Tsumuji/Stories
Quotes
Dragon Story Episodes
Nameless-Mountain Master
Long ago, a lizard, an eagle, and a
bat lived on a nameless mountain,
where the three beasts quarreled
without end over who was the
greatest among them.
A dragon lived on the mountain as
well, but the three beasts never
bothered with her, for she was just a
small child.
Secretly, however, the young dragon
thought she was the greatest on the
mountain, and she resolved to make
the others see that.
One day, rumor reached them that
an official from the Kingdom of
Alberia was coming to see who ruled
over the mountain.
This was the beasts' chance to prove
to the world who was the master of
the mountain once and for all.
But how would they do it?
"What if you each sculpt a big
statue?" the young dragon said
to the three beasts. "That way,
even humans can tell at a glance
who the master of this mountain is."
Each of the beasts felt this to be a
fine idea, and ordered the animals
under their charge to make a statue
in their likeness.
The beasts adored the final products,
and each boasted of their statue to
the others. ...But that was a mistake.
"The others seem proud of their
works," grumbled the lizard. "If all
three of us have equally fine statues,
how is the human to know which of
us truly rules the mountain?"
The lizard snuck out in the middle of
the night and destroyed the eagle's
statue. But others had the same idea,
for the eagle ruined the bat's statue,
and the bat smashed the lizard's.
It was horrible. The statues of all
three beasts were destroyed, and the
kingdom official was due to arrive
the very next day...
The three beasts awoke that morning
to find their beloved statues ruined
beyond all hope of repair.
They had no time to make their
statues anew, and bemoaned how
they had quarreled in the first place.
It was at this point that the young
dragon came upon them.
"I have an idea," she said with a grin.
"Take the parts of your statues that
are still intact and combine them
into a single figure—then all will know
this mountain has THREE masters."
The three beasts heartily approved
of this plan, and spent all night
creating the new statue.
The next day, the official arrived.
When he saw the statue, he said,
"The scales of a lizard, the wings of
a bat, and the claws of an eagle?
Surely this must be a dragon!"
"So a great dragon rules over the
beasts of this mountain, does it?
Well, it would upset the balance of
nature for a human to set foot upon
this sacred land."
He marked the nameless mountain
on his map with four words: HERE
THERE BE DRAGONS. And while the
beasts knew they had been tricked,
they could do nothing about it.
Thus did the young dragon settle for
good and all the question of who
was the greatest on the mountain.