February In Ota. The cold north wind races down off of Akagi Mountain, and rattles the windows as it roars around the old farm house. The winter wheat isn’t up to your ankles yet, and rice planting is still months away, so there is not a whole lot to do around the farm this time of year. It’s Sunday afternoon and my son’s kids are glued to the TV. “In the old days,” I tell the grand kids, “we didn’t have television.” I know that they have hard time with that idea. “So what did you do on days like this?” they ask. “It must have been pretty boring.” “No, I was never bored. I used to listen to my grandpa and grandma tell stories.” I stop to take a sip of tea.

   “What kind of stories?” they want to know.

“Well, stories about people and animals, heroes and ghosts. Sad stories, scary stories and funny stories. Stories about the way things used to be around here, about the old days. You see, folks have been living around here for long time. They’ve been being born, living, working, having kids, laughing, loving, fighting, growing old and dying around for a long, long time. The people may come and go, but the stories live forever. Or at least as long as there is someone to tell the stories. And someone to listen.

  “Can you tell us a story, Grandpa? About the old days?”

“Sure! I’d be happy to. Just sit down in the kotatsu here, grab yourself a mikan or some osenbei. Are you nice and comfy?”

  Long ago, near the village of Yabakawa, there was a small mountain called Yakushi yama, and on this mountain there was a shrine dedicated to Yakushisama, the Physician of Souls.

   Near Yakushi yama, there was the home of millionaire. One night, a thief entered the home and made off with all of the money and treasure that he could carry. The thief, with his bag of loot slung across his back, fled from the rich man’s home onto Yakushi yama.

   To the thief’s bewilderment, no matter how he tried, he could not escape from the mountain! Seven or eight times he tried, but he always ended up right back in the same place; in front of Yakushisama’s little shrine!

   “What the heck is going on here!” Grumbled the thief. “If I keep stumbling around on this dung mountain, dawn will come” Finally, there before his eyes, the thief noticed a statue of Yakushisama. “Aha!” He cried. “So this is all because of you. No matter how far I run, I can’t leave this mountain. Well…, now I have a surprise for you. If you’ll just close your eyes for one minute…”

   Having realized that the watchful eyes of the statue were the cause of his inability to escape, the thief drove nails into both of Yakushisama’s eyes. Afterwards, he was able to flee the mountain.

   This left Yakushisama in quite a fix. He knew that people rarely visited the mountain, and that he would have to do something about this problem himself. So, starting that very night, Yakushisama secretly came down off of the mountain and made his way to the Yaba River for which the village of Yabakawa was named. There he washed his wounded eyes in the water of the Yaba river.

   For many nights after that Yakushisama, returned to the river to wash his eyes. Finally, the nails fell from his eyes and he could see once again.

  To this very day, people who have problems with their eyes come to the Yaba river to wash their eyes in the hope that the water that helped Yakushisama will help them, too.
　

   Quite a while back, there was rumor going around about a ghost that lived in a local pond near the village of Nagate. A group of area youngsters decided to go to the pond to discover the real nature of this ‘ghost’. They armed themselves with bamboo swords and spears and set off for the pond.

   “A spirit is an awful thing to have about !” declared one of the gang of toughs. ”But we can handle it!”

   It is just the trick of some fox or badger, I’ll bet!” proclaimed another. And so they carried on, waiting for night to come, all of them full of bluff and bluster.

   Eventually, night came, and with it came a strange rustling sound from the pond.  Ripples began to form on the surface of the dark water. As the ripples slowly grew to become waves there appeared, out of nowhere, the form of a young woman, on the surface of the water.  

   The woman’s face was a transparent bluish white and her entire body was soaking wet. Slowly she moved across the surface of the water toward the brave young men of the village, and before you could say ‘ghost’, the youngsters were on their way home.

   This scene was repeated many times. Every night, those who felt that they had the courage would venture out to the pond, only to be frightened off without unraveling the secret of this watery ghost.

