"The Wood-Cutter’s Saké.” Japanese fairy tales, Teresa Peirce Williston, Chicago: Rand, McNally & Co, 1904, pp. 17-26.

Tale Summary

Early every morning, a man would climb the mountain to cut wood to provide for his aging parents. It seemed to him that no matter how hard he worked, he could never make ends meet, but he felt that at their age his mother and father needed tea and saké. One day, he saw a sleeping badger and thought that he would make a fine stew, but could not get himself to do it because the creature was asleep. The badger woke up and thanked the wood-cutter for his kindness, and assured him that he would return the favor. He told the man to fetch a smooth flat stone beyond a certain pine tree, and he obeyed, but when he got there he found a rich feast. He wanted a bite of the food but would not touch it because it did not belong to him, and instead he began to look for the stone. Just then, the badger appeared and asked why he did not eat, and the man replied that he would not take any but did wish that his parents would have such a feast once in their lives. The badger told him that at that very moment they were enjoying such a feast that he had sent to them, and invited the wood-cutter to sit and eat with him. They ate many fine foods, and the badger played music by drumming on his stomach which was stretched from the meal. The badger then disappeared and the man looked for him but only found a waterfall, and when he tasted the water he found that it was saké. He filled his gourd with it and took it to his parents, who told him all about their feast. Someone was listening to what they were saying to each other, and the next day there was a whole crowd of people traveling up the mountain to get their own saké. When they drank, it was only water, and so everyone left disappointedly. The wood-cutter took a taste and found that for him it was still saké, and so after that he always had a steady supply for his family.