Rapunzel

I hope I can still catch my plane, I should stop writing and finish packing...
Anyway here is the second part.

Rapunzel
(English Version below)

Es war einmal ein Mann und eine Frau, die hatten sich schon lange ein Kind gewünscht und nie eins bekommen, endlich aber ward die Frau guter Hoffnung. Diese Leute hatten in ihrem Hinterhaus ein kleines Fenster, daraus konnten sie in den Garten einer Fee sehen, der voll von Blumen und Kräutern stand, allerlei Art, keiner aber durfte es wagen, in den Garten hineinzugehen. Eines Tages stand die Frau an diesem Fenster und sah hinab, da erblickte sie wunderschöne Rapunzeln auf einem Beet und wurde so lüstern darnach, und wußte doch, daß sie keine davon bekommen konnte, daß sie ganz abfiel und elend wurde. Ihr Mann erschrack endlich und fragte nach der Ursache; »ach wenn ich keine von den Rapunzeln aus dem Garten hinter unserm Haus zu essen kriege, so muß ich sterben.« Der Mann, welcher sie gar lieb hatte, dachte, es mag kosten was es will, so willst du ihr doch welche schaffen, stieg eines Abends über die hohe Mauer und stach in aller Eile eine Hand voll Rapunzeln aus, die er seiner Frau brachte. Die Frau machte sich sogleich Salat daraus, und aß sie in vollem Heißhunger auf. Sie hatten ihr aber so gut, so gut geschmeckt, daß sie den andern Tag noch dreimal soviel Lust bekam. Der Mann sah wohl, daß keine Ruh wäre, also stieg er noch einmal in den Garten, allein er erschrack gewaltig, als die Fee darin stand und ihn heftig schalt, daß er es wage in ihren Garten zu kommen und daraus zu stehlen. Er entschuldigte sich, so gut er konnte, mit der Schwangerschaft seiner Frau, und wie gefährlich es sey, ihr dann etwas abzuschlagen, endlich sprach die Fee: »ich will mich zufrieden geben und dir selbst gestatten Rapunzeln mitzunehmen, so viel du willst, wofern du mir das Kind geben wirst, womit deine Frau jetzo geht.« In der Angst sagte der Mann alles zu, und als die Frau in Wochen kam, erschien die Fee sogleich, nannte das kleine Mädchen Rapunzel und nahm es mit sich fort.

Dieses Rapunzel wurde das schönste Kind unter der Sonne, wie es aber zwölf Jahr alt war, so schloß es die Fee in einen hohen hohen Thurm, der hatte weder Thür noch Treppe, nur bloß ganz oben war ein kleines Fensterchen. Wenn nun die Fee hinein wollte, so stand sie unten und rief:

»Rapunzel, Rapunzel!
laß mir dein Haar herunter.«

Rapunzel hatte aber prächtige Haare, fein wie gesponnen Gold, und wenn die Fee so rief, so band sie sie los, wickelte sie oben um einen Fensterhaken und dann fielen die Haare zwanzig Ellen tief hinunter und die Fee stieg daran hinauf.

Eines Tages kam nun ein junger Königssohn durch den Wald, wo der Thurm stand, sah das schöne Rapunzel oben am Fenster stehen und hörte sie mit so süßer Stimme singen, daß er sich ganz in sie verliebte. Da aber keine Thüre im Thurm war und keine Leiter so hoch reichen konnte, so gerieth er in Verzweiflung, doch ging er alle Tage in den Wald hin, bis er einstmals die Fee kommen sah, die sprach:

»Rapunzel, Rapunzel!
laß dein Haar herunter.«

Darauf sah er wohl, auf welcher Leiter man in den Thurm kommen konnte. Er hatte sich aber die Worte wohl gemerkt, die man sprechen mußte, und des andern Tages, als es dunkel war, ging er an den Thurm und sprach hinauf:

Rapunzel, Rapunzel,
laß dein Haar herunter!

da ließ sie die Haare los, und wie sie unten waren, machte er sich daran fest und wurde hinaufgezogen.

Rapunzel erschrack nun anfangs, bald aber gefiel ihr der junge König so gut, daß sie mit ihm verabredete, er solle alle Tage kommen und hinaufgezogen werden. So lebten sie lustig und in Freuden eine geraume Zeit, und die Fee kam nicht dahinter, bis eines Tages das Rapunzel anfing und zu ihr sagte: »sag' sie mir doch Frau Gothel, meine Kleiderchen werden mir so eng und wollen nicht mehr passen.« Ach du gottloses Kind, sprach die Fee, was muß ich von dir hören, und sie merkte gleich, wie sie betrogen wäre, und war ganz aufgebracht. Da nahm sie die schönen Haare Rapunzels, schlug sie ein paar Mal um ihre linke Hand, griff eine Scheere mit der rechten und ritsch, ritsch, waren sie abgeschnitten. Darauf verwieß sie Rapunzel in eine Wüstenei, wo es ihr sehr kümmerlich erging und sie nach Verlauf einiger Zeit Zwillinge, einen Knaben und ein Mädchen gebar.

Denselben Tag aber, wo sie Rapunzel verstoßen hatte, machte die Fee Abends die abgeschnittenen Haare oben am Haken fest, und als der Königssohn kam:

Rapunzel, Rapunzel,
laß dein Haar herunter!

so ließ sie zwar die Haare nieder, allein wie erstaunte der Prinz, als er statt seines geliebten Rapunzels die Fee oben fand. »Weißt du was, sprach die erzürnte Fee, Rapunzel ist für dich Bösewicht auf immer verloren!«

Da wurde der Königssohn ganz verzweifelnd, und stürzte sich gleich den Thurm hinab, das Leben brachte er davon, aber die beiden Augen hatte er sich ausgefallen, traurig irrte er im Wald herum, aß nichts als Gras und Wurzeln, und that nichts als weinen. Einige Jahre nachher geräth er in jene Wüstenei, wo Rapunzel kümmerlich mit ihren Kindern lebte, ihre Stimme däuchte ihm so bekannt, in demselben Augenblick erkannte sie ihn auch und fällt ihm um den Hals. Zwei von ihren Tränen fallen in seine Augen, da werden sie wieder klar, und er kann damit sehen, wie sonst.

