"I am not to be moved," said the Queen, laughing; "you shall not even persuade me to pronounce a few words of flattery when your stories are done."
"Never mind!" cried Simabara; "I will tell the story of the wolf changed into a young girl."
"Do! do!" exclaimed the women; "we like the title."
"An old wolf—"
"Oh! he was old, was he?" said a young princess, with a look of contempt.
"You know very well that to give shelter to a human soul, an animal must be old."
"True! true!" cried the listeners; "go on!"
"An old wolf," said Simabara, "lived in a cave near a much travelled road. This wolf had an insatiable appetite. He therefore frequently left his cavern, went to the side of the road, and gobbled up a passer-by. But this mode of procedure was not at all to the taste of the travellers, and they ceased to frequent that road; so that little by little it became quite deserted. The wolf meditated long and deeply, seeking a way to put an end to this state of things. Suddenly he disappeared, and every one supposed he was dead. Some bold people ventured along the road, and there they saw a lovely young girl, who smiled bewitchingly upon them.
"'Will you follow me, and rest in a cool, delightful spot,' she said.
"None thought of refusing; but no sooner had they left the road, than the young girl returned to her former shape of an old wolf, and devoured the travellers; then she resumed her fair form and returned to the roadside. From that day forth not a traveller has escaped the jaws of the wolf."