landscape, spangled by ten thousand brilliant spots of golden light. Each

flash seems like a tiny blaze of harmless lightning.



One of the species of night-flies, the most beautiful of all, is a source

of much amusement to the ladies. Hanging the cage of glittering insects

on their verandahs, they sit and watch the crowd of winged visitors

attracted by the fire-fly's light. What brings them there, and why the

fire-fly's parlor is filled with suitors as a queen's court with

courtiers, let this love story tell.



* * * * *



On the southern and sunny side of the castle moats of the Fukui castle,

in Echizen, the water had long ago become shallow so that lotus lilies

grew luxuriantly. Deep in the heart of one of the great flowers whose

petals were as pink as the lining of a sea-shell, lived the King of the

Fire-flies, Hi-[=o], whose only daughter was the lovely princess

Hotaru-hime. While still a child the hime (princess) was carefully kept

at home within the pink petals of the lily, never going even to the

edges except to see her father fly off on his journey. Dutifully she

waited until of age, when the fire glowed in her own body, and shone,

beautifully illuminating the lotus, until its light at night was like a

lamp within a globe of coral.



Every night her light grew brighter and brighter, until at last it was as

mellow as gold. Then her father said:



"My daughter is now of age, she may fly abroad with me sometimes, and

when the proper suitor comes she may marry whom she will."



So Hotaru-hime flew forth in and out among the lotus lilies of the moat,

then into rich rice fields, and at last far off to the indigo meadows.



Whenever she went a crowd of suitors followed her, for she had the

singular power of attracting all the night-flying insects to herself.

But she cared for none of their attentions, and though she spoke politely

to them all she gave encouragement to none. Yet some of the sheeny-winged

gallants called her a coquette.



One night she said to her mother, the queen:



"I have met many admirers, but I don't wish a husband from any of them.

Tonight I shall stay at home, and if any of them love me truly they will

come and pay me court here. Then I shall lay an impossible duty on them.

If they are wise they will not try to perform it; and if they love their

lives more than they love me, I do not want any of them. Whoever succeeds

may have me for his bride."



"As you will my child," said the queen mother, who arrayed her daughter

in her most resplendent robes, and set her on her throne in the heart of

the lotus.



Then she gave orders to her body-guard to keep all suitors at a

respectful distance lest some stupid gallant, a horn-bug or a cockchafer

dazzled by the light should approach too near and hurt the princess or

shake her throne.



No sooner had twilight faded away, than forth came the golden beetle, who

stood on a stamen and making obeisance, said:--



"I am Lord Green-Gold, I offer my house, my fortune and my love to

Princess Hotaru."



"Go and bring me fire and I will be your bride" said Hotaru-hime.



With a bow of the head the beetle opened his wings and departed with a

stately whirr.



Next came a shining bug with wings and body as black as lamp-smoke, who

solemnly professed his passion.



"Bring me fire and you may have me for your wife."



Off flew the bug with a buzz.



Pretty soon came the scarlet dragon-fly, expecting so to dazzle the

princess by his gorgeous colors that she would accept him at once.



"I decline your offer" said the princess, "but if you bring me a flash of

fire, I'll become your bride."



Swift was the flight of the dragon-fly on his errand, and in came the

Beetle with a tremendous buzz, and ardently plead his suit.



"I'll say 'yes' if you bring me fire" said the glittering princess.



Suitor after suitor appeared to woo the daughter of the King of the

Fire-flies until every petal was dotted with them. One after another in a

long troop they appeared. Each in his own way, proudly, humbly, boldly,

mildly, with flattery, with boasting, even with tears, each proffered his

love, told his rank or expatiated on his fortune or vowed his constancy,

sang his tune or played his music. To every one of her lovers the

princess in modest voice returned the same answer:



"Bring me fire and I'll be your bride."



So without telling his rivals, each one thinking he had the secret alone

sped away after fire.



But none ever came back to wed the princess. Alas for the poor suitors!

The beetle whizzed off to a house near by through the paper windows of

which light glimmered. So full was he of his passion that thinking

nothing of wood or iron, he dashed his head against a nail, and fell dead

on the ground.



