Pathway to Japanese Literature

In a certain country there was a king, and between him and his queen there existed but one child: a princess called Princess Chatterbox.

This princess was an exceedingly beautiful princess, but for some reason had been talkative from birth. From morning till night, if she wasn't chattering about something she felt ill at ease—and what's more, if there was no one to listen to her chatter, she became terribly cross.

One morning, having woken and washed her face, Princess Chatterbox immediately rushed to where her parents—His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen—were staying, whereupon she commenced her chatter.

“Father, Mother, last night was simply dreadful! When I was sleeping alone last night, a dark figure came to my bedside—I don’t know where he slipped in from—and pressed a dagger to my chest, demanding with a terrifying face, ‘Where are the treasures hidden?’”

“My, and then what happened?”

The King and Queen, startled, inquired of the Princess.

“And then... Well, I had no choice but to take him to the treasure vault—where he used his dark arm to snap open the lock, carried out all the treasures inside, and took them outside the castle!”

"Why didn't you cry out loudly then?"

"But he made me carry all those treasures while staying right beside me with his dagger!"

"Hmm."
"That's dreadful."
"I must have the soldiers give chase immediately."
"But what did you do after that?"

"When I finally finished that, the black figure pressed his dagger against my chest again and this time demanded, 'You shall become my bride!'"

“Wha—?! And then what did you do?”

“I was wondering what to do... when I woke up.”

“What... What happened?”

“That was all a dream.”

“You fool... You fool of a princess! If it was a dream, why didn’t you say so sooner?”

The King flew into a great rage.

“Oh my. Still, it was good that it was just a dream.”
“I can’t begin to say how worried I was.”

Her Majesty the Queen also heaved a sigh of relief.

“Ohohohoho.”
“Oh, do listen!”
“And then, when I woke up and looked around, it was still pitch dark before dawn, you see.”
“Somehow I really felt like the black figure was about to come and got scared, so I stealthily got up and went to the next room where the maids were supposed to be sleeping—but both of the two maids who should have been there were gone.”

“Hateful wretches.”
“Though keeping watch was your duty, where had you gone?”
“I must make them face cruel judgment.”

The King once again flew into a great rage.

“Well, you see, Father.”
“You mustn’t scold them, you see.”
“When I wondered where they had gone and went to look, I found that both of them had gone to the weaving room and were spinning thread.”

“What, thread?”
said Her Majesty the Queen.
“How admirable they are.
Are they spinning thread even through the night without sleeping?”

"But there’s something even more remarkable about it…"

Princess Chatterbox continued her previous tale.

“I wondered why the two maids had gone into the weaving room to spin thread at this hour, so I quietly peeked through the keyhole to see inside—and what I saw truly shocked me.”
“Because lining the eastern and western walls were hundreds upon hundreds of spiders—no, thousands!—all perfectly aligned in rows!”

“What, spiders! Oh, how creepy!”

The King and Queen exclaimed in unison.

“But they aren’t creepy at all. The spiders lined up on the eastern wall are all golden, while those on the western wall are entirely silver. Their glittering shine was so beautiful. Golden threads stream from the golden spiders’ abdomens while silver threads flow from the silver spiders’, with the two maids each taking one spinning wheel, humming away as they twist the threads into yarn. How fascinating and beautiful it all was…”

“Hmm.
That is indeed a curious matter.”

“There are still more strange things, you see.
As the spools wrapped with that thread gradually grew larger, the room became as bright as midday from the threads’ glow.
I was so astonished by the strangeness of it all that without thinking, I called out from outside... ‘What are you going to do with that thread?’... and asked.”

“And then, what did they say in reply?”

Her Majesty the Queen inquired.

“Then, they didn’t reply.”

“Why?”

“The two maids looked at me in surprise. At that moment, when their spools—which had been humming steadily until then—suddenly began spinning backward, disaster struck. The golden and silver threads came slithering loose and coiled around the maids’ necks.”

“Oh dear,”
“Then what happened?”

“The maids leapt up in alarm and started flailing to remove the tangled threads, but the more they struggled, the more the strands unraveled and snared their hands and feet. So they thrashed about even more wildly like madwomen, rolling across the floor—until at last the golden and silver threads had completely swathed them both, leaving them like human bobbins that could only moan ‘unh-unh’ as they tumbled about on the floor.”

“You were watching that?”

“Yes,”
“I did a bad thing here.”
“Because if I hadn’t said that, the two maids wouldn’t have been startled.”
“If they hadn’t been startled, they wouldn’t have spun the wheel backward.”
“And if they hadn’t spun it backward, the golden and silver threads wouldn’t have wrapped around their necks.”

“Exactly,”

“That’s true.”

“Thinking so, I tried to save them as fast as I could—but the door was locked tight. There was nothing I could do.”

“That’s troublesome.”

“So what happened next?”

“Before long, not only had the threads from the spools completely entangled the two maids, but even the spiders that had been on the walls got caught in those threads and were pulled onto their bodies; however, as the maids thrashed about wildly, the spiders—driven to desperation—became enraged and bit through all the threads coiled around them.”

“Oh, that’s a relief.”

“No.”
“What came next was the frightening part.”
“The spiders that had bitten through the threads swarmed over the maids and devoured them.”

“Oh no, that’s dreadful!”
“What a pitiful thing to happen!”

As she was saying this, the King and Queen stood up and attempted to hurry to the weaving room.

Princess Chatterbox hurriedly stopped them and said:

"Oh Father! Mother! Do listen... It was all just a dream after all..."

"What? That too was a dream?"

"My word! What an incorrigible chatterer you are!"

The King and Queen returned to their seats.
Then His Majesty turned crimson with rage and glared at Princess Chatterbox:

"You foolish princess!
No one prattles such absurd nonsense like you!
If you dare chatter such things again—straight to the stone prison you'll go!"

he bellowed in a thunderous voice.

“Now tell us the truth. Come on, there’s a good girl.”

And Her Majesty the Queen intervened to mediate.

However, Princess Chatterbox calmly said:

“No. The real story begins now. What I’ve told so far was just to set up this next truly entertaining tale.”

“What... Are you saying what comes next is truly an entertaining tale?”

“What kind of story is it?”

Both His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen inquired.

Princess Chatterbox began her story once more.

“When I awoke from the two dreams I had just recounted, I truly thought tonight was a strange evening.”
“Because if I stayed asleep, it seemed like a burglar would come, and if I went to the maids’ room, I’d probably end up seeing something strange again—so I was completely at a loss.”
“And so, having no choice, I tried calling out the names of the two maids while remaining lying in bed.”

“Ah, that’s good.”
“You should have done that from the beginning.”

said the King.

"But that previous one was a dream."
"It couldn't be helped."

“Hmm, that’s how it was.”
“And then what happened?”

