Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1910-10-14
STORY OF THE SWORD
az ALFRED MoRNE.

lash of the lightning. h drove ner
brother from the house of the gods, ana
closed the great doors against him.
These doors are very great, and built
of solid stone, massive and thick. And
when the doors were closed against her
brother, his punishment fell on others
than himself, as often happens in the
correction Of wrongdoers; for all the
dwellers In Japan could no longer see
the beautiful bright light of the face OF
the sur goddess while he doors were
closed. This was the first eclipse or
the sun. In these days there are men
who do not believe In the stone doors,
blu the knowledge Of the olden people
was deeper and more true, and they
knew that when that black darkness
fell upon their and the doors were
shut. There We're even some who had
seen the great gates closing between
them and the light of loneliness.
When these doors were shut the
darkness was intense. and there wal
not one man who could tell whether
he was alone or in company except
by shouting and waiting for an answer.
But the darkness was so oppressive
that no man burst shout at all, and ST.
lence and darkness are two terrible
things. Blu at last q cock cried aloud
for deliverance from the dark. His
cry was like the growing Of the cocks
we know today. 1t was harsh, n the
sun god thought 1t very funny. But 1t
made her Kind to the poor people or
Japan, who were cropping in the dark,
and she had the great doors flung open,
n let the light of her face shine
through. And ever since, late In the
night time, the cocks all through Japan
crow to summon the dawn, for they
know that their Growing pleases the
sun goddess.
But though she had opened the doors,
the u goddess could not forgive her
brother; and the other gods held coun-
Gil together, and decreed that he should
be banished to a far province Of Jap
an-to Idzumo, the high land whence
come the clouds. And sorrowfully he
left heaven, and wandered alone. And
after wandering without ceasing for
many days, he came upon an old wo-
man weeping bitterly.
What is thy sorrow?" he asked.
My sorrow, oh most beautiful OF
young men, is more grievous h a the
sorrows of all other Thou wilt
weep, ven as l weep, If l tell thee OF
my woe"
who knows" said he, but that I
may be able to do something to help
thee?"
"Oh, most kind-hearted OF youths"
sobbed the old II had twelve
daughters, each one being more beau
JAlail III NlACAly
Where are they now?" asked tho
brother Of the sun goddess, for he took
the laughter of his heart and the mu-
sic of his soul from the loneliness of a
girl.
The old woman sobbed afresh, and
continued: The most cruel of SER
pents, a reptile with eight vile heads,
has eaten my daughters one by one, ex-
cepting the last, and now l am in the
most terrible distress to discover a
means OF saving her from him. He
comes to devour her, and Of the twelve
fair blossoms, she is the last and the
loVeliest."
This must not be-" said he. Tell
me, when comes the monster to his
Seast?"
This very night he will be here"
she said, and burst again into pro-
longed weeping.
Take me to your house." he said,
"and l will show you my power"
So the old woman took him to her
house and there he found the most
beautiful girl that has ever been seen
in Japan or in the unknown parts Of
the world. And though she was sor-
rowful, yet the light of young life
ShOne through her skin, and dazzled
him so that he could not look at her
without turning away his eyes. And
when h looked at him, which she did
very often, although he was a god, he
felt smaller and meaner than the most
contemplate of mortals. And he knew
that he loved this girl more than all
the goddesses OF heaven; and soon 1t
became clear that she, too, loved him.
Then he began to plot to save her from
the eight-headed serpent. And HI
made a plan, and sent for eight large
casks full of the most powerful sake,
that most intoxicating of drinks. These
barrels he arranged in q row across
fhA eo rIA, ArI yrhn~ %hA ylrHX - 49,
he embraced the beautiful girl and sent
her inside the house while he waited
in silence for the coming Of the snake.
n the night hours slipped by until
the was so thick that when
he held his sword before him he could
not see its blade. And then q long,
faint rustling crept to his ears. The
snake was coming.
He peered through the darkness and
saw the glimmer OF al evil light, like
that which hangs above an opened
grave, Quivering among the bushes;
M he saw that the body of the snake
emitted this poisonous light, as II slid
u~nsuspecting and eager for its food
toward the home of its prey. Suddenly
1t flashed from u the trees, and he
watched 1t rear eight awful heads,
laughing with the glee OF 4ends, as II
saw the sake barrels. In each barrel
It placed one cruel head. and the broth
81 Va NNS ~ BNHSCoS SSNi0 hcAI ZIG
wet s~plashing Of the liquid as 1t poured
down the eight cruel throats.
When II had finished drinking the
snake tried to go forward, but could
not. The strong sleep of the sake had
seized 1t, and 1T sank back to rest. In
stantly the young god strobe toward It,
and with eight swift strokes severed
the vile heads from the body still more
vile. AS he looked upon this evil
corpse, glimmering with phosphores-
cence OF putrid things, a great loathinR
for IT oiled him. and he cut 1t fercely
into small pieces, beginning from the
necks. And e. he got close &c the tati,
there was a brilliant fash and his
sword broke In many pieces. And he
looked and saw something bright shin
ing in the tail. He put down his hand
and felt a hard thing. He pulled out
the most wonderful of all swords-the
sword Of the snake; and this is the
sword hat was given to be held for
ever by the mikados OF Japan.
But Ii Is not now called the sword Of
the snake. For, many years after.
one of Its holders was hard pressed
by his enemies, and they lighted a
great fire, which they hoped would
ravel toward him through he long