Rapunzel

There were once a man and a woman who had long in vain wished for a child. At length the woman hoped that God was about to grant her desire. These people had a little window at the back of their house from which a splendid garden could be seen, which was full of the most beautiful flowers and herbs. It was, however, surrounded by a high wall, and no one dared to go into it because it belonged to an enchantress, who had great power and was dreaded by all the world.

One day the woman was standing by this window and looking down into the garden, when she saw a bed which was planted with the most beautiful rampion (rapunzel), and it looked so fresh and green that she longed for it, and had the greatest desire to eat some. This desire increased every day, and as she knew that she could not get any of it, she quite pined away, and looked pale and miserable.

Then her husband was alarmed, and asked, "What ails you, dear wife?"

"Ah," she replied, "if I can't get some of the rampion which is in the garden behind our house, to eat, I shall die."

The man, who loved her, thought, "Sooner than let your wife die, bring her some of the rampion yourself, let it cost you what it will." In the twilight of evening, he clambered down over the wall into the garden of the enchantress, hastily clutched a handful of rampion, and took it to his wife. She at once made herself a salad of it, and ate it with much relish. She, however, liked it so much, so very much, that the next day she longed for it three times as much as before. If he was to have any rest, her husband must once more descend into the garden. In the gloom of evening, therefore, he let himself down again; but when he had clambered down the wall he was terribly afraid, for he saw the enchantress standing before him.

"How can you dare," said she with angry look, "to descend into my garden and steal my rampion like a thief? You shall suffer for it!"

"Ah," answered he, "let mercy take the place of justice. I only made up my mind to do it out of necessity. My wife saw your rampion from the window, and felt such a longing for it that she would have died if she had not got some to eat."

Then the enchantress allowed her anger to be softened, and said to him, "If the case be as you say, I will allow you to take away with you as much rampion as you will, only I make one condition, you must give me the child which your wife will bring into the world; it shall be well treated, and I will care for it like a mother."

The man in his terror consented to everything, and when the little one came to them, the enchantress appeared at once, gave the child the name of Rapunzel, and took it away with her.

Rapunzel grew into the most beautiful child beneath the sun. When she was twelve years old, the enchantress shut her into a tower, which lay in a forest, and had neither stairs nor door, but quite at the top was a little window. When the enchantress wanted to go in, she placed herself beneath this, and cried,

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel,

Let down your hair to me."

Rapunzel had magnificent long hair, fine as spun gold, and when she heard the voice of the enchantress she unfastened her braided tresses, wound them round one of the hooks of the window above, and then the hair fell twenty yards down, and the enchantress climbed up by it.

After a year or two, it came to pass that the King's son rode through the forest and went by the tower. Then he heard a song, which was so charming that he stood still and listened. This was Rapunzel, who in her solitude passed her time in letting her sweet voice resound. The King's son wanted to climb up to her, and looked for the door of the tower, but none was to be found. He rode home, but the singing had so deeply touched his heart, that every day he went out into the forest and listened to it. Once when he was thus standing behind a tree, he saw that an enchantress came there, and he heard how she cried,

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel,

Let down your hair."

Then Rapunzel let down the braids of her hair, and the enchantress climbed up to her. "If that is the ladder by which one mounts, I will for once try my fortune," said he, and the next day, when it began to grow dark, he went to the tower and cried.

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel,

Let down your hair."

Immediately the hair fell down, and the King's son climbed up. At first Rapunzel was terribly frightened when a man such as her eyes had never yet beheld came to her; but the King's son began to talk to her quite like a friend, and told her that his heart had been so stirred that it had let him have no rest, and he had been forced to see her. Then Rapunzel lost her fear, and when he asked her if she would take him for a husband, and she saw that he was young and handsome, she thought, "He will love me more than old Dame Gothel does;" and she said yes, and laid her hand in his.

She said, "I will willingly go away with you, but I do not know how to get down. Bring with you a skein of silk every time that you come, and I will weave a ladder with it, and when that is ready I will descend, and you will take me on your horse."

They agreed that until that time he should come to her every evening, for the old woman came by day.

The enchantress remarked nothing of this, until once Rapunzel said to her, "Tell me, Dame Gothel, how it happens that you are so much heavier for me to draw up than the young King's son—he is with me in a moment."

"Ah! you wicked child," cried the enchantress, "what do I hear you say! I thought I had separated you from all the world, and yet you have deceived me!"

In her anger she clutched Rapunzel's beautiful tresses, wrapped them twice round her left hand, seized a pair of scissors with the right, and snip, snip, they were cut off, and the lovely braids lay on the ground. And she was so pitiless that she took poor Rapunzel into a desert, where she had to live in great grief and misery.

On the same day, however, that she cast out Rapunzel, the enchantress in the evening fastened the braids of hair which she had cut off to the hook of the window, and when the King's son came and cried,

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel,

Let down your hair,"

she let the hair down. The King's son ascended, but he did not find his dearest Rapunzel above, but the enchantress, who gazed at him with wicked and venomous looks.

"Aha!" she cried mockingly. "You would fetch your dearest, but the beautiful bird sits no longer singing in the nest; the cat has got it, and will scratch out your eyes as well. Rapunzel is lost to you; you will never see her more."

The King's son was beside himself with pain, and in his despair he leapt down from the tower. He escaped with his life, but the thorns into which he fell pierced his eyes. Then he wandered quite blind about the forest, ate nothing but roots and berries, and did nothing but lament and weep over the loss of his dearest wife.

Thus he roamed about I in misery for some years, and at length came to the desert where Rapunzel lived in wretchedness. He heard a voice, and it seemed so familiar to him that he went towards it, and when he approached, Rapunzel knew him and fell on his neck and wept. Two of her tears wetted his eyes, and they grew clear again, and he could see with them as before. He led her to his kingdom, where he was joyfully received, and they lived for a long time afterwards, happy and contented.

