Chapter 1 - Beginning
This is a story about a tiny miracle that came to a certain group of people.
Once upon a time, in a land far away...
There was a dove that lived in a castle in a rural country where warmth and green prevailed. When the dove was a child, it got injured. The Princess discovered it staying motionless in the castle's garden. She looked after it since then.
It was such a bad injury that the dove felt as if its wings were torn off. The pain was all over its body, and it could do nothing but to lay itself on a leaf bed. It was the Princess who saved it then. She carried it into a small cage, which was hanging near a window in the corner of the Princess' room. Despite living inside the birdcage, there was not a thing that made the dove feel frustrated. The Princess always gave him close attention, and it became fond of the scenery through the window. Moreover, it liked watching the Princess lead a life every day. Recovering from the injury, it would hop around in the cage cheerfully.
Chapter 2 - Disease of the Princess
The dove was so happy with the days it lived there, and it hoped that such days would last forever. But, one day, things began to change. The Princess, who was always in good shape and made it a habit to visit the dove many times a day, did not show up one day. She did not come up to feed it on that day.
On the following day, early in the morning, the dove saw many noblemen gather around the Princess. They all had an anxious look on their faces. It seemed that the Princess had an illness. They were saying that she might not get well and she might possibly pass away. When they mentioned that the war with the neighboring country had just come to a close and peace was close at hand, one of them abruptly said with a loud voice, "The Demon of Razgriz!!"
"When history witnesses a great change, Razgriz reveals itself, first as a dark demon. As a demon, it uses its power to rain death upon the land, and then it dies. However, after a period of slumber, Razgriz returns."
"Only the Demon of Razgriz can bring about an illness like this to her!"
The more the dove remembered the Princess' complexion of the previous day, and the more it thought about how seriously the men around her bed were talking, the more anxious it felt. At this rate, the Princess might be gone. She might not wake up to come and see me anymore. Those sad feelings lingered on in its mind.
Chapter 3 - Thoughts of the Dove
While caring for the Princess and looking back upon the days spent with her, a faint memory flashed across the dove's mind. It was the story told by its mother who died when the dove was still a baby.
"Somewhere in the world is a big magic tree, and its fruits can cure every injury and every disease. It is so far away, deep down in the rocky mountains that no one can ever step foot in."
That magic fruit can get rid of her disease and save her life, the dove thought. She will be well if I can get one.
But, the more the dove thought about it, the less confident it felt. There was no time to be sitting and doing nothing, but it just couldn't make up its mind.
"Can I escape hawks and falcons if they come after me?"
"Can I fly to the mountains so far away and then fly over them?"
"Can I simply fly for such a long time?"
"Can I really carry the fruit with this small beak of mine, even if I'm lucky enough to get there?"
"And above all, can I manage to make it back in one piece?"
These bad feelings would not leave the dove's head. That couldn't be helped because it had been living in the cage since its injury. Having been protected all the time by the Princess since then, all it did was hop around in his tiny birdcage.
In the meantime, the Princess kept becoming worse, day by day.
The next morning, an old nursemaid came to feed the dove on behalf of the Princess. She was about to open the cage just a little to put feed in with her wrinkled hand. The dove was watching her do so with a determined look on its face, waiting for his chance. Then, it took a chance and got out the cage. Flying through the room's door and flying across the castle's walls, the dove was heading for the sky high above. He heard the nursemaid shout "O' dear!" from behind.
Was the dove finally free from the fear of hawks and falcons? Definitely not. Had it the idea of what course to take? Absolutely not. Nevertheless, he took desperate flight just in pursuit of the magic fruit.
Chapter 4 - Lark
The dove first reached a forest to the north of the castle.
"Looks like you are in such hurry, but your flying is not smooth," said a lark, which had just flown quickly from behind to the dove's side.
"It can't be helped. I've lived in a cage for a long time. I'm proud that I can somehow manage to fly," the dove responded.
"Cages suck," the lark said abruptly. "We've got wings, right? Flying is wonderful. Your wings can take you anywhere you want at any time you want. That's how it is. Look. The world is so big."
The dove asked the lark, "Don't you think the sky is dangerous? There are hawks and falcons up here. What if they come after you? And on the ground, there are foxes, raccoons, dogs, and cats."
