ISSUN BOSHI

In the months that followed, Issunboshi ground the girl's ink, polished her musical instruments, and helped her fold up poems written in reply to her suitors. Only once, when he seemed to the girl to be taking his job too seriously, was he asked to join her dolls. The girl soon came to think of Issunboshi as a close friend as well as a servant.

Issunboshi often escorted the girl to temples, and sometimes to shrines. He would wait at the entrance, usually practicing the fierce expression of Fudo, while the girl prayed about her private concerns inside.

One day as they were walking back from a temple east of the city, they heard the crude laughter of what turned out to be a huge blue oni. The oni snatched up Sanjo's daughter before she could cry out. Just as quickly, Issunboshi grabbed her hem and climbed to the oni's hand, where he began wrestling with a huge and hairy finger.

The oni was amazed when he discovered the little escort. He stopped running and stood with his mouth hanging open. But rather than ask questions, he tightened his grip on the girl and popped Issunboshi into his mouth.

By the time he hit the oni's tonsils, Issunboshi had drawn his needle sword and began thrusting and slashing. The terrible oni coughed and spit, but Issunboshi caught his wisp of mustache and climbed, slashing, past the flaring nostrils to the pale round eyes. The oni dropped the girl-- he dropped everything-- and ran back into the hills with no thought of ever returning.

Issunboshi made his way back to the dazed girl. She was soon able to stand, and when she did she discovered the magic wishing mallet the oni had dropped a few feet away. Sanjo's daughter did not need or take any time to consider her wish. She shook the mallet, then put her arm around Issunboshi and gazed up at his resolute but gratified face.

Sanjo no Daijin was also pleased with the new, full-sized Issunboshi (who kept the name even though it no longer fit). He had Issunboshi bring his old parents from their village to the capital, where a wedding to Sanjo's daughter was arranged before the new year came.

A Story About Tamamo-no-mae

During the reign of Emperor Konoe, in around 1155, a servant-girl worked in devotion at the Court of Cloistered Emperor Toba. Later, she would come to be called Tamamo-no-mae, the smartest and most beautiful woman in the whole country and perhaps the world. Mysteriously, Tamamo-no-mae's body naturally exuded a lovely scent, and her clothes stayed beautiful all day. She was therefore not just an overwhelming favorite of Emperor Toba. Everyone in the court was infatuated with her.

What is more, Tamamo-no-mae was not just beautiful, she was also extremely knowledgeable. She looked a mere twenty years old, but there was nothing she did not know. Whatever the question asked of her was, she would grin and reply in easily understood words.

So strange was it, the Emperor decided to go and test Tamamo-no-mae, and he asked her a question on one particularly difficult Buddhist teaching. When he did, Tamamo-no-mae replied by explaining with a word for word quote from a volume written long ago by some great monks. The Emperor and all the other courtesans were stunned when they heard this.

Then, the Emperor prepared an even tougher riddle."In the sky there is what they call the 'Milky Way.' What really is it?""How should someone like me know? But I think it is probably the spirit of the clouds.""Indeed. The spirit of the clouds ... interesting."

The Emperor was awestruck.

So deep was the favor that Tamamo-no-mae earned with the Emperor that he kept her at his side day and night. He cherished her as if she was his empress. Sometime around September 20, there was a performance of poetry and music at the Seiryoden, the serene, cool chamber.  The Emperor took her along and they sat within the bamboo blinds. Just at that moment, a strong wind rushed through, blowing out the fire of the lanterns, and the room was plunged into darkness.Yet in an instant, there seemed to be light emanating from Tamamo-no-mae's body. Surprised, the honorable ministers looked around and realized that the light was spilling from within the bamboo blinds that surrounded her. The light was like the morning sun.

Ignoring the music, the Emperor declared in response to the minister's enquiries, "She is quite a mystery. There is no doubt that she is the embodiment of the Buddha and the Bodhisattva." When the bamboo blinds were raised, it became brighter than noon even though it was darkest night. The light was just like a glowing bulb, and that is how she came to be known as Tamamo-no-mae.

