The story of Sesshiu and the mouse

Title

Creator

Latseh, Elizabeth.

Language

English

Year

1935

Subject

Short story--Japanese.

Mouse-Juvenile literature.

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Abstract

Sesshiu like many other little boys of Nippon loved to go to gaze at the cherry blossoms. He would stand where the most beautiful and where the greatest number of them could be seen as closely as possible. Aside from admiring the things t hat were pretty he also ernjoyed participating in all the sports that his companions care for.

Fulltext

178 J UST before spring has fully arrived in the land of cherry blossoms the little girls of Nippon have a festival of their very own. And what a great event it is for those little girls who have had the joy of playing with a large doll family throughout the year! Of course, tak· ing care of dollies, washing their clothes, putting them in the warm sun to dry has been lots of fun. Sometimes, too, there has been mending to do, especially, on rainy days when one couldn't play out-of-doors. It seems that even dollies' clothes would get torn through the year or a button or two would get lost. But on this festive occa· sion all every day clothes are neatly folded and put away in dollies' clothes chest. Yes, a little Nipponese girl with a doll family has just as much work with her doll chi!" dren as a real mother. The Doll's Festival has been celebrated THE YOlJN A FESTIVAL FO THEIR AND DOLL for a long, long time. Just a little after the time when Ferdinand Magellan landed in the Ph iii ppine Islands Japanese children were already having a real holiday for their doll families. So that the Doll's Festival is over three hundred years old. It was ·first observed in celebration of a marriage which had taken place in the Emperor's Family. When the festival begins all the dolls arc dressed up in as fine clothes as the parents of the little girls can afford to buy. One ........................................ iiliiii ................... ........... S ESSHIU, like many other little boys of Nippon loved to go to gaze at the cherry blossoms. He would stand where the most beautiful and where the greatest number of them could be seen as closely as possible. Aside from admfring the things that were pretty he also er>.joyed participating in all the sports that his companions care for. When New Year came around he. was restless waiting for the Gooct Luck Braneh which carries so many interThe Story of Sess esting things. There would be the bows and arrows for shooting games; gorgeous kites for the windy days; jumping jacks for sheer fun; dolls for the girls; and many othe1 · amusements. For instance, the drawing box fascinated him a great deal. Very often while his hrnthers and sistere or his little friends were having a wonderful time playing games, Sesshiu was eage1·ly brushing a\\'ay one picture after another G CITIZEN R LITTLE GIRLS FOR CHILDREN doll is dressed like a princess; another is dressed like a prince; others wear the clothes of maids of honor and others those of court musicians. Certainly since the Doll Festival commemorates a wedding in the highest ranking family of the nation all dolls must be dressed and placed just like the royal personages at court functions. There are seldom less than fifteen dif. ferent kinds of dolls on exhibit in a little girl's house dm'ing the Doll Festival. They are placed on platforms or shelves arranged uu and the Mouse of the things that he saw. When those well trained soldiers of his country would pass his house he thought he would like to be among them some day. And yet deep in his heart he wanted something else still more. He was yearning t'J become a great artist. And when he painted away his whole heart and soul ran through every stroke that his finge1·s would make with the little brush. 179 like a stairway. On the topmost platform appear the Prince and Princess in beautiful court costumes. On th•: next shelf are the maids of honor. Below are the musi· cians. What with ·the lovely enchanting flowers for decorations and the dainty thing~ to eat and drink, it sounds and looks almost 1 ike Christmas Day to the children of other lands! Perhaps, you have guessed already who eats those "dainties. of the mountain and delicacies of the sea." Of course, it's the little doll mother and her many little girl friends who come to visit her dul'ing the Doll's Festival. Although, the Festival is only one day, most of the little girls keep their dollies on exhibit for a whole week so they can enjoy them longer and have a chance to invite all their little playmates. See page 185 for titles of other inte1·estin1i stoi'ies about Japan It so happened that Sesshiu's father did not know of what his little son's dreams were made. Sesshiu's father was seriously planning to have his son trained for the priesthood. He wanted to think of him as se1·ving some day in the Lord Buddha's temples. Thus one day Sesshiu was requested by his father to prepare himself for a loug stay in the temple of Hofukuji. The priests in the temple had been informer! that they were to guide and instruct Sesshiu. "I wish you to be a priest, yourself, some day," said Sesshiu's father to his son. Alas, (Pfo<1sc tunt to pa.gr !Rfl}

Date Issued

I(7) August, 1935

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