Page:Eminent Authors of Contemporary Japan.pdf/44

32 '' white dresses. They jump on to the bridge, and bow many times.'')
 * 1st Child.—Rosa-san, Rosa-san.
 * 2nd Child.—Kakutaro-san, Kakutaro-san.
 * Both Children.—We have come to meet you.
 * The Fox.—Oh! (Looking back at Kakutaro,) These girls are my maids, and they have come to meet us and to welcome you.
 * 1st Child.—Kakutaro-san, Kakutaro-san, I will carry you on my back, for as you have had nothing to eat, you will be very weak, and will not be able to walk.
 * Second Child.—Kakutaro-san you know that the bed of the stream is full of rough boulders, and it is very hard and dangerous to walk there, so we shall both be very proud and happy to carry you. (Both children walk up to Kakutaro, who is very exhausted, and gently lift him in their arms. One of them holds him by the shoulders, and the other holds his legs, and Kakutaro remains lying there very still. They run with him toward the middle part of the bridge, and as they reach it Kakutaro collapses in a dead faint.)
 * The Fox.—At last we have succeeded! (making the sound of a fox.) Kon, Kon, Kon!
 * Both Children.—(Swaying his body up and down, they answer their mother.) Kon, Kon, Kon! (Then the three of them, bearing Kakutaro, jump quickly down to the bed of the stream. The Fox keeps in front, and the others follow behind, and they move off