AINO FOLK-TALES. 

 BY BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN. 

 WITH INTRODUCTION BY EDWARD B. TYLOR, D. C. L. , F. R. S. 

 Privately Printed FOR THE FOLK-LORE SOCIETY. 1888. XXII. 

 List of Officers of the Society. 1887-1888. 

 PRESIDENT. 

 THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF STRAFFORD. 

 VICE-PRESIDENTS. 

 ANDREW LANG, M. A. W. R. S. RALSTON, M. A. EDWARD B. TYLOR, LL. D. , F. R. S. 

 DIRECTOR. 

 G. L. GOMME, F. S. A. , 1, Beverley Villas, Barnes Common, S. W. 

 COUNCIL. 

 A. MACHADO Y ALVAREZ. THE EARL BEAUCHAMP, F. S. A. EDWARD BRABROOK, F. S. A. DR. D. G. BRINTON JAMES BRITTEN, F. L. S. LOYS BRUEYRE. MISS C. S. BURNE. EDWARD CLODD. PROFESSOR D. COMPARETTI. G. L. GOMME, F. S. A. A. GRANGER HUTT, F. S. A. SIR JOHN LUBBOCK, Bt. , F. R. S. SIR HENRY MAINE, K. C. S. I. REV. DR. RICHARD MORRIS. ALFRED NUTT. EDWARD PEACOCK, F. S. A. Z. D. PEDROSO. PROFESSOR A. H. SAYCE, M. A. CAPTAIN R. C. TEMPLE. HENRY B. WHEATLEY, F. S. A. 

 AUDITORS. 

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 LOCAL SECRETARIES. 

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 HONORARY SECRETARIES. 

 A. GRANGER HUTT, F. S. A. , 8, Oxford Road, Kilburn, N. W. J. J. FOSTER, 36, Alma Square, St. John's Wood, N. W. 

INTRODUCTION. 

Twelve hundred years ago a Chinese historian stated that "on the easternfrontier of the land of Japan there is a barrier of great mountains, beyond which is the land of the Hairy Men. " These were the Aino, sonamed from the word in their own language signifying "man. " Over most ofthe country of these rude and helpless indigenes the Japanese have longsince spread, only a dwindling remnant of them still inhabiting theisland of Yezo. Since the early days when a couple of them were sent ascuriosities to the Emperor of China their uncouth looks and habits havemade them objects of interest to more civilised nations. Many Europeanwriters have described them, but hardly any with such opportunities asMr. Basil Hall Chamberlain, Professor of Philology at the TōkyōUniversity, who has taken down from the Ainos the present collection oftheir tales, and prefaced it with an account of their ways and state ofmind. It would hardly be for me to offer information on a subject soexcellently handled, but the request of the Editor of the _Folk-LoreJournal_ that I would write an Introduction enables me to draw attentionto the views put forward by Professor Chamberlain in anotherpublication, [A] which, being printed in Japan, may be overlooked by manyEnglish folk-lore students, even of those interested in the curious Ainoproblem. 

As is well known, the hairiness of the Ainos marks them sharply off fromthe smooth-faced Japanese. No one can look at photographs of Ainoswithout admitting that the often-repeated comparison of them to beardedRussian peasants is much to the purpose. The likeness is muchstrengthened by the bold quasi-European features of the Ainoscontrasting extremely with the Japanese type of face. Of course allthis has suggested a theory of the Ainos belonging to the Aryan race;and, although the idea comes to nothing when examined strictly, itsexistence is an acknowledgment of the special Aino race-type. Mentionmust also be made of an anatomical peculiarity of the Aino skeleton, consisting of a remarkable flattening of the arm-and leg-bones. On thewhole it is evident that the Ainos are an ancient race in this part ofAsia, and so far isolated that anthropology has not yet the means ofsettling their physical connection with other Asiatic tribes. ProfessorChamberlain's careful examination of the Aino language leads him to asimilar result. It is made not only from his own knowledge, but with theadvantage of working with the Rev. John Batchelor, who has lived as amissionary among the Ainos for years, and written the Grammar printed asa part of these Aino Studies. In structure the resemblances which theAino presents to Japanese are outweighed by the differences; and, thoughit may ultimately prove to fall into a north-east Asiatic group oflanguages, this is so far from being made out that it is safest for thepresent to treat both race and language as isolated. Inasmuch as thelittle civilisation now possessed by the Ainos has in great measure beenlearnt from the Japanese, it is natural that their modern languageshould have picked up numbers of Japanese words, from the name of kamuiwhich they give to their gods, down to the rice-beer or sake in whichthey seek continual drunkenness, now their main source of enjoyment. Onepurpose which their language serves is to prove how widely they oncespread over the country now Japan, where place-names alone remain toindicate a former Aino population. Some of these are unmistakeably Aino, as Yamashiro, which must have meant "land of chestnut trees, " andShikyu, "place of rushes. " Others, if interpreted as Japanese, have afar-fetched sense, as, for instance, the villages of Mennai and Tonami, which, if treated as Japanese, would signify "inside permission" and"hares in a row"; whereas, if taken to be originally Aino they may bearthe reasonable sense of "bad stream" and "stream from the lake. " Theinference from records and local names, worked out with great care byProfessor Chamberlain, is "that the Ainos were truly the predecessors ofthe Japanese all over the Archipelago. The dawn of history shows themto us living far to the south and west of their present haunts; and eversince then, century by century, we see them retreating eastwards andnorthwards, as steadily as the American Indian has retreated westwardsunder the pressure of the colonists from Europe. "

As with their language, so with their folk-lore, which largely showsitself adopted from the Japanese. In the present collection the storiesof the Salmon-king (xxxiv. ), the Island of Women (xxxiii. ), and others, are based on episodes of Japanese tales, sometimes belonging toworld-wide cycles of myth, as in the theme of the mortal who eats thedeadly food of Hades (xxxv. ), which has its typical example in the storyof Persephone. On reading the short but curious tale (xvi. ), How it wassettled who should rule the World, one sees at once that the cunningFox-god has come in from the well-known fox mythology of Japan; and asto the very clever mythic episode of looking for the sunrise in thewest, I find, on inquiry of a Japanese gentleman living in Oxford, Mr. Tsneta Mori, that this belongs to the tale of the Wager of thePhœnix, known to all Japanese children, and in which the Phœnix isplainly derived from China. On the other hand, there is much genuineAino matter in the present collection. For instance, we learn fromProfessor Chamberlain's above-mentioned treatise why it is that Panaumbe("on the lower course of the river") does the clever things, whilePenaumbe ("on the upper course of the river") is the stupid imitator whocomes to grief. It is simply the expression of the dislike and contemptof the coast Ainos, who tell the stories, for the hill Ainos further upthe rivers. It is needless to mention here the many touches of Ainoideas, morals, and customs, which their stories disclose, for it is innoticing these that much of the interest consists which the reader willfeel in perusing them. Their most important characteristic indeed isinsisted on by Professor Chamberlain, in remarks of which the value mustnot be overlooked. Of all the difficulties felt by the student offolk-lore the greatest is that of judging how far those who tell andlisten really believe their childish wonder-tales of talking beasts andthe like, or how far they make and take them as conscious fun. Weourselves are at the latter sceptical end, and many peoples we canexamine are in a halfway state, not altogether disbelieving that bigstones may once have been giants, or that it is a proper incident in ahero's career to be swallowed by a monster and get out again, but at thesame time admitting that after all these may be only old wives' tales. Even savage tribes under contact with civilised men are mostly in thisintermediate state, and thus Professor Chamberlain's statement as to theplace of folk-lore in the Aino mind, made, as it has been, under hispersonal scrutiny, is a document of real consequence. He satisfiedhimself that his Ainos were not making believe, like Europeans withnursery tales, but that the explanatory myths of natural phenomena areto them theorems of physical science, and the wonder-tales are toldunder the impression that they really happened. Those who maintain theserious value of folk-lore, as embodying early but quite real stages ofphilosophy among mankind, will be grateful for this collection, in spiteof its repulsive features, as furnishing the clearest evidence that thebasis of their argument is not only theoretical but actual. 

 Edward B. Tylor. 

[A] _The Language, Mythology, and Geographical Nomenclature of Japan, viewed in the light of Aino Studies. _ By Basil Hall Chamberlain. Including an _Ainu Grammar_ by John Batchelor. (Memoirs of theLiterature College, Imperial University of Japan, No. 1. ) Tōkyō:1887. 

AINO FOLK-LORE. 

By Basil Hall Chamberlain. 

_Prefatory Remarks. _

I visited the island of Yezo for the third time in the summer of 1886, in order to study the Aino language, with a view to elucidate by itsmeans the obscure problem of the geographical nomenclature of Japan. But, as is apt to happen on such occasions, the chief object of my visitsoon ceased to be the only object. He who would learn a language musttry to lisp in it, and more especially must he try to induce the nativesto chatter in it in his presence. Now in Yezo, subjects of discourse arefew. The Ainos stand too low in the scale of humanity to have any notionof the civilised art of "making conversation. " When, therefore, thefishing and the weather are exhausted, the European sojourner in one oftheir dreary, filthy seaside hamlets will find himself, --at least Ifound myself, --sadly at a loss for any further means of setting hisnative companions' tongues in motion. It is then that fairy-tales cometo the rescue. The Ainos would not suggest the idea themselves. Tosuggest ideas is not their habit. But they are delighted to follow itwhen suggested. Simply to repeat something which they have known byheart ever since the days of their childhood is not such an effort totheir easily-tired brains as is the keeping up of a conversation withone who speaks their language imperfectly. Their tongues are at onceloosened. 

In my own case, I found myself, after a short time, listening to thestories for their own sake, --not merely as linguistic exercises; and Iventured to include a few of them in the "Memoir on the Ainos" which waspublished a few months ago by the Imperial University of Japan. Someremarks in a review of this "Memoir, " contained in _Nature_ of the 12thMay, 1887, have encouraged me to believe that anthropologists andcomparative mythologists may be interested in having laid before themsomething more than mere samples of the mental products of a peoplewhich is interesting for three reasons, --interesting because its domainonce extended over the entire Japanese archipelago, interesting becauseabsolutely nothing certain is known as to its origin and affinities, interesting because it is, so to speak, almost at its last gasp. I have, therefore, now collected and classified all the tales that werecommunicated to me by Ainos, in Aino, during my last stay in the island, and more latterly in Tōkyō, when, by the kind assistance of thePresident of the University, Mr. H. Watanabe, an exceptionallyintelligent Aino was procured from the North, and spent a month in myhouse. These tales form the paper which I now have the honour to offerfor the acceptance of your learned Society. 

It would, no doubt, be possible to treat the subject of Aino folk-lorein great detail. The gloss might easily be made longer than the text. Each story might be analysed according to the method proposed by theFolk-Lore Society; a "survey of incidents" might be appended to each, asin Messrs. Steel and Temple's charming "Wide-Awake Stories, " from thePunjab and Cashmere. More interesting to the anthropologist than suchmechanical dissection of each tale considered as an independent entitywould be the attempt to unravel the affinities of these Aino tales. Howmany of them, what parts of them, are original? How many of them areborrowed, and whence?

To carry out such an investigation with that completeness which wouldalone give it serious value, would necessitate a greater expenditure oftime than my duties will allow of, perhaps also a fund of multifariousknowledge which I do not possess. I would, therefore, merely suggest inpassing that the probabilities of the case are in favour of the Ainoshaving borrowed from their only clever neighbours, the Japanese. (Theadvent of the Russians is so recent that they need hardly be counted inthis connection. ) The reasons for attributing to the Japanese, ratherthan to the Ainos, the prior possession (which, by the way, by no meansimplies the invention) of the tales common to both races, are partlygeneral, partly special. Thus it is _a priori_ likely that the stupidand barbarous will be taught by the clever and educated, not the cleverand educated by the stupid and barbarous. On the other hand, as I haveelsewhere demonstrated, a comparative study of the languages of the twopeoples shows clearly that this _a priori_ view is fully borne out sofar as far as the linguistic domain is concerned. The same remarkapplies to social customs. Even in religion, the most conservative ofall institutions, especially among barbarians, the Ainos have sufferedJapanese influence to intrude itself. It is Japanese rice-beer, underits Japanese name of _sake_, which they offer in libations to theirgods. Their very word for "prayer" seems to be archaic Japanese. Amediæval Japanese hero, Yoshitsune, is generally allowed to be held inreligious reverence by them. The idea of earthquakes being caused by thewriggling of a gigantic fish under the earth is shared by the Ainos withthe Japanese and with several other races. 

At the same time, the general tenour and tendency of the tales andtraditions of the Ainos wear a widely different aspect from that whichcharacterises the folk-lore of Japan. The Ainos, in their humble way, are addicted to moralising and to speculating on the origin of things. Aperusal of the following tales will show that a surprisingly largenumber of them are attempts to explain some natural phenomenon, or toexemplify some simple precept. In fact they are science, --physicalscience and moral science, --at a very early stage. The explanationsgiven in these tales completely satisfy the adult Aino mind of thepresent day. The Aino fairy-tales are not, as ours are, survivals froman earlier stage of thought. They spring out of the present state ofthought. Even if not invented of recent years they fit in with thepresent Aino view of things, --so much so, that an Aino who recounts oneof his stories does so under the impression that he is narrating anactual event. He does not "make believe" like the European nurse, evenlike the European child, who has always, in some nook or corner of hismind, a presentiment of the scepticism of his later years. 

