According to legend, a hag never dies. A hag can live forever. She continues to live even though she has lost her youthfulness and has become hideous. She lives on shamelessly, wretchedly devouring whatever she can get her hands on.
I wonder if I might become such a hag without knowing it? I would hate that! However, I may already be halfway to becoming a hag.
The people who read “The Mackerel Monger and the Hag” from Niigata’s Folk Tales Vol. 2 shared their comments.
One of them stated, “What a glutton the hag was! She wolfed down all of the mackerel, completely devoured the ox, and even tried to eat the mackerel monger himself!”
Another commented, “The hag was originally a human, wasn’t she? I heard she was devoted to and worshipped the God of Fire.”
One more said, “Even though she has a voracious appetite, she does have a few charms,” and wondered, “What happened to her in the past?”
Then, I interviewed the hag who was once a celestial mother and who had attacked the mackerel monger.
It seems people call me a hag. I didn’t particularly want to become a hag. I wonder how many hundreds of years have passed since I descended to the land of Echigo. I was born in the celestial realm of Tenjuku, where we never get old, never get sick. One day, I happened to descend to the land of Echigo by sheer chance and I wasn’t able to return to Tenjuku. People get old here on earth, but I still continue to live on since I never get sick. In the realm of Tenjuku, I was known as a maiden with the beauty of the fragrance of flowers.
But now, my hair is a total mess, the corners of my mouth are up by my ears, and my eyes are googly, which scares everyone away. They all shout “Here comes a horrible hag!” Let them do what they want.
Anyway, I’m wondering when Kotaro will return home. (Please refer to “The Story of a Celestial Wife” from Niigata’s Folk Tales Vol. 2 and Pastiche No.7 “The Story of Celestial Mother, Kakka.”)
After Jisama, my old husband, died, only two of us, Kotaro and myself, were living together. Farming the field that Jisama left us, we enjoyed a happy life even though we were not rich.
Several years later, Kotaro grew up and left me, complaining that our small field was not large enough for us to harvest enough to eat. He said, “I want to become a mackerel monger.” He joined an old man who had come to our village with an ox carrying loads on its back.
“Kakka, mom. I’ll return home with some mackerel. Please wait for me.”
“OK, Kotaro. I’ll be waiting for you. Take care.”
“As you are my mother, I’ll never get sick.”
Oh, yes. That’s right. I was once a celestial being and I gave birth to Kotaro. He is as strong and healthy as me, so I’m sure he’ll never get sick. Waving to him, I saw him off.
Since then, I have been waiting for him to come back. As Kotaro is my dutiful son, I’m sure he’ll be back with a lot of mackerel.
Whenever there is an ox slowly plodding up the mountain pass, I usually go and take a look.
“Hey, hey, Kotaro. Is that you?”
Then, the ox lows, “Moo, moo.”
“Kotaro, is that you?”
When I call Kotaro’s name, the man traveling with the ox carrying loads on its back is always surprised to see me and runs away, leaving his ox behind. It’s definitely not Kotaro.
The ox with a huge load of salted mackerel on its back kept lowing, “Moo, moo.” There’s nothing else I can do but simply eat the mackerel it’s carrying and then move on to the ox itself.
So far, I have eaten a quite lot of mackerel as well as oxen. Then, I get hungry again.
It should be time for Kotaro to come home.
I kept waiting for Kotaro to come back every day, wondering if he would be back today or maybe tomorrow.
Finally, a young man leading an ox was climbing up the mountains. The ox plodded slowly up the mountainous path. The young man was desperately trying to goad the ox to climb up the path.
The young man whipped the ox’s rear with his cane. Snap, snap! The ox’s hooves sounded on the rocks. Clip-clop, clip-clop! (The sound of hooves in Japanese is expressed as kakka.)
Kakka, kakka, kakka…
“Wait! Did someone say Kakka? Kotaro? Is that you, Kotaro?”
“Oh, my goodness! Kotaro. Welcome back, welcome back! I’m here. Your Kakka is here.” I waved to Kotaro.
I thought Kotaro would jump right into my arms.
But, he didn’t.
“Hey!”
He pulled a mackerel from the load on the ox’s back and threw it to me.
“Oh, Kotaro. You brought salted mackerel for me.”
I was so grateful. Munch, munch. Munch, munch. I ate the salted mackerel. Just as I finished off the first one, another mackerel came flying at me. I ate that one up, too. Munch, munch. Munch, munch.
