original drawn by pageratta

Donmai

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Artist's commentary

Original

童話「おじいさんと不思議な木」

おーおーきなのっぽの古時計ー

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It was a fine rocking chair.

He was an only child, so he was overjoyed about getting the sapling, which to him was like getting a younger brother.

And then, a mysterious thing happened. The sapling grew tremendously fast, right before their eyes. "It's as if time passed 100 times faster for this tree" the villagers whispered.

The usually sturdy old man was now shaking from fear of the villagers' killing intent directed towards him.

Of course, there was no response. All there was was the squeaking sound of the rocking of the chair.

The old man desperately tried to protect the tree from being chopped down by the villagers.

And then, the old man thought he faintly heard something coming from the tree. It might have only been the sound of the wind, but no one knows for sure...

And then the old man also slowly...

There, the old man unloaded his baggage... Bam Clank Conk And started making something from the part of the huge tree he brought.

The boy liked plants, so one year, he received a sapling as a present from his parents for his birthday.

And each and every day, without fail, he watered it, and watched over it so bugs wouldn't get on it, and lovingly cared for it.

The old man's parents, family, friends, and everyone he knew had died, and he was lonely. The only friend he had left was this tree.

And eventually... The tree grew into a wonderful giant tree.

They would whisper behind his back about how he was a weird person, who talks to trees every day.

And then... There was a widespread drought. The crops failed, and the all villagers were starving.

After, the old man left the village. The villagers, who were reluctant for him to leave, watched him depart with a part of the fallen huge tree loaded in a cart.

"Here, you are surrounded by lots of your friends... You're not lonely...?" The old man asked the chair.

The next day, the divinator secretly followed the old man, and learned that the old man loved the giant tree of the village more than anything else.

"In the end, I wanted to show you some scenery from outside the village..." The old man whispered.

The boy also had aged, and was now an old man.

The old man cried, and thanked the tree, saying "thank you..." over and over.

Together with the rocking chair...

The End

The villagers and the divinator were flattened by the shock of the tree falling.

And then, with deceitful words, he fooled the villagers and began practice his trade. The villagers were completely fooled and believed the divinator.

The old man, who only watched, one day, called out the divinator and sternly scolded him.

The Old Man And The Mysterious Tree

This is a story from the distant distant past... There once was a small boy who lived in a village.

Eventually, the old man arrived the shore of a beautiful lake.

The old man was fussy and obstinant towards the villagers, and they treated him in the same way you would touch a swelling tumor.

"...I...It's true, that tree is strange in many ways..." The doubt that the villagers always had was incited, and everyone completely believed him.

The huge tree fell.

And the old man realized...that the tree had sacrificed itself to save him.

Then a traveling divinator came. "This is divine retribution!" he said, and riled up the uneasy crowd.

Seeing their raised axes, the thought "This is the end...!" But at that moment, a tremendous Crack Crack Crack sound echoed out from nearby.

And mysteriously, the old man was the only one who was unhurt.

In front of him was a very beautiful and wide landscape. A pleasant wind and the singing of birds surrounded the old man and the chair.

Eventually, the wind stopped, and area was enveloped in silence.

...slowly lapsed into silence.

It was a slowness just like that of a falling leaf...

The old man quickly sat down and rocked in the chair. It was very comfortable.

"You're all being deceived by that divinator!" "Everything he says is a lie...!!" The old man appealed and shouted at the villagers to get them to open their eyes.

The old man walked. He continued walking straight forward, ever forward.

The old man gave the fruit to all the villagers. "Th-... thank you.... With this, we'll be able to last the winter...!" The brainwashing on the villagers was completely undone, and they were overjoyed.

And then the divinator turned to the villagers and said, "The cause of all this drought is that tree! It is a demon tree!"

The villagers' gaze turned from the huge tree to the old man. It was like a disease.

However, that happened the reverse effect. Far from reflecting on his actions, the divinator embraced strong resentment towards the old man.

The divinator, worried that his brainwashing might be undone, quickly said "He is also a servant of the demon! Unless you kill him, God's wrath will not abate!"

And then, another mysterious thing happened... Lots of delicious-looking fruits sprouted from the fallen tree. It was the first time that the old man had seen it from the old tree.