So far as I can judge, that "disease of language" which we callmetaphor, and which is held by some great authorities to have been thechief factor in the fabrication of Aryan myth, has no place in Ainofairy-land; neither have the phenomena of the weather attracted moreattention than other things. But I speak subject to correction. Perhapsit is not wise to invite controversy on such a point unless one is wellarmed for the fight. 

Failing an elaborate analysis of the Aino fairy-tales, and a discussionof their origin and affinities, what I venture to offer for yourSociety's acceptance is the simple text of the tales themselves, rendered into English. Nine of them have already been printed in theAino "Memoir" already referred to. One has been printed (but not quitein its genuine form, which decency was supposed to forbid) at the end ofMr. Batchelor's grammar included in the same "Memoir. " All the othersare now given to the world for the first time, never having yet appearedin any language, not even in Japanese. 

I would draw special attention to the character of the translation, asbeing an absolutely literal one in the case of all those stories which Ioriginally wrote down in Aino from the dictation of native informants. As time pressed, however, I sometimes had the story told me morerapidly, and wrote it down afterwards in English only, but never morethan a few hours afterwards. In such cases, though every detail ispreserved, the rendering is of course not actually literal. This, andthe fact that there were several informants, will account for thedifference of style between the various stories. I have appended to eachstory either the words "translated literally, " or the words "writtendown from memory, " together with the date and the name of the informant, in order that those who use the collection may know exactly what it isthat they are handling. In all such matters, absolute accuracy, absoluteliteralness, wherever attainable, is surely the one thing necessary. Notall the charm of diction, not all the ingenious theories in the world, can for a moment be set in the balance against rigid exactness, even ifsome of the concomitants of rigid exactness are such as to spoil thesubject for popular treatment. The truth, the stark naked truth, thetruth without so much as a loin-cloth on, should surely be theinvestigator's sole aim when, having discovered a new set of facts, heundertakes to present them to the consideration of the scientific world. 

Of course Aino tales, like other tales, may also be treated from aliterary point of view. Some of the tales of the present collection, prettily illustrated with pictures by Japanese artists, and altered, expurgated, and arranged _virginibus puerisque_, are at the presentmoment being prepared by Messrs. Ticknor & Co. , of Boston, who thoughtwith me that such a venture might please our little ones both in Englandand in the United States. But such things have no scientific value. Theyare not meant to have any. They are mere juvenile literature, whoseEnglish dressing-up has as little relation to the barbarous original asthe Paris fashions have to the anatomy of the human frame. 

The present paper, on the contrary, is intended for the sole perusal ofthe anthropologist and ethnologist, who would be deprived of one of thebest means of judging of the state of the Aino mind if the hideousindecencies of the original were omitted, or its occasional ineptitudefurbished up. Aino mothers, lulling their babies to sleep, as they rockthem in the cradle hung over the kitchen fire, use words, touch onsubjects which we never mention; and that precisely is a noteworthycharacteristic. The innocent savage is not found in Aino-land, if indeedhe is to be found anywhere. The Aino's imagination is as prurient asthat of any Zola, and far more outspoken. Pray, therefore, put the blameon him, if much of the language of the present collection is such as itis not usual to see in print. Aino stories and Aino conversation are theintellectual counterpart of the dirt, the lice, and the skin-diseaseswhich cover Aino bodies. 

For the four-fold classification of the stories, no importance isclaimed. It was necessary to arrange them somehow; and the division into"Tales Accounting for the Origin of Phenomena, " "Moral Tales, " "Tales ofthe Panaumbe and Penaumbe Cycle, " and "Miscellaneous Tales, " suggesteditself as a convenient working arrangement. The "Scraps of Folk-Lore, "which have been added at the end, may perhaps be considered out ofplace in a collection of tales. But I thought it better to err on theside of inclusion than on that of exclusion. For it may be presumed thatthe object of any such investigation is rather to gain as minute anacquaintance as possible with the mental products of the people studied, than scrupulously to conform to any system. 

There must be a large number of Aino fairy-tales besides those heregiven, as the chief tellers of stories, in Aino-land as in Europe, arethe women, and I had mine from men only, the Aino women being much tooshy of male foreigners for it to be possible to have much conversationwith them. Even of the tales I myself heard, several were lost throughthe destruction of certain papers, --among others at least three of thePanaumbe and Penaumbe Cycle, which I do not trust myself to reconstructfrom memory at this distance of time. Many precious hours were likewisewasted, and much material rendered useless, by the national vice ofdrunkenness. A whole month at Hakodate was spoilt in this way, andnothing obtained from an Aino named Tomtare, who had been procured forme by the kindness of H. E. The Governor of Hakodate. One can haveintercourse with men who smell badly, and who suffer, as almost allAinos do, from lice and from a variety of disgusting skin-diseases. Itis a mere question of endurance and of disinfectants. But it isimpossible to obtain information from a drunkard. A third reason for thecomparatively small number of tales which it is possible to collectduring a limited period of intercourse is the frequency of repetitions. No doubt such repetitions have a confirmatory value, especially when therepetition is of the nature of a variant. Still, one would willinglyspare them for the sake of new tales. 

The Aino names appended to the stories are those of the men by whom theywere told to me, viz. Penri, the aged chief of Piratori; Ishanashte ofShumunkot; Kannariki of Poropet (Jap. Horobetsu); and Kuteashguru ofSapporo. Tomtare of Yūrap does not appear for the reason mentionedabove, which spoilt all his usefulness. The only mythological nameswhich appear are Okikurumi, whom the Ainos regard as having been theircivilizer in very ancient times, his sister-wife Turesh, or Tureshi[hi]and his henchman Samayunguru. The "divine symbols, " of which suchconstant mention is made in the tales, are the inao or whittled sticksfrequently described in books of travels. 

 Basil Hall Chamberlain. Miyanoshita, Japan, 20th July, 1887. 

I. --TALES ACCOUNTING FOR THE ORIGIN OF PHENOMENA. 

i. --_The Rat and the Owl. _[B]

An owl had put by for next day the remains of something dainty which hehad to eat. But a rat stole it, whereupon the owl was very angry, andwent off to the rat's house, and threatened to kill him. But the ratapologised, saying: "I will give you this gimlet and tell you how youcan obtain from it pleasure far greater than the pleasure of eating thefood which I was so rude as to eat up. Look here! you must stick thegimlet with the sharp point upwards in the ground at the foot of thistree; then go to the top of the tree yourself, and slide down thetrunk. "

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, andhe suffered great pain, and, in his grief and rage, went off to kill therat. 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 owlwears to this day, and also for the enmity between the owl and therat. --(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 inlove with the same Aino woman. Said one of them to the other, in ajoking way: "I will become a flea, so as to be able to hop into herbosom. " Said the other: "I will become a louse, so as to be able to stayalways in her bosom. "

"Are those your wishes?" cried their father, the chief thunder-god. "Youshall be taken at your word"; and forthwith the one of them who had saidhe would become a flea was turned into a flea, while he who said hewould become a louse was turned into a louse. Hence all the fleas andlice 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 seenbefore. --(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 intothe forest under the pretext of showing him game, and there caused himto 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 whenhe was dying he commanded me to tell you to marry me in his stead. " Thewidow knew that the dog was lying. But he kept on urging her to marryhim. So at last, in her grief and rage, she threw a handful of dust intohis open mouth. This made him unable to speak any more, and therefore nodogs can speak even to this very day. --(Written down from memory. Toldby Ishanashte, 29th November, 1886. )

iv. --_Why the Cock cannot fly. _

When the Creator had finished creating the world, and had returned tothe 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, thatthe cock, unable to tear himself away, kept lingering on from day today. At last, after a long time, he was on his way flying back up to thesky. But God, angry with him for his disobedience, stretched forth hishand, and beat him down to earth, saying: "You are not wanted in the skyany more. "

That is why, to this very day, the cock cannot fly high. --(Written downfrom 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 weresix people beautifully arrayed, but constantly quarrelling. Whence theycame was unknown. Thereupon Okikurumi came and said: "Oh! you bad hares!you wicked hares! who does not know your origin? The children in the skywere pelting each other with snowballs, and the snowballs fell into theworld of men. As it would be a pity to waste anything that falls fromthe 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 thesix with it in turn. Thereupon all the hares ran away. This is theorigin of the hare[-god]; and for this reason the body of the hare iswhite because made of snow, while its ears--which are the place where itwas charred by the fire-brand, --are black. --(Translated literally. Toldby Penri, 10th July, 1886. )

vi. --_The Position of the Private Parts. _

At the beginning of the world it had been the Creator's intention toplace both men's and women's genitals on their foreheads so that theymight be able to procreate children easily. But the otter made a mistakein conveying the message to that effect; and that is how the genitalscome to be in the inconvenient place they are now in. --(Written downfrom memory. Told by Ishanashte, 11th July, 1886. )

vii. --_The Reason for there being no Fixed Time for Human Beings tocopulate. _

Anciently the Creator summoned all the birds and beasts, the gods anddevils together, in order to instruct them on the subject of copulation. So the birds and all the others of every sort assembled, and learnt fromthe 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 tothy young in the spring of the following year; and thou mayest eat anyof the grass that may grow in any land. " At these words, the horse wasdelighted, and forthwith trotted out. But, as he rose, he kicked God inthe 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 iscalled man copulate at all times. --(Translated literally. Told byIshanashte, 12th July, 1886). 

viii. --_The Owl and the Tortoise. _

The tortoise[-god] in the sea and the owl[-god] on land were veryintimate. The tortoise spoke thus: "Your child is a boy. My child is agirl. So it will be good for us to unite them in marriage. If I sendinto the river the fish that there are in the sea your son and mydaughter, being both of them enabled to eat fish, will possess theworld. " Thus spoke the tortoise. The owl was greatly obliged. For thisreason, the child of the tortoise and the child of the owl becamehusband and wife. For this reason, the owl, without the leasthesitation, eats every fish that comes into the river. --(Translatedliterally. 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 ahole. To this hole there came a fox, who spoke as follows, though he wasa fox, in human language: "I know of something from which great profitmay be derived. Let us go to the place to-morrow!" To which the foxinside the hole replied as follows: "What profitable thing do youallude to? After hearing about it, I will go with you if it soundslikely 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-morrowabout the time of the mid-day meal. You must be waiting for me then, andwe will go off together. If you take the shape of a horse, and we go offtogether, I taking the shape of a man and riding on your back, we can godown to the shore, where dwell human beings possessed of plenty of foodand all sorts of other things. As there is sure to be among the peoplesome one who wants a horse, I will sell you to him who thus wants ahorse. I can then buy a quantity of precious things and of food. Then Ishall run away; and you, having the appearance of a horse, will be ledout to eat grass, and be tied up somewhere on the hillside. Then, if Icome and help you to escape, and we divide the food and the preciousthings equally between us, it will be profitable for both of us. " Thusspoke the fox outside the hole; and the fox inside the hole was veryglad, and said: "Come and fetch me early to-morrow, and we will go offtogether. "

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 thehole, and spoke thus, imitating the voice of the fox whom he had heardspeaking 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 foxcame out. It was a big fox. The man said: "I have come already turnedinto a man. If you turn into a horse, it will not matter even if we areseen 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 veryrich village, plentifully provided with everything. The man said: "Iwill sell this horse to anybody who wants one. " As the horse was a veryfine one, every one wanted to buy it. So the man bartered it for aquantity of food and precious things, and then went away. 

Now the horse was such a peculiarly fine one that its new owner did notlike to leave it out-of-doors, but always kept it in the house. He shutthe door, and he shut the window, and cut grass to feed it with. Butthough 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. Butit 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 aboutgoing to find the man and kill him. 

But though the two foxes had decided thus, the man came and made humbleexcuses, saying: "I came the other day, because I had overheard you twofoxes plotting; and then I cheated you. For this I humbly beg yourpardon. Even if you do kill me, it will do no good. So henceforward Iwill brew rice-beer for you, and set up the divine symbols for you, andworship you, --worship you for ever. In this way you will derive greaterprofit than you would derive from killing me. Fish, too, whenever I makea 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 dovery well. " Thus spake the foxes. Thus does it come about that all men, both Japanese and Aino, worship the fox. So it is said. --(Translatedliterally. 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 plentyof 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, novenison, no fish, nothing to eat at all; there was a famine. So in thatpopulous 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 wasthe 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. Butyou, being a boy, can, if you like, take up our father's inheritance. Soyou should take these things with you, use them to buy food with, eatit, and live. " So spoke the girl, and took out a bag made of cloth, andgave 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 littlehouse a short way inland. Near it was lying the carcase of a largewhale. The boy went to the house, and after a time entered it. Onlooking around, he saw a man of divine appearance. The man's wife, too, looked like a goddess, and was dressed altogether in black raiment. Theman was dressed altogether in speckled raiment. The boy went in, andstood by the door. The man said to him: "Welcome to you, whencesoeveryou 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 hissister, and opened its mouth. On taking out and looking at the thingsinside it, they were found to be very precious treasures. "I will giveyou these treasures in payment for the food, " said the boy, and gavethem to that divine-looking man-of-the-house. The god, having looked atthem, said: "They are very beautiful treasures. " He said again: "Youneed not have paid me for the food. But I will take these treasures ofyours, carry them to my [other] house, and bring you my own treasures inexchange for them. As for this whale's flesh, you can eat as much of itas you like, without payment. " Having said this, he went off with thelad's treasures. 