“When I did so, both maids responded ‘Yes’ and came, so I finally felt relieved and told them about the two dreams I’d just described.”

“They must have been quite startled, hmm?”

And this time, Her Majesty the Queen spoke.

“Yes, they were truly startled and both exchanged looks, you see.”
“They grinned and… said, ‘It’s an extremely auspicious dream, I tell you.’”

“Oh? And why would that be auspicious?”

“Why on earth would a dream about having treasures stolen or maids dying be considered so auspicious?”

And His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen once again inquired in unison.

“It goes like this:
“According to the two maids, it’s said that the most auspicious dream in this country has been passed down since ancient times as the ‘Dagger and Spiders’ dream.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

“I’d never heard of it before.”

And His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen exchanged looks.

“I don’t really know either, but that’s what the maids say, you see.”

said Princess Chatterbox.

“And why exactly is that considered auspicious?”

And His Majesty the King inquired.

“They say that if you dream of daggers and spiders, a good husband will come.”

“My, is that really true?”

“They say it’s true.
However, they say if the groom finds out that you’ve had such a dream, it ruins everything.
So the two maids told me I mustn’t tell anyone about that dream.”

“My, you really are a fool... Why must you chatter away about such an important dream like that?”

Her Majesty the Queen Mother remarked with genuine disappointment.

“No.
“Mother.
“I don’t need any husband.
“But telling that story is far more interesting than that!
“Because this is the first time in my life I’ve had such an interesting dream!”

“You truly are an incorrigible chatterbox.
“Then let’s ensure your attending maids don’t speak of that dream to anyone.”

said the Queen.

“No.
“It doesn’t matter, Mother.
“Even if the maids don’t speak of it, I’ll do the talking myself, so that won’t work.”

said Princess Chatterbox.

Just as His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen were growing exasperated by Princess Chatterbox’s ceaseless chatter, her two attending maids came before her in unison and bowed,

“Your Highness, we’ve come to assist with your makeup. Dinner will be served shortly.”

they bowed.

Her Majesty the Queen saw this.
“Oh.”

“I hear you all heard an amusing dream tale from the princess last night.”

And the Queen said.

When the King posed this question, the maids made surprised faces and exchanged looks.
And then both maids answered in unison as follows.

“No.
Her Highness did not tell us a single dream story or anything of the sort.”

“What...? You mean you didn’t hear a single dream story from the Princess?”

His Majesty the King glared with a terrifying expression.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“If you lie, I won’t tolerate it.”

“We do not tell lies.”

“Very well.”

“Go away!”

When told this, the maids bowed and left.

When the maids had left, His Majesty the King glared intently at Princess Chatterbox.

“You there... Princess Chatterbox.
Why must you chatter nothing but lies?”

And His Majesty the King reprimanded the princess in a thunderous voice.

But the princess, not showing the slightest fear, said:

“No.
“I’m not lying at all.
“I really did have that dream, and I really did tell that story to the maids.
“It’s the maids who are lying.”

She insisted.

But His Majesty the King, her father, no longer believed a word the princess said.

“Everything you say is all lies.
“If you persist in being so stubborn and refuse to stop your chatter, then you are no longer my child.
“In this country, those who tell lies are to be thrown into the stone prison—so I’ll throw you in too.”

As he spoke these words, the King stood up and grabbed the collar of the screaming, crying princess.

Her Majesty the Queen hurriedly tried to stop him,

“Now, Princess. Say you’re sorry for telling lies. Promise you’ll never lie again. Mother will make amends for you.”

Though she was told this, the princess shook her head, crying “No no” over and over, and persisted in defiance while doing nothing but cry.

“Very well.
“If you persist in being so stubborn, then I can no longer show mercy.”

And His Majesty the King became exceedingly angry and finally imprisoned Princess Chatterbox in the stone prison.

The stone prison was located beneath the castle grounds—a pitch-black, freezing place.

Princess Chatterbox was thrown into the stone prison, and so terrified that she lay on the cold stone floor wailing and wailing, but no matter how much time passed, no one came to help her.
Even when she called out for Mother and the maids by name, her surroundings remained dead silent and pitch-black.

Before long, the princess, having cried herself to exhaustion, began to doze off—and soon,

“Meow.”
She heard a gentle cat’s voice.
When she looked, two golden cat eyes glittered in the darkness ahead.

Princess Chatterbox had been so unbearably lonely that when she saw this cat, she was delighted and,

“Here, kitty kitty”

she called out.
Then the cat immediately sidled up to the princess and rumbled its throat.

The princess picked up the cat and said:

“Oh... Where did you come from? There’s not even a mouse hole in this stone prison... If you know a way out, please tell me!”

“Meow”

“Oh! You know a way out?”

“Meow”

“Then go ahead and lead me there.”

“Meow meow”

As soon as these words were spoken, the cat had already slipped free from the princess's hands and began walking away, glancing back as if to say, "This way, Your Highness."

Princess Chatterbox, while strangely wondering whether the cat would truly lead her out of the prison, began walking slowly and cautiously through the pitch darkness, using the cat’s occasionally glancing back eyes as her guide—when, mysteriously, the prison she had thought was narrow turned out to be vast, with no end in sight no matter how far she walked.
Before long, it seemed she had come to a field, and the tips of her worn shoes appeared to brush against blades of grass.
When she looked more carefully, overhead there was a sky, and stars twinkled here and there between the clouds.

“Oh! After all, the cat really was helping me indeed. But where on earth am I?”

She looked around the area.

Then before long, the surroundings brightened, and as mountains, rivers, forests, and houses she had never seen before came into view all at once, a crimson sun began to emerge from between the clouds ahead, glittering brilliantly. It illuminated the flowers blooming across that entire area.

When she noticed this, the cat from earlier had vanished without a trace.

When Princess Chatterbox stood dazedly, soon what appeared to be a peasant couple emerged from the forest behind her—but as they gradually drew nearer, lo and behold... they were larks in human form, who stopped in their tracks upon noticing Princess Chatterbox.
And then, the two of them began talking while pointing at Princess Chatterbox.

“Chirp chirp, chirp chirp,”

“Chirp chirp, chirp chirp, chirp chirp, chirp chirp”

When she heard this, Princess Chatterbox forgot all about the strangeness of the situation and found herself overcome with laughter.

“My… how amusing.”
“Ah... Excuse me, you there—Mr. and Mrs. Lark!”
“What is this place called?”
“Please do tell me.”

and she approached them.

Then the lark couple panicked and fled.

“Chirp chirp, chirp chirp!”

“Tirra-lirra, tirra-lirra, tirra-lirra, tirra-lirra!”

As they fled toward their home while shouting with all their might, hearing their cries, a great number of larks emerged from the forest.

