Japanese Folk Tale

Tales about Birds, Beasts, Plants and Trees 281
Shizuoka, Hamana-gun, Hokawa-mura: Shizuoka 497, "The black line on
the broad bean" (Soramame no kuroi suji). The three went on a
journey. The broad bean asked a dressmaker to mend him.
Iwata-gun: Shizuoka 496, "The black line on the broad bean" (Soramarne
no kuroi suji). The trip was by the bean and tofu. The tofu
trembled as it crossed the bridge, but the bean fell into the river
and was hurt. He asked a doctor to sew him up.
Shimane, OChi-gun: Dai-ichi 75, "The charcoal, the straw, and the
bean" (Sumi to warashibe to mame). The usual form.
Yamaguchi: Suo Oshima 54, "The charcoal, the straw, and the bean"
(Sumi to warashibe to mame). It says this happened when the three
were on their way home from the mountains.
Kumamoto, Amakusa-gun: Kyodo ken V 4 50, "The journey of the
charcoal and the straw" (Sumibi wara no ryoke).
Tsushima (Nagasaki): TD XII 8 18, "The charcoal, the straw, and the
bean" (Sumi to war a to mame).
Further reference:
Mukashibanashi kenkyu I 10 20. Grimm.
303. The Long Radish, The Carrot, and the Burdock
This is also a story about origins.
Shizuoka, Ogasa-gun: Shizuoka 492. No title. The three went on a
pilgrimage to Ise Shrine. The burdock was left behind at the inn.
He was surprised and asked the innkeeper. He was told that the
others had set out early. A play on to [early and gone to seedJ.
Nagasaki: Shimabara 22, "The long radish, the carrot, and the burdock"
(Daikon to ninjin to gobo). The three took a bath together.
304. The Leak-in-an-Old-House
Once upon a time there was an old man and an old woman in a
certain place. One day the old woman turned to the old man and
asked, "Grandpa, grandpa, what are you scared of the most?" He
answered, "I'm most scared of a wolf." The old woman said, "I'm most
scared of a buru [a leak in the roofJ." It happened that a wolf was
standing by the entrance to their house. He was listening. Presently it
began to rain. The old woman yelled, "There's that buru. There's that
buru." The wolf fled in a hurry. Now it happened that a cow thief was
hiding in the rafters. He mistook the wolf for a calf and chased it.
Along the way there was a big hole in the road. He fell into it. The
wolf thought it was a buru that had fallen. He went to the rabbit's
house to tell what had happened. The rabbit went to the hole to see