Most of Japanese really love fairy tales. Because we read so many times with parents in childhood.
And the fairy tale still continues to be read from one generation to another.
Let me share famous fairy tale with picture book. Let's try to read it.
This article was produced by General Incorporated Association of International Digital E-hon.
Long, long ago, there lived a man named Hikoichi.
He was poor but very gentle.
One night, a beautiful woman tapped on his door.
" My name is Tatsu. I lost my way. Could I stay at your house tonight?"
She said.
Hikoichi kindly offered her a room for the night.
Tatsu did not leave the next day, and not the following day, either.
She stayed on at Hikoichi's house doing house work and soon became his wife.
They made a good couple. They always worked together and helped each other.
They made a good couple.
They always worked together and helped each other.
Tatsu believed Hikoichi's words and went into the room.
After a while there came a baby's cry, and it made Hikoichi so curious he had to peek into the room. He looked in quietly from the narrow opening of the sliding door.
In the room he found a big dragon and a tiny baby beside her.
Petrified at the sight, Hikoichi exclaimed,
"Oh my God! Tatsu is a dragon!"
Soon, Tatsu now back in a human form came out of the room with a baby boy in her arms.
"In spite of your promise you looked into the room. Yes, I am what you saw……a dragon.
Now that you've found out what I really am, I cannot stay with you any longer.
Please take care of our baby,"
said Tatsu.
Then Tatsu plucked her eye out and gave it to Hikoichi.
"Let the baby suck on it when he cries.Also, when you're in trouble, you can come to see me at the marsh in the mountains."
She said.
"What a terrible thing I did! Please don't leave, Tatsu."
Hikoichi apologized to Tatsu from the bottom of his heart and begged her to stay, but Tatsu went back to the mountains in tears.
Hikoichi named the baby Taro and took good care of him. Taro grew up rapidly, sucking on his mother's eyeball. Before long, he suck it down to nothing, and cried hard for more. Hikoichi had no choice but to take Taro to the marsh in the mountains.
Hikoichi called Tatsu's name out loud; then, in her dragon form Tatsu emerged from the marsh.
"What has happened? Are you in trouble?"
She asked.
"Yes, Taro has sucked your eyeball till it's gone. He just keeps crying for food."
Hikoichi explained.
After hearing this, Tatsu plucked out her other eye and said to Hikoichi as she handed it to him.
"Here, take this eye of mine, but then I will lose my eyesight completely. I won't be able to tell morning from night. So please put a bell by this marsh, and ring the bell every morning and night so I will know the time."
Sucking on his mother's another eyeball Taro grew up healthy. Hikoichi built a shrine by the marsh and hung a bell in it as Tatsu told him to. And, every day in the morning and at night, he rang the bell with Taro for Tatsu.
The end
Is there any similar story in your country? Some fairy tales were introduced by other countries and mixed with own culture. I hope that you enjoy reading famous fairy tale.
What do you think of this fairy tale?
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