Some local stories we heard in our childhood.
Some groups try to write about the stories which were told to them in their
childhood. Some are scary and some are funny. The students who tried this
project found how difficult it was to express the story in English. They
worked well.
table of contents
- 1. Kappa (23/07/2001)
- by Atsushi N and Atsushi K
- 2. Candy (23/07/2001)
- by Yuriko, Maki, Aoi, and Nobue
- 3. A Jealous Wife (23/07/2001)
- by Ayumi and Mina
1. Kappa or River Goblin
Do you know a River Goblin? We were sometimes told about the story of the goblin when we were kids. The goblin is called 'Kappa' in Japanese.
Kappa is a legendary creature living in a river all over Japan.
It has webbed feet and hands. It has a plate on its head. It has a big
shell on its back. Some people say that the goblins came from the outer
space.
Kappa does a lot of bad things. Sometimes it steals crops from farmers
and sometimes it kidnaps peolple.
Kappa likes playing tricks on people.
Kappa is afraid of fire.
People tried to drive away Kappa with fire torches in summer.
Now on July 14th, in our area, we have a firework festival. We have a lot
of fireworks to drive away the legendary animals. And we pray that we have
a safe life and have a good harvest in autumn.
by Atsushi N and Atsushi K
Looking forward to your comments
2. Candy
For a long time ago, there lived a young husband and a young wife. The wife was very beautiful. But she suddenly died from a bad disease. At the time of her death, she was pregnant.
A few days after her death, a woman visited a candy shop. She visited there
every night. The woman looked like the dead wife very much. The owner of
the candy shop wondered why the women came to the shop every night. He
followed the lady secretly on one night. She went into the grave yard where
the dead lady was buried. The owner saw the woman fade into the grave of
the dead wife. He was very scared and surprised at this, and cried out.
He told the dead woman's husband about the fact. The widower went to the
grave and dug out the grave. There lay the dead wife and a baby beside
her. The baby was holding a lollipop in his hand. The dead woman gave birth
to the baby in the grave. She wanted a candy for her baby. That was why
she visited the candy shop every night.
by Yuriko, Maki, Aoi, and Nobue
Looking forward to your comments
3. A Jealous Wife
A long time ago, there was a very jealous wife. When her husband talked
with other women, she got jealous at once. Her husband was a very handsome
man and he was very tender for anybody. She was always anxious that somebody
robbed her husband.
One day she had a cold and felt dizzy with a high fever. On that night she went to bed early. In the middle of night she unexpectedly woke up and found that there was something wrong with her husband. He sneaked out of the room and went out for somewhere. She wondered if he would see other women. She thought to herself, "I'm sure he will see other women! I feel so jealous." The wife's head got still hotter.
She was beside herself. She was not sure whether that was because of the high fever or because of her jealousy. She decided to follow her husband.
The wife carried out a knife from the kitchen. She came out outside and walked on, depending on the moonlight. She followed the husband. His pace became quicker gradually. The wife felt so jealous and mortified that she was not sure of what she was going to do. Her blood was boiling with jealousy.
She attacked his husband on his back with the kitchen knife! At the moment, she came to herself, trembling with fear. Although she fled to the house with great difficulty, the body shake never stopped.
"What a terrible thing I have done! What should I do?" she cried out. She went back to the bed and pulled a quilt over her face and cried and cried.
At the daybreak, her husband came back unexpectedly. She was so surprised.
"What is the matter? Are you all right?" he said to his wife.
"And you too?" she asked. She thought it was his ghost.
She tried to calm down and listen to her husband. He said that he went to a shrine to prayed to God that she would get well soon. He found the kitchen knife stuck in an old plum tree near their house. She took the tree for her husband and stuck the knife into the tree.
She was so ashamed of what she had done and she decided never to be jealous. They lived together happily.
by Ayumi and Mina
Looking forward to your comments
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