Japanese Folk Tale

1. Propitious Births
1. Momotaro
Once upon a time an old man and an old woman went to view
cherry blossoms. While they sat on the ground to rest and eat their
lunch, a peach came rolling to the old woman's seat. She picked it up
and tucked it into her bosom. She wrapped it in cotton at home and
put it into her bed. The peach broke open and a little boy came out.
They named him Momonokotar6 [Peach Boy] because he was born from
a peach. He looked after the house and studied when his parents were
working in their garden. While he was studying one day, a crow called
from a persimmon tree by the back door that he had brought a letter
from Hell. The letter demanded that the best millet dango in Japan be
made and brought there. Momonokotaro asked his mother and father to
make the dango and he took them to Hell. When he knocked at the
gate of Hell, the demons came out and asked to sample the best millet
dango in Japan. After they ate the dan go they fell asleep drunk.
Momonokotar6 put the Princess of Hell onto a cart hurriedly and
pulled it off. The demons awoke and set out after them on their fire
cart, but by then Momonokotaro and the princess were far out at sea
where the demons could not follow them.
Momonokotaro and the princess reached home at last. Word about
his feat reached the Emperor, who gave him a great reward. Momonokotaro
became a ch6 ja and his household prospered.
Iwate, Shiwa-gun