Yet another Version of 桃太郎 (Momotaro, or Peach Boy)

(This is my westernized interpretation of the classic Japanese fairy tale/legend of the boy who was born from a peach. I'm mixing at least three versions with which I am familiar, and adding a thoroughly western-style ending.)

(Audio here. 音声はここです。)

Once upon a time in a small village near the Seto Inland Sea, an old man lived with his wife. Because they had no children, they lived by themselves.

Every day, they worked hard. The old man would go to the fields. And the old woman would do the housework, and then go to the river to do the laundry.

One day, while doing the laundry, the old woman saw something strange bobbing up and down as it floated down the river. As it drew closer, she saw that it was a giant peach.

So she called out to the peach, "Peach! Oh, Peach. Come here." And the peach came toward her, bobbing and dancing in the stream.

When it got close, she reached out into the water and pulled it to shore. It was very large, and she said to herself, "This will make us a nice dessert."

When she finished with the laundry, she took her load back to the house and set the peach on the table to show her husband.

When he finally returned after sundown, he was pleased to see the peach. "This peach looks delicious." he said to his wife, "Let's have some."

"Yes, let's." she said. And she got out a large knife to cut the peach with.

But, before she could put the knife to the peach, it popped open, and out popped a lively baby boy.

"Hello, Grandma!", "Hello, Grandpa!" he said.

The old man and the old woman were very surprised. "Where did you come from?" they asked the boy.

And he replied "From heaven, of course."

And the old woman said to her husband, "The gods have blessed us for all our years of hard work and patience."

So they named the boy "Momotaro", which means "Son of the Peach," and raised him as their own son.

They took good care of him, and Momotaro was a good boy.

He ate all his food, and grew big and strong. And as he grew up, he helped in the fields and around the house.
 
And he played with the other children in the village, made lots of friends, and became a brave, strong young man.

He worked hard and grew stronger than any man in the village.

One day as he was working in the fields, he saw a kite circling overhead.

He called to the bird, "Hello, Kite, do you have any news?" 

And the bird called back, "Momotaro, the villagers around here need your help!"

"Why? Is something wrong?"

"The demons from Devils' Island are raiding the villages, destroying their houses, and taking their food and treasures."

So he went home and told his adopted parents, "I must go to Devils' Island and defeat the demons."

They were very surprised. "But you are just a young man!" the old man said.

"I am stronger than any man in the village."

"It will be very dangerous!" cried the old woman.

"I am very brave, and it is the right thing to do." he replied.

So the old man helped him make a very strong sword.

And the old woman helped him prepare special nutritious millet dumplings.

"We have put our hearts into this sword. It will help you defeat the demons," the old man said.

"We have put our hearts into these dumplings. Eat one, and you will be stronger than one hundred men," said the old woman.

So the old man put the sword in its sheath and Momotaro tied the sheath to his belt.

And the old woman put the millet dumplings in a bag and Momotaro tied the bag to his belt.

"Thank you, Grandmother. Thank you, Grandfather. I will do my best, and I shall prevail."

So Momotaro set off over the mountains and through the valleys.

While he was walking, he met a dog.

"Hello, Momotaro. Where are you going?" the dog asked.

"Hello, Dog. I am going to Devils' Island to defeat the demons," Momotaro replied.

"That is a good thing to do. What is in that bag on your belt?"

"These are special nutritious dumplings. They can make you very strong. If I give you one, will you join me in my quest?"

"Yes, I will join you in your quest."

So Momotaro gave him a dumpling, and the dog joined him. And then they set off again, over the mountains and through the valleys.

While they were walking, they met a monkey. 

"Hello, Momotaro. Hello, Dog. Where are you going?" the monkey asked.

"Hello, Monkey. We are going to Devils' Island to defeat the demons," they replied.

"That is a good thing to do. What is in that bag on your belt, Momotaro?"

"These are special nutritious dumplings. They can make you very strong. If I give you one, will you join us in our quest?"

"Yes, I will join you in your quest."

So Momotaro gave him a dumpling, and the monkey joined them. And they set off again, over the mountains and through the valleys.

While they were walking, they met a pheasant. 

"Hello, Momotaro. Hello, Dog. Hello, Monkey. Where are you going?" the pheasant asked.

"Hello, Pheasant. We are going to Devils' Island to defeat the demons," they replied.

"That is a good thing to do. What is in that bag on your belt, Momotaro?"

"These are special nutritious dumplings. They can make you very strong. If I give you one, will you join us in our quest?"

"Yes, I will join you in your quest."

So Momotaro gave her a dumpling, and the pheasant joined them. And they set off over the mountains and through the valleys.

When they came to the sea, they could see Devils' Island across the water.

Momotaro made a boat, and the dog and the monkey and the pheasant helped him in whatever way they could.

Then they sailed across the water to Devils' Island.

The pheasant flew ahead, as their scout, to find the way. She showed them where to land the boat, and how to get to the demons' lair.

When they got to the lair, they each ate one millet dumpling. They felt strong, with the power of Momotaro's adopted grandmother's love.

Then the pheasant flew over the wall and looked around. When she came back, she called down, "The demons are all taking a nap inside the walls."

So the monkey climbed over the wall and lifted the bolt on the gate.

Momotaro and the dog pushed the gate open and charged inside.

The monkey squealed and screamed. The dog barked and howled. The pheasant crowed and screeched.

And Momotaro cried, "Momotaro has come to avenge the villagers! Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

The demons woke up in confusion. But Momotaro waited. Then the demons attacked.

The dog charged and bit the demons' legs.

The monkey charged and jumped on the demons' heads.

The pheasant dove and pecked at their necks and arms.

Momotaro felt the power of his adopted grandfather's love as he swung his sword and beat the demons back.

Soon the demons were all on the run. They ran into the castle to the big demon.

"Momotaro has come!"

"Momotaro is too strong!"

"We can't beat him!"

The big demon burst out laughing. "Bwaaah hah hah hah! You weak cowards! Who is Momotaro?"

Just then Momotaro and the dog and the monkey and the pheasant burst through the door.

"I am Momotaro. I have come to avenge the villagers! Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"You are an insolent worm! You insult me!" yelled the big demon as he charged.

Then the dog bit his heels, and the monkey jumped on his head, and the pheasant dove and pecked his neck and arms.

And Momotaro felt the power of his adopted grandfather's love as he swung his sword and beat him back.

Soon the big demon was cowering in the corner. "I give! I give!"

"Do you all give up?" Momotaro asked them in a loud voice.

"Yes, we give up!" all the demons cried out in fear.

"Will you go raiding and attack the villagers again?" he asked.

"No! We will never go raiding again! We will never attack the villagers again!"

"Will you come with me and give all their treasures back?"

"Yes! We will go with you and give all their treasures back!"

"What about the food?"

"We will give everything we haven't eaten back!"

"What will you do then?"

Silence.

Then the big demon said, "We don't know what to do. We only know how to do bad things."

Momotaro thought for a moment. "Then you must come back with me and my grandparents will teach you how to work."

So the demons promised.

Then they collected the stolen things and went back to the villages and gave everything back.

When they were done, they went to Momotaro's village and Momotaro and his adopted grandprents taught them how to work.

Then some of the demons went back to their island to work, and others stayed in the villages to work.

And everyone lived happily ever after, or, at least, for a long time.