It also made me remember reading
Western folk tales and consider the similarities to the Japanese ones. My favourite Japanese folk tale so far
features a man whose head is cut by an axe, into which falls the seed of a
tree. Soon a tree sprouts out of the
wound and he is able to make money by selling the chestnuts he gathers from the
tree growing out of his head. The story
continues, and I love the evident humour running through it.
A Western folk tale with a similarly
enjoyable thread of humour running through it is “The valiant little tailor”. I have taken the start of it from Grimm’s
fairy tales, and edited it below.
An edited extract from, “The
Valiant little tailor”, from Grimm’s fairy tales
One fine day a tailor was sitting on his bench by the window
in very high spirits, sewing diligently, and presently up the
street came a country woman, crying, "Good jams for sale! Good jams for
sale!"
So the tailor bought some jam.
“This jam will give me fresh strength and vigor,"
he said. Taking the bread from the cupboard, he cut himself a large slice and
spread the jam upon it. "That will taste very nice," said he;
"but, before I take a bite, I will just finish this waistcoat." So he
put the bread on the table and went back to work.
Meanwhile the smell of the jam rose to the ceiling, where
many flies were sitting, and enticed them down, so that soon a great swarm
of them had gathered around the bread. "Hey! who asked you?"
exclaimed the tailor, driving away the uninvited visitors; but the flies would
not be driven off, and came back in greater numbers than before. This made the
little man very angry and, snatching up a cloth, he swiped the air where
the flies were. When he looked he counted as many as seven lying dead before
him with outstretched legs. "What a fellow you are!" said he to
himself, astonished at his own bravery. "The whole town must hear of
this."
Hastily, he cut himself out a belt, and then put on it in
large letters, "SEVEN AT ONE BLOW!" "Ah," said he,
"not one city alone, the whole world shall hear it!" and his heart
danced with joy, like a puppy-dog's tail.
The little tailor bound the belt around his body, and made
ready to travel into the wide world, feeling the workshop too small for his
great deeds.
Before he set out, however, he looked about his house
to see if there was anything he could carry with him, but he found only an old
cheese, which he pocketed, and observing a bird which was caught in the
bushes before the door, he captured it, and put that in his pocket also.
Soon after he set out boldly on his travels. His road
led him up a hill, and when he arrived at the highest point of it he found a
great Giant sitting there.
But the little tailor went boldly up, and said, "Good
day, friend; truly you sit there and see the whole world stretched below you. I
also am on my way to seek my fortune. Are you willing to go with me?"
The Giant looked with scorn at the little tailor, and said, "you wretched creature!"
"Perhaps so," replied the tailor; "but here
may be seen what sort of a man I am;" and, unbuttoning his coat, he showed
the Giant his belt. The Giant read, "SEVEN AT ONE BLOW"; and supposing
they were men whom the tailor had killed, he felt some respect for him.
Still he meant to test him first. So, taking up a pebble,
he squeezed it so hard that water dropped out of it. "Do as well as
that," said he to the other, "if you have the strength."
"that's child's play," said the tailor. Reaching
into his pocket, he pulled out the cheese and squeezed it till liquid ran out
of it, and said, "Now, I fancy that I have done better than you."
The Giant wondered what to say, and could not believe it of
the little man. So, picking up another pebble, he flung it so high that
it almost went out of sight, saying, "There, do that if you can."
"Well done," said the tailor; "but your
pebble will fall down again to the ground. I will throw one up which will not
come down;" and, dipping into his pocket, he took out the bird and threw
it into the air. The bird, glad to be free, flew straight up, and then far
away, and did not come back. "How does that please you, friend?"
asked the tailor.
Vocabulary:
to impart something – to make something
known; to communicate something, like advice
to be evident – to be clear; obvious
to be valiant – to be brave
to be in high spirits – to be happy, in a
good mood
to do something diligently – to do
something with proper care/ hard work; to do something well
vigor – energy; strength
to entice someone or something – to attract
someone; to tempt them
a swarm – a large or dense group of flying
insects
to swipe something – to hit or try to hit
something with a swinging blow
to set out – to start a journey
to pocket something – to put something in
your pocket
to do something boldly – to do something
bravely; confidently
a pebble – a small stone
to fling something (past tense: flung) – to
throw something
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