Japanese

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.

Denden the snail is always late because he’s slow, and his friends laugh. When he misses the cake at a picnic, a ladybug helps the others understand. The next picnic is held right by Denden’s house, and the friends learn to wait for one another.

On Children’s Day (May 5), carp streamers fly in Haruto’s yard. The smallest blue carp is scared of the strong wind, but Father Carp reminds him that carp are brave fish said to swim up waterfalls and become dragons. The little carp swallows the wind and swims proudly across the sky.

After thousands of years of lighting the night, the tired Moon wishes for a night off. The stars offer to cover the sky and shine so brightly that children see the constellations like never before. Now the Moon rests once a month — the new moon.

Soma wants to give his grandfather a birthday present but has no allowance. He makes a handmade book of old photos and family memories and learns Grandpa’s favorite song on the recorder. His grandfather calls it the best gift of his life.

A hardworking old man’s rice ball rolls into a hole, and he hears a song from inside. He rolls another and tumbles in himself, discovering a land of mice who thank him for the tasty rice balls with a feast and a gift box full of gold coins. A classic Japanese folktale.