Then the lad and the woman remained together. After a time the womanturned to the lad, and said: "You lad! listen to me when I speak. I amthe bear-goddess. This husband of mine is the dragon-god. There is noone so jealous as he is. Therefore did I not look towards you, because Iknew that he would be jealous if I looked towards you. Those treasuresof yours are treasures which even the gods do not possess. It is becausehe is delighted to get them that he has taken them with him tocounterfeit them and bring you mock treasures. So when he shall havebrought those treasures and shall display them, you must speak thus: 'Weneed not exchange treasures. I wish to buy the woman!' If you speakthus, he will go angrily away, because he is such a jealous man. Thenafterwards we can marry each other, which will be very pleasant. That ishow you must speak. " That was what the woman said. 

Then, after a certain time, the man of divine appearance came backgrinning. He came bringing two sets of treasures, the treasures whichwere treasures and his own other treasures. The god spoke thus: "You, lad! As I have brought the treasures which are your treasures, it willbe well to exchange them for my treasures. " The boy spoke thus: "ThoughI should like to have treasures also, I want your wife even more than Iwant the treasures; so please give me your wife instead of thetreasures. " Thus spoke the lad. 

He had no sooner uttered the words than he was stunned by a clap ofthunder above the house. On looking around him, the house was gone, andonly he and the goddess were left together. He came to his senses. Thetreasures were there also. Then the woman spoke thus: "What has happenedis that my dragon-husband has gone away in a rage, and has thereforemade this noise, because you and I wish to be together. Now we can livetogether. " Thus spoke the goddess. Afterwards they lived together. Thisis why the bear is a creature half like a human being. --(Translatedliterally. Told by Ishanashte, 9th November, 1886. )

xi. --_The two Foxes, the Mole, and the Crows. _

Two brother foxes consulted together thus: "It would be fun for us to godown among men, and assume human shape. " So they made treasures and theymade garments out of the leaves of various trees, and they made variousthings to eat and cakes out of the gum which comes out of trees. But themole[-god] saw them making all these preparations. So the mole made aplace like a human village, and placed himself in it under the disguiseof a very old man. The foxes came to that village; they came to the veryold man's house. And the mole himself made beautiful treasures and madegarments out of various herbs and leaves of trees; and, takingmulberries and grapes from the tops of the trees, he made good food. Onthe arrival of the foxes, the mole invited all the crows in the placeand all sorts of birds. He gave them human shape, and placed them asowners in the houses of the village. Then the mole, as chief of thevillage, was a very old man. 

Then the foxes came, having assumed the shape of men. They thought theplace was a human village. The old chief bought all the things which thefoxes had brought on their backs, all their treasures and all theirfood. Then the old man displayed to them his own beautiful treasures. The old man displayed all his beautiful things, his garments. The foxeswere much pleased. Then the old man spoke thus: "Oh you strangers! asthere is a dance in my village, it will be well for you to see it. " Thenall the people in the village danced all sorts of dances. But at last, owing to their being birds, they began to fly upwards, notwithstandingtheir human shape. The foxes saw this, and were much amused. The foxesate both of the mulberries and of the grapes. They tasted very good. Itwas great fun, too, to see the dancing. Afterwards they went home. 

The foxes, thought thus: "What is nicer even than treasures is thedelicious food which human beings have. As we do not know what it is, let us go again and buy some more of it. " So they again made treasuresout of herbs. Then they again went down to that village. The mole was ina golden house--a large house. He was alone in it, having sent all thecrows and the rest away. As the foxes entered the house and looked aboutthem, they saw a very venerable god. The god spoke thus: "Oh! you foxes;because you had assumed human shape, you made all sorts of counterfeittreasures. I saw all that you did. It is by me, and because of this, that you are brought here. You think this is a human village; but it isthe village of me, your master the mole. It seems you constantly do allsorts of bad things. If you do so, it is very wrong; so do not assumehuman shape any more. If you will cease to assume human shape, you mayhenceforth eat your fill of these mulberries and grapes. You and yourcompanions the crows may eat together of the mulberries and of allfruits at the top of the trees, which the crows cause to drop down. Thiswill be much more profitable for you than to assume human shape. " Thusspoke the mole. 

Owing to this, the foxes left off assuming human shape, and, from thattime forward, ate as they pleased of the mulberries and the grapes. Whenthe crows let any drop, they went underneath the trees and ate them. They became very friendly together. --(Translated literally. Told byIshanashte, 11th November, 1886. )

xii. --_The Stolen Charm. _

A very rich man kept a puppy and a fox-cub. Besides these he possessed atiny silver model of a ship, --a charm given to him by some god, what godI know not. One day this charm was stolen, and could nowhere be found. The rich man was so violently grieved at this, that he lay down andrefused all food, and was like to die. Meanwhile the puppy and thefox-cub played about in his room. But when they saw, after some time, that the man was really going to die, the fox-cub said to the puppy: "Ifour master dies, we shall die of hunger too; so we had better search forthe charm. " So they consulted as to the best way to search for it; andat last the fox-cub was struck by the idea that the ogre who lived atthe top of the large mountain that stands at the end of the world mighthave stolen the charm and put it into his box. The fox-cub seemed to seethat this had really happened. So the two little animals determined togo and rescue the charm from the ogre. But they knew that they could notaccomplish this alone, and resolved to add the rat[-god] to theirnumber. So they invited the rat, and the three went off, dancingmerrily. 

Now the ogre was always looking steadily in the direction of the sickrich man, hoping that he would die. So he did not notice the approach ofthe fox-cub, the dog, and the rat. So when they reached the ogre'shouse, the rat, with the help of the fox-cub, scooped out a passageunder and into the house, by which all three made their way in. Theythen decided that it must be left to the rat to get hold of the charm bynibbling a hole in the box in which it was kept. Meanwhile the fox-cubassumed the shape of a little boy, and the puppy that of a littlegirl, --two beautiful little creatures who danced and went through allsorts of antics, much to the amusement of the ogre. The ogre was, however, suspicious as to how they had come into the house, and whencethey had come, for the doors were not open. So he determined just todivert himself awhile by watching their frolics, and then to kill them. Meanwhile the rat had nibbled a hole in the box. Then getting into it, he rescued the charm, and went out again through the passage in theground. The little boy and girl disappeared too; how, the ogre could nottell. He made to pursue them through the door, when he saw them fleeing. But on second thoughts he came to the conclusion that, having once beentaken in by a fox, there was no use in further endeavours. So he did notfollow the three animals as they fled away. 

They returned to the village; the puppy and the fox-cub to theirmaster's house, the rat to its own place. The puppy and the fox-cub tookhome with them the charm, and placed it by their master's pillow, playing about near him, and pulling his clothes a little with theirteeth. At length he lifted his head and saw the charm. Then heworshipped it with great joy and gratitude. Afterwards the fox-cub andthe puppy caused him to see in a dream how the charm had been recoveredthrough the rat's assistance. So he worshipped the rat also. 

For this reason the Ainos do not think so very badly of the rat afterall. The fox, too, though often pursued by dogs, will sometimes makefriends with them; and even when a dog is pursuing a fox, it will notbite the latter if it turns its face towards the pursuer. --(Written downfrom memory. Told by Ishanashte, 21st November, 1886. )

xiii. --_The Fox, the Otter, and the Monkey. _

In very ancient days, at the beginning of the world, there were a fox, an otter, and a monkey, all three of whom lived on the most intimateterms of friendship. 

One day the fox spoke to the other two as follows: "What do you say toour going off somewhere, and stealing food and treasures from theJapanese?" His two companions having consented, they all went togetherto a distant place, and stole a bag of beans, a bag of salt, and a matfrom the house of a very rich man. When they had come home with theirplunder, the fox said: "Otter! you had better take the salt, for it willbe useful to you in salting the fish which you catch in the water whenyou go fishing. Monkey! do you take the mat; it will be very useful foryou to make your children dance upon. As for myself, I will take the bagof beans. "

After this, all three retired to their respective houses; and a littlelater the otter went to the river to fish. But, as he took his bag ofsalt with him when he made the plunge, all the salt was melted in amoment, to his great disappointment. The monkey was equally unlucky;for, having taken his mat and spread it on the top of a tree, and madehis children dance there, the children fell, and were dashed to pieceson the ground below. 

The monkey and the otter, enraged by the misfortunes which the fox'swiles had brought upon them, now joined together in order to fight thefox. So the latter took a lot of beans out of his bag, chewed them to apulp, smeared all his body with the paste, and lay down pretending to bevery ill. And when the otter and the monkey came and made to kill him, he said: "See to what a pitiful plight I am reduced! As a punishment forhaving deceived you, my whole body is now covered with boils, and I amon the point of death. There is no need for you to kill me. Go away! Iam dying fast enough. " The monkey looked, and saw that the fox seemed tobe speaking the truth. So he went testily away, across the sea to Japan. That is the reason why there are no monkeys in the land of theAinos. --(Written down from memory. Told by Ishanashte, 11th July, 1886. )

xiv. --_The Fox and the Tiger. _--(No. I. )

Said the tiger to the fox: "Let us run a race from the top of the worldto the bottom of the world, and he who wins it shall be lord of theworld!" The fox agreed, and off the tiger bounded, but without noticingthat the fox had caught hold of his tail so as to get pulled along byhim. Just as the tiger was about to reach the other end, he suddenlywhisked round, in order to jeer at the fox, whom he believed to be farbehind. But this motion exactly threw the fox safely on to the far end, so that he was able to call out to the astonished tiger: "Here I am. What are you so long about?"

For this reason there are no tigers in Aino-land. 

(No. II. )

Said the tiger to the fox: "You are said to be the craftiest of allcreatures. Let us now enter into rivalry, and see which of us can roarthe loudest; for to him shall belong the chieftainship of the world. "The fox consented, and the two stood up alongside of each other. But asit was for the tiger to roar first, he remained standing up, and did notnotice how the fox scraped a hole with his paws to hide his head in, sothat his ears might not be stunned by the tiger's roaring. 

Well, the tiger roared a roar which he thought must be heard from thetop of the world to the bottom of the world, and must certainly stun thefox. But the fox, as soon as he knew the tiger's roar to be at an end, jumped up out of the hole where he had been hiding his ears, and said:"Why! I hardly heard you. You can surely roar louder than that. You hadbetter try again. "

The tiger was very angry at this; for he had expected that the fox wouldbe stunned to death. However he resolved to make another still moretremendous effort. He did so, while the fox again hid his head in thehole; and the tiger burst his inside in the attempt. 

