The first volume of Kinkôdô Otogibanashi [Kinkôdô
Fairy Tales] series by Kinkôdô, a famous textbook publisher.
This series contains more than 50 volumes. Some authors and illustrators
were anonymous, and no volume numbers were given. Although not of high
quality, its small, thin format and cheap price made this series widely
popular. Children from ages six to ten could read these stories easily.
The story of O'uma Dô Dô is as follows: One day, a young boy named Fumio says to a white horse, Tsukige, that he wants to go to Hana-no-Yama, the Hill of Flowers. Tsukige shrinkes so that Fumio can ride on him. At the gate of Hana-no-Yama, people refuse Tukige to go in, fearing a horse might damage the garden. Tsukige shrinks more and get into Fumio's pocket. They look around the garden, pick up flowers, and, after Tsukige becomes large enough, they return home. Although the plot is not well crafted, the fulfillment of a child's wish seems to have charmed readers.
This is Takeda's first story for young children; he wrote four for Kinkôdô Otogibanashi, and later many more for a magazine, Shônen [Boys]. |