Upon the command to "ask Tamamo-no-mae something you want to know," a young courtesan stepped forth with a question about the orchestra. Tamamo-no-mae answered this too with ease, leaving everyone present speechless with admiration. Afterwards, she revealed her knowledge of how all things came into being, from the musical instruments of the lute and the flute to stationary, fans and carriages, surprising people even more.

The Emperor may have seemed quite fearful, but drawn to the beauty of Tamamo-no-mae, he had exchanged deep vows with her.

However, the Emperor was suddenly taken ill, and with no idea of the reason, he became sicker by the day.

According to the diagnosis of the chief court physician, the sickness had been brought on by evil, and therefore was not something that a doctor could treat.

So he went to see the fortune teller Yasunari. Yasunari cast his fortune. He divined that something big would happen to the Emperor, and told him to start praying immediately. The whole palace went into frenzy. High monks were brought from temples everywhere and made to pray en masse. So he went to see the fortune teller Yasunari. Yasunari cast his fortune. He divined that something big would happen to the Emperor, and told him to start praying immediately. The whole palace went into frenzy. High monks were brought from temples everywhere and made to pray en masse.

However, the prayers were having no effect whatsoever, and the Emperor's condition simply continued to worsen. Shedding tears, he took Tamamo-no-mae by the hand and cried to her, "Such a pity that I shall die, to leave you behind ..." Upon hearing this, Tamamo-no-mae, still prostrate and wailing, replied, "So kindly allowing such a pitiable creature as myself to serve you would have been for naught if you were to leave us, I could not live. I will be devoted to you wherever we are."  The prayers were getting nowhere. One by one the monks began to leave. When Yasunari was asked to cast the Emperor's fortune once again, he seemed to be having trouble talking. Finally, he was told, "Don't be scared, just say it," and so the fortune teller said, "The Emperor is ill because of Tamamo-no-mae. If Tamamo-no-mae goes far away you will surely get better."  The troubled nobles pressed him for more details. It turned out that Tamamo-no-mae was really a hundred-year-old fox living on the Nasuno Plain in Shimotsuke-no-Kuni (present day Tochigi). The fox was 42 feet tall and had two tails. Disguised as a beautiful woman, he would gain access to the ruler and shorten his life in a devilish plot to take over as ruler. People secretly told the Emperor this, but he did not believe them. Meanwhile, he continued to get sicker and sicker. Following Yasunari's advice, the Emperor was to worship the god Taizan-fukun, and Tamamo-no-mae was ordered to make an offering to the gods. Although she disdained the task immediately as a wearisome chore, she was persuaded to assent to it by the ministers who said that if this cured the Emperor, she would gain admiration.

So that very day, Tamamo-no-mae, more smartly dressed than ever, in the middle of reading a formula and looking as though she was about to ceremonially wave a hemp cloth, suddenly disappeared. Just as Yasunari had predicted, she was indeed a fox in disguise.

Everyone was racking their brains: How to get rid of this fox? Many worried about whether it was possible to eradicate such a creature with human strength, but finally, believing they could pull it off by gathering together all the reputed archers of the land, they decided the warriors would hunt the fox.

The most superb warriors of the day were said to be Kazusa-nosuke and Miura-nosuke. The Emperor ordered them to hunt down the fox. Accepting the Emperor's orders, they purified themselves, proclaimed that there was no higher honor and roused their families and retainers to join the mission. Then they set out, the two warriors galloping off ahead of their entourage.

As they pushed into the grasses of the wide Nasuno Plain, they came upon the two-tailed fox they had all heard about. Everyone chased the fox to lay their hands on some of the glory, but as it was a creature with supernatural powers, the fox cleverly escaped.

So the fighters withdrew for a time, planning another attempt with a new attack strategy using martial arts. Kazusa-nosuke practiced hitting a ball dropped from his horse, and Miura-nosuke practiced with his bow and arrow using dogs instead of foxes as targets.

Then, they set out for Nasuno Plain to once again hunt the fox, but after seven days they had achieved nothing and by then, the retainers could not hide their tiredness. Kazusa-nosuke and Miura-nosuke swore that they would never return to their hometown alive, such would be the disgrace of somehow failing to hunt down the fox, and they prayed to the gods for their grace.

