The Peach Boy

An old man and his wife lived alone near a river. they din't have any children and had to look after themselves. One day, when the old man went to the mountain to get fire-wood, his wife went to the river to wash some clothes. While she was doing the washing, she saw a large peach coming down the river towards her. She stretched out her hand and caught the peach as it floated past.

"It will be something different for my husband to have for his supper," she thought to herself.

But when the old man opened the peach in the evening, he saw a tiny boy inside it. When they had got over their surprise, the old couple were very happy to have a child. They named him Peach Boy.  They loved him and looked after him well, and soon Peach Boy was tall and strong.

He was a good son and helped his father to catch fish from the river and collect fire-wood in the mountains. 'One day, a crow flew down and spoke to Peach Boy. "The devils from the Island of devils came abd took away some people and goods from village nearby. The devils must be punished and we thought you might be able to help us."

Peach Boy wanted to help the village people and asked his parents if he could go and fight the devils. Although they did not want him to go, they agreed, and each of them gave him something to help him on his journey. The old man gave him his best sword and his mother made some very fine dumplings to eat on the way.
After a while, he met a dog which asked him where he was going.
"I am going to the Island of Devils," answered Peach Boy.
"What have you got in your bag?" asked the dog.
"Oh, these are the finest dumplings in the whole Japan!" said the boy proudly. "Here, take one and eat it."
And so they went together.
As they walked along a mountain path, a monkey jumped down from a tree. "Where are you going?" he asked. 
"To Island of Devils," the two friend answered.
"What have you got in your bag?" asked the monkey. 
"The finest dumplings in Japan," said Peach Boy proudly.
"Here, try one and come with us."
And so the three of them went on together.
Then a pheasant flew down and spoke to them.
"Where are you going?" he asked .
"We are going to the Island of Devils," answered the three friends. 
"What have you got in your bag?" asked the pheasant. 
"I have the finest dumplings in Japan." said Peach Boy proudly. "Would you like to have one?"
He gave the pheasant a dumpling and the four of them walked on together.
They walked across the mountains until they came to the sea. Here they found a boat which took them to the Island of Devils. The pheasant was the first to go onto the island. He flew over it crying loudly as he went. Then the dog howled and the monkey knocked at the big black door of the house where the devils lived.
One of the devils opened the door to see what had made such a lot of noise. The friends rushed in and fought with the devils who were now very frightened. But the devils ran into the fortress to tell the general of the devils about the monster Peach Boy who had come to fight them.
At once, the general picked up his heavy iron stick and went out to join the fight. But the more he fought, the more tired he became. The dog, monkey and pheasant were strong because they had eaten the dumplings, and they fought fiercely.
Finally, the general knelt down and asked to be forgiven for the wicked things he had done.
Peach Boy took away all the stolen goods and returned them to the people in the village. Everyone was happy and thanked him.

The Old Man and The Hare

Once there lived an old woodcutter who went every day to the forest to cut trees. One day, after he had cut a lot of wood, he felt hungry. "Oh, I'm tired and hungry," he said as he sat down on a tree stump and opened his lunch box.

As he was taking his first bite, he saw a hare sitting on the grass in front of him. The hare just sat and started at him. "Oh, do you also want something to eat?" asked the old man. He threw the bread which he held in his  hand to the hare.

At once, the hare rolled the bread into a hole and quickly jumped after it. After a while the old man heard a lovely voice singing in the hole, "A pieces of bread, kororin, suttonton."

When the song ended, the woodcutter threw another  piece of bread into the hole. Then he heard the singing again. He liked it so much that he threw  more bread into the hole until all of his lunch had gone.

The next day, when the old man unpacked his lunch box, he wondered what would happen when he threw some bread into the hole. Again he heard the same song. He was so pleased that he kept throwing small pieces of food into the hole until his lunch was all gone.

On the third day he thought, "I wonder what will happen today?" He threw a piece of his lunch into the hole and he heard the same song. He went on throwing small pieces of food into hole the until nothing was left. All he had was the empty box so he threw that in too.

"A box, kororin, suttonton," sang the voice from the hole. The old man was now so curious that he went to the hole and peeped into it. But he slipped and fell into the hole! This time the voice sang, "Old man, kororin, suttoton!"

The woodcutter opened his eyes and looked around him. He was in a large hall. There were a lot of hares standing around a mortar making rice cakes. As they worked they all sang.

When they saw the old man, they stopped and stood in front of him. The biggest hare came out to greet him. 

"Grandfather, we thank you for the many delicious pieces of bread which you have given us. Today we are making rice cakes for New Year. Please stay and  keep us company."

" A pieces of bread, kororin, suttonton, a box, ororin, suttonton, and old man, kororin, suttonton!" they all sang and went on making the rice cakes.

Then they gave the old man a large plateful of rice cakes to eat. They also gave him a bag filled with-delicious cakes to take home.

This is very old tale. But when you walk in  a forest at New Year, you may see such holes. Inside, the hares are making rice cakes and you may hear the sound of "kororin, kororin, suttonton".

So keep your eyes and ears open.

The Fox and The Otter

Once a Fox and an otter lived near each in the Ohara. One evening, the Fox visited the home of the Otter which was in the grass near the river. "Please come in and eat with me, " said the kind otter. The Fox ate six big carp, eight eels, and other fish as well. Altogether  , he ate thirty seven fish. Because he was in such a good mood when he left, he invited the Otter to visit him in his house the next day.
When the Otter arrived at his house in the forest, the fox did not speak, he only sat and tarted at the sky. "Mr.Fox what has happened? Are you all right?" asked the Otter. But the Fox did not say anything and the Otter went home.

Next morning, the Fox rushed into the Otter's house. I'm very sorry for not speaking to you last night. It was my turn to be on sky-watching duty and I'm not allowed to do anything else at the same time. Will you please come again to night?"
That evening, the Otter again went to the house of the Fox. Bu again the Fox did not speak, he just started at the ground. "Mr.Fox, has anything happened? Are you all right?" asked the Otter again. But the Fox did not say anything and the Otter went home hungry again.
Next morning, the Fox rushed into the Otter's house. "Please forgive me, last night I was on earth-watching duty and I'm not allowed to do anything else at the same time. Please came again tonight?."
"Perhaps the Fox does not know how to catch fish for my dinner," thought the Otter to himself. "Shall I teach you how to catch fish?" he said to the Fox.
"Oh yes, I don't know how to catch fish. Please teach me." The Otter looked at the big tail of the Fox said , "Let your tail hang into the water of the river in the early evening and a lot of fish will hold onto it.
The Fox waited for sunset and then he went to the river. The Fox was thinking so much about catching some fish that he did not see the ice on part of the river. He sat down on the bank and put his tail into the river. After a while he wanted to have a look and pulled his tail out of the water. There was a cracking sound. He saw small pieces of the ice on his tail but he didn't see any fish. He tried again but there were no fish on his tail. he decided to leave his tail in the water for a long time.
Slowly, his tail became more and more heavy and the Fox was sure that he must have a very big fish on the end of it. However, he waited patiently for more fish to come.
As the sun was rising, some children same along to the road near the river and they saw the Fox. At once, the Fox was frightened and wanted to run away. However his tail had frozen into the ice on the river during the night. He pulled with all his strength until he pulled his tail off. Then the poor Fox ran quickly into the forest.