1
（1） This is a story which I heard when I was little. It was told to me by an old man in my village called Mohei.

A long time ago, in a place near our village called Nakayama, there was a small castle where the Lord Nakayama lived.

（2） In the mountains a short distance from Nakayama lived Gon the fox. Gon was a young fox who lived all alone in the hole he had dug for himself in the fern filled forest. Day and night, he would always go to the nearby villages and cause mischief. He played all kinds of tricks. He would pull up all the potatoes in the fields, set fire to the kindling which had been laid out to dry and steal the red peppers hung up behind the farmers’ houses.

（3） One autumn, it kept raining for two or three days straight and Gon had to stay crouched in his hole because he could not go outside.

（4） When the rain finally stopped, Gon breathed a sigh of relief and crawled out from his hole. There was a clear, crisp sky and the birds were singing all around.

（5） Gon went down to the bank of the small village river. The tops of zebra grass still sparkled with raindrops. The river was normally shallow, but it was a lot deeper now after three days of rain. The zebra grass and clover near the river usually never got wet, but they had been pushed over and lay flat in the muddy water. Gon followed the muddy path downstream.

（6） Gon noticed a person stood in the middle of the river doing something. He sneakily moved into the tall grass where he hid and watched him.

（7） ‘It’s Hyoju,’ Gon thought to himself. Hyoju wore a rolled-up, ragged, black kimono. He stood in the water up to his waist shaking a net called a harikiri for catching fish. He had a bandana around his head and there was a round clover leaf stuck to his cheek like a giant mole.

（8） After some time, Hyoju lifted the back end of the net, which was shaped like a bag, out of the water. The bag was full of grass and roots and rotten pieces of wood, but Gon could see some white things sparkling in there too. They were the underbellies of fat eels and fish. Hyoju threw the eels and fish into his basket along with the grass and other rubbish. He then tied the bag closed again and put it back underwater.

（9） Hyoju climbed out of the river carrying his basket and put it on the riverbank. He then went running upriver to look for something.

（10） After Hyoju was out of sight, Gon sprang out of the grass and ran over to the basket. He felt like making a little mischief. Gon grabbed the fish out of the basket and threw them, one by one, downstream of the net. They landed in the muddy river with a splash.

（11） Finally, Gon tried to catch the fattest eel but it was too slippery to grab by hand. Gon was impatient. He shoved his head into the basket and grabbed the eel’s head in his mouth. The eel fiercely wrapped itself around Gon’s neck, and at that moment Hyoju came back shouting,
‘Hey! You thieving fox!’
Gon jumped up in surprise. He tried to shake off the eel but it stayed firmly wrapped around his neck. With eel still attached, Gon leaped to the side and ran away as fast as he could.

（12） Gon stopped and looked back when he had reached the alder tree near his hole. Hyoju was not coming after him.

（13） Gon was relieved. He chewed down on the eel’s head, and finally managed to unwrap it from his neck and placed it on the grass outside his hole.

2
（1） Ten days later, when passing by the back of farmer Yasuke’s house, Gon saw Yasuke’s wife sat under a fig tree painting her teeth black. When passing behind Shinbei the blacksmith’s house, he saw Shinbei’s wife combing her hair. ‘I see,’ thought Gon. ‘There must be something going on. Maybe it’s an autumn festival. If it’s a festival, though, why can’t I hear the drums and flutes? There should be flags up at the shrine, too.’

（2） As he wondered about it he kept walking and before long he reached the front of Hyoju’s house where there was a red well. Gon could see many people gathered inside the small, ramshackle house. Women wearing their best kimonos, with towels hung at their sides, were making a fire in the stove. The big pot was bubbling noisily as it cooked.

（3） ‘A-ha! It must be a funeral,’ realised Gon. ‘I wonder who died in Hyoju’s family.’

（4） Later that afternoon, Gon went to the village graveyard and hid behind the six Jizo statues there. It was clear weather and the roof tiles of the castle could be seen sparkling in the distance. Red spider lilies bloomed all around the graveyard like a giant, red cloth. Just then, Gon heard the sound a bell ringing from the village. It was the signal that the funeral was about to start.

（5） Finally Gon began to catch glimpses of the funeral procession, dressed all in white kimonos, as it came towards the graveyard. The sound of talking drew closer. The procession entered the graveyard. Crushed lilies showed where they stepped.

（6） Gon stretched his neck to have a look. Hyoju wore a white ceremonial kimono and held a memorial tablet. Hyoju usually had a bright, happy face like a red sweet potato, but he looked rather withered today.

‘I see,’ thought Gon, ducking his head down again. ‘It must be his mother who died.’

（7） That evening, Gon sat in his hole thinking. ‘Hyoju’s mother must have asked for eels when she was sick in bed. That’s why Hyoju went out with his net. Then I played a trick on him and stole the eel, meaning that Hyoju could not give it to his mother. She must have died without being able to eat an eel. Oh, she probably died thinking about how much she wanted to eat a big, fat eel. Oh dear, I should not have played that trick.’

3
（1） Hyoju was washing barley at the red well.
Hyoju was poor, but he had always had his mother for company until now. Now that his mother had died, he was all alone. ‘All alone, just like me,’ thought Gon, who was watching from behind a shed.

（2） As Gon was about to leave the shed, he heard the voice of somebody selling sardines:
‘Get your sardines here! Cheap and fresh! Cheap and fresh sardines!’

（3） Gon started to run towards the sound of that energetic voice. From her backdoor, Yasuke’s wife said,
‘I’ll take some sardines!’
The sardine seller grabbed some shiny sardines in each hand and headed into Yasuke’s house, leaving his cart full of sardines by the roadside.

Gon took the chance to grab five or six sardines and ran back the way he had come. Then, he threw the sardines into Hyoju’s house through the backdoor and sprinted back to his hole.From the top of a hill on the way back, Gon could see Hyoju in the distance still washing barley by the well.

（4） Gon thought that he had done his first good deed to make up for taking the eel.

（5） The next day, Gon gathered a bunch of chestnuts in the mountains and carried them to Hyoju’s house.

（6） He peeked through the backdoor. Hyoju was just starting to eat his lunch and appeared to be lost in thought with a rice bowl in one hand. Strangely enough, there were some scratches on his cheek. As Gon wondered what had happened, Hyoju began to mutter to himself:
‘Who went and threw those sardines into my house? The seller thought I had stolen them and beat me up.’

（7） ‘Oh dear,’ thought Gon. ‘Poor Hyoju. Those scratches must be where the sardine seller hit him.’

（8） With this thought in his mind, Gon slipped around to the shed and left the chestnuts at the door before heading home.

（9） The next day and the day after that too, Gon gathered chestnuts and left them at Hyoju’s house. The day after that, he left two or three matsutake mushrooms along with the chestnuts.

4
（1） There was a bright moon in the sky that evening and Gon had gone for a stroll. Not long after he had passed by Lord Nakayama’s castle on its hill, he heard the sound of people coming towards him along the narrow path. The crickets were chirping.

（2） Gon hid at the side of the road and sat still, waiting. The sound of people talking slowly drew closer. It was Hyoju and a farmer named Kasuke.
‘By the way, Kasuke,’ said Hyoju.
‘Yes?’
‘Some strange things have been happening to me recently.’
‘Like what?’
‘I don’t know who, but ever since my mother died somebody has been coming and giving me chestnuts and mushrooms every day.’
‘Hmm, who could it be?’
‘I don’t know. They always come and go without me noticing.’

（3） Gon followed the two men.
‘Really?’
‘Really. If you think I’m lying, then come tomorrow and see for yourself. I’ll show you the chestnuts.’
‘Wow. Strange things really do happen.’

（4） The two continued walking in silence.

(5) Kasuke took a sudden look behind him. Gon was surprised and crouched down and stayed still. Kasuke did not notice Gon and continued briskly walking. When the two reached the house of a farmer named Kichibei they both entered.

Gon could hear the beating of a monk’s drum coming from inside.
Through the paper screen window, Gon could see the shadow of the monk’s large, bald head as it moved in prayer. ‘There must be a ceremonial prayer going on,’ thought Gon as he crouched by the well. After some time, another group of three people entered Kichibei’s house.
Gon could hear the monk chanting Buddhist scriptures.

5
（1） Gon stayed crouched by the well until the ceremonial prayer was finished. Hyoju and Kasuke came out and headed back together the way they had come. Gon followed them, wanting to listen to their conversation. He followed in Hyoju’s shadow, step by step.

（2） As they drew close to the castle, Kasuke suddenly spoke.
‘About what you said before... it must be the work of God.’
‘What?’
replied Hyoju, looking at Kasuke’s face in surprise.

（3） ‘I have been thinking about it since you first mentioned it. It cannot be the work of humans. It must be God! God felt sorry for you all alone and has been giving you all those things.’
‘You really think so?’
‘Absolutely. You would do best to thank God every day.’
‘Alright, I will.’

（4）Gon was disappointed. ‘It’s me who brings you the chestnuts and mushrooms,’ he thought. ‘It is not fair if you thank God without thanking me!’

6
（1） The next day, Gon took more chestnuts to Hyoju’s house. Hyoju was in the shed making rope so Gon snuck into the house through the backdoor.

（2） At that moment Hyoju just happened to look up. And what did he see but a fox sneaking into his house! ‘That must be Gon who stole my eel the other day. I bet he’s back to make more mischief,’ he thought.
‘I won’t let him get away this time!’

（3） Hyoju stood up, grabbed his gun from the wall of the shed and put in the gunpowder. He moved closer to Gon, careful not to make any noise. Bang! He shot Gon just as he was about to leave through the door.

（4） Gon fell down with a thud.

（5） Hyoju ran over to him. It was then that he noticed the neat pile of chestnuts on the floor.
‘What’s this?’
Hyoju was surprised. His eyes fell upon Gon.
‘Gon! It was you all this time, bringing me the chestnuts.’

（6） Gon nodded with his heavy eyes still shut. Hyoju let the gun fall out of his hands with a clatter. A thin stream of blue smoke was still coming from the barrel.

4 A Fox Called Gon

Anthology of 7 Japanese Children's Stories
(Japanese English Bilingual Picture Book)

『日本（にほん）の童話（どうわ）』 全（ぜん）7話（わ） 第（だい）4話（わ） ごんぎつね (英語（えいご）) 準拠（じゅんきょ）

作（さく） 新美（にいみ）　南吉（なんきち）
絵（え） えだ　いずみ
翻訳（ほんやく） Ash SPREADBURY
朗読（ろうどく） Peter RILEY

制作（せいさく） NPO法人（ほうじん） 地球（ちきゅう）ことば村（むら）・世界（せかい）言語（げんご）博物（はくぶつ）館（かん）

2021.2.5