For this reason there are no tigers in Aino-land. For this reason, also, foxes are crafty and eloquent even at the present day. --(Written downfrom memory. Told by Ishanashte, 27th November, 1886. )

xv. --_The Punishment of Curiosity. _

In very ancient days, when the world had just been made, everything wasstill unsettled and dangerous. The crust of the earth was thin, and allwas burning beneath. For this reason the people did not dare to ventureoutside of their huts even to obtain food: for they would have scorchedtheir feet. So they were fed by the god Okikurumi, who used to fish forthem, and then send round his wife Turesh with what he had caught. Buthe commanded the people to ask no questions, and never to attempt tolook at Turesh's face. But one day an Aino in one of the huts was notcontent with being fed for nothing, and disobeyed Okikurumi's commands. He wished to see who the woman was that came round every day with food. So he waited till her hand was stretched in at the window, seized holdof it, and pulled her in by main force. She screamed and struggled; and, when she was inside the hut, she turned into a wriggling, writhingdragon. The sky darkened, the thunder crashed, the dragon vanished, andthe hut was consumed by lightning. Okikurumi was very angry at what theman had done. So he left off feeding the people, and went away, none, knew whither. That is why the Ainos have been poor and miserable eversince that time. --(Written down from memory. Told by Kuteashguru, July, 1886. )

xvi. --_How it was settled who should rule the World. _

When the Creator had finished creating this world of men, the good andthe bad gods were all mixed together promiscuously, and began disputingfor the possession of the world. They disputed, --the bad gods wanting tobe at the head of the government of this world, and the good godslikewise wanting to be at the head. So the following arrangement wasagreed to: Whoever, at the time of sunrise, should be the first to seethe luminary, should rule the world. If the bad gods should be the firstto see it rise, then they should rule; and if the good gods should bethe first, then they should rule. Thereupon both the bad Gods and thebrilliant gods looked towards the place where the luminary was to rise. But the fox[-god] alone stood looking towards the west. After a littletime, the fox cried out: "I see the sunrise. " On the gods, both bad andgood, turning round and gazing, they saw in truth the refulgence of theluminary in the west. This is the cause for which the brilliant godsrule the world. --(Translated literally. Told by Ishanashte, 10th July, 1886. )

xvii. --_The Man who lost his Wife. _

A man had lost his wife, and was searching for her everywhere, over hilland dale, forest and sea-shore. At last he came to a wide plain, onwhich stood an oak-tree. Going up to it he found it to be not so much anoak-tree as a house, in which dwelt a kind-looking old man. Said the oldman: "I am the god of the oak-tree. I know of your loss, and have seenyour faithful search. Rest here awhile, and refresh yourself by eatingand smoking. After that, if you hope to find your wife again, you mustobey my orders, which are as follows: Take this golden horse, get on hisback, fly up on him to the sky, and, when you get there, ride about thestreets, constantly singing. "

So the man mounted the horse, which was of pure gold. The saddle and allthe trappings were of gold also. As soon as he was in the saddle, thehorse flew up to the sky. There the man found a world like ours, butmore beautiful. There was an immense city in it; and up and down thestreets of that city, day after day, he rode, singing all the while. Every one in the sky stared at him, and all the people put their handsto their noses, saying: "How that creature from the lower world stinks!"At last the stench became so intolerable to them that the chief god ofthe sky came and told him that he should be made to find his wife ifonly he would go away. Thereupon the man flew back to earth on hisgolden horse. Alighting at the foot of the oak-tree, he said to theoak-god: "Here am I. I did as you bade me. But I did not find my wife. ""Wait a moment, " said the oak-god; "you do not know what a tumult hasbeen caused by your visit to the sky, neither have I yet told you thatit was a demon who stole your wife. This demon, looking up from hellbelow, was so much astonished to see and hear you riding up and down thestreets of heaven singing, that his gaze is still fixed in thatdirection. I will profit hereby to go round quietly, while his attentionis absorbed, and let your wife out of the box in which he keeps her shutup. "

The oak-god did as he had promised. He brought back the woman, andhanded over both her and the gold horse to the man, saying: "Do not usethis horse to make any more journeys to the sky. Stay on earth, andbreed from it. " The couple obeyed his commands, and became very rich. The gold horse gave birth to two horses, and these two bred likewise, till at last horses filled all the land of the Ainos. --(Written downfrom memory. Told by Ishanashte, 21st July, 1886. )

xviii. --_The First Appearance of the Horse in Aino-land. _

A very beautiful woman had a husband. He was a very skilful fellow. Oncehe went to the mountains, and disappeared. But at night he returned, bearing a deer on his back. After feasting on the deer, they went tobed. But in the middle of the night, the woman wept and screamed, saying: "This man is not my husband. Though with shame, I will declarethe fact as it is. His penis is so big, so big, so big, that it will notget into my vagina; and if it did get in, I should die. "

Alarmed by her cries, the neighbours ran out, and came into her house;and one strong fellow took a stick, and beat the husband, saying: "Youmust be some sort of devil, " whereupon the husband turned into a horse, and ran away neighing. Afterwards he was beaten to death. 

The truth was that the husband had been killed and supplanted by thehorse. That was the first the Ainos saw of horses. In ancient days everysort of creature could thus assume human shape. So it issaid. --(Translated literally. Told by Penri, 12th July, 1886. )

xix. --_Sunrise. _

When the sun rises at the head of the world [_i. E. _ in the east], adevil tries to swallow it. But some one thrusts two or three crows orfoxes into the devil's mouth. Meanwhile the sun mounts on high. Thecreatures, than which there are none more numerous in this world, arethe crows and the foxes. That is why things are thus. In return for thisservice of theirs, the crows and foxes share in all man's eatables. Itis because of the above fact. --(Translated literally. Told by Penri, 13th July, 1886. )

xx. --_The Sex of the Two Luminaries. _

Formerly it was the female luminary that came out at night. But she wasso greatly shocked at the immoralities which she saw going on out ofdoors among the grass, that she exchanged with the male luminary, who, being a man, did not care so much. So now the sun is a female deity, andthe moon is a male deity. But surely the sun must be often shocked atwhat she sees going on even in the day-time, when the young people arein the open among the grass. --(Written down from memory. Told byIshanashte, November, 1886. )

II. --MORAL TALES. 

xxi. --_The Kind Giver and the Grudging Giver. _

A certain man had laid his net across the river; having laid his net, hekilled a quantity of fish. Meanwhile there came a raven, and perchedbeside him. It seemed to be greatly hungering after the fish. It wasmuch to be pitied. So the fisherman washed one of the fish, and threw itto the raven. The raven ate the fish with great joy. Afterwards theraven came again. Though it was a raven, it spoke thus, just like ahuman being: "I am very grateful for having been fed on fish by you. Ifyou will come with me to my old father, he too will thank you. So youhad better come. "

The man went with the raven. Being a raven, it flew through the air. Theman followed it on foot. After they had gone a long way, they came to alarge house. When they got there, the raven went into the house. The manwent in also. When he looked, it appeared like a human being in form, though it was a raven. There were also a divine old man and a divine oldwoman besides the divine girl. This girl was she who had led the manhither. The divine old man spoke thus: "I am very grateful to you. As Iam very grateful to you for feeding my daughter with good fish, I havehad you brought here in order to reward you. " Thus spoke the divine oldman. 

Then there were a gold puppy and a silver puppy. Both these puppies weregiven to the man. The divine old man spoke thus: "Though I should giveyou treasures, it would be useless. But if I give you these puppies, youwill be greatly benefited. As for the excrements of these two puppies, the gold puppy excretes gold and the silver puppy excretes silver. Thisbeing so, you will be greatly enriched if you sell these excrements tothe officials. Understand this!" Then the man, with respectfulsalutations, went away, carrying with him the two puppies, and came tohis own house. Then he gave the puppies a little food at a time. Whenthe gold puppy excreted, it excreted gold for him. When the silver puppyexcreted, it excreted silver for him. The man greatly enriched himselfby selling the metal. 

Thereupon another man, for the sake of imitation, set his net in theriver. He killed a quantity of fish. Then the raven came. The mansmeared a fish with mud, and then threw it to the raven. The raven flewaway with it. The man went after it, and at last, after going a longway, reached a large house. He went in there. The divine old man wasvery angry. He spoke thus: "You man are a man with a very bad heart. When you gave my daughter a fish, you gave it smeared all over with mud. I am very angry. Still, though I am angry, I will give you some puppies, as you have come to my house. If you treat them properly, you will bebenefited. " Thus spoke the divine old man, and gave a gold puppy and asilver puppy to the man. With a bow, the man went home with them. 

The man thought thus: "If I feed the puppies plentifully, they willexcrete plenty of metal. It would be foolish to have them excreting onlya little at a time. So I will do that, and become very rich. " Thinkingthus, he fed the puppies plentifully on anything, even on dirty things. Then they excreted no metal for him. They only excreted dirty dung. Theman's house was full of nothing but dirty dung. As for the former man, who had received puppies from the divine old man, he fed his on nothingbut good food, a little at a time. Gradually they excreted metal forhim. He was greatly enriched. 

Thus in ancient times, with regard to men who wished to grow rich, theycould grow rich if their hearts were as good as possible. As forbad-hearted men, the gods became angry at all their various misdeeds. It was for this reason that, on account of their anger, even a goldpuppy excreted nothing but dung. As for the house of that bad-heartedman, it grew so full of dung as to be too dirty for other people toenter. This being so, oh! men, do not be bad-hearted. That is the storywhich I have heard. --(Translated literally. Told by Ishanashte, 20thJuly, 1886. )

xxii. --_The Man who was changed into a Fox_. 

A certain man's conduct was as follows: he went to every place, makingit his business to do nothing but tell lies and extort things frompeople. Then, after a time, when wanting to extort again, he went on toanother place. While walking along he used to think of what lies hecould tell. Afterwards he heard a voice. It was not human language. Hewalked saying--"Pau! pau!"[C] When he looked at his own body, it was afox's. Then he thought that, whether he might return to his own village, or go to another place, the dogs would kill him. So, with tears, he wentaway from the road into the mountains. There he found a large, leafyoak-tree. He lay down crying beneath it. 

Then he fell asleep. He dreamt that there was a large house. He wasoutside of that house. A divine woman came out of it, and spoke thus:"Oh! what a bad man! what a villain! You have become a bad god, a devil, as a divine punishment for your misdeeds. Being thus made into a devil, why do you come and stand near my house? I should like to leave youalone. But as I am this tree, which is made the chief of trees byheaven, and as it would defile me to have you die beside my house, Iwill turn you into a man again and send you home. Do not misbehaveyourself henceforth!" Thus spoke the divine woman. 

Such was his dream. Meanwhile the branches at the top of the tree broke, and came crashing down, and he was greatly frightened. But when hestarted up, he was a man again. Then he worshipped the tree. Then hereturned home. Then afterwards he did not misbehave. So also must younot misbehave, you men who live now!--(Translated literally. Told byPenri, 19th July, 1886. )

[C] An onomatopœia for the bark of the fox. 

xxiii. --_The Rat Boy. _

In a certain village there lived a very rich couple; but they werechildless. They were very anxious for a child. But one day, as the wifewent to the mountains to fetch wood, she found a little boy cryingbeside a tree. Rejoiced at this, she took him down with her to thevillage. Thenceforth they kept the boy with them. It was a place wherethere was plenty of deer and also of fish; it was a place provided withall the things which people like to eat. But though they hunted thedeer, they could not catch them; though they angled for the fish, theycould not catch them. They were very hungry. Hearing that greatquantities both of fish and of deer were killed in the village next totheirs, towards the mountains, the wife went off to buy food there, taking the child with her. She went to the village next to theirs, towards the mountains. She went to the house of the chief. 

The woman looked and saw fish hanging on poles, and flesh hanging onpoles. With tears she longed for some. She went in, she went in to thechief's house. Then she stayed there. She was feasted on the best bitsof the fish and on the best bits of the flesh. After that, as she laydown with her little boy, he rose quietly in the middle of the night. Then there was the sound of a rat nibbling at the fish and flesh on thepoles. The woman thought it very strange. So at dawn the boy camequietly back, lay down by the woman's side, and slept there till the daywas bright. The people of the house rose, and the chief went out andmumbled thus to himself: "Never were there such rats as this. There havebeen rats nibbling my good fish and my good flesh. "

So the woman bought a quantity of fish and flesh and went off with it. She wanted the little boy to walk in front of her; but he disliked to doso. He would only walk after her. Then there was the sound of a ratnibbling at her load. When she looked back, the little boy was grinning. So they went on; they went home. Then she put both the fish and theflesh into the store-house. Then she whispered to her husband. Then herhusband went into the next room, and made a trap. Then the trap was setin the store-house. Then they went to bed. The little boy lay betweenthe woman and her husband; but after awhile he quietly rose and wentout. He stayed away, without coming back. Daylight came. On the man ofthe house going into the store-house, there was a large rat in the trap. So he brought it down, beat it to death, and swept it on to thedust-heap. That night he had a dream. A person of divine aspect spoke tohim thus; "You were childless, and wanting to have a child. The mostwicked of the rats, seeing this, took the shape of a little boy, anddwelt in your house. For this reason, your village has been polluted. But as you have now killed the rat, all will now be right. I am sorryfor you, so you shall have a child. " Thus did he dream that the godspoke to him. As it was true, they got a child, though they had beenchildless. 

For this reason, whether it be on the shore or in the mountains oranywhere else that one finds either a child or a puppy, one should notlet it dwell in one's house without knowing its origin. --(Translatedliterally. Told by Penri, 20th July 1886. )

xxiv. --_Don't throw Useful Things away. _

A certain man had a little boy. A divine little boy and a divine littlegirl used to come and play with him every day. But the little boy alonecould see them. His parents could not see them, but believed their childto be alone. 

Now one day he fell ill, and during his illness his two playmates didnot come to see him. Only at the very last did they come, when he seemedto be on the point of death. Then they came, and the little girl said:"We know the cause of your illness. Your grandfather possessed abeautiful axe. I myself am a small tray which he fashioned with thataxe, and the little boy who comes with me is a pestle which was alsofashioned with it. So the axe was our chieftain, and we are itschildren. But your father has been bad. He has thrown away the axe, which is now rusting under the floor. For this are you ill, in order topunish your father, because our chieftain the axe is angry. Therefore, as we were your playmates, we have come to warn you that, if you wish tolive, you must tell your father to search for the axe, to polish it, tomake a new handle for it, and to set up the divine symbols in itshonour. Then may you be cured, and the axe too will pay you a visit inhuman shape. "

So the boy told his father of this. The father thought that his son hadbeen instructed in a dream. He searched under the floor of the house, and found the axe, and polished it, and made a new handle for it, andset up the divine symbols in its honour. Then his son was immediatelyhealed. 

