hole and held a council of war. Then came a
rice-mortar, a pestle, a bee, and an egg, and together they devised a
deep-laid plot to be avenged.

First, they requested that peace be made with the crabs; and thus they
induced the king of the monkeys to enter their hole unattended, and
seated him on the hearth. The Monkey, not suspecting any plot, took
the _hibashi_, or poker, to stir up the slumbering fire, when bang!
went the egg, which was lying hidden in the ashes, and burned the
Monkey's arm. Surprised and alarmed, he plunged his arm into the
pickle-tub in the kitchen to relieve the pain of the burn. Then the
bee which was hidden near the tub stung him sharply in his face,
already wet with tears. Without waiting to brush off the bee, and
howling bitterly, he rushed for the back door; but just then some
seaweed entangled his legs and made him slip. Then down came the
pestle, tumbling on him from a shelf, and the mortar, too, came
rolling down on him from the roof of the porch and broke his back, and
so weakened him that he was unable to rise up. Then out came the crabs
in a crowd, and brandishing on high their pinchers they pinched the
Monkey so sorely that he begged them for forgiveness and promised
never to repeat his meanness and treachery.

* * * * *

MOMOTARO, OR LITTLE PEACHLING

A long long time ago there lived an old man and an old woman. One day
the old man went to the mountains to cut grass; and the old woman went
to the river to wash clothes. While she was washing a great thing came
tumbling and splashing down the stream. When the old woman saw it she
was very glad, and pulled it to her with a piece of bamboo that lay
near by. When she took it up and looked at it she saw that it was a
very large peach. She then quickly finished her washing and returned
home intending to give the peach to her old man to eat.

When she cut the peach in two, out came a child from the large kernel.
Seeing this the old couple rejoiced, and named the child Momotaro,
or Little Peachling, because he came out of a peach. As both the
old people took good care of him, he grew and became strong and
enterprising. So the old couple had their expectations raised, and
bestowed still more care on his education.

Momotaro finding that he excelled everybody in strength, determined
to cross over to the island of the devils, take their riches, and come
back. He at once consulted with the old man and