Many, many years ago there lived a good old man who had a wen like a
tennis-ball growing out of his right cheek. This lump was a great
disfigurement to the old man, and so annoyed him that for many years he
spent all his time and money in trying to get rid of it. He tried
everything he could think of. He consulted many doctors far and near,
and took all kinds of medicines both internally and externally. But it
was all of no use. The lump only grew bigger and bigger till it was
nearly as big as his face, and in despair he gave up all hopes of ever
losing it, and resigned himself to the thought of having to carry the
lump on his face all his life.
One day the firewood gave out in his kitchen, so, as his wife wanted
some at once, the old man took his ax and set out for the woods up
among the hills not very far from his home. It was a fine day in the
early autumn, and the old man enjoyed the fresh air and was in no hurry
to get home. So the whole afternoon passed quickly while he was
chopping wood, and he had collected a goodly pile to take back to his
wife. When the day began to draw to a close, he turned his face
homewards.
The old man had not gone far on his way down the mountain pass when the
sky clouded and rain began to fall heavily. He looked about for some
shelter, but there was not even a charcoal-burner’s hut near. At last
he espied a large hole in the hollow trunk of a tree. The hole was near
the ground, so he crept in easily, and sat down in hopes that he had
only been overtaken by a mountain shower, and that the weather would
soon clear.
But much to the old man’s disappointment, instead of clearing the rain
fell more and more heavily, and finally a heavy thunderstorm broke over
the mountain. The thunder roared so terrifically, and the heavens
seemed to be so ablaze with lightning, that the old man could hardly
believe himself to be alive. He thought that he must die of fright. At
last, however, the sky cleared, and the whole country was aglow in the
rays of the setting sun. The old man’s spirits revived when he looked
out at the beautiful twilight, and he was about to step out from his
strange hiding-place in the hollow tree when the sound of what seemed
like the approaching steps of several people caught his ear. He at once
thought that his friends had come to look for him, and he was delighted
at the idea of having some jolly companions with whom to walk home. But
on looking out from the tree, what was his amazement to see, not his
friends, but hundreds of demons coming towards the spot. The more he
looked, the greater was his astonishment. Some of these demons were as
large as giants, others had great big eyes out of all proportion to the
rest of their bodies, others again had absurdly long noses, and some
had such big mouths that they seemed to open from ear to ear. All had
horns growing on their foreheads. The old man was so surprised at what
he saw that he lost his balance and fell out of the hollow tree.
Fortunately for him the demons did not see him, as the tree was in the
background. So he picked himself up and crept back into the tree.
While he was sitting there and wondering impatiently when he would be
able to get home, he heard the sounds of gay music, and then some of
the demons began to sing.
“What are these creatures doing?” said the old man to himself. “I will
look out, it sounds very amusing.”
On peeping out, the old man saw that the demon chief himself was
actually sitting with his back against the tree in which he had taken
refuge, and all the other demons were sitting round, some drinking and
some dancing. Food and wine was spread before them on the ground, and
the demons were evidently having a great entertainment and enjoying
themselves immensely.
It made the old man laugh to see their strange antics.
“How amusing this is!” laughed the old man to himself “I am now quite
old, but I have never seen anything so strange in all my life.”
He was so interested and excited in watching all that the demons were
doing, that he forgot himself and stepped out of the tree and stood
looking on.
The demon chief was just taking a big cup of SAKE and watching one of
the demons dancing. In a little while he said with a bored air:
“Your dance is rather monotonous. I am tired of watching it. Isn’t
there any one amongst you all who can dance better than this fellow?”
Now the old man had been fond of dancing all his life, and was quite an
expert in the art, and he knew that he could do much better than the
demon.
“Shall I go and dance before these demons and let them see what a human
being can do? It may be dangerous, for if I don’t please them they may
kill me!” said the old fellow to himself.
