Kenji Miyazawa

“ Wildcat had somehow changed into flowing black satin robes and with an air of great importance sat before the acorns. It reminded Ichiro of the paintings of pilgrims standing in front of the giant Buddha statue in Nara. And with a quick snap, the servant cracked his whip 2 or 3 times.
The sky became clear and blue, and the acorns' golden shine was truly beautiful.
“Alright, this is the third day of the trial. Let’s say we all just make up and move on,” Wildcat announced with a little bit of worry and a whole lot of pride in his voice. ”

“ Wildcat’s servant stood perfectly at attention, but was no longer able to hide his own desire for one of his master’s cigarettes and began to cry.
Ichiro then heard a faint clicking, like salt skittering on rocks. Surprised, he leaned over to look at the ground and found in the grass sparkling, golden-yellow balls. Looking even closer, he saw they were acorns, over three hundred of them, and they were all wearing red pants and wailing something at him.
Wildcat spat out his cigarette and called hurriedly to his servant, “Hey, they’re here. They’re like ants. Quick, ring the bell. ”

“ Ichiro bowed down and asked, “Mushrooms, did Wildcat pass by here?”
The mushrooms replied, “Wildcat? This morning he flew by here in his carriage. He was headed south.”
“South, that's towards the mountains. Weird. I guess I can go a little further, though. Thank you, mushrooms.”
The mushrooms quickly returned to their strange song.
Ichiro went a little further, and saw a walnut tree, with a squirrel jumping around its top. Ichiro quickly waved to it and called, “Hey, squirrel, did Wildcat pass by here?”
“Wildcat you say? He flew by in his carriage this morning, before the sun was even up. ”