Hukumusume fairy tale collection > Foreign language (English) > Japanese classical stories

The golden eggplant

(Japanese classical stories)

Translation　ちいさな翻訳屋さん

おりがみをつくろう ( おりがみくらぶ より) なすび

Japanese　←→　Japanese ＆ English　←→　English

　A long time ago, there lived a king who had a very beautiful queen.

　The queen was pregnant, but the king didn’t know that.



　One day, when she was carrying king’s meal, she passed a little gas “pff”.

　On hearing that, the king got angry and said,

“What a rude queen you are! Such a rude fellow should be banished!”

　And he banished the queen to the far island.

　The banished queen gave birth to a boy in the island and brought him up for about ten years.



　One day, the queen was asked by her child,

“Why we don’t have a father in our home?”

　She told him the truth why she was banished.

“I see. I didn’t know my dad is a king.

　… OK. I will go to see him.”

　The boy rowed a boat to cross the sea by himself, and he sold seedlings of eggplant near the castle.

“Would you like a seedling of golden eggplant? It is a seedling of golden eggplant.”

　As soon as the king heard the voice, the king called him out to the castle.

“It is very unusual to have a golden eggplant.

　I can buy all of them, but is it easy to cultivate the plant?”

　When the king asked, the boy answered.

“Not all the people can cultivate.

　But if a person who has never passed gas cultivates,

　a great golden eggplant will grow.”

　As the boy replied, the king got angry.

“Then, all the boys wetted their eyes with spit and began to pretend to cry.

　If you are selling a sloppy thing, you won’t get away with it!”

“Really? Then I would like to ask you one thing.

　Won’t it be guilty if anyone fart in this country?”

“What are you asking?

　If I punish on such a trivial thing, my country will perish.”

“I understand.

　But my mother was banished when she passed a little gas long time ago.

　Don’t you remember?”

“What, what are you talking about…?”

　He was surprised and stared at the boy.

　Looking at the boy carefully, his eyes and mouth were exactly like the king.

“Then you must be….”

　The boy told the king all the story and the king got to know the boy was a son of him.

“I am so sorry that you have had a hard time.

　Let’s go and get my wife to the island right now.”



　The queen and the boy lived in the castle happily ever after.

The end

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