In ancient times, there was a small village at the foot of Mount Chofukuyama. The inhabitants of those places said that the witch-Yamamba, terrible, terrible, feisty, despising, lives on the top of the mountain. The peasants were very afraid to climb the mountain. One day a large moon rose over Mount Chofukuyama. The villagers gathered together and went to admire the moon. As soon as they approached the mountain, a strong wind rose in the forest, tore leaves from the trees, and then a terrible voice was heard from the top:
- Listen to me, people! - he roared. “It’s me, the mistress of Mount Chofukuyama!” I'm in trouble: I gave birth to a baby yesterday, but I have nothing to feed him. So I want you to bring me mochi rice cakes to the mountain, and more of them, otherwise my son will die. If you don’t listen, I’ll come down the mountain and eat you all!
The peasants got scared, hurried home, and began to hold council. “You can’t disobey a yamamba witch,” they think. “And I feel sorry for her child, even though it’s a witch’s baby, it’s still a child.”
They collected rice from home and prepared flat cakes - a whole mountain. They began to decide who should go to the yamamba.
- Let Kamayasu and Gonroku go! - said the elder. “They are the bravest in our village.”
The daredevils became stubborn: they didn’t want to go to the witch - what if he eats them?
“How can we go to Yamamba,” they ask, “if we don’t know the road?”
Then one ancient old woman came forward and said:
“I know how to find the yamamba witch in the forest.” But I’m old, I don’t have the strength to carry flatbread. Let the brave souls come with me, and I will show them the way.
And so they did. Kamayasu and Gonroku went into the forest with the old woman. They walked and walked until they reached the very top. Just as they sat down to rest, a witch’s voice was heard above their heads:
- I see you are in no hurry to visit me! Did you bring the mochi? The brave souls trembled like leaves in the wind.
- Oh, I'm afraid! - one shouts.
- Save me, it’s scary! - shouts another. They rushed away, head over heels from the mountain and flew off. The old woman clasped her hands:
-Where are you going?! How can I carry the flatbread alone?
She screamed and screamed, but to no avail: there was no trace of the brave souls. The old woman sighed and entered the witch’s cave.
“Hello, Yamamba,” he says. “I brought you some rice cakes.” We don’t want your son to die of starvation.
“Thank you,” Yamamba smiled. “It’s hard for me to live alone on the mountain - there’s no one to help.” Where's the mochi?
“They turned out to be very heavy,” answered the old woman. “Do me a favor and help me bring them into the house, otherwise they are lying on the path.”
- We'll be here in a jiffy! - Yamamba rejoiced. “Come on, son, run and bring us some cakes!”
The old woman was surprised: how can a baby who was born yesterday bear such a burden? Lo and behold, a guy the size of a large boulder stood up from the corner, ran out of the cave and returned the same minute - bringing mochi.
Yamamba and his son began to feast on flat cakes and praise:
- These are delicious! Consider it better than eating little people and horses!
The old woman sat in the witch’s cave a little longer and said:
“It’s time for me, Yamamba, to return home, I’ve been staying with you.”
The witch was sad.
“Stay a little longer,” he asks. “I’m really bored here.” Don't be afraid, I won't touch you. Stay with me a little longer.
Well, there's nothing to do. The old woman stayed with the Yamamba witch and began helping with the housework and looking after the child.
Autumn has passed, winter is already at its end. Finally the witch called the old woman and said:
- The time has come to let you go home. I had a good time living with you, but you are a man, and a man must live with people. In gratitude for your help, I want to give you a gift.
She said so and held out the package. The old lady looked and it was a piece of wonderful brocade.
Yamamba waved her hand, and at the same moment a breeze rose on the mountain. He picked up the old woman, spun her around and dropped her in the village right next to her house.
And there they stopped waiting for the old woman a long time ago: they decided that the evil yamamba had eaten her. Suddenly they see an old woman standing in the middle of the village, holding a bundle in her hands. Everyone was happy to see her and began to ask:
- How did you manage to escape from the witch? The old lady laughed and said:
“And she’s not at all evil, the witch from Mount Chofukuyama, and not scary at all!”
The old woman unwrapped the package and showed everyone the gift she had received from Yamamba. And then she sewed beautiful dresses from that brocade for her granddaughters. But here’s a miracle: no matter how much they cut off a piece from that piece, it never became smaller! So the whole village sewed outfits from witch fabric!
Since then people began to live well - richly, in abundance. They became friends with the Yamamba witch and were no longer afraid to climb Mount Tyofukuyama. And Yamamba, in gratitude, began to protect people from all kinds of troubles and misfortunes. People in that village stopped getting sick. They even say that the children there never coughed.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru