Once upon a time an old man and woman lived in the mountains. Everyday the old man went to the mountain and collected firewood, while the old woman went to the river and did the laundry. One day, she was doing the washing when a big peach came floating down the river towards her. As it was a big and juicy-looking fruit, she thought that her husband would be glad to eat it so she took it home. When the old man came back for lunch and saw the nice peach, he was really happy. The old woman cut the big peach open with a knife. What a surprise! A lovely little boy was in the peach.
The old man and woman had no children so they were really grateful the gods had sent them a boy in this peach. Since he was born in a peach, they decided to call him Momotaro which means “peach-boy”. The old woman cooked a meal for the little boy who ate as much as he could; the more he ate, the more he grew. Soon he became a tall and strong boy.
No matter how tall or strong he was, Momotaro was a lazy boy. Day after day, all he did was sleep and eat. In the village the other boys went to the mountain and picked firewood while Momotaro was the only one doing nothing. This worried the old man and the old woman, so they asked the other boys to try to make Momotaro go and work with them.
The boys then invited him, “Momotaro, would you come with us? We‘re going to collect firewood.”
But he answered, “I haven‘t a basket, so I can‘t go with you” and went back to sleep.
The following day, they invited him again, “Momotaro, would you come with us? We‘re going to collect firewood.”
And he answered them, “I haven‘t any sandals, so I can‘t go with you” and went back to sleep. Upon hearing this, the old woman got angry with Momotaro for being so lazy, so the next day he went to collect firewood with the other boys.
While the boys were working and collecting firewood, Momotaro took a nap. When the work was finished, the boys decided to go back to the village. Just then, Momotaro awoke and said to them, “I‘ll collect firewood and come back with you.”
They retorted, “If you start working now, we‘ll get back too late.”
Momotaro turned a deaf ear to them and went to a very big tree. Holding it by the middle, he uprooted it. Astonishing! All the boys could not believe their eyes! Thus the tall and strong Momotaro carried the big tree, while the other boys carried bundles of firewood back to the village. The old man and the old woman were amazed when they saw Momotaro carrying this very big tree as if it was a mere bundle of firewood.
The county lord happened to hear about this and wished to meet Momotaro. The next day Momotaro went to see the county lord. The lord said to him, “Ogres have been threatening and robbing my peasants for a long time. If you are as strong as I heard, you shall go and punish them.” Momotaro then agreed to go to the Island of Ogres.
For his journey, the old man and woman baked some millet cookies and gave them to Momotaro. Away he went and on his way he met a dog.
“Momotaro, where are you going?” asked the dog.
“To the Island of Ogres, to punish them.”
“And what are you bringing with you?”
“The best millet cookies of Japan.”
“Can I have one and go with you?” offered the dog. Momotaro gave the dog a cookie and they went along together.
Soon they met a monkey.
“Momotaro, where are you going?” asked the monkey.
“To the Island of Ogres, to punish them.”
“And what are you bringing with you?”
“The best millet cookies of Japan.”
“Can I have one and go with you?” offered the monkey. Momotaro gave the monkey a cookie and the three of them went along together.
Then they met a pheasant.
“Momotaro, where are you going?” asked the pheasant.
“To the Island of Ogres, to punish them.”
“And what are you bringing with you?”
“The best millet cookies of Japan.”
“Can I have one and go with you?” offered the pheasant. So Momotaro gave the pheasant a cookie too.
Momotaro, the dog, the monkey and the pheasant went together to the Island of Ogres by boat. They were sailing but could not see the island, so the pheasant went up in the sky. He found the island and guided the boat. Soon they landed on the Island of Ogres. There on the island was a great big castle with a huge door. It was tightly closed, but the monkey jumped easily inside and opened the huge door.
Momotaro entered and said to the ogres, who were having a feast, “My name is Momotaro, and I came to punish you.” The ogres laughed at him, but the dog ran in and bit them as Momotaro fought using his sword. Momotaro and his companions, having eaten the best millet cookies of Japan, knew no fear and were strong.
At last the ogres cried for mercy, “We shall never be bad again, please spare our lives.”
The defeated ogres gave Momotaro their treasure. He took it and returned with his companions, who had eaten the best millet cookies of Japan and helped defeat the ogres. The old man and the old woman, who had been worrying about Momotaro, welcomed them back cheerfully.
After that Momotaro and the old man and woman lived happily together.
翻译：
很久很久以前,一个地方住着老爷爷和老奶奶.通常,爷爷上山砍柴,奶奶去河边洗衣服.一天,奶奶洗衣服时,一个大桃子一沉一浮地顺水漂来.看到了这个桃子,奶奶就把它带回了家,想让爷爷尝个鲜.吃中午饭时,爷爷从山里回来了,看到了这个桃子后欢喜得不得了.两个人刚刚将桃子切开,不由得吓了一大跳,原来呀,一个活蹦乱眺的小男孩从桃子里面跳了出来.
爷爷和奶奶没有孩子,于是欢天喜地地认为孩子是天赐的,就把他叫做”桃太郎”, 奶奶做好了饭给他吃,尽管桃太郎有点儿害怕,但仍然吃得很香甜.于是,桃太郎渐渐地长大了.
