Sorrowful Legend Of Kanashi Village

Sorrowful Legend of Kanashi Village (Original Text)

『The legend of Kanashi 1 Village is thoroughly sorrowful. The single, lonely Bear is killed by a middle-aged hunter. A crying girl who lost her mother falls off a waterfall and dies. The ghost of the mother who searched for her child, learns that the child had died and places a deadly curse on the villagers. The sad, sad legend of Kanashi Village』

*Flips*

〈The Lonely Bear〉
『The Bear that lives in the forest was alone since birth. It lives inside a hollow cave, always alone. Living off the plentiful amount of sweet fruits and delicious nuts left in the cave, it was never hungry, and although it grew up big and strong, it didn"t have a single friend』

『One day, the Bear could no longer stand the loneliness and leaves the cave. It walks in the forest while deliciously eating those fruits and nuts left inside the cave』

『Then, it found a human girl collapsed in a certain area. It draws closer and tries to smell her. It seems that she"s alive. She was probably tired and fell asleep. The kind Bear carried the girl gently so as to not wake her up, and then took her towards the nearby village』

『The Bear reached the village and looked around, but there aren"t any people inside the houses. As it couldn"t be helped, it lowered the girl from its back and tried to wake her up by nudging her with its nose. It was at that time. *Bang* The sound of a gun echoed nearby』

『"Kill the man-eating bear that kidnapped the child." A middle-aged hunter comes running with his gun in hand. The Bear panicked and fled the area』

『The regrettable Bear. But, it wonders if it was good that the girl was rescued, as it once again returns to the forest. But within a little while, it felt that it wanted to meet the girl once more. "Next time we meet, I"ll feed her a bunch of fruits." The Bear thought and diligently gathered some fruit』

『After a short time, the Bear once again found the girl in the middle of the forest. It became happy and rushes over to her. *Stomp stomp* The Bear draws closer to the girl as its footsteps resounds loudly. And at that moment. *Bang* Once again, the sound of a gun echoed. That gun is aimed at the Bear"s forehead and lands a fatal shot. The Bear didn"t understand what happened as it falls and loses consciousness』

『The Bear who only wanted friends was killed just like that and had its fur taken and meat distributed to everyone to eat』

「………………………..」
*Flips*

〈Deceased Mother〉

『One day, a girl"s mother suddenly pa.s.sed away. The girl is lonely and sad, spending every day crying. "She"s sure to be in the forest," she thought, but the adults say to never leave the village and enter the forest』

『One night, a ghost appears beside the girl"s bed. The ghost said, "If you go to the forest, you definitely won"t be lonely." The girl believes those words and goes out to the forest with the ghost』

『"Come over here. It"s dangerous if you go over there," the ghost said ahead of the girl, but the girl is tired as she spends all her time in bed. And like that, she was already asleep』

『*Bang* The girl was awaken by a loud sound and saw that she was at the entrance of the village. When she got up, still half asleep, a kind middle-aged hunter ran over to her. "You were attacked by a terrifying monster of a bear. If I was a little bit later, you would"ve been eaten," the middle-aged hunter said. The girl never met such a terrifying monster of a bear. She felt that she was carried by something very big and kind as she was dreaming, but she didn"t know what it was』

『"What exactly was that?" The girl wondered and once again, snuck out of the village but this time during the day. This time by herself』

『"You mustn’t go that way," said the ghost who suddenly appeared. The girl obediently followed and faced the direction the ghost advised. Then, the very big Bear appeared. It comes running towards her with a great vigor. If she is attacked, then she probably wouldn"t stand a chance』

『*Bang* The sound of a gun echoed and the girl was saved without incident from the incoming Bear that was going to eat her. The middle-aged hunter who happened to be nearby saved her. The hunter says, "That was dangerous. But it"s alright now. Since the man-eating bear isn"t here anymore. It"s okay to go out to the forest if you tell an adult"』

『The girl became happy and went out to the forest the very next day. That time, the ghost didn"t appear. The girl made a decision: she would go see what was in the direction the ghost warned her about. *Drop* The ground beneath the girl disappeared and she fell headfirst to the bottom of the waterfall, dying』

「What is this………………」
*Flips*

〈The Ghost of a Mother〉

『The ghost of a mother pities the daughter she left behind and is always concerned about her. The mother wanted to at least help her daughter, who is alone everyday, to make friends. But as the mother is presently a ghost and has no body, she can"t even become friends with her. She went out to the forest and village, searching one way or another for anyone who looks like they could be friends with her daughter, and found one』

『The ghost mother promptly plans to make friends for her daughter and leads the girl to the forest. The girl timidly follows, but if the girl is left alone, she looks like she was headed towards the waterfall where she could slip and die. So, the ghost said, "You mustn"t go that way," as she continues to lead the girl deeper into the forest』

『When the mother thought, "Here, the two of them will definitely become friends," the girl was already asleep. As soon as she slept, the big Bear appears. The Bear was kind, so it carried the girl on its back all the way to the village. But the villagers misunderstand and drive it away』

『The next day, the girl once again entered the forest. The ghost became happy and tried to make the girl and Bear meet. She thought that if the two of them could meet, they could become friends, but then the middle-aged hunter shot the Bear dead. The ghost was very sad. And on top of that, the Bear was eaten by the people and later on, the girl slipped on the waterfall and fell to her death』

『In both sadness and anger, the ghost took revenge by placing a deadly curse on each of the villagers, sparing no one. So sad, so sad, ends the legend of Kanashi Village』

「For crying out loud, this is horrible, the worst!」
*Shalala, shwuin, topun*……

『The strong-willed yet truly very kind witch saw that, and tries to change the story』

Author"s notes: This is a submission to the Winter 2016 Fairytale Festival.

Translator: The format might be a bit confusing so here’s an explanation: