Aino Folk-Tales — I.a. Tales Accounting for the Origin of All Phenomena (01-10)

i.

--_The Rat and the Owl.

_[B]

An owl had put by for next day the remains of something dainty which he had to eat.

But a rat stole it, whereupon the owl was very angry, and went off to the rat's house, and threatened to kill him.

But the rat apologised, saying: "I will give you this gimlet and tell you how you can obtain from it pleasure far greater than the pleasure of eating the food which I was so rude as to eat up.

Look here!

you must stick the gimlet with the sharp point upwards in the ground at the foot of this tree; then go to the top of the tree yourself, and slide down the trunk."

Then the rat went away, and the owl did as the rat had instructed him.

But, sliding down on to the sharp gimlet, his anus was transfixed, and he suffered great pain, and, in his grief and rage, went off to kill the rat.

But again the rat met him with apologies, and, as a peace-offering, gave him a cap for his head.

These events account for the thick cap of erect feathers which the owl wears to this day, and also for the enmity between the owl and the rat.

--(Written down from memory.

Told by Ishanashte, 25th November, 1886. ) [B] The Aino name here used (_ahunrashambe_) denotes a horned species.

ii.

--_The Loves of the Thunder-Gods.

_ Two young thunder-gods, sons of the chief thunder-god, fell violently in love with the same Aino woman.

Said one of them to the other, in a joking way: "I will become a flea, so as to be able to hop into her bosom."

Said the other: "I will become a louse, so as to be able to stay always in her bosom."

"Are those your wishes?"

cried their father, the chief thunder-god.

"You shall be taken at your word"; and forthwith the one of them who had said he would become a flea was turned into a flea, while he who said he would become a louse was turned into a louse.

Hence all the fleas and lice that exist at the present day.

This accounts for the fact that, whenever there is a thunder-storm, fleas jump out of all sorts of places where there were none to be seen before.

--(Written down from memory.

Told by Ishanashte, 27th November, 1886. ) iii.

--_Why Dogs cannot speak.

_ Formerly dogs could speak.

Now they cannot.

The reason is that a dog, belonging to a certain man a long time ago, inveigled his master into the forest under the pretext of showing him game, and there caused him to be devoured by a bear.

Then the dog went home to his master's widow, and lied to her, saying: "My master has been killed by a bear.

But when he was dying he commanded me to tell you to marry me in his stead."

The widow knew that the dog was lying.

But he kept on urging her to marry him.

So at last, in her grief and rage, she threw a handful of dust into his open mouth.

This made him unable to speak any more, and therefore no dogs can speak even to this very day.

--(Written down from memory.

Told by Ishanashte, 29th November, 1886. ) iv.

--_Why the Cock cannot fly.

_ When the Creator had finished creating the world, and had returned to the sky, he sent down the cock to see whether the world was good or not, with orders to come back at once.

But the world was so beautiful, that the cock, unable to tear himself away, kept lingering on from day to day.

At last, after a long time, he was on his way flying back up to the sky.

But God, angry with him for his disobedience, stretched forth his hand, and beat him down to earth, saying: "You are not wanted in the sky any more."

That is why, to this very day, the cock cannot fly high.

--(Written down from memory.

Told by Penri, 18th July, 1886. ) v.

--_The Origin of the Hare.

_ Suddenly there was a large house on the top of a mountain, wherein were six people beautifully arrayed, but constantly quarrelling.

Whence they came was unknown.

Thereupon Okikurumi came and said: "Oh!

you bad hares!

you wicked hares!

who does not know your origin?

The children in the sky were pelting each other with snowballs, and the snowballs fell into the world of men.

As it would be a pity to waste anything that falls from the sky, the snowballs were turned into hares, and those hares are you.

You, who dwell in this world, which belongs to me, should not quarrel.

What is it that you are making such a noise about?"

With these words, Okikurumi seized a fire-brand, and beat each of the six with it in turn.

Thereupon all the hares ran away.

This is the origin of the hare[-god]; and for this reason the body of the hare is white because made of snow, while its ears--which are the place where it was charred by the fire-brand,--are black.

--(Translated literally.

Told by Penri, 10th July, 1886. ) vi.

--_The Position of the Private Parts.

_ At the beginning of the world it had been the Creator's intention to place both men's and women's genitals on their foreheads so that they might be able to procreate children easily.

But the otter made a mistake in conveying the message to that effect; and that is how the genitals come to be in the inconvenient place they are now in.