After that, the axe (who appeared as a very handsome man), the tray, andthe pestle all came, and became the little boy's brothers and sisters. The axe, being a god, knew all that went on and the causes ofeverything; and it and the tray and the pestle used always to tell theboy everything. Thus, if any one was sick, he knew why the sickness hadcome, and how it should be treated. He was looked upon as a greatsoothsayer and wizard, who could turn death into life. This was becauseother people only saw him. They did not see his divine informants, theaxe, the tray, and the pestle. 

For this reason never throw away anything that has belonged to yourancestors. You will be punished by the gods if you do so. 

[In a variant of this tale, the death of child after child borne by acertain woman was owing to the fact that the doll with which she herselfhad played as a child (a piece of wood shaped like a bird) had beenthrown away in the grass, and had thus had its anger aroused. Aconversation on the subject between the spoon, the cup, and the ironchain whereby the kettle is hung over the fire from a hook in theceiling, is overheard by a half-burnt piece of firewood, who warns thewoman's husband in a dream. The doll is then looked for; and, whenfound, the divine symbols are set up in its honour. Thereupon the womanbears again. This time the child survives, to the delight of both itsparents. ]--(Written down from memory. Told by Ishanashte, 2nd December, 1886. )

xxv. --_The Wicked Wizard punished. _

One day a wizard told a man whom he knew that, if any one were to climba certain mountain-peak and jump off on to the belt of clouds below, hewould be able to ride about on them as on a horse, and see the wholeworld. Trusting in this, the man did as the wizard had told him, and invery truth was enabled to ride about on the clouds. He visited the wholeworld in this fashion, and brought back a map which he had drawn of thewhole world both of men and of gods. On arriving back at themountain-peak in Aino-land, he stepped off the cloud on to the mountain, and, descending to the valley, told the wizard how successful anddelightful the journey had been, and thanked him for the opportunitykindly granted him of seeing sights so numerous and so strange. 

The wizard was overcome with astonishment. For what he had told theother man was a lie, a wicked lie invented with the sole intention ofcausing his death; for he hated him. Nevertheless, seeing that what hehad simply meant for an idle tale was apparently an actual fact, hedecided to see the world himself in this easy fashion. So, ascending themountain-peak, and seeing a belt of clouds a short way below, he jumpedoff on to it, but was instantly dashed to pieces in the valley below. 

That night the god of the mountain appeared to the good man in a dream, and said: "The wizard has met with the death which his fraud and follydeserve. You I kept from hurt, because you are a good man. So when, obedient to the wizard's advice, you leapt off on to the cloud, I boreyou up, and showed you the world in order to make you a wiser man. Letall men learn from this how wickedness leads to condignpunishment!"--(Written down from memory. Told by Ishanashte, 21st July, 1886. )

xxvi. --_The Angry Crow. _

A man came to a certain village--whence was not known, --dressed only infine black robes. While he was there, some rice-beer was brewed. Onbeing given some of it to drink, he was very joyful, and then danced. Then, as he went out-of-doors, he re-entered the house with a piece ofhard dung in his mouth, and put it in the alcove. As the master of thehouse became angry and beat him, he, being a large crow, flew out of thewindow, making the sound "Kā! kā!" For this reason, even crows arecreatures to be dreaded. Be very careful!--(Translated literally. Toldby Penri, 11th July, 1886. )

[In another version of this story, communicated to me by Mr JohnBatchelor, the crow, enraged at not having received an invitation to afeast given by some of the more handsome birds, flies high into the airwith a piece of hard dung in its mouth, and lets it drop into the middleof the party, to the great confusion of the guests. Some of the smallerbirds take counsel together as to the advisability of interfering torestore the harmony of the occasion, but finally decide that it is notfor them, who were also omitted from the list of invitations, to mixthemselves up with such a matter. _Moral_: If you give a feast, ask allyour friends to it. If any are left out, they are sure to feel hurt. ]

xxvii. --_Okikurumi, Samayunguru, and the Shark. _

Okikurumi and his henchman Samayunguru went out one day to sea, andspeared a large shark, which ran away, up and down the sea, with theline and the boat. The two men grew very tired of pulling at him, andcould not prevent the boat from being pulled about in all directions. Their hands were bloody and blistered both on the backs and on thepalms, till at last Samayunguru sank dead in the bottom of the boat. Atlast Okikurumi could hold on no longer, and he cursed the shark, saying:"You bad shark! I will cut the rope. But the tip of the harpoons, madehalf of iron and half of bone, shall remain sticking in your flesh; andyou shall feel in your body the reverberation of the iron and thescraping of the bone; and on your skin shall grow the _rasupa_-tree andthe _shiuri_-tree of which the spear-handle is made, and the _hai_-grassby which the tip of the harpoon is tied to the body of it, and the_nipesh_-tree of which the rope tying the harpoon itself is made, sothat, though you are such a mighty fish, you shall not be able to swimin the water; and you shall die, and a last be washed ashore at theriver-mouth of Saru; and even the carrier-crows and the dogs and foxeswill not eat you, but will only void their fœces upon you, and youshall at last rot away to earth. "

The shark laughed, thinking this was merely a human being telling afalsehood. Okikurumi cut the rope, and, after a long time, managed toreach the land. Then he revived Samayunguru, who had been dead. Andafterwards the shark died and was washed ashore at the river-mouth ofSaru; and the tip of the harpoon made half of iron and half of bone hadstuck in its flesh; and it had felt in its body the reverberation of thehammering of the iron and the scraping of the bone; and in its skin weregrowing the _rasupa_-tree and the _shiuri_-tree of which thespear-handle used by Okikurumi was made, and the _hai_-grass by whichthe tip of the harpoon was tied to the body of it, and the _nipesh_-treeof which the rope tying the harpoon itself was made; and even thecarrion-crows and the dogs and foxes would not eat the bad shark, butonly voided their fœces upon him; and at last he rotted away toearth. 

Therefore take warning, oh! sharks of the present day, lest you die asthis shark died!--(Written down from memory. Told by Ishanashte, 24thNovember, 1886. )

III. --TALES OF THE PANAUMBE AND PENAUMBE CYCLE. [D]

xxviii. --_Panaumbe, Penaumbe, and the Weeping Foxes. _

There were Panaumbe and Penaumbe. Panaumbe went down to the bank of ariver, and called out: "Oh! you fellows on the cliff behind yondercliff! Ferry me across!" They replied: "We must first scoop out a boat. Wait for us!" After a little while Panaumbe called out again. "We haveno poles, " said they; "we are going to make some poles. Wait for us!"After a little longer, he called out a third time. They replied thus:"We are coming for you, Wait for us!" Then the boat started, --a big boatall full of foxes. 

So Panaumbe, having first seized hold of a good bludgeon, feigned dead. Then the foxes arrived, and spoke thus: "Panaumbe! You are to be pitied. Were you frozen to death, or were you starved to death?" With thesewords, all the foxes came up close to him, and wept. Thereupon Panaumbebrandished his bludgeon, struck all the foxes, and killed them. Only onefox did he let go, after breaking one of its legs. As for the rest, having killed them all, he carried them home to his house, and grew veryrich [by selling their flesh and their skins]. 

Then Penaumbe came down to him, and spoke thus: "Whereas you and I wereboth equally poor, how did you kill such a number of foxes, and therebybecome rich?" Panaumbe replied: "If you will come and dine with me, Iwill instruct you. " But Penaumbe at once said: "I have heard all aboutit before. " With these words he pissed against the door-sill, and wentout. 

Descending to the bank of the river, he called, crying out as Panaumbehad done. The reply was: "We are going to make a boat. Wait for us!"After a little while, he called out again. They replied: "We are goingto make the poles. Wait for us!" After a little longer, they started, --awhole boatful of foxes. So Penaumbe first feigned dead. Then the foxesarrived, and said: "Penaumbe here is to be pitied. Did he die of cold?or did he die from want of food?" With these words, they all came closeto Penaumbe and wept. But one fox among them, a fox who limped, spokethus: "I remember something which once happened. Weep at a greaterdistance!" So all the foxes sat and wept ever further and further away. Penaumbe was unable to kill any of those foxes; and, as he brandishedhis bludgeon, they all ran away. He did not catch a single one, and hehimself died a miserable death. --(Literal translation. Told byIshanashte, 23rd July, 1886. )

[D] Panaumbe means "the person on the lower course of the stream. "Penaumbe means "the person on the upper course of the stream. " Conf. Aino "Memoir, " p. 28. 

xxix. --_Panaumbe, Penaumbe, the Fishes, and the Insects. _

There were Panaumbe and Penaumbe. Panaumbe went down to the sea-shore, squatted on the sand, pulled up his clothes, and, turning his back tothe sea, opened his anus as widely as possible. Then all the whales andthe salmon and the other good fishes, both great and small, thought itwas a beautiful cavern in the rocks. They all swam towards it, andcrowded into it. Panaumbe was much pleased. When his inside was quitefull, he closed his anus and ran home. When he got to the house, heclosed the door and the window. Then he opened his anus again, and letout all the whales and the salmon and the other good fishes, both greatand small, so that the whole house was full of them. They could not swimaway, because the door and window were shut. So Panaumbe caught themall. Some he ate, and some he sold. So he became a very rich man. 

Then Penaumbe came down, and spoke thus: "You were poor before. Now youare very rich. How have you managed to get so rich?" Panaumbe said:"Come and dine with me. I can instruct you while we are eating. " So, when Panaumbe had told Penaumbe how he had become rich, Penaumbe said:"I knew that before. " With these words, he pissed against the threshold, and went out, --down to the sea-shore. Then he did as Panaumbe had toldhim, and opened his anus as wide as possible towards the sea. Then hefelt all the whales and salmon and the other fishes, both great andsmall, crowding in. When his inside was quite full, he closed his anus, and ran home very quickly. When he got to the house he closed the doorand the window, and stopped up even the smallest chinks. Then he openedhis anus again, and let out all the whales and salmon, and the othergood fishes, both great and small, so that the whole house was full ofthem. But when they came out, what had felt like whales and salmon, andall sorts of fishes, were really wasps and horse-flies and spiders andcentipedes, and other poisonous insects, which stung him terribly. Theycould not get out, because Penaumbe had closed the window and the door, and had stopped up even the smallest chinks. So Penaumbe was stung todeath by the wasps and centipedes and other poisonous insects which hadcome home in his inside. --(Written down from memory. Told by Kannariki, June, 1886. )

xxx. --_Panaumbe, Penaumbe, and the Sea-Lion. _

There were Panaumbe and Penaumbe. Panaumbe went down to the sea-shore, and walked up and down upon the sand. Then he saw a sea-lion in thewater. He wanted to catch that sea-lion, and eat its flesh. So he calledout to it: "Oh! Mr. Sea-Lion, if you will come here, I will pick thelice out of your head. " The sea-lion was very glad to have the licepicked out of its head. So it swam to him. Then he pretended to pick thelice out of its head. But in reality he picked the flesh off its head, and the fat, and ate it. Then he said: "All the lice are picked off. Youmay go. " After the sea-lion had swum a short way, it put its paw up toits head, in order to see whether the lice had really all been takenoff. Then it felt that its flesh and fat were all gone, and that onlythe bones remained. So it was very angry, and swam back quickly towardsthe shore, to catch Panaumbe and kill him. 

Panaumbe, when he saw the sea-lion pursuing him, ran inland towards themountains. After running some time, he reached a place where the pathdivided. An old crow was perching on a tree there, and said: "Right orleft! right or left! I see a clever man. " The road to the right wasbroad, and the road to the left was narrow, because it was in a valleywhich ended in a point. Panaumbe thought thus: "If I take the broad pathto the right, the sea-lion will overtake me, and kill me. But if I takethe narrow path to the left, he will run so fast that he will get stuckat the end of the narrow valley, and I, being small, can slip outbetween his legs, and beat in his head from behind, and kill him. " SoPanaumbe ran along the narrow path to the left, and the sea-lion pursuedhim. But the sea-lion ran so heedlessly and quickly that it got stuck atthe end of the narrow valley. Then Panaumbe slipped out between thesea-lion's legs, and beat in his head from behind, and killed him, andtook home his flesh and his skin. Then Panaumbe became very rich. 

Afterwards Penaumbe came down to him, and said: "You and I were bothpoor. How is it that you are now so rich?" Panaumbe said: "If you willcome and dine with me, I will instruct you. " So they went together toPanaumbe's house, where Panaumbe's mother, and his wife and children, were eating the flesh of the sea-lion. But Penaumbe, when he had heardwhat Panaumbe had done, said: "I knew that before. " Then he stepped inthe dishes set before Panaumbe's mother and wife and children, and spilttheir food. Then he pissed on the threshold, and went away. 

Penaumbe went down to the sea-shore, and saw a sea-lion, as Panaumbe haddone. He called out to the sea-lion: "Oh! Mr. Sea-Lion, if you will comehere, I will pick the lice out of your head. " So the sea-lion swam tohim. Then Penaumbe pretended to pick the lice out of its head. But inreality he picked the flesh and the fat off its head, and left nothingbut the bones. The sea-lion felt a little pain, but thought that it wasowing to the lice being picked out. So, when Penaumbe had finishedpicking and eating the flesh off its head, it swam away. But afterwards, feeling the pain more sharply, the sea-lion put its paw up to its head, and found that nothing but bone was left. So it was very angry, and swamback quickly towards the shore, to catch Penaumbe and kill him. 

