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4月28日の日本の昔話



力太郎
Mighty-taro

にほんご(日语)  ・ちゅうごくご(中文)　・日语＆中文

日本語＆客家語

日本語(Japanese)　英語(English)　日本語(Japanese)&英語(English)

Once upon a time, there lived an old couple who never had a bath.
The old couple didn’t have a child.

One day, the grandpa and grandma had a bath for the first time.
So much dirt came off from the old couple’s body. As there was so much pile of dirt, they decided to mould a figure of a child from it.

The grandmother sighed and said “Oh, I wish this was a real child”
To their great surprise, the figure suddenly started to move, and it turned into a real child.
The old couple was over the moon. “We are so grateful. This child is a gift from the god. ”
The old couple was so happy, they named the child “Mighty-Taro” and decided to raise him with lots of love.

Now, Mighty-Taro was not an ordinary child. Though he was still a baby, he ate so much food. He grew bigger and bigger as he ate.
By the time he was fifteen years of age, he became the strongest man in the whole village.
As the old couple have aged well by then, they could no longer work to feed Mighty-Taro with lots of food.
“What can we do?” they sighed.
As the old couple worried, Mighty-Taro proposed an idea.
“I’m going to go on a journey. So please make me a heavy iron bar”
The grandpa made him a heavy iron bar as promised. Mighty-Taro swung the iron bar with such a strength and set off for the journey.

Soon, Mighty-Taro saw a group of bystanders watching a giant man smashing rocks with a bare hand.
“Bahahaha, I am the strongest man on Earth! Who dares to challenge my strength?"
As Mighty-Taro head this, he challenged the giant man.
“If you can swing my iron bar three and half turns, I will become your servant. What do you say?” said Mighty-Taro.
“Fine. If I can’t, then I will become your servant.” answered the giant man.
The giant man sneered at Mighty-taro and took the iron bar to swing. But the iron bar was so heavy, he could only swing it one and a half turn.
So, the giant man become Mighty-Taro’s servant.

As the two journeyed on, they saw a man carrying a whole shrine on his back.
“I am the strongest man on Earth! Who dares to challenge my strength?" the man yelled.
So, as Mighty-Taro head this, he challenged the man.
“If you can swing my iron bar three and half turns, I will become your servant.” said Mighty-Taro.
“Huh, it’s a piece of cake!” answered the man.
The man sneered at Mighty-Taro and took the iron bar to swing. But the iron bar was so heavy, he could only swing it two and a half turn.
So, the second man also become Mighty-Taro’s servant.

As the three travelled, they came across an empty village and saw a girl crying on her own. 　

“What happened here? ”
As Mighty-Taro asked, the girl answered as she wept.
“Each night a monster comes to our village and eats one villager at a time. Everyone has been eaten and I am the only one left.”
“What, a monster? We will slay the monster for you!”
As Mighty-Taro promised the girl, he asked her to make him lots of rice balls to eat. He ate it all up and waited for the monster to appear.

At midnight, a giant bullfrog, larger than a house appeared.
“I will slay you first!”
said the giant man and faced the bullfrog. But the bullfrog opened his big mouth and swallowed the giant man at once.
“I’m next!”
said the second servant, but he too was swallowed by the bullfrog.
“I am the last one standing! See if you can withstand my iron bar!”
Mighty-Taro swung the iron bar with power and landed it on the top of bullfrog’s head.
Even the giant bullfrog could not withstand such a mighty hit, he fell on his back and passed out.
Mighty-Taro jumped on the bullfrog and pounded its stomach with his feet.
Then, all the people who have been eaten came out of its mouth one by one.

So, he saved the villagers from the monster and Mighty-Taro married the girl.
He asked his grandpa and grandma to come and live in the village together. The villager brought him lots of food to thank him, which he ate it all and lived happily ever after.

The end

おまけ
ささらとゆっくり昔話　第07話【力太郎】

読者の「NS.MOOOON」さんの投稿作品。

日本昔話を現代っぽくアレンジしたらこうなったシリーズ。

おまけ
ささらと昔話講座　第07話【力太郎】

読者の「NS.MOOOON」さんの投稿作品。

知っているようで知らない日本昔話を、あれやこれやとささらちゃんが学んでいく動画です。