Looking more closely, I saw a black table right next to me.

"I see, it's bad etiquette to eat while carrying a gun."

"I guess very important people always come to dine here."

The two men removed their guns, unbuckled their belts and placed them on the table.

There was another black door.

　　　"Please take off your hat, coat, and shoes."

"What do you think? Shall we take them off?"

"Well, we'll have no choice but to take them off. There must be an important guest in the back."

The two of them hung their hats and overcoats on the hooks, took off their shoes, and entered the room barefoot.

On the back of the door, there was a sign that read,

　　　"Please leave all tie pins, cufflinks, glasses, wallets, and other metal objects,especially sharp objects, here."

Right next to the door was a magnificent black-painted safe, its lid open, with the key attached.

"I see, it looks like they're using electricity to cook something. Metal objects are dangerous, especially sharp objects, so that's probably why they say that."

"I see. So then, do you pay the bill here when you leave?"

"It seems that way."

"Yes, I'm sure of it."

The two men took off their glasses and cufflinks, put everything into the safe, and locked it with a click.

A little further on they came to another door, and in front of it was a glass jar. There was this inscription written on the door:

　　　"Apply the cream from the jar thoroughly to your face, hands and feet."

Looking more closely, the pot did indeed contain cream made from milk.

"What does it mean to put cream on our faces, hands and feet?"

"Well, it's really cold outside. If it's too warm inside our skin will crack, so I think it's to prevent that. It looks like someone important is visiting in the back. Maybe we'll get to meet a member of the nobility."

　They took the cream from the jar and applied it to their faces, then to their hands, then took off their socks and applied it to their feet. There was still some left, so they each ate it while secretly pretending to apply it to their faces.

Then I quickly opened the door and on the back there was a note saying,

　　　"Have you applied the cream well? Have you applied it well to your ears?"

And there was a little jar of cream there too.

"Oh, by the way, I didn't put cream on my ear. I almost cracked it. The owner of this place is really thoughtful."

"Oh, he notices even the small details. By the way, I want to eat something quickly, but this corridor seems endless."

Suddenly, there was another door ahead.

　　  "The food will be ready soon.

　　　You won't have to wait more than fifteen minutes. 

　　　It will be ready to eat right away.

　　　Please hurry up and spray your head with the perfume from the bottle."

And there was a shiny gold bottle of perfume standing in front of the door.

The two of them sprayed the perfume on their heads.

However, the perfume smelled a bit like vinegar.

"This perfume smells strangely sour. What's wrong?"

"There must have been some kind of mistake. The maid caught a cold and accidentally put vinegar in the perfume bottle."

The two opened the door and went inside.

On the back of the door it said in large letters:

　　　"I'm sorry for making so many orders. That's all. Please rub the salt from the jar 　　　into your body thoroughly."

Sure enough, there was a beautiful blue ceramic salt pot, but now they both looked at each other in shock, faces covered in cream.

"Something seems strange."

"I think it's strange too."

" 'Many Orders' could mean that someone gives us many orders."

"So, in my opinion, a 'Western restaurant' isn't a place where guests can eat Western food, but a place where the guest is  eaten by someone as Western food. This is, um, uh, so, we will be..." He began to tremble and was unable to say anything more.

"Oh, we can't... oh, no," he said, trembling, unable to speak again, "we have to get away..." The other gentleman tried to push the door behind him, but lo and behold, it wouldn't budge an inch.

Behind them there was another door with two large keyholes shaped like a fork and a knife.

And on the door was this message:

　　　"Thank you very much for your trouble.

　　　 Thank you very much.

            Well done.

            Now enter my stomach."

What's more, two blue eyes were peering out at them from the keyhole.

"Wow," the men trembled.

"Wow," the men trembled.

They both began crying.

Then, on the other side of the door, someone whispers:

"No good. They've already noticed, they don't seem to rub in the salt."

"Of course. The boss wrote it poorly. He wrote something stupid over there like, 'I'm sorry you had to make so many orders, I'm sorry.'"

"It doesn't matter. He's not going to give us even a bone anyway."

"That's true, but if they don't come in here, it's our fault."

