I read a story once about an oni who came to an old woman's house and said he was going to eat her up. She told him that she would be much too tough and stringy, and wouldn't he rather have a nice tomato instead? She offered him a basket of tomatoes, still warm from the sun. In it, she had hidden her pin cushion, which looked exactly like the tomates from her garden but was full of pins and needles. The oni took one bite and went howling away down the lane. I've often thought about how the old woman prevailed over that bully by using her wits instead of violence. I'm posting this today for IF's topic, Giant, because the old woman beat a giant problem, literally and figuratively. Also, in this beginning summer season, I have Giant tomatoes on my mind.
This is an egg tempera painting on panel, with gold leaf.