The larks were all in human form—some resembling old men, others old women, with ages ranging from young adults to children—and they all streamed out in a line, completely surrounding Princess Chatterbox.

The larks surrounding Princess Chatterbox were all silently watching her curiously at first.

However, since they didn’t seem about to do anything bad, the princess felt reassured and decided to ask once more.

“Oh... Is this the Lark Kingdom? I’ve come from the human kingdom, but I’m at a loss about which way to go back. If anyone knows, please do tell me.”

Then, the lark who appeared to be the oldest among them spoke thus.

“Chirp chirp.
“Chirp chirp.
“Chirp.
“Chirp.”

“Oh my, what on earth is that?”

“Chirp-chirp-chirp! Chirp-chirp-chirp! Chirp-chirp-chirp!”

“Chirp-a-dee-dee! Trill-lo-lo!
“Trill-lo-lo!”

“We don’t understand at all.”

“Chirr-loo-loo!
“Trill-loo-loo!
“Chirp-chirp-chirp-chirp!”

“How uninteresting… with such words…”

When Princess Chatterbox spoke thus, this time all the gathered larks began chattering at once.

“Peekee, peekee!
“Peekee, peekee!”
“Chirrup-chirp!”
“Chirrup-chirp!”
“Cheep-cheep!”
“Cheep-cheep!”
“Chirr-up! Chirr-up!”
“Trill-trill!”
“Tweet-tweet! Tweet-tweet!”
“Tweet-tweet! Tweet-tweet!”

Princess Chatterbox recoiled from the cacophony—

“Mercy! What dreadful clamor!”
“If you chatter so, my ears shall split!”
“Cease this instant! Cease, I beg you!”

She pleaded, but the larks showed no sign of stopping. They continued chattering, swarming around her relentlessly.

Princess Chatterbox, being chattered at so incessantly by the larks until she could bear it no longer, covered her ears with both hands and fled—whereupon the larks kept up their chatter as they chased after her.

To make matters worse, lark soldiers and policemen—who knows when or where they emerged from—came swarming out,

“Screech screech! Shriek shriek!”

they continued shouting as they chased Princess Chatterbox across the wide field.
What a terrifying sight...

Princess Chatterbox had been running about frantically in tears when she suddenly tumbled headfirst into a deep well hidden in the grass, plunging deeper and deeper into its endless depths.

The princess was startled again,

“Ah! Help me!”

she cried out, but overwhelmed by terror, she lost consciousness.

But before long, when she came to her senses again, she found herself laid upon a splendid bed with a soft pillow beneath her head, though she had no idea when she had been brought there.

Wondering what had happened, she looked around the area—and was startled again.

At her bedside sat two green frog nurses about the size of humans, golden eyes glinting as white throats quivered.

The green frog nurses, upon seeing that Princess Chatterbox had opened her eyes, immediately stood up,

“Eep! Eep! Eep! Eep!”

they cried out.

Then, in the room across,

“Hmm... hmm”

A voice could be heard, and a large warty frog wearing glasses and dressed in a splendid black Western-style suit, carrying a black leather briefcase, swaggered out.

When the warty frog came near the princess, he took out a magnifying glass from his briefcase and meticulously examined her face from her eyes to her nose to her mouth one by one, but finally attempted to grab her hand with a black, cold hand.
The princess was startled,

“Ah!”

When she said this and pulled back her hand, the warty frog blinked his eyes, then soon turned to the green frog nurses and—

“Hmph, hmph.”

he gave some instructions and left.

Then, passing each other in exchange, Red Frog soldiers in crimson military uniforms now led the way, followed by the earlier warty frog bureaucrat entering behind them—whereupon Lord Frog in a splendid gold-braided uniform and a gentle-faced green frog who appeared to be his spouse came in.
When this Lord Frog and his spouse entered, all the warty frogs, red frogs, and green frogs in the room simultaneously prostrated themselves on the floor.

However, among them, only the warty frog merely bowed his head before soon leading Lord Frog and his spouse before the princess. Pointing at her eyes, mouth, and nose,

"Hmm hmm, hmm hmm."

When he spoke these words, Lord Frog and his spouse nodded while rolling their eyes around and around.

The princess found herself growing amused.

"I must have come to the Frog Kingdom and been put in a frog hospital.
The warty frog is their doctor here, and Lord Frog must be their king who came to see me.
Since my face and the frogs' faces are so different, they must find it fascinating."

While she was thinking this, Lord Frog departed briskly with the Red Frog soldiers in tow.

Then all hell broke loose.

Apparently all frogs throughout the kingdom had heard their Frog King had specially come to see Princess Chatterbox at the hospital, for now various frogs came filing in through the frog hospital's entrance one after another to peer at her face.
Some took out magnifying glasses to peer closely.
Others took out notebooks to jot something down before leaving.
Still others took out cameras to photograph her as they passed by, while some even tried striking up conversation.

“Gurere, gurere, gurere, gurere

“Keoko, keoko”

Having learned her lesson in the Lark Kingdom, Princess Chatterbox had been enduring in silence until now, but she could no longer contain herself and burst out laughing.

“Ohohohoho!
“Oh, how hilarious! How absurd!”
“What absurd words these are!”

When Princess Chatterbox spoke thus, the frogs seemed startled, all exchanging glances, but they soon began chattering at her even more vehemently than before.

“Guru, guru, guru

“Gureire, gureire, gureire”

“Kuro, kuro, kuro, kuro

Purii purii purii

Puroro puroro puroro”

While chanting this, they all pressed in to peer at Princess Chatterbox, each clamoring over the others.

“Ohoho! Hahahaha!
Why is my face so fascinating?
You’re just staring with those bulging eyes!”

“Trarararo, trarararo, trarararo, trarararo, trarararo, trarararo”

“Hahahahahaha!”
“Hohohoho.
I said stop staring like that!
Ah! That’s cold!
How creepy!
Don’t touch me!
Disgusting, isn’t it?”

“Dareike! Dareike! Dareike!”

“Gureikeroro! Gureikeroro! Gureikeroro!”

“Kororo! Guroro! Garoro! Urоро! Geroro geroro geroro!”

In the midst of this chaos, more frogs kept pressing in from behind to peer at her—wave after wave surging forward—until finally they piled atop one another like a living mountain, clambering onto her bedframe as all clamored to speak at once.

Princess Chatterbox sprang up in desperation and tried bolting for the entrance—only for nurse frogs to clamp onto both her arms with vise-like grips that refused to yield.

When she looked toward the window amidst this, outside was already completely covered with frogs surging in like a mountain—pushing against each other this way and shoving each other that way—a tremendous uproar.
And on top of that—the shoveling!