Then, Miura-nosuke took a short nap during which he had a dream. In his dream, beautiful women of about 20 appeared and begged him, crying, "Tomorrow I will regrettably lose my life to you. Please save me." When he woke up, Miura-nosuke, who had refused her on no uncertain terms in his dream, rounded up the entourage and led the charge forth, proclaiming that today was the day that they would bring down the fox.

Just at daybreak, a certain fox attempted to flee for the mountains. Miura-nosuke whipped his horse and approached the fox, then shot his arrow. The arrow made a perfect direct hit on the fox, and it tumbled to the ground. "Gotcha!" he cried, dismounting his horse. As he goes got closer, the creature was more wondrous than any rumor had hinted. The corpse of the fox was soon taken to the capital, and Kazusa-nosuke and Miura-nosuke went to the capital as well. Even the Emperor was impressed with this unprecendented achievement, and a re-creation of the fox hunt was held in the presence of the Emperor at the very spot on the Nasuno Plain where it had taken place. Everybody went along to witness the performance.

The body of the fox certainly gave birth to a variety of rare treasures.

Japanese Folk Tale: Princess Kaguya

A really long time ago, in some countryside, there was one old couple that had no children. They lived by cutting and selling bamboos. One day, the old man went to a forest to get bamboos as usual, and found the bright bamboo. He thought the bamboo could be sold for a good price and he tried to cut soon. But, he couldn’t do that, because he noticed there was a pretty little girl into that. It made him very surprised, but the old couple wanted their child for so long. Then he decided to take her his home and raised her as their real child with his wife. Of course, when he came back to home with the girl, the old woman was surprised but really happy. They named her Kaguya and took care of her. They became a good family and were satisfied with their lives. Such happy lives had continued until Kaguya rose as marriageable women.

She became awfully beautiful lady. Her beauty was not like human, but a fairy or pretty flower. Her hair was extremely long and jet-black like a wing of a black bird. Her eyes were deeply dark as a sky of night, nose was as tall as a mountain, and mouth was pink like a cherry. The skin was similar to pottery and all her actions are elegant. All men who knew about Kaguya wanted to marry her. However, she didn’t want to marry anybody. Still, five rich men seriously wanted to marry with her, and they dangled after her loudly. Finally they became like stalkers, Kaguya said that she would marry whoever could gain what she wants. Of course, they agreed with this idea. She showed five different things as she wanted individually; the bowl of Buddha, the branch with the ball of the water lily, the far of the fire mouse, the bead of the dragon, and the swallow’s talisman. It was almost impossible to get all those things, and they tried as hard as they could, but couldn’t.

This story spread over the city and the Mikado had interest with Kaguya. And, without exception, when he saw her first, the Mikado fell in love. He also wanted to marry with her and the old couple thought it was good for Kaguya. However, she said only no. They couldn’t understand and asked her why. First, she just bended her head, but started to talk about her true story. In fact, she was the liver in the moon. And she had done something bad and been exiled to the earth as a punishment. She said she had to go back the moon soon. That fact made them really sad and they asked her not to leave here. But, she said, the army of the moon would pickup me and nobody could intercept them. What they could do is just crying. After, the Mikado heard about this also and he prepared for fighting back the moon army.

Meanwhile, the time is coming. As she said, the moon army came from the dark sky with a strong wind. The army of the Mikado tried to hit them, but their attack was not effective at all. They didn’t care about such attacks and said Kaguya to come with them. She followed that. In front of the old couple and the Mikado, she started to walk in the way to go the moon. She said goodbye and thank you for the old parents and gave the “Fuji” medicine to live eternally and have no aging to the Mikado. Like this Kaguya went back to the moon.

After her leaving, the Mikado ordered to burn this medicine in the highest mountain in Japan, and now the mountain is called “Fuji-mountain”.

Little Red Riding Hood

Hatriyana (306.08.12.100)

Afternoon A

  Once upon a time in the middle of a thick forest stood a small cottage, the home of a pretty little girl known to everyone as Little Red Riding Hood. One day, her Mummy waved her goodbye at the garden gate, saying: "Grandma is ill. Take her this basket of cakes, but be very careful. Keep to the path through the wood and don't ever stop. That way, you will come to no harm."
 
