The Hairpin Kappa
There was once a kappa that lived under a waterfall. He lived deep down under the waterfall where no one could see him. What made this kappa so special was that he could turn into a beautiful hairpin.
But don't be fooled. He was not nice. When he turned into this pretty hairpin he would float near the waterfall until a woman passed along and saw the hairpin. When that girl reached out to pick up the hairpin he would transform back into his ugly self and drag the woman under the water!
One day, when the kappa turned into the hairpin, a samurai walked by and spotted the hairpin. When he saw it was the most beautiful thing he had ever laid eyes on.
It was long, slender, and pink. At the end of the pin was a delicate ball with small white fish swimming around the circle. A small white tassel hung below the ball with a tiny bead at the end.
The strong samurai went over to fetch the hairpin for his beautiful young wife. However, when he picked up the hairpin, in a flash, it turned into a hideous creature!
It was the kappa. He had dark green skin that was leathery and wrinkly. It had a birds' beak that was razor sharp, but not as sharp as those blazing red eyes of his. The bowl on its head was filled with water and surrounded by stringy black hair. The kappa also had a turtle shell and webbed feet. The samurai had never seen such a thing!
The kappa tried to violently pull the samurai under the deep water but the kappa wasn't used to such a strong victim, he was used to scare, innocent women ((I know, my grandfather is so sexist)). With a sudden burst, the samurai pulled the kappa out of the water onto the bank.
Finally realizing the he made a terrible mistake the kappa grabbed onto a rock and held on tightly! But the samurai was strong, he pulled both the kappa and the heavy rock high into the air and chucked it back into the water. The kappa hit his bowl head onto a hard so the water spilled out, weakening him.
The kappa tried and tried the get his sharp, webbed feet out of the rock that was holding him down underwater but it didn't budge. The kappa kept trying until he found the bottom of the river and crawled to the bank slowly, for the heavy rock was hard to move.
When the kappa emerged from the water, tired and hurt, the kappa did not look the angry samurai in the eyes.
"I do not like being fooled, kappa. I will release you if you never come to this town again." The samurai told the creature. The kappa nodded quickly. The samurai lifted his sword high into the air and sliced the rock into two pieces, freeing the creature with a turtle shell.
The kappa wiggled his freed feet before quickly jumping back into the water and swimming away as fast as he could. That rock is still by the waterfall to this day to warn any kappas of coming to that village.
THE END