Penaumbe, when he saw the sea-lion pursuing him, ran inland towards themountains. After running some time, he reached the place where the pathdivided. The old crow, which was perching on the tree, said: "Left orright! left or right! I see a fool. " Penaumbe took the broad road to theright, in order to be able to run more easily. But the sea-lion ran morequickly than he could, and caught him and ate him up. Then Penaumbedied. But if he had listened to advice he might have become a rich manlike Panaumbe. --(Written down from memory. Told by Kannariki, June, 1886. )

xxxi. --_Panaumbe, Penaumbe, and the Lord of Matomai_. [E]

Panaumbe wanted very much to become rich. For this reason, he stretchedhis penis across to the town of Matomai. Then the lord of Matomai spokethus: "This is a pole sent by the gods; so it will be well to dry allthe clothes upon it. " So all the clothes and beautiful garments weredried. After a time Panaumbe drew back his penis, and all those clothesand beautiful garments came sticking to it. His house was greatlybenefited. He became a very rich man. 

Afterwards Penaumbe came down and said: "My dear Panaumbe, what have youdone to become so rich?" Panaumbe said: "Come and eat, and I will tellyou. " Afterwards Penaumbe said: "This is the thing I intended to do. Abominable Panaumbe! bad Panaumbe! you have forestalled me. " With thesewords, he pissed on the threshold, and went out. Then he went down tothe sea-shore, and stretched his penis across the sea to Matomai. Thelord of Matomai said: "This is a pole sent by the gods. It will be wellto dry all the clothes and beautiful garments upon it. " For this reason, all the clothes and beautiful garments were brought down, and put uponthe divine pole. Penaumbe wanted to become rich quickly by drawing backhis penis. So he drew it back quickly. The divine pole moved, and thelord of Matomai spoke thus: "It happened thus before. There was a polesent by the gods. For this reason the clothes and beautiful garmentswere dried upon it. Then a thief stole the divine pole away. We allbecame poor. Now again our clothes and beautiful garments have beenplaced upon a pole. Now there seems to be a thief again. Quickly cut thedivine pole. " For that reason the servants of the lord all drew theirswords. They cut the divine pole, and all the clothes and beautifulgarments were taken. Penaumbe was left with only half a penis. He drewit in. Then he had nothing. Then he became very poor. If Penaumbe hadlistened to Panaumbe's advice, he might have had food to eat, he mighthave become rich. But he did not like to listen to advice. For thisreason he became poor. --(Translated literally. Original communicated byMr. John Batchelor, June, 1886; also printed in "Aino Memoir, " p. 133, but with the indecent expressions softened down. )

[E] The Aino pronunciation of _Matsumae_. Matsumae is a town in thesouth of Yezo. The lord or _Daimyo_ resident there was formerly thechief Japanese authority in the country. 

xxxii. --_Drinking the Sea dry. _

There was the Chief of the Mouth of the River and the Chief of the UpperCurrent of the River. The former was very vainglorious, and thereforewished to put the latter to shame, or to kill him by engaging him in theattempt to perform something impossible. So he sent for him, and said:"The sea may be a useful thing, in so far as it is the original home ofthe fish which come up the river. But it is very destructive in stormyweather, when it beats wildly upon the beach. Do you now drink it dry, so that there may be rivers and dry land only. If you cannot do so, thenforfeit all your possessions. " The other (greatly to the vaingloriousman's surprise) said: "I accept the challenge. "

So, on their going down together to the beach, the Chief of the UpperCurrent of the River took a cup, and scooped up a little of thesea-water with it, drank a few drops, and said: "In the sea-water itselfthere is no harm. It is some of the rivers flowing into it that arepoisonous. Do you therefore first close the mouths of all the riversboth in Aino-land and in Japan, and prevent them from flowing into thesea, and then I will undertake to drink the sea dry. " Hereupon the Chiefof the Mouth of the River felt ashamed, acknowledged his error, and gaveall his treasures to his rival. --(Written down from memory. Told byIshanashte, 18th November, 1886. )

IV. --MISCELLANEOUS TALES. 

xxxiii. --_The Island of Women. _

In ancient days, an Aino chieftain of Iwanai went to sea in order tocatch sea-lions, taking with him his two sons. They speared a sea-lion, which, however, swam off with the spear sticking in its body. Meanwhilea gale began to blow down from the mountains. The men cut the rope whichwas fast to the spear. Then their boat floated on. After some time, theyreached a beautiful land. When they had reached it, a number of women infine garments came down from the mountains to the shore. They camebearing a beautiful woman in a litter. Then all the women who had cometo the shore returned to the mountains. Only the one in the litter cameclose to the boat, and spoke thus: "This land is woman-land. It is aland where no men live. It being now spring, and there being somethingpeculiar to this country of mine you shall be taken care of in my houseuntil the autumn; and in the winter you shall become our husbands. Thefollowing spring I will send you home. So now do you bear me to myhouse. "

Thereupon the Aino chief and his sons bore the woman in the litter tothe mountains. They saw that the country was all like moorland. Then thechieftainess entered the house. There was a room there with a goldennetting, like a mosquito-net. The three men were placed inside it. Thechieftainess fed them herself. In the day-time numbers of women came in. They sat beside the golden mosquito-net, looking at the men. Atnightfall they went home. So gradually it got to be autumn. Then thechieftainess spoke as follows, "As the fall of the leaf has now come, and as there are two vice-chieftainesses besides me, I will send yourtwo sons to them. You yourself shall be husband to me. " Then twobeautiful women came in, and led off the two sons by the hand, while thechieftainess kept the chief for herself. 

So the men dwelt there. When spring came, the chieftain's wife spokethus to him: "We women of this country differ from yours. At the sametime as the grass begins to sprout, teeth sprout in our vaginas. So ourhusbands cannot stay with us. The east wind is our husband. When theeast wind blows, we all turn our buttocks towards it, and thus conceivechildren. Sometimes we bear male children. But these male children arekilled and done away with when they become fit to lie with women. Forthat reason, this is a land which has women only. It is calledwoman-land. So when, brought by some bad god, you came to this land ofmine, there were teeth in my vagina because it was summer, for whichreason I did not marry you. But I married you when the teeth fell out. Now, as the teeth are again sprouting in my vagina because spring hascome, it is now impossible for us to sleep together. I will send youhome to-morrow. So do you tell your sons to come here to-day in order tobe ready. "

The sons came. The chieftainess stayed in the house. Then, with tearsstreaming down her face, she spoke thus; "Though it is dangerous, to-night is our last night. Let us sleep together!" Then the man, beingmuch frightened, took a beautiful scabbard in a bag in his bosom, andlay with the woman with this scabbard. The mark of the teeth remained onthe scabbard. The next day dawned. Then the man went to his boat, takinghis sons with him. The chieftainess wept and spoke thus: "As a fair windis blowing away from my country, you, if you set sail and sail straightahead, will be able to reach your home at Iwanai. " So then the menentered their boat, and went out to sea. A fair wind was blowing downfrom the mountains, and they went along under sail. After a time theysaw land; they saw the mountains about Iwanai. Going on for a time, theycame to the shore of Iwanai. Their wives were wearing widows' caps. Sotheir husbands embraced them. So the story of woman-land was listened tocarefully. All the Ainos saw the beautiful scabbard which the chief hadused with that woman. --(Translated literally. Told by Penri, 17th July, 1886. )

xxxiv. --_The Worship of the Salmon, the Divine Fish. _

A certain Aino went out in a boat to catch fish in the sea. While he wasthere, a great wind arose, so that he drifted about for six nights. Justas he was like to die, land came in sight. Being borne on to the beachby the waves, he quietly stepped ashore, where he found a pleasantrivulet. Having walked up the bank of this rivulet for some distance, hesaw a populous place. Near the place were crowds of people, both men andwomen. Going on to it, and entering the house of the chief, he found anold man of very divine aspect. That old man said to him: "Stay with us anight, and we will send you home to your country to-morrow. Do youconsent?"

So the Aino spent the night with the old chief. When next day came, theold chief spoke thus: "Some of my people, both men and women, are goingto your country for purposes of trade. So, if you will be led by them, you will be able to go home. When they take you with them in the boat, you must lie down, and not look about you, but completely hide yourhead. If you do that, you may return. If you look, my people will beangry. Mind you do not look. " Thus spoke the old chief. 

Well, there was a whole fleet of boats, inside of which crowds ofpeople, both men and women, took passage. There were as many as fivescore boats, which all started off together. The Aino lay down insideone of them and hid his head, while the others made the boats go to themusic of a pretty song. He liked this much. After awhile, they reachedthe land. When they had done so, the Aino, peeping a little, saw thatthere was a river, and that they were drawing water with dippers fromthe mouth of the river, and sipping it. They said to each other: "Howgood this water is!" Half the fleet went up the river. But the boat inwhich the Aino was went on its voyage, and at last reached his nativeplace, whereupon the sailors threw the Aino into the water. He thoughthe had been dreaming. Afterwards he came to himself. The boat and itssailors had disappeared--whither he could not tell. But he went to hishouse, and, falling asleep, dreamt a dream. He dreamt that the same oldchief appeared to him and said: "I am no human being. I am the chief ofthe salmon, the divine fish. As you seemed in danger of dying in thewaves, I drew you to me and saved your life. You thought you only stayedwith me one night. But in truth that night was a whole year. When it wasended, I sent you back to your native place. So I shall be trulygrateful if henceforth you will offer rice-beer to me, set up the divinesymbols in my honour, and worship me with the words 'I make a libationto the chief of the salmon, the divine fish. ' If you do not worship me, you will become a poor man. Remember this well!" Such were the wordswhich the divine old man spoke to him in his dream. --(Translatedliterally. Told by Ishanashte, 17th July, 1886. )

xxxv. --_The Hunter in Hades. _

A handsome and brave young man, who was skilful in the chase, one daypursued a large bear into the recesses of the mountains. On and on ranthe bear, and still the young fellow pursued it up heights and cragsmore and more dangerous, but without ever being able to get near enoughto shoot it with his poisoned arrows. At last, on a bleakmountain-summit, the bear disappeared down a hole in the ground. Theyoung man followed it in, and found himself in an immense cavern, at thefar end of which was a gleam of light. Towards this he groped his way, and, on emerging, found himself in another world. Everything there wasas in the world of men, but more beautiful. There were trees, houses, villages, human beings. With these, however, the young hunter had noconcern. What he wanted was his bear, which had totally disappeared. Thebest plan seemed to be to seek it in the remoter mountain district ofthis new world underground. So he followed up a valley; and, being tiredand hungry, picked the grapes and mulberries that were hanging to thetrees, and ate them as he trudged along. 

Happening suddenly, for some reason or other, to look down upon his ownbody, what was not his horror to find himself transformed into aserpent! His very cries and groans, on making the discovery, were turnedinto serpent's hisses. What was he to do? To go back like this to hisnative world, where snakes are hated, would be certain death. No planpresented itself to his mind. But, unconsciously, he wandered, or rathercrept and glided, back to the entrance of the cavern that led home tothe world of men; and there, at the foot of a pine-tree of extraordinarysize and height, he fell asleep. 

To him then, in a dream, appeared the goddess of the pine-tree, andsaid: "I am sorry to see you in this state. Why did you eat of thepoisonous fruits of Hades? The only thing you can do to recover yourproper shape is to climb to the top of this pine-tree, and flingyourself down. Then you may, perhaps, become a human being again. "

On waking from this dream, the young man, --or rather snake, as he stillfound himself to be, --was filled half with hope and half with fear. Buthe resolved to follow the goddess' advice. So, gliding up the tallpine-tree, he reached its topmost branch, and, after hesitating a fewmoments, flung himself down. Crash he went. On coming to his senses, hefound himself standing at the foot of the tree; and close by was thebody of an immense serpent, ripped open so as to allow of his havingcrawled out of it. After offering up thanks to the pine-tree, andsetting up the divine symbols in its honour, he hastened to retrace hissteps through the long, tunnel-like cavern, through which he hadoriginally entered Hades. After walking for a certain time, he emergedinto the world of men, to find himself on the mountain-top, whither hehad pursued the bear which he had never seen again. 

