The story of the bamboo cutter and the heavenly maiden is a very old one
in Japan. This version was written down over a thousand years ago, and
even then it was an old story with many variations. This translation,
which may add a variation or two of its own, was done for Christmas,
1980, for Teresa, Valerie and Rebecca (who also previewed, more than once,
the fairy tale version).
John D. Gardner
