The Monkey King and the Magic Coin

Long, long ago, in a mountain village, there lived an old man. He had three sons. The eldest was named Itiro, the middle one was Jiro, and the youngest was Saburo. The older brothers decided to leave for the city to find work—they didn’t want to live in poverty with their father. So, the old man was left with his youngest son.

One day, the father gave Saburo a one-yen coin and said:

— Go, my son, to the market and buy something.

Saburo set off on his journey. He left the village, walked about two ri (a ri is a measure of distance, approximately 3.9 km), and suddenly saw an old woman dragging a cat on a straw rope, beating the poor creature with a stick.

— Hey, grandma, why are you beating the cat? — Saburo shouted.

— It’s my cat, I can do whatever I want with it, — the old woman snapped angrily. — She’s stupid: she steals other people’s chickens and geese but doesn’t catch mice. She’s useless, so I’m going to drown her in the river.

— Wait, grandma, — Saburo pleaded. — Don’t drown the cat, give her to me instead. I’ll give you one yen for her.

— You’ll give me one yen for the cat? — the old woman was surprised. — Alright, deal!

Saburo handed the old woman the coin and received the cat in return. He picked her up and said:

— Come, little cat, you’ll live with me now. I’ll never mistreat you.

And so, he returned home with the cat.

The next day, the father again gave Saburo a one-yen coin and sent him to the market.

Saburo walked two ri, and suddenly saw an old man coming toward him, dragging a dog on a straw rope and beating the poor animal with a stick.

— Grandpa, why are you beating the dog?! — Saburo shouted.

— This dog is useless, — the old man replied. — She doesn’t guard the house, she just steals sheep and pigs from the neighbors. I’ve decided to drown her in the river.

— Grandpa, don’t drown the dog, — Saburo begged. — Give her to me instead. I’ll pay you one yen.

— You’ll pay one yen for the dog? — the old man was surprised. — Alright, take her!

Saburo gave the old man the coin and received the dog in return.

— Come, little dog, you’ll live with me now, — he said. — No one will ever mistreat you again.

On the third day, Saburo once again received a one-yen coin from his father and set off for the market.

— Just don’t waste the money, son, — his father pleaded. — It’s good that you saved the cat and the dog from death. But today I’m giving you my last coin—we have nothing else left.

Saburo arrived at the market. He wandered around but left empty-handed. As he walked through the forest, he suddenly saw children playing on the edge of the woods. He stopped to watch—and saw that the children were tormenting a little monkey, pulling and tugging at it.

— What are you doing, you brats? — Saburo shouted. — Why are you tormenting this little monkey?

— This monkey is stupid, it doesn’t know how to do anything. It’s not a pity to torment it, — the children replied.

— Give the monkey to me, I’ll pay you one yen for it, — Saburo offered.

— Will you really pay? — the children didn’t believe him. — Take it, quick!

The children grabbed the coin and ran off. Saburo petted the monkey and said:

— You’re still little, so you don’t know how dangerous it is to wander alone in the forest. I won’t take you to the village, I’ll set you free. Run along!

The monkey was overjoyed, bowed to Saburo, and then scampered off into the mountains.

By then, it had grown completely dark. Saburo walked through the forest, thinking: “How can I face my father now—I have no purchases, no money.” He sat down under a large tree, pondering what to do next. Suddenly, he heard someone calling: “Kya, kya, kya!” He turned around—and there stood the little monkey in front of him.

— Why did you come back? — Saburo was surprised. — It’s dangerous here, run away!

Then the monkey spoke in a human voice:

— I came back, Saburo, to thank you for saving me. I told my grandfather about your kind deed. He really wants to meet you. Know this, Saburo—my grandfather is the king of all monkeys!

Saburo was amazed—what wonders happen in this world! He became very curious to see the monkey kingdom.

— Alright, — he said, — take me to your grandfather.

Saburo and the monkey set off on their journey. They walked for a long time: they descended into gorges, climbed mountains, and made their way through dense forests. Finally, they reached large cliffs. Saburo looked and saw that a real palace had been built into the cliffs, with guards holding spears at the gates. The kingdom of the monkey ruler was vast. In the center, a bonfire burned so brightly that the palace was as light as day. And deep inside sat the monkey king himself. He turned out to be very old, wrinkled, with gray strands of hair hanging from his ears.

— Come in, Saburo, into my palace, — the king invited the young man. — My granddaughter told me how you saved her from death. If it weren’t for you, we would have faced a great tragedy. Be a welcome guest in my palace, stay with us as long as you wish!

The servants brought all sorts of treats, and the king began to feast Saburo. Then the monkeys started performing tricks for Saburo, just like in a theater. Saburo enjoyed his time with the monkey king very much. But eventually, it was time to return home.