   On the outskirts of Nagate, there was a young man of excellent character who shared a home with his mother. He always took good care of his mother, and although he was often teased by the children of the village, he never became angry at them.

   When he heard about the ghost he said to himself, “I think that I’ll go out and catch that ghost and bring it back to show my mom.” So one night he made his way out to the pond, all alone. Some time after midnight, just as he had heard from the men of the village, ripples began to form on the surface of the pond. The ripples formed waves and the young woman appeared once again.

   “Hey, come here. Come over here.” The young man beckoned. The ghost floated slowly across the surface of the water toward the young man. “Hurry, ghost hurry. I want to take you home to show you to my mom.”

   As the apparition came near to the young man she spoke for the first time saying, “I am not a ghost. I am gold!”

   “Is that right?” asked the young man, “Gold, you say. Well that just fine! If you are gold, that will really make mom real happy. Hurry, let’s go!” he said as took hold of the woman.

   “Wait!” she cried. “I am gold, that is true, but I can not go with you now. Listen to my story.”

   “ Many years ago, the Nitta family was pursued into this area. One of the men who served Yoshisada Nitta buried three treasure chests here. Each chest contains one thousand pieces of gold.”

   “Do you see those three thick trees growing there?” the phantom said pointing to the middle of the pond. “Nitta’s man buried the gold among the roots of those trees. He was killed in battle shortly after, taking the secret of the location of the gold with him to his grave.”

   “I wanted to return to the world, so I took this form so that I could tell my tale, but all who came here were too frightened to listen. Until you.” she said. “ You have listened very well. The gold is yours to do with as you please.”  Then the apparition disappeared, never to return.

  The young man went home and told his mother the whole story. The next morning she enlisted the help of the village and together they drained the pond, dug among the roots of the trees there and, just as the spectral woman had foretold, they found three thousand pieces of gold buried in three treasure chests. The young man and his mother shared the gold the people of the village, and that is how the village of Nagate became rich a long time ago.
　

   This is a story from a long time ago. There was an old woman who lived with a black cat. The old woman was a weaver, and as she was very fond of the cat, she would spend all of her extra money to buy delicious fish and other tasty treats for the cat to eat.

   The years passed and the woman grew older, and there came a day when she was no longer able to work at her weaving. There was no extra money to buy treats for the cat.

   One day the old woman sat beneath a darkened lamp in a darkened room stroking the cat and speaking to it. “You and I have been together for a long time, but I can’t work anymore and can’t afford to buy food for you any more. I think that you should find a new home where they will be able to take good care of you.”

   The next day, the cat was gone. “Well I guess the cat understood what I was saying.” said the old woman. “I guess I’m really all alone now.”

   And so the woman spent her days living all alone, and eventually she began to forget about the cat. Then, one day about a year later, a voice came from the front door, “Hello, Grandma! Are you home?”

   When the old went to have a look she was surprised to see a beautiful young woman standing in the entrance to her house. She was slim and well dressed and her jet black hair was done up in the popular style of the day. The young woman possessed an unusual kind of beauty that was not of this world. “My name is Iizen” the young woman explained. “I have come to repay for the great kindness that you have shown me in the past.”

   The old woman was quite surprised because this young woman was a complete stranger to her. However, her surprise turned to joy as Iizen showered her with gifts and money. Then the young woman tied up her sleeves and went to work. She cleaned the house from top to bottom, she prepared all kinds of delicious food and she even rubbed the old woman’s tired shoulders. Iizen carried out these chores with such energy and skill the old woman was thoroughly impressed and delighted. And yet one thing bothered the old woman. “Iizen said that she was here to repay me for the kindness I had shown her in the past…” she thought, “but I don’t remember ever seeing her before. I must be getting old.”

   The next morning the old woman awoke early as usual. As the sun rose higher and Iizen failed to get out of bed, the old woman began to worry and decided to check on her. The old woman quietly slid open the door to Iizen’s room, and was shocked to find a large black cat laying on Iizen’s futon, gasping for breath.

