Tale 198: The Flying Door (Misty)

(real tale: "Folktales from Japan" episode 84, story 3)


"In a certain village lived a couple that made their keep in the fields." Misty begins. "The woman, however, believed the front door had magical power, as no matter how much rain, wind, heat, and snow had battered the house, it still held firm. Whatever money they earned, was going towards that time when they could not work anymore."

"Makes sense..." Brock muses.

"They did not earn much for a daily wage, but as the years had passed, their meager pay had grown into quite a lot of money." Misty continues. "The man was so adamant about not spending any of it, his shouting about it caught the attention of some bandits."

"Uh oh..." Ash swallows hard at this...

"The next morning, the bandits returned to the house, and crashed through the door while the couple were away." Misty goes on, to some nervous giggles. "The woman heard the noise, and would have called the magistrate had the bandits not convinced her they were a pair of poor travelers."

"Warning, warning, mistake in progress." Brock cautions before mimicing a siren. "Repeating, this is a mistake in progress."

Misty stifles a giggle at Brock's amazingly accurate impression of a security alarm. "Just before the bandits begin their search for the money, the woman caught onto their plot, but the bandits tried to convince her they are from the future, in hopes she would give some money to them. The woman fell for their ruse hook, line and sinker."

"Make that two mistakes in progress." Ash whispers to Brock, who grins.

"That night, as the couple pondered how to get the money back, the door offered to catch the bandits." Misty continues.

Then a thought occurs to her as Ash is about to say something. "I don't know how the door spoke, so don't ask."

Ash forgets about his question as Misty goes on. "The couple agreed, and they began their search the next day. They looked all day, and as night fell, a storm blew up, so the door took them up into a tree. When the bandits approached seeking shelter for the night, the door flew at them, tripping them up and making them drop the money as they fled."

Everyone laughs at this. "The confusion causes the door to break, but they agree to use a little of the money to fix the door, in return for it helping them." Misty concludes. "Needless to say, bandits did not bother them again!"

"I can see why!" Ash grins as he applauds.