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THE DBEAM-WORLD. 55
smaller and plainer one, and on opening
it in his own
house, found it full of money and good things. His
jealous and greedy neighbor, visiting the sparrows,
chose the bigger and handsomer basket and eagerly
hurried home with it ;
on lifting the cover he found
it full of trash and reptiles.
The next picture showed the brave Raiko who cut
off the imp's arm at the gate. He is
always vigilant.
He has been playing checkers with a fellow-officer of
the palace. The web of fate is woven behind him,
but though his companion has fallen asleep, the
giant with the iron club, who stands in the meshes
like a great spider, cannot catch Raiko napping, or
weave the web of fate around him to destroy him.
The old " nurse of the mountains," and Kintaro,
the boy who always remained a baby and never grew
any older, now appeared. This ruddy, wild boy,
having no children in the woods to play with, made
companions of the beasts and played with the bears.
One day with his axe when the old pair were absent
he cut down a tree having a nest of a tengu in its
branches. The young tengus, half-bird, half-boy,
were taught to wrestle, and Kintaro looked on,
clapping his hands as one or the other won the
victory. Like Japanese wrestlers, they would crawl
on hands and knees until close up, when one would
pounce on the other. As Kozo looked, he saw the
tengu having the longer mane, spring up, expecting
to clinch with the other ;
but instead, the one underneath
shot away, and the leaping tengu tumbled
down hard, and so near to Kozo that he started and
woke up.