-----------

Again my childhood memories of this story were quite different. I did not realize back then that the wife in the story longed so much for something unimportant, that she made his husband steal something from a witch.
Also in my memories again the witch was clearly evil and mischievous, yet reading the story again, suddenly she becomes the person being stolen from.

Yet she can not compared to the good hearted Rumpelstilzchen. She clearly isolated the child from the outside world and reacts very angry and unfair, once she hears about Rapunzel meeting a prince.
The prince himself appears a good hearted innocent character, fond of music and Rapunzel a very naive character, obviously because of her isolation.

Again Nakamura-san raised the question of why the witch would want the daughter. And again my only reasonable thoughts made me answer, that maybe the witch was searching for a successor, since she can not give birth herself (without male assistance). This would also on a nice side effect explain, why her tears could magically heal the prince's eyes. Yet it would seem strange that the witch did not teach her much until this point, so my assumption here is pretty weak.

Can you think of a better reason?

笠地蔵 Kasajizou

In one hour I will depart to a two weeks trip to China, yet I am crazy enough to quickly tell you one more fairy tale. It is one of the most known fairy tales in Japan and inspiration for many good deeds.

笠地蔵
(English Version below)

むかしむかし、あるところに、貧乏(びんぼう)だけど心優しい、おじいさんとおばあさんがいました。
　ある年の大晦日(おおみそか)のことです。
　おじいさんとおばあさんは、二人でかさを作りました。
　それを町へ持って行って売り、お正月のおもちを買うつもりです。
「かさは五つもあるから、もちぐらい買えるだろう」
「おねがいしますね。それから、今夜は雪になりますから、気をつけて下さいよ」
　おじいさんは、五つのかさを持って出かけました。
　家を出てまもなく、雪が降ってきました。
　雪はだんだん激しくなったので、おじいさんはせっせと道を急ぎました。
　村はずれまで来ると、　御地蔵さま(おじぞうさま)が六つならんで立っています。
　お地蔵さまの頭にも肩にも、雪が積もっています。
　これを見たおじいさんは、そのまま通り過ぎることが出来ませんでした。
「お地蔵さま。雪が降って寒かろうな。せめて、このかさをかぶってくだされ」
　おじいさんはお地蔵さまに、売るつもりのかさをかぶせてやりました。
　でも、お地蔵さまは六つなのに、かさは五つしかありません。
　そこでおじいさんは、自分のかさを脱いで、最後のお地蔵さまにかぶせてやりました。
　家へ帰ると、おばあさんがビックリして言いました。
「まあまあ、ずいぶん早かったですねぇ。それに、おじいさんのかさはどうしました？」
　おじいさんは、お地蔵さまのことを話してやりました。
「まあまあ、それはよいことをしましたねえ。おもちなんてなくてもいいですよ」
　おばあさんは、ニコニコして言いました。
　その夜、夜中だと言うのに、ふしぎな歌が聞こえてきました。
♪じいさんの家はどこだ。
♪かさのお礼を、届けに来たぞ。
♪じいさんの家はどこだ。
♪かさのお礼を、届けに来たぞ。
　歌声はどんどん近づいて、とうとうおじいさんの家の前まで来ると、
　ズシーン！
と、何かをおく音がして、そのまま消えてしまいました。
　おじいさんがそっと戸を開けてみると、おじいさんのあげたかさをかぶったお地蔵さまの後ろ姿が見えました。
　そして家の前には、お正月用のおもちやごちそうが、山のようにおいてありました。

おしまい

Kasajizou
(The Jizou statues with strawhats)

A long time ago in a small village in Japan there lived a poor old man and his wife. One day, as New Year's drew near, the wife looked in her rice chest and found that there was hardly any rice left. And with the snow so deep that they could not gather the leaves needed for weaving kasa (sedge hats) to sell, there was nothing else she could do but prepare hot water for cooking what was left of the rice.

Just then, a baby mouse appeared from a hole in the wall, crying, "Oh, I'm so hungry." The mother and father mice scolded their son, "This house is so poor that there are seldom any food scraps left to eat, so you'll just have to bear with it."

"Poor baby mouse," said the old man. "We are so bad off that even the mice are hungry." Feeling sorry for them, he gave the mice a small portion of the last of their rice, which they used to make rice cakes, and together they dined.

The next morning, after eating a sparse breakfast of pickles and tea, the mice tramped out into the snow and gathered a generous pile of sedge, which they then brought back to the house. "This is in return for last night's rice." The old couple thanked the mice. If they could weave and then sell lots of hats in the town, they would be able to buy plenty of food for New Year's. So the old couple and the mice promptly got to work weaving hats. When they were finished, the old man shouldered his ware and went out in the snow toward the town.

When he reached the outskirts of the town, he noticed that the stone statues of Jizo-sama, the Buddha that protects the common people, had their heads covered with snow. "Jizo-sama," he said, "your heads look cold." The old man took the towel he wore around his own head and gently wiped the snow off each statue.

The town on New Year's Eve was bustling with people making their last minute New Year's preparations. The old man joined the throng, singing out, "Sedge hats, sedge hats. Who needs a sedge hat?" But nobody bought a hat from him. Before long, the streets grew empty and the night watch bell began to toll. The old man, having sold not even one hat, shouldered his load and trudged toward home. "I have nothing I can even offer to Jizo-sama," he thought dejectedly.

The old man made his way through the snow-filled streets and finally reached the outskirts of the town. There he noticed that snow had once again piled up on top of the heads of the Jizo-sama statues. So again he took his towel and carefully wiped the snow from each one. Then he said to the statues, "I couldn't sell even one hat for money to buy dumplings, so I have no food to offer you. I'll give you my hats instead." With that, he placed a hat upon each statue's head. But there were six statues and only five hats. The old man thought for a moment and then took the towel and placed it gently on the sixth statue's head. Now completely empty-handed, he returned home.

When he arrived home, the mice looked at his empty back and excitedly thought that he must have sold all of the hats. "Forgive me. I couldn't sell even one hat," said the old man, and then preceded to relay the day's events to his wife and the mice. The old woman, listening, solaced her husband, "That was a kind thing you did. Let's have some pickles and warm water and welcome the New Year."

