Of the readings in Part B, there were three stories that interested me.
The story of "The Sacred Sword" was interesting, in which it detailed how Yamato was tempted by a siren who sought to steal the sacred sword from him, and then he had to retrieve the blade from a demonic stag which had been tasked to bring the blade to Susa-no-wo. He received guidance and boons from a goddess in order to find and bring down the stag in order to reclaim the lost blade.
The story of "The Dragon" took place immediately after the story of "The Sacred Sword". In it, Yamato was determined to slay the siren who stole away the sacred sword, but he fell into her clutches once more. He would have been stuck in her clutches if it were not for his faithful princess Tacibana, who helped to free him from her clutches. Yamato collapsed against her, but when he awoke she was nowhere to be found and his people were in a panic. When he arrived at the palace, there had been a great slaughter, but among it all was Tacibana, who called upon the storm god to force the dragon Susa-no-wo down so that he could be slain. Yamato fought the dragon and managed to win, banishing him to the sea. Tacibana and Yamato lived together happily for several years, but when Yamato set out on a voyage, the god of the sea was angered by the hubris of Yamato, and Tacibana sacrificed herself to appease the god and save her husband. Thus ended the tragic tale of Yamato and his wife Tacibana.
The last story I found interesting was "The Jewel of Heart's Desire" and "The Quest of The Jewel" which were a pair of stories that went together. A warrior empress sets out on a journey to retrieve a glorious and powerful jewel, and while she succeeds in attaining it, it is stolen by a siren on the return journey. The prime minister is tasked with retrieving it, and when he can't he despairs and intends to toss himself from the cliffs in his disgrace. However, he is stopped by a fisherman's daughter who loved the prime minister in secret, and she spots the jewel sparkling in the sea. She dives to retrieve it, but is captured by a dragon. In order to keep the dragon from reclaiming the jewel, she stabs herself and puts the jewel in the wound, for dragons will not touch a corpse. The prime minister retrieves the jewel from her corpse, but is saddened by her death, and prepares a grand honoring parade for her. All of the citizens lay honor upon her, and the empress herself makes her a princess post mortem.
Story Sources:
"The Sacred Sword" [Part A] [Part B] by E. W. Champney and F. Champney
"The Dragon" [Part A] [Part B] by E. W. Champney and F. Champney
"The Jewel of Heart's Desire" by E. W. Champney and F. Champney
"The Quest of the Jewel" by E. W. Champney and F. Champney
Image Source: Japanese Dragon on Wikipedia
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