Evening star., 1937-10-24


by Mr.. Stevens, who it will be re-
membered, sad to relate, was asSas-
sinated by group of Koreans in San
Francisco in 1906, the scrolls were
not identified or translated and by
some chance were placed on the ceiling
of the front room, where they reposed
unnoticed and unappreciated for many
years. Last Winter they were taken
down, mended, pieced together, trans
lated and put in a strategic position on
the walls of the card room adjoining
the poker room on the second floor. A
translation, beautifully hand printed
on velum, has been framed and hung
there, too, for all to read and from
this I got the story which is an en-
trancing whimsical fairy tale.
The title is THE Story of the
Crane" legend of a japanese noble
man and his romance with beau
tiful princess. Tired of his palace,
the nobleman wandered afar Into the
rice fields of his native land, where
one day he met hunter who had
khPtoAN0 q tioAiS liz RASoNSs "tehA
the hunter to set the crane free,
which he did after much persuasion,
but not until the nobleman had
given him his sword in exchange.
That evening the young man was
visited by beautiful princess who led
him to the grotto. where her FAM
lily lived in a palace of cloisonne pill
lars and gold and silver surpassed by
that of the great Toshioke." There
he received one thousand pieces of
gold which would always remain a
thousand no matter how much he
spent. And they were married.
Soon after Shotgun Mayazaki, a
great ruler of the province. fell in
love with the princess. With his
armies he stormed the palace, but
no one had reckoned on the super
natural powers of the princess, who,
with wave of her fan, brought on
a heavy black cloud carrying fierce
hawks who cut the bow strings of the
attacking warriors and numerous but
terf1ies and hornets that flew in
side their armor, causing much con-
sternation, with the result the armies
we're dispersed. The princess when
questioned about her strange powers
admitted that she was the crane
whom the prince had set free. De-
Gliding then that she must return to
her natural state, the princess wrote
an ode and requested her husband to
do the same as guide to their
reunion in Heaven" and then took
the form of crane and flew away
Another Miracle Is
Performed.
In the meantime very wealthy
baron and baroness were blessed with
q beautiful daughter, who, living to
the age of IS and was not married, -
was discovered to have her arms grown
to her sides. One day in a roman
tic mood she wrote an ode and as
she tied it to cherry tree the
branches rose and freed her arms
and slip of paper dropped from
under one of them on which was
written an ode resembling her own.
Amazed, the relatives sought the ad
vice of the Emperor and he recog-
llIIcQ tllc NIllllls 90 tildo vi elit
bleman of Is years before. "Couriers
searched the so provinces of Japan
and he was found still true to his
departed crane-princess." He was
brought before the emperor and told
his life story and when his ode card
was placed beside that of the maiden
1t read. Believing in the honest word,
we shall meet again"
The nobleman, having drunk the
wine of eternal youth, was still 20
years DID," so he married the reincarna-
ton of the princess and they lived
happily for an hundred years, had
many friends and children and were
very happy Rice fields flourished;
the people became wealthy and pros
porous: faraway countries became
peaceful and turbulent seas were
quieted."
So ends the enchanting story of the
crane princess, which 1 find fasci-
mating one, told in beautiful pictures
done in dull greens, grays and blues
enhanced with touches of gold. The
illustrated scrolls now hang on the