Strange postcard
One Saturday evening, a strange postcard arrived at Ichiro's door.
Dear Ichiro Kaneta, September 19th
How are you getting along? I trust you are wel.
I have a troublesom court case tomorrow. Pleaze
kome. Pleaze kome without a gan.
Best regards, Wildcat
Like this.
The handwriting was very poor, and the ink was not even dry in some places.
However, Ichiro was very, very happy.
He put the postcard in his school bag and jumped up and down all over the house.
Even after he went to bed, he couldn't sleep until late.
He was thinking about the Wildcat's meow-face and the trial that Wildcat said was troublesome.
However, when Ichiro woke up, it was already bright.
When he went outside, he saw that the mountains around him were lush and thick, as if they had just been formed, and were lined up under a blue sky.
Ichiro hurriedly ate his breakfast and walked upstream along the path along the river.
As a clear wind blew, the chestnut trees dropped their fruits.
Ichiro looked up at the chestnut tree and asked.
"Chestnut tree, chestnut tree. Didn't Wildcat pass by here?"
Chestnut tree quieted down a little and replied.
"Wildcat hurried eastward in a carriage early this morning."
"That's where I'm going. Anyway, I'll go further. Thank you, chestnut tree."
The chestnut tree kept quiet and dropped its fruits again.
As Ichiro went a little further, he found that he was already at flute-player-waterfall.
The waterfall had a small hole in the middle of a white rock cliff, through which water came out like a whistle.
From there, it became a waterfall and fell into the valley.
Ichiro shouted at the waterfall.
"Hey, hey, flute player. Didn't Wildcat pass by here?"
The waterfall responded whistling.
"Wildcat hurried westward in a carriage a while ago."
"That's strange. West is towards my house. However, I'll go further. Thank you, flute player."
The waterfall continued to play his flute as before.
As Ichiro went a little further, he saw a strange band of many white mushrooms under a beech tree.
Ichiro bent down and asked.
"Hey, mushrooms. Didn't Wildcat pass by here?"
The mushrooms replied.
"Wildcat hurried southward in a carriage early this morning."
Ichiro tilted his head.
"West is in the mountains over there. That's strange. I'll go further. Thank you, mushrooms."
The mushrooms continued to play their strange music, busily.
Ichiro went a little further.
He saw a squirrel jumping in the treetops of a walnut tree.
Ichiro immediately beckoned to it to stop, and asked.
"Hey, squirrel. Didn't Wildcat pass by here?"
The squirrel replied from the tree, looking at Ichiro with his hand on his forehead.
"Wildcat hurried southward in a carriage while it was still dark this morning."
"That's strange because I heard that Wildcat went south in the different places. However, I'll go further. Thank you, squirrel."
The squirrel was no longer there.
The only thing that happened was that the top branch of the walnut tree swayed and the leaves of the beech tree next to it glowed.
As Ichiro went a little further, the path along the valley river narrowed and disappeared.
Then he found a new small path to the pitch black forest of Japanese nutmeg trees in the south of the valley river.
Ichiro walked up the path.
It was dark with overlapping branches of Japanese nutmeg trees, the blue sky was completely invisible, and the path became a very steep slope.
Ichiro walked up the slope, and his face turned red, sweat was dripping.
Then it was suddenly bright and dazzling.
It was a beautiful golden meadow, the grass rustling in the breeze, surrounded by the forest of magnificent olive-colored Japanese nutmeg trees.
- To return to table of contents of Acorns and Wildcat
Dear Ichiro Kaneta, September 19th
How are you getting along? I trust you are wel.
I have a troublesom court case tomorrow. Pleaze
kome. Pleaze kome without a gan.
Best regards, Wildcat
Like this.
The handwriting was very poor, and the ink was not even dry in some places.
However, Ichiro was very, very happy.
He put the postcard in his school bag and jumped up and down all over the house.
Even after he went to bed, he couldn't sleep until late.
He was thinking about the Wildcat's meow-face and the trial that Wildcat said was troublesome.
However, when Ichiro woke up, it was already bright.
When he went outside, he saw that the mountains around him were lush and thick, as if they had just been formed, and were lined up under a blue sky.
Ichiro hurriedly ate his breakfast and walked upstream along the path along the river.
As a clear wind blew, the chestnut trees dropped their fruits.
Ichiro looked up at the chestnut tree and asked.
"Chestnut tree, chestnut tree. Didn't Wildcat pass by here?"
Chestnut tree quieted down a little and replied.
"Wildcat hurried eastward in a carriage early this morning."
"That's where I'm going. Anyway, I'll go further. Thank you, chestnut tree."
The chestnut tree kept quiet and dropped its fruits again.
As Ichiro went a little further, he found that he was already at flute-player-waterfall.
The waterfall had a small hole in the middle of a white rock cliff, through which water came out like a whistle.
From there, it became a waterfall and fell into the valley.
Ichiro shouted at the waterfall.
"Hey, hey, flute player. Didn't Wildcat pass by here?"
The waterfall responded whistling.
"Wildcat hurried westward in a carriage a while ago."
"That's strange. West is towards my house. However, I'll go further. Thank you, flute player."
The waterfall continued to play his flute as before.
As Ichiro went a little further, he saw a strange band of many white mushrooms under a beech tree.
Ichiro bent down and asked.
"Hey, mushrooms. Didn't Wildcat pass by here?"
The mushrooms replied.
"Wildcat hurried southward in a carriage early this morning."
Ichiro tilted his head.
"West is in the mountains over there. That's strange. I'll go further. Thank you, mushrooms."
The mushrooms continued to play their strange music, busily.
Ichiro went a little further.
He saw a squirrel jumping in the treetops of a walnut tree.
Ichiro immediately beckoned to it to stop, and asked.
"Hey, squirrel. Didn't Wildcat pass by here?"
The squirrel replied from the tree, looking at Ichiro with his hand on his forehead.
"Wildcat hurried southward in a carriage while it was still dark this morning."
"That's strange because I heard that Wildcat went south in the different places. However, I'll go further. Thank you, squirrel."
The squirrel was no longer there.
The only thing that happened was that the top branch of the walnut tree swayed and the leaves of the beech tree next to it glowed.
As Ichiro went a little further, the path along the valley river narrowed and disappeared.
Then he found a new small path to the pitch black forest of Japanese nutmeg trees in the south of the valley river.
Ichiro walked up the path.
It was dark with overlapping branches of Japanese nutmeg trees, the blue sky was completely invisible, and the path became a very steep slope.
Ichiro walked up the slope, and his face turned red, sweat was dripping.
Then it was suddenly bright and dazzling.
It was a beautiful golden meadow, the grass rustling in the breeze, surrounded by the forest of magnificent olive-colored Japanese nutmeg trees.
- To return to table of contents of Acorns and Wildcat