— I want to give you a farewell gift, — said the monkey king. — This is the most wondrous item in our kingdom. It’s akin to a hammer of happiness—it will bring you whatever you desire.

He handed Saburo a red pouch, inside of which lay a small coin. The young man thanked the king and set off for home. He returned to the village at the first crow of the roosters. He saw his father standing at the doorstep.

— Where have you been, Saburo? — he asked. — I waited for you all night, didn’t sleep a wink. My heart ached with worry for you.

— Forgive me, father, — Saburo said. — I didn’t mean to cause you such distress. But something miraculous happened to me—I received a gift from the monkey king, a red pouch with a magical coin inside. Now, father, we will live in wealth. You’ll never know need again.

Saburo told his father everything that had happened to him that night: about the king’s granddaughter, about the monkey ruler, and then he said:

— Let’s start by building ourselves a fine house! Come on, magical coin, make it so that a rich house appears in place of our shack!

The coin jumped out of the red pouch—ding, ding, ding! And lo—where the shack once stood, there now stood a beautiful two-story house with a carved roof. The father was amazed, just shaking his head in disbelief. Saburo asked the coin for a barn full of flour and a barn full of rice. They began to live in wealth.

Word of the magical coin spread through the villages. Poor people started coming to Saburo, asking for help.

One day, a peasant from a distant village came to Saburo. “Lend me the magical coin, Saburo,” he begged. “You’ll see, in three days I’ll return it to you safe and sound.”

Saburo agreed and gave him the coin. On the evening of the third day, the peasant from the distant village returned, as agreed, and gave back the coin. Around the same time, Saburo’s older brothers arrived from the city—rumors of Saburo’s wealth had reached them too.

Saburo and his father were overjoyed to see the brothers. They seated them in places of honor and treated them to expensive dishes.

“We should give our brothers fine clothes,” Saburo thought. He took the coin and said:

— Come on, magical coin, dress my brothers in finery!

He said this—but the coin just lay in his palm, unmoving, not granting any fine clothes.

“What’s happened to our coin?” Saburo wondered. “That peasant must have done something bad—he must have swapped the magical coin!” Saburo rushed to the village where the peasant had come from. He saw a rich house there, surrounded by white stone barns. Saburo immediately understood where the wicked peasant had gotten such wealth. But what could he do?

Meanwhile, the cat, the very one Saburo had saved from death, decided to help her master. She slipped quietly out of the house and headed to the village where the peasant lived. She found the deceiver’s house and—slipped inside. She hid and waited. Suddenly, she saw a mouse running by. The cat caught it, and the mouse squeaked pitifully, calling for help. And indeed, mice came running from all corners—so many of them, squeaking at the top of their lungs, waving their paws. Then they suddenly fell silent. An old mouse stepped forward and said:

— Mistress cat, have mercy on us! Today is a great celebration for us—my granddaughter is getting married. But alas, our bride has fallen into your paws. It’s your will, but have pity on the groom and her parents!

— Alright, — the cat replied, — I won’t eat your bride. But in return, you must bring me one thing—the magical coin in the red pouch. Once you find it, I’ll release your mouse.

The mice scattered throughout the house. They searched for a long time, and finally returned to the cat.

— Look, mistress cat, — they cried, — is this the coin you’re looking for?

— Yes, it looks like it! Well, you’ve done a good job—take your bride, safe and sound.

The cat grabbed the precious pouch with the magical coin and ran home as fast as she could.

As she ran, halfway there, the dog was already waiting for her:

— You must be tired, cat, — the dog said. — Let me carry the pouch the rest of the way!

— No, dog, I’m not tired, — the cat replied. — I don’t need your help.

— It’s not right for you to return to our master alone, — the dog snapped angrily. — Otherwise, he’ll think I’m ungrateful!

With that, the dog snatched the red pouch from the cat and ran off.

The dog ran and ran until she reached the riverbank. She stopped to rest, and suddenly saw another dog looking at her from the water, with an identical red pouch in its mouth! The dog was surprised and barked. At that moment, the pouch with the magical coin fell into the water! The dog had to return home empty-handed.

Meanwhile, the cat also reached the river. She sat on the bank and saw a large fish swimming by. The cat decided to at least bring the fish to Saburo. She caught it and headed home.

Saburo took a large knife, cut open the fish’s belly, and suddenly... ding, ding, ding—the magical coin rolled out onto the floor! Saburo was amazed: how had it gotten there? The cat and the dog had to tell him everything.

— Thank you for returning the coin, — Saburo said. — But it’s a shame that the dog acted dishonestly and tried to deceive me. For that, dog, you’ll live in the yard from now on—guarding the house.

And so it came to be: the cat lives in the house near the owners, while the dog stays by the gate, guarding the home.

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The Monkey King and the Magic Coin

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