桃太郎不停地吃,不停地长,变成了一个大力士,同时也是一个大懒汉.每天的任务只是吃了睡,睡了吃.村里的年轻人每日上山捡柴,可桃太郎却什么活也不干.爷爷和奶奶挺担心的,就拜托村里年轻人说:”叫上桃太郎一起去吧.”当他们来找桃太郎一起上山并说:”桃太郎,一块儿打柴去吧”时,他却推说:”没有背篓,去不成啊.”说完后,继续睡午觉.第二天,这些年轻人又来邀桃太郎,他推诿道:”没鞋,去不了哇.”又过了一天,奶奶终于忍不住生气了,没有办法,桃太郎不得不和村里的年轻人们一起上山了.
大家在山里拾柴,桃太郎却只是睡大觉.等到大家收拾好柴篓要回家时,桃太郎说:”我也想拾点儿柴,然后一起回去吧.”大家说:”天色都已经不早了,来不及了.”就在这时, 桃太郎抓住了一棵大树,突然间将它拔了出来,把大家吓了一大跳.于是,他扛着大树和大伙返回了村里.见到了这种情况,爷爷和奶奶非常吃惊.这事传到了大人的耳朵里,大人萌生了特别想见桃太郎的念头.见了面,大人说:”前一阵儿总有坏魔鬼骚扰村民,偷盗各种物品器具.因为你很有力气,那么请你去征服魔鬼吧.”因此,桃太郎伏鬼这件事就这么定了.
爷爷和奶奶作好了黄米面团给桃太郎带上.就这样他出发了.途中他遇到了一条狗, 狗问他,:
“桃太郎,你这是去哪儿呀.”
“魔鬼要去岛上,我正要去除鬼.”
“那你腰间挂的是什么呢?”
“最最好吃的黄米面团.”
“给我一个好吗,我和你一起去”,狗说.
于是桃太郎给了狗一个黄米面团.
和狗一起继续行进时,又遇到了一只猴子,猴子问:”桃太郎,你这是去哪儿呀.”
“魔鬼要去岛上,我去除鬼.”
“那你腰间挂的是什么呢?”
“最最好吃的黄米面团.”
“给我一个吧,我和你们一块儿去”,猴子说.
桃太郎又给了猴子一个黄米面团.
于是,桃太郎带着狗和猴子继续赶路了.这回跳出来一只野鸡.同样地,野鸡问他:
“桃太郎,你这是去哪儿呀.”
“魔鬼要去岛上,我去除鬼.”
“你腰间挂着的是什么呀?”
“最最好吃的黄米面团.”
“给我一个吧,我和你们一块儿去.”
这样,桃太郎又给了野鸡一个黄米面团. 桃太郎,狗,猴子,野鸡好不容易才到了海边,因为魔鬼们已经去了岛上,他们就划船向海岛出发了.摇啊摇,摇啊摇,怎么也看不到那个岛屿.野鸡就飞到了空中,观察到了岛屿的位置,指挥着大家向那个地方划去,这样,大家到达了岛上.岛上有一座大城,城门紧闭, 猴子敏捷地爬到了门里,将门栓摘掉,把门打开了.而魔鬼们仍一无所知地又是喝酒又是唱歌.桃太郎大声喝道:”我乃桃太郎是也,前来消除你们.
“魔鬼们见他们势单力薄,并不把他们放在眼里.但是,吃了最最好吃的黄米面团后精力充沛的桃太郎和伙伴们并肩作战, 瞬间就把魔鬼们打得落花流水.
魔鬼们赔罪说:”我们归还抢盗来的宝物,决不再做坏事了,给我们留一条活路吧.” 惩治了魔鬼后,桃太郎和伙伴们带着宝物回到了村里.正担惊受怕的爷爷和奶奶见状非常高兴.从那以后,桃太郎与爷爷和奶奶一直过着幸福愉快的生活.
生词和词组
1. sandal n. 拖鞋，凉鞋
2. bundle n. 捆，束
3. ogre n. 食人魔鬼，怪物
4. cookie n. 面团
5. feast n. 宴会
注：《桃太郎》是日本童话故事中最受儿童喜爱的一篇古老童话。虽然经历了很多世纪后，故事的讲述形式和内容略有变动，但是大多数版本都紧紧地围绕着同样的主题：一对无儿无女的老夫妇意外地在一颗桃子里发现了一个小男孩。这个孩子长大后，立志去征服邪恶的食人怪。他带着一袋老婆婆做的小米饼上路了，途中遇到了一条狗，一只猴子和一只野鸡。后来，在这几个忠实伙伴的帮助下，桃太郎把食人怪打得落花流水，光荣地凯旋故里。
故事的语言简短，结构明快，生动塑造了日本的一个传奇形象–桃太郎。值得一提的是，童话在颂扬桃太郎这样一个勇敢，机智，善良，强壮人物的同时，也反映了他幼年时的懒惰，从而使这个形象变得丰满起来。和世界上其他童话相似，该故事中也用丰富的想象，为桃太郎安排了很多得力的助手，从而使故事在一系列巧合中体现“善良最终战胜邪恶”的主题。