His fears, however, were soon overcome by his love of dancing. In a few
minutes he could restrain himself no longer, and came out before the
whole party of demons and began to dance at once. The old man,
realizing that his life probably depended on whether he pleased these
strange creatures or not, exerted his skill and wit to the utmost.
The demons were at first very surprised to see a man so fearlessly
taking part in their entertainment, and then their surprise soon gave
place to admiration.
“How strange!” exclaimed the horned chief. “I never saw such a skillful
dancer before! He dances admirably!”
When the old man had finished his dance, the big demon said:
“Thank you very much for your amusing dance. Now give us the pleasure
of drinking a cup of wine with us,” and with these words he handed him
his largest wine-cup.
The old man thanked him very humbly:
“I did not expect such kindness from your lordship. I fear I have only
disturbed your pleasant party by my unskillful dancing.”
“No, no,” answered the big demon. “You must come often and dance for
us. Your skill has given us much pleasure.”
The old man thanked him again and promised to do so.
“Then will you come again to-morrow, old man?” asked the demon.
“Certainly, I will,” answered the old man.
“Then you must leave some pledge of your word with us,” said the demon.
“Whatever you like,” said the old man.
“Now what is the best thing he can leave with us as a pledge?” asked
the demon, looking round.
Then said one of the demon’s attendants kneeling behind the chief:
“The token he leaves with us must be the most important thing to him in
his possession. I see the old man has a wen on his right cheek. Now
mortal men consider such a wen very fortunate. Let my lord take the
lump from the old man’s right cheek, and he will surely come to-morrow,
if only to get that back.”
“You are very clever,” said the demon chief, giving his horns an
approving nod. Then he stretched out a hairy arm and claw-like hand,
and took the great lump from the old man’s right cheek. Strange to say,
it came off as easily as a ripe plum from the tree at the demon’s
touch, and then the merry troop of demons suddenly vanished.
The old man was lost in bewilderment by all that had happened. He
hardly knew for some time where he was. When he came to understand what
had happened to him, he was delighted to find that the lump on his
face, which had for so many years disfigured him, had really been taken
away without any pain to himself. He put up his hand to feel if any
scar remained, but found that his right cheek was as smooth as his
left.
The sun had long set, and the young moon had risen like a silver
crescent in the sky. The old man suddenly realized how late it was and
began to hurry home. He patted his right cheek all the time, as if to
make sure of his good fortune in having lost the wen. He was so happy
that he found it impossible to walk quietly—he ran and danced the whole
way home.
He found his wife very anxious, wondering what had happened to make him
so late. He soon told her all that had passed since he left home that
afternoon. She was quite as happy as her husband when he showed her
that the ugly lump had disappeared from his face, for in her youth she
had prided herself on his good looks, and it had been a daily grief to
her to see the horrid growth.
Now next door to this good old couple there lived a wicked and
disagreeable old man. He, too, had for many years been troubled with
the growth of a wen on his left cheek, and he, too, had tried all
manner of things to get rid of it, but in vain.
He heard at once, through the servant, of his neighbor’s good luck in
losing the lump on his face, so he called that very evening and asked
his friend to tell him everything that concerned the loss of it. The
good old man told his disagreeable neighbor all that had happened to
him. He described the place where he would find the hollow tree in
which to hide, and advised him to be on the spot in the late afternoon
towards the time of sunset.
The old neighbor started out the very next afternoon, and after hunting
about for some time, came to the hollow tree just as his friend had
described. Here he hid himself and waited for the twilight.
Just as he had been told, the band of demons came at that hour and held
a feast with dance and song. When this had gone on for some time the
chief of the demons looked around and said:
“It is now time for the old man to come as he promised us. Why doesn’t
he come?”
When the second old man heard these words he ran out of his
hiding-place in the tree and, kneeling down before the Oni, said:
“I have been waiting for a long time for you to speak!”
“Ah, you are the old man of yesterday,” said the demon chief. “Thank
you for coming, you must dance for us soon.”
