The street was full of people, and every one was gay. The Twins and their Father had gone only a little way up the street when an old woman met them. She had a pole on her shoulder, and from it swung a little fire of coals in a brazier. She had a little pot of batter and a little jar of sweet sauce, a ladle, a griddle, and a cake-turner!
"Would you like to make some cakes?" she said to Take.
Take clasped her hands. "Oh, Father, may I?" she said.
The Father gave the old woman some money out of his sleeve. She set the brazier on the ground.
Then Tale tucked her sleeves back, put the griddle on the coals, poured out some batter, and cooked a little cake on one side until it was brown. Then she turned it over with the cake-turner, and browned it on the other side. Then she put it on a plate and put the sauce on it.
My, my! but it was fun!
The first cake she made she gave to her Father.
He ate it all up. Then he said, "Honorable daughter, the cake is the very best I ever had of the kind. I am sure your honorable brother would like one too."The Japanese are so very polite that they often call each other "honorable" in that way. They even call things that they use "honorable," too!
So Take said very politely, "Honorable Brother, would you like one of my poor cakes?"It would be impolite in Japan to call anything good that you had made yourself. It would seem like praising your own work. That was why Take called them "my poor cakes.""I should like a cake very much," Taro said.
Take poured out the batter. She watched it carefully, to be sure it did not burn. When it was just brown enough she gave it to Taro.
Taro ate it all up. Then he said to Take, "Honorable Sister, Ishould like to eat six."
The Father laughed. "If you stay here to eat six cakes, we shall not see the dolls' garden," he said. "Take must have one cake for herself, and then we will go on."Take baked a cake for herself and ate it She called it a "poor"cake aloud, but inside she thought it was the very best cake that any one ever made!
When she had finished, she and Taro and the Father bowed politely to the old woman.
"Sayonara," they said. That means "good-bye."The old woman bowed. "Sayonara," she called to them.
The Twins and their Father walked on. They soon found the dolls' garden. In it were many tiny pine trees like theirs at home.
There were little plum trees, and bamboos, and a tiny tea-house in it. There was a pond with a little bridge, too.
"Oh!" cried Take, "if it only had little bells on the plum trees, this would be the very garden I sang about to Bot'Chan;wouldn't it?"
She stooped down and peeped under the little trees.
Let's play we are giants!" she said to Taro.
"Giants roar," said Taro.
"You roar," said Take. "It wouldn't be polite for a lady giant to roar!""Giants are different. They don't have to be polite," Taro explained.
"Well, you can roar," said Take, "but I shall play I'm a polite lady giant taking a walk in my garden! My head is in the clouds, and every step I take is a mile long!"She picked up her kimono. She turned her little nose up to the sky, and took a very long step.
Taro came roaring after her.
But just that minute Take's clog turned on her foot, and the first thing she knew she was flat on her stomach on the bridge!
She forgot that lady giants didn't roar.
Taro was roaring already.
Their Father was ahead of them. He jumped right up in the air when he heard the noise. He wasn't used to such sounds from the Twins. He turned back.
"What is the matter?" he said.
He picked Take up and set her on her feet.
"We're giants," sobbed Take.
"Her head was in the clouds," said Taro.
"It is well even for giants to keep an eye on the earth when they are out walking," the Father said. "Are you hurt?""Yes, I'm hurt," Take said; "but I don't think I'm broken anywhere.""Giants don't break easily at all," her Father answered. "Ithink you'll be all right if we go to your castle!""My castle!" cried Take. "Where is it?"
"Right over there through the trees." He pointed to it.
The Twins looked. They saw a high tower.
"Would you like to climb to the top with me?" their Father said.
"Oh, yes," Taro cried. "We aren't tired."
"Or broken," Take added.
So they went into the tower and climbed, and climbed, and climbed. It seemed as if the dark stairs would never end.
"I believe the tower reaches clear to the sky!" said Take.
"I don't believe it has any top at all!" said Taro.
But just that minute they came out on an open platform, and what a sight they saw! The whole city was spread out before them.
