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Three Charms
Three charms is an old japanese tale from Aomori prefecture. The tale has also been called "The Witch and the Young Buddhist Priest" or "The Swallowed Mountain Witch".

History
In a village, was a Buddhist temple in which lived a young priest and his preceptor. One day, the young priest was whining wanted to pick up chestnuts in the mountain. The preceptor reluctantly took out 3 charms on different sheets and allowed the young priest to keep them.

Picking up chestnuts, he got into a trance and it soon became dark. An old woman appeared and proposed him a shelter in her house. But suddenly he awoke during the night; the old woman revealed her true nature, the one of a mountain witch and saw that she was doing some preparation to eat.

The young priest asked "can I go shit", the woman pondered on the suggestion, she tied him with a rope and sent him to the toilet. The young priest attached one charm to a pillar of the toilet and asked it "Please, save me if something happens". He then escaped through the window.

When the mountain witch asked "are you finished yet", the charm repeated over and over "some more time". The mountain witch having no patience smashed down the toilet. The young priest having disappeared without a trace, only the tore charm was left.

When the mountain witch realized she had been deceived, she started to run after him.

Overtook by the witch, the young priest prayed and said "Let's a big river flow" threw away a second sheet of charm. And that was it, a big river flew. But the mountain which dried up the river gulping it down.

Then, he prayed "let's flow a see of fire" and cast away his last charm. A see of fire came out. However, the mountain witch disgorged the water of the river and blew it out.

The young priest, who had run back, to the temple, asked the preceptor to help him and got into a jar. Before long, the mountain witch came into the temple.

"Let's take out the young priest"

"Before that, let's compare my techniques to yours'. How big can you become ? Said the preceptor.

"Haaa, I believe I can" she said, and she steadily she grew up.

"Can you become a bean ?" asked the preceptor.

"I think I can" answered the mountain witch and she turned into a bean.

The mountain witch that had been turned into a bean was inserted by the preceptor into a sticky rice cake and then eaten.