"Should I call you? Let's call you. Hey, guests, please come quickly. Come in. Come in. The dishes have been washed, and the accompanying greens have been rubbed with salt. All that's left now is for you to arrange the greens and you together nicely and place them on a pure white plate. Please come quickly."

"Yes, come in, come in. Or do you not like salad? In that case, I'll light a fire and fry you guys. Anyway, come quickly."

The two were so heartbroken that their faces became like crumpled pieces of paper, and they looked at each other, trembling and crying silently.

Inside, the mysterious beasts were laughing and calling to the two guests.

"Come in, come in. If you cry like that, all the delicious milk cream will go to waste. More cream will be ready in a moment. Come in quickly."

"Please come quickly. The boss has already put on his napkin, picked up his knife, and is licking his lips as he waits for the customers."

Two men cried and cried and cried and cried and cried.

At that moment, suddenly, a cry of "Woof, woof, woof" came from behind me, and two polar bear-like dogs burst through the door and into the room.They thought for sure the two dogs were dead, but it turns out they were just tired and sleeping.

The eyes peeking through the keyhole instantly disappeared, and the dogs growled and circled the room for a while, then they let out another high-pitched bark of "Woof!" and suddenly jumped for the next door. The door slid open, and the dogs flew in as if they were sucked in.

From the darkness beyond the door they heard "meow, quaw, roar" followed by a rustling sound. The building disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving the two of them shivering in the grass.

Looking, he saw his jacket, shoes, wallet, and tie pin hanging from branches here and there, or scattered at the base of trees there. A sudden wind blew, the grass rustled, the leaves rustled, and the trees rustled.

The dog came back growling, and they heard someone calling out to them from behind, "Master!"

The two suddenly became energetic and called out, "Hey, hey, over here, over here! Come quickly!"

A hunter's guide wearing a hunting hat came pushing his way through the bushes.

The two of them finally felt relieved.

They then ate the dumplings the hunter had brought, bought a pheasant for just 10 yen on the way, and headed back to Tokyo.

However, their faces, which had once looked like waste paper, never went back to normal, even after they returned to Tokyo and took a bath.

Nighthawk Star by Miyazawa Kenji

Nighthawks are really ugly birds.

Its face is mottled in places as if it had been smeared with miso, its beak is flat, and its mouth is slit down to its ears.

The nighthawk's legs are so weak that he can't even walk two meters.

The other birds were so disgusted by just the sight of the nighthawk's face.

For example, although the skylark is not a particularly beautiful bird, he thought he was far superior to the nighthawk, so when he met one in the evening, he would close his eyes tightly and turn his head away from it with a look of disgust.

The smaller chattering birds were always badmouthing the nighthawk.

"What a shame. Here it is again. Look at that thing. It's really a pitiful bird." "Yeah, look at that big mouth. It must be some kind of frog relative or something."

The birds' badmouthing is always like this.

Oh, if it was no nighthawk but just an ordinary hawk, then just hearing its name would have made such a tiny bird tremble, turn pale, curl up, and hide in the shade of a tree leaf.

But the Nighthawk was not really the brother or relative of the Hawk, but rather the elder brother of the beautiful Kingfisher and the Hummingbird, the jewel of all birds.

The hummingbird fed on nectar, the kingfisher on fish, and the nighthawk on insects.

And the nighthawk had neither sharp talons nor a sharp beak, so no bird, no matter how weak it was, could have been afraid of the nighthawk.

It may seem strange, then, that it was given the name Hawk, but this is because, firstly, the Nighthawk's wings were incredibly strong, and when it cut through the wind in flight it looked just like a hawk, and secondly, its cry was sharp and also somewhat similar to that of a hawk.

Of course, the Hawk was very bothered by this and disliked it.

So whenever he even saw the Nighthawk's face, he would stern his shoulders and tell him to quickly change his name, to change his name.

Finally, one evening, the hawk came to the nighthawk's house.

"Hey, are you there? You still haven't changed your name? You're really shameless. You and I are of very different status. For example, I can fly anywhere in the blue sky. You only come out on cloudy, dusky days or at night. Also, take a look at my beak and claws and compare them closely to yours."

