The night fell upon the travelling fellowship in the ox cart. The sun had traded places with the moon, and all the stars came out again too. The three Queenies were laying on the haystack, looking at the stars. There was still a sultry breeze hanging in the air; it wouldn't be long until the summer would return.

Brian sighed. "This would have been the night of the concert. We could have been making music together. And now we're stranded in the past. Just imagine all these fans not being able to see us," he said, with a sad voice.

"Brian?" John said. He saw that Brian felt sad and wanted to relieve his band mate's spirit. "Didn't you knew a lot about the stars? Could you tell us a little bit about it?"

Brian looked at John and smiled. He pointed at the sky. "You see that constellation shaped as a saucepan over there? That's Ursa Maior, or the Big Bear."

"It doesn't even look like a bear," Roger said.

"Well, the ancient Greeks thought that it does," Brian snickered. "I think it's a dumb name too. Have you ever seen a bear with a tail that long?"

Silence fell again. "Anyway, do you see that bright star not so far from the saucepan?" Brian said, while pointing to a different point. "That's the North Star. Whenever you follow it, you will go in the direction of the north.And you know what's the best thing about both Ursa Maior and the North Star? You can see them all year long. Stars and constellations come and go through the seasons, except for these two. They will always be there."

"You seem to know a lot about the stars, mister Big Curly Hair," a voice different from theirs said. It was the driver. 

"I am sorry that I have been so rude to you and your friends," he said.

Brian smiled. "It's okay."

"I was listening to your conversation. Is it right that you three are musicians?" said the driver.

"Yup, that's true," the curly guitarist said. "We're travelling musicians. And I play guitar myself."

"What exactly is a guitar?" the driver said, confused. Brian hadn't realized that this man was a man from the past, who probably had never seen a European instrument like the guitar.

"Oh well," Brian explained. "A guitar is a string instrument. It is made from a wooden, hollow box, and it has a neck sticking from that box. It's kinda like that."

"Ah, so it is a bit like my shamisen," said the driver.

"My what?" Brian said, confused.

"I can show it to you, dear passenger." The driver stopped the ox cart with a halt and dived into the haystack. "I keep all my posessions in the haystack. We might encounter bandits, and this is how I protect my things from being stolen." He stared searching for the shamisen, with the three Queenies looking. After a while, the driver had found it. "Ah! There it is!"

He held up a guitar-like instrument. "This shamisen is a family treasure. I inherited it from my father, who, in his turn, inherited it from his father. I play it once in a while. You want to hear something?"

"Sure," Brian said, and the other two nodded.

The man held the shamisen in his hands and started playing a melody. Although it sounded like it was an easy melody for a seasoned guitarist like Brian, it was a melancholic, beautiful sound which made it look like the stars in the sky were dancing.

When the song was over, John yawned. "It has been a long day for me. I'm going to sleep." And not long after that, Roger and Brian decided to do that too.

The next morning, Brian woke up again. But to his disconcern, he discovered that he was still in feudal Japan. And even worse, his hair was full of hay straws. He saw that his bandmates were awake too.

"Good morning, Brian Hay!" Roger said, mockingly.

"Ha ha, Roger. You are so funny," muttered Brian in a sarcastic tone. "It will take me a million years to get this bloody hay out of my hair, thank you very much."

The ox cart, meanwhile continued its journey. The driver said, pointing at the horizon: "If you look at the distance, you will see the mountain ridge. But do not be fooled by what you see. Mount Osohai is still a day or three away from us. And we also still have to cross the Dark Forest."

"The Dark Forest?" the three Queenies said in unison.

"Yes," replied the driver. "Whenever one goes to the mountain ridge, you have to cross the Dark Forest - but it is a dangerous place. It is said that there could be ninjas in the Forest. And ninjas are cold-blooded killers who know no mercy. Ah, speak of the devil, we are almost there! I can see the forest looming already."

"Ehrm, guys,"John said. "I don't wanna end as a prey for ninjas. Sir, can I hide in the hay stack?"

"Ofcourse you may," he said. "Like I said yesterday, I keep my posessions in there. Ninjas never look inside a hay stack. For them, it it just a worthless giant stack of hay." And soon after John dived into the haystack, Roger and Brian followed immediately.

It was a big haystack, just big enough to fit in Roger, John, and the tall Brian. It was cramped, but it was better than the possibility of a sudden death by ninjas. They didn't see anything happening outside of the haystack, but they did feel the cart going through the forest in a steadily pace. But all of a sudden, they heard a loud CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! and the cart stopped.

Brian sticked his head out, to see what just had happened. But what he saw petrified him.

The driver was dead, pierced by three ninja stars.