--(Written down from memory.

Told by Ishanashte, 11th July, 1886. ) vii.

--_The Reason for there being no Fixed Time for Human Beings to copulate.

_ Anciently the Creator summoned all the birds and beasts, the gods and devils together, in order to instruct them on the subject of copulation.

So the birds and all the others of every sort assembled, and learnt from the Creator when to copulate, and when to give birth to their young.

Then the Creator said to the horse: "Oh!

thou divine ancestor of horses!

It will be well for thee to copulate one spring, and to give birth to thy young in the spring of the following year; and thou mayest eat any of the grass that may grow in any land."

At these words, the horse was delighted, and forthwith trotted out.

But, as he rose, he kicked God in the forehead.

So God was very angry, and pressed his hand to his head, so much did it hurt him.

Meanwhile, the ancestor of men came in, and asked saying: "How about me?

When shall I copulate?"

To which God, being still angry, replied: "Whenever you like!"

For this reason, that race of creatures which is called man copulate at all times.

--(Translated literally.

Told by Ishanashte, 12th July, 1886).

viii.

--_The Owl and the Tortoise.

_ The tortoise[-god] in the sea and the owl[-god] on land were very intimate.

The tortoise spoke thus: "Your child is a boy.

My child is a girl.

So it will be good for us to unite them in marriage.

If I send into the river the fish that there are in the sea your son and my daughter, being both of them enabled to eat fish, will possess the world."

Thus spoke the tortoise.

The owl was greatly obliged.

For this reason, the child of the tortoise and the child of the owl became husband and wife.

For this reason, the owl, without the least hesitation, eats every fish that comes into the river.

--(Translated literally.

Told by Penri, 15th July, 1886. ) ix.

--_How a Man got the better of two Foxes.

_ A man went into the mountains to get bark to make rope with, and found a hole.

To this hole there came a fox, who spoke as follows, though he was a fox, in human language: "I know of something from which great profit may be derived.

Let us go to the place to-morrow!"

To which the fox inside the hole replied as follows: "What profitable thing do you allude to?

After hearing about it, I will go with you if it sounds likely to be profitable; and if not, not."

The fox outside spoke thus: "The profitable thing to be done is this.

I will come here to-morrow about the time of the mid-day meal.

You must be waiting for me then, and we will go off together.

If you take the shape of a horse, and we go off together, I taking the shape of a man and riding on your back, we can go down to the shore, where dwell human beings possessed of plenty of food and all sorts of other things.

As there is sure to be among the people some one who wants a horse, I will sell you to him who thus wants a horse.

I can then buy a quantity of precious things and of food.

Then I shall run away; and you, having the appearance of a horse, will be led out to eat grass, and be tied up somewhere on the hillside.

Then, if I come and help you to escape, and we divide the food and the precious things equally between us, it will be profitable for both of us."

Thus spoke the fox outside the hole; and the fox inside the hole was very glad, and said: "Come and fetch me early to-morrow, and we will go off together."

The man was hidden in the shade of the tree, and had been listening.

Then the fox who had been standing outside went away, and the man, too, went home for the night.

But he came back next day to the mouth of the hole, and spoke thus, imitating the voice of the fox whom he had heard speaking outside the hole the day before: "Here I am.

Come out at once!

If you will turn into a horse, we will go down to the shore."

The fox came out.

It was a big fox.

The man said: "I have come already turned into a man.

If you turn into a horse, it will not matter even if we are seen by other people."

The fox shook itself, and became a large chestnut [_lit.

_ red] horse.

Then the two went off together, and came to a very rich village, plentifully provided with everything.

The man said: "I will sell this horse to anybody who wants one."

As the horse was a very fine one, every one wanted to buy it.

So the man bartered it for a quantity of food and precious things, and then went away.

Now the horse was such a peculiarly fine one that its new owner did not like to leave it out-of-doors, but always kept it in the house.

He shut the door, and he shut the window, and cut grass to feed it with.

But though he fed it, it could not (being really a fox) eat grass at all.

All it wanted to eat was fish.

After about four days it was like to die.

At last it made its escape through the window and ran home; and, arriving at the place where the other fox lived, wanted to kill it.

But it discovered that the trick had been played, not by its companion fox, but by the man.

So both the foxes were very angry, and consulted about going to find the man and kill him.

