The Red Dragonfly
Japanese
A red dragonfly, after circling around three times in the sky, lightly settled on its favorite spot, the tip of a bamboo fence.
A mountain village, which was quiet during the day, was truly surrounded with fresh green leaves in the beginning of summer.
The red dragonfly glanced around: some morning glories had wound themselves around the bamboo fence on which it was settling. The dragonfly made a guess that the owner of this summer house had planted a morning glory last summer and the seeds must have sprouted and grown this summer. As nobody lived in this house now, it was shuttered up quietly.
The dragonfly flew up high in the sky from the tip of the bamboo fence.
Some people were coming this way. It settled down on the bamboo fence again and watched them coming.
Three people: the first one, who was running toward the house, was a cute little girl wearing a bonnet with a red ribbon; her mother; and a houseboy with heavy baggage in his hands.
The red dragonfly was eager to settle down on her bonnet's red ribbon.
"I'm wondering if she might get angry if I'd settle down on her ribbon,' it tilted its head.
When the girl walked ahead, the dragonfly finally flew down on her bonnet's red ribbon.
"Oh, Little girl, a red dragonfly has settled on your bonnet!" the houseboy cried.
The red dragonfly was afraid of being caught by the girl, so it prepared to fly away from her bonnet. But she didn't even try to catch it.
"Is it true? On my bonnet! So glad!" crying so, she jumped for joy.
A swallow flew away like the wind.
The cute little girl began to live with her family; her mother and the houseboy, in the summer house.
The red dragonfly was flying around in the sky as usual. The evening sun made its wings redder.
The Dragonfly, the Red dragonfly, It's so dangerous, Among the Japanese pampas grass.
The dragonfly heard an angelic song and flew toward the voice, thinking it might be the little girl who was singing the song.
That's right. The girl in the yard sang it: singing the song, she was having a tub-bath by her self.
The girl, with a toy goldfish in her hand, saw the dragonfly flying around above her head.
"My red dragonfly!" she cried, and raised her hands high.
The dragonfly felt very happy.
The houseboy came to her with a cake of soap, and said,
"Little girl, I'll wash your back."
"No..."
"But..."
"I mean no. Mom should wash my back."
"How troublesome you are!"
The houseboy, scratching his head, started walking away. He found the red dragonfly which was settled on a leaf of a morning glory in order to listen to the conversation between the two. The houseboy whirled his right arm in a big circle.
"What a strange thing he is doing!" thinking so, the dragonfly was watching his fingertip. The houseboy made the circle smaller and smaller, putting it nearer and nearer to the red dragonfly.
The red dragonfly's eyes were goggling, staring at his fingertip. The houseboy made the circle smaller, and faster.
The dragonfly felt dizzy, and then, the next moment, it was caught by the houseboy's thick-knuckled fingers.
"Little girl! I caught a red dragonfly. Do you want this?"
"You, idiot! Why did you catch my red dragonfly? Pooh-pooh!"
The girl made a pout and squirted him with warm water with her hands.
The houseboy released the red dragonfly and left there.
The red dragonfly flew up high in the sky, thinking,
'What a kind girl she is!'
It was a clear, deep blue sky. The red dragonfly was settling on a window pane, listening to the houseboy's fairly tale, just as the cute little girl was doing.
"....and the dragonfly angrily bit a big spider. The spider cried,'Ouch! Ouch! Help me!' Then emerged a large number of small spiders one after another like clouds. The dragonfly ate up the small spiders one by one until none of them was left. But when it finished killing them, it found itself dyed with the spider's red blood. What a serious situation! It flew to a pond to wash off the blood. But the red blood didn't wash away from its body. It implored God. Then God scolded the dragonfly like this,
'You killed lots of innocent spiders, so you'll be cursed forever...'
That's why the dragonfly became red. So the red dragonfly is a wicked one," he finished his story.
The red dragonfly tilted his head, thinking that it had never done such a thing, when the girl cried,
"You're a liar! Your story is perfectly a lie! The pretty red dragonfly never did such a cruel thing. It wasn't dyed with spiders'blood. It's not true!"
The red dragonfly felt so happy to hear that. The houseboy left the room, with his face red.
The red dragonfly flew from the window pane onto the girl's shoulder.
"Ah! My red dragonfly! Pretty red dragonfly!"
Her eyes were black and limpid.
The hot summer passed away all too soon. The morning glories winding around the fence were withering. Bell-ringing crickets were chirping in a cool voice.
The red dragonfly came to see the girl today too. It was a little surprised, because the windows were all closed.
'What happened to them?'
When he thought so, someone shot out from the front door. It was her, the girl, the cute girl. However, she looked sad. The girl was in a pretty dress wearing the bonnet with the red ribbon, just the same as when she had come here for the first time. The red dragonfly flew down on her shoulder as usual.
"My red dragonfly. Pretty red dragonfly..I'll return to Tokyo. I must say 'Good-bye' to you."
The girl said in a low voice with tearful eyes.
The red dragonfly also felt sad. He thought, 'I'd like to go to Tokyo with her.' Then her mother and the houseboy, who had teased the dragonfly, came out.
"Well then, let's start off!"
They started walking. The red dragonfly flew from her shoulder onto the tip of the bamboo fence.
"Good bye! My sweet red dragonfly. Good bye..."
Looking back at the house, the pretty little girl said it again and again. They became smaller and smaller, and at last they were out of its field of vision.
'I wonder if this house will be empty from now on," the red dragonfly tilted his head.
In a lonely evening in autumn, settling on the tip of some Japanese pampas grass, the red dragonfly missed the cute little girl.(2013.10.1 With Itaya)
Original by Nankichi Niimi
