s
worshipped as the patron god of the hermits in the South of Japan.

Sentaro reached the shrine and prayed for seven days, entreating
Jofuku to show him the way to a hermit who could give him what he
wanted so much to find.

At midnight of the seventh day, as Sentaro knelt in the temple, the
door of the innermost shrine flew open, and Jofuku appeared in a
luminous cloud, and calling to Sentaro to come nearer, spoke thus:

"Your desire is a very selfish one and cannot be easily granted. You
think that you would like to become a hermit so as to find the Elixir
of Life. Do you know how hard a hermit's life is? A hermit is only
allowed to eat fruit and berries and the bark of pine trees; a hermit
must cut himself off from the world so that his heart may become
as pure as gold and free from every earthly desire. Gradually after
following these strict rules, the hermit ceases to feel hunger or cold
or heat, and his body becomes so light that he can ride on a crane or
a carp, and can walk on water without getting his feet wet.

"You, Sentaro, are fond of good living and of every comfort. You are
not even like an ordinary man, for you are exceptionally idle, and
more sensitive to heat and cold than most people. You would never be
able to go barefoot or to wear only one thin garment in the winter
time! Do you think that you would ever have the patience or the
endurance to live a hermit's life?

"In answer to your prayer, however, I will help you in another way.
I will send you to the country of Perpetual Life, where death never
comes--where the people live for ever!"

Saying this, Jofuku put into Sentaro's hand a little crane made of
paper, telling him to sit on its back and it would carry him there.

Sentaro obeyed wonderingly. The crane grew large enough for him to
ride on it with comfort. It then spread its wings, rose high in the
air, and flew away over the mountains right out to sea.

Sentaro was at first quite frightened; but by degrees he grew
accustomed to the swift flight through the air. On and on they went
for thousands of miles. The bird never stopped for rest or food, but
as it was a paper bird it doubtless did not require any nourishment,
and strange to say, neither did Sentaro.

After several days they reached an island. The crane flew some
distance inland and then alighted.

As soon as Sentaro got down from the bird's back, the crane folded up
of its own accord and flew into his pocket.

Now Sentar