   Little Red Riding Hood kissed her mother and ran off. "Don't worry," she said, "I'll run all the way to Grandma's without stopping."
 
   Full of good intentions, the little girl made her way through the wood, but she was soon to forget her mother's wise words. "What lovely strawberries! And so red."
 
   Laying her basket on the ground, Little Red Riding Hood bent over the strawberry plants. "They're nice and ripe, and so big! Yummy! Delicious! Just another one. And one more. This is the last. Well, this one Mmmm."
 
   The red fruit peeped invitingly through the leaves in the grassy glade, and Little Red Riding Hood ran back and forth popping strawberries into her mouth. Suddenly she remembered her mother, her promise, Grandma and the basket and hurried back towards the path. The basket was still in the grass and, humming to herself, Little Red Riding Hood walked on.
 
   The wood became thicker and thicker. Suddenly a yellow butterfly fluttered down through the trees. Little Red Riding Hood started to chase the butterfly.
 
   "I'll catch you! I'll catch you!" she called. Suddenly she saw some large daisies in the grass.
 
   "Oh, how sweet!" she exclaimed and, thinking of Grandma, she picked a large bunch of flowers.
 
   In the meantime, two wicked eyes were spying on her from behind a tree a strange rustling in the woods made Little Red Riding Hood's heart thump.
 
   Now quite afraid she said to herself. "I must find the path and run away from here!"
 
   At last she reached the path again but her heart leapt into her mouth at the sound of a gruff voice which said: "Where are you going, my pretty girl, all alone in the woods?"
 
   "I'm taking Grandma some cakes. She lives at the end of the path," said Little Riding Hood in a faint voice.
 
   When he heard this, the wolf (for it was the big bad wolf himself) politely asked: "Does Grandma live by herself?"
 
   "Oh, yes," replied Little Red Riding Hood, "and she never opens the door to strangers!"
 
   "Goodbye. Perhaps we'll meet again," replied the wolf. Then he loped away thinking to himself "I'll gobble the grandmother first, then lie in wait for the grandchild!" At last, the cottage came in sight. Knock! Knock! The wolf rapped on the door.
 
   "Who's there?" cried Grandma from her bed.
 
   "It's me, Little Red Riding Hood. I've brought you some cakes because you're ill," replied the wolf, trying hard to hide his gruff voice.
 
   "Lift the latch and come in," said Grandma, unaware of anything amiss, till a horrible shadow appeared on the wall. Poor Grandma! For in one bound, the wolf leapt across the room and, in a single mouthful, swallowed the old lady. Soon after, Little Red Riding Hood tapped on the door.
 
   "Grandma, can I come in?" she called.
 
   Now, the wolf had put on the old lady's shawl and cap and slipped into the bed. Trying to imitate Grandma's quavering little voice, he replied: "Open the latch and come in!
 
   "What a deep voice you have," said the little girl in surprise.
 
   "The better to greet you with," said the wolf.
 
   "Goodness, what big eyes you have."
 
   "The better to see you with."
 
   "And what big hands you have!" exclaimed Little Red Riding Hood, stepping over to the bed.
 
   "The better to hug you with," said the wolf.
 
   "What a big mouth you have," the little girl murmured in a weak voice.
 
   "The better to eat you with!" growled the wolf, and jumping out of bed, he swallowed her up too. Then, with a fat full tummy, he fell fast asleep.
 
   In the meantime, a hunter had emerged from the wood, and on noticing the cottage, he decided to stop and ask for a drink. He had spent a lot of time trying to catch a large wolf that had been terrorizing the neighborhood, but had lost its tracks. The hunter could hear a strange whistling sound; it seemed to be coming from inside the cottage. He peered through the window and saw the large wolf himself, with a fat full tummy, snoring away in Grandma's bed.
 
   "The wolf! He won't get away this time!"
 
   Without making a sound, the hunter carefully loaded his gun and gently opened the window. He pointed the barrel straight at the wolf's head and BANG! The wolf was dead.
 
   "Got you at last!" shouted the hunter in glee. "You'll never frighten anyone again.
 
