Tale 138: Starfire (Misty)

(real tale: "Folktales from Japan" episode 47, story 3)

"There were once two brothers that lived on a hill." Misty begins. "One night, in his impatience for dinner to be ready, the younger brother touched the hot pot, splattering the broth everywhere and putting out the cooking fire."

The boys laugh at this. "He tried to light it again, but his tinder had gotten all wet, and wouldn't light." Misty goes on. The boys and the Pokemon laugh even harder at Misty pantomiming unsuccessful attempts at lighting a match.

"In his frustration, the younger brother looked out at the starry sky..." Misty looks up at the top of the tent to prove her point. "and decided to try and get fire from the stars."

"Now how could they catch starfire when the stars are a billion miles away?" Ash wonders.

"The elder brother got the longest pole he could find, but try as he might, he failed to make a star fall." Misty continues. "The younger brother tried to use the pole from the house's roof, but still failed to catch a star. They next tried from the top of an oak tree, but that didn't work either."

Everyone giggles at this. "They then decided to climb the mountain by their house." Misty continues. "After a few more minutes of trying to make a star fall, they saw a great flash of light from their house."

"What was it?" Melody is curious.

"When they returned, they saw a few embers glowing in the fire pit, and concluded it was the star they were trying to reach." Misty explains. "They finally had their dinner, but they were extra careful not to let the fire go out again, so they wouldn't have to go after another star!"

"Yeah, catching stars is too much trouble!" Ash agrees as he applauds...