“This mackerel is so delicious, Kotaro.”
Soon after, more mackerel came flying my way, one after another.
“Oh, my, this is so good. The mackerel you brought me are so delightful, Kotaro.”
I was thankful and wolfed down all the mackerel. When I looked up after I finished the mackerel, I saw the ox come flying at me.
“Kotaro, you have grown so strong! You can even throw an ox to me. What a dutiful son you have become!”
I ripped into the ox’s belly with my teeth and devoured it. The ox was also delicious. It was quite filling.
“Well, I’m full now.”
I suddenly realized that Kotaro had disappeared.
“Kotaro, Kotaro. Where did you go? Where are you?”
It’s been such a long while. Maybe he’s feeling shy? Yes, that’s right. That’s just like him. Ha, ha, ha.
“Kotaro.” I gently called out his name. “What’s the matter, Kotaro?”
Oh, yes. That’s right. When he was little, we used to play hide and seek.
“OK, Kotaro. I’m it. Here I come.”
I ran around and looked for Kotaro.
“My little Kotaro, where are you? Mommy will find you.”
Before I knew it, the moon was out. I was at the edge of a pond. I saw Kotaro floating on the water of the pond.
“Oh, Kotaro. This is where you were. I found you, Kotaro.”
I jumped into the pond and gathered him up into my arms.
“What?”
Kotaro, who was supposed to be in my arms, disappeared.
“Kotaro, where are you?”
I went to the bottom of the pond, where I found a huge snake.
“Mr. Huge Snake, has Kotaro been here?”
“No, he’s not here.”
“I thought I had him, but he disappeared from my arms. I wonder where he has gone.”
“Hag, Kotaro must have entered your heart. That’s why you cannot see him.”
“Oh, is that so?”
I got out of the pond and went home.
“Oh, it’s cold! Well, why don’t I toast some pounded rice cakes?”
I put some rice cakes on a grill at the edge of the fire pit.
What a pity! Kotaro finally came home, but then disappeared. Why did he disappear? The huge snake said that Kotaro entered my heart. Is he in my heart? At that time, I was hugging Kotaro. Well, maybe… maybe… Hmm…
My mouth was open wide because I was so pleased to see Kotaro. I may have swallowed Kotaro in spite of myself. I hope not. If so, Kotaro must be in my belly now.
Kotaro… Kotaro… Hmm… Hmm…
I seemed to have fallen asleep while I was warming my backside with the fire.
Then I woke up.
“Well, well. Are the pounded rice cakes ready?” I looked at the grill in the fire pit.
“Whoa! What? The rice cakes are all gone. Who took them?”
“Kotaro, Kotaro.”
I heard a voice from somewhere.
“Hmm. Did Kotaro do that? If it was Kotaro, I cannot blame him. Did he appear and eat the rice cakes? Is that possible?”
Then I hung a pot on the hearth pothook and warmed sweet sake in it. I seemed to have fallen asleep while warming myself up with the fire and thinking about Kotaro.
I woke up and wondered, “Well, is the sweet sake warm now?”
I found the pot empty and nothing was left.
“Who did this? Who drank my sweet sake?”
“Kotaro, Kotaro.”
Again, I heard a faint voice.
“Hmm. Was it Kotaro? If so, I don’t mind. Kotaro must have come out and drunk all the sweet sake. I know that he really loves sweet sake.”
I wonder if Kotaro shows up when I fall asleep. That’s weird. Hmm, why don’t I go to sleep earlier this evening?
“Well, which is better, a stone storage box or a wooden storage box? I wonder which one is better?”
After I said this, I heard a faint voice saying, “The wooden storage box. The wooden storage box.”
Kotaro is saying he prefers the wooden storage box, so that’s what I’ll choose.
I got into the wooden storage box. After a while, my body warmed up.
“Well, Kotaro. Are you hiding in my heart or in my belly? Kakka, your mom, cannot see you. You don’t have to hide yourself. You can come out now.”
And then I fell asleep.
In the Niigata folktale, the mackerel monger was hiding in the loft and came down and poured boiling water over the wooden storage box, and the hag died due to serious burns. The mackerel monger, whose mackerel and ox were eaten by the hag, was able to get his revenge. It’s a happy ending to the story!