Just then, in the middle of the night, they heard loud voices cry, "New Year's Delivery! New Year's Delivery! Where is the house of the old hat seller?" Amazingly, the voices came from none other than the Jizo-sama statues, who came forth pulling a sleigh loaded to the hilt with rice, miso (bean paste), and many other delicacies. "Hat seller, thank you for your hats. We leave these gifts for you in return. Have a Happy New Year." With that, the Jizo-sama statues returned to the outskirts of the town.

Since there was more food than the old couple could eat, they had the mice invite their animal friends over, and everybody prepared the food together. Then the old man stacked the boxes of special New Year's food and rice cakes that they had made and took them to the Jizo-sama statues. "Jizo-sama. Now I can make you an offering. Thank you."

The old man returned home and, together with his wife, the mice, and their friends, welcomed in a festive and happy New Year.

-----

Very inspiring. When a man as poor as this hat maker at the border of starvation can have pity with stone statues,to what amazing things are we able! According to Nakamura-san, my trusted source for fairy tales, and my own experiences in Shikoku this little tale was inspiration for many women and men to do selfless deeds giving away things to people in need. :)
Also you can find the 地蔵 Jizou of the fairy tale in many spots in Japan, for example I found them on 宮島 Miyajima.

mika

厚木見物第三： アニメと漫画 Atsugi City Tour Part 3: Anime And Manga

Care to see some more of my town in Japan?
In case you have some interest in Anime and Manga, today I will introduce some stores where you can buy Manga and Anime, but also merchandising and figures (both for which Japan is famous for).

Animate

Animate is the biggest Anime, Manga merchandise chain in Japan and you can find a store of it in almost every city, even in Atsugi. Of course they're also selling real Manga and Anime DVDs. This is a good spot to go if you want some cheap or mid priced merchandising for yourself or as a present for some friend who is into Anime/Manga, but does not live in Japan.

Yurindo

Yurindo is Atsugi's biggest book store. And not surprisingly Japanese book stores often have one floor entirely dedicated to Manga. So this is your first address in Atsugi to look for new Manga. They have a huge selection and you will be able to find a lot.

Book-Off

Book-Off is Japan's largest second hand book store. They also have quite a lot of Manga, which you can get a lot cheaper here. They are usually sold in a condition, which you and I couldn't distinguish from new.

Takaharaya

Takaharaya is maybe Atsugi's oldest Toy Store. I found it by change, as I was striving around the city. When I went it and looked around I found myself chatting to the old lady, who owns the store, for over an hour. She told me that this store is around for over 40 years selling toys. Since 10 years it changed with the time and its customers and now mainly sells Anime/Manga figures, toys and some rare merchandising.
The woman told me some interesting stories about how people and their taste changed over the years. She also told me, that when she started working here, there were always a lot of birds greeting her in the morning, sitting and flying around in front of the store. Now she hasn't seen or heard a single bird in years. "The animals of this city are dying out", she said. And she is really afraid of the future we are heading to. She also feels very sorry for future generations and is sad about in which condition our generations hands over this planet to the next.
Talking with her was not only interesting, but also refreshing, since Japanese usually don't talk about such things and are very careful to blame someone or criticize something. I guess however this mainly counts for the younger generations, while the older generations having lived through the rebuilding of Japan after the war or even the war itself have quite a more objective view on the world and live itself.

Finally she told me that her hobby is to raise insect bugs. A hobby still very common in Japan. Because of that she sometimes gathers insect eggs in forests around Atsugi, raises them herself (the raising of a big bug takes about one year, she said) and then sells them to faithful customers.

Even if you are not too much into figures and stuff, I recommend you to visit one of Atsugi's oldest store and have a little chat with the owner. You will be amazed how much you can learn about this city, its people, the change of generations and Japan in general.

Post Hobby

In the top floor of Saty you can find another toy store specialized in Anime Manga, but it also carries a lot of other interesting stuff. Cool things you can find there are:

cool figures



Ghost in the Shell toys




yes they are real, real rpg sets!



and Anime/Manga/Game T-Shirts

See you next time!
mika

Rumpelstilzchen

As for the second part, I'd like to narrate the story of Rumpelstilzchen and tell some thoughts to the story of my own.

Rumpelstilzchen

(English version below)

Es war einmal ein Müller, der war arm, aber er hatte eine schöne Tochter. Und es traf sich, daß er mit dem König zu sprechen kam und ihm sagte: »ich habe eine Tochter, die weiß die Kunst, Stroh in Gold zu verwandeln.« Da ließ der König die Müllerstochter alsogleich kommen, und befahl ihr, eine ganze Kammer voll Stroh in einer Nacht in Gold zu verwandeln, und könne sie es nicht, so müsse sie sterben. Sie wurde in die Kammer eingesperrt, saß da und weinte, denn sie wußte um ihr Leben keinen Rath, wie das Stroh zu Gold werden sollte. Da trat auf einmal ein klein Männlein zu ihr, das sprach: »was giebst du mir, daß ich alles zu Gold mache?« Sie that ihr Halsband ab und gabs dem Männlein, und es that, wie es versprochen hatte. Am andern Morgen fand der König die ganze Kammer voll Gold; aber sein Herz wurde dadurch nur noch begieriger, und er ließ die Müllerstochter in eine andere, noch größere Kammer voll Stroh thun, das sollte sie auch zu Gold machen. Und das Männlein kam wieder, sie gab ihm ihren Ring von der Hand, und alles wurde wieder zu Gold. Der König aber hieß sie die dritte Nacht wieder in eine dritte Kammer sperren, die war noch größer als die beiden ersten und ganz voll Stroh, »und wenn dir das auch gelingt, sollst du meine Gemahlin werden.« Da kam das Männlein und sagte: »ich will es noch einmal thun, aber du mußt mir das erste Kind versprechen, das du mit dem König bekommst.« Sie versprach es in der Noth, und wie nun der König auch dieses Stroh in Gold verwandelt sah, nahm er die schöne Müllerstochter zu seiner Gemahlin.

