Japan
In this Japanese folk tale, Forever-Mountain was an arrogant wrestler on his way to the Emperor’s championships. On the road, he saw Maru-me, a girl carrying a water bucket on her head. He decided to tickle her, hoping that he could carry the bucket home for her, but she caught his hand under her arm. No matter what he did, he couldn’t get free, and she dragged him along behind her. He pleaded for escape, but Maru-me said she wanted to help him become truly strong – after all, if he couldn’t escape from her, how strong could he be? Afraid of being mocked by the other wrestlers, he agreed to live with her, her mother and her grandmother for three months, and let them train him. Every day, he wrestled with Grandmother for practice; when they stomped their feet, the villagers thought it was thunder. When he reached the Emperor’s palace, Forever-Mountain terrified all his opponents just by stomping his foot, and then simply carried each one out of the ring, where they cried like babies. The tournament ended quickly, pleasing the peace-loving Emperor, who preferred to write poetry. The Emperor gave Forever-Mountain the prize money, but made him promise never to wrestle again. He agreed, and returned to Maru-me, and they lived happily as farmers. To this day, when villagers hear thunder, they say it is Forever-Mountain and Maru-me’s Grandmother wrestling.