“I ought not to have taken away the Oni’s paddle,” she said; “but he ate my dumpling, and made me cook all these months without any pay. Now I shall be able to make fine dumplings for all Kyoto. Tee-hee-hee!”
And so she did. For the magic paddle kept her always supplied with rice, and everybody came to eat of the wonderful rice cakes and to see the Laughing Dumpling.
Footnotes
[33] God of Good Fortune.
[34] Wooden sandal.
[35] A Japanese ogre.
THE SACRIFICE TO KOMPIRA
Yamato and his army came one day to Lagami, and then crossing the mountain, they soon arrived at the Bay of Yedo.
“It will be easy to cross here,” cried the prince to his men. “The distance is small from one shore to the other. There is no water here to fear. We can soon conquer this obstacle.”
Kompira, god of the sea, heard the prince’s boast and was angry.