Bald darauf kam die Königin ins Wochenbett, da trat das Männlein vor die Königin und forderte das versprochene Kind. Die Königin aber bat, was sie konnte und bot dem Männchen alle Reichthümer an, wenn es ihr ihr Kind lassen wollte, allein alles war vergebens. Endlich sagte es: »in drei Tagen komm ich wieder und hole das Kind, wenn du aber dann meinen Namen weißt, so sollst du das Kind behalten!«

Da sann die Königin den ersten und zweiten Tag, was doch das Männchen für einen Namen hätte, konnte sich aber nicht besinnen, und ward ganz betrübt. Am dritten Tag aber kam der König von der Jagd heim und erzählte ihr: ich bin vorgestern auf der Jagd gewesen, und als ich tief in den dunkelen Wald kam, war da ein kleines Haus und vor dem Haus war ein gar zu lächerliches Männchen, das sprang als auf einem Bein davor herum, und schrie:

»heute back ich, morgen brau ich,
übermorgen hohl ich der Frau Königin ihr Kind,
ach wie gut ist, daß niemand weiß,
daß ich Rumpelstilzchen heiß!«

Wie die Königin das hörte, ward sie ganz froh und als das gefährliche Männlein kam, frug es: Frau Königin, wie heiß ich? — »heißest du Conrad?« — Nein. — »Heißest du Heinrich?« — Nein.

Heißt du etwa Rumpelstilzchen?

Das hat dir der Teufel gesagt! schrie das Männchen, lief zornig fort und kam nimmermehr wieder.

Rumpelstiltskin

By the side of a wood, in a country a long way off, ran a fine stream of water; and upon the stream there stood a mill. The miller's house was close by, and the miller, you must know, had a very beautiful daughter. She was, moreover, very shrewd and clever; and the miller was so proud of her, that he one day told the king of the land, who used to come and hunt in the wood, that his daughter could spin gold out of straw. Now this king was very fond of money; and when he heard the miller's boast his greediness was raised, and he sent for the girl to be brought before him. Then he led her to a chamber in his palace where there was a great heap of straw, and gave her a spinning-wheel, and said, 'All this must be spun into gold before morning, as you love your life.' It was in vain that the poor maiden said that it was only a silly boast of her father, for that she could do no such thing as spin straw into gold: the chamber door was locked, and she was left alone.

She sat down in one corner of the room, and began to bewail her hard fate; when on a sudden the door opened, and a droll-looking little man hobbled in, and said, 'Good morrow to you, my good lass; what are you weeping for?' 'Alas!' said she, 'I must spin this straw into gold, and I know not how.' 'What will you give me,' said the hobgoblin, 'to do it for you?' 'My necklace,' replied the maiden. He took her at her word, and sat himself down to the wheel, and whistled and sang:

'Round about, round about,

Lo and behold!

Reel away, reel away,

Straw into gold!'

And round about the wheel went merrily; the work was quickly done, and the straw was all spun into gold.

When the king came and saw this, he was greatly astonished and pleased; but his heart grew still more greedy of gain, and he shut up the poor miller's daughter again with a fresh task. Then she knew not what to do, and sat down once more to weep; but the dwarf soon opened the door, and said, 'What will you give me to do your task?' 'The ring on my finger,' said she. So her little friend took the ring, and began to work at the wheel again, and whistled and sang:

'Round about, round about,

Lo and behold!

Reel away, reel away,

Straw into gold!'

till, long before morning, all was done again.

The king was greatly delighted to see all this glittering treasure; but still he had not enough: so he took the miller's daughter to a yet larger heap, and said, 'All this must be spun tonight; and if it is, you shall be my queen.' As soon as she was alone that dwarf came in, and said, 'What will you give me to spin gold for you this third time?' 'I have nothing left,' said she. 'Then say you will give me,' said the little man, 'the first little child that you may have when you are queen.' 'That may never be,' thought the miller's daughter: and as she knew no other way to get her task done, she said she would do what he asked. Round went the wheel again to the old song, and the manikin once more spun the heap into gold. The king came in the morning, and, finding all he wanted, was forced to keep his word; so he married the miller's daughter, and she really became queen.

At the birth of her first little child she was very glad, and forgot the dwarf, and what she had said. But one day he came into her room, where she was sitting playing with her baby, and put her in mind of it. Then she grieved sorely at her misfortune, and said she would give him all the wealth of the kingdom if he would let her off, but in vain; till at last her tears softened him, and he said, 'I will give you three days' grace, and if during that time you tell me my name, you shall keep your child.'

Now the queen lay awake all night, thinking of all the odd names that she had ever heard; and she sent messengers all over the land to find out new ones. The next day the little man came, and she began with TIMOTHY, ICHABOD, BENJAMIN, JEREMIAH, and all the names she could remember; but to all and each of them he said, 'Madam, that is not my name.'

The second day she began with all the comical names she could hear of, BANDY-LEGS, HUNCHBACK, CROOK-SHANKS, and so on; but the little gentleman still said to every one of them, 'Madam, that is not my name.'

The third day one of the messengers came back, and said, 'I have travelled two days without hearing of any other names; but yesterday, as I was climbing a high hill, among the trees of the forest where the fox and the hare bid each other good night, I saw a little hut; and before the hut burnt a fire; and round about the fire a funny little dwarf was dancing upon one leg, and singing:

'"Merrily the feast I'll make.

Today I'll brew, tomorrow bake;

Merrily I'll dance and sing,

For next day will a stranger bring.

Little does my lady dream

Rumpelstiltskin is my name!"'

When the queen heard this she jumped for joy, and as soon as her little friend came she sat down upon her throne, and called all her court round to enjoy the fun; and the nurse stood by her side with the baby in her arms, as if it was quite ready to be given up. Then the little man began to chuckle at the thought of having the poor child, to take home with him to his hut in the woods; and he cried out, 'Now, lady, what is my name?' 'Is it JOHN?' asked she. 'No, madam!' 'Is it TOM?' 'No, madam!' 'Is it JEMMY?' 'It is not.' 'Can your name be RUMPELSTILTSKIN?' said the lady slyly. 'Some witch told you that!--some witch told you that!' cried the little man, and dashed his right foot in a rage so deep into the floor, that he was forced to lay hold of it with both hands to pull it out.