"Let me ask you something. Can you eat anything you wanna eat, if you are confined in a cage?" The lark asked. "Even if some days you feel like eating bugs, sometimes you want rosebuds instead. Suppose you no longer have someone to feed you. There is no point in talking about 'safe' and 'dangerous' then. It's about either 'you' or 'someone else' who is responsible for anything that happens. That's all that counts."
The dove asked in response, "Is it good to know that the world is so big?"
"The world is what your eyes can see, and it is what we live in. So, knowing more about it makes you better. You can count on it." The lark said all of this snobbishly, but seriously.
The dove said to the lark, "I am searching for a magic fruit."
"Ain't got no clue. Why don't you ask that green worm down there? O' how pathetic! I never want to be something like that. It can move, but it can move forward and back only on a single tree. That tree is the entire world to that thing."
The dove looked down and found something green crawling on a tree down below it.
Chapter 5 - Green Worm
"I myself can fly. I know I can't fly as high as you can, but I can fly," the green worm suddenly said, perplexing the dove.
"You don't have wings, do you? You cannot fly," the dove responded right away.
"You are wrong," the green worm said. "Whatever you say, I can fly. I will become a pupa and I will have my wings. That's why I can fly."
"But not now," said the dove.
"There is no difference between flying today and flying tomorrow. You couldn't fly either when you were an egg, could you? When I turn into a pupa, my wings start to grow. They will be as big as my memory I'll have obtained until I turn into a pupa. Once my wings have grown, my legs will be small and weak. Then I will not be able to walk all over the tree like this anymore."
"I am searching for a tree that bears magic fruits," the dove asked the green worm.
"A tortoise dropped in here recently. It looked wise. It said it usually hangs around at the lakeside beyond this forest. It probably knows something about it. The tortoise may be wise, but it has to be locked up inside its carapace. How pitiful! It will never have wings either. Its memory will not change into anything. The tortoise gets older. So does its memory."
Far, far away, just beyond the forest, the dove found a lake shining under the light of the sunset.
Chapter 6 - Tortoise
On arriving at the lake, the dove came across a tortoise that appeared to be wise. The tortoise said, "It's good to have a carapace. This thing has enabled me to survive a lot of dangers. There are some birds that wear a carapace, aren't there?"
"You mean a cage? It's not like yours. It bans us going outside. Many of us want out of the cages. I was once in a cage too", the dove explained to the tortoise.
"Why in the world did you get out of it and jeopardize yourself? The best way to live long is to keep away from anything dangerous. Hazards can hit you out of nowhere, even if there is nothing to be blamed on your end. When you are in trouble, you need... to be... in your carapace... like this and wait for everything to subside. Don't even think about moving around," the tortoise said with his limbs being folded into his carapace.
"That solves nothing though", said the dove.
"Well!" said the tortoise with a loud voice. "Are you able to solve every problem you encounter? Are you certain you are? Good or bad, everything has its ending. When the sun is shining, you better enjoy as much sunlight as you can. In an ice-cold winter that freezes even your teardrops, you must endure with all your might. The sun will rise again. Mind you, we are mortals, and that's all mortals can do." The tortoise paused.
"Hmm? A strange wind has begun to blow. I have a feeling that something wicked is coming," said the tortoise as it pulled its head into its carapace. "There are rocky mountains far beyond the other end of this lake. Can you see them? The fourth peak from the top of the highest mountain in the middle. Go there."
The dove took a look towards the mountains off in the distance. There was a rugged, blurred silhouette.
"Come what may," the tortoise said, "believe. Believe whatever it may be. I'd rather believe in this impregnable carapace of mine than a magic fruit."
Chapter 7 - Old Tree
It was when the dove finally made its way to the rocky mountain that an old tree began to murmur to itself. "An ominous wind is blowing. It is about to reveal itself, I suppose. It doesn't seem I can make it through alive this time around. Demon of Razgriz... Hmm? A hero, this time?"
"What is it?" the dove asked casually.
"When history witnesses a great change, Razgriz reveals itself. First as a dark demon." The old tree began to tell the same story that the dove heard at the castle. "As a demon, it uses its power to rain death upon the land, and then it dies. However, after a period of slumber, Razgriz returns. This time, as a great hero."