   He cut open the wolf's stomach and to his amazement, out popped Grandma and Little Red Riding Hood, safe and unharmed.
 
   "You arrived just in time," murmured the old lady, quite overcome by all the excitement.
 
   "It's safe to go home now," the hunter told Little Red Riding Hood. "The big bad wolf is dead and gone, and there is no danger on the path.
 
   Still scared, the little girl hugged her grandmother. Oh, what a dreadful fright!"
 
   Much later, as dusk was falling, Little Red Riding Hood's mother arrived, all out of breath, worried because her little girl had not come home. And when she saw Little Red Riding Hood, safe and sound, she burst into tears of joy.
 
   After thanking the hunter again, Little Red Riding Hood and her mother set off towards the wood. As they walked quickly through the trees, the little girl told her mother: "We must always keep to the path and never stop. That way, we come to no harm!" 

 

~ The End ~

The Story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves

Hatriyana 306.08.12.100 Afternoon A Once upon a time, long, long ago a king and queen ruled over a distant land.  The queen was kind and lovely and all the people of the realm adored her.  The only sadness in the queen's life was that she wished for a child but did not have one.   One winter day, the queen was doing needle work while gazing out her ebony window at the new fallen snow.  A bird flew by the window startling the queen and she pricked her finger.  A single drop of blood fell on the snow outside her window.  As she looked at the blood on the snow she said to herself, "Oh, how I wish that I had a daughter that had skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and hair as black as ebony."   Soon after that, the kind queen got her wish when she gave birth to a baby girl who had skin white as snow, lips red as blood, and hair black as ebony.  They named the baby princess Snow White, but sadly, the queen died after giving birth to Snow White.

Soon after, the king married a new woman who was beautiful, but as well proud and cruel.  She had studied dark magic and owned a magic mirror, of which she would daily ask, 

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?.  

Each time this question was asked, the mirror would give the same answer, "Thou, O Queen, art the fairest of all."  This pleased the queen greatly as she knew that her magical mirror could speak nothing but the truth.
One morning when the queen asked, "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?" she was shocked when it answered:

You, my queen, are fair; it is true.
But Snow White is even fairer than you.

The Queen flew into a jealous rage and ordered her huntsman to take Snow White into the woods to be killed.  She demanded that the huntsman return with Snow White's heart as proof.  
The poor huntsman took Snow White into the forest, but found himself unable to kill the girl.  Instead, he let her go, and brought the queen the heart of a wild boar.
Snow White was now all alone in the great forest, and she did not know what to do.  The trees seemed to whisper to each other, scaring Snow White who began to run.  She ran over sharp stones and through thorns.  She ran as far as her feet could carry her, and just as evening was about to fall she saw a little house and went inside in order to rest.
Inside the house everything was small but tidy.  There was a little table with a tidy, white tablecloth and seven little plates.  Against the wall there were seven little beds, all in a row and covered with quilts.
Because she was so hungry Snow White ate a few vegetables and a little bread from each little plate and from each cup she drank a bit of milk. Afterward, because she was so tired, she lay down on one of the little beds and fell fast asleep.
After dark, the owners of the house returned home.  They were the seven dwarves who mined for gold in the mountains.  As soon as they arrived home, they saw that someone had been there -- for not everything was in the same order as they had left it.

The first one said, "Who has been sitting in my chair?"
The second one, "Who has been eating from my plate?"
The third one, "Who has been eating my bread?"
The fourth one, "Who has been eating my vegetables?"
The fifth one, "Who has been eating with my fork?"
The sixth one, "Who has been drinking from my cup?"

