A tanuki in a forest. (pxhere)
A lone traveler on his journey through a forest once encountered a tanuki sleeping against the trunk of a tree.
"What luck!" he said to himself, "If I capture this wily beast, he will have to teach me his magic."
So the traveler drew rope around the tanuki's limbs before it could wake up, and as the tanuki was roused from slumber he hung the magical animal from a low branch.
The tanuki spoke angrily after assessing its situation, "Man, undo these restraints! Do you not know that we tanuki are endangered? I fear you will face a great fine if you intend to slay me."
The clever traveler called the tanuki's bluff, knowing these creatures to be clever and dishonest. "Nonsense! I don't intend to slay you, but I demand you teach me your transformative magic before I let you go."
The tanuki thought briefly, then smiled wide. "It's a deal, Man. First, I will teach you how to transform into a fox."
The tanuki taught the man a secret motion and incantation, and no sooner did he try it for himself than he became a fox. the foxy traveler howled in excitement, "Oh wise tanuki, teach me another form!"
"With pleasure, but I first ask that you free me from this uncomfortable position."
The once-man-now-fox undid the knots that bound the tanuki to the branch, and it gracefully dropped to the forest floor. "Thank you, kind Man. Now, I will teach you how to become a hare."
As before, the traveler copied the motions and incantations taught to him by the tanuki and so became a hare. He excitedly spoke, "Friendly tanuki, you've taught me much. If you show me but one more form, I will be content to let you sleep."
The tanuki grinned mischievously, though the once-"once-man-now-fox"-now-hare didn't notice. "For your final lesson, I will teach you how to become a bird."
Just as quickly as the hare followed the instructions and became a bird, the tanuki lept forward and gobbled up its winged prey. Licking its lips, it returned to sleep, muttering softly about the foolishness of men.
Author's Note: Tanuki are real animals also called "raccoon dogs", but they hold a special place in Japanese myth as magical tricksters with transformative powers. In the original stories, tanuki transform into everything from kettles to human beings, and are always causing trouble. In my story, I blended in an "Icarus-esque" moral lesson about quitting while you're ahead, especially when dealing with something as dangerous as a tanuki.
Bibliography: The Crimson Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. Web Source.
ReplyDeleteAwesome story! I was super confused at first because I have never heard of a tanuki, but as your story went on I began to figure it out. It was very entertaining to read. The dialogue in your story was great, and I like the overall lesson that your story conveyed. I think you did a great job with this story.
Hey Dakota! Awesome story! Like Victoria, I wasn't quite sure what a tanuki was either but as I continued to read it made more sense. I loved the cleverness of the tanuki and the simplemindedness of the man. It would of been an interesting plot twist if the man transformed into a fox/raccoon and the tanuki into a man for a role reversal.
ReplyDeleteDakota,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great story! I had a feeling the tanuki would do something mischievous, and I think you played it off really well! The “quit while you’re ahead” moral is a nice one to tie in to this story, and I definitely didn’t feel too bad for the foolish man who thought he could capture a tanuki and have it do what he wanted. Again, great story!