   “You!” cried the old woman, “aren’t you the black cat that left this house about a year ago?”

   “Yes, I am that same black cat that you were so nice to.” the cat replied weakly.

“After I left here, I became a courtesan, and worked day and night. Finally, I was able to save a little money so that I could try to repay the kindness that you had shown me.”

   The cat took a final breath, and died; happy in the old woman’s arms. “For me,” the old woman sobbed through her tears,  “you worked yourself to death for me.”

   The old woman had a grave built for the cat and buried her there with honor.  The old was able to live in ease and comfort for the rest of her life with the money that the cat had given her.”
　

   I remember once, a long time ago, there was this glutton who lived near here. He went by the name of Yojuu, and his appetite was truly astounding. Yojuu constantly amazed his wife with his gluttony. As soon as she finished cooking the rice, as soon as she finished cooking the noodles, they would disappear into Yojuu’s stomach. Before you could say ‘udon’ he was finished eating, and he was always, always hungry.

   Well, one day when Yojuu was out and about, he happened to hear a rumor that made his mouth water. It seems that a member of the local gentry, Shoyasama, was planning to sponsor a little eating contest at that year’s festival. The prize for winning this eating contest was to an entire horse load of rice, and all you had to do to win was to eat one little tub full, five and a half liters, of freshly prepared rice cake mash that they call mochi.

   As that rumor spread through the village, it quickly became the talk of the town. “Hey, have you heard?” one of the local lads said. “There’s going to be an eatin’ contest at the festival this year. Shoyasama’s going to give a whole horse load of rice to anyone who’s crazy enough to eat an entire tub of mochi in one sitting.”

   Another youngster replied, “A whole horse load of rice, you say? That’s a big deal. You planning to take a shot at?” “What, me?” the first replied. “It would be great to have all that rice, but I could never eat that much mochi in one sitting.”

   As the day of the festival drew nearer, that eatin’ contest became the main subject of conversation in the village. One guy says, “Five and a half liters of mochi, huh? All at once!? I’ll bet that Shoyasama is pretty sure that no one can pull this off. I’d say that his rice is pretty safe.”

   But then another guy says, “Say…what about Yojuu? Yeah, I’ll bet that Yojuu could do it.”

   “Hey, you’re right. Yojuu just might have a chance.”

Well then a third guy speaks, “I don’t know…I think that if anyone, even Yojuu, were to eat all that mochi, his stomach would burst and he would die.”

   The big day finally rolls around, and the weather is just perfect. Over in the woods around the village shrine the sound of flutes and drums let everyone know that the festival is about to begin. Shoyasama’s head man calls out, “We are just about ready to begin. Bring that mochi on out here.”

   They haul the mochi out into the middle of the festival grounds, and the head man shouts, “I think that you all know what this is all about. Shoyasama will give an entire horse load of rice to anyone who can eat all of the mochi in one sitting. Anybody out there want to give it try?”

   Before anyone else can say anything, Yojuu’s big old voice is heard coming from the back of the crowd. “Well, I think I just might be able to handle that little old bowl of mochi, if you don’t object.”

   “We were counting on you to give a try, Yojuu. Come on up here, boy!” Yojuu steps up to that tub of mochi and just gives a look for a minute. It is a mountain of mochi. Then he starts to eat, and it is quite a spectacle. The villagers all start crowding around  to get a good look, but before you know it, all of that mochi from in that tub, is now inside of Yojuu. Folks seem a little disappointed that it is over so quickly, they were expecting a little more of a show, but they’re real happy for Yojuu.

   Yojuu is just standing there holding his stomach like it really is getting ready to explode. Shoyasama’ head man comes up, slaps Yojuu on the back and says, “You really did it , you really ate all that mochi at once. If you feel up to it, why don’t just go on up to the house and collect your prize.”