But, if this hag was a former celestial being, she wouldn’t die just because boiling water was poured on her. If she really had perished, this interview would not have been possible. When did the hag wake up again? You’ll have to wait for the next story!
The End
In February 2021,
when earthquakes come upon us as if they are our recollections
Let calm and peaceful days continue. I wonder if that is what you wish for because you feel uneasy and many of your days are filled with strife or misfortunes.
It would be troublesome if my peaceful days were suddenly taken away. Actually, that’s why I was blessed with Kotaro, my son. Here is the story of how I became a mother.
The people who read, “The Celestial Wife” from Niigata’s Folk Tales Vol. 2 shared their comments.
One of them stated, “In most legends of hagoromo (a celestial robe of feathers), a celestial being wearing hagoromo ascended to heaven and that’s it. But in this Niigata folk tale, the child and Jisama, the old husband, went up to where the celestial mother was living by climbing up a calabash vine. Isn’t it like the story of Jack and the Beanstalk?”
Another commented, “What did the celestial mother actually think about Jisama, her old husband, who climbed up to heaven?”
One more wondered, “A flood washed the three away, didn’t it? Where did they end up?”
Then, I interviewed the celestial mother. Here is the story of the celestial mother, Kakka.
I am called a celestial wife. However, I became a man’s wife against my will. I was tricked by Jisama, an old man.
I was living happily in the celestial realm of Tenjuku without any difficulties or worries. In Tenjuku, we never get old, we never get sick, and we never have any conflicts.
With so many boring days continually passing, we usually want to go out to visit faraway lands. That was why I went out to visit the land of Echigo with some other celestial maidens. If we put on a celestial robe of feathers, we are able to go wherever we wish.
Watching us bathing, Jisama, an old man, liked me the most and hid my celestial robe of feathers.
Since I was not able to return to Tenjuku, I was tricked into becoming his wife.
In the celestial realm of Tenjuku, no one gets old, but in the land of Echigo, people get old. That’s why I had to get back to Tenjuku as soon as possible. However, there was no way I could return home without my celestial robe of feathers.
After a little while, I gave birth to my son, Kotaro. One day, Kotaro told me where my robe was. Oh, my goodness, Jisama, my old husband, had kept my robe in the bamboo grove behind the house.
“Damn! You old stinker! You really tricked me. Well, I can finally return to the celestial realm of Tenjuku with my robe.”
Then, I heard Kotaro cry out, “Kakka, Kakka! Mom, Mom!”
That’s right! Kotaro, my son. I realized I would not be able to fly up to heaven with Kotaro on my back even if I got my robe back. I gave him some calabash seeds and told him what to do with the seeds.
I would go back to the celestial realm of Tenjuku first, wait for him there, and pull him up as he drew near by climbing a calabash vine.
I flew up to Tenjuku alone. After that, I could hardly wait for Kotaro to come up, hoping that he would arrive this day or the next. I waited for him every day.
One day, I finally heard him crying out, “Kakka, Kakka! Mom, Mom! I’m here.”
“Oh, my goodness! Kotaro, welcome, welcome. Good to see you. Grab onto this towel now.”
I hung a sturdy pale-yellow cotton towel from above and pulled Kotaro up. Kotaro easily rose up and jumped into my arms, “Kakka, Kakka. Mom, Mom.”
“There, there, Kotaro. It’s all right. We’re together again at last. It’s wonderful, wonderful!”
Now, I could live happily ever after with Kotaro. We would never get old, never get sick, or never have to worry about anything. These thoughts filled my heart with joy.
Then, I heard another voice. “Hey, Kotaro, Kotaro. It’s me. Jii, your dad is here.”
Wow, what? It was Jisama’s voice. I was surprised. I hadn’t expected him to climb up the calabash vine.
“Oh, Dad! Welcome, welcome. Here, grab onto this.” Kotaro, in his innocent joy, swung the pale-yellow cotton towel down to Jisama.
I panicked, but it was too late.
Jisama, the old man smoothly climbed up. He was really happy, full of smiles. “Oh, my! This celestial realm is truly a wonderful place. Why don’t the three of us just live here together?”
I never expected the old man to climb up here. Tenjuku is a place where only good people are allowed to live. Anyone who lies or tricks people is not allowed to come here.
Kotaro, my cute little boy, is still just a child, so the lord will forgive him. The old man, on the other hand, hid my celestial robe of feathers. He tricked me into becoming his wife. There’s no way the lord will forgive him.
