Momotaro, the Peach Boy

Part One · The Giant Peach

Long ago in Japan, a kind old man and a kind old woman lived at the foot of the mountains. They had no children, and they often felt lonely. Every morning the old man went up the hill to cut wood, and the old woman went down to the river to wash their clothes.

One day, while the old woman was scrubbing a shirt, something big and pink came bobbing down the river. Donburako, donburako, it floated along. It was a peach, the biggest peach she had ever seen! She reached out with a long stick and pulled it to the bank. Then she carried it home on her back.

"What a peach!" said the old man that night. "Let us share it for supper." He picked up a knife, but before he could cut it, the peach split open all by itself. Out jumped a baby boy, round and pink and laughing! "Do not be afraid," said the baby. "I have come to be your son."

The old man and woman were so happy that they danced around the kitchen. "We will call him Momotaro," said the old woman, "because he came out of a peach." In Japan, that name means Peach Boy. He ate all the rice they gave him, and he grew bigger and stronger every day. Soon he could lift a tree with one hand.

But there was trouble in the land. Far across the sea was Onigashima, the Island of the Oni. The oni were big, rough ogres with horns on their heads. They sailed to the towns and stole rice, gold and jewels, and everyone was scared of them. The Peach Boy grew angry when he heard about it.

Part Two · Three Friends

When he was fifteen, Momotaro bowed to his mother and father. "I am going to the Island of the Oni," he said. "I will make them give back what they took." The old man gave him a sword and a flag with a peach on it. The old woman made him a bag of kibi-dango, sweet millet dumplings, the best in all Japan.

He had not gone far when a spotted dog trotted up to him. "Peach Boy, Peach Boy, where are you going?" barked the dog. "To the Island of the Oni, to beat the ogres," said the boy. "What is in your bag?" asked the dog. "The best dumplings in Japan." The dog wagged his tail. "Give me one, and I will come with you."

So the boy gave the dog a dumpling, and on they went. Soon a monkey swung down from a tree. "Peach Boy, where are you going?" The boy told him, and the monkey got a dumpling too. Then a pheasant swooped out of the sky with its green feathers shining. "Give me one, and I will come too," it called.

The dog growled at the monkey, and the monkey made faces at the dog. "Stop that," said Momotaro. "We are a team now, and a team must work together." The two of them stopped arguing at once. Then the four friends built a little boat, and they sailed across the wide blue sea with the peach flag flapping in the wind.

Part Three · The Island of the Oni

At last they saw the island. It was rocky and gray, with a huge black gate. "Go and see what is behind the wall," said the boy to the pheasant. The bird flew high over the gate. Inside, the oni were having a feast. They were laughing and eating all the stolen rice, and not one of them was keeping watch.

The monkey climbed the wall and opened the gate, and in rushed the boy and the dog. "Here I am, Momotaro of Japan!" he shouted. "Give back what you stole!" The oni were so surprised that they dropped their bowls. The pheasant pecked their noses, the monkey pulled their hair, and the dog nipped their ankles.

The biggest oni of all came stomping out with an iron club, but the Peach Boy was too quick for him. He knocked the club away and sat on the ogre's chest until it burst into tears. "Please stop!" cried the oni chief. "We give up! We will give it all back, and we will never steal again!"

The oni carried out all the stolen treasure. There were piles of gold, bags of rice, glowing pearls and silk robes. They loaded it all onto a cart, and they bowed low as the friends left. The four friends pulled the cart home along the road, and they sang the whole way.

When they reached the town, everyone ran out to cheer. Momotaro gave back every single thing to the people it belonged to. Then he went home to the little house at the foot of the mountains. The old man and the old woman were waiting at the door with their arms open wide.

From that day on, the old couple never felt lonely again. The Peach Boy, the dog, the monkey and the pheasant all lived with them, and they shared sweet dumplings every night. And the oni? They kept their promise, and they never stole another grain of rice.