  When they get to the house, Shoyasama himself comes out. Yojuu is still holding on to his stomach and he is not looking to good. He thinks that Shoyasama is going to congratulate him personally and give him his rice. You can imagine Yojuu’s surprise when Shoyasama says, “You I hear that you have successfully completed to first part of the contest. That‘s just great!”

   Yojuu is thinking, “First part of the contest!!!???”

   Shoyasama is thinking fast because he doesn’t want to part with all of the rice. He continues, “Tell me. What goes best with mochi? Huh? Well…azuki of course. Am I right?” Yojuu moves head up and down, but it’s hard to tell if he is agreeing with Shoyasama or losing consciousness.

   “So, for the second and final part of our contest,” says Shoyasama, “you will be asked to eat these nine delicious azuki.” One of the help carries out this tray that holds the mountain of extra large, steaming hot azuki.

   Azuki in case you have never heard of them, are made from a sweetened bean paste known as ‘anko’. The anko is rolled into balls about the size of your fist and then boiled.

   Yojuu just stands there looking at that pile of azuki. At this point Shoyasama is sure that his rice is safe. Nobody can eat nine extra large azuki. Not on top of five and a half liters of mochi. Then, to the amazement of all, Yojuu’s stomach growls, he licks his lips and tears into that pile of bean past like hasn’t eaten in days.

   He devoured that pile of azuki in less time than it takes for the smile to fade from Shoyasama’s lips. Shoyasama is standing with his jaw hanging open as Yojuu stumbles back from the empty tray with a groan. He turns and stumbles past the gawking villagers no longer caring about the Shoyasama or the prize or even if he ever eats again.

   He makes his way home, convinced that his stomach will burst at any moment and that he will die on the spot. When she sees him coming holding on to his bulging stomach, Yojuu’s wife dashes out to the field and pulls a couple of nice big, spicy daikon radishes. While Yojuu moans and prepares himself for death, she grinds up the daikon.

   “Here eat this.” she says. Yojuu looks at her like he doesn’t understand what she just said. For the first time in his life, he really can’t eat another bite. “Eat it! If you have eaten too much mochi, a little spicy daikon will make you feel better.” Yojuu’s wife persists.

   She finally gets some of the daikon into her husband, and after a few minutes he starts to feel a little better. He tries a little more and feels even better.

   Just about the time that Yojuu starting that think that he just might pull through, they hear the sound of a horse approaching the house. Most folks couldn’t afford a horse in those days, so Yojuu’s wife rushes out to see what’s happening.

   “Here’s your rice!” says the head man from over at Shoyasama’s place as he is unloading the rice. “I have never, ever seen anything like what your husband did today. He ate the mochi and  the azuki.” Yojuu’s wife bows deeply to thank him, and as he turns to go he says, “Oh no. Thank you, and keep the horse!”
　

   There is an old temple in this village that was once the site of some strange goings on. It seems that the monk who ran the temple disappeared one day, never to be seen again.

When a new monk came to the temple, he too disappeared. Naturally, the people of the village became concerned, and after this pattern was repeated several more times, they got together at the temple to discuss the problem.

   “Why do our monks keep running off?” they asked. “This last monk was only here for about ten days before he vanished.” The villagers were quite worried about the problem. The oldest man in the village, Sakuzojiisan, spoke up, “Something strange is going on at that temple, don’t you think? Maybe our temple is haunted.”

   “That must be it!” exclaimed one of the other villagers. “I say that some of us should stay in the main hall tonight to clear up this mystery.”

   So five or six of the village’s leading citizens were chosen to spend the night at the old temple. As night began to fall, the villagers began to fade off to sleep one by one leaving only the old man awake in the silence.

  Slowly, Sakuzojiisan became aware of a strange scraping noise drifting down from the ceiling. “Hey! There it is!” cried the old man as he tried to rouse his sleepy comrades. “Look! Up there on that beam. What is that?”

