Many years ago, a nice baby was born in one village. And although he grew up, no one knows why, he still remained a baby. I didn't even learn to speak.
"We have such a foolish child! What fate awaits him?" - The father and mother were worried. But there was nothing they could do to help the grief.
And so the baby grew up, without getting out of the basket in which his parents put him. He was five, seven, ten years old. And all this time the boy lay in the basket without saying a word.
And then on the day when he turned fifteen, he suddenly shouted to the whole house:
- Father, buy me an iron stick of one hundred kan (Kan is a measure of weight equal to 3.75 kg) weighing!
Hearing his voice, the father was amazed: “Look, my son has spoken!” The mother was also very surprised, ran up to her son and exclaimed: “Can you really talk?” “Yes, as you can see, I’m talking.” Please buy me an iron stick! Amazed more and more, my father asked: “Why do you need a stick if you don’t know how to walk?” “That’s right, I can’t yet.” But the iron stick will serve as my staff when I begin to walk,” said the boy.
"Until now he had not spoken at all, but today he spoke, and so smartly and intelligently. No other way, this is some kind of extraordinary child," thought the father and, without hesitating a minute, he went to the town to order an iron stick weighing one hundred kan.
A few days later, the blacksmith announced that the order was ready. The father took twenty neighbors with him, and all of them shouted “En-yara-hoy!”, “En-yara-hoy!” They shouldered the stick, brought it to the village and gave it to the boy. He happily grabbed the stick, leaned on it, grunted, strained himself and stood up. Then he stretched and, to everyone’s surprise, in the blink of an eye he matured and turned into a handsome and fat, like a wrestler, a big guy more than six shaku tall (C i k y is a measure of length equal to 30.3 cm).
Father and mother and the villagers opened their mouths in amazement and began to rub their eyes: was all this happening in a dream? The boy, who had been in infancy for so many years, suddenly became a handsome hero! How could we not celebrate this!
Congratulations began, people began to fuss and prepare everything for the feast. Some cooked rice and red beans, some baked flatbreads, some carried sake.
When everyone gathered began to drink and eat, sing and dance, the young strong man, smiling, said:
“In gratitude for organizing such a wonderful holiday in my honor, I will show you my strength.”
He stepped forward, easily lifted his iron stick, weighing one hundred kan, and began to quickly twirl it with one hand. The stick flashed in the air like the wheel of a water mill. Everyone was stunned and stared at him without blinking.
“Well, well, he is not an ordinary person! This child was undoubtedly sent by the gods,” decided those gathered and named him, who still had no name, Tikarataro (Tikarataro is a strong boy.).
About a year has passed. One day Chikarataro turned to his father and mother: “Dear parents, let me go for three years!” His parents were surprised and asked him where he was going.
- As you know, there is no person equal to me in strength either in our village or in the neighboring ones. So I decided to wander around the world and test my strength. “I want to go everywhere and help people in any way I can,” Chikarataro explained.
- You came up with a good idea. “You can safely hit the road,” the father agreed.
And the mother cooked rice all day long and made koloboks the size of watermelons from it. She baked thirty large koloboks, put them in a huge bag and gave them to her son.
Tikarataro tasted the koloboks, left his home and walked along the road, loudly tapping his stick.
So he walked for many days and one day he met a giant who was rolling in front of him a huge stone with a diameter of three ken (Ken is a measure of length equal to 1.8 m).
“It seems that this giant feels like a complete master on the road. He rolls his stone and does not pay attention to anyone. What an impudent man!” Thinking like this, Chikarataro continued to walk forward until the stone rolled towards him. Then Chikarataro shouted loudly to the stranger:
“Hey, you, stop being outrageous!” He stopped the stone with his stick and kicked it away with his foot. The stone flew ten ken and crashed into the field. The giant who was rolling the stone became terribly angry and attacked Chikarataro:
- Why did you throw away my stone? - Don’t you want to measure your strength with me? If you want, then identify yourself first,” suggested Chikarataro.
“I agree,” answered the giant. I am the first strongman in Japan, my name is Ishikotaro. How are you?
Chikarataro laughed: “Are you the first strongman in Japan?” Don't make me laugh! Listen carefully: the first strongman in Japan is me, and my name is Chikarataro. If you want to make sure of this, let's fight!
- Well, hold on! - Ishikotaro cried. And they grabbed each other. But Ishikotaro could not resist: in one fell swoop he lifted the enemy’s Chikarataro into the air and with the exclamation “E-hey!” with all his might he threw him so hard that he fell into the mud a hundred ken from the place of struggle.
- Wa-wa-wa! - Ishikotaro howled. Chikarataro laughed loudly. All smeared, Ishikotaro got out onto the road and, humbly folding his hands, said:
- Chikarataro-san, I surrender to your mercy. The first strongman in Japan is you. Let me serve you.
