Kokona
I brought "Momotaro"!

Yae
Thank you!

Panda
I didn't expect there wouldn't be any picture books in the rehearsal room. It's lucky that Kokochi had one.

Kathrina
But I'm surprised you have such a common picture book like "Momotaro." I thought your collection would be all rare books.

Kokona
Eh? Um...

Kokona
...That's right!

Kokona
This is a precious picture book filled with memories from when I was little. I've treasured it all this time...it was when I met someone at the seashore...

Kathrina
No, that's a lie. You just said "That's right!" like you made it up on the spot.

Panda
It clearly looks brand new.

Chisa
Spill it. Your country mom is crying. Want some katsudon?

Shizuka
...Haah. You won that at the lottery stand during the festival the other day, right? Was there any need to lie?

Kokona
Ugh...I was trying to spread my wings of imagination...

Yae
Starting before we even begin, Kokona-san, you're amazing!

Yae
Fufu, I wonder who you met at the seashore?

Kokona
Your kindness hurts right now, Yae-chan...

Shizuka
That's what happens when you tell strange lies.

Kathrina
But I can't let Kokona outdo me. That enthusiasm is very important. Let's get started.

Yae
Ah, wait before opening the book!

Panda
Is something wrong?

Yae
Look at the cover. Don't you notice anything?

Kokona
I think it's a normal Momotaro cover...but.

Yae
In all the Momotaro stories I've heard or read, the companions always joined in the order of dog, monkey, and pheasant.

Shizuka
...Ah, but on the cover illustration, it's dog, pheasant, monkey. Did something happen between the pheasant and the monkey...?

Yae
That's right! Doesn't it make you curious?

Kathrina
Maybe the monkey walks slowly? Is it injured...no. If that were the case, the pheasant should be watching from behind.

Panda
Maybe the pheasant was assertive?

Panda
But it couldn't get ahead of the dog...

Yae
I see...

Chisa
Surely the dog was acting like a boss because it was the first companion. "I'm the number one companion, woof."

Panda
But the pheasant also wanted to be Momotaro's number one and was eager. Then one day, the pheasant made a big mistake...!

Yae
How exciting!

Shizuka
...Wait a minute. We're still on the cover, but it feels like we're starting a grand adventure. If we get this excited, couldn't we write a book report just about the cover?

Kathrina
The teacher would be surprised. "I wrote about the story I imagined from the cover"...

Panda
Sorry, I got carried away.

Yae
But maybe we'll understand the story behind the cover as we read the book!

Chisa
Yes, that was just a grand prologue. We are an expedition team about to enter the magical realm of Momotaro.

Kokona
This is exciting!

Kokona
Well then...

Yae
Ah, please don't turn the page yet.

Kokona
What is it?

Yae
Ahem.

Yae
"...Now everyone, are you ready?"

Yae
"Momotaro is about to begin~"

Kokona
Ooh, that sounds perfect! Then I'll...

Kokona
"Once upon a time, there lived an old man and an old woman."

Chisa
"Grandpa Panda, are you going to gather firewood today?"

Panda
Why am I the grandpa!? Well, whatever.

Panda
"That's right, grandma Sassu, please do the laundry."

Chisa
"Ah, to cleanse the soul, going to the river is best..."

Panda
That's not the kind of laundry I meant!

Chisa
Well, it just says "laundry" so it's open to interpretation.

Chisa
"Today I'll finally catch you, Lord Fish...!"

Yae
I see, so this is what it means to have wings of imagination!

Kathrina
I wonder if I can use this as reference...? But now I want to connect Lord Fish with the peach.

Shizuka
Then... "Just as the old woman was trying to catch Lord Fish, a giant peach came floating along, bobbing up and down."

Shizuka
"Thanks to the peach cutting the fishing line, Lord Fish managed to escape."

Chisa
"My Lord Fish!?"

Kathrina
Wait. Would the fishing line strong enough to catch Lord Fish really be cut by a simple bobbing peach?

Kathrina
It should be more powerful, like boom! Bobbing! Boom! Bobbing! ...Something like that?

Yae
Maybe the peach's leaf acted like scissors.

Yae
How about something like BOOOOM-bobbing!?

Kokona
Amazing! There are so many ways to imagine the bobbing. This really is the wings of imagination!

Yae
By the way, about the dumplings. How did the dog and others know about the "dumplings attached to his waist"?

Kathrina
...Right. It's not like he had dumplings directly attached to his waist.

Panda
Dogs have an amazing sense of smell, so they might have known by scent. But for the monkey and pheasant...

Yae
Ah, maybe there was a big sign that said "Dumplings" on the pouch at his waist!

Kokona
Also, since one dumpling gives you the strength of ten men, maybe they were famous for their amazing power?

Shizuka
Maybe the animals all knew from the beginning and were waiting for their chance...?

Kathrina
"Why do I have to row the boat all by myself!? Oo-oo-oo!"

Shizuka
"Keen, ken-ken! My wings aren't helpful for this! Work harder!"

Kokona
Sorry, Kathrina-cha... I mean, Monkey-san. