Japanese Graded Readers: Fairy Tales and Short Stories with Read-aloud Method
Lesson 3-6: ツルの恩返し / The Crane of Gratitude
Japanese Script
男はなにも言うことができませんでした。「私はあなたにごはんをもらったツルです。あの日、私のためにごはんを用意してくれて、本当にうれしかった。だから、あなたにお礼をするために、この家に来ました。でも、私がツルだということを見られたので、もうここにいることはできません。」そう言うと、女はツルの体に戻って、家を出ていきました。「待って。待ってくれ。」男は女に言いましたが、女は返事をしません。女がいなくなったあと、男は女にひどいことをしたと気がつきました。それから男は女が帰って来るのを毎日待ちました。しかし、女は二度と男の家には帰って来ませんでした。
English Translation
The man couldn’t say anything. “I’m the crane who received the meal from you. That day, you prepared the meal for me and I was really glad with that. So, I came to this house to do something for you. However, I was found that I was a crane, so I cannot be here any longer,” the woman said, and then she return to the crane body and left the house. “Wait. Wait,” the man said to the woman, but she didn’t reply. After the woman left, the man realized that he did heartless things to her. Since then, the man was waiting for her to come back every day. However, the woman never came back his house.
Vocabulary
| Words | Types | Meanings |
|---|---|---|
| もらう | u-verb | to receive, to take, to accept |
| 用意 | noun, suru verb | preparation, arrangements, getting ready |
| だから | conjunction | so, therefore |
| お礼 | noun | thanks, gratitude |
| 戻る | u-verb | to return, to go back |
| 待つ | u-verb | to wait |
| 返事 | noun, suru verb | reply, answer, response |
| ひどい | i-adjective | cruel, heartless, hard, harsh |
| 二度と | adverb | never again (with negative verb) |