Kuchisake-Onna

Prompt

A woman in a mask stops a man and asks him: "Am I beautiful?" If the man answers no, she kills him with a large pair of scissors that she always carries with her. If he answers yes, the woman will remove the mask, revealing a mouth cut from ear to ear, with huge teeth and a snake tongue, and ask: "And now?" If the child answers no, he will be beheaded. If he answers yes, she will cut his mouth the same way as hers. There are several ways to avoid a sad fate when meeting her: You can answer her question that she is beautiful, but say it twice in a row and very quickly. She will get confused, which will give the victim an opportunity to run away. You can answer evasively: "You look average" or "You look normal." She will not know what to answer, which will also give the victim an opportunity to run away. Sometimes it is indicated that you can not answer her question at all, saying that you are busy, and then she will not pursue or insist. Some versions of the legend say that instead of an answer you can throw her fruits or sweets; she will rush to pick them up, which will also give you an opportunity to escape. Finally, you can, having seen her, ask before she does: "Am I beautiful?" She will think about the answer, and again you will have time to run away. "Perhaps you are beautiful/ugly." She will get confused, and you will be able to run away. Also, sometimes non-standard methods are mentioned: You can be rude to her or send her away. Then she will either leave or kill out of hatred - it is difficult to predict. When she reveals her face, you can have time to ask: "Who disfigured you so?" She will cry that you felt sorry for her, and will leave without harming you. A woman was disfigured by her own husband, thinking that she was cheating on him. Kuchisake-onna is supposedly a very beautiful woman with long hair, wearing a large coat, scarf, and gauze bandage or surgical mask covering the lower part of her face. She kills her victims with large scissors.