   The villagers were now wide awake. “ What the…? It’s a mouse!” they shouted. “It’s a mouse all right, but I have never seen a mouse that big in my life!” said one of the frightened villagers.

   “Will you look at that!” said the old man, “That long white thing you see moving around there is it’s tail.” he said. Sure enough, there up on a beam near the ceiling was a giant mouse with a tail measuring more than a meter in length.

   “I know that there was something strange going on in this temple!” said one of the villagers. “That thing has been eating our monks!” said another as they cautiously crept closer for a better look.

   “With all of these people here,” someone said, “that spook is not going to come down from it’s hiding place tonight. Tomorrow morning, we’ll get everyone in the village together and come back out here to get rid of that thing. Let’s get out of here!”

   No one in the village got any sleep that night. They stayed up all night trying to concoct a plan to exterminate the gigantic, monk eating pest. “How in the world are we going to get that thing out of the temple?” they asked.

   One man said, “We could get all of the folks who own bamboo swords together and attack it as a group, but if it gets away, it may start eating villagers instead of monks.”

   “Why don’t we set fire to the temple?” offered one youngster in all seriousness. “We are sure to get him that way!”

   Well, nobody thought that was a very good idea. While they were informing the youth of the flaws in his plan, Sakuzojiisan suddenly clapped his hands together.

   “Of course! Cats!” he cried. “If you want to catch a mouse, get a cat. Look, out at my house, we have two cats. They’re brothers, and they are really smart. Those two cats are just what we need!”

   As daylight turned to dusk, the villagers made their way back the temple while the old man hurried home for the cats. There he found them sleeping peacefully by the hearth. Sakuzojiisan spoke to the cats as gentry took them in his arms.

   “I have a little something that I want you two to do for me.” He cooed. “Out at the old temple we are having a little problem with a mouse. The problem is that it keeps eating our monks, so I am asking you guys to come out there and catch that mouse for us. Do you think that you are up to it?” He tucked the cats into the front of his kimono and returned to the temple.

   As Sakuzojiisan neared the temple, the two cats leapt from their place inside of his kimono and raced off toward the main hall. They entered the hall and flew up to the beam on which the monstrous mouse had been lurking. They tore into that mouse like the wind. There was a great commotion; thrashing about and screaming, the mouse fell from the rafters along with a large part of the thatched roof, as the villagers dived out of the way. The huge mouse lay there on the floor, dead. One of the cats had his teeth buried in the mouse’s throat while the other had it by the head.

   The villagers timidly approached the mouse and confirmed that it was really dead. They dragged the huge carcass out to the mountain behind the temple and cut it open. Inside they found the bones of the missing monks. These they reverently gathered and gave them a decent burial.

   In time, a new monk come to take up residence at the temple. One day, Sakuzojiisan brought the cats to the monk.. “This temple is indebted to these brother cats.” he said and told the story of the monster mouse to the monk. “Please let them live here and take good care of them.” After that, the cats enjoyed a life of ease, napping peacefully every afternoon in the sun on the verandah of the old temple.
　

   A long time ago, in a house near Ota, a baby girl was born. Unfortunately, just after this baby was born, her mother died. Eventually, the father remarried and it was left up to his new wife to raise the child.

   Being deprived of her natural mother so soon after birth, the child was rather weak and sickly. The step mother did not like the child and did not want to care for her. “This kid is always sick!” she complained.

   The father went to Donryusama in Ota to pray that his little girl would thrive. Donryusama is the name that many folks use to refer to Daikoin, the famous temple that was built by Ieyasu Tokugawa to honor his ancestors. Donryu was the name of the first head priest of the temple who was known for his kindness and concern for the welfare and education of the local children. Many people still go to the temple to pray for the health and well being of their children.

   “Please make my little girl healthy.” the father prayed. While he was at the temple, he spoke to the head priest and told him of his daughter’s plight.

   “Perhaps it would be best if you left your daughter in the care of the monks here at the temple. They will raise her until she reaches the age of seven, and then she can return home.” the priest offered. The father agreed that this would be best and left his daughter in the care of the monks of Donryusama.

   Seven is a special age for little girls here in Japan. In the old days when there was no modern medicine, many children died young of disease or starvation. If a child lived to the age of seven she had survived most of the diseases that kill young children and had a good chance of reaching adulthood. That is why there is a special celebration held for daughters when they reach their seventh year.

   So the little girl lived at the temple for a time. The monks took good care of her, and taught her many things. When she returned to her father’s house, she was like a different person; strong and healthy and happy.

   The father was so pleased that he decided to go to the temple to offer his thanks. “Why don’t you leave the child with me while you make the trip” the step mother said in a kindly voice.

   “All right, I will. I’m counting on you to take good care of her.” replied the father as he departed for the temple. When he arrived at Donryusama, he warmly thanked the priests for their kindness. Before he left to return home he received three prayer cards to take home with him and tucked them securely into the front of his kimono.

   As he passed through the gate of the temple he noticed that the prayer cards had disappeared. He went back into the temple for more, but as he was leaving, the same thing happened. Once again he returned for more prayers. Thinking it strange when the same thing happened again as he tried to leave, he decided to talk to the head priest about it.

   “This is very strange indeed.” the priest told him. “This must mean that something bad is happening at your home. I advise you to return home without delay.”

   Upon hearing the priest’s words, the father was filled with dread. He took off for home, running for dear life. When he reached his house, he could find no sign of either his daughter or her step mother. His frantic search led him to the bath house where he found something strange.

   The fire used to heat the bath water had been stoked and was burning hotly. The cover was on the bath tub as usual, but there was a large stone resting on the cover as if to weigh it down. His dread increased as he rolled the stone from the tub and lifted the cover. When he looked into the tub, he found himself looking into the face of his rather confuse and frightened, but otherwise healthy daughter.

   Relieved, he pulled his daughter from the tub. After the shock and confusion of the moment had passed he started to think about how strange the situation was.

Placing his hand in the water, he felt the water was cool to the touch. With the fire blazing beneath the bathtub, his daughter should have been boiled alive. He examined the tub closely and saw that there were three pieces of paper floating in the water. The father fished them out of the water and found that they were the very same prayer cards that had disappeared from his kimono as he passed through the gate at Donryusama.

   Apparently, his wife had decided to kill her step daughter, but the mysterious disappearance of the prayer cards had alerted him to the danger so that he could rush home in time to rescue his little girl. The three prayer cards that had disappeared from his kimono had materialized in the tub to protect his daughter from the scalding water and certain death.

   “Thank you!” the father said as he bowed his head. “Thank you!”

*****

   Here in Japan, when a young woman marries the oldest son of a family, she goes to live in the family home to help her husband take care of his parents as they grow older. She is known as a ‘Yome.’ Now, Japanese mothers take a lot of pride in their sons, especially the oldest son, and this can cause a lot of friction between a Yome and her mother-in-law, called a ‘Shutome’. Japan is full of stories about this complicated relationship. Here is one that I like to call…
　

   There was once this house where there lived a Yome and a Shutome. It seems that this particular Shutome had a passion for delicious foods. When got a hold of some special treat, she didn’t want to share it with anyone, especially not her daughter-in-law.

  Well one day, someone gave the Shutome some Botamochi, rice cakes covered in bean paste; a very special treat in those days. “There is no way I’m going to let that Yome get her hands on these.” She chortled as she sneaked off to enjoy her treasure. She ate her fill of the rice cakes while she thought of a clever way to hide the leftovers.

   A treat this good required special measures, so she decided to place a curse on the rice cakes. “If Yome finds you, turn into frogs!” she chanted as she placed her prize in a lacquered box. She put this box inside of another box and that box in another and that in another. Then she hid the box of boxes of rice cakes in the back of the closet.

