We will now see what sort of time O Hara San, Miss Blossom, and her
brother, Taro San, Master Eldest Son, had at the fair one fine day in
Nagasaki. In the morning they sprang up from their quilts full of excited
pleasure, for they had been looking forward to this fair for some time. But
they did not romp and chatter and show their excitement as English children
would do. Their black eyes shone a little more brightly than usual, and
that was all.
When they had whipped their rice into their mouths with their little
chopsticks, they started for the fair, which was to be held in the grounds
of a great temple. Of course, they were dressed in their best clothes. Both
had new kimonos, and O Hara San had a very fine obi, which her parents had
bought for her by denying themselves many little luxuries. Their father and
grandmother went with them, but their mother stayed at home with the baby.
Their father wore a newly-washed kimono, but his chief glory was an old
bowler hat which a European gentleman had given to him. It had been much
too large for him, but he had neatly taken it in, and now wore it with
great pride. When they reached the fair they gave themselves up to its
delights with all their hearts. There was so much to do and so much to see.
Almost at once O Hara San and Taro were beguiled by a sweetmeat stall.
Each had five rin, and five rin make one farthing, or rather less, but we
will call it a farthing for the sake of round figures. One rin apiece was
spent here. The stall was in two divisions: one stocked with delicious
little bottles of sugar-water, the other with pieces of candy, tinted
bright blue and red and green. Miss Blossom went in for a bottle of
sugar-water, and her brother for candies. But first he demanded of the
candy-seller that he should be allowed to try his luck at the disc. This
was a disc having an arrow which could be whirled round, and if the arrow
paused opposite a lucky spot an extra piece of candy was added to the
purchase. To Taro's great joy, he made a lucky hit, and won the extra piece
of candy; he felt that the fair had begun very well for him.
While they drank sugar-water and munched candy, they wandered along looking
at the booths, where all sorts of wonders were to be seen--booths full of
conjurers, acrobats, dancers, of women who could stretch their necks to
the length of their arms, or thrust their lips up to cover their eyebrows,
and a hundred other curious tricks. The price of admission was one rin
each to children, and finally they chose the conjurer's booth, and saw him
spout fire from his mouth, swallow a long sword, and finally exhibit a
sea-serpent, which appeared to be made of seal-skins tacked together.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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