Then he made the best of his way off, while the nurse laughed and the baby crowed; and all the court jeered at him for having had so much trouble for nothing, and said, 'We wish you a very good morning, and a merry feast, Mr RUMPELSTILTSKIN!'

--------------------

Something very interesting I noticed, is that the only "good" or at least honest character in the story is... Rumpelstilzchen. If you think about it, that father boasts with his daughter and puts her life in mortal danger by that. The king exploits the girl as far as he can and seems greedy and cold hearted threatening to kill the girl, if she can not make gold for him. The girl itself might be the victim, but she still promises out of her own free will her first born child as a queen to the dwarf. He lack of imagination can be no excuse here. Also once she got hold of the dwarf's real name, she starts playing with the dwarf, naming some wrong names first and then inocently speaks his real name in a picking tone. Finally when the name of Rumpelstilzchen is revealed the whole court laughs about the dwarfs and makes pranks on him.
On the other side, Rumpelstilzchen works his ass of three times to save the life of the miller's daughter. He spins straw into gold for what? A necklace and a ring, which both are a lot less worth than a pile of straw spun into gold.
Actually the dwarf seems pretty good minded and it would not be unlikely that he wants the first born (after she has become queen!) to raise that child as his own. Why? Because it might become king or queen later being the firstborn and the land would have a ruler, which was raised by the dwarf. Maybe Rumpelstilzchen even has some utopic ideals about a society where everyone is equal, which he intends to teach to the child hoping it would later incorporate and realize them as a ruler. Yet what compromises his demise is not his malevolence but on the contrary his kind kindheartedness. In spite of the promise the miller's daughter made, he has pity with her and gives her a chance to keep her child.

In my eyes this story is so much more. If you see it like that, it tells you how good hearted people, altruistically intending to make the world a better place and helping without demanding much, are always misunderstood and exploited and eventually laughed at by the society conform people.

That is what our kind has to learn to deal with :) And who knows what the original author had in mind composing the fairy tale.

三枚のお札 The Three Magic Charms

I hope you like exploring the world of Japanese fairy tales as much as I do. The next one is not only very cool, but it also gives insight in some very Japanese (or Asian) views on life, like karma and reincarnation. Sit down and "listen" to the story of the little monk who went out into the mountains carrying three charms for his protection.

三枚のお札
(English Version below)

　むかしむかし、ある山寺の小坊主が、クリ拾いに行きたくなりました。
「和尚(おしょう)さん、山へクリ拾いにいってもいいですか？」
　小坊主が聞くと、和尚さんは答えました。
「クリ拾いか。しかし、山には鬼婆が出るぞ」
「でも・・・」
　小坊主が、どうしても行きたいとだだをこねるので、しかたなく、和尚さんは三枚のお札を渡して、
「こまったことがあったら、このお札に願いをかけなさい。きっと、おまえをたすけてくれるじゃろう」
　そういって、小坊主を送り出しました。
　小坊主は山に入ると、あるわあるわ、大きなクリがたくさん落ちています。
　小坊主が夢中でクリ拾いにはげんでいると、とつぜん目の前に、鬼ババが現れました。
「うまそうな坊主じゃ。家に帰って食ってやろう」
　小坊主は身がすくんでしまい、さけぶことも、逃げ出すこともできません。
　そしてそのまま、鬼ババの家へ連れていかれました。
　恐ろしさのあまり、小さくなっていますと、鬼ババはキバをむいて大きな口をあけました。
(たっ、大変だ。食われてしまうぞ)
　小坊主はそう思うと、とっさに、
「ウンチがしたい！」
と、いいました。
「なに、ウンチだと。・・・うむ、あれはくさくてまずいからな。仕方ない、はやく行って出してこい」
　鬼ババは、小坊主の腰になわをつけて、便所にいかせてくれました。
　中に入ると、小坊主はさっそくなわをほどき、それを柱に結びつけると、お札をはりつけ、
「お札さん。おれのかわりに、返事をしてくれ」
　そういいつけると、窓から逃げ出しました。
「坊主、ウンチはまだか？」
　すると、お札が答えました。
「もう少し、もう少し」
　しばらくして、鬼ババがまた聞きました。
「坊主、ウンチはまだか？」
「もう少し、もう少し」
　またしばらくして、鬼ババが聞きましたが、
「もう少し、もう少し」
と、同じことをいうので、
「もうガマンできん！　早く出ろ！」
と、言って、便所のとびらを開けてみますと、中は空っぽです。
「ぬぬっ！　よくもいっぱい食わせたな。待てえ！」
　さけびながら鬼ババは、夜道を走る小坊主を追いかけていきました。
　それを知った小坊主は、二枚めの札を取り出しますと、
「川になれ！」
と、言って、後ろに投げました。
　すると、後ろに川が現れ、鬼ババは流されそうになりました。
　けれど鬼ババは、ガブガブと川の水をぜんぶ飲みほすと、また追いかけてきます。
　小坊主は、三枚めの札を出すと、
「山火事になれ！」
と、いって投げつけました。
　すると後ろで山火事がおきて、鬼パパをとおせんぼうしましたが、鬼ババは、さっきのんだ川の水をはき出すと、またたくまに山火事を消してしまいました。
　鬼ババは、また追いかけてきます。
　小坊主は命からがらお寺にたどりつくと、和尚さんに助けを求めました。
「だから、やめておけといったのじゃ。まあ、まかせておけ」
　和尚さんは小坊主を後ろにかくすと、追いかけてきた鬼ババにいいました。
「鬼ババよ。わしの頼みを一つきいてくれたら、坊主をおまえにやるが、どうだ」
と、持ちかけました。
「いいだろう。何がのぞみだ」
「聞くところによると、お前は、山のように大きくなることも、豆粒のように小さくなることもできるそうだな」
「ああ、そうだ」
「よし、では豆粒のように、小さくなってくれや」
「おやすいご用」
　鬼ババは答えて、からだを小さくすると、豆粒のようになりました。
　和尚さんはそのときすかさず、鬼ババをもちの中に丸め込むと、一口で飲みこんでしまいました。
「おほほほっ。ざっと、こんなもんじゃい。・・・うん、腹がいたいな。ちと便所に」
　和尚さんは、おなかが痛くなったので便所にいきますと、ウンチの中から、たくさんのハエが飛び出してきました。
　ハエは、鬼ババが生まれ変わって、日本じゅうにふえていったものだそうです。

おしまい

The Three Magic Charms

Once upon a time, there was a young apprentice who lived in a temple in the mountains. He was a mischievous boy and enjoyed playing pranks. He didn't train very hard and would often take naps or cause trouble for the head priest by chasing rabbits around.

