Read the fairy tale Tobia loves
Momotaro, the Peach Boy
One of Japan’s best-loved folk tales — passed down for generations, about an unlikely hero, three unlikely friends, and the courage to stand up to those who prey on the weak.
Long ago, in a quiet village in Japan, there lived an old man and an old woman. They had no children of their own, and though their days were peaceful, something was always a little bit missing. Each morning the old man walked into the mountains to cut wood, and each morning the old woman walked down to the river to wash clothes.
One day, as the old woman knelt by the water, she saw something strange drifting toward her — an enormous peach, bigger than any she had ever seen, bobbing gently on the current. She waded in, caught it in her arms, and carried it home, already imagining how sweet it would taste.
But when she and the old man sat down to cut it open that evening, the peach split apart on its own — and inside, instead of a pit, sat a baby boy, laughing up at them both. Astonished and overjoyed, the old couple raised him as their own, and named him Momotaro: “Peach Boy.”
A boy grows quickly when he is loved
Momotaro grew up strong, quick-witted, and kind — the kind of child who shared his food before anyone had to ask. But the village he grew up in was not always at peace. Out past the sea, on a place called Onigashima — Demon Island — a band of oni had taken to raiding the coast, stealing food, treasure, and peace of mind from anyone unlucky enough to cross their path.
When Momotaro was old enough, he told his parents he meant to sail to the island and put a stop to it. They didn’t try to talk him out of it — only asked what he needed. His mother made him a bag of kibi dango, sweet millet dumplings, to carry on the road.
Three friends, three dumplings
On his way to the shore, Momotaro met a dog, who asked what smelled so good. Momotaro shared a dumpling, and the dog, grateful and loyal, asked to join him. Further on, he met a monkey, and then a pheasant, and to each he offered the same kindness — a dumpling, and an invitation. One by one, they agreed to travel with him, not because he commanded them, but because he had been generous first.
Together, the unlikely crew — a boy, a dog, a monkey, and a pheasant — built a small boat and sailed for Onigashima.
Demon Island
When they landed, the oni were waiting behind high iron gates, certain that no one would dare come for them. But the pheasant flew over the walls and struck from above, the monkey scaled the gate and threw the bolt from inside, and the dog held the line at the door — while Momotaro himself walked straight into the demons’ hall and challenged their chief face to face.
It was not the size of the army that won the day, but the fact that four very different companions had learned to fight as one. By evening, the oni chief surrendered, and handed over everything his band had stolen over the years — gold, silk, and treasures taken from villages up and down the coast.
Coming home
Momotaro and his three friends sailed home with the treasure piled high in their little boat. He didn’t keep it for himself — he shared it through the village, returning what could be returned and helping neighbors who had gone without. His elderly parents, who had once found a peach in the river and never imagined where it would lead, lived out their days proud, and never alone again.
Itsuki no Komoriuta — a real Japanese lullaby
Play this softly in the background while you read Momotaro aloud — a traditional handplayed lullaby from the same country as tonight’s story.
More stories, more lullabies
This is the first tale in a growing collection of traditional stories from around the world — each one paired, where we can, with a real lullaby from the same culture.