If the lord found out that the old man climbed up here, I would be blamed as well. I needed the old man to return to the ground before the lord learned about his arrival.
Yes, that’s right! I remembered that the old man didn’t like bugs. I took him to a flower garden.
“Now, Jisama, you are in a flower garden of the celestial realm of Tenjuku. Here is some of Tenjuku’s sake. Please, drink, drink.”
“A drinking party in a flower garden. What a nice place Tenjuku is!”
Butterflies and dragonflies flitted all around the old man. He was in such a great mood. I smeared some flower nectar on him.
“Jisama, Tenjuku is a peaceful place. You are not allowed to kill even a single bug”
“Oh, oh. The flowers are beautiful. The sake is delicious, too. Yes, this is good sake. Hic!”
The old man got drunk. Bees, mosquitoes, flies, and even horseflies gathered around the old man. He became disgusted and said, “There are too many bugs here!”
“Jisama, here in Tenjuku, you have to live peacefully even with bugs.”
“There are too many!”
No matter how he complained, the bees, mosquitoes, flies, and horseflies kept buzzing all around the old man. Attracted to his breath, more bees, mosquitoes, flies, and horseflies swarmed around him. The old man tried to shoo away the swarming bugs with his hand.
“If you’re going to do that, you’d better return to Echigo.”
An army of ants crawled up on him from the ground.
“Jisama, you are not allowed to kill bugs here in Tenjuku.”
Not responding to my words, he just stared up to the air and started to lift himself up a little. I thought he was going back to Echigo since he was put off by the huge swarm of bugs. But, that wasn’t to be. He suddenly clapped his hands in front of his face. He smashed a mosquito flying in front of him with his hands.
“Jisama, here in Tenjuku, you are not allowed to kill even a single bug!” I screamed in a panic, but it was too late.
The lord of Tenjuku was immediately informed of the fact that a bug had been killed. He became angry and let out a torrent of water, great waves flowing one after another.
The three of us, Jisama, Kotaro, and myself, were swept away from Tenjuku by the powerful flood.
Before I knew it, we were in front of the old man’s house in Echigo. I was not wearing my celestial robe of feathers. It had been taken by the flood. I even lost the calabash seeds in the flood. The terrible flood had taken everything I had from Tenjuku, swept it all from our sight. The flood left the three of us in front of the old man’s house just in our own skins, with no possessions.
I realized that I had returned to the same life that I had had before I found my celestial robe of feathers in the bamboo grove. Since I made the lord of Tenjuku angry, I would not be able to return there. I would get old while living with Kotaro in the old man’s house. I thought it might not be too bad.
Kotaro laughed and said, “Kakka. Mom. We returned to my old dad’s house.” The old man also laughed. I also laughed a little.
What worried me was what would happen to my life expectancy, because I came from the celestial realm of Tenjuku. The old man would die sooner or later. Kotaro would also get old and die.
I wondered if my life expectancy would be the same in Echigo. Would I continue to live maybe even for centuries after Kotaro, who called me “Kakka, Kakka, Mom, Mom,” died and left me all alone? I wondered if I would continue to live as an ugly old hag. Maybe I would get old and continue to live alone. Is this horror all that’s left for me? This is what worried me a little.
As for what happened to their family after that, the old man passed away soon after returning from Tenjuku. It is said that he died from the venom of the bugs of Tenjuku, that he caught a bad cold because he was completely drenched in the flood, or that he simply died of old age.
We heard that Kakasa and Kotaro lived happily together, farming the fields that the old man left them.
Nobody knows if Kakasa, the celestial mother, has continued to live on for thousands of years after Kotaro’s passing. Not enough time has passed.
Cats’ eyes are mysterious. What do cats see with their sparkling eyes? I wonder what they are thinking about? Just when you think your cat is going to quietly climb onto your lap, it suddenly decides to just go outside. Cats are quite whimsical. Some cats sleep their days away inside a kotatsu, a low Japanese table with a heating unit and coverlet. Are cats dreaming while they sleep? If so, what do they see in their dreams?
The people who read “The Origin of the Twelve Zodiac Signs” from Niigata’s Folk Tales Vol. 2 shared their thoughts.
One of them stated, “The Cat is not included in the twelve zodiac signs. Isn’t that weird?”
Another commented, “I heard that the Cat was tricked by the Mouse. Does this mean that mice are smarter than cats?”
