out of his pocket and placed them all in the prettiest places he could
find; after which he tapped them with his golden rod, and they
became castles again. He gave two of the castles to the eldest
sisters, and kept the other for himself and the youngest, whom he
married, and there they are living still.

[From Ungarische Mahrchen.]



How The Wicked Tanuki Was Punished

The hunters had hunted the wood for so many years that no wild
animal was any more to be found in it. You might walk from one
end to the other without ever seeing a hare, or a deer, or a boar, or
hearing the cooing of the doves in their nest. If they were not dead,
they had flown elsewhere. Only three creatures remained alive, and
they had hidden themselves in the thickest part of the forest, high
up the mountain. These were a grey-furred, long-tailed tanuki, his
wife the fox, who was one of his own family, and their little son.

The fox and the tanuki were very clever, prudent beasts, and they
also were skilled in magic, and by this means had escaped the fate
of their unfortunate friends. If they heard the twang of an arrow or
saw the glitter of a spear, ever so far off, they lay very still, and
were not to be tempted from their hiding-place, if their hunger was
ever so great, or the game ever so delicious. 'We are not so foolish
as to risk our lives,' they said to each other proudly. But at length
there came a day when, in spite of their prudence, they seemed
likely to die of starvation, for no more food was to be had.