"This is a strange noise," said the badger. "What is it?"
"The Crackling Mountain," replied the hare.
The fire began to burn the badger, so he sprang into a river and extinguished the flames; but on getting out again he found that his back was severely burnt, and the pain he suffered was increased by a cayenne poultice which the delighted hare provided for that purpose.
When the badger was well again he chanced to see the hare standing by a boat he had made.
"Where are you going in that vessel?" inquired the badger.
"To the moon," replied the hare. "Perhaps you would like to come with me?"
"Not in your boat!" said the badger. "I know too well your tricks on the Crackling Mountain. But I will build a boat of clay for myself, and we will journey to the moon."
Down the river went the wooden boat of the hare and the clay boat of the badger. Presently the badger's vessel began to come to pieces. The hare laughed derisively, and killed his enemy with his oar. Later on, when the loyal animal returned to the old man, he justly received much praise and loving care from his grateful master.
The Badger
The badger in legend has much in common with the fox. It can adopt human form and assume the shape of the moon; but in many legends it is described as a humorous creature, an animal intensely fond of a practical joke. The badger is frequently depicted in legend and art as playing a tattoo on its protuberant and drum-like stomach, and it is for this reason that Japanese jesters are sometimes called badgers.