But the seventh one, looking at his bed, found Snow White lying there asleep.  The seven dwarves all came running up, and they cried out with amazement.  They fetched their seven candles and shone the light on Snow White. 
"Oh good heaven! " they cried. "This child is beautiful!"
They were so happy that they did not wake her up, but let her continue to sleep in the bed.  The next morning Snow White woke up, and when she saw the seven dwarves she was frightened.  But they were friendly and asked, "What is your name?"
"My name is Snow White," she answered.
"How did you find your way to our house?" the dwarves asked further.
Then she told them that her stepmother had tried to kill her, that the huntsman had spared her life, and that she had run the entire day through the forest, finally stumbling upon their house.
The dwarves spoke with each other for awhile and then said, "If you will keep house for us, and cook, make beds, wash, sew, and knit, and keep everything clean and orderly, then you can stay with us, and you shall have everything that you want."
"Yes," said Snow White, "with all my heart."  For Snow White greatly enjoyed keeping a tidy home.
So Snow White lived happily with the dwarves.  Every morning they went into the mountains looking for gold, and in the evening when they came back home Snow White had their meal ready and their house tidy.  During the day the girl was alone, except for the small animals of the forest that she often played with.
Now the queen, believing that she had eaten Snow White's heart, could only think that she was again the first and the most beautiful woman of all.  She stepped before her mirror and said:

Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
Who in this land is fairest of all?

It answered:

You, my queen, are fair; it is true.
But Snow White, beyond the mountains
With the seven dwarves,
Is still a thousand times fairer than you.

This startled the queen, for she knew that the mirror did not lie, and she realized that the huntsman had deceived her and that Snow White was still alive.  Then she thought, and thought again, how she could rid herself of Snow White -- for as long as long as she was not the most beautiful woman in the entire land her jealousy would give her no rest.
At last she thought of something.   She went into her most secret room -- no one else was allowed inside -- and she made a poisoned apple.  From the outside it was beautiful, and anyone who saw it would want it. But anyone who might eat a little piece of it would died.  Coloring her face, she disguised herself as an old peddler woman, so that no one would recognize her, traveled to the dwarves house and knocked on the door.
Snow White put her head out of the window, and said, "I must not let anyone in; the seven dwarves have forbidden me to do so."
"That is all right with me," answered the peddler woman. "I'll easily get rid of my apples.  Here, I'll give you one of them."
"No," said Snow White, "I cannot accept anything from strangers."
"Are you afraid of poison?" asked the old woman. "Look, I'll cut the apple in two.  You eat half and I shall eat half."
Now the apple had been so artfully made that only the one half was poisoned.  Snow White longed for the beautiful apple, and when she saw that the peddler woman was eating part of it she could no longer resist, and she stuck her hand out and took the poisoned half.  She barely had a bite in her mouth when she fell to the ground dead.
The queen looked at her with an evil stare, laughed loudly, and said, "White as snow, red as blood, black as ebony wood!  The dwarves shall never awaken you."
Back at home she asked her mirror:

Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
Who in this land is fairest of all?

It finally answered:

You, my queen, are fairest of all.

Then her cruel and jealous heart was at rest, as well as a cruel and jealous heart can be at rest.
When the dwarves came home that evening they found Snow White lying on the ground.  She was not breathing at all.  She was dead.  They lifted her up and looked at her longingly.  They talked to her, shook her and wept over her.  But nothing helped.  The dear child was dead, and she remained dead.  They laid her on a bed of straw, and all seven sat next to her and mourned for her and cried for three days.  They were going to bury her, but she still looked as fresh as a living person, and still had her beautiful red cheeks.
They said, "We cannot bury her in the black earth," and they had a transparent glass coffin made, so she could be seen from all sides.  They laid her inside, and with golden letters wrote on it her name, and that she was a princess.  Then they put the coffin outside on a mountain, and one of them always stayed with it and watched over her.  The animals too came and mourned for Snow White, first an owl, then a raven, and finally a dove.
Now it came to pass that a prince entered these woods and happened onto the dwarves' house, where he sought shelter for the night . He saw the coffin on the mountain with beautiful Snow White in it, and he read what was written on it with golden letters.
Then he said to the dwarves, "Let me have the coffin. I will give you anything you want for it."
But the dwarves answered, "We will not sell it for all the gold in the world."
Then he said, "Then give it to me, for I cannot live without being able to see Snow White. I will honor her and respect her as my most cherished one."
As he thus spoke, the good dwarves felt pity for him and gave him the coffin.  The prince had his servants carry it away on their shoulders.  But then it happened that one of them stumbled on some brush, and this dislodged from Snow White's throat the piece of poisoned apple that she had bitten off.  Not long afterward she opened her eyes, lifted the lid from her coffin, sat up, and was alive again.
"Good heavens, where am I?" she cried out.
The prince said joyfully, "You are with me."  He told her what had happened, and then said, "I love you more than anything else in the world.  Come with me to my father's castle.  You shall become my wife."  Snow White loved him, and she went with him.  Their wedding was planned with great splendor and majesty.
Snow White's wicked step-mother was invited to the feast, and when she had arrayed herself in her most beautiful garments, she stood before her mirror, and said:

Mirror, mirror, on the wall,
Who in this land is fairest of all?

