Japanese Graded Readers: Fairy Tales and Short Stories with Read-aloud Method
Lesson 3-4: ツルの恩返し / The Crane of Gratitude
- Slow Speed
- Slow Speed with Pauses
- Natural Speed
- Natural Speed with Pauses
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Japanese Script
男は家に帰ると、女にたのみました。「もっとたくさん布を作ってくれ。」女は答えました。「いいですよ。」そのあと、女は真面目な顔をして言いました。「でも、一つお願いがあります。私が布を作っている間、決して部屋の中を見ないでください。」「わかった。約束するよ。」女は毎日布を作りました。女が布を１枚作ると、男はすぐ街に行って、それを売ります。女は毎日働いたので、だんだんと元気がなくなっていきました。布はたくさんの人から人気があって、いつも高く売れました。ある日、街の人が言いました。「この布は本当にきれいだ。１０００万円はらうので、布の作り方を教えてくれませんか？」男は考ました。女が布を作っているときに、部屋の中を見て、作り方をおぼえてしまおう。
English Translation
When the man came back home, he asked her, “Make a lot more cloth.” The woman replied, “Sure.” After that, she said with a serious face, “But, I have a request. Please don’t look at the inside of the room while I’m making cloth.” “Alright. I promise.” The woman made cloth every day. Once the woman made a piece of cloth, the man went to the town right away and sold it. Since the woman worked every day, she was losing her energy gradually. The cloth was popular from among a lot of people, and he could always sell it at a high price. One day, a person in the town said, “This cloth is really beautiful. I will pay ten million yen, so could you tell me how to make the cloth?” The man thought that he would try to memorize how to make it by looking at the inside of the room while she is making the cloth.
Vocabulary
| Words | Types | Meanings |
|---|---|---|
| たのむ | u-verb | to request, to beg, to ask |
| …くれ | expression | expressing a request in command tone |
| 間 | adverbial noun | time (between), pause, break |
| 決して | adverb | never, by no means |
| 約束 | noun, suru verb | promise, agreement, arrangement, appointment |
| だんだん | adverb | gradually |
| なくなる | u-verb | to be lose, to be missing |
| …方 | set phrase | method of, manner of, way of |
| 教える | ru-verb | to teach, to instruct, to tell, to inform |
