3A11 THE FUNNY LITTLE WOMAN

Long, long time ago, there was a funny little woman who lived in Japan. She liked to laugh. One day, she was making dumplings out of the rice when one of the dumplings rolled from the table and fell to the earthen floor down to a hole. She tried to reach for it but then suddenly the earthen gave way and she tumbled into a totally different world. There was an unusual road and it was lived with statues of the gods. One of the statues named Jizo Sama told her that he saw her dumplings rolling down the road but she shouldn’t follow it for a wicked oni lives at the end of the road. She didn’t follow his advice and was soon captivated by the wicked oni and brought her to his house so she could cook for him and to the rest of the onis. The oni gave her a magic paddle. With the use of it, one grain of rice will become a hundred to make a pot full. After a few months, she became lonely that she decided to run away back to her little house with the magic paddle. The oni discovered it and they soon tried to drink all the water in the river so she can’t row the boat and escape. Soon, the boat could not go further. She jumped out of it and tried to run away but she was stuck in the mud. She looked very funny that the onis started to laugh loudly which in turn let out the water back to the river.
The funny little woman was able to go back her little house. There, she continued to make dumplings out of the magic paddle and sold it. She became the richest woman in Japan.

By: T. Shulamite