The mirror answered:

You, my queen, are fair; it is true.
But the young queen is a thousand times fairer than you.

Not knowing that this new queen was indeed her stepdaughter, she arrived at the wedding, and her heart filled with the deepest of dread when she realized the truth - the evil queen was banished from the land forever and the prince and Snow White lived happily ever after.

-The End-

Takken: http://www.dltk-teach.com/rhymes/snowwhite/story.htm

Sleeping Beauty _Charles Perrault

Hatriyana
306.08.12.100
Afternoon A

There once lived a king and queen who had no children, which made them very sad. Then one clay, to the queen's delight, she found she was going to have a baby. She and the king looked forward with great excitement to the day of the baby's birth.

When the time came, a lovely daughter was born and they arranged a large party for her Christening. As well as lots of other guests, they invited twelve fairies, knowing they would make wishes for their little daughter, the princess.

At the Christening party, the guests and the fairies all agreed that the princess was a beautiful baby.

One fairy wished on her the gift of Happiness, another Beauty, others Health, Contentment, Wisdom, Goodness . . . Eleven fairies had made their wishes when suddenly the doors of the castle flew open and in swept a thirteenth fairy. She was furious that she had not been invited to the Christening party, and as she looked around a shiver ran down everyone's spine. They could feel she was evil. She waved her wand over the baby's cradle and cast a spell, not a wish.

"On her sixteenth birthday," she hissed, "the princess will prick herself with a spindle.

And she will die." With that a terrible hush fell over the crowd.

The twelfth fairy had still to make her wish and she hesitated. She had been going to wish the gift of joy on the baby but now she wanted to stop the princess dying on her sixteenth birthday. Her magic was not strong enough to Sleeping Beauty break the wicked spell but she tried to weaken the evil. She wished that the princess would fall asleep for a hundred years instead of dying.

Over the years the princess grew into the happiest, kindest and most beautiful child anyone had ever seen. It seemed as though all the wishes of the first eleven fairies had come true. The king and queen decided they could prevent the wicked fairy's spell from working by making sure that the princess never saw a spindle.

So they banned all spinning from the land. All the flax and wool in their country had to be sent elsewhere to be spun. On their daughter's sixteenth birthday they held a party for the princess in their castle. They felt sure this would protect her from the danger of finding a spindle on her sixteenth birthday.

People came from far and wide to the grand birthday ball for the princess and a magnificent feast was laid out. After all the guests had eaten and drunk as much as they wanted and danced in the great hall, the princess asked if they could all play hide-and-seek, which was a favourite game from her childhood. It was agreed the princess should be the first to hide, and she quickly sped away.

The princess ran to a far corner of the castle and found herself climbing a spiral staircase in a turret she did not remember ever visiting before. "They will never find me here," she thought as she crept into a little room at the top. 'there to her surprise she found an old woman dressed in black, sitting on a chair spinning.

"What are you doing?" questioned the princess as she saw the spindle twirling, for she had never seen anything like it in her whole life.

"Come and see, pretty girl," replied the old lady. The princess watched fascinated as she pulled the strands of wool from the sheep's fleece on the floor, and twirling it deftly with her fingers fed it on to the spindle.

"Would you like to try?" she asked cunningly.

With all thoughts of hide-and-seek gone, the princess sat down and took the spindle. In a flash she pricked her thumb and even as she cried out, she fell clown as though dead. The wicked fairy's spell had worked.

So did the twelfth good fairy's wish. The princess did not die, but fell into a deep deep sleep. The spell worked upon everyone else in the castle too. The king and queen slept in their chairs in the great hall. The guests dropped off to sleep as they went through the castle looking for the princess.

