Folk Legends
Tengu no Kakuremino
Back in the village, Hikoichi went straight to a sake shop and walked into the storehouse. A few people were working there, but no one noticed Hikoichi. "Great! So I've really become invisible," he thought merrily, and began drinking sake straight from a barrel. The sake was delicious, and so he kept on drinking more and more until he was quite drunk. Then he tottered home, threw off what he had been wearing, and immediately fell asleep.
Waking up the next morning, Hikoichi remembered what had happened yesterday and thought, "That hiding cape is amazing. Now, what shall I do today?" When he looked around, however, the cape was nowhere to be seen. Thinking this strange, Hikoichi asked his mother, "Have you seen the cape I left here last night?" "So that dirty cape was yours? It was so dirty and shabby that I burned it just a moment ago," replied his mother. "What have you done?!" Hikoichi yelled and ran to the fire. But alas, the cape had already turned to ashes.