The old man now stood up and opened his fan and began to dance. But he
had never learned to dance, and knew nothing about the necessary
gestures and different positions. He thought that anything would please
the demons, so he just hopped about, waving his arms and stamping his
feet, imitating as well as he could any dancing he had ever seen.
The Oni were very dissatisfied at this exhibition, and said amongst
themselves:
“How badly he dances to-day!”
Then to the old man the demon chief said:
“Your performance to-day is quite different from the dance of
yesterday. We don’t wish to see any more of such dancing. We will give
you back the pledge you left with us. You must go away at once.”
With these words he took out from a fold of his dress the lump which he
had taken from the face of the old man who had danced so well the day
before, and threw it at the right cheek of the old man who stood before
him. The lump immediately attached itself to his cheek as firmly as if
it had grown there always, and all attempts to pull it off were
useless. The wicked old man, instead of losing the lump on his left
cheek as he had hoped, found to his dismay that he had but added
another to his right cheek in his attempt to get rid of the first.
He put up first one hand and then the other to each side of his face to
make sure if he were not dreaming a horrible nightmare. No, sure enough
there was now a great wen on the right side of his face as on the left.
The demons had all disappeared, and there was nothing for him to do but
to return home. He was a pitiful sight, for his face, with the two
large lumps, one on each side, looked just like a Japanese gourd.
THE STONES OF FIVE COLORS AND THE EMPRESS JOKWA.
AN OLD CHINESE STORY
Long, long ago there lived a great Chinese Empress who succeeded her
brother the Emperor Fuki. It was the age of giants, and the Empress
Jokwa, for that was her name, was twenty-five feet high, nearly as tall
as her brother. She was a wonderful woman, and an able ruler. There is
an interesting story of how she mended a part of the broken heavens and
one of the terrestrial pillars which upheld the sky, both of which were
damaged during a rebellion raised by one of King Fuki’s subjects.
The rebel’s name was Kokai. He was twenty-six feet high. His body was
entirely covered with hair, and his face was as black as iron. He was a
wizard and a very terrible character indeed. When the Emperor Fuki
died, Kokai was bitten with the ambition to be Emperor of China, but
his plan failed, and Jokwa, the dead Emperor’s sister, mounted the
throne. Kokai was so angry at being thwarted in his desire that he
raised a revolt. His first act was to employ the Water Devil, who
caused a great flood to rush over the country. This swamped the poor
people out of their homes, and when the Empress Jokwa saw the plight of
her subjects, and knew it was Kokai’s fault, she declared war against
him.
Now Jokwa, the Empress, had two young warriors called Hako and Eiko,
and the former she made General of the front forces. Hako was delighted
that the Empress’s choice should fall on him, and he prepared himself
for battle. He took up the longest lance he could find and mounted a
red horse, and was just about to set out when he heard some one
galloping hard behind him and shouting:
“Hako! Stop! The general of the front forces must be I!”
He looked back and saw Eiko his comrade, riding on a white horse, in
the act of unsheathing a large sword to draw upon him. Hako’s anger was
kindled, and as he turned to face his rival he cried:
“Insolent wretch! I have been appointed by the Empress to lead the
front forces to battle. Do you dare to stop me?”
“Yes,” answered Eiko. “I ought to lead the army. It is you who should
follow me.”
At this bold reply Hako’s anger burst from a spark into a flame.
“Dare you answer me thus? Take that,” and he lunged at him with his
lance.
But Eiko moved quickly aside, and at the same time, raising his sword,
he wounded the head of the General’s horse. Obliged to dismount, Hako
was about to rush at his antagonist, when Eiko, as quick as lightning,
tore from his breast the badge of commandership and galloped away. The
action was so quick that Hako stood dazed, not knowing what to do.
The Empress had been a spectator of the scene, and she could not but
admire the quickness of the ambitious Eiko, and in order to pacify the
rivals she determined to appoint them both to the Generalship of the
front army.