On reaching his home, he went to bed, and dreamt a second time. It wasthe same goddess of the pine-tree, that appeared before him and said: "Ihave come to tell you that you cannot stay long in the world of menafter once eating the grapes and mulberries of Hades. There is a goddessin Hades who wishes to marry you. She it was who, assuming the form of abear, lured you into the cavern, and thence to the under-world. You mustmake up your mind to come away. "

And so it fell out. The young man awoke; but a grave sicknessoverpowered him. A few days later he went a second time to Hades, andreturned no more to the land of the living. --(Written down from memory. Told by Ishanashte, 22nd July, 1886. )

xxxvi. --_An Inquisitive Man's Experience of Hades. _

Three generations before my time there lived an Aino who wished to findout whether the stories told about the existence of an under-world weretrue. So one day he penetrated into an immense cavern (since washed awayby the waves) at the river-mouth of Sarubutsu. All was dark in front, all was dark behind. But at last there was a glimmer of light a-head. The man went on, and soon emerged into Hades. There were trees, andvillages, and rivers, and the sea, and large junks loading fish andseaweed. Some of the people were Ainos, some were Japanese, just as inthe every-day world. Among the number were some whom he had known whenthey were alive. But, though _he_ saw _them_, _they_, --strange tosay, --did not seem to see _him_. Indeed he was invisible to all, excepting to the dogs; for dogs see everything, even spirits, and thedogs of Hades barked at him fiercely. Hereupon the people of the place, judging that some evil spirit had come among them, threw him dirty food, such as evil spirits eat, in order, as they thought, to appease him. Ofcourse he was disgusted, and flung the filthy fish-bones and soiled riceaway But every time that he did so the stuff immediately returned to thepocket in his bosom, so that he was greatly distressed. 

At last, entering a fine-looking house near the beach, he found hisfather and mother, --not old, as they were when they died, but in theheyday of youth and strength. He called to his mother, but she ran awaytrembling. He clasped his father by the hand, and said: "Father! don'tyou know me? can't you see me? I am your son. " But his father fellyelling to the ground. So he stood aloof again, and watched how hisparents and the other people in the house set up the divine symbols, andprayed in order to make the evil spirit depart. 

In his despair at being unrecognized he did depart, with the uncleanofferings that had been made to him still sticking to his person, notwithstanding his endeavours to get rid of them. It was only when, after passing back through the cavern, he had emerged once more into theworld of men, that they left him free from their pollution. He returnedhome, and never wished to visit Hades again. It is a foulplace. --(Written down from memory. Told by Ishanashte, 22nd July, 1886. )

xxxvii. --_The Child of a God. _

There was a very beautiful woman, who was still without a husband. A manhad already been fixed upon to become her husband, but he had not yetlain with her. Nevertheless the woman suddenly was with child. For thisreason she was greatly surprised. As for other people, they thoughtthus: "She has probably become with child through lying with some otherman. " That was what other people said. The man who was to be her husbandwas very angry. But he could not know whence it was that she was withchild. 

Then she was delivered. She bore a little snake. She was greatlyashamed. Her mother took the little snake, went out, and spoke thus, with tears: "What god has deigned to beget a child in my daughter?Though he should deign to beget one, it would at least be well if hehad begotten a human child. But this little snake we human beings cannotkeep. As it is the child of the god who begot it, he may as well keepit. " So saying, she threw it away. Then the old woman went in. 

This being so, afterwards there was the noise of a baby crying. The oldwoman went out, and looked. It was a nice baby. Then the old womancarried it in. The woman who had given birth to the child rejoiced withtears. Then the baby was found to be a boy, and was kept. Gradually hegrew big. After a time he became a man. Then, being a very fine man, hekilled large numbers both of deer and of bears. 

The woman who had given birth to him was alone astonished. What hadhappened was that, while she slept, the light of the sun had shone uponher through the opening in the roof. Thus had she become with child. Then she dreamt a dream, which said: "I, being a god, have given you achild, because I love you. When you die, you shall truly become my wife. Your and my son, when he gets a wife, shall have plenty of children. "The woman dreamt thus, and worshipped. Then that son of hers, whenpursued by the bears, could not be caught. He was a great hunter, a veryrich man. 

Then the woman died, without having had a human husband. Afterwards herson, getting a wife, had children, and became rich. His descendants areliving to this day. --(Translated literally. Told by Penri, 21st July, 1886. )

xxxviii. --_Buying a Dream. _

A certain thickly populated village was governed by six chiefs, theoldest of whom lorded it over the other five. One day he made a feast, brewed some rice-beer, and invited the other five chiefs, and feastedthem. When they were departing, he said: "To-morrow each of you musttell me the dream which he shall have dreamt over-night; and if it is agood dream I will buy it. "

So next day four of the chiefs came and told their dreams. But they wereall bad dreams, not worth buying. The fifth, however, did not come, though he was waited for at first, and then sent for several times. Atlast, when brought by force, he would not open his lips. So the seniorchief flew into a rage, and caused a hole to be dug in front of the doorof his own house, and had the man buried in it up to his chin, and leftthere all that day and night. 

Now the truth was that the senior chief was a bad man, that the juniorchief was a good man, and that this junior chief had forgotten hisdream, but did not dare to say so. After dark, a kind god, --the God ofthe Privy, --came and said: "You are a good man. I am sorry for you, andwill take you out of the hole. " This he did; and, at that very moment, the chief remembered how he had dreamt of having been led up the bank ofa stream through the woods to the house of a goddess who smiledbeautifully, and whose room was carpeted with skins; how she hadcomforted him, fed him plenteously, and sent him home in gorgeous array, and with instructions for deceiving and killing his enemy, the seniorchief. "I suppose you remember it all now, " said the God of the Privy;"it was I who caused you to forget it, and thus saved you from having itbought by the wicked senior chief, because I am pleased with the way inwhich you keep the privy clean, not even letting grass grow near it. Andnow I will show you the reality of that of which before you saw only thedream-image. "

So the man was led up the bank of a stream through the woods to thehouse of the goddess, who smiled beautifully, and whose room wascarpeted with skins. She was the badger-goddess. She comforted him, fedhim plenteously, and said: "You must deceive the senior chief, sayingthat the god of door-posts, pleased at your being buried near him, tookyou out, and gave you these beautiful clothes. He will then wish to havethe same thing happen to him. " So the man went back to the village, andappeared in all his splendid raiment before the senior chief, who hadfancied him to be still in the hole, --a punishment which would besuccessful if it made him confess his dream, and also if it killed him. 

Then the good junior chief told him the lies in which the badger-goddesshad instructed him. Thereupon the senior chief caused himself to beburied in like fashion up to the neck, but soon died of the effects. Afterwards the badger-goddess came down to the village, and married thegood man, who became the senior of all the chiefs. --(Written down frommemory. Told by Ishanashte, 16th November, 1886. )

xxxix. --_The Baby in the Box. _

There was once a woman who was tenderly loved by her husband. At last, after some years, she bore him a son. Then the father loved this soneven more than he loved his wife. She therefore thought thus: "Howpleasant it used to be formerly, when my husband loved me alone! Butnow, since I have borne him this nasty child, he loves it more than hedoes me. It will be well for me to make away with it. "

Thus thinking, she waited till her husband had gone off bear-hunting inthe mountains, and then put the baby into a box, which she took to theriver and allowed to float away. Then she returned home. Later on, herhusband came back; and she, with feigned tears, told him that the babyhad disappeared--stolen or strayed, --and that she had vainly searchedall round about the house and in the woods. The man lay down, like todie of grief, and refused all food. Only at length, when he saw that hiswife, too, went without her food, did he begin to eat a little, fearing, in his affection for her, that she too might die of hunger. However, itwas only when he was present that she fasted. She ate her fill behindhis back. 

At last, one day, not knowing what to do to rouse him, she said to him:"Look here! I will divert you with a story. " Then she told him the wholestory exactly as it had happened, being herself, all the while, underthe delusion that she was telling him an ancient fairy-tale. Then heflew into a rage, took his bludgeon, beat her to death, and then threwher corpse out-of-doors. This was the way in which the gods chose topunish her. 

Then the husband, knowing now that his search must be made down thestream, started off. At last, after seeking for a long time, he came toa lonely house, where he found a very venerable-looking old man, an oldwoman, and their middle-aged daughter, and also a boy. He said to theold man: "I come to ask whether you know anything of my little boy, whowas placed in a box and set to float down the stream. " The old manreplied: "One day, when my daughter here went to draw water from theriver, she found a box with a little boy in it. We knew not whether thechild was a human creature, a god, or a devil. So doubtless he is yours. We have kept the box too. Here it is. You can judge by looking at it. "

It turned out to be the same box, and the same boy. So the fatherrejoiced. Then the old man said: "Remain here. I will give to you forwife this daughter of mine, my only child. Live with us as long as myold wife and I remain alive. Feed us, and then you shall inherit fromme. " The man did so. When the old people died, he inherited all theirpossessions; and then, with his new wife and his beloved son, returnedto his own village. So you see that, even among us Ainos, there arewicked women. --(Written down from memory. Told by Ishanashte, 17thNovember, 1886. )

xl. --_The Bride Bewitched. _

There was once a very beautiful girl who had many suitors. But, as soonas she was married to one, and he lay down beside her and then stretchedout his hand towards her vagina, a voice came from it, warning him todesist. This so much alarmed the bridegroom that he fled. This happenednine or ten times, till at last the girl was in despair; for none wouldnow wed her, and her old father was put to shame. They plunged her intothe water of the river, but it had no effect. So at last, in her grief, she ran to the mountains, and threw herself down at the foot of amagnolia-tree. 

When, after some difficulty, she fell asleep, she dreamt that the treewas a house, outside of which she was lying, and from the window ofwhich a lovely goddess popped out her head and said: "What has happenedis in no way your fault. Your beauty has caused a wicked fox to fall inlove with you. It is he who has got into your vagina, and who speaks outof it, in order to prevent the approach of any ordinary mortal husband. He, too, it is who has lured you out here, to carry you away altogether. But do not allow yourself to become subject to his influence. I willgive you some beautiful clothes, and cause you to reach your house insafety. You must tell your father all about me. " Then the girl awoke andwent home. Her father exorcised the fox at last by carving an exactlikeness of his daughter, and offering it to the fox with respectfulworship. Then she married, and gave birth to children, and was happy allher life. --(Written down from memory. Told by Ishanashte, 17th November, 1886. )

xli. --_The Wicked Stepmother. _

In ancient days, when men were allowed to have several wives, a certainman had two--one about his own age, the other quite young, --and he lovedthem both with equal tenderness. But when the younger of the two borehim a daughter, his love for his daughter made him also perhaps a littlefonder of the mother of the child than of his other wife, to thelatter's great rage. She revolved in her mind what to do, and at lastfeigned a grave illness, pretending not to be able even to eat, thoughshe did eat when everybody's back was turned. At last, being to allappearance on the point of death, she declared that one thing alonecould cure her. She must have the heart of her little step-child to eat. 

On hearing this, the man felt very sad, and knew not what to do; for heloved this wicked wife of his and his little daughter equally dearly. But at last he decided that he might more easily get another daughterthan another wife whom he would love as much as he did this one. So hecommanded two of his servants to carry off the child to the forest whileher mother was not looking, to slay her there, and bring back her heart. So they took her. But, being merciful men, they slew, instead of her, adog that came by that way, and brought the child back secretly to hermother, who was much frightened to hear what had happened, and who fledwith the child. Meanwhile the dog's heart was brought to thestep-mother, who was so overjoyed at the sight of it, that she declaredshe required no more. So, without even eating it, she left offpretending to be sick. 

For some time after this, she lived alone with her husband. But at lasthe was told of what had happened, and he grew very sullen. She, seeingthis, wished for a livelier husband. So one day, when her husband wasout hunting, a young man, beautifully dressed all in black, came andcourted her, and she flirted with him, and showed him her breasts. Thenthey fled together, and came to a beautiful house with gold mats, wherethey slept together. But when she woke in the morning it was not a houseat all, but a rubble of leaves and branches in the midst of the forest;and her new husband was nothing but a carrion-crow perching overhead, and her own body, too, was turned into a crow's, and she had to eatdung. 

But the former husband was warned in a dream to take back his youngerwife and his child, and the three lived happily together ever after. From that time forward most men have left off the bad habit of havingmore than one wife. --(Written down from memory. Told by Ishanashte, November, 1886. )

xlii. --_The Clever Deceiver. _

A long, long time ago there was a rascal, who went to the mountains tofetch wood. As he did not know how to amuse himself, he climbed to thetop of a very thick pine-tree. Having munched some rice he stuck itabout the branches of the tree, so as to make it look like birds' dung. Then he went back to the village, to the house of the chief, and spokethus to him: "I have found a place where a beautiful peacock has itsnest. Let us go there together! Being such a poor man, I feel myselfunworthy of going too near the divine bird. You, being a rich man, should take the peacock. It will be a great treasure for you. Let usgo!"

So the chief went there with him. When the chief looked, there trulywere many traces of birds' dung near the top of the tall pine-tree. Hethought the peacock was there. So he said: "I do not know how to climbtrees. Though you are a poor man you do know how to do so. So go and getthe peacock, and I will reward you well. Go and get the divine peacock!"So the poor man climbed the tree. When he was half way up it, he said:"Oh! sir, your house seems to be on fire. " The chief was muchfrightened. Owing to his being frightened, he was about to run home. Then the rascal spoke thus: "By this time your house is quite burntdown. There is no use in your running there. " The rich man thought hewould go anywhere to die; so he went towards the mountains. After he hadgone a short way, he thought thus: "You should go and see even thetraces of your burnt house. " So he went down there. When he looked, hefound that his house was not burnt at all. He was very angry, and wantedto kill that rascal. Then the rascal came down. The chief commanded hisservants, saying: "You fellows! this man is not only poor, but a verybadly behaved deceiver. Put him into a mat, and roll him up in itwithout killing him. Then throw him into the river. Do this!" Thus spokethe chief. 

