The Most Skillful Liar

In the old days, there lived three famous liars in the cities of Edo, Osaka, and Kyoto. Whenever the three of them gathered, they would immediately start competing in lying. One of them said:

"Recently, I tore the sky from the earth and stuffed them into my nostrils. What do you think? My nostrils are still empty! Can you hear the whistling?"

Another one said:

"Ha, is that all? Yesterday, for fun, I flicked the sky and the earth with my fingers, but then I sneezed, and they were blown away without a trace!"

The third one chimed in:

"Recently, the sun was scorching hot, so I put the entire world on my head to shield myself in the shade."

But they could never decide who among them was the most skilled liar.

One day, the liar from Kyoto and the liar from Edo went to visit the liar from Osaka. His little son ran out to meet them and said:

"Dad's not home!"

"Where did he go?"

"Dad said that a recent hurricane cracked Mount Fuji, and it's barely holding on, about to collapse. So he went to prop it up with two incense sticks."

"And where's your mom?"

"Mom said that the entire land of India has torn apart, so she took three sewing needles and went to patch it up."

Both liars were completely stunned. They wanted to run away without looking back, but their pride got the better of them, and they returned.

"Hey, listen, kid, recently a hurricane blew away a big stone mortar from our place. Did it happen to fly into your house?"

"Well, it might have," replied the boy. "Check if it got tangled in the spiderweb under the window."

Both liars bit their tongues and quickly ran away! Soon, the father returned. His son told him:

"Just now, the uncle from Kyoto and the uncle from Edo came by."

"Oh, really? What happened next?"

"They asked me, 'Where's your dad?' I told them, 'Mount Fuji is barely holding on, a hurricane cracked it, so he went to prop it up with two incense sticks.' Then they asked, 'Where's your mom?' And I said, 'The land of India has torn apart, so she took three needles and went to patch it up.' They left, but then came back and asked if the hurricane had blown their stone mortar here. I told them to check if it got tangled in the spiderweb. Then they gave up and ran away in shame."

The father was horrified listening to this story!

"You're just a child, yet you lie so shamelessly! I won't keep you at home anymore; I'll take you somewhere."

He put the boy into a coal sack, tied it with a rope, slung it over his back, and set off.

Soon, he came across a tavern along the way. The smell of wine wafted from it. And the father loved to drink. He hung the sack with the boy on a pine branch and went to drink wine.

Meanwhile, the little liar found a hole in the sack and started looking outside. Suddenly, he saw a hunched old man hobbling along the road. The boy began to chant like a prayer:

"Old, become young! Old, become young!" The old man approached the sack and called out to the boy:

"What are you doing in there?"

"This is a magic sack! If you climb inside and chant, 'Old, become young! Old, become young!'—you'll become young. This morning, I was a sixty-year-old man, but I climbed into the sack and chanted too long. Now, as you can see, I've become a teenager."

The old man's eyes widened in amazement.

"Tell me, what a wonderful sack! I want to become young too! Let me in!"

"Well, I can, but not for free!"

"Would you take these delicious manju?"

The boy took the manju, put the old man in the sack instead of himself, and ran home.

Soon, the old liar came out of the tavern, slightly tipsy. He looked—and rubbed his eyes in disbelief: instead of his son, an unfamiliar old man was sitting in the coal sack, shouting at the top of his lungs: "Old, become young! Old, become young!"

The father was surprised, but when he found out what had happened, he was utterly bewildered:

"Ah, that rascal! This is my little son, a liar like no other, who tricked you. Please forgive me! I beg your pardon!" And, showering apologies, he freed the old man from the sack.

When the father returned home, he saw that his son had been home for a while, sitting and devouring the manju. The old liar grabbed the little liar by the collar and stuffed him back into the coal sack.

"Ah, you scoundrel! This time I'll teach you a lesson!" He set off with him on a different road. But there, too, he came across a tavern. The smell of wine was irresistible—he couldn't just pass by! He tried to resist but couldn't hold back; once again, he hung the sack on a pine branch and went to drink wine.

The boy peeked through a hole in the sack and saw a half-blind old woman walking along the road. He waited until she came closer and began to mutter incantations:

"Eyes, see clearly! Eyes, see clearly!"

The old woman was amazed and approached the sack, asking:

"What are you doing in there?"

"What am I doing? I'm sitting in a magic sack and chanting, 'Eyes, see clearly! Eyes, see clearly!' I've been chanting since morning—and now I can see. Before, I was completely blind."

"Oh, what a marvelous sack! I can hardly see; could you let me into the sack for just a moment?" begged the old woman.

"Why not, but not for free!"

"I have some persimmons. I'll give them all to you, just let me into the sack."

She gave the boy a whole basket of persimmons, and he stuffed the old woman into the sack and ran home as fast as he could.

Soon, the father came out of the tavern in high spirits. He looked—and saw an unfamiliar old woman sitting in the sack, blinking her eyes and chanting, "Eyes, see clearly! Eyes, see clearly!"

The father was astonished, but when he found out what had happened, he was even more amazed:

"This is all the work of my naughty son, a notorious liar! Please forgive me!" And, repeating apologies endlessly, he released the old woman from the sack.

When the father returned home, what did he see? His son had eaten his fill of persimmons and was snoring, sprawled out in the middle of the room.

What can you do with such a child!

From then on, the liar from Edo, the liar from Osaka, and the liar from Kyoto no longer argued about who was the most skilled.

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The Most Skillful Liar

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