A Japanese Tale

Many, many years ago there lived an honest man and his wife in a small village in the southern part of Japan. This couple lived in happiness together, and even when they were tired from the day's work, they cheered each other with the news of the day. Kenta, for that was the man's name, would tell his wife of the things which had happened in the village that day, and Mori, the wife of Kenta, would tell her husband the news her neighbors had related to her.

Although they were poor, Kenta and Mori were cheerful together. Their happiness was not complete, however, for they had no son to carry on the family name. Each morning the old couple would pray that the Sun Goddess would bless them with a son of their own. Kenta and Mori wished for a son so badly that one day while praying they said, "We will be happy even though our child were but as small as our little fingers. If you give us a child we will do anything in return for your kindness."

Many months passed, but still no child was born. At last, when they had almost given up hope, Mori surprised her husband by telling him that soon they would have a child. Oh, their delight was beyond description! Immediately Kenta hurried to the village shrine and thanked the Sun Goddess for the blessing bestowed upon their marriage.

But when the day of the baby's birth arrived, everyone was astonished and puzzled to see that the child was no larger than the little finger of a human hand.  Nevertheless, Kenta and Mori were happy, and they remembered their promise to the Sun Goddess. Accepting this blessing, they named the baby Issunboshi, which in English means "as tiny as a finger."

Though the little boy was as tiny as a finger, Kenta and Mori loved him very much. And though Tiny Finger grew older and stronger, he remained just as small as he was when he was born. And Mori and Kenta often went to the temple to ask the Sun Goddess to protect their little son.

But even if he was small, Tiny Finger was a brave and strong boy. One day he said to his parents in his thin and lovely voice, "Dear Father and Mother, thank you very much for your love during my boyhood, but the time has come now, and I am of age. I wish to go to the great capital of Kyoto where the emperor lives. There I wish to serve the emperor and become a brave warrior in his household."

Kenta and Mori were a little surprised, but they realized their son was old enough to go forth into the world. Still, it was difficult for them to let him go, for he was so small and looked so helpless. However, there was nothing that would satisfy Tiny Finger except to go to the emperor and seek to enter his service.

After his mother and father had consented to the trip, Tiny Finger asked of them, "Since I am going out into the world, will you give me a needle? From the needle I can make a sword. If I am to be a warrior I must have a weapon to protect and defend myself."  So old Mori took a large, sharp needle from her sewing box and attached it to the vest of her little son.

And again Tiny Finger asked, "Will you give me a wooden bowl and a chopstick? I must go up the river to get to Kyoto. I will use the bowl for a boat and the chopstick for an oar."  So Kenta hurried to the kitchen and returned with a small rice bowl and a chopstick. He carried them to Tiny Finger and told him to be careful, and to use the bowl and stick well.

The day for his departure arrived and Tiny Finger said good-bye to his parents. As Tiny Finger rowed away from the shore of the river Yodo, his parents watched with sad eyes. They waved to him, and soon the little boy and the tiny boat were out of sight.

In the river Yodo the little wooden boat bobbed up and down like a cork. But Tiny Finger was a strong boy, and, using all his strength, he rowed with the chopstick. Oh, but it was a dangerous trip for so small a boat, and the oar seemed so heavy, even though it was only a chopstick. But that was natural, for you must remember that Tiny Finger was small, and that the chopstick was even taller than he was. Sometimes the wind blew, and the large waves almost wrecked the little boat. And sometimes large fish appeared from the blue waves and attacked the strange little traveler in his small, funny craft. However, Tiny Finger did not lose courage, and he rowed for many days and nights, keeping his boat skimming over the water.

After a long and hard voyage, Tiny Finger reached Kyoto. At last he had arrived where he longed to be -- in the city where the emperor lived. Full of delight and feeling extremely brave, Tiny Finger went into the city of Kyoto. Everything was strange to the little country boy, for he had never before been in a large city -- or, for that matter, in any city at all.

Tiny Finger just gazed in wonderment at the sights. On the main street long processions of warriors marched one after another in wide ranks. On one side of the street rode an armored warrior lord on a splendid white horse. And on the other side of the street was a wonderful golden carriage, perhaps belonging to a princess, carried by two strong bearers. The brilliancy and noise of this splendid city overwhelmed Tiny Finger, and his heart beat fast with excitement. He grasped his precious sword even tighter, and set out for the palace of the emperor.