The servants put the rascal into the mat, and tied it round tight. Thentwo of them carried him between them on a pole to the river-bank. Theywent to the river. The rascal spoke thus: "Though I am a very bad man, Ihave some very precious treasures. Do you go and fetch them. If you doso, it can be arranged about their being given to you. Afterwards youcan throw me into the river. " Hearing this, the two servants went off tothe rascal's house. 

Meanwhile a blind old man came along from somewhere or other. His footstruck against something wrapped up in a mat. Astonished at this, hetapped it with his stick. Then the rascal said: "Blind man! If you willdo as I tell you, the gods will give you eyes, and you will be able tosee. So do so. If you will untie me and do as I tell you, I will pray tothe gods, and your eyes will be opened. " The blind old man was veryglad. He untied the mat, and let the rascal out. Then the rascal sawthat, though the man was old and blind, he was dressed very much like agod. The rascal said: "Take off your clothes and become naked, whereuponyour eyes will quickly be opened. " This being so, the blind old man tookoff his clothes. Then the rascal put him naked into the mat, and tied itround tight. Then he went off with the clothes, and hid. 

Shortly afterwards, the two men came, and said: "You rascal! you aretruly a deceiver. So, though you possess no treasures, you possessplenty of deceit. So now we shall fling you into the water. " The blindold man said: "I am a blind old man. I am not that rascal. Please donot kill me!" But he was forthwith flung into the river. Afterwards thetwo men went home to their master's house. 

Afterwards the rascal put on the blind old man's beautiful clothes. Thenhe went to the chief's house and said: "My appearance of misbehaviourwas not real. The goddess who lives in the river was very much in lovewith me. So she wanted to take and marry my spirit after I should havebeen killed by being thrown into the river. So my misdeeds are all herdoing. Though I went to that goddess, I felt unworthy to become herhusband, because I am a poor man. I have arranged so that you, who arethe chief of the village, should go and have her, and I have come totell you so. That being so, I am in these beautiful clothes because Icome from the goddess. " Thus he spoke. As the chief of the village sawthat the rascal was dressed in nothing but the best clothes, and thoughtthat he was speaking the truth, he said: "It will be well for me to betied up in a mat, and flung into the river. " Therefore this was done, just as had been done with the rascal, and he was drowned in the water. 

After that, the rascal became the chief, and dwelt in the drownedchief's house. Thus very bad men lived in ancient times also. So it issaid. --(Translated literally. Told by Ishanashte, 18th July, 1886. )

xliii. --_Yoshitsune. _

 [It has been generally believed, both by Japanese and Europeans who have written about the Ainos, that the latter worship Yoshitsune, a Japanese hero of the twelfth century, who is said, --not, indeed, by Japanese historians, but by Japanese tradition, --to have fled to Yezo when the star of his fortune had set. The following details concerning Yoshitsune bear so completely the stamp of the myth, that they may, perhaps, be allowed a place in this collection. It should be mentioned that Yoshitsune is known to the Ainos under the name of _Hongai Sama_. _Sama_ is the Japanese for "Mr. " or "Lord. " _Hongai_ is the form in which, according to a regular law of permutation affecting words adopted into Aino from Japanese, the word _Hõgwan_, which was Yoshitsune's official title, appears! The name of _Hongai Sama_ is, however, used only in worship, not in the recounting of the myth. Mr. Batchelor, whose position as missionary to the Ainos must give his opinion great weight in such matters, thinks that the Ainos do _not_ worship Yoshitsune. But I can only exactly record that which I was told myself. ]

Okikurumi, accompanied by his younger sister Tureshi[hi], had taught theAinos all arts, such as hunting with the bow and arrow, netting andspearing fish, and many more; and himself knew everything by means oftwo charms or treasures. One of these was a piece of writing, the otherwas an abacus; and they told him whence the wind would blow, how manybirds there were in the forest, and all sorts of other things. 

One day there came, --none knew whence, --a man of divine appearance, whose name was unknown to all. He took up his abode with Okikurumi, andassisted the latter in all his labour with wonderful ability. He taughtOkikurumi how to row with two oars instead of simply poling with onepole, as had been usual before in Aino-land. Okikurumi was delighted toobtain such a clever follower, and gave him his sister Tureshi[hi] inmarriage, and treated him like his own son. For this reason the strangergot to know all about Okikurumi's affair, even the place where he kepthis two treasures. The result of this was that one day when Okikurumiwas out hunting in the mountains the stranger stole these treasures andall that Okikurumi possessed, and then fled with his wife Tureshi in aboat, of which they each pulled an oar. Okikurumi returned from themountains to his home by the seaside, and pursued them alone in a boat;but could not come up to them, because he was only one against two. ThenTureshi excreted some large fœces in the middle of the sea, whichbecame a large mountain in the sea, at whose base Okikurumi arrived. Butso high was it that Okikurumi could not climb over it. Moreover, evenhad not the height prevented him, the fact of its being nothing butfilthy fœces would have done so. As for going round either side ofit, that would have taken him too much out of the way. So he went homeagain, feeling quite spiritless and vanquished, because robbed of histreasures. 

This is the reason why, ever since, we Ainos have not been able toread. --(Written down from memory. Told by Ishanashte, 25th November, 1886. )

V. --SCRAPS OF FOLK-LORE. 

xliv. --_The Good Old Times. _

In ancient days, rivers were very conveniently arranged. The waterflowed down one bank, and up the other, so that you could go either waywithout the least trouble. Those were the days of magic. People werethen able to fly six or seven miles, and to light on the trees likebirds, when they went out hunting. But now the world is decrepit, andall good things are gone. In those days people used the fire-drill. Also, if they planted anything in the morning, it grew up by mid-day. Onthe other hand, those who ate of this quickly-produced grain weretransformed into horses. --(Written down from memory. Told by Ishanashte, November, 1886. )

xlv. --_The Old Man of the Sea. _

The Old Man of the Sea (_Atui koro ekashi_) is a monster able to swallowships and whales. In shape it resembles a bag, and the suction of itsmouth causes a frightfully rapid current. Once a boat was saved fromthis monster by one of the two sailors in it flinging his loin-clothinto the creature's open mouth. That was too nasty a morsel for eventhis monster to swallow; so it let go its hold of the boat. --(Writtendown from memory. Told by Ishanashte, July, 1886. )

xlvi. --_The Cuckoo. _

The male cuckoo is called _kakkok_, the female _tutut_. Both arebeautiful birds, and live in the sky. But in spring they come down toearth, to build their beautiful bottle-shaped white nests. Happy the manwho gets one of these nests, and lets no one else see it. He will becomerich and prosperous. Nevertheless, it is unlucky for a cuckoo to lighton the window-sill and look into the house; for disease will come there. If it lights on the roof, the house will be burnt down. --(Written downfrom memory. Told by Penri, 16th July, 1886. )

xlvii. --_The [Horned] Owl. _

There are six owls, --brethren. The eldest of them is only a littlebigger than a sparrow. When perching on a tree, it balances itselfbackwards, for which reason it is called "The Faller Backwards. " Theyoungest of the six has a very large body. It is a bird which bringsgreat luck. If anyone walks beneath this bird, and there comes the soundof rain falling on him, it is a very lucky thing. Such a man will becomevery rich. For this reason the youngest of the six owls is called "Mr. Owl. "

[The rain here mentioned is supposed to be a rain of gold from the owl'seyes. ]--(Translated literally. Told by Penri, 16th July, 1886. )

xlviii. --_The Peacock in the Sky. _

A cloudless sky has a peacock in it, whose servants are the eagles. Thepeacock lives in the sky, and only descends to earth to give birth toits young. When it has borne one, it flies back with it to thesky. --(Written down from memory. Told by Penri, July, 1886, and byIshanashte, November, 1886. )

xlix. --_Trees turned into Bears. _

The rotten branches or roots of trees sometimes turn into bears. Suchbears as these are termed _payep kamui_, _i. E. _ "divine walkingcreatures, " and are not to be killed by human hand. Formerly they weremore numerous than they are now, but they are still sometimes to beseen. --(Written down from memory. Told by Penri, July, 1886. )

l. --_Coition. _

The Ainos think it very unlucky for the woman to move ever so slightlyduring the act of coition. If she does so, she brings disasters upon herhusband, who is sure to become a poor man. For this reason, the womanremains absolutely quiet, and the man alone moves. --(Written down frommemory. Told by Penri, July, 1886. )

li. --_Birth and Naming. _

Before birth, clothes are got ready for the expected baby, who is washedas soon as born. [F] The divine symbols are set up, and thanks areoffered to the gods. Only women are present on the occasion. Generallyin each village there are one or two old women who act as midwives. 

The child may be named at any time. Ishanashte said that it was usuallytwo or three months, Penri said that it was two or three years, afterbirth. The name chosen is usually founded on some circumstance connectedwith the child, but sometimes it is meaningless. The parent's name isnever given, for that would be unlucky. How, indeed, could a childcontinue to be called by such a name when its father had become a deadman, and consequently one not to be mentioned without tears?--(Writtendown from memory. Told by Penri and Ishanashte, July, 1886. )

[F] For the only time in its whole life!

lii. --_The Pre-eminence of the Oak, Pine-tree, and Mugwort. _

At the beginning of the world the ground was very hot. The ground was sohot that the creatures called men even got their feet burnt. For thisreason, no tree or herb could grow. The only herb that grew at that timewas the mugwort. Of trees, the only ones were the oak and the pine. Forthis reason, these two trees are the oldest among trees. Among herbs, itis the mugwort. This being so, these two trees are divine trees; theyare trees which human beings worship. Among herbs, the mugwort isconsidered to be truly the oldest. 

Listen well to this, too, you younger folks!--(Translated literally. Told by Penri, 19th July, 1886. )

liii. --_The Deer with the Golden Horn. _--(A specimen of Aino history. )

My very earliest ancestor kept a deer. He used to tie the divine symbolsto its horns. Then the deer would go to the mountains, and bring downwith it plenty of other deer. When they came outside the house myancestor would kill the deer which his deer had brought from themountains, and thus was greatly enriched. The name of the village inwhich that deer was kept was Setarukot. 

There was a festival at a neighbouring village. So the man who kept thedeer went off thither to the festival with all his followers. Only hiswife was left behind with the deer. Then a man called Tun-uwo-ush[_i. E. _ "as tall as two men"], from the village of Shipichara, beingvery bad-hearted, came in order to steal that deer. He found only thedeer and the woman at home. He stole both the woman and the deer, andran away with them. So the man who kept the deer, becoming angry, pursued after him to fight him. Being three brothers in all, they wentoff all three together. So Tun-uwo-ush invoked the aid of the wholeneighbourhood. He called together a great number of men. Then thosethree brethren came together to fight him. As they were three of them, the eldest, having killed three score men, was at last killed himself. The second brother killed four score men, and was then killed himself. Then the youngest brother, seeing how things were, thought it would beuseless to go on fighting alone. For this reason he ran away. Having runaway, he got home. Having got home, he came to his house. Then heinvoked the aid of all the neighbourhood. He invoked the aid even ofthose Ainos who dwelt in the land of the Japanese. Then he went off withplenty of men. Having gone off, he fought against Tun-uwo-ush. In thewar, he killed Tun-uwo-ush and all his followers. Then he got back boththe deer and the woman. That was the last of the Aino wars. --(Translatedliterally. Told by Ishanashte, 8th November, 1886. )

liv. --_Dreams. _

To dream of rice-beer, a river, swimming, or anything connected withliquids, causes rainy weather. For instance, I dreamt last night that Iwas drinking rice-beer, and accordingly it is raining to-day. 

To dream of eating meat brings disease. So does dreaming of eating sugaror anything red. 

To dream of killing or knocking a man down is lucky. To dream of beingkilled or knocked down is unlucky. 

To dream that a heavy load which one is carrying feels light is lucky. The contrary dream prognosticates disease. 

To dream of a long rope which does not break, and in which there are noknots even when it is wound up, is lucky, and prognosticates victory. 

To dream of flying like a bird, and perching on a tree, prognosticatesrain and bad weather. 

When a man is about to start off hunting, it is very lucky for him todream of meeting a god in the mountains, to whom he gives presents, andto whom he makes obeisance. After such a dream, he is certain to kill abear. 

To dream of being pursued with a sharp weapon is unlucky. 

To dream that one is wounded, and bleeding freely, is a good omen forthe chase. 

To dream of the sun and moon is probably unlucky, especially if onedreams of the waning moon. But it is not unlucky to dream of the newmoon. 

To dream of a bridge breaking is unlucky. But to dream of crossing abridge in safety is lucky. 

For a husband to dream of his absent wife as smiling, well-dressed, orsleeping with himself, is unlucky. --(Written down from memory. Told byIshanashte, November, 1886. )