Far Fetched Fables

“The Hour of the Rat” by Donald Jacob Uitvlugt (Originally published in Cirsova Magazine #1.) shigururu ya               winter rain nezumi no wataru      a mouse runs koto no ue                  across the koto -- Yosa Buson (1716-1783) Nezumi's heart pounded as she pressed against the wall. She willed herself to be as invisible as the night all around her. She put a hand over her mouth so that the puffs of her breath would not give away her position. Within the estate beyond the wall, a guard approached her position. Nezumi whispered under her breath. "Namo amida butsu. Namo amida butsu..." She used the prayer to keep time. Two hundred repetitions between the passes of the guards as they made their rounds. Not much time to get over the wall. Nezumi shivered. It was going to rain. She didn't know how she knew, but she always knew. There. One hundred. The guard would be at his farthest point away. Nezumi pulled out the rope she had hidden in the folds of her dark kimono. It took tries, but the rock tied to