front of the Daimio, which causes the tree to fill with blossoms and the Daimio gives him rich gifts. The neighbor takes some of the ashes to try it as well, but instead the ashes blow into the Daimio's eyes and he has the neighbor arrested.
• "The Sparrow with the Split Tongue"
• A kind old man and his mean wife live in a mountain, and the old man saves a sparrow from a raven. He takes good care of the sparrow, but while he's gone his wife catches it and cuts its tongue, and it flies away. He searches for it for a long time, and after finally giving up, finds a little house with a maiden who says she is the sparrow, and who gives him food and drinks and a choice between a large chest and a small one. He takes the small one and goes home to find that it is filled with treasure. His wife is angry that he didn't pick the big chest, so she goes to the little house and demands a gift, and chooses the large chest. It turns out to be filled with snakes, who kill her.
• "The Cat's Elopement"
• A cat named Gon falls in love with a cat named Koma, but their owners each love their cat too much to sell it to the other. So the cats elope, but a dog attacks them, and Koma hides while Gon steels himself for a fight. Instead, the servant of a princess saves him and takes him to live with the kind princess. Gon kills a snake who is in love with the princess and annoys her constantly, so she takes excellent care of Gon. One day, he finds Koma being harassed by another tomcat, and saves her, then takes her back to the princess, who happily takes Koma in as well. The princess marries as well, and both couples have lots of children and live happily ever after.

Here are two more personal photos of my very lovey cat, Atticus. You're welcome.