{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_25021/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_25021","id":"gutenberg_25021","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/25021","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Fairy tales -- Japan","Folklore -- Japan"],"text":"Produced by Jacqueline Jeremy and the Online Distributed\nProofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was\nproduced from images generously made available by The\nInternet Archive/American Libraries.)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJAPANESE FAIRY TALE SERIES. No. 3\n\nBATTLE OF THE MONKEY & THE CRAB\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n    ~Griffith, Farran & Co.,\n     London.\n\n     Kobunsha\n     Tokyo~\n\n~All Rights Reserved.~\n\n\n\n\nBATTLE OF THE MONKEY & THE CRAB.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\nA monkey and a crab once met when going round a mountain.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThe monkey had picked up a persimmon-seed, and the crab had a piece\nof toasted rice-cake. The monkey seeing this, and wishing to get\nsomething that could be turned to good account at once, said:\n\"Pray, exchange that rice-cake for this persimmon-seed.\" The crab,\nwithout a word, gave up his cake, and took the persimmon-seed and\nplanted it. At once it sprung up, and soon became a tree so high\none had to look up at it. The tree was full of persimmons but the\ncrab had no means of climbing the tree. So he asked the monkey to\nclimb up and get the persimmons for him. The monkey got up on a\nlimb of the tree and began to eat the persimmons. The unripe\npersimmons he threw at the crab, but all the ripe and good ones\nhe put in his pouch. The crab under the tree thus got his shell\nbadly bruised and only by good luck escaped into his hole, where he\nlay distressed with pain and not able to get up. Now when the\nrelatives and household of the crab heard how matters stood they\nwere surprised and angry, and declared war and attacked the\nmonkey, who leading forth a numerous following bid defiance to the\nother party. The crabs, finding themselves unable to meet and\ncope with this force, became still more exasperated and enraged,\nand retreated into their hole, and held a council of war.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n[Illustration]\n\nThen came a rice-mortar, a pounder, a bee, and an egg, and together\nthey devised a deep-laid plot to be avenged.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n[Illustration]\n\nFirst, they requested that peace be made with the crabs; and\nthus they induced the king of the monkeys to enter their hole\nunattended, and seated him on the hearth. The monkey not suspecting\nany plot, took the _hibashi_, or poker, to stir up the slumbering\nfire, when bang! went the egg, which was lying hidden in the ashes,\nand burned the monkey's arm. Surprised and alarmed he plunged his\narm into the pickle-tub in the kitchen to relieve the pain of the\nburn. Then the bee which was hidden near the tub stung him sharply\nin his face already wet with tears.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n[Illustration]\n\n[Illustration]\n\nWithout waiting to brush off the bee and howling bitterly, he\nrushed for the back door: but just then some sea-weed entangled his\nlegs and made him slip. Then, down came the pounder tumbling on him\nfrom a shelf, and the mortar too came rolling down on him from the\nroof of the porch, and broke his back and so weakened him that he\nwas unable to rise up. Then out came the crabs in a crowd and\nbrandishing on high their pinchers they pinched the monkey to\npieces.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n_Printed by the Kobunsha in Tokyo, Japan_","title":"Battle of the Monkey & the Crab","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":542}