The jelly fish, who originally had a shell and four legs, fails in a mission for the Dragon King of the Sea. As punishment his bones are removed, and he is beaten into a pulp. Thus the modern jelly fish was created.
Category: Japanese Fairy Tales
This is a collection of Japanese fairy tales translated by Yei Theodora Ozaki based on a version written in Japanese by Sadanami Sanjin. According to Ozaki, “These stories are not literal translations, and though the Japanese story and all quaint Japanese expressions have been faithfully preserved, they have been told more with the view to interest young readers of the West than the technical student of folk-lore.” Ozaki freely added to and changed the original stories for color and background.
A priest looks for lodging in the night and is given shelter by an old woman. She goes to gather more wood, and she tells him not to look in the back room. Curiosity gets the better of him, and he looks in the room and sees horrible things. He realizes she is the Goblin of Adachigahara, and flees. She chases him through the night, but he prays to Buddha and keeps running. Morning dawns, making the goblin disappear, and the priest is safe.
A badger kills a farmer’s wife, and the farmer asks a rabbit to get revenge for him.
A bamboo cutter finds a small, luminescent girl, and raises her as Princess Moonlight. She refuses all suitors, befriends the Emperor, and eventually returns to her rightful home, the Moon.
The heroic adventures of Kintaro.