   It just so happened, that the daughter-in-law watched the whole event. After Shutomesan left the room, Yomesan retrieved the rice cakes and helped herself to them. When she had finished, she took the box out to the rice paddy, and filled it with frogs. She returned the box of boxes of frogs to the closet, went about her business.

   The next time that the mother-in-law was left alone…, “Nobody’s home. This is the perfect time for me to finish off those rice cakes.” She thought as she opened the closet. She pried the lid off of the box and got the shock of her life as frogs began leaping about the room, trying to escape to their nice, muddy rice field. Shutomesan completely forgot about her spell and thought that her delicious, hoarded goodies were making a break for it. “Hey!. My rice cakes are escaping!” she yelled as she splashed into the field in hot pursuit. Wait! Come back here!”
　

   They say that, a long time ago, there was this Yomesan who had a little personal problem. The problem was an excess of intestinal gas. She was well known for her ability to break wind of uncommon size and volume, and with great frequency.

   Well, one day she went out the field with her mother-in-law to harvest daikon radishes. A daikon is long and white, and it grows underground, like all radishes. However, they can grow to be quite long and big around; sometimes as long as your arm. Pulling them up out of the ground generally requires a lot of grunting and straining and muscle.

   “What a pain in the…” the mother-in-law grunted. “One person…ugh…can’t pull up…ugh…one of the really big ones…ugh…alone!” she said as she tried to haul up an extra large sized daikon.

   The daughter-in-law was just barely listening. It seems that she had been hearing a lot of unflattering talk about her special talent, and since that morning, she had been trying to contain herself. So far, she had not let go, not even once, and the strain was beginning to show. Her face was turning green. She just couldn’t stand it any longer.

   “Hey Okaasan, I wonder if the daikon would come easier if I were to… well, you know, as I pulled?”

   “Well, I’m about ready to try anything at this point.” said the mother-in-law. “Why don’t you try it just once.”

   So the daughter-in-law prepared herself, and…
　　“Proooot”
　She lets a big one go.

   The mother-in-law felt herself being blown up into the air. In her panic, she grabbed onto the leaves of a daikon to keep from blowing away. The daughter-in-law was in good form and it felt so good after having held back all morning that she reared up and cut an even bigger one.
　“Proo..Prooooooooot!”
　“Heeelllpp!” Yelled the mother-in-law as the daikon was ripped from the ground and she was blown
　“Zziiinnngg”
off to the corner of the field where she landed with a
　“Whomp!”
　When she recovered from her shock and realized that she was holding on to a huge daikon, she said, “That worked great! It was kind of fun, too!”

   Needless to say, both of the women were rather pleased. The mother-in-law was happy because she didn’t have to wrestle with the daikon. The daughter-in-law was happy because she had finally found a practical use for her unique ability.

   They spent the rest of the afternoon clearing that field of those pesky daikon.
　　“Prrroooootttt!….Zziiinnngg….Whomp!!”
　　“Prrroooootttt!….Zziiinnngg….Whomp!!”

   By evening, they had that whole field cleared. They shouldered their loads of and headed for home. As they were walking home, they spotted a flock of ducks flying in their direction from the mountains. “It sure would be nice to eat some ducks.” the mother-in-law muttered to herself.

   “Why don’t you stand back a little bit, and I’ll see if I can bring down a couple of them ducks.” said the daughter-in-law as she aimed herself at the on coming flock.
　　“PRRRROOOOOOOOOOTTTT!!!!”
　She blasted away with the biggest one ever. The startled flock fell from the sky and crash landed at their feet. The two women gathered up the ducks and went home.

   Although the daughter-in-law had found a constructive way to expend her excess natural gas, she was still a little dangerous to have around the house. That night as they were enjoying some duck soup, the daughter-in-law was having trouble controlling herself.
　　“Proooooott!”
　The mother-in-law flew up in the air and came down with a crash in the hearth.

　They solved the problem by building a special room onto the house. The daughter-in-law would go there whenever she felt the need to relax and cut loose.