Yuki-Onna : The Snow Maiden (Tale based upon Japanese folklore)

Long ago, in Japan, in the region of Tohoku that is far to the North, there lived a young woodcutter named Makoto who had two elder brothers and one day while they were out walking in the snow a snow-spirit called a Yuki-Onna; a beautiful young fairy with long raven-black hair and white skin as pale as winter, wearing a flowing snow white kimono stirred up a snow storm and the snow storm was so thick that the young woodcutter got seperated from his brothers.

Fortunately for them, they found shelter inside an old cave but the woodcutter, trapped in the thick blizzard was overcome by the cold and fell down shivering upon the ground, losing consciousness.

He might have died of hypothermia if the Yukki-Onna had not seen him and, impressed by how handsome he was, fallen in love with him and kissed him.

The magic in the kiss revived the young man and, as he opened his eyes, he saw the beautiful young woman kneeling over him.

"Who are you?", he asked.

"My name is Miyuki", the girl replied, "I am a Yuki-Onna. A Snow Maiden".

"You are so beautiful", he said.

Just then however, the man heard his brothers calling. Worried about him they had set out again to look for him and when the Yuki- Onna heard their voices she became frightened and, turning into snowflakes, she flew away as fast as the winter wind.

As she did, however, the snow storm subsided and the two brothers found Makoto.

Excitedly, he told them all about the Yuki-Onna and about how beautiful she was and they didn't know whether he was telling the truth or wether he had dreamed the whole thing but, when they got back to their little snow covered cottage, the young man announced, determinedly,

"I have decided that I am going to find that Yuki-Onna again. I'm going up into the hills to search for her and when I find her I'm going to ask her to marry me".

Ofcourse his brothers advised him strongly against it but Makoto would not listen because he had fallen deeply in love with the beautiful Yuki-Onna and couldn't get her face out of his mind and, the next day, wrapping himself up in an animal hide coat he set out up into the hills to find his snowmaiden.

For days, the young man wandered in the hills calling out, "Miyuki! Miyuki!" but to no avail.

Then, one day, when he had climbed very high up into the hills where no other man had dared venture before, he was suddenly confronted by a creature like a Yheti; a gigantic, half ape and half man all covered in white hair and, roaring and beating its chest, the creature charged towards him.

Now, all that Makoto had to defend himself was a simple wooden staff that he used for walking but he was brave and strong and so he fought with the creature until, finally, striking a lucky blow to its head, he knocked it over the edge of the hill and it went crashing to the ground, landing upon some sharp icicles far below that pierced its hairy chest and the savage heart beneath.

But then, no sooner had Matoko defeated the creature when his beloved snowmaiden appeared.

"Miyuki", he said as he saw her, "I have been wandering these hills for days searching for you to ask you if you would marry me but then that strange hairy monster attacked me".

But then the snowmaiden explained that the creature had been her husband.

"He kidnapped me long ago when I was just a girl", she said, "Turned me into a Yuki-Onna and forced me to make snow storms so that he could catch and eat the travellers that got lost in them but you defeated him. Now I am free".

Then suddenly, an amazing thing happened, the girls pale skin became golden; her white kimono, brightly coloured and covered in pictures of flowers and butterflies; even her hair had blossoms in it for, the Yheti's spell broken, the girl had been restored from a Yuki-Onna into a human.

After that, Makoto and Miyuki went down the hillside together, hand in hand and, soon after were married living happily ever after.