The black bug flew into a room where a poor student was reading. His lamp

was only a dish of earthenware full of rape seed oil with a wick made of

pith. Knowing nothing of oil the love-lorn bug crawled into the dish to

reach the flame and in a few seconds was drowned in the oil.



"Nan jaro?" (What's that?) said a thrifty housewife, sitting with needle

in hand, as her lamp flared up for a moment, smoking the chimney, and

then cracking it; while picking out the scorched bits she found a roasted

dragon-fly, whose scarlet wings were all burned off.



Mad with love the brilliant hawk-moth, afraid of the flame yet determined

to win the fire for the princess, hovered round and round the candle

flame, coming nearer and nearer each time. "Now or never, the princess or

death," he buzzed, as he darted forward to snatch a flash of flame, but

singeing his wings, he fell helplessly down, and died in agony.



"What a fool he was, to be sure," said the ugly clothes moth, coming on

the spot, "I'll get the fire. I'll crawl up inside the candle." So he

climbed up the hollow paper wick, and was nearly to the top, and inside

the hollow blue part of the flame, when the man, snuffing the wick,

crushed him to death.



Sad indeed was the fate of the lovers of Hi-[=o]'s daughter. Some hovered

around the beacons on the headland, some fluttered about the great wax

candles which stood eight feet high in their brass sockets in Buddhist

temples; some burned their noses at the top of incense sticks, or were

nearly choked by the smoke; some danced all night around the lanterns in

the shrines; some sought the sepulchral lamps in the graveyard; one

visited the cremation furnace; another the kitchen, where a feast was

going on; another chased the sparks that flew out of the chimney; but

none brought fire to the princess, or won the lover's prize. Many lost

their feelers, had their shining bodies scorched or their wings singed,

but most of them alas! lay dead, black and cold next morning.



As the priests trimmed the lamps in the shrines, and the servant maids

the lanterns, each said alike:



"The Princess Hotaru must have had many lovers last night."



Alas! alas! poor suitors. Some tried to snatch a streak of green fire

from the cat's eyes, and were snapped up for their pains. One attempted

to get a mouthful of bird's breath, but was swallowed alive. A carrion

beetle (the ugly lover) crawled off to the sea shore, and found some fish

scales that emitted light. The stag-beetle climbed a mountain, and in a

rotten tree stump found some bits of glowing wood like fire, but the

distance was so great that long before they reached the castle moat it

was daylight, and the fire had gone out; so they threw their fish scales

and old wood away.



The next day was one of great mourning and there were so many funerals

going on, that Hi-mar[=o] the Prince of the Fire-flies on the north side

of the castle moat inquired of his servants the cause. Then he learned

for the first time of the glittering princess. Upon this the prince who

had just succeeded his father upon the throne fell in love with the

princess and resolved to marry her. He sent his chamberlain to ask of her

father his daughter in marriage according to true etiquette. The father

agreed to the prince's proposal, with the condition that the Prince

should obey her behest in one thing, which was to come in person

bringing her fire.



Then the Prince at the head of his glittering battalions came in person

and filled the lotus palace with a flood of golden light. But Hotaru-hime

was so beautiful that her charms paled not their fire even in the blaze

of the Prince's glory. The visit ended in wooing, and the wooing in

wedding. On the night appointed, in a palanquin made of the white

lotus-petals, amid the blazing torches of the prince's battalions of

warriors, Hotaru-hime was borne to the prince's palace and there, prince

and princess were joined in the wedlock.



Many generations have passed since Hi-mar[=o] and Hotaru-hime were

married, and still it is the whim of all Fire-fly princesses that their

base-born lovers must bring fire as their love-offering or lose their

prize. Else would the glittering fair ones be wearied unto death by the

importunity of their lovers. Great indeed is the loss, for in this quest

of fire many thousand insects, attracted by the fire-fly, are burned to

death in the vain hope of winning the fire that shall gain the cruel but

beautiful one that fascinates them. It is for this cause that each night

insects hover around the lamp flame, and every morning a crowd of victims

drowned in the oil, or scorched in the flame, must be cleaned from the

lamp. This is the reason why young ladies catch and imprison the

fire-flies to watch the war of insect-love, in the hope that they may

have human lovers who will dare as much, through fire and flood, as they.