A
long time ago there was a peasant walking along a lonely path when he
met a Tengu. The peasant as with most people only knew tengu from
paintings he’d seen. When the yokai saw the farmer he cried out with a
voice like thunder: “Hey you! Know that no one can escape from me so
don’t even try and get ready for me to eat you!” The farmer started to tremble but steeled his courage. “I
have heard a lot about you Mr. Tengu, I know that I could not escape so
I am prepared for you to do what ever you wish. But before you eat me I
ask only that you listen to my request,” the peasant told the tengu. “Speak then! Tell me what it is you want!” the tengu thundered. “Well,
people say that a tengu such as yourself can turn into anything they
want,” the man said. “But I’ve always had trouble believing this and
would like to see if it’s true before I die.” “Very well, what shall I turn into?” the tengu allowed. “How
about a giant cedar tree?” the man asked and a moment later the tengu
had turned into the largest cedar the man had ever seen. “Wow! That is
very impressive,” the man told the tengu admiringly. “Now you’ve seen my power as you requested so I should eat you now,” the tengu told the man. “Perhaps you could turn into a stone first,” the man told the tengu. “Very
well,” the tengu allowed and a moment later he had turned into the
largest rock, so huge he was almost as big as a mountain. The peasant looked up to the sky to the tippy top of the rock to admire what the tengu had done. “It
doesn’t seem so impressive to have grown larger,” the man said. “Would
it be possible to become something tiny, for example a small bean in my
hand,” the man told the tengu. “That can be done easily enough,” the tengu told him and a moment later he was a tiny bean in the man’s hand. The man then popped the tengu into his mouth and bit down hard before swallowing. From that time on people called him Tengu.
