The Boy Who Drew Cats and Other Japanese Fairy Tales

Youngsters are transported to an exotic, faraway world of samurai warriors, rice fields, humble cottages, and a magical spring in five tales excellently translated and adapted by noted writer and linguist Lafcadio Hearn: "The Fountain of Youth," "Chin-Chin Kobakama," "The Goblin-Spider," "The Old Woman Who Lost Her Dumplings," and the title story. Six additional stories — in versions by Grace James, Basil Hall Chamberlain, and other authorities on Japanese folklore — include "The Tea-Kettle," "The Wooden Bowl," "My Lord Bag-o'-Rice," "The Hare of Inaba," "The Silly Jelly-Fish," and "The Matsuyama Mirror."