Before the story, James provides a brief preface about the context of the story and it’s connection to the image of Okuchishinjin, “the large-mouthed god,” which fends off “devils and thieves.” The story, set “long long ago,” begins with a nameless warrior searching for adventure. On his travels through a dense and wild forest, the warrior eventually takes shelter in a small, deserted, and decrepit temple. The warrior falls asleep but wakes up around midnight to “the most terrible shrieks and yells.” Peeping through a hole in the wall, the warrior sees a group of “hideous cats” dancing wildly. Amidst their screaming the warrior also hears them saying “Tell it not to Schippeitaro! Keep it close and dark! Tell it not to Schippeitaro!” Past midnight, the cats vanish and the warrior falls asleep again until morning. Setting out again, the warrior follows a path away from the forest and towards an open plain. Driven by hunger, the warrior makes his way towards a village until he hears a woman wailing. Asking around, the villagers eventually tell him that each year a mountain sprit claims the loveliest girl and eats her. Determined to help, the warrior thinks of his experience with the cats the previous night. The warrior asks who ‘Schippeitaro’ is, and the villagers tell him it is the dog of the prince’s “head man.” The warrior finds the man and convinces him to let him borrow his dog. The warrior returns to the village and tells the girl’s parents to keep her inside, and then places Schippeitaro in the cage meant for the victim and carries it to the temple with all of the young men. The warrior stays alone overnight, and at midnight the cats return with a big and horrible tom cat with them. The tom cat leads the others in dancing and jeering at the cage, and eventually opens the door. Schippeitaro lunges at the tom cat and held him with his teeth while the warrior struck it dead. The warrior and Schippeitaro kill the other cats, and then returns to the village, giving Schippeitaro back to his owner and assuring the girl’s parents that she is safe, and the spirit is gone. The warrior tells the villagers to be grateful to Schippeitaro, and leaves again to look for more adventure.

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