Quite unlike other boys, Kintaro, grew up all alone in the mountain
wilds, and as he had no companions he made friends with all the
animals and learned to understand them and to speak their strange
talk. By degrees they all grew quite tame and looked upon Kintaro as
their master, and he used them as his servants and messengers. But
his special retainers were the bear, the deer, the monkey and the
hare.

The bear often brought her cubs for Kintaro to romp with, and when
she came to take them home Kintaro would get on her back and have a
ride to her cave. He was very fond of the deer too, and would often
put his arms round the creature's neck to show that its long horns
did not frighten him. Great was the fun they all had together.

One day, as usual, Kintaro went up into the mountains, followed by
the bear, the deer, the monkey, and the hare. After walking for some
time up hill and down dale and over rough roads, they suddenly came
out upon a wide and grassy plain covered with pretty wild flowers.

Here, indeed, was a nice place where they could all have a good romp
together. The deer rubbed his horns against a tree for pleasure, the
monkey scratched his back, the hare smoothed his long ears, and the
bear gave a grunt of satisfaction.

Kintaro said, "Here is a place for a good game. What do you all say
to a wrestling match?"

The bear being the biggest and the oldest, answered for the others: