The
Peach Boy
By Chizuru Shiraga
Once
upon a time there was an old man and an old woman. One day, the
old man went to the mountain and the woman went to the river to
wash clothes. Just then, she saw a peach running with the current
in the river.
The
old woman brought the peach home. She cut the peach in half. Suddenly,
a boy jumped out of the peach!
His
name was "Momotaro" or, the Peach Boy. He grew up to be
big and strong. One day, demons invaded his village. The entire
village was very troubled.
Momotaro
had an idea. He asked his mother to make "kibidango."
"I
will go to Onigashima to fight the demons on their own territory!"
he said. He took the kibidango his mother made for him to eat along
the way.
A
dog, monkey and pheasant accompanied him to Onigashima. They ate
kibidango along the way.
When
they arrived in Onigashima, the dog bit the demons, the pheasant
pecked the demons and Momotaro fought against the demons with his
sword. Finally, the demons gave up and Momotaro and his small army
won! They went back to their village victorious.
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