■ あらすじ　
　昔々、俵藤太と呼ばれる勇猛な武士がいた。ある日、湖から流れ出る川に架かる橋を渡ろうとすると、大蛇が橋に横たわっていたが、藤太は構わず大蛇を踏み付けた。すると大蛇は小人に姿を変えて橋にひれ
伏し、自分は湖の底に住む者で、山に住む百足<むかで>への敵討ちを
頼みたいと言った。藤太はそれを快諾し、小人に連れられ湖底の東屋
<あずまや>に行き、歓待を受けていると、大百足が山から下りてきた。藤太は大弓で百足を射止め、銅の釣り鐘、刀、鎧、いくら裁っても減らない絹の巻物、いくら出しても米が尽きない俵を小人からお礼にもらい、釣り鐘は寺に納め、生涯富裕に暮らした。

■ Outline of this story
　Once upon a time, there lived a brave warrior called "Tawara-no-Toda," or "My Lord Bag-o'-Rice." One day, when he was about to cross a bridge over a river flowing down from a lake, he saw a big serpent lying in his path. He calmly stepped on it to go on his way, and the serpent instantly changed into a tiny dwarf, who prostrated himself on the bridge, claimed that he dwelled on the bottom of the lake, and begged Tawara to avenge for him on the centipede living in the hills. Tawara agreed to do so on the spot, and the dwarf took him to his summer-house on the lake-bottom. While the dwarf was entertaining Tawara, the centipede over a mile long came creeping down from the hills. Tawara slew it with an arrow from his enormous bow. The dwarf rewarded him by giving him a large bronze bell, sword, suit of armour, roll of silk that never ran out no matter how much of it was used, and a bag of rice that never became empty. Tawara donated the bell to a temple and lived happily - and in opulence - ever after.

Note
　This story is from the legend about Fujiwara-no-Hidesato, who was instrumental in the subjugation of Taira-no-Masa-kado's rebellion. The "Toda" in the warrior's name means "eldest son of the Fujiwaras." Some say that "Tawara" comes from the word for "bag of rice," and others say, that it derives from the Tawara area in the vicinity of Kyoto. The literal English translation of the Japanese title by B.H. Chamberlain found favor and was followed in the Spanish translation along with the story line and format. The characters for the name "Kason" are inscribed on the picture of the bell, which indicates that the illustrator is Kason Suzuki.