“Okay, be my servant,” Chikarataro agreed and moved on, accompanied by Ishikotaro.
After a few days of travel, they met a giant who, groaning, was carrying an idol covered with red varnish.
- Oya, oya! And this giant has great strength! “He probably calls himself the first strongman in Japan,” Chikarataro and Ishikotaro laughed, walking towards him.
But when they came closer, it turned out that the idol that the giant was carrying was blocking the entire road, so that it was impossible to pass or get around.
- Hey, you’re not letting us pass! - Chikarataro shouted. But the giant did not even think of apologizing. Staring angrily at those approaching, he shouted:
- What is it? If you can’t move aside, then get the hell out of where you came from, you simpletons!
His words infuriated Chikarataro. He hit the idol with an iron stick, it fell to the ground with a roar and broke into pieces.
The stranger's anger knew no bounds. With a bloodshot face, he attacked Chikarataro.
- Oh, so you broke my idol? This will not be in vain for you! Haven't you, ignoramus, heard the name Midotaro - the first strongman in Japan?
“Hm, it just seems to you that you are the first strongman in Japan, because in fact, I am the strongest,” Chikarataro calmly answered and pointed to his companion: “This is my servant named Ishikotaro.” After me, he is the strongest man in Japan. If you are unhappy with something, you will have to deal with him.
He had barely finished speaking when Midotaro rushed at Ishikotaro. A desperate struggle ensued. They fought, grasping and separating, straining all their strength, but none of them managed to gain the upper hand over the enemy.
- Ishiko, wait a minute, now I’ll take it on! - Chikarataro shouted. He grabbed Midotaro by the neck, shook him forcefully and threw him far to the side. Midotaro was thrown a hundred ken and collapsed in the middle of the field.
- Ho-ho-ho! - Chikarataro laughed. “Ha-ha-ha!” - Ishikotaro echoed him, holding his sides. Midotaro, covered in mud, crawled out onto the road and, respectfully folding his hands, turned to Chikarataro:
“Before, I was one of the strongmen, I always defeated everyone, but now for the first time I was defeated. Please take me under your leadership, I ask you!
- Okay, you will serve me. See, be a good comrade to Ishikotaro. “Follow me,” Tikarataro allowed and, accompanied by two strong men, continued on his way.
They walked and walked and one day, when night fell, they came to a big city. To their surprise, there was not a soul in the city, no human voices were heard. Even cats and dogs were not visible. The city seemed to have died out. “This is no accident! Something must have happened,” the strong men thought.
They began to wander around the city and in one alley they noticed a girl squatting under a canopy. They thought she was crying. The strong men approached her and asked:
- What happened? Why are you crying, girl? Sobbing desperately, the girl looked at the strangers and said:
- This night I am supposed to be eaten by a werewolf. - What are you saying! Will you be eaten by a werewolf? For what?— About two months ago a terrible werewolf appeared in our city. Since then, he comes every night and devours people one by one. Today it's my turn.
The girl began to sob even harder and fell to the ground. The three strong men looked at each other. Chikarataro affectionately patted the girl on the shoulder:
- Well, well, calm down, stop crying. Now you have nothing to fear. We will deal with this monster villain! Take us to your home quickly!
The delighted girl exclaimed: “Thank you!” Be sure to kill the werewolf! She brought them to her house, and they impatiently awaited the arrival of the monster.
In the dead of night, a terrible howl was heard on the street: woah! woah! The doors of the house cracked and fell. A huge werewolf appeared on the threshold, all overgrown with fur, with eyes sparkling with fire and long sharp fangs.
- Grab him! - Chikarataro commanded. Midotaro rushed at the enemy, but received such a strong blow that he flew to the side. Then with a cry of “Well, hold on, you vile werewolf!” Ishikotaro rushed into battle. But the werewolf was not afraid and continued to rush into the house with a terrible howl.
Then Chikarataro swung his stick and moved towards the enemy, and Ishikotaro and Midotaro grabbed the monster’s legs from both sides. The werewolf backed away in fear and at the same moment Chikarataro brought the stick down on his head. There wasn't even a wet spot left of the villain.
The joy of the girl and her parents knew no bounds. The news of the death of the monster immediately spread throughout the city, and although it was still far from dawn, all the residents left their homes and came running to thank the strong men.
“You are our saviors,” they said with tears in their eyes. “Don’t leave us!”
- Stay with your companions forever with us! - they asked Chikarataro. - Be a prince in our city! We all ask you to stay!
Chikarataro thought about it and, smiling, shook his head. “We thank you with all our hearts for such kind words, but we cannot fulfill your request.” There are probably many more people in the world in trouble similar to the one you just escaped. This is why we travel to help ordinary people.
Morning has come. The townspeople sadly said goodbye to Chikarataro, Ishikotaro and Midotaro and escorted them through the entire city.
And the three strong men continued their journey.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru