Folktale

狐と人形

A long time ago, in the land of Wa, there was a little temple village where people made their living by harvesting rice, and selling bamboo hats to travelers who came on pilgrimage to the old temple on the hill. Beneath the old temple, deep within a crack in the stone foundations, lived a little fox. One winter’s day, the fox was hunting for mice when she came upon something strange: a tiny human. She was scared at first, but the little human looked different than other ones and did not move or smell like a human: a doll. Thinking that perhaps later it might be of some use, she carried the doll back to her den beneath the foundations of the temple. She soon found that the doll was quite soft and pleasant to sleep upon, and it made her solitary home a little less lonely. Weeks passed and she had come to love the doll as she would a kit. She brought her pretty clothes and toys from the village to keep her pleased, and sometimes she would bathe her or sing her songs. She named her Emiko, because she was always smiling.
The fox’s belly began to swell with rich milk. She offered a nipple to her little smiling child, but she would not suck. It appeared to the fox that she simply drank of what little milk flowed naturally and that it was enough to sustain her tiny frame.
The fox began to worry that while she was away at night, her little doll would be afraid in the darkness all alone. She told her precious one that she would find her a companion to keep her safe, and would not return until she did. Meanwhile, the farmers of the village had begun to notice the theft of their children’s possessions in earnest. Several children said that they had seen a fox taking them. They formed a search party and began to look for its den in the forest.
At that moment, the fox headed to the village to find her little girl a friend. She thought it strange that all the people were gone, but did not waste the opportunity. The fox searched the houses, following scents and sounds this way and that. Then, she heard a strange sound, like a dying fawn. She followed the bleating and saw what was making the noise. It was another tiny person, only this one moved and smelled like a human ought to smell, and was not smiling. However, when the baby saw the fox, its face split into an enormous grin. It began to coo and grabbed for the fox. She decided that this would do, and that if her little child did not like this companion, she could always try again another night. She gripped its swaddling cloth in her teeth, and with great effort, carried the laughing baby to her secret den beneath the old temple.
The fox knew that Emiko was pleased, because she smiled.
The fox, however, was not pleased with the noise of the baby. After it was taken into the den, it stopped smiling and began to cry instead. It cried during the day when it was time to sleep, and it cried at night when it was time to wake. It would not play with Emiko, or any of the other toys, it would only cry. The fox was at a loss as of what to do. But Emiko did not seem to mind; she merely smiled lovingly at the child and at her fox mother. No matter how the fox pained, Emiko continued to smile, and this made her very sad.
One night, too exhausted to do anything but lay in the den listening to the now hoarse cry of the babe, the fox felt a sucking on her teat. To her chagrin it was not Emiko that she spotted, but the crying baby who was now, in fact, no longer crying, but drinking eagerly of the fox’s milk. This made the fox very happy. She wrapped her tail around the baby to keep it warm and continued to sleep. Emiko smiled and watched as the feet of men ran back and forth across the narrow opening of the den, searching in vain for the missing child.
For many weeks, the fox continued to care for the baby, which she now called Rin, often neglecting Emiko. However, Rin, unlike her little companion, continued to grow and grow and eat more and more. Soon enough, the fox was unable to produce enough milk to feed the hungry child. She knew that he would need human food. So as soon as the sun began to hang low in the sky, the fox bid farewell to Emiko and Rin and ran to the village to find the baby supper. All of the houses she came upon were either filled with people or empty of food. She continued to search and began to grow more and more downhearted. Then the fox came upon the very house where she had found Rin. She found no people save for one lone woman, who sat on the floor beside an empty crib. She appeared to be sleeping—her pretty face was resting upon her folded arms. Beside her was an untouched tray of food. With all of the stealth the fox would muster (which was a great deal, as foxes are very stealthy) she creeped low toward the food.
But as she passed the woman, her great and beautiful tail brushed up against the woman’s face, and she awoke. When she saw the fox she began to cry. The fox quickly hopped to the window sill and was about to leave when she heard her name. She turned to see the woman prostrate upon the floor.
“Oh please, gentle kitsune! If it was indeed you who has taken my little Hachi, my precious baby, I beg of you—please return him! What is a mother without a child, but an empty shell of a woman? Everyday my breasts fill with milk, my heart fills with sorrow. I beg of you! Here!” the woman grabbed the plate of food and placed it before the window before resuming her deep bow. “I offer you this plate of inari—it is an unworthy trade for a son, but only ask and any of my worthless possessions are yours for the taking! I ask only for my child!”
The fox turned her head and hopped down to the floor. She took all of the food she could carry and scampered off into the darkness.
“Thank you, merciful kitsune, thank you!” echoed from the house that grew more distant in the darkness.
The fox returned to her secret den beneath the temple to find Rin asleep and Emiko watching the stars. She placed the food by the sleeping babe so that he may eat of them when he awoke. The fox knew that she had made a sacred promise by accepting the food, and that she would have to give the woman a child. She was heartbroken. She loved Rin as she would her own kit. His laughter and even his cries filled her heart with warmth. The thought of parting from him left an emptiness inside her soul. However, an oath was an oath. She had made her decision.
Later that night, the mother of the lost baby was awoken by a soft brush against her cheek. She wiped the drying tears from her eyes and saw what looked like the tail of a fox disappearing from the window. The woman saw a movement out of the corner of her eye—a rocking of the crib. Inside she saw a blanketed bundle. With a cry of joy she ran to the cradle and took up the bundle in her arms. She uncovered its face and let out a scream of such anguish that the gods themselves took pity.
Emiko just smiled.