In the province of Quan, south of the caverns where Emperor Garada III found the prince of Nagas, and west of the Yellow River, a boy was born in a town called Five Springs. The boy's name was Ikiyo, and his father was an overseer for the Daimyo. The local Daimyo claimed 6 towns, and proudest among them was Five Springs. For it was in Ikiyo's town that the Daimyo's famous apple orchards were located.

The orchard bloomed 5 times each year, and bore such sweet fruit at such an amazing pace that the town had been named for it. Wonderful as it might have been for the town, and as proud a thing as it might have been for the Daimyo, it was a terrible burden for Ikiyo's father.

He oversaw 5 harvests each year, and had to worry about 5 times as much theft and loss as any other orchard overseer in all 9 kingdoms. He had 5 times as many complaints from hard-working peasants, and 5 times as many barrels to build, and 5 times as many merchants to bargain with. He was a very tired man, and saw little of his family. Ikiyo's father was rich for all his work, and had plenty of money to hire good teachers for his son.

The teachers taught him about the elements, mathematics, poetry, and swordplay. They taught him about Amaterasu, the Queen of the sun, and Rokurojin, the King of the Moon. They taught him from the Book of Right Things, and had him memorize the 8 perfect symmetries. He was shown the proper ways to follow in the steps of Buddha, and admonished that if he followed his own Karma properly, he would become a bodhisattva and become a lord in heaven. He was warned against imbalances in living, and told of the many tortures for those who are not worthy of reincarnation. Though he was taught all these things, Ikiyo was never told about the King of Horses.

So when Ikiyo was visiting his father one year during the 4th spring, and overheard his father cursing about lost apples, it never occurred to Ikiyo who might be doing the stealing. He had never heard about the rogue of all rogues, Tadami, King of Horses, so he knew nothing of Tadami's amazing speed or ability to take the form of other creatures.Also, Ikiyo had never heard of Tadami's weakness for very sweet apples.

As exciting as thieves are for boys, listening to his father adjust his accounts after a thief's passing was as boring a thing as Ikiyo could imagine, so he wandered off to pretend to have an adventure in the orchard. Ikiyo did not have to pretend for long. In the orchard, under a tree, Ikiyo found the thief. He was sitting under a tree whose branches were particularly heavy with apples, munching on stolen fruit, and whining. Tadami had taken the form of a man, and an arrow had pierced his backside. Ikiyo looked at the strange thief, who had been wounded but did not let that stop him from gorging himself on ripe apples.

"Hey! You are a thief!" shouted little Ikiyo, pointing at him.

"No I'm not," said Tadami, speaking around a mouthful of fruit.

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm not."

Ikiyo sat down frustrated, remembering from his instruction that you must never accuse someone more than two times unless you are willing to die in defense of your accusation. Remembering the tale of Buddha and the Dolphin, Ikiyo decided to try and trick the thief.

"How can you be sure you are not a thief? Those are not your apples, they belong to the Daimyo."

"The apples belong to the trees. Trees belong to no one," said Tadami, tossing a branch aside. He had cleaned four apples off it in the time since Ikiyo had appeared.

"The roots of the trees are on the Daimyo's land, so they belong to the Daimyo."

"Who gave the land to the Daimyo?" asked Tadami. Ikiyo thought carefully before answering. "The Emperor, I suppose." Tadami had confused him by asking that particular question. What did the Emperor's grant of land have to do with this apple-thief?

"So they are the Emperor's apples."

Ikiyo began to regret his decision to try and trick the thief. "And if they are?"

"Then they are mine. I am the Emperor," said Tadami the trickster, shoving an apple in his mouth. Ikiyo laughed out loud. The very thought of the Emperor stealing apples and receiving an arrow in the behind for his trouble was hilarious. "I will tell you what," said Tadami, "If you will pull out the arrow, I will make you the Emperor's Prosecutor."

"Why should I do that? I think I should just go tell my father that the Emperor is stealing apples from the Daimyo. Perhaps the Shogun is stealing buns from the kitchen as well. The household should be alerted." Now it was Tadami's turn to laugh. It was just as both were laughing that Ikiyo's father arrived.

"What is going on here?" he demanded. Ikiyo fell immediately silent, showing respect for his father.

"I was explaining to the boy that I am the Emperor," said the King of Horses, "And he very rightly pointed out that perhaps the Shogun was robbing your kitchens while I am distracting you in your orchards."

Ikiyo's father drew his sword and beheaded the thief with one stroke. Ikiyo stifled an urge to cry out. "This did not happen," said Ikiyo's father gravely. "Now go home."

"Yes father," Ikiyo said, bowing and running off towards home. On his way home, Ikiyo encountered a magnificent white horse. He chased it for a ways, along the blue hills south of Five Springs, but never caught it. In time, Ikiyo grew into a man, and became the Daimyo's overseer.