So Hako was made commander of the left wing of the front army, and Eiko
of the right. One hundred thousand soldiers followed them and marched
to put down the rebel Kokai.
Within a short time the two Generals reached the castle where Kokai had
fortified himself. When aware of their approach, the wizard said:
“I will blow these two poor children away with one breath.” (He little
thought how hard he would find the fight.)
With these words Kokai seized an iron rod and mounted a black horse,
and rushed forth like an angry tiger to meet his two foes.
As the two young warriors saw him tearing down upon them, they said to
each other: “We must not let him escape alive,” and they attacked him
from the right and from the left with sword and with lance. But the
all-powerful Kokai was not to be easily beaten—he whirled his iron rod
round like a great water-wheel, and for a long time they fought thus,
neither side gaining nor losing. At last, to avoid the wizard’s iron
rod, Hako turned his horse too quickly; the animal’s hoofs struck
against a large stone, and in a fright the horse reared as straight on
end as a screen, throwing his master to the ground.
Thereupon Kokai drew his three-edged sword and was about to kill the
prostrate Hako, but before the wizard could work his wicked will the
brave Eiko had wheeled his horse in front of Kokai and dared him to try
his strength with him, and not to kill a fallen man. But Kokai was
tired, and he did not feel inclined to face this fresh and dauntless
young soldier, so suddenly wheeling his horse round, he fled from the
fray.
Hako, who had been only slightly stunned, had by this time got upon his
feet, and he and his comrade rushed after the retreating enemy, the one
on foot and the other on horseback.
Kokai, seeing that he was pursued, turned upon his nearest assailant,
who was, of course, the mounted Eiko, and drawing forth an arrow from
the quiver at his back, fitted it to his bow and drew upon Eiko.
As quick as lightning the wary Eiko avoided the shaft, which only
touched his helmet strings, and glancing off, fell harmless against
Hako’s coat of armor.
The wizard saw that both his enemies remained unscathed. He also knew
that there was no time to pull a second arrow before they would be upon
him, so to save himself he resorted to magic. He stretched forth his
wand, and immediately a great flood arose, and Jokwa’s army and her
brave young Generals were swept away like a falling of autumn leaves on
a stream.
Hako and Eiko found themselves struggling neck deep in water, and
looking round they saw the ferocious Kokai making towards them through
the water with his iron rod on high. They thought every moment that
they would be cut down, but they bravely struck out to swim as far as
they could from Kokai’s reach. All of a sudden they found themselves in
front of what seemed to be an island rising straight out of the water.
They looked up, and there stood an old man with hair as white as snow,
smiling at them. They cried to him to help them. The old man nodded his
head and came down to the edge of the water. As soon as his feet
touched the flood it divided, and a good road appeared, to the
amazement of the drowning men, who now found themselves safe.
Kokai had by this time reached the island which had risen as if by a
miracle out of the water, and seeing his enemies thus saved he was
furious. He rushed through the water upon the old man, and it seemed as
if he would surely be killed. But the old man appeared not in the least
dismayed, and calmly awaited the wizard’s onslaught.
As Kokai drew near, the old man laughed aloud merrily, and turning into
a large and beautiful white crane, flapped his wings and flew upwards
into the heavens.
When Hako and Eiko saw this, they knew that their deliverer was no mere
human being—was perhaps a god in disguise—and they hoped later on to
find out who the venerable old man was.
In the meantime they had retreated, and it being now the close of day,
for the sun was setting, both Kokai and the young warriors gave up the
idea of fighting more that day.
That night Hako and Eiko decided that it was useless to fight against
the wizard Kokai, for he had supernatural powers, while they were only
human. So they presented themselves before the Empress Jokwa. After a
long consultation, the Empress decided to ask the Fire King, Shikuyu,
to help her against the rebel wizard and to lead her army against him.