“Gurēre, gurēre, gurēre, gurēre

Gurēchoko, gurēchoko

Gurūro, gurūro, gurūro

“Reroro, reroro, rero, rero, rero”

“Trarara trarara trarararo”

Kurora kurora kurororora

Gerero, gerero, gererelero

Gra, gra, gra, gra, gra

“Gera, gera, gera, gera, gera

“Gara, gara, gara, gara, gara”

Princess Chatterbox desperately raised her voice,

“Wait a second.
If you push so hard, the bed will break!
If you talk so much, my ears will burst!”

she shouted, but the frogs kept peering in and chattering with all their might.

The princess, now in a life-or-death frenzy, stepped on the frogs’ heads and dashed outside, but when she reached the gate, she was startled anew.

Princess Chatterbox, startled by the frogs' chatter, fled from the frog hospital out to the front, but when she passed through the main gate, she found herself in a splendid frog town.
And this town was filled with nothing but frogs as far as the eye could see, the trams and automobiles packed with frogs having come to a standstill and lined up motionless.

Just then, as Princess Chatterbox came rushing out, the commotion grew even more intense than before,

_Gaa gaa gaa gaa gaa_

“Waa waa waa waa waa”

They erupted into a commotion as if caught in a great storm.

Princess Chatterbox, in a frenzy, fled outside the town while stepping on the frogs’ heads.

She dashed thudding through fields, woods, paddies—anywhere she could—and the frogs came pushing and shoving after her.

Princess Chatterbox was out of breath, her legs exhausted to the point of near collapse, but still the frogs did not cease their pursuit.

Before long, the sun set, and from the eastern mountains emerged a perfectly round moon.

When she saw that moon, Princess Chatterbox let out a sigh of relief.
Once night fell, she thought that even frogs would no longer come chasing after her, but that was a grave mistake.
When the sun set and the moon rose, the fields seemed filled with nothing but frogs, their croaking echoing raucously as they appeared ready to swarm around her feet.
Realizing the direness of the situation, the princess fled toward the mountains, glancing back repeatedly as she went, until she arrived at a high cliff where a city as beautiful as a painting came into view below.

That city was truly as beautiful as a painting.

Each and every house had white walls and blue roofs, with blue and yellow electric lights twinkling beneath them.

In its very center stood a large black iron castle, from which a purple light shone so brightly it nearly blinded the eyes.

Above them shone the moon and stars—such beauty… such tranquility… with no sound of trains, no rumble of automobiles, nor any human or dog voices to be heard.
It was unclear whether any living things resided there at all.

Princess Chatterbox stood dazedly captivated by the scenery for a while,

Ah! How nice it would be to stay in such a quiet place.
With no larks that chatter during the day or frogs that croak all night here, how wonderfully quiet it must be.

As she thought this, she suddenly looked down at her feet and saw a single ivy vine hanging down, stretching all the way to the side of a house at the base of the cliff.

Princess Chatterbox immediately began climbing down using that ivy vine.

“Once I reach this country, I will never speak again.
In this country, there must be chatterboxes far worse than me—just like those larks’ beaks and frogs’ mouths—who would talk me down and torment me.
And if I just refrain from chattering, they’re sure to treat me kindly.”

While thinking this, Princess Chatterbox began descending the cliff while clinging to the ivy vine.
At first—since the cliff face was uneven—she descended while clinging to the ivy vine as if navigating stairs step by step. But as she moved lower down where the cliff grew steeper still until finally she found herself dangling entirely mid-air.
The princess grew frightened and tried turning back only find all strength for retreat had left her; clinging desperately now with terror overwhelming every fiber of being until tears burst forth unbidden.

Perhaps hearing her voice, a large crowd of people had come out to the distant cliff-bottom meadow and were looking up at Princess Chatterbox, but the cliff was so high that those people appeared like mere ants.

When Princess Chatterbox saw this, she grew even more terrified, clinging desperately to the vine with both hands and feet while trembling violently. Then, from far below amidst them, something began climbing up the very ivy vine she was grasping.

As it gradually drew closer and became visible, it revealed itself to be a peculiar human dressed in black clothes and trousers, wearing white shoes and a red mask. Then, with apparent ease, it grabbed hold of Princess Chatterbox, fastened what looked like a small bundle’s string around her torso, and suddenly hurled her body downward.

Princess Chatterbox was terrified and involuntarily—

“Ah!” she screamed—but no sooner had she done so than there was a loud *thud*, and a large umbrella opened above her head. Caught by the blowing wind, it began floating gently toward the castle visible in the distance.

The princess was startled anew, but since her life had been spared, she sighed in relief.

"My, what a peculiar person that was," she thought.
"If only you had told me earlier, I wouldn't have been so startled.
To not utter a single word till the end... How strange he was..."

As she muttered to herself, the balloon floated down gently into the center of the vast garden within the iron castle.

Princess Chatterbox, now truly at ease, landed on the white sand spread there but folded the balloon up small and tucked it into her pocket.

Before long, soldiers clad in iron armor from the iron castle had gathered around the princess in great numbers, but strangely, not a single one spoke.
They silently led the princess away and brought her before the King.

The King and Queen were seated on iron chairs atop a towering iron platform within an enormous iron chamber inside the iron castle, clad in jet-black robes and iron crowns. Everything in the chamber—the iron walls, iron floor, iron pillars, iron ceiling, and even the perfectly aligned suits of armor worn by generals and soldiers—had been polished to a mirror-like sheen. Within this space, searchlight-like lamps cast a purple glow so dazzling... it nearly blinded the eyes.

The princess felt an inexplicable fear,
"What will you do with me now?"

She desperately wanted to ask, but since everyone remained silent, she feared causing some calamity by carelessly speaking again, so she endured in silence. Then one of the iron soldiers pointed at the King and used hand gestures to instruct Princess Chatterbox to approach him and bow.

The princess silently did as instructed.

Then, the King and Queen fixed their gaze on Princess Chatterbox's demeanor, but still nodding silently, they descended together from the platform. Taking her hands from both sides, the two began walking toward the inner chambers.

But that corridor leading deeper inside—how interminably long it was! Turning right and left, climbing up and descending ladder steps—it went on and on endlessly. And so the King and Queen who led her onward, as well as the generals following behind, remained completely silent, not uttering a single word.

The princess again,
"What will you do with me?"

She felt tempted to ask but held back, and soon they entered a splendid chamber.

This chamber too was constructed entirely of gleaming iron, with a large iron table at its center. Upon it lay an array of iron pots—large and small—alongside numerous objects resembling cups and goblets. When Princess Chatterbox was made to sit upon the chair positioned near the table’s midpoint, the King and Queen took their seats to her right and left.
The generals from the iron castle who had accompanied them surrounded all four sides of the table and sat down in a row.
Once everyone had taken their seats, four black women in white garments emerged from the entrance. From the largest iron pot at the center, they proceeded to pour a white milk-like liquid into the iron goblets before everyone, filling each uniformly.

