CHAPTER THREE
Until this point, I haven't explained much about the kappa. There continues to be the question about whether a creature such as kappa can even exist. But, since I have myself lived among them, there is absolutely no room for doubt. If we are describing them as an animal, the hair on their head is short, their hands and feet are webbed as described in the book “Studies on Kappa”. They are no taller than three feet. According to Chak, they usually weighed from 20 to 30 pounds, although a very large one might be up to 50. Right in the middle of their head was a bowl, which gradually hardened with age. There was a marked difference between the bowl of older Bagg and that of young Chak.
But the most wondrous thing was the skin color of the kappa. Unlike us humans, kappa skin did not stay a single color. It changed to match their surroundings. That's why when I'd seen one on the grass it had been green, and on the rock gray. Of course it is not only kappa who do this, chameleons are also able. Possibly kappa skin tissue was somehow related to chameleon's. I learned that it was said Western kappa were green and Eastern kappa were red. Except for the time I'd seen Bagg change, I didn't see it happen again.
Moreover, beneath their skin was a thick layer of fat, because this underground world was very cold compared to above (about 50 degrees Fahrenheit). They knew nothing of kimono
Of course the kappa wore glasses or carried a cigarette case or wallet, but they had a pouch like a kangaroo so it was very convenient for carrying these things.
What was odd to me was that they didn’t even wear a loincloth. When I asked Bagg why this was, he threw back his head with laughter, then answered, “It is odd to us that you do hide it.”
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