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    Gon the Fox and Other Stories
    Gon the Fox and Other Stories
    Gon the Fox and Other Stories
    Ebook93 pages1 hour

    Gon the Fox and Other Stories

    By Nankichi Niimi

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    About this ebook

    Nankichi Niimi & Kenji Miyazawa are undoubtedly two of Japan's most highly regarded writers of fantasy fiction. Book 4 of Tales From A Japanese Dreamland contains four stories by Nankichi Niimi and one story by Kenji Miyazawa. This wonderful collection contains the following stories.

    Gon the Fox
    Gon is a cheeky fox that loves to play pranks on people, but one day he plays a prank that has unexpected consequences, so he decides to make amends.
    Niimi wrote this story when he was only seventeen years of age, and now more than seventy years after his death it remains one of the best known and loved Japanese stories of all time.

    A Story With A Message

    Gon is a very lonely fox who yearns for friendship. He makes mischief because he feels left out. But everyone is capable of recognizing when they have done something wrong and turning over a new leaf, and Gon is very brave for doing so. This story emphasizes how important it is that we give mischief-makers like Gon a second chance, before it is too late.

    Other stories included in this book include:

    The Story of the Giant
    All of the town's people are terrified of the giant because he is enormous and he is the son of that horrible old witch. But is it possible that they may have misjudged him?

    Grandpa's Lamp
    Minosuke was born a poor orphan, but with a little luck and a lot of hard work he manages to carve out a business of his own and starts to rise up in the world. One day a competitor arrives that threatens to take it all away from him. A fascinating insight into the period of transition in Japan, from a country in darkness to one bathed in light.

    When the Thieves Came to Hananoki Village
    What could be a better hunting ground for a thief than a village where people don't even bother with proper locks? The only trouble is that these thieves have no idea what they are doing, and it is up to the boss to train them. But just when the boss appears to have made a wonderful score, the story takes an unexpected turn.

    Ame-ni-mo Makezu
    This is often referred to as one of Kenji's most famous poems, however it is actually a beautiful Buddhist prayer with universal appeal across all cultures of the world. Although he wrote this prayer while lying helpless on his deathbed, it expresses Kenji's wish to help others without concern for his own ego, and its significance has increased greatly in modern consumer-driven Japan following the Great East Japan Earthquake as people pause to think about what is truly important in life.

    Kenju's Forest Playground
    Kenju is different from other kids his age, and he gets teased a lot. But Kenju can see things all around that others can't. One day, completely out-of-the-blue, he decides to plant seven hundred cedar trees, and those trees become something that no one ever imagined. This is a story about a boy who has an intellectual disability but still has something invaluable to offer the world if only they would bother to take notice.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLittle J Books
    Release dateNov 13, 2013
    ISBN9781310943584
    Gon the Fox and Other Stories

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      Book preview

      Gon the Fox and Other Stories - Nankichi Niimi

      Gon the Fox

      by Nankichi Niimi

      Chapter 1

      An old man by the name of Mohei who lived in my village, told me this story when I was little.

      A long time ago, not far from our village, there was a place called Nakayama, which had a small castle and a lord, also by the name of Nakayama. And in the hills a short distance from Nakayama, there lived a fox called Gon, who'd made his home in a hole he'd dug in a forest overgrown with lush green ferns. Gon the fox was always going into the nearby village to cause mischief, any time of the day or night. He'd make all sorts of trouble, digging up potatoes and tossing them all over the ground, setting fire to bundles of rapeseed flowers hung out to dry, or stealing chili peppers strung up outside the back of the farmer's houses.

      One autumn, it had been raining non-stop for two or three days and Gon had been crouched in his hole, unable to go outside. When at last the rain cleared, Gon breathed a sigh of relief and crawled out of his hole. Outside there was a bright blue sky and the cries of the Bull-headed Shrikes rang through the air.

      Gon walked up to the edge of the small stream that ran through the village. Drops of rain, still clinging to the tops of the pampas grass, glistened in the sun. Normally there was very little water in this stream, but after three full days of rain the water level had risen all at once. Pampas grass and clumps of bush clover, normally well away from the water's edge, were sloshing about in the murky water. Gon walked further downstream along the muddy path.

      Suddenly he noticed a person standing in the middle of the river. He quickly crept into the long grass, where he could watch without being seen.

      That's Hyoju, thought Gon.

      Hyoju was standing waist deep in the stream with a hand towel tied around his head. He'd rolled up the sleeves of his ragged black kimono and was dragging a fishing net back and forth through the water. A clump of bush clover was stuck to the side of his face like a mole.

      After a while, Hyoju hoisted the end of his fishing net - which was in the shape of a bag - out of the water. It was filled with grass roots, weeds, rotten sticks and other rubbish, but there was something else as well; something white and shiny. They were the stomachs of a big fat eel and some large whiting. Hyoju tipped the eel and the whiting together with all the other rubbish, into his wicker fishing basket. He then closed off the opening of the net and placed it back in the water.

      With that done, he waded out of the water with his basket, placed it on the ground, and wandered upstream as if in search of something.

      As soon as Hyoju was out of sight, Gon sprang out from his hiding spot and raced up to the basket. Gon, you see, was in the mood for a little mischief. He picked out the fish from the wicker basket and, aiming downstream from the fishing net, he flung them, one at a time, back into the stream. Each of the fish landed with a plonk, quickly diving beneath the murky water.

      To finish, he tried picking up the big eel, but the eel was all slimy and kept slipping through his paws. Losing patience, he thrust his head into the basket and grabbed the head of the eel between his teeth. The eel gave out a sharp shriek and wrapped itself around Gon's neck. Just then, Hyoju yelled out from a distance,

      Hey! You thieving fox! Gon jumped into the air with a fright. He tried flinging the eel away so he could make his escape, but the eel was tightly wrapped around his neck. He leapt sideways, eel and all, and raced off as fast as he could run.

      He didn't dare look back until he was at the alder tree near his home, but by that time, Hyoju was nowhere in sight. He breathed a sigh of relief, and then bit down on the head of the eel to make it let go, before placing it on the grass outside his home.

      Chapter 2

      About ten days later, as Gon was passing behind Yasuke the farmer's house, Yasuke's wife was standing in the shade of a fig tree, dying her teeth black. And when he passed Shinbei the blacksmith's house, Shinbei's wife was busy combing her hair.

      Ha ha thought Gon, there must be something going on in the village today. I wonder what? Maybe an autumn festival... nah, if there was a festival I'd be able to hear drums and flutes. And there'd be lots of banners out the front of the shrine.

      While he was busy thinking, Gon came up to Hyoju's house, which had a small red well out the front. Hyoju's tiny run-down house was filled with people. Several women, with hand towels tucked in the back of their formal kimonos, were tending to a fire beneath the cooking stove. A giant pot was bubbling away on top.

      Ah ha, it's a funeral, thought Gon. One of Hyoju's relatives must have died.

      After midday, Gon went to the cemetery and hid in the shadows of the six Jizo statues. It was a perfect clear day and the tiles on the roof of the castle could be seen sparkling in the sun, far off in the distance. Inside the cemetery, the

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