One more wondered, “The Cat was late for the assembly called by the deity and it was insulted by a gate guard who said to the Cat, ‘Come back after washing your face.’ Wasn’t it frustrated? Didn’t it get angry?”
Then, I interviewed Miiko. Here is the story of Miiko, the Cat Shrine Maiden.
I’m Miiko, the Cat Shrine Maiden, meow. I serve a deity. He issued a proclamation that he would hold an assembly of animals at the end of the year. There, he would choose 12 of them to protect the world of the humans, each one assigned to its own year, meow.
I suddenly became very busy. I had to assemble the 12 animals that the deity wanted by December 12th. Walking down a road, I came across Squeaky the Mouse.
“Hey Squeaky, when was the day the deity is going to choose the 12 animal guardians? Meow?” I asked.
So, it will be the day after the 12th. Even if I told him now, I’m sure that careless and rash Squeaky will forget. Oh, Squeaky should ask the Ox, who lives just below Squeaky’s house, to take him to the assembly, meow. Yeah, this is a good idea.
Wait a second! The Ox always walks so slowly, plodding along. If the Ox just moseys along, the sun will set and they will be late for the assembly, meow. Okay, I’ll wake him up earlier.
I went home and went right to bed. Fwooh, fwooh. Meow. I went into the Ox’s dream and became a hag, meow.
The Ox was mumbling something to himself.
“Moo. I was slowly making my way up a mountain pass, carrying a load of mackerel on my back. The sun had already set. Then, a hag was chasing me from behind. The hag snatched the mackerels from my back and devoured them. Then, she sunk her teeth into my belly. Snap! Moo, moo. I’m scared!” (Please refer to “The Mackerel Monger and the Hag” from Niigata’s Folk Tales Vol. 2.)
The Ox suddenly jumped up, lowing loudly. Even though it was still the middle of the night, he started getting ready to attend the deity’s assembly. Hearing the ox lowing, Squeaky the Mouse, living in the ceiling space, also got up.
“Hey, Ox! What’s going on? It’s the middle of the night. Squeak, squeak.”
“Well, I had a dream in which a hag chased me. It was really scary. I’m going to the deity’s assembly. Squeaky, why don’t you come along with me? If the hag appears, could you bite the hag? I’m scared of the hag. Moo, moo.”
The Ox headed out with Squeaky the Mouse on his back in the middle of the night. The moon was out. I asked the moon to shine brightly for the Ox and the Mouse because the hag would be unable to appear in the moonlight. OK, good. Meow, meow. Squeaky, don’t fall from the Ox’s back, meow.
The Ox plodded along with all his might. The hag did not appear. The Mouse, who was rocked gently on the Ox’s back, comfortably fell asleep there.
Hey, Ox, you made it to the deity’s shrine. You have finally arrived here, meow.
“I’m the first one here, moo.”
The Ox stopped short and the sleeping Mouse was thrown from the Ox’s back.
The Mouse opened his eyes to find himself at the feet of the deity.
“Mouse, you are the first,” the deity declared clearly. “Ox, you are second.”
You did a good job in helping Squeaky the Mouse, meow.
Following these two, the fleet-footed Tiger came in third and the hopping Rabbit fourth. If you have four legs, you’re fast. Meow.
However, I was wondering how the Snake, who had no legs, would manage. Then, I saw the Snake slithering along the ground. Snake, you’ll never make it that way, meow. I asked the Dragon to let the Snake ride on its back.
The Dragon flew ponderously through the wide-open sky and placed fifth. The slithering Snake slid down from the Dragon’s back to the ground in sixth place. Meow.
They were followed by the Horse, running in and breathing hard. That’s seven.
The eighth one was the Sheep, who was cute even while running.
Wow! Great job, everyone! Meow.
Well, who’s next? How is the Monkey doing? That clown can easily get out of hand. I went to check on the Monkey, meow.
“Screech, screech, screech. Hey, Rooster, you have such beautiful feathers. Your red comb is also beautiful.” The Monkey was talking to the Rooster.
“Hey, Monkey, do you want my comb? Cook-a-doodle.”
“Yeah, I want it, I want it! Your pretty red comb looks like a crown. I want it. Screech, screech!”
“My comb is stuck to my head. Since I can’t rip it off, I can’t give it to you. Cock-a-doodle.”
“I want a comb on my head. If I become a guardian, I need a crown-like comb. Rooster, why don’t you let me just borrow your comb? Screech, screech.”
“No way. It’s not possible. I can’t take it off. Cluck, cluck.”
“Oh, please. Just for a little while. Now, take it off. Screech, screech.”
“OK, then. How about this? Cock, cock, cock-a-doodle-dooo!”
“Hey, Monkey, look! Now you have a comb on your head.”
“Screech, screech. Ow, ow! That hurts! You’re heavy.”
“Cock-a-doodle-doo.”
The Monkey and the Rooster kept talking on the roadside, meow. What happened to going to the deity’s assembly? Meow. I know! I’ll have the Dog chase them. I set the Dog on them. Meow, meow.
“Oh, my goodness, a Monkey is bullying a Rooster. Bow-wow! Stop, stop!”
The Dog leapt forward.
The Monkey ran off, the Rooster still on his head.
The Rooster, perched on the Monkey’s head, pointed out the deity’s shrine. “Monkey, that way, cock-a-doodle.”
The Monkey ran on, complaining, “You’re heavy, so heavy. Screech, screech.”
The Dog chased on, shouting “Bow-wow, stop, wait up!”
Oh, my goodness, what a racket! At least they’re all headed for the deity’s shrine.
That scatterbrained Monkey kept desperately running with the Rooster on his head, followed by the Dog, who was so very fast as everyone knows. The Dog finally caught up with them and sank his teeth into the Monkey’s behind.
“Bow-wow. Chomp!”
“Screech, ouch!”
The Monkey instantly arched back in pain and the Rooster was thrown from the Monkey’s head and fell to the ground.
“Cluck, cluck, cluck. Where am I?”
He was right in front of the deity.
The deity loudly proclaimed, “The Monkey is 9th, the Rooster is 10th, and the Dog is 11th.”
Whoops! The 12th one hasn’t arrived yet, meow.
In a field by the roadside, a wild Boar was digging for potatoes and scattering them around.
“Hey, Boar, what are you doing? Meow.”
“Can’t you see what I’m doing? This is my breakfast, oink, oink.”
The Boar was completely absorbed in devouring the potatoes.
“Hey, Boar, aren’t you going to the deity’s assembly? Meow.”
“These potatoes are so good, so good. Oink, oink.”
Since he was so focused on the potatoes, he didn’t hear me even though I was talking to him. That Boar is such a pig! I mixed some hot chili peppers with the potatoes. The Boar can’t handle spicy food. Meow.
“Ahhh! Oh, my god! It’s hot, so hot. Oink, oink. What’s up with these potatoes? Potatoes aren’t supposed to be spicy. I’ve never had such spicy potatoes. This year’s potatoes are a bad crop. Oink, oink.”
Screaming in agony as if he were dying, he spat out the spicy potatoes. “Ptui, ptui, oink.”
“Hey, Boar, why don’t you just forget about those nasty potatoes and head for the deity’s shrine. If you are appointed one of the guardians, the deity will surely serve you some delicious New Year’s dishes, meow.”
“Oh, yes. That’s right. I was on my way to the deity’s shrine. There’s no way I can keep eating these spicy potatoes, oink. Yes, I’m off to the deity’s shrine. Oink, oink”
He started charging straight to the shrine, meow.
The deity said, “Everyone, welcome to this assembly. Mouse, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, 11 of you. Wait, what happened to the 12th one?”
“The Boar is the 12th. Now we have all 12 guardians here. Wonderful, wonderful! Ha, ha, ha!”
The deity’s laughter echoed all around.
The following day, I was taking a walk in front of the deity’s shrine and a gate guard called out to me.
“You didn’t come to the shrine yesterday when the deity chose the 12 guardians. You’re too late. The assembly is over.”
“Meow.”
It seemed like the gate guard didn’t know that I’m the Cat Shrine Maiden serving the deity. I am Miiko, the Cat Shrine Maiden. Meow. Don’t I look like a shrine maiden?
Well, I guess I have to make myself prettier and more elegant. Meow.
I went home and washed my face with my saliva as cats usually do, making myself pretty. Meow.
Since then, the years, each with its own zodiac symbol, have continued to roll around and people have continued to live through each year with its own various charms, wonders, and differences. The passage of time has become more deeply ingrained into the history of humankind.
On the contrary, cats have remained unchanged, still indulging in their catnaps alongside humans every day.
