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Tanuki
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Tanuki observed a man and a hare's friendship. Tanuki despised the man and would often steel the food he left for the hare. The man sought to kill Tanuki for this transgression. The man laid a trap for Tanuki and waited. He plan to catch him and then eat him. The man's wife was easily tricked by Tanuki's kind words to help her pound the rice. The Tanuki killed the woman and started to cook her instead. Tanuki assumed the wife's form in order to trick the man. When the man finished eating his own wife the Tanuki revealed himself to him. When the man realized what he had done he ran to the woods. The hare promised to help the man get revenge. They built two boats and tricked Tanuki into
getting into one that would quickly break in two. Tanuki drowned in the water and the old man and the hare lived happily ever after knowing the avenged his wife's death.
My Thoughts:
I thought it was fun to read this story. I have a friend who chose this as a nickname on a game. I did not know anything about Tanuki, and now I do. She is a wicked quarrelsome beast.
Bibliography:
Japanese Fairy Tales: The Slaying of the Tanuki Story source:
The Pink Fairy Book by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H. J. Ford (1897).
The Slaying of the Tanuki
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