"Mr. Hawk, that's impossible. I didn't choose my name myself.God gave it to me."

"No. You could say that God gave me my name, but your name is something you borrowed from me and the night, so to speak. Give it back now."

"Mr. Hawk, that's impossible."

"That's not impossible. I'll tell you a good name. It's called Opossum. Opossum. A good name, isn't it? Now, in order to change your name, you have to hold a name-change ceremony. You go around your neck with a tag that says Opossum, say "I'm Opossum," and go around greeting everyone."

"I can't do that." "Yes, you can. Do it. If you don't do it by the morning after tomorrow, I'll grab you and kill you. So think of it as I'll grab you and kill you. Early the next morning, I'll go round to each of the bird houses and ask if you've come. If any of the houses say you haven't come, then it's the end for you."

"But that would be too much. I'd rather die than do that. Kill me now." "Well, you must think about it later. Opossum isn't such a bad name." The hawk spread its great wings and flew back to its nest.

The nighthawk closed his eyes and thought.

(I wonder why everyone dislikes me so much. My face looks like it's been smeared with miso, and my mouth is torn apart. But even so, I have never done anything wrong. One time a white-eye chick had fallen from its nest, I helped it up and carried it back to the nest. The white-eye then snatched the chick away from me, as if it were getting it back from a thief. Then it laughed at me with contempt. Oh, now I have to change my name to Opossum, and wear a name tag around my neck. That's a tough story.)

It was already getting dark. The nighthawk flew out of its nest. The clouds were shining maliciously and hanging low. The nighthawk flew silently through the sky, almost brushing against the clouds.

Then suddenly the nighthawk opened its mouth wide, straightened its wings, and slashed across the sky like an arrow.

Many, many tiny winged insects flew into its throat.

Gliding close to the ground, the nighthawk barely touched the ground before it glided back up into the sky. The clouds were now gray and the mountains in the distance were bright red with the setting sun.

When the nighthawk flies at full speed, it feels as if the sky is torn in two. A beetle entered the nighthawk's throat and struggled violently. The nighthawk quickly swallowed the beetle, but at that moment, he felt a chill run down his spine.

The clouds were now pitch black, and the eastern mountains were stained red by the setting sun. It was both beautiful and terrifying to him. With a heavy feeling in his chest, the nighthawk rose again into the sky.

Another beetle flew into the nighthawk's throat. The beetle scratched the nighthawk's throat and thrashed about. The nighthawk swallowed it with all its might, but at that moment, its heart suddenly pounded and it began to cry loudly. It flew around and around in the sky, crying.

(Oh, beetles and many other flying insects are killed by me every night. And now I, the only one who exists, am being killed by the hawk. Death is such a painful thing. Oh, it is painful, it is painful. I will not eat any more insects, but will starve to death. But the hawk will probably kill me before that happens. But before that happens, I will go away to the other side of the far, far away sky.)

The sunset, which looked as if the mountains were on fire, painted the whole world crimson red, like flowing water spreading out, and even the clouds seemed to be burning red.

The nighthawk flew straight to his younger brother, the kingfisher. The beautiful kingfisher had just woken up and was gazing at the red mountains in the distance. Then, noticing the nighthawk coming down, he said,"Brother, good evening. Is there something urgent you need?"

"No, I'm going somewhere far away soon, so I just came to see you for a bit."

"Brother, you mustn't go. The hummingbirds are so far away, and I'll be all alone."

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it. Don't say anything more to me today. And you too, please try not to catch fish unnecessarily unless you absolutely have to. Good. Well then, goodbye."

"Brother, what's the matter? Please wait just a moment."

"Thanks, but I must go now. Tell the hummingbird I said hello to him. Goodbye. I'll never see you again. Goodbye."

The nighthawk went home crying. The short summer night was already drawing to dawn.

The fern leaves absorbed the morning mist and swayed cold blue. The nighthawk cried loudly. Then it tidied up its nest neatly, neatened its feathers, and flew out again.

The mist cleared, and the sun rose in the east. The nighthawk endured the dizzying brightness and flew off like an arrow into the eastern sky.

