Princess Kaguya
Every day, he cut the bamboo that grew in the mountains. He used the bamboo to make all sorts of things for his living.
One day, while he was cutting the bamboo, a strange thing happened.
He found a single glowing bamboo.
When the older man cut the glowing bamboo, he found a little girl sitting inside.
The girl was so small that she could fit in the palm of his hand. Her face was so beautiful and glowing.
The older man was amazed.
He took the girl home. He and his wife decided to raise the girl with great care.
They named the girl “Kaguyahime” (Princess Kaguya).
Kaguyahime’s childhood was brief. She became as big as an average human.
Her beauty became more radiant. She looked like a celestial maiden.
News of Kaguyahime’s beauty raced through the land. Many men came to ask to marry Kaguyahime.
Of the suitors to Princess Kaguya, five were very respectable men. Those five men strongly wished to marry Princess Kaguya by all means.
She did not readily accept their courtship.
She told the five suitors.
I want each of you to bring something. I will marry the one who brings it.
She asked the first man for a bowl of Buddha’s stone. The second is for a fire-rat skin garment. The third is for a ball in a dragon’s neck. The fourth is for a small shell in a swallow’s hand. The fifth is for a branch of a medicine tree on Mount Horai.
But the men couldn’t get them.
Kaguyahime asked for something the human could not get.
It passed the time. Then, on a whole moon night, Kaguyahime told her grandparents the truth.
“I am actually from the Moon world. My stay here on earth is only temporary. Soon, a messenger from the Moon will come for me.”
That night, many messengers from the Moon came to pick up Kaguyahime.
The grandfather and grandmother were saddened.
But Grandpa and Grandma saw her off with tears in their eyes. They hoped that Kaguya would live happily in the moon world.
Before returning to the Moon, Kaguyahime left a letter for her grandparents. Kaguyahime returned to the moon world. She wore her heavenly robe of feathers.
The End.
If you're looking for a heartwarming and simple story, Niimi Nankichi's Red Candle is a perfect choice.