Overview. These Japanese fairy tales retold by
Andrew Lang focus on the adventures of the tanuki, a shape-shifting trickster sometimes called a "raccoon dog" in English, along with other magical creatures such as a supernatural sparrow (although she is not really a sparrow after all!), and the cat demons who dread the dog named Schippeitaro. There are love stories too, like the Japanese Cinderella-type story of "The Maiden with the Wooden Helmet," along with a very sweet love story about two devoted cats. Finally, you will read about the adventures of Urashimataro who rides on the back of a giant turtle into the depths of the sea and falls in love with the lovely princess Otohime, daughter of Ringu, the god of the sea.
Language. The book is written in contemporary English, so the language used should not pose any problems.
Story Length. These are all single-page stories, but on the long side, so there are only twelve of them.
Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on a single page:
Japanese Fairy Tales (Lang).
Free audiobooks available:
READING A:
- The Two Frogs
- The Stonecutter
- The Maiden with the Wooden Helmet
- The Envious Neighbour
- The Sparrow with the Slit Tongue
- The Cat's Elopement
READING B:
- Schippeitaro
- The Crab and the Monkey
- The Magic Kettle
- How the Wicked Tanuki was Punished
- The Slaying of the Tanuki
- Uraschimataro and the Turtle