Stories of Japanese picture book’s are very interesting but at the same time teach us about a life, just like western’s children’s books. I hope you read this Japanese story to your children if you have and enjoy together!

Unagi no kabayaki – うなぎ　かばやき（Grilled eels)

PART 1

JUST few words before starting.

Mazushii (まずしい）- poor

Nagaya  (長や)　－　Japanese Style Single Story Row House　

Kechinbo (けちんぼ）- stingy

Yumei (ゆうめい) – famous

Paku paku taberu (パクパク食べる） – munch

Okazu (おかず) – side dishes

Nioi – （におい）- smell

Kemuri – (けむり)　－smoke

Kaze – （風）- wind

Daikin – (だい金) – a bill

A craftsman called Hachigoro lived in the poor row house at a town. He was famous for stingy.

The house opposite across the small road was an eel shop.

When the hot weather approached, the man was often eating an eel to maintain his strength from long ago. Every day the nice smell of grilled eels comes into his house from the opposite Unagi ya.

「Let ‘s take a grilled eel for today’s side dish again.」

While Hachigoro was murmuring putting a tray ,on which there was a bowl and a pair of chopsticks. And then he looked at the unagi ya and opened the blind widely.

The nice smell of a grilled eel comes in. He quickly put the rice heaped up in the bowl.

「Today’s grilled eels are specially delicious because of its rich oil!」

The man is munching the rice. The owner of the unagi ya knows that Hachigoro eats rice with the smell of grilled eels as his side dishes. When he grills unagi he always think that it is annoying. 　

「He takes the smell of the grilled eel for his side dishes again. Wait and see.」

Although the owner of unaga ya fans the smoke with a hand fan to stop the smoke going to Hachigoro’s house, the smoke is carried away by the wind.

The owner of unagi ya called the servant boy Sadakichi and said

「Keep a record on a note each time Hachigoro eats his rice with the smell of grilled eel. Understand? Don’t you ever forget to do that, not even once. 」

Sadakichi wondered how strange thing he has to do but obeys his master.

[Yes sir! ] he answered. And from that day he started keeping a record every day when Hachigoro eats rice.

As the unagi ya grills unagi all day if we want to eat rice with the smell of grilled eel we can do every day. That is why Hachigoro was able to eat rice deliciously without buying the unagi not even once.

「Oh it is a superb smell today. lets eat one more bowl of rice. 」

When the deep smell of the grilled eel comes in, Hachigoro is taking the second rice.

The servant boy wrote as [one special for one person] when the owner grilled a special eel. And when Hachigoro took a second bowl of rice then he wrote [an eel for one person] again.

As the bills of the smell have been accumulated soon the owner of the eel shop made an invoice and called Sadakichi and said

To be continued (tuzuki・つづき）

Mata ne. またね。