In the kitchen the cook fell asleep as she was about to box the pot boy's ears and the scullery maid nodded off as she was plucking a chicken. All over the castle a great silence descended.

As the years went by a thorn hedge grew up around the castle. Passers-by asked what was behind the hedge, but few people remembered the castle where the king and queen had lived with their lovely daughter. Sometimes curious travellers tried to force their way through, but the hedge grew so thickly that they soon gave up.

One clay, many many years later, a prince came by.

He asked, like other travellers, what was behind the thorn hedge, which was very tall and thick by now. An old man told him a story he had heard about a castle behind the thorns, and the prince became curious. He decided to cut his way through the thorns. This time the hedge seemed to open out before his sword and in a short while the prince was inside the grounds. He ran across the gardens and through an open door into the lovely old castle.

Everywhere he looked — in the great hall, in the kitchens, in the corridors and on the staircases — he saw people asleep. He passed through many rooms until he found himself climbing a winding staircase in an old turret. There in a small room at the top he found himself staring in wonder at the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She was so lovely that without thinking he leaned forward and gently kissed her.

As his lips touched her, the princess began to stir and she opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was a handsome young. man. She thought she must be dreaming, but she looked again and saw he was really there. As she gazed at him she fell in love.

They came down the turret stairs together and found the whole castle coming back to life. In the great hall the king and queen were stretching and yawning, puzzled over how they could have dropped off to sleep during their daughter's party. Their guests too were shaking their heads, rubbing their eyes, and wondering why they felt so sleepy. In the kitchen, the cook boxed the ears of the pot boy, and the scullery maid continued to pluck the chicken. Outside horses stamped and neighed in their stables, dogs barked in the yards, while in the trees birds who had stayed silent for so long burst into song. The hundred-year spell had been broken.

The princess told her parents how much she loved the handsome young man who had kissed her, and they were delighted to find he was a prince from a neighbouring country. The king gave them his blessing and a grand wedding was arranged.

At the wedding party the princess looked more beautiful than ever, and the prince loved her more every moment. The twelve good fairies who had come to her Christening were invited once again and were delighted to see the happiness of the prince and princess. Towards evening the newly married pair rode off together to their new home in the prince's country, where they lived happily ever after.

 The End

Takken: http://www.childrenstory.info/childrenstories/sleepingbeauty.html

WEBLOG

1.) A weblog, sometimes written as web log or Weblog, is a Web site that consists of a series of entries arranged in reverse chronological order, often updated on frequently with new information about particular topics. The information can be written by the site owner, gleaned from other Web sites or other sources, or contributed by users.

A weblog often has the quality of being a kind of "log of our times" from a particular point-of-view. Generally, weblogs are devoted to one or several subjects or themes, usually of topical interest, and, in general, can be thought of as developing commentaries, individual or collective on their particular themes. A weblog may consist of the recorded ideas of an individual (a sort of diary) or be a complex collaboration.

Since there are a number of variations on this idea and new variations can easily be invented, the meaning of this term is apt to gather additional connotations with time. A popular weblog is Slashdot.org, the product of programmer and graphic artist Rob Malden and several colleagues. Slashdot.org carries discussion threads on many subjects including: Money, Quake (the game), Netscape, Sun Microsystems, Hardware, and Linux. Slashdot.org solicits and posts interesting stories reported by contributors, includes a link to the story, and manages the threads of the ensuing discussion by other users. Another well-known weblog is Jorn Barger's Robot Wisdom Log, which is more of collection of daily highlights from other Web sites. Jessamyn West's librarian.net is a daily log of items interesting to librarians and possibly others, too.

As a format and content approach for a Web site, the weblog seems popular because the viewer knows that something changes every day, there is a personal point-of-view, and, on some sites, there is an opportunity to collaborate or respond with the Web site and its participants.

2) Weblog is the name of a software product from South Korea that analyzes a Web site's access  log and reports the number of visitors, views, hits, most frequently visited pages, and so forth.

(http://searchsoa.techtarget.com/definition/weblog)

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