Now Shikuyu, the Fire King, lived at the South Pole. It was the only
safe place for him to be in, for he burnt up everything around him
anywhere else, but it was impossible to burn up ice and snow. To look
at he was a giant, and stood thirty feet high. His face was just like
marble, and his hair and beard long and as white as snow. His strength
was stupendous, and he was master of all fire just as Kokai was of
water.
“Surely,” thought the Empress, “Shikuyu can conquer Kokai.” So she sent
Eiko to the South Pole to beg Shikuyu to take the war against Kokai
into his own hands and conquer him once for all.
The Fire King, on hearing the Empress’s request, smiled and said:
“That is an easy matter, to be sure! It was none other than I who came
to your rescue when you and your companion were drowning in the flood
raised by Kokai!”
Eiko was surprised at learning this. He thanked the Fire King for
coming to the rescue in their dire need, and then besought him to
return with him and lead the war and defeat the wicked Kokai.
Shikuyu did as he was asked, and returned with Eiko to the Empress. She
welcomed the Fire King cordially, and at once told him why she had sent
for him—to ask him to be the Generalissimo of her army. His reply was
very reassuring:
“Do not have any anxiety. I will certainly kill Kokai.”
Shikuyu then placed himself at the head of thirty thousand soldiers,
and with Hako and Eiko showing him the way, marched to the enemy’s
castle. The Fire King knew the secret of Kokai’s power, and he now told
all the soldiers to gather a certain kind of shrub. This they burned in
large quantities, and each soldier was then ordered to fill a bag full
of the ashes thus obtained.
Kokai, on the other hand, in his own conceit, thought that Shikuyu was
of inferior power to himself, and he murmured angrily:
“Even though you are the Fire King, I can soon extinguish you.”
Then he repeated an incantation, and the water-floods rose and welled
as high as mountains. Shikuyu, not in the least frightened, ordered his
soldiers to scatter the ashes which he had caused them to make. Every
man did as he was bid, and such was the power of the plant that they
had burned, that as soon as the ashes mingled with the water a stiff
mud was formed, and they were all safe from drowning.
Now Kokai the wizard was dismayed when he saw that the Fire King was
superior in wisdom to himself, and his anger was so great that he
rushed headlong towards the enemy.
Eiko rode to meet him, and the two fought together for some time. They
were well matched in a hand-to-hand combat. Hako, who was carefully
watching the fray, saw that Eiko began to tire, and fearing that his
companion would be killed, he took his place.
But Kokai had tired as well, and feeling him self unable to hold out
against Hako, he said artfully:
“You are too magnanimous, thus to fight for your friend and run the
risk of being killed. I will not hurt such a good man.”
And he pretended to retreat, turning away the head of his horse. His
intention was to throw Hako off his guard and then to wheel round and
take him by surprise.
But Shikuyu understood the wily wizard, and he spoke at once:
“You are a coward! You cannot deceive me!”
Saying this, the Fire King made a sign to the unwary Hako to attack
him. Kokai now turned upon Shikuyu furiously, but he was tired and
unable to fight well, and he soon received a wound in his shoulder. He
now broke from the fray and tried to escape in earnest.
While the fight between their leaders had been going on the two armies
had stood waiting for the issue. Shikuyu now turned and bade Jokwa’s
soldiers charge the enemy’s forces. This they did, and routed them with
great slaughter, and the wizard barely escaped with his life.
It was in vain that Kokai called upon the Water Devil to help him, for
Shikuyu knew the counter-charm. The wizard found that the battle was
against him. Mad with pain, for his wound began to trouble him, and
frenzied with disappointment and fear, he dashed his head against the
rocks of Mount Shu and died on the spot.
There was an end of the wicked Kokai, but not of trouble in the Empress
Jokwa’s Kingdom, as you shall see. The force with which the wizard fell
against the rocks was so great that the mountain burst, and fire rushed
out from the earth, and one of the pillars upholding the Heavens was
broken so that one corner of the sky dropped till it touched the earth.
