1900-1909

Tale Summary There was once an old priest who was happy to have found a beautiful brass tea kettle for very cheap in a little shop. He brought it home and showed it to his three boys, who were unimpressed. The man told them to focus on their studies

Tale Summary Early every morning, a man would climb the mountain to cut wood to provide for his aging parents. It seemed to him that no matter how hard he worked, he could never make ends meet, but he felt that at their age his mother and father

Tale Summary There once, a very long time ago, a man who lived in Matsuyama and had a lovely family with his wife and little daughter. One day, the emperor ordered the man to take a very long journey to far-off Tokio, and because it was so long ago

Tale Summary For five days, the god Susano walked by the river Hi. When he went to sleep he had an unusual dream of a beautiful maiden floating down the river whom he saved from a monster. The next day, he was exploring the area and found a chop-

Tale Summary There was once a little old woman who found a poor little sparrow on her doorstep and took good care of him. Instead of flying home, he stayed to thank her with his songs, but a cross old woman who lived nearby did not appreciate being

Tale Summary There was once a very poor man named Masaniello, who had twelve daughters whom he could barely afford to take care of. One day, the peasant came to the mouth of a cave while working the land, and was met with a large lizard, who was

Tale Summary There was once a woman with no children, who wanted one so badly that she went to the Sunball to promise that if he gave her a little girl, she would return her once she reached twelve years old. He granted her wish, and the child was

Tale Summary Once upon a time, there was a peasant woman who had a daughter, who got everything she wanted, and a stepdaughter, who had a hard time and was blamed for everything although she was good-hearted. Her husband (the girl’s father) gave in

Tale Summary There was once a couple who prayed to Heaven for a child, saying that they wanted one so bad they wouldn't even care if it were the size of a hazel-nut. Their prayer was answered, and given to them was a child of exactly that size. They

Tale Summary Once upon a time there was a king who had three daughters, the youngest being the loveliest. One day, he set out for a tour elsewhere in his kingdom, and had promised the girl to bring her back a wreath of wildflowers, but could not