The white liquid exuded an exquisite fragrance....

Princess Chatterbox, who had eaten nothing since entering the iron prison—through her journey from the Lark Kingdom to the Frog Kingdom and finally to this Land Without Mouths—now felt so desperate to drink that she could nearly leap at it.

However, since all the others remained still and did not reach out, the princess too held back, but strangely enough, they pretended not to notice and made no move to take up their goblets.
Amidst this, only the King pointed at the goblet before the princess and made hand gestures as if to say, "Drink up quickly."

Princess Chatterbox was at a loss.

"Is it really all right to drink this as it is?"

She was dying to say it but then remembered,

"No, no—if I carelessly open my mouth, I'll end up in a dreadful predicament.
I'll stay quiet and do as everyone else does."

I endured being unbearably hungry.
And so,

"These people must all be mute.
In that case, since they can't hear either, nothing I say would get through.
Maybe I should try talking just a little bit.
No, no—if they're mute and can't hear, then whatever I say would be pointless. I'll just keep holding back."

While thinking this, she placed both hands on her knees and sat with perfect composure. When the King, seeing this, turned toward the Queen and made some hand gestures, the Queen nodded and tapped Princess Chatterbox’s shoulder. And then, as if demonstrating how to eat, she took hold of the goblet before Princess Chatterbox’s eyes—only to suddenly press it against her nose and slurp up the white milk-like liquid through her nostrils.

Princess Chatterbox was aghast.
While thinking what a strange way of eating it was to drink through her nostrils, Princess Chatterbox looked closely at the Queen’s face—and inadvertently let out an “Ah!”

The Queen’s face had a nose, eyes, eyebrows, and ears all in their proper places, but there was nothing where her mouth should have been.
From under her nose to her chin stretched a smooth and featureless expanse.
And in place of a mouth, a stylish painting of lips was drawn with red paint.

Princess Chatterbox stared in astonishment, her eyes darting around to examine the faces of the King, generals, and others—only to realize that every single face she saw had its mouth painted on with pigment. The King and generals bore broadly drawn mouths, while the Queen’s was rendered small and delicate.

Upon seeing this, Princess Chatterbox inadvertently burst out laughing.

“Ohohohohoho."
“My, how ridiculous!”
“Why don’t all of you have proper mouths?”
“Why have you all become so incomplete?”
“How do you eat anything when your nostrils lack teeth or tongues?”
“Or do you survive solely by drinking this milk-like liquid?”
“Ohohohohoho.”
“How amusing!”
“No wonder none of you can use your mouths properly.”
“You can’t tell stories or even sing.”
“How dreadfully dull you must be!”
“Ohohohohoho.”
“Ah, how absurd!”
“Ah, how hilarious!”
“What a strange country this is!”
“Ahahaha! Hohohohoho!”
“Ah, my sides are about to split!”
“It’s just too funny... too terribly funny...”

She continued chattering away while doubled over with laughter.

Then, despite Princess Chatterbox’s assumption that her words would surely go unheard, they had clearly reached everyone’s ears—and first of all, the Queen, looking utterly ashamed with tears streaming down her face, left the room.

The remaining King’s face turned demonically fearsome as he drew the dagger from his waist and attempted to seize and kill the Princess.

Princess Chatterbox was startled,

“Oh no, forgive me, forgive me!”

While saying this, she crawled under the iron desk and darted about trying to escape, whereupon a great many generals reached out from all directions in an attempt to catch her.
While slipping through them again and again, she finally managed to find an opening and darted out from under the desk, clattering down the corridor as she fled.

From behind came a great many generals and soldiers chasing after them with the King at their head.

The Princess was already straining herself to the limit.

Taking advantage of her small frame to slip through windows and crawl under floors, she finally managed to reach the garden—but by now the castle was in complete chaos, and though no voices reached her ears, she could clearly see soldiers everywhere clutching daggers as they searched for her.

Princess Chatterbox trembled violently while edging toward ever darker spaces between trees and houses until she entered a forest—whereupon she broke into a frantic run.

When she finally reached the far edge of the forest where the moon shone, there stood a towering iron tower with a small entrance at its base.

Princess Chatterbox was delighted and tried to enter immediately, but when she suddenly noticed, a large spider had spread its web across the entire entrance and was waiting for prey to get caught.

Princess Chatterbox shrank back at the overwhelming terror.

But at that moment, when Princess Chatterbox turned around to look behind her, she saw glints of light here and there in the direction of the iron castle. They were all daggers, and they seemed to be gradually approaching this way.

The Princess had no choice but to take refuge inside this iron tower, for there were no other places left to hide.
The Princess found herself unable to cry out for help, yet equally incapable of fleeing.
In front of her waited a spider, and from behind came people wielding daggers.
The Princess was terrified and sorrowful, standing there trembling violently.

Then, from the top of the toweringly high tower, a beautiful singing voice came drifting down.

“Lovely, lovely O Moon,

Even when hidden in dark clouds,

Don’t cry, don’t lament, don’t grieve

There will come a time when it emerges.

Dear, dear Princess

Even if you’re seized by a large spider

Don’t cry, don’t lament, don’t be afraid

There will come a time when you are saved.”

Upon hearing this, Princess Chatterbox immediately steeled herself and leapt toward the spiderweb spread across the entire entrance of the iron tower.

However, the spiderweb was exceptionally sturdy, and with the Princess’s strength alone, she could not tear through it; instead, it clung tightly to her body, rendering her unable to escape.
The more she struggled in panic, the more the spider’s threads clung to her body, entangling her arms and legs until finally she could no longer move at all.

Seeing this, the spider made its large eyes glint and lunged at Princess Chatterbox while working its gaping mouth voraciously.

Princess Chatterbox fainted from sheer terror. The spider, having caught her, immediately produced copious threads to coil her up tightly, then stowed her away in a corner of the iron tower. Returning to the entrance, it spun round and round until it had fully restored its web to its original state.

Just then, with the King of the Iron Country leading the way, a great many soldiers came brandishing daggers in their hands, but upon seeing the spider’s web beautifully restored over the entrance, they apparently concluded that no one had entered inside and simply left.

Princess Chatterbox knew nothing of this.
Somehow, as if in a dream, she felt herself gradually rising higher and higher, but when she finally came to her senses, she found herself laid out on an iron floor within a small iron chamber.
And there beside her, a man with a worried expression was watching her.

Before she knew it, dark clouds had filled the sky and a wind had begun to blow—but when she looked at the man in the moonlight that now streamed through a gap in the clouds, he appeared to be a young man of noble bearing wearing a beautiful purple robe. Yet upon closer inspection, his mouth—unlike those of the people in this country, which seemed painted on—had real crimson lips.

“Ah!”

With that cry, Princess Chatterbox leapt up.

