Momotaro, the Peach Boy · chapter 1 of 4
The Giant Peach
大桃子
A little voice calls “Grandma!” on the river, and the biggest peach an old woman has ever seen floats by. When her husband lifts the knife, the peach has a surprise of its own.
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- Narrator 很久很久以前，日本有一条小河。河边住着一个老爷爷和一个老奶奶。
Hěn jiǔ hěn jiǔ yǐqián, Rìběn yǒu yì tiáo xiǎo hé. Hé biān zhùzhe yí gè lǎo yéye hé yí gè lǎo nǎinai.
Long, long ago, there was a little river in Japan, and beside it lived an old man and an old woman.
- Narrator 一天，老爷爷去山上打柴，老奶奶去河边洗衣服。
Yì tiān, lǎo yéye qù shān shang dǎ chái, lǎo nǎinai qù hé biān xǐ yīfu.
One day, the old man went up the mountain to cut firewood, and the old woman went down to the river to do the washing.
- Momotaro 奶奶！奶奶！我来了！
Nǎinai! Nǎinai! Wǒ lái le!
Grandma! Grandma! I'm coming!
- Grandma 谁在叫奶奶？没有人啊……如果我们有一个孩子，多好啊！
Shéi zài jiào nǎinai? Méiyǒu rén a… Rúguǒ wǒmen yǒu yí gè háizi, duō hǎo a!
Who's that calling for Grandma? There's nobody here… Oh, how wonderful it would be to have a child!
- Grandma 那是什么？水上有一个红红的东西！
Nà shì shénme? Shuǐ shang yǒu yí gè hónghóng de dōngxi!
What's that? There's something rosy-red on the water!
- Grandma 是一个桃子！天啊，这么大的桃子！
Shì yí gè táozi! Tiān a, zhème dà de táozi!
It's a peach! Heavens, what a huge peach!
- Grandma 大桃子，大桃子！那边的水不好喝，这边的水好喝，快过来！
Dà táozi, dà táozi! Nàbiān de shuǐ bù hǎohē, zhèbiān de shuǐ hǎohē, kuài guòlái!
Big peach, big peach! The water over there tastes bad, the water over here tastes sweet. Come here, quick!
- Grandma 它过来了！它真的听见了！
Tā guòlái le! Tā zhēnde tīngjiàn le!
It's coming! It really heard me!
- Grandma 好重！我要拿回家，给老头子看看。
Hǎo zhòng! Wǒ yào ná huí jiā, gěi lǎotóuzi kànkan.
Oof, it's heavy! I'll take it home and show the old man.
- Narrator 晚上，老爷爷回来了。
Wǎnshang, lǎo yéye huílái le.
That evening, the old man came home.
- Grandpa 我回来了！好累，好饿……这是什么？
Wǒ huílái le! Hǎo lèi, hǎo è… Zhè shì shénme?
I'm home! So tired, so hungry… Hey, what's this?
- Grandma 老头子，你看！河里来的大桃子！
Lǎotóuzi, nǐ kàn! Hé lǐ lái de dà táozi!
Look, old man! A giant peach, straight out of the river!
- Grandpa 这么大的桃子！我们两个人，十天也吃不完！
Zhème dà de táozi! Wǒmen liǎng gè rén, shí tiān yě chī bù wán!
A peach this big! The two of us couldn't finish it in ten days!
- Grandma 那我们今天晚上就吃吧！快拿刀来！
Nà wǒmen jīntiān wǎnshang jiù chī ba! Kuài ná dāo lái!
Then let's start on it tonight! Quick, fetch the knife!
- Grandpa 好！我来切。一，二，三……
Hǎo! Wǒ lái qiē. Yī, èr, sān…
Right! Let me cut it. One, two, three…
- Momotaro 等一下！我在里边！
Děng yíxià! Wǒ zài lǐbian!
Wait! I'm in here!
- Grandpa 桃子……桃子会说话？！
Táozi… táozi huì shuōhuà?!
The peach… the peach can talk?!
- Narrator 这时，大桃子自己开了，里边亮亮的。
Zhèshí, dà táozi zìjǐ kāi le, lǐbian liàngliàng de.
Just then, the giant peach split open all by itself, and there was a glow inside.
- Grandma 老头子，快看！里边有一个小男孩！
Lǎotóuzi, kuài kàn! Lǐbian yǒu yí gè xiǎo nánhái!
Old man, look! There's a little boy inside!
- Momotaro 爷爷！奶奶！我来了！
Yéye! Nǎinai! Wǒ lái le!
Grandpa! Grandma! I'm here!
- Grandma 是你！河上叫我奶奶的，是你！老头子，天上送来了一个孩子！
Shì nǐ! Hé shang jiào wǒ nǎinai de, shì nǐ! Lǎotóuzi, tiānshàng sòng lái le yí gè háizi!
It was you! You're the one who called me Grandma on the river! Old man, heaven has sent us a child!
- Grandpa 他是从桃子里来的，就叫他桃太郎吧！
Tā shì cóng táozi lǐ lái de, jiù jiào tā Táo Tàiláng ba!
He came out of a peach, so let's call him Momotaro, the Peach Boy!
- Narrator 桃太郎吃一碗饭，就长大一点儿。很快，他十五岁了。
Táo Tàiláng chī yì wǎn fàn, jiù zhǎngdà yìdiǎnr. Hěn kuài, tā shíwǔ suì le.
With every bowl of rice he ate, Momotaro grew a little bigger. Soon he was fifteen.
- Grandma 桃太郎，这是第几碗饭了？
Táo Tàiláng, zhè shì dì jǐ wǎn fàn le?
Momotaro, how many bowls of rice is that now?
- Momotaro 第十碗！奶奶，还有吗？
Dì shí wǎn! Nǎinai, hái yǒu ma?
Number ten! Is there any more, Grandma?
- Grandpa 哈哈！吃得多，力气大！我们的桃太郎，是日本第一！
Hāhā! Chī de duō, lìqi dà! Wǒmen de Táo Tàiláng, shì Rìběn dì yī!
Ha ha! Big appetite, big muscles! Our Momotaro is the best in all Japan!
- Grandpa 可是……今天山下的人说，鬼岛的鬼又来了。
Kěshì… jīntiān shān xià de rén shuō, Guǐ Dǎo de guǐ yòu lái le.
But… the people down in the valley said today that the ogres from Demon Island are back.
- Momotaro 鬼岛？那是什么地方？
Guǐ Dǎo? Nà shì shénme dìfang?
Demon Island? What's that?
- Grandma 在海上。那里的鬼又大又坏，常常来拿大家的米和钱。
Zài hǎi shang. Nàlǐ de guǐ yòu dà yòu huài, chángcháng lái ná dàjiā de mǐ hé qián.
It's out at sea. The ogres there are big and wicked, and they keep coming to steal everyone's rice and money.
- Momotaro 爷爷，奶奶，我要去鬼岛，打鬼！
Yéye, nǎinai, wǒ yào qù Guǐ Dǎo, dǎ guǐ!
Grandpa, Grandma, I'm going to Demon Island to fight the ogres!
What changed in the story?
- What does the old woman wish for at the river?
“如果我们有一个孩子，多好啊！”
- How does the old woman get the peach to come to her?
“那边的水不好喝，这边的水好喝，快过来！”
- What happens as the old man counts to three with the knife?
“一，二，三……等一下！我在里边！”
- Who was the little voice calling “Grandma!” on the river?
“是你！河上叫我奶奶的，是你！”
- Why does Momotaro decide to go to Demon Island?
“那里的鬼又大又坏，常常来拿大家的米和钱。……我要去鬼岛，打鬼！”