Soon he came to a tall, wooden gate where two huge warriors stood with long swords. There they guarded the gates and watched all the passers-by. So Tiny Finger knew that he had found the palace of the emperor at last. Being so small, Tiny Finger nimbly jumped through an opening in the huge gate and entered the garden of the palace. Timidly he approached the front door of the palace and cried, "Hello! Hello!" But his voice was so thin that no one could hear it.

Then with all his might Tiny Finger shouted over and over again, "Hello, great lord, hello!"

And at last, hearing the weak voice calling, one of the guards noticed Tiny Finger and brought the Lord of the Palace to the doorway.

But what a strange thing -- no one was there! At least the Lord of the Palace thought that no one was there. He did not expect such a tiny visitor.

The thin little voice kept calling, "Hello! Hello! Great Lord of the Palace, I am down here by your feet! "

And when the Lord of the Palace looked down, there stood the smallest boy he had ever seen. Why, he was no longer than a finger!

The great lord bent down and in a soft voice asked of Tiny Finger, "Strange little boy, what do you want?"

Tiny Finger replied, "I am Tiny Finger, and I came here to learn to be as great a soldier as you."

The Lord of the Palace was delighted with this speech and with the bravery of the little visitor. "You shall be a soldier," he said. "Come and meet my young daughter. I think I will make you her personal guard."

So that is how Tiny Finger went to the great Japanese city of Kyoto and how he became the personal guard of the princess of that city.

Life in the castle with the princess was a wonderful experience for Tiny Finger. The princess grew to love her finger-high guard, and she had him accompany her wherever she went.

One day the princess was visiting a shrine on the outskirts of the city, and Tiny Finger went along as usual, for he was her personal attendant. On their way home they passed through a deep forest, and just as they were near the middle of the woods, a tall, fierce bandit suddenly appeared before the princess. The bandit was very bold and he gruffly caught the princess by the sleeve of her kimono.

"Help me! Help me!" the princess cried. She tried to escape from the bandit, but he was too strong, and he held her fast.

Seeing the princess in danger, Tiny Finger unsheathed his needle sword and sprang at the shaggy bandit. Running and kicking, he finally succeeded in pricking the bandit in a sensitive spot with his needle sword.

"Oh! Oh! Oh! I have been cut!" roared the bandit. Then he looked all around for the one who had hurt him. But Tiny Finger was so small that he could run in and out between the bandit's feet, sticking the long needle into the bandit's big toes and into his heels. And the bandit was so tall and so clumsy that he could not catch Tiny Finger. Nor could he escape from him. Every time the bandit tried to run away, Tiny Finger would catch him by one trouser leg and stick him with his needle. This he did many, many times, and every time the bandit tried to catch Tiny Finger, the little boy would hide between the bandit's toes or in the folds of his trousers.

The bandit could not get away from the little boy, and he could not catch Tiny Finger. So he surrendered. And when Tiny Finger jumped down to the ground, the bandit escaped into the forest, leaving behind him many precious treasures and a mallet.

The princess, who had stood trembling under a tree while Tiny Finger fought with the bandit, now approached him with delight and appreciation. To her small protector she said, "Thank you most kindly for bravely doing battle with that wicked bandit. You have saved my life. If it had not been for you, the bandit would certainly have carried me away into the forest. And he would have made my father pay a large ransom for my release. I will tell my father how brave you are, and he will reward you."

Then the princess picked up the mallet the bandit had left, and she said to Tiny Finger, "This is a wonderful and mysterious mallet, my little soldier. It is a treasure of the bandit family. If you make a wish, you will receive anything you ask of it."

Tiny Finger was most delighted, and he made a wish. "Please," he said, "make me a tall and strong boy like all the other boys of Japan."

He shouted this wish three times, and, to his astonishment, he grew several feet every time he shouted. Before the very eyes of the princess, he became a handsome and strong warrior.

There was a great feast in the banquet hall of the grand palace that night. Many soldiers praised Tiny Finger, and everyone admired his beauty and strength. The great lord was so pleased with the bravery of the young warrior that he gave his daughter in marriage to Tiny Finger.

The next day Tiny Finger and his lovely bride set out for the town where Kenta and Mori lived. But this time Tiny Finger did not sail in a rice bowl, nor did he row with a chopstick. The old lord had given the young couple a strong and sleek ship with tall white sails to help them skim over the water.

Off they went over the blue waves to visit the aging parents of the young warrior. In time, Tiny Finger became a great lord himself.