One autumn day, when the leaves were changing color, the young apprentice saw that the chestnut trees in the mountains were beginning to bear fruit. The chestnuts looked very delicious.

"Master, I want to eat the chestnuts on that mountain over there. Can I go and pick some?"

"No, people say there's a mountain witch living there. You'll be eaten."

"Oh, that can't really be true. I'm sure someone just made that up. Please let me go."

The priest shook his head at the boy who wouldn't do as he was told and said, "OK, it might do a mischievous young lad like you some good to be scared for once. You can go, but if you meet the witch, use these." The priest handed the boy three magic paper charms. The apprentice took them and immediately scurried off toward the mountain.

When he reached the mountain the boy found many ripe chestnuts, just as he had thought. He became so absorbed in gathering them that he completely forgot about the time. He didn't notice the sun going down, and before he knew it, it had become pitch dark. "It feels a bit spooky when it's this dark. What will I do if the mountain witch really came out?" Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly heard a voice behind him.

"Well, well. Hello there, young boy."

Still thinking about the witch, the apprentice jumped with fright, but when he turned round he saw a gentle-looking old woman. "Have you come to pick chestnuts? Why don't you come to my house? I'll cook them for you to eat."

The boy was very hungry and happily followed the old woman home. He ate chestnuts until he was so full that he grew sleepy and dozed off. He woke up in the middle of the night, not knowing how long he'd been asleep, and found that the old woman was not there. He heard a strange noise coming from the next room. Puzzled, he peeped into the room and saw the frightful-looking mountain witch sharpening a knife.

"You saw me, didn't you, boy? That's right, I'm a mountain witch. And now I'm going to eat you." As she said this, the witch tried to grab the youth.

Panicking, he said, "Uh . . . OK. But first let me go to the toilet. I'm going to wet myself if I don't go."

"Well, all right, I suppose. But I'm going to tie you up with rope and go with you so you can't escape."

The boy entered the toilet tied up with rope. The witch stood guard outside the door.

"Aren't you finished yet?"

"Just a little more. Wait a minute!" answered the boy, but he knew he couldn't keep this up forever. "What shall I do? Ah! Of course! I can use the paper charm the priest gave me to escape!" he thought. The boy attached one of the charms to the wall of the toilet and asked it to help him: "Oh lucky charm, please pretend to be me and answer the witch."

He snuck out of the toilet window and fled as fast as he could toward the temple.

"Boy! Haven't you finished? You're very slow!" the witch continued to shout, thinking the boy was still inside. "Just a little more. Wait a minute!" answered the charm in the boy's voice. The witch began to get suspicious since every time she asked the boy to hurry up, the same answer would come back. Finally, she couldn't wait any longer and peered inside. The boy was gone. "That rascal! He cheated me! He'll regret this!" fumed the angry witch and began to chase after the boy.

"Woah, that was close," said the boy to himself as he ran, calming down a little. Then he looked back.

"Stop where you are, boy! I'm going to eat you now!" The witch looked even more scary now that she was angry and was chasing him very fast.

"Oh no! If she catches me I'm dead! Lucky charm, please make a river appear behind me." As he made this wish to the second charm, suddenly a big river appeared, and the witch was swallowed up in its current.

"The witch will surely drown in that," sighed the boy in relief. But as soon as he thought this, the witch used her magic powers to swallow all the water in the river and started chasing him again.

"Oh no! This time make me a sea of fire," asked the boy to his last paper charm. Suddenly, a sea of fire appeared behind him and enveloped the witch. But the witch blew out all the water she had just swallowed, putting out the fire, and once again ran after him.

"Aaaaah!" he screamed, horrified. The witch looked up and glared at him.

"I'm finished! She's going to catch me now," thought the boy as he ran for his life. But he scampered quickly enough to reach the temple just before the witch. "Master, please help me! The mountain witch is chasing me. She's right outside!"

"Ah, so you met her, did you? Have you learned your lesson?"

The boy thought about what had happened and asked the priest to forgive him. "I'm sorry, Master. From now on I'll be better behaved." Then he hurriedly hid inside a large jar.

No sooner had the boy hidden himself than the witch kicked down the temple door and barged inside.

"Hey, priest! Where's the boy who ran in here? Bring him out at once!"

The priest pretended not to know anything: "What? What are you talking about? I've been sitting here eating rice cakes. I haven't seen any boy." This just made the witch even angrier.

"You can pretend you don't know. That makes no difference to me, since I'll eat you instead if you won't give me the boy," said the witch, now very agitated.

"All right, but first let's see which one of us is better at turning ourselves into different shapes," challenged the priest. "If you win, you can do as you like. Now, can you change into whatever I say?"

"Don't make me laugh," replied the witch with great confidence. "I can change myself into any form. Go ahead and say anything you like."

The priest saw how arrogant the witch was and said, "Can you make yourself as tall as the ceiling?" No sooner had he said this than the witch grew to the height of the ceiling with no trouble at all. "Mmm. But I bet you can't make yourself as tall as that mountain over there," continued the priest.

"Piece of cake," replied the witch and made herself as big as the mountain.

The priest appeared to be impressed. "That's really something. You can make yourself bigger, but you can't make yourself as small as a bean, can you?" he said.

The witch became piqued. "That's easy. Just watch." Now she shrank to a size no bigger than the end of the priest's finger.

"Very impressive! So now it's my turn," said the priest. He then suddenly picked up the bean-sized witch and stuffed her in the rice cake he had been toasting and gulped it down in one mouthful.