"Hero? Demon? What does it do?" The dove asked.
"When I saw it for the first time, I was young and thin. I had fewer branches then. In those days, humans often battled against each other. Razgriz then brought about a storm which kept raging for seventy days and kept scattering huge hailstones from above. Trees and grass perished and nothing was left for the humans and animals to live on. Consequently, this soil became desolate. All living things died, one after another. Friends of my kind, four-legged beasts, humans, and birds like you. Everything in this land was deprived of breath. In the end, Razgriz killed none other than itself. Shortly after, this place became a bare mountain as you see."
"So, it was an evil being, wasn't it?" The dove asked.
"... Nay," the old tree answered as if it was uncertain itself. It breathed out and took a deep breath in.
"This story still continues. After a long, long time passed since the land had died out, a traveler came to this land. The traveler cured those who suffered from disease, resurrected the rotted soil, gathered all those people who sheltered themselves away from here and founded a village and a town. The rivers were refilled with water. The soil became a wheat field. This country once again flourished. Thereupon, the traveler decided to leave the country. The villagers were far from happy about this. At the moment of departure, they heard the traveler say, "I am Razgriz." This marks the end of the story."
"I am here in pursuit of a tree that bears magic fruits," the dove finally said to the old tree.
"... Alright. There are few fruits left for me to give. You can take one though. By the way, have you any idea why this is called magic fruit?" The dove remained silent, gazing at the old tree. "This can become not only a medicine but also a poison. Or rather, this may be no more than an ordinary fruit and this may even turn into a stone."
"What do you mean?" The dove asked.
"This fruit will be what you believe it to be," the old tree answered.
The dove turned around to look at the castle, holding the magic fruit in its beak. Even beyond the furthest hill, the castle was still unseen.
"The ominous wind is starting to blow stronger. Fly carefully home."
Chapter 8 - Demon from Above
The dove gave gratitude and said farewell to the old tree, tightly holding the magic fruit in its beak. It then took off and left the rocky mountain. The wind began to blow even stronger, and the dove found itself flying through a storm and hailstones.
But it wanted to get back to the castle as quickly as possible.
With a valiant look on its face, the dove spread out its wings.
Chapter 9 - Magic Fruit
This chapter's English text is provided through the image below, from the original book as well as Nagase's notes on the left.
Dragging its numb body upwards, the dove flapped its wings and flew towards the castle where the Princess lived.
It flew up, and up, weaving through the forest, breaking through the clouds, up to where it could catch the wind.
Although the tailwind it was hoping for didn't come, the dove drummed up all of its power and kept flapping, holding the "miracle medicine that can cure any illness" tightly in its beak.
On the horizon, beyond the point where the river below disappeared into the haze, the dove could just make out the forest and castle it knew so well.
Just a little further! Just a little further and I can see the Princess again!
When I do, I will give her this fruit.
And I can enjoy those happy days again!
Chapter 10 - Return
When the dove finally made it to the castle, the Princess' bed was surrounded by a great number of people. They were all weeping. The king, who was among them, was sobbing uniquely in his grief.
The dove was unable to get to the Princess in time. It was so sad to discover that the Princess was gone. However, it still had no regrets.
It had no regrets because it saw how peaceful and calm the Princess looked, lying on her bed.
It knew while it was away, the Princess held on to hope and continued to live in her pure innocence.
The dove, weary after its journey, decided to sleep for a little while.
Chapter 11 - Ending
The following morning, upon entering the room, the nursemaid found the dove's body resting in peace beside the Princess. She twisted her face in surprise and said in a very loud voice, "O' my! Is this her little dove? How come? He was injured and couldn't flap since then. These wings were certainly deformed and disabled. How did it set off and even come back? What a surprise!"
The dove was still holding the fresh fruit of Orion Poplar in his beak, even after it passed away. The nursemaid decided to plant it in the middle of the garden right under the window of the Princess' room.
In time, it grew to be a big and thick tree with a lot of branches. It is said that from the top of the tree, the Princess' room and her birdcage can be clearly and closely seen.
This is a tiny miracle story that parent birds have told their babies atop the tree of Orion Poplar.
