St. Paul daily globe., 1888-06-17
A JAPANESE FAIRY STORY
The Life of a Moon Maiden Vis-
itinS the Earth,

One of the best of the early stories of
the Japanese is the ''Taketori no Okina
no Monogatari," or, as translated by
Victor Dickins and published under the
title of ''The Old Bamboo Hewer's
story" The underlying ideas in it are
obviously Chinese, says the Athenaum,
but the treatment bears the impress of
a more imaginative race, and told in the
words of Mr.. Dickins, it becomes grace
full and interesting story. OF the
bamboo-hewer little is said and no
hint given of the hidden virtue
which marked him out as a favor
ite of the gods. But just as the glory of
Buddha appears only to the eyes of the
faithful on the bosom of the mists
which spread over the valleys beneath
the relics which to ordinary mortals
have the semblance of dusky beads
shine in the sight of devout believers
as luStrOus tear drops, so to the piOus
bambOO-heWer alone was revealed in the
heart of bamboo stem shining light
encompasSing lovely figure of tiny
infant. With reverent care the wood
man carried home the child, who grew
into maiden of such surprising lowell
ness that all the mobiles in the land
sought her in marriage. With her
u.
whose only dread was that the time
would arrive when he would lose the
delight of her society by her marriage.
But to his Joy he found that she was
as unwilling to accept the homage of
her SuitOrS as he was to beStOw her
hand. Five of her noble lovers, how
ever, so persistently urged their suits
that she had recourse to the eXpedient
which, in fairy tales of all nations, is
Invariably adopted by unwilling brides.
To each she set a task as difficult to
accomplish as numbering sands and
drinking oceans dry The first she
sent in quest of the Holy Grail,
the sacred begging bowl of Buddha:
the second was ordered to bring and lay
at her feet branch from the tree whose
roots are of silver, whose trunk is of
gold, and whose fruitage is of pure
white jade. which grows on the sacred
mountain of Horai the third was COM
manded to present her with fur robe
of the pelt of the fiame-prOof rat; from
the fourth she required 1.-The rainbow
in the dragons head;" and the fifth
was charged with the search of the
cowry-shell which the swallows bring
over the broad sea-plain.
1t is needless to say that one and all
failed to fulfill the required conditions.
Meanwhile the mikado heard of the
beauty of the maiden, and. like the
kings in the German forests, the Rus
sian wilds, and the Indian mountains,
he, under the pretense of hunting, ap-
| preached the woodsman's cottage and
succeeded in catching glimpse of the
lovely form of the Lady Kaguya. So
enamored did he become of the vision
that he besought her to share his throne.
But no better did he fare than the other
lovers. and was fain to put up with an
occasional letter in reply to the missives
which he constantly dispatched to the
woodman's hut. At length the Lady
Kaguya announced to her protector that
the time had come for her to return to
her home in the capital of the moon,
whence she had originally descended to
earth. And. though on the appointed
night a strong guard was posted round
the house. by order of the mikado, to
prevent the flight of the maiden. troop
of heavenly beings, escorting a chariot.
descended through the air and bore
away their prize to her celestial abode.
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