Story telling: Kin the sheep herder

High in the Altai Mountains of Central Asia, there was a young boy named Kin. He was raised by his single father, a sheep herder and had lived his entire life in the mountains among the sheep. His father taught his everything he knew about sheep herding and shared with his son all the secrets of mountains; where to go, what paths were safe and ever where some secret tunnels were located. Kin appreciated his father sharing this knowledge with him as it helped him be the best herder he could be. Even though he was good at his work and highly skilled, Kin had aspirations for much more. He knew his life had a greater purpose, but he was unsure how he would ever discover it since leaving the mountains would be near to impossible.

Kin occupied his time run all around the mountain ranges with the sheep and goats. He would scale walls, climbing as high as he possibly could until his ears would pop under the pressure. The goats and him would race to see who could run along the mountain sides the fastest without falling off the edge. It did not take long for Kin to become the most knowledgable and skilled sheep herder in the region. He was grieved by this because he knew that no one would ever know of his skills and he would never get to use them for a great cause besides sheep herding.

Altai Mountain Range

One afternoon while Kin was basking in the sunlight as it lay its warmth across the side of the mountain, he heard some strange commotion. He popped his head up from where he lay and craned his neck towards the noise. Kin was accustomed to hearing the sounds of the sheep playing or even the cry of a lamb who had gotten separated from his mother. This noise was something he had not heard in a long time though. It sounded like the heavy breathing of a man and as it grew louder Kin realized someone was approaching. Around the edge of the mountain side a head became visible and then a whole man. He was adorned in warrior regalia and Kin became curious as to why the man came to be there.

After catching his breath, the warrior introduced himself and told Kin that he was on a mission from the emperor to scout the mountain out for the best passage ways and trails for their army to use. They had a mission to get past the mountain for on the other side, there was a great village of Huns who lay waiting to attack the kingdom on the other side. Kin began to tell the warrior all about his knowledge of the mountain and its secrets explaining that he had grown up on the mountain and knew it very well. The warrior heard this and realized what a great asset Kin would be the the mission of the emperor. He invited Kin to return to the kingdom with him and go visit the emperor to explain his knowledge so that the emperor would want him to accompany the army through the mountain range as well.

Kin immediate took the warrior to his father to explain this great opportunity and, with a heavy heart, the father agreed it was a chance Kin could not pass up. He congratulated his son and reminded him how proud he was of all that he had done as a herder and would do as a great warrior. Then, with a tight hug and big smile, Kin was off with the warrior. Over the edge of the mountain they went, down to the kingdom and forward to Kin's bright future.


Author's Note: I chose to re-write the story of Kintaro because I was inspired that he came from such a humble place both environmentally and spiritually and ended up being rewarded for his skills and kindness. I kept the main character as a young boy with not much money because I liked the vulnerability. Changing up the setting to the Altai Mountains was a fun change and I even looked them up to make sure they were in Asia because I wanted to keep that cultural factor the same in my retelling of the story. Just like in the original story, Kin's dad was proud of his son but sad to see him go because he knew that meant he would be alone on the mountain with just the sheep and goats to keep him company. Like any real parent will tell you, seeing your child go off on a great adventure is a moment of pride, fear and sadness. You are happy they are successful, scared they will encounter danger and heartbroken to see them go. But Kin's skills were meant for this and that is why his father let him leave with the warrior. 

Bibliography: 
Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki (1908).