From then on, the witch was never seen again in the mountains, and the mischievous young apprentice became a very good boy, listening attentively to everything the priest said.

-----------

Nice story, isn't it? Again there are some differences between the Japanese version and the English translation. For once in the Japanese version the witch actually asks the little boy to "produce some shit for her in the toilet", since she needed some. However even Nakamura-san, my language exchange partner thought this to be strange, and he remembered the story like the English version with the boy wanting to go to the toilet by himself.
Second the whole part about reincarnation was left out. In the Japanese version, after the monk master swallowed the demon witch, she naturally died (The English version does not mention death). When the monk master ate up, he felt a strong urge to *ahem* take a *dump*. Out of his excrements a fly struggled to appear, which was in fact the reincarnated witch. Here we can also see the effects of Karma. Since she has been so mischievous as witch he Karma forced her to be reincarnated as something very low, like a fly.

So noticeable after the last two fairy tale translations is both the lack of English translators to speak about "shit" and "death", which are both topics you don't speak about in the open in Europe ^_^. Also they usually seem to leave out story items related to reincarnation or Buddhism in general if they are not vital.

See you right away for the second part, where I am going to tell you the Grimm's version of Rumpelstilzchen, also a very interesting fairy tale.

Tempura 天ぷら

It's been a while since I tried a new traditional Japanese recipe, so it is time for cooking.

This time I tried making 天ぷら Tempura, another very famous meal in Japan, which you will find in any Japanese restaurant in and outside of Japan. Although Tempura was originally brought to Japan by the Portuguese, it is now considered a traditional Japanese meal.

Again making Tempura is quite easy and doesn't take many ingredients. However depending on how much you want to make and how large your frying pan is, it will take a while.

材料 Ingredients

- 米 rice
- 天ぷら粉 Tempura flour*
- てんつゆ Tentsuyu (Tempura Sauce)**
- たくさん 揚げ油 much cheap frying Oil
- optional: 卵 egg
- 野菜 vegetables: たまねぎ Onion, にんじん Carrot, ナス Eggplant, さつまいも Sweet Potato, かぼちゃ Pumpkin, 茸 Mushrooms, (Broccoli, uncommon but tastes great)
(- for non vegetarians Japanese usually add 海老 shrimps)

* normal flour will do just fine, if you can't find it
** take normal soy sauce, if you can't find it

作り方 Cooking Manual

1. Put the rice in a rice cooker or make it with a pot and boiling water

2. Cut the vegetables in 1-2 cm thick slices. You can leave the mushrooms and the broccoli parts as they are.



3. Prepare the batter: Mix the egg with the flour and add some cold water. Mix it until it becomes like a dough, you don't need to overdo it, you can leave some lumps in it.

4. Now put as much oil in the frying pan, that the vegetables will be covered by it and make it boil.

5. Now put the vegetable slices one by one into the dough, until they are completely covered by dough and place them in the boiling oil. Be careful! The oil gets really hot and if you accidentally put some water inside, it will squirt and maybe injure your eyes or something.
You can put as many vegetables in the pan, as there is space. Turn them around after a while and when they are done, put them on a plate and continue with the next ones.



6. When all is fried you can put some rice in bowls and add the fried vegetables on top. When 天ぷら Tempura is served like this, it is referred to as 天丼 Tendon, where 丼 Don means bowl ^_^. You can use Tempura soy sauce either to dip the Tempura in (that's the normal way), or you put it on top of your Tempura and rice (that's what I do ^_^).



Enjoy! Of course Tempura is eaten with 箸 Hashi (chopsticks).

mika

厚木見物第二: 中古 Atsugi City Tour Part 2: Second Hand

Hello and welcome to the second part of the Atugi City tour!
Last time I introduced you to two wonderful local Fair Trade stores. Fair Trade in itself is a wonderful thing, but it is a little expensive at time and there are things you can't get fair traded.

A solution both for the purse and living in balance with people and nature is to buy Second Hand. Especially in Japan Second Hand is great. That is because Japanese people are always a bit scared and doubtful to used things, therefore you will get Second Hand articles a) in top quality and b) to very cheap prices.
Also most Second Hand stores easily buy stuff from you, if it is in a reasonable condition. So a second hand store is also a good place to leave some stuff, when you are leaving the country.

For the second hand stores itself this buying and selling itself is not very profitable, the real profit lies in some of the bought stuff. Japanese are maybe the number one collectors in the world and pay incredible prices for rare things. And a second hand store, where people can leave their old stuff, is just the perfect opportunity of getting hold of some of those rare items. You will never find this items sold in the stores itself, they will be sold directly to renowned collectors. But what to do with all the not so rare stuff? This is sold in the second hand stores itself, since it is still more profitable than throwing it away and attracts customers both to buy, as also to sell their old goods.

For the normal guy like you and me, this is only good news. We can sell stuff and get as good as new stuff to very cheap prices :)


The Smile Company





In Atsugi I have found a pretty cool and huge second hand store with five floors, called the smile company. It sells all kinds of stuff from designer stuff, to dishes, toys, figures, all kind of cloths including a large jeans section, computer games, a large instruments section including guitars (electric/acoustic), drum sets, amplifiers and more. Furthermore we have bikes, camping equipment, ski equipment, stuff for infants, babies and little children, lots of skirmish stuff and some electronics like laptops or electric dictionaries. Also for permanent Atsugi citizens it offers two floors with furniture and home electronics like TV sets.



electric guitars, so you don't need to bring one to Japan



and acoustic ones



they also have drum sets and amplifiers for sale



they have a large Jeans section



but also ordinary cloths



and some more Asian



if you are looking for a bike



ski and fitness equipment





toys for small children



and big children, which means figures and



and old computer games



all kinds of Japanese porcelain



TV sets



and furniture





also lots of unsorted random stuff, just like on a flea market

Because of the large variety it is fun only to walk among the rows and look what stuff they do have. And because of the cheap prices, you will always find something small to take along. I once bought a N64 with 3 games including Zelda Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask for only 1.500 Yen.

I made a Google Map to show you the way to the Second Hand store here.

Also remember if you want to bring some cool stuff from Japan for friends or family this store is a good address to get them.

mika