Children of the Far East

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 142, 12 March 1938, Page 9 (Supplement)

Children of the Far East

ls-sum Boshi: One-Inch Boy

A Japanese Tale

(Written specially for Eastern Page by Enid

B. V. Saunders.)

TVTUKASHI, mukashi, many years ago, there lived a middle-aged couple jp J'-*- me country north of the Naniwa province. They had their own thatched farmhouse nestling at the foot of green hills, where the wind through the pines crooned soft lullabies in summer and raged in wild storm-chants during winter; they owmed their own rice-fields, and furrows of vegetables; and _ a little, slow-moving stream wound its way between banks planted with their own cherry trees, and each year the boughs were laced with delicate, filmy pink blossom. Only one thing wms wanting to make their happiness complete, and that was a child. Every day the couple went to the shrine to pray, and always they petitioned, “If only we could have a child we would be satisfied. No matter how small he was—even if he were no bigger than the tip of a finger—it would not trouble us in the least.”' After such earnest entreaties what could the gods do but grant their desire. And so a son was born to the middle-aged couple, and lo! he was no bigger than the first joint of a finger. Womanlike, his mother worried over what her friends would say, but her husband declared that, since they had said that the size of the child was of no account, they would just have to make the best of things, and perhaps he would grow as time went on. Meanwhile, he was given the name of Is-Sum-Boshi (One-Inch Boy). A happy childhood was his. He mounted the swaying heights of the barley leaf-spears in the same manner as other boys climbed trees; he went swimming in the crinkled sea of a tiny shallow left by the grass-shaded stream; he played hide-and-seek among the fallen flower-petals with the redbacked ladybirds. Always he had the choicest morsels of food and the tenderest of care, but alas, not one fraction did he grow in breadth or in height. As he entered into young manhood the villagers no longer bothered to hide their opinions, and many were the insulting remarks passed concerning his appearance. “You must have done something to offend the .gods that they gave you such a peculiar offspring,” said one. “Peijchanee you could exhibit him at a fair,” said another. “People will always pay money to see a freak.” Such ridicule was more than flesh and blood could stand, and the outcome of it all was that the parents of Is-Sum-Boshi made up their minds that he must go forth into the world. Once he departed surely the neighbours would cease their gibes, and then they could enjoy a little peace. One-Inch Boy agreed with their plan quite cheerfully, and, taking -with him only a needle, a -wooden bowl and a chopstick, beside his small parcel of food, he set off down the huge, dusty plain that, to ordinary mortals, was merely a highroad. When he became tired of walking he used his wooden bowl as a boat and. with the chopstick for an oar, he rowed himself along the smooth grey ditch-water that bordered the roadside. At night he curled up inside a dry grass hollow to sleep, and in the morning he launched his vessel again. In this fashion he reached the city of Osaka, after many days of travelling. After he had seen the castle with the two golden dolphins on the roof turrets and passed under the great crimson torii that stood in the front of an ageold shrine, he wandered along the streets of shops, until he came to a beautiful house set in a garden of flowers.

“That would be a fine place in which to live,” thought Is-Sum-Boshi, and straightway went up the path between the rows of ivory-pale lilies that

drenched the air with their sweetness. It happened that the owner of the house, one Saito-san, was coming through the doorway as his visitor approached, and hearing a strange voice, he looked about for the speaker, he could see no one.

Again the voice hailed him, and this time, after a long and careful search, he discovered the minute form of Is-Sum-Boshi standing under the shade of a purple wistaria in a flower-pot.

“Whoever are you?” he asked in much astonishment. “I am Is-Sum-Boshi, the One-Inch Boy. Because I am so small I have brought a lot of ridicule upon my parents, so they felt obliged to send me away. I have come to this town to earn my living. Could you give me any work to do?” “Well,” pondered Saito-san, “I don’t suppose you eat very much, and if I hunted all the world over I doubt whether I would find another page boy so tiny—therefore I might as well engage you.” Is-Sum-Boshi set about his new tasks with such diligence that he soon became a favourite in the household. Indeed, Omari, the daughter of Saito • san, had him accompany her whenever she went abroad in the city. The ' heart of Is-Sum-Boshi was filled with joy, and he longed to show how much he appreciated her trust in him. He soon had his opportunity. Returning down a twisting street at dusk Omari was rudely accosted by a man who had been hiding in a doorway. The girl gave a little scream of fright. Immediately Is-Sum-Boshi called out in a loud voice, “Who cares about a bully like you? If you dare block the path of this lady I will kill you with my sword/’ and he brandished the needle hung at his side. The lout, laughing at the size of his opponent, promptly picked him up and swallowed him. “That was a tasty morsel,” he said, but his boasting was short-lived, for his victim started to move inside him and stab at him with the sword-sharp needle. “Ough,” he cried, bending nearly double with pain. This attitude enabled One-Inch Boy to take a running leap and jump out. “Now will you let us pass?” he demanded, and the coward-one ran away as fast as he was able. They were just starting forth again when Is-Sum-Boshi tripped against some dark object on the ground. “Why,” exclaimed Omari, “it is uncommonly like the ‘strike-and-ffeceive’ mallet of ancient story. See, here are magic marks on the handle. The finder may have one wish, and then the mallet disappears; so, if there is something you specially desire you have only to make a request and It will be fulfilled.” “Oh, I would like to 1 be taller,” said Is-Sum-Boshi, tapping on the ground with the mallet. Suddenly the tool flew out of his hand, and there in his place stood a handsome young samurai, a warrior who spoke with the voice of Is-Sum-Boshi. Truly, the gods reward those who are brave in spirit. The lord of the province, hearing an account of this remarkable happening, offered him a high position in his court, and appropriate riches, and it was not difficult to gain Saito-san’s approval of his suitability as a son-in-law. Thus he and Omari were wedded, and they lived very happily and had many sons. And though he was known by an honourable title and the people held him in great respect, his wife always called him, as a term of endearment, by the old name of Is-Sum-Boshi—One-Inch Boy.