Shikuyu, the Fire King, took up the body of the wizard and carried it
to the Empress Jokwa, who rejoiced greatly that her enemy was
vanquished, and her generals victorious. She showered all manner of
gifts and honors upon Shikuyu.
But all this time fire was bursting from the mountain broken by the
fall of Kokai. Whole villages were destroyed, rice-fields burnt up,
river beds filled with the burning lava, and the homeless people were
in great distress. So the Empress left the capital as soon as she had
rewarded the victor Shikuyu, and journeyed with all speed to the scene
of disaster. She found that both Heaven and earth had sustained damage,
and the place was so dark that she had to light her lamp to find out
the extent of the havoc that had been wrought.
Having ascertained this, she set to work at repairs. To this end she
ordered her subjects to collect stones of five colors—blue, yellow,
red, white and black. When she had obtained these, she boiled them with
a kind of porcelain in a large caldron, and the mixture became a
beautiful paste, and with this she knew that she could mend the sky.
Now all was ready.
Summoning the clouds that were sailing ever so high above her head, she
mounted them, and rode heavenwards, carrying in her hands the vase
containing the paste made from the stones of five colors. She soon
reached the corner of the sky that was broken, and applied the paste
and mended it. Having done this, she turned her attention to the broken
pillar, and with the legs of a very large tortoise she mended it. When
this was finished she mounted the clouds and descended to the earth,
hoping to find that all was now right, but to her dismay she found that
it was still quite dark. Neither the sun shone by day nor the moon by
night.
Greatly perplexed, she at last called a meeting of all the wise men of
the Kingdom, and asked their advice as to what she should do in this
dilemma.
Two of the wisest said:
“The roads of Heaven have been damaged by the late accident, and the
Sun and Moon have been obliged to stay at home. Neither the Sun could
make his daily journey nor the Moon her nightly one because of the bad
roads. The Sun and Moon do not yet know that your Majesty has mended
all that was damaged, so we will go and inform them that since you have
repaired them the roads are safe.”
The Empress approved of what the wise men suggested, and ordered them
to set out on their mission. But this was not easy, for the Palace of
the Sun and Moon was many, many hundreds of thousands of miles distant
into the East. If they traveled on foot they might never reach the
place, they would die of old age on the road. But Jokwa had recourse to
magic. She gave her two ambassadors wonderful chariots which could
whirl through the air by magic power a thousand miles per minute. They
set out in good spirits, riding above the clouds, and after many days
they reached the country where the Sun and the Moon were living happily
together.
The two ambassadors were granted an interview with their Majesties of
Light and asked them why they had for so many days secluded themselves
from the Universe? Did they not know that by doing so they plunged the
world and all its people into uttermost darkness both day and night?
Replied the Sun and the Moon:
“Surely you know that Mount Shu has suddenly burst forth with fire, and
the roads of Heaven have been greatly damaged! I, the Sun, found it
impossible to make my daily journey along such rough roads—and
certainly the Moon could not issue forth at night! so we both retired
into private life for a time.”
Then the two wise men bowed themselves to the ground and said:
“Our Empress Jokwa has already repaired the roads with the wonderful
stones of five colors, so we beg to assure your Majesties that the
roads are just as they were before the eruption took place.”
But the Sun and the Moon still hesitated, saying that they had heard
that one of the pillars of Heaven had been broken as well, and they
feared that, even if the roads had been remade, it would still be
dangerous for them to sally forth on their usual journeys.
“You need have no anxiety about the broken pillar,” said the two
ambassadors. “Our Empress restored it with the legs of a great
tortoise, and it is as firm as ever it was.”
Then the Sun and Moon appeared satisfied, and they both set out to try
the roads. They found that what the Empress’s deputies had told them
was correct.
After the examination of the heavenly roads, the Sun and Moon again
gave light to the earth. All the people rejoiced greatly, and peace and
prosperity were secured in China for a long time under the reign of the
wise Empress Jokwa.