But though the two foxes had decided thus, the man came and made humble excuses, saying: "I came the other day, because I had overheard you two foxes plotting; and then I cheated you.

For this I humbly beg your pardon.

Even if you do kill me, it will do no good.

So henceforward I will brew rice-beer for you, and set up the divine symbols for you, and worship you,--worship you for ever.

In this way you will derive greater profit than you would derive from killing me.

Fish, too, whenever I make a good catch, I will offer to you as an act of worship.

This being so, the creatures called men shall worship you for ever."

The foxes, hearing this, said: "That is capital, we think.

That will do very well."

Thus spake the foxes.

Thus does it come about that all men, both Japanese and Aino, worship the fox.

So it is said.

--(Translated literally.

Told by Ishanashte, 15th July, 1886. ) x.

--_The Man who Married the Bear-Goddess.

_ There was a very populous village.

It was a village having both plenty of fish and plenty of venison.

It was a place lacking no kind of food.

Nevertheless, once upon a time, a famine set in.

There was no food, no venison, no fish, nothing to eat at all; there was a famine.

So in that populous village all the people died.

Now the village chief was a man who had two children, a boy and a girl.

After a time, only those two children remained alive.

Now the girl was the older of the two, and the boy was the younger.

The girl spoke thus: "As for me, it does not matter even if I do die, since I am a girl.

But you, being a boy, can, if you like, take up our father's inheritance.

So you should take these things with you, use them to buy food with, eat it, and live."

So spoke the girl, and took out a bag made of cloth, and gave it to him.

Then the boy went out on to the sand, and walked along the sea-shore.

When he had walked on the sand for a long time, he saw a pretty little house a short way inland.

Near it was lying the carcase of a large whale.

The boy went to the house, and after a time entered it.

On looking around, he saw a man of divine appearance.

The man's wife, too, looked like a goddess, and was dressed altogether in black raiment.

The man was dressed altogether in speckled raiment.

The boy went in, and stood by the door.

The man said to him: "Welcome to you, whencesoever you may have come."

Afterwards a lot of the whale's flesh was boiled, and the boy was feasted on it.

But the woman never looked towards him.

Then the boy went out and fetched his parcel, which he had left outside.

He brought in the bag made of cloth which had been given to him by his sister, and opened its mouth.

On taking out and looking at the things inside it, they were found to be very precious treasures.

"I will give you these treasures in payment for the food," said the boy, and gave them to that divine-looking man-of-the-house.

The god, having looked at them, said: "They are very beautiful treasures."

He said again: "You need not have paid me for the food.

But I will take these treasures of yours, carry them to my [other] house, and bring you my own treasures in exchange for them.

As for this whale's flesh, you can eat as much of it as you like, without payment."

Having said this, he went off with the lad's treasures.

Then the lad and the woman remained together.

After a time the woman turned to the lad, and said: "You lad!

listen to me when I speak.

I am the bear-goddess.

This husband of mine is the dragon-god.

There is no one so jealous as he is.

Therefore did I not look towards you, because I knew that he would be jealous if I looked towards you.

Those treasures of yours are treasures which even the gods do not possess.

It is because he is delighted to get them that he has taken them with him to counterfeit them and bring you mock treasures.

So when he shall have brought those treasures and shall display them, you must speak thus: 'We need not exchange treasures.

I wish to buy the woman!'

If you speak thus, he will go angrily away, because he is such a jealous man.

Then afterwards we can marry each other, which will be very pleasant.

That is how you must speak."

That was what the woman said.

Then, after a certain time, the man of divine appearance came back grinning.

He came bringing two sets of treasures, the treasures which were treasures and his own other treasures.

The god spoke thus: "You, lad!

As I have brought the treasures which are your treasures, it will be well to exchange them for my treasures."

The boy spoke thus: "Though I should like to have treasures also, I want your wife even more than I want the treasures; so please give me your wife instead of the treasures."

Thus spoke the lad.

He had no sooner uttered the words than he was stunned by a clap of thunder above the house.

On looking around him, the house was gone, and only he and the goddess were left together.

He came to his senses.

The treasures were there also.

Then the woman spoke thus: "What has happened is that my dragon-husband has gone away in a rage, and has therefore made this noise, because you and I wish to be together.

Now we can live together."

Thus spoke the goddess.

Afterwards they lived together.

This is why the bear is a creature half like a human being.

--(Translated literally.

Told by Ishanashte, 9th November, 1886. )