“Your mouth is a real mouth…”

When she cried out like this, the young man revealed his white teeth and smiled gently.

“Yes, I am the pitiful misfit of this country.”

“Oh my… You’re the misfit?”

And the Princess once again exclaimed in surprise and asked.
The young man answered in a quiet voice.

“Yes,” he answered. “This land is called the Mouthless Realm, where none among its people possess mouths. Not birds nor beasts nor even insects—no creature here utters a sound. Only thunder’s rumble, rain’s patter, hail’s rattle, wind’s howl, and water’s rush may reach your ears. All because long ago, every soul in this realm chattered far too freely.”

“Goodness…” she breathed, eyes widening. “But if they were such chatterers, how came they to lose their mouths?”

And the Princess, astonished by such an extraordinary tale, asked with eyes wide as saucers.

The young man began to explain the reason.

“It’s because… Long ago, everyone in this country loved to tell others everything they saw and heard.”
“And since those who were skilled at storytelling—true chatterboxes—were praised by all, everyone came to try to tell amusing tales.”
“Everyone resolved to tell—yes, to tell—the most astonishing tales they could.”
“Because of this, they gradually began mixing lies into their stories, until finally those skilled at lying came to be regarded as skilled storytellers.”
“And so the people of this country did nothing but tell lies day after day, until they ended up not speaking a single truth.”

“Oh my… Then everyone must have been terribly troubled.”

“Yes, truly, everyone was plunged into hardship.”
“Because no one’s words were believed.”
“Amidst this, war broke out between this country and a foreign land, but no matter how many times they said the enemy was attacking, no one believed it.”
“Since they hadn’t made any preparations for war, the people of this country were utterly defeated and came within a hair’s breadth of having their entire land seized by the enemy.”

“Oh my, how dreadful.”
“Then what happened?”

And the Princess asked worriedly.

“My ancestors had been kings of this country for generations, but when the king at that time saw this, he declared to all the people: ‘From now on, anyone who speaks will be killed. Kill them all—every bird, beast, or insect that makes a sound.’”

“Oh my, how terrifying.”

“But because of this, not only did the people of the entire country cease telling lies, but it became so quiet that not a single sound could be heard—so much so that they could now hear the sounds of the enemy’s approach and their shouted commands from miles away.”
“At that time, all our soldiers donned iron armor, gripped daggers, and silently advanced in the direction the King pointed—then soundlessly charged at the enemy. So this time it was the enemy who were utterly defeated and fled in disarray.”

“Oh my… What a relief.”

The Princess, who had been listening, finally felt relieved.

The young man continued his story.

“After that, not a single person in this country spoke anymore. Eventually, even if someone merely gaped open-mouthed, officials would spot them from afar and mistake it for speech—killing them on the spot. Terrified, the people began sucking milk and soups through their noses to avoid opening their mouths when eating. And so, over several thousand years of living this way, their mouths became useless, gradually shrinking until they vanished completely as you see now. But since having no mouth at all made their faces look peculiar, they paint red lips beneath their noses where mouths once existed.”

“Then how is it that you have a mouth?”

And Princess Chatterbox inquired.

When asked this, the young man’s face turned bright red but eventually answered sorrowfully.

The prince, his large eyes brimming with tears,
“Though all people in this land lack mouths—that I alone possess one contains an exceedingly sorrowful tale behind it—are you acquainted with that flower called gardenia?” abruptly asked.

“Yes, I know it well.
“It’s a tree that blooms with large flowers in the evening and has a wonderfully fragrant scent.”
“The flowers are pure white and have such a lovely fragrance that you can recognize them even at night.”

she answered.

The Prince nodded.

“The gardenia tree has been beloved by the people of this country since ancient times because its name is written as ‘Kuchinashi’ (literally ‘mouthless’).”
“Therefore, the ancestral king had them planted along every roadside throughout the country—on every small path.”
“By doing so, no matter how dark the night became, people could use their fragrance and white blossoms as guides to proceed without losing their way.”

“Now then… My mother, the queen consort, was given the name Princess Kuchinashi—so much so that from her earliest years she loved this ‘mouthless’ flower above all else. And so, on one moonlit night, while sniffing one white gardenia after another, before she knew it she had left the castle and ventured farther and farther west... However, the farther she got from the castle, the fewer gardenia flowers there were—until finally, no matter which way she turned, there was neither scent nor white blossom to be found… And then, when dawn broke, she finally became lost and ended up in an unknown country.”

“Oh my… How very like me…”

The Princess inadvertently said.

“And then what became of your mother, Princess Kuchinashi?”

The Prince, still looking sorrowful, continued his story as follows.

“Princess Kuchinashi, without a second thought, pressed on deeper into that country, only to be astonished by how animatedly every last person there seemed to be chatting away.”

Princess Kuchinashi became fascinated by both their storytelling manner and their words themselves, and as she listened to one tale after another, she ended up memorizing them completely.
She began wanting to speak herself, but since she couldn’t use her mouth, she simply couldn’t manage it.

Then, upon seeing them dancing to songs and playing music, she became unbearably eager to sing—but still couldn’t use her mouth.

When a large group of children found Princess Kuchinashi,

“Hey, there’s a mouthless girl here!”

Upon hearing this, an even greater crowd came swarming over, until finally—

“Cripple! Cripple!”
“Mouthless! Mouthless!”

While shouting such things, they began hurling stones and wood fragments, striking her blows, and kicking.

Princess Kuchinashi, shocked by this country’s violent people, fled with all her might. When she finally took refuge in a mountain, the children dwindled one by one until they vanished completely, and the princess found herself alone at the edge of a large pond.

When she casually glanced at her reflection in the pond’s water—what do you think she saw?

The lovely mouth her dear mother had drawn for her had vanished without her noticing when.

Princess Kuchinashi saw her own face reflected in the pond’s water and burst into tears.

“Oh, why don’t I have a mouth?”
“Why is it that people from foreign lands have been granted mouths, able to sing and dance so freely?”
“Ah… I want a mouth… I want a mouth.”

As she wept alone, the scent of gardenia flowers began drifting in from somewhere.

Princess Kuchinashi gradually made her way toward the scent until she finally reached her own country.
There she was welcomed by parents and retainers who had been searching frantically for her, and thus returned safely to the castle.

However, from then on, whenever Princess Kuchinashi saw gardenia flowers, she shed tears.
Whenever she caught the scent of gardenias, she would sigh sorrowfully.

Ah.
If only that gardenia hadn’t existed, I wouldn’t have had to go to other countries at all.
And I wouldn’t have had to endure such embarrassing, mortifying feelings either.

When she thought this, she came to detest gardenia flowers and their scent beyond measure.

“Ah.
If only that gardenia would disappear—how wonderful that would be.”

she came to think.
However, the gardenias throughout all our lands did not wither easily.