"Sun, sun. Please take me to you. I don't mind being burned to death. Even an ugly bird like me can give off a little light when I'm burned to death. Please take me."

No matter how far he flew, the sun never came closer. Instead, it seemed to be moving further and further away. The sun said,"You are a nighthawk. I see, this must be very hard on you. Now ask the stars to grant your wish. You are a bird of the night."

The nighthawk thanked him, but suddenly became dizzy and fell onto the grass in the field. He felt as if he was dreaming. He felt as if his body was climbing up among the red and yellow stars, or that he was being blown endlessly by the wind, or that the hawk had come and grabbed him.

Something cold suddenly fell on his face. The nighthawk opened his eyes. Dew was dripping from a young pampas grass leaf. It was now completely dark, and countless stars were twinkling in the sky. The nighthawk flew up into the sky. Tonight, too, the edge of the mountain seemed to be burning in the afterglow of the setting sun. The nighthawk flew around in the faint afterglow of the ridgeline and the cold starlight. Then he made a wide circle in the air and, with all his might, flew straight toward the beautiful star of Orion in the western sky, shouting.

"Star! Pale star of the west! Please take me to you. I don't mind being burned to death."

Orion was singing a brave song and paid no attention to the Nighthawk's pleas.

The Nighthawk was on the verge of tears, and was about to crash down, but he mustered all his strength and drew a big circle in the night sky once more. Then, as he flew straight towards the southern constellation Canis Major, he cried out,

"Star! Blue star of the south, please take me to you.I don't mind being burned to death."

The stars in Canis Major twinkled beautifully and busily in blue, purple and yellow and said, "Don't be foolish. Who do you think you are? You're just a bird. Even if you flew for hundreds of millions or trillions of years, you couldn't get here with your wings."

The nighthawk was disappointed and nearly crashed again, but once again it circled the night sky. Then it flew straight north toward The Great Bear constellation and cried out, "Blue Star of the North, please take me to you."

The Great Bear Star said quietly, "Don't think too much. Just cool your head a bit. A good way to cool your head is to jump into the ocean with icebergs floating in it. If there is no ocean nearby, jump into a glass of water with ice floating in it. Do you understand?" Then the star laughed mischievously.

The nighthawk was so disappointed that it stumbled and nearly fell, then spun around in the sky again. And once again it called out to the star of Aquila on the opposite bank of the Milky Way, which had just risen in the east.

"White Star in the East, please take me to you. I don't mind being burned to death."

The Aquila star replied with dignity, "No, your wish is ridiculous. To become a star you need a certain status, and also a lot of money."

The nighthawk's strength was all gone, so it closed its wings and fell to the ground.

Then, just a few feet before its feeble feet touched the ground, it suddenly, like a smoke signal, shot straight up into the sky. When it reached the middle of the sky, it quivered and bristled like an eagle about to pounce on a bear.

Then it let out a high, loud creaking cry. Its voice was just like a hawk's. The other birds sleeping in the fields and forests all woke up and, shivering, looked up at the starry sky in a puzzled manner.

The nighthawk rose straight up into the sky, forever and ever. Now the lights on the ground looked like nothing more than cigarette fires. The nighthawk rose and rose further.

His chest was frozen white with cold, and the thin air forced him to move his wings constantly.

And yet the size of the stars was not the least bit different from before. Because of the thin air, breathing sounded like a bellows. The cold air pierced the nighthawk like a sword.

The Nighthawk's wings went completely numb, and he raised his tearful eyes and looked once more at the stars.

Yes. That was the end of the nighthawk.The nighthawk didn't know whether he was falling, climbing, upside down, or facing upwards. But he felt at peace, and although his big beak was bent to the side, he was definitely smiling a little.

After a while, the nighthawk opened its eyes clearly. 

He saw that his body was now a beautiful blue light like phosphorous fire, burning quietly.

The constellation Cassiopeia came into view immediately next to him.

The pale blue light of the Milky Way was streaming just behind him.

And the nighthawk's star continued to burn. It continued to burn forever and ever.

It is still burning to this day.