Tale 160: The Lucky Punch (Ash)

(real tale: "Folktales from Japan" episode 59, story 3)


"A king of a certain land always started his day looking out on his vast kingdom." Ash begins. "But deep down he just wished that something--anything--exciting would happen, and so sent out a proclamation for everyone in the land to bring a rare and wondrous item, with a prize going to whoever had the rarest thing."

Piqued murmurs fill the air as Ash continues "Now, one man--we'll call him Kenji--decided that if he won the contest, he would use the prize money to buy new tools, as his tools were old and worn from years of working in the fields. That night, when he arrived home, he found a huge Berry at least the size of a person's head!" He makes a form in the air so the audience has some idea of how large the giant Berry is.

"Wow..." Melody gasps. Brock whistles in agreement.

"Kenji carefully tended the huge Berry every day, and before long, it was so large, not even ten strong people could lift it." Ash explains. "After hoisting it aboard a large cart, he took it to the capital city, only to find the guards in the gatehouse were asleep--for they too were bored that nothing exciting happened on their watch."

Giggles go up at this. "The guards woke, but they were slightly annoyed by the constant parade of rare items entering the capital." Ash goes on. "They were stunned when they saw the huge Berry, and let Kenji in, with a promise that they got half of the reward."

"Ooh"s race through the small audience, but Ash just grins--it's time for the twist in his tale. "The king was awed by the huge Berry, and asked Kenji what he wanted as a reward. Kenji replied that he wanted ten punches."

Laughter fills the air as Ash balks in feigned surprise, as if he is the king. "The king was bewildered at the request, but Kenji insisted, and so he was given five bonks on the head." He knocks five times on a rock for effect.

After the laughter quiets, Ash continues "The guards noticed nothing but a set of farming tools when Kenji departed that evening, and asked for their share of the reward. Kenji complied, and gave each of the five guards a bonk, saying that was half of the reward."

More laughter fills the air as Ash concludes "The king saw the whole thing, and relieved the greedy guards from their posts. He also gave Kenji some even better tools and a thousand gold pieces, as thanks for exposing the corrupt guards."

"Well, that's one way to out some greedy guards!" Misty giggles as she wipes a tear of laughter from one eye...