"How strange!" exclaimed the horned chief. "I never saw such a skillful dancer before! He dances admirably!"
When the old man had finished his dance, the big demon said:
"Thank you very much for your amusing dance. Now give us the pleasure of drinking a cup of wine with us," and with these words he handed him his largest wine-cup.
The old man thanked him very humbly:
"I did not expect such kindness from your lordship. I fear I have only disturbed your pleasant party by my unskillful dancing."
"No, no," answered the big demon. "You must come often and dance for us. Your skill has given us much pleasure."
The old man thanked him again and promised to do so.
"Then will you come again to-morrow, old man?" asked the demon.
"Certainly, I will," answered the old man.
"Then you must leave some pledge of your word with us," said the demon.
"Whatever you like," said the old man.
"Now what is the best thing he can leave with us as a pledge?" asked the demon, looking round.
Then said one of the demon"s attendants kneeling behind the chief:
"The token he leaves with us must be the most important thing to him in his possession. I see the old man has a wen on his right cheek. Now mortal men consider such a wen very fortunate. Let my lord take the lump from the old man"s right cheek, and he will surely come to-morrow, if only to get that back."
"You are very clever," said the demon chief, giving his horns an approving nod. Then he stretched out a hairy arm and claw-like hand, and took the great lump from the old man"s right cheek. Strange to say, it came off as easily as a ripe plum from the tree at the demon"s touch, and then the merry troop of demons suddenly vanished.
The old man was lost in bewilderment by all that had happened. He hardly knew for some time where he was. When he came to understand what had happened to him, he was delighted to find that the lump on his face, which had for so many years disfigured him, had really been taken away without any pain to himself. He put up his hand to feel if any scar remained, but found that his right cheek was as smooth as his left.
The sun had long set, and the young moon had risen like a silver crescent in the sky. The old man suddenly realized how late it was and began to hurry home. He patted his right cheek all the time, as if to make sure of his good fortune in having lost the wen. He was so happy that he found it impossible to walk quietly--he ran and danced the whole way home.
He found his wife very anxious, wondering what had happened to make him so late. He soon told her all that had pa.s.sed since he left home that afternoon. She was quite as happy as her husband when he showed her that the ugly lump had disappeared from his face, for in her youth she had prided herself on his good looks, and it had been a daily grief to her to see the horrid growth.
Now next door to this good old couple there lived a wicked and disagreeable old man. He, too, had for many years been troubled with the growth of a wen on his left cheek, and he, too, had tried all manner of things to get rid of it, but in vain.
He heard at once, through the servant, of his neighbor"s good luck in losing the lump on his face, so he called that very evening and asked his friend to tell him everything that concerned the loss of it. The good old man told his disagreeable neighbor all that had happened to him. He described the place where he would find the hollow tree in which to hide, and advised him to be on the spot in the late afternoon towards the time of sunset.
The old neighbor started out the very next afternoon, and after hunting about for some time, came to the hollow tree just as his friend had described. Here he hid himself and waited for the twilight.
Just as he had been told, the band of demons came at that hour and held a feast with dance and song. When this had gone on for some time the chief of the demons looked around and said:
"It is now time for the old man to come as he promised us. Why doesn"t he come?"
When the second old man heard these words he ran out of his hiding-place in the tree and, kneeling down before the Oni, said:
"I have been waiting for a long time for you to speak!"
"Ah, you are the old man of yesterday," said the demon chief. "Thank you for coming, you must dance for us soon."
The old man now stood up and opened his fan and began to dance. But he had never learned to dance, and knew nothing about the necessary gestures and different positions. He thought that anything would please the demons, so he just hopped about, waving his arms and stamping his feet, imitating as well as he could any dancing he had ever seen.
The Oni were very dissatisfied at this exhibition, and said amongst themselves:
"How badly he dances to-day!"
Then to the old man the demon chief said:
"Your performance to-day is quite different from the dance of yesterday. We don"t wish to see any more of such dancing. We will give you back the pledge you left with us. You must go away at once."
With these words he took out from a fold of his dress the lump which he had taken from the face of the old man who had danced so well the day before, and threw it at the right cheek of the old man who stood before him. The lump immediately attached itself to his cheek as firmly as if it had grown there always, and all attempts to pull it off were useless. The wicked old man, instead of losing the lump on his left cheek as he had hoped, found to his dismay that he had but added another to his right cheek in his attempt to get rid of the first.
He put up first one hand and then the other to each side of his face to make sure if he were not dreaming a horrible nightmare. No, sure enough there was now a great wen on the right side of his face as on the left.
The demons had all disappeared, and there was nothing for him to do but to return home. He was a pitiful sight, for his face, with the two large lumps, one on each side, looked just like a j.a.panese gourd.
THE STONES OF FIVE COLORS AND THE EMPRESS JOKWA.
AN OLD CHINESE STORY.
Long, long ago there lived a great Chinese Empress who succeeded her brother the Emperor f.u.ki. It was the age of giants, and the Empress Jokwa, for that was her name, was twenty-five feet high, nearly as tall as her brother. She was a wonderful woman, and an able ruler. There is an interesting story of how she mended a part of the broken heavens and one of the terrestrial pillars which upheld the sky, both of which were damaged during a rebellion raised by one of King f.u.ki"s subjects.
The rebel"s name was Kokai. He was twenty-six feet high. His body was entirely covered with hair, and his face was as black as iron. He was a wizard and a very terrible character indeed. When the Emperor f.u.ki died, Kokai was bitten with the ambition to be Emperor of China, but his plan failed, and Jokwa, the dead Emperor"s sister, mounted the throne. Kokai was so angry at being thwarted in his desire that he raised a revolt. His first act was to employ the Water Devil, who caused a great flood to rush over the country. This swamped the poor people out of their homes, and when the Empress Jokwa saw the plight of her subjects, and knew it was Kokai"s fault, she declared war against him.
Now Jokwa, the Empress, had two young warriors called Hako and Eiko, and the former she made General of the front forces. Hako was delighted that the Empress"s choice should fall on him, and he prepared himself for battle. He took up the longest lance he could find and mounted a red horse, and was just about to set out when he heard some one galloping hard behind him and shouting:
"Hako! Stop! The general of the front forces must be I!"
He looked back and saw Eiko his comrade, riding on a white horse, in the act of unsheathing a large sword to draw upon him. Hako"s anger was kindled, and as he turned to face his rival he cried:
"Insolent wretch! I have been appointed by the Empress to lead the front forces to battle. Do you dare to stop me?"
"Yes," answered Eiko. "I ought to lead the army. It is you who should follow me."
At this bold reply Hako"s anger burst from a spark into a flame.
"Dare you answer me thus? Take that," and he lunged at him with his lance.
But Eiko moved quickly aside, and at the same time, raising his sword, he wounded the head of the General"s horse. Obliged to dismount, Hako was about to rush at his antagonist, when Eiko, as quick as lightning, tore from his breast the badge of commandership and galloped away. The action was so quick that Hako stood dazed, not knowing what to do.
The Empress had been a spectator of the scene, and she could not but admire the quickness of the ambitious Eiko, and in order to pacify the rivals she determined to appoint them both to the Generalship of the front army.
So Hako was made commander of the left wing of the front army, and Eiko of the right. One hundred thousand soldiers followed them and marched to put down the rebel Kokai.