wrestled together in this way, each trying to bend the other's arm,
but the old man was very strong, and the strange pair were evenly
matched. At last the old man desisted, declaring it a drawn game.

"You are, indeed, a very strong child. There are few men who can
boast of the strength of my right arm!" said the woodcutter. "I saw
you first on the hanks of the river a few hours ago, when you pulled
up that large tree to make a bridge across the torrent. Hardly able
to believe what I saw I followed you home. Your strength of arm,
which I have just tried, proves what I saw this afternoon. When you
are full-grown you will surely be the strongest man in all Japan. It
is a pity that you are hidden away in these wild mountains."

Then he turned to Kintaro's mother:

"And you, mother, have you no thought of taking your child to the
Capital, and of teaching him to carry a sword as befits a samurai (a
Japanese knight)?"

"You are very kind to take so much interest in my son." replied the
mother; "but he is as you see, wild and uneducated, and I fear it
would be very difficult to do as you say. Because of his great
strength as an infant I hid him away in this unknown part of the
country, for he hurt every one that came near him. I have often
wished that I could, one day, see my boy a knight wearing two
swords, but as we have no influential friend to introduce us at the
Capital, I fear my hope will never come true."

"You need not trouble yourself about that. To tell you the truth I
am no woodcutter! I am one of the great generals of Japan. My name