In time Princess Kuchinashi grew up and became our king’s queen consort—and from around that period onward not a single gardenia flower bloomed throughout our entire country.
While people wondered what could have caused this strange occurrence—the queen consort gave birth to a prince as precious as a jewel.

“That child is me.”

said the Prince.

Princess Chatterbox, so astonished by this fantastical tale that she couldn’t utter a word of her usual chatter, listened intently while gazing fixedly at the Prince’s face.
The Prince continued his story.

“I was born with a mouth—a most peculiar thing—and they say I wailed ‘waa waa’ like any newborn. Since the people of this land had never heard an infant’s cries, they began uproariously proclaiming, ‘A monster has been born in the King’s castle!’”

“My, how utterly foolish they are.
It’s such an obvious thing, really.”

Princess Chatterbox finally spoke.

“But in this country, being astonished is only natural.”
“And so my father the King ordered my mother the Queen to sew my mouth shut with needle and thread—but my mother was by nature a compassionate woman; how could she bring herself to commit such cruelty?”
“As there was no other way, she stuffed a wad of cotton into my mouth, wrapped it with a bandage over that, and made it appear as though the wound from sewing it shut would never heal.”
“And so when Father King would go hunting, Mother Queen would take me during his absence to an underground cellar, remove the bandage on my mouth, place her hand over my lips, and teach me various ways of speaking. By around ten years old, I had already become quite proficient at conversation.”

“Truly, Mother Queen is so skilled at teaching.”

“However, one day, my Chatterbox practice was finally discovered by Father King.”
When Father King went hunting—though he would normally not return for about seven days—there came a time when they caught so many birds and beasts that his retainers could no longer carry them all, compelling him to return on the third day.
But since Mother Queen and I were nowhere to be found, when they searched everywhere, they discovered Mother Queen and me conversing in the cellar.”

“Oh my, how dreadful…”

“Father King severely scolded Mother Queen and immediately tried to kill me.”

“My, what a dreadful Father King you have!”

“But at that time, my mother the Queen desperately shielded me and finally succeeded in having my life spared.”
“In exchange, he confined me to the top of this tower for life, had large spiders spin webs in place of guards, and made them secure the entrance.”
“And so each night, I received food and water passed through gaps in the spider’s web—but if I so much as spoke or sang even a little, I would get no supper that evening.”

“My, how pitiable!”

“So I too endured and didn’t speak a word after that—until one evening at dusk.”
“Shortly after the moon rose over the eastern mountains, when I looked around from atop this tower, I saw a young lady clinging to ivy vines as she descended halfway down the opposite cliff.”

“My... So it was you who kindly helped me that time?”

“No, it wasn’t me—but I couldn’t help thinking what a perilous situation that was.”
“Just then, it was time for me to go down to receive my meal, so I descended to the tower’s entrance and asked the soldier who had brought the food to summon Mother Queen.”
“Then I quietly entreated Mother Queen to arrange your rescue.”
“And not long after you arrived at this castle, you encountered such a dreadful ordeal and came to this tower’s entrance...”

“My... So it was you who ensured I wouldn’t be devoured by that spider.”

“Yes. That spider was a fool—it wrapped you in thread and hid you inside the tower. I carried you here and untied you... Well, that concludes my story. Now it’s your turn to tell yours.”

“Huh… You’re saying it’s my turn to tell my story?…”

“That’s right.
“How on earth did you come to be in this country?”
“And what country on earth are you from?”

When the Princess was asked this, she suddenly grew embarrassed and turned bright red, but since she thought she mustn’t hide anything from the person who had saved her life, she told him everything from the very beginning.

...how she came to be called Princess Chatterbox...

...how she had dreamed of daggers and spiders...

...how when she told this to her two maids, they said it was a dream foretelling something wonderful would soon happen...

...how she had told Father King and Mother Queen about it, but how the two maids later lied, saying they had heard no such story...

...how Father King became enraged over this and the Princess was placed in a stone prison...

...and then, guided by a cat, she journeyed from the Lark Kingdom through the Frog Kingdom, suffering terrible ordeals everywhere because of her chatter, until finally fleeing to this land...

...how she met Father King and Mother Queen... how during a feast, she was nearly killed because of her chatter... how she fled about until she reached this Iron Tower...

And so she told him everything from beginning to end, one thing after another.

The Prince listened in rapt attention—surprised one moment, impressed the next, bursting into laughter at times—utterly engrossed in delight.
And with that, she concluded.

“Ah… Ah, what a marvelous story!”
“For the first time in my life, I have heard a truly marvelous story.”
“And so—for the first time in my life—I have truly spoken aloud to another human being with such heartfelt sincerity.”
“However, there’s just one thing in your story that puzzles me.”

“My, what might that be?”

“It concerns those two maids.”
“The people of your country may spin tales, but they do not tell lies.”

“Yes, there isn’t a single person who tells lies.”

“And why on earth would your maids have told such lies? Though they heard from you about daggers and spiders, why would they say they hadn’t heard it, angering your Father King and making him put you in the stone prison?”

“That’s true... Even now, I still find that utterly perplexing. My two maids had always been such truly loyal and good maids up until now, and yet they had never once done such a mean-spirited thing...”

“How strange.”

“What could have happened?”

And the two exchanged glances.

At that moment, from far below came a frantic flapping sound,

“Groan... groan...”

A voice could be heard.

Startled, they immediately peered down from the entrance far below, where at the base of the long, long ladder steps, the familiar enormous spider and a woman in white garments were locked in desperate combat—and before their eyes, threads from the spider coiled around the woman, all clearly visible in the moonlight streaming through the window.

“Oh! That is my Mother Queen. Damn you, spider!”

No sooner had he spoken than the Prince went racing down the ladder steps like an arrow.

Princess Chatterbox watched anxiously to see what would happen when the Prince, having descended the ladder, immediately drew a dagger from his pocket and with a single strike plunged it between the spider’s eyes, killing it. Then, using the same dagger, he sliced through the threads entangling Mother Queen to shreds and freed her.

As Princess Chatterbox watched on with relieved vigilance, Mother Queen—overcome with joy—tightly embraced the Prince. But soon loosening her grip, she appeared to be instructing him through hand gestures to escape somewhere.

The Prince pressed both hands to the ground and expressed his thanks.

Before long, Mother Queen parted from the Prince while shedding tears and headed out toward the front.

Princess Chatterbox, who had been watching this, hurriedly tried to descend the ladder steps to reach the Prince’s side, but at that moment, the castle interior seemed to have suddenly grown clamorous—for in the lulls of the wind’s howling, what sounded like countless footsteps could be heard. When the Princess peered outside—disaster.

Countless soldiers, each and every one wielding daggers, seemed to be swarming toward this tower.

Seeing this, the Princess involuntarily shouted down from above.

“Prince! This is terrible!”
“A great many soldiers are attacking!”

When the Prince heard this, he immediately ran out to check, but promptly dashed back into the tower. As he ascended the zigzagging ladder steps—pulling out and throwing down each first step he climbed, knocking off each second step—by the time he reached the top, he had cast down every last stair below.

A great many soldiers charged forward to attack, but as the ladder steps had been cast down, they could not climb up. Having no other choice, they surrounded the Iron Tower from all directions and loosed whistling arrows, but the tower was so tall that they all fell short halfway up.

The Prince, while watching this, said to the Princess, who was trembling uncontrollably from sheer terror:

“All these soldiers have come from the downwind towns and villages of this country.”
“It seems our conversation was fully heard in those downwind towns and villages. Believing there’s a monster atop this tower, they came urging Father King to exterminate it quickly.”
“Though both Father King and Mother Queen knew full well that it was you and I who had been speaking—that we were no monsters—it has been decreed since ancient times in this land that those who chatter must be killed. Therefore, they cannot refrain from carrying out the execution.”
“Because he had immediately ordered soldiers to be deployed from within the castle too, Mother Queen—anxious—came to warn us to flee quickly.”
“But tragically, being unable to speak, she tried entering out of necessity and became ensnared in a spider’s web.”

“Oh, how truly kind your Mother Queen is!”

And Princess Chatterbox shed tears.

"But it was already too late."
"This tower is already surrounded by soldiers from all directions—there’s no escaping now."
"There’s only one escape route left."

"What? There’s still an escape route?"

"There certainly is."
"You have the parachute you had when you jumped off the cliff earlier, do you not?"

"Ah! I have it, I have it!"

"You can fly with that."

As he said this, the Prince turned toward the castle from the window at the Iron Tower’s summit and shouted.

“Father! Mother! I was at fault.”
“My needless chatter caused you grave concern.”
“I shall now depart with Her Highness to another land.”
“But henceforth I shall never chatter again.”
“Even regarding matters I’ve truly witnessed or heard, I will refrain from uttering unnecessary words. I beg you find peace in this.”
“Farewell—may fortune favor you.”

As he spoke these words, the Prince pressed his hands against the tower floor and bid farewell while shedding tears.

Princess Chatterbox too, wordlessly spilling tears, pressed her hands to the floor and bid farewell.

And so, the two of them firmly grasped the parachute’s cords and leaped off from the top of the tower, aiming downward.

Their bodies soon floated gently into the air thanks to the parachute.
Along with the violently blowing wind, they soared high high high into the vast sky, but amidst this, rain began pattering down.

Then disaster struck again.
The parachute, which appeared to have been made of paper, rapidly tore to pieces before their eyes—there was no stopping it.

The two fell swiftly toward the world below like a meteor, still locked in each other's embrace.

“Huh?! Help!”

The Princess involuntarily let out a loud cry, but upon being startled by her own voice, she awoke—and what do you know? Everything up until now had all been a dream—the Princess was still lying asleep in the stone prison of her own castle.

The Princess could no longer tell which was the dream.

Overwhelmed by the strangeness of it all, she stood up and ran her hands along all four walls of the stone prison, but found nothing but cold stone with no holes or gaps. When she reached upward, the ceiling was right within her grasp, but there too was not a single place from which to escape.

Overwhelmed by the strangeness of it all, Princess Chatterbox sat dazedly on the stone floor.

Then, before long, a light shone ahead as her father the King and two soldiers came into view, whereupon the prison entrance was opened from outside.

Her father the King was unexpectedly beaming as he said:

“Now, Princess Chatterbox.”
“Your dream has come true.”
“Until now, no one came to be your husband because you were too much of a chatterbox, yet today, quite unexpectedly, the third Prince Mukuchi from the neighboring country has arrived declaring he wishes to become your husband.”
“I will now introduce you, so come quickly.”

No sooner had this been said than they pulled the Princess out of the prison, and upon returning to the castle, he immediately ordered the two attending maids to splendidly prepare her makeup.

The two maids, upon seeing the Princess safe and sound, shed tears of joy as they assisted with her makeup.
And while pulling her hands from both sides, they took her before her parents, the King and Queen.

The Princess had been led along as if seized by a fox, but when she saw Prince Mukuchi standing before her father the King and her mother the Queen, she involuntarily—

“Huh?! You are that prince!” she cried out. Prince Mukuchi’s appearance was no different whatsoever from that prince of the Land Without Mouths she had seen in her dream some time before. Prince Mukuchi also smiled warmly when he saw the Princess.

And then he said as follows:

“You must have been quite surprised. I too am truly puzzled by it. Last night, I had a strange dream. In that dream, I was born as the only child of the King of Kuchinashi, but having been born with a mouth, I caused my parents endless worry—until at last, I escaped from the Iron Tower together with Princess Chatterbox. According to what I heard from you at that time, you had told your father and mother about your dream of spiders and daggers, but because the attending maids claimed it was a lie, you were imprisoned in the stone prison. Then, when I awoke and thought about it—since there is no one else named Princess Chatterbox but you—I grew worried and immediately rode a horse to this castle. When I arrived, I learned from your parents that my dream was true: you were imprisoned in the stone prison. Therefore, I humbly informed them that your dream was not a lie and begged your forgiveness.”

The Princess who had been listening to this story could no longer tell whether the dream was reality or reality was a dream.

At that time, the Father King said as follows:

“Princess,
“It is because you chatter so much that even true tales are deemed lies.
“You shall henceforth be renamed Princess Quiet.
“And never again chatter about trivial matters.”

When this was said, the Princess turned crimson with shame,

“It was my fault.
“I shall never chatter again,”

she apologized.

The King then said to the two maids as follows.

"You heard about the dagger and spiders from the Princess, did you not?"

The two maids exchanged glances and turned bright red, but eventually gave this reply.

“Yes.”
“We certainly did hear that story.”

“And then you lied about not having heard anything?”

When asked this, the two maids answered while blushing even more deeply.

“Yes.”
“If one dreams of spiders and daggers, a fine groom will surely arrive.”
“But it has been handed down from olden times that if that matter were to reach the ears of the intended groom, it would be ruined.”
“That is why we deliberately claimed it was a lie, so that a fine groom would come for Her Highness the Princess.”

The King, the Queen, Prince Mukuchi, and Princess Chatterbox—now Princess Quiet—all ended up being deeply impressed by the two maids’ loyalty.

It was not long after that Prince Mukuchi became the husband of Princess Chatterbox—now Princess Quiet—and a splendid wedding was held.

At that time, the two maids received abundant rewards from the King.

And so they served Prince Mukuchi and Princess Quiet with loyalty until their dying day.