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ABOUT YOSHITSUNE. 133
" In rambling about the mountains, Yoshitsune*
made the acquaintance of the young tengus, so
that the little goblins became quite fond of him,
and told their king of the brave boy. The king
commanded them to bring the child to him, promising
to teach him military knowledge and necro-
mancy. So one moonlight night
he was escorted
into the presence of the king of the tengus and all
his court. They stood as usual on their one-propped
clogs while their master sat. Yoshitsund was awed
but not afraid, and sat down before the king to take
his first lesson. Every night after that he came at
the usual hour to the cedar-tree, under which the
king of the goblins had his seat, and, spreading out
his roll, received instructions until midnight. This
great tree is still standing in the forest. It is six
feet thick and is surrounded by a hedge, and is
known as 'the great cedar.'
" He also took lessons in wrestling with the little
tengus. At first the boy was thrown every time,
but finally none of the young goblins could knock
him off his feet. Instead, they lost many a feather
from their wings, and had their noses often badly
bumped on the ground, for Yoshitsune" threw them
easily. At last they would not wrestle with him,
and flew away when he challenged them. After
several years' practice with the tengus, Yoshitsund
could fence, wrestle, and leap up in the air, and fly
for a short distance as though he had wings like
one of these mountain imps.
" You will see why the story-tellers have invented