Momotaro: The Tale of a Peach Boy

Once upon a time in Japan, an old man and his wife lived in the countryside. They were extremely lonely because they lacked children. The old man went to the mountains to cut firewood one day, while his wife went to the river to wash clothes. The old lady had barely begun her washing when she noticed a large peach floating down the river. It was a massive peach. She had never seen anything like it. She fished the peach from the river and brought it home to serve to her husband for supper.

The old man returned home late in the afternoon, and the old woman said to him, "Look what a wonderful peach I found for your supper." The old man said it was a lovely peach. "Let's divide it and eat it," he exclaimed, hungry. So the elderly lady took a large knife from the kitchen and prepared to cut the peach in half. But then the sound of a human voice came from inside the peach. “Wait! "Please don't cut me!" exclaimed the voice. Suddenly, the peach split open, revealing a lovely baby boy.

The old man and his wife were overjoyed, and they adopted the baby as their son. He was named Momotaro, which means "Peach Boy," because he was born from a peach. They adored Momotaro and brought up him well.

When Momotaro was about fifteen years old, he went to his father and said, "Father, you have always been very kind to me." Now that I'm an adult, I need to do something to help my country. Ogre Island is a small island in the middle of the sea. Many cruel ogres live there and frequently come to our land and do bad things like kidnapping people and stealing their belongings. So I'm going to Ogre Island to battle them and bring back treasure. Please allow me to do this."

The old man was taken aback, but he was also proud of Momotaro for wanting to help others. So he and the old lady assisted Momotaro in preparing for his journey to Ogre Island. He was given a sword and armour by the old man, and he was served dumplings for lunch by the old woman. Momotaro then began his journey. He took a step toward the sea. He came across a spotted dog on his journey. Momotaro's dog growled at him and was about to bite him when Momotaro gave him one of the dumplings. He told the spotted dog that he was going to Ogre Island to fight the ogres. So the dog agreed to accompany him.

Momotaro and the spotted dog continued walking and soon encountered a monkey. The spotted dog and the monkey began fighting. On the other hand, Momotaro informed the monkey that he and the spotted dog were going to fight the ogres on Ogre Island. The monkey then asked if he could accompany them. So Momotaro fed the monkey a dumpling and led him away. They came across a pheasant. The spotted dog, monkey, and pheasant were about to get into a fight. However, when the pheasant learned that Momotaro was going to fight the ogres on Ogre Island, he asked if he could accompany him. So Momotaro brought the pheasant along and gave him a dumpling.

So, with Momotaro as their captain, the spotted dog, monkey, and pheasant, who had previously been enemies, became friends and followed Momotaro. They walked for a long time until they arrived at the sea. Momotaro built a boat at the sea's edge. They all piled into the boat and set sail for Ogre Island. When they got close to the island, they noticed that the ogres had built a formidable fort there. And there were a lot of ogres. Ogres came in a variety of colours, including red, blue, and green.

First, the pheasant flew over the fort's walls and began pecking at the ogres' heads. They all tried to hit the pheasant with their clubs, but he was quick and managed to evade all of them. And, while the ogres were distracted, the monkey crept up and opened the fort's gate. Then Momotaro and the spotted dog charged into the fort and began fighting the ogres as well.

It was a massive battle! The pheasant pecked at the wicked ogres' heads and eyes. They were clawed by the monkey. The spotted dog then bit them. Momotaro slashed them with his sword. Finally, the ogres were defeated. They all bowed low before Momotaro and vowed never to be evil again. Then they brought Momotaro everything they had.

It was a great treasure, containing gold, silver, and coloured jewels. There was an invisible coat and hat, an arid hammer that produced a piece of gold every time you hit the ground, and an are plenty of other wonderful items. Momotaro and his three friends transported everything back to their home island in their boat. Then they built a cart, loaded it with all the treasure, and pulled it to Momotaro's house. How surprised the old man and his wife were to see their son safely return home! They were now extremely wealthy thanks to the treasure Momotaro brought, and everyone lived happily ever after.

Fate aids the courageous

- Momotaro