Japanese Short Stories

On Tanabata (July 7), Sota decides what to write on his paper wish strip for the bamboo branch. Grandma tells the legend of the star lovers Orihime and Hikoboshi, who meet once a year across the Milky Way. Instead of toys, Sota wishes for his grandfather in the hospital to get well — and a week later, Grandpa comes home.

Robo-kun the robot can do every chore but can’t laugh. Miku and Riku try jokes, funny faces and tickles with no luck. Then their puppy Pochi slips on a banana peel and tumbles into a cardboard box, the kids burst out laughing, and Robo-kun laughs for the first time.

Mei’s grandfather gives her a seed. She’s frustrated when nothing appears, but he explains seeds need water, sunshine and time. She cares for it daily until it grows into a sunflower taller than her. Good things take time.

An ant falls into a river and a dove saves her by dropping a leaf. Days later, the ant sees a hunter about to net the dove and bites his foot, so the dove escapes. A retelling of the classic Aesop fable.

Penta the penguin is always cold, even in a hat, scarf and three pairs of socks. He sails off on an ice boat — which melts — to a sunny beach, but it’s soon far too hot. He returns home with a hot-water bottle and sleeps snugly with his family.

The North Wind and the Sun argue about who is stronger and agree that whoever makes a traveler take off his coat wins. The harder the wind blows, the tighter the traveler holds his coat. Then the Sun shines warmly, and the traveler takes it off himself. Gentleness is stronger than force — a classic Aesop fable.

Potsuri the raindrop falls from a cloud onto a mountain leaf, flows down a stream and a river past rice paddies and towns, reaches the sea, and rises again as water vapor into a cloud. A gentle introduction to the water cycle.

On a rainy day, Aoi shares her rainbow umbrella with a wet kitten, an elderly woman and her friend Sora. Her teacher says the umbrella must be magic, but Aoi knows the magic is in sharing.

Rina loves stars and planets. One night a glowing little spaceship takes her on a tour: bouncing on the Moon, passing red Mars, seeing Saturn’s rings and Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, and finally the beautiful blue Earth. She wakes up determined to become a space scientist.

During the Ohigan holiday, Grandma makes ohagi (sweet rice balls) as offerings. Takumi can’t resist and eats five. Tempted to blame the cat, he confesses instead. Grandma thanks him for his honesty, and they make a new batch together.