(Tengu is a fairy-tale monster with a long nose that lives in the mountains.) It was a long time ago. Once a peasant was walking along an abandoned path, and suddenly he met Tengu. But it must be said that the peasant knew Tengu only from pictures. Seeing the peasant, the monster shouted in a thunderous voice:
- Hey, you human! Know that no one has ever left me, don’t even try to run away! I'll eat you now! Get ready!
The peasant trembled all over, but pulled himself together and answered: “I’ve heard a lot about you, Mr. Tengu!” So you are a Tengu? This is such a remote place that I can’t escape from you. I'm ready, do whatever you want with me. But will you agree to listen to my request first?
- Well, what else do you have to ask? Speak up! - Tengu shouted. And the peasant said: “People say that Tengu can take on any form.” And before being eaten by you, I would like to make sure whether you are truly a Tengu.
Tengu laughed at the top of his lungs. “It costs me nothing.” Tell me, what should I turn into? - Become a big cryptomeria (Cryptomeria is an evergreen coniferous tree; sometimes reaches 45-60 m in height.)
“The tallest among those that surround us,” said the peasant. In the blink of an eye, Tengu turned into a tall cryptomeria, which seemed to reach the sky.
The peasant touched the tree trunk and said: “Of course, this is Tengu!” Before I even had time to think, such a wonderful cryptomeria appeared!
- Are you now convinced of my power? Have you had enough? - asked the satisfied Tengu.
But the peasant asked again: “I really want you to become a big stone!” Tengu immediately turned from cryptomeria into a huge stone, almost as big as a mountain.
The peasant again began to admire Tengu in every way, and at the end he added:
“Now you have easily turned into two such giants as I wanted to see.”
Can you become something very tiny? Please show your skills again. Turn around, for example, a small bean in my palm.
- Hmm, that's all? - Tengu laughed, wrinkling his long nose. And it immediately turned into a tiny bean and ended up in the peasant’s palm.
Then the peasant put the bean in his mouth, chewed it and swallowed it. From then on, it became a custom, as someone boasts, to call it “Tengu”.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru