El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-10-26
RENE BACHE'S BUDGET
WITCHES PLAY FRANKS
on JAPANESE HALL0WE' EN-
PEOPLE OF NIPPON HAVE WEIRD AND HoR-
RIBLE SPOOKS
The Worst of Them SymbOlizes Feminine Envy-Cat
Demons and Demon Rats-The Specter and the
Ten China Plates-A Moonbeam Princess
Who Loved the Emperor's Son.

rather eccentric kind Of goblin which
has the head OF an ape, the body OF
turtle. and the legs Of a frog. 1t IS
amphibiOus and extremely quarrelsOme
its custom being to challenge to nor
tai combat any traveller it may happen
to meet But, not withstandiug its
malignaucy, it is remarkably polite.
This creature is known as the kappa
On encountering him, the prudent thing
to do is to bow very low. He viii then
be compelled. out OF pOhteness, to re-
spOnd with an abeiSance equally low,
and in doing so is lost. For his strength
lies in a fluid which is contained in
cup-shaped depression on the top Of his
head When he bows, the liquid is
spilled. and he becomes at once so weak
that ne can be dispatched without diff
Guilty.
Speaking Of goblin cats. however, re-
calls the story (tOld by Mary F. Nixon
ROulet in her book OF japanese Fairy
Tales') Of the young Samural, waikiki
who. wandering IN pursuit of his for
tune, came upon a ruined temple IN q
forest. He had lost his way, and, to
escape an oncOming storm, sought shell
ter in the temple and went to sleep
BY and by he was aroused by blood
curdling yelIs, and. looking out, beheld
a troop of mOnstrous cats dancing on
the cleared space in front Of the tenn
pie. As they capered about they sang
in chorus.
whisper it not to Shippeitaro
That the Phantom Cats are near,
Lest he soon appear-lest he soon
appear"
Next morning Waikiki journeying on
came TO hamlet in the midst of green
fields He met a sweet young girl
who took him to a nearby cottage,
where a bowl of rice was placed before
him. He perceived, however, that the
family was in grief, and the damsels
eyes were red with weeping. Her
father explained to him that the neigh
hf nH Tot aaM rr~n ~
which each year demanded the fairest
maiden in the village. on pain Of de-
strOying all its Inhabitants 1t was
customary to put the maiden in a. cage,
carry her to the ruined temple in the
forest at sunset, and leave her there
On the following day the cage would
be found empty, with no trace of the
Who shipPeitaro Was.
''who is shippeItaro?" asked the
young Samurai
The father replied that Shippeitaro
was the name of a beautiful dog owned
by daimyo in the neighborhood-
Telling the man to keep his daugh-
ter at home" waikiki went to the
dainlyO's castle and begged the dog for
one night. promising to return him in
the morning. At evening he put the
dog into the cage, which was carried
TO the temple BY bearers, who immedi-
ately ran away. The young soldier,
however. hid in the temple, and soon
led by an enormous Tom. which sprang
upon the cage and tore it open with
one sweep of his paw. Out leaped Ship
peitaro, seizing the great cat. WAIKIKI
rushed to the dogs aid with drawn
sword, and soon the demon cats were
all dead.
There was great rejoicing in the viz
lage thereupOn. As for the maiden,
of course she promptly dried her tears
and married the young soldier.
In the castle of another diamyo
there was a young Samurai who loved
a lady fair-the daughter Of a noble
man of lesser rank, herself superior
in birth to the soldier She scOrned
his addresses and sent back the letters
he wrote her, so that finally his ado
ration turned to hate.
Most Valued of Treasures.
Now. among all the daimyO's treas
ures the most highly valued was a set
OF 10 china plates The young soldier
smashed one purpOsely and accused the
lady of breaking il. So angry was the
lord of the castle that he huns the
girl in a well. Thus she died but ever
afterWard ner voice haunted the castle
and could he heard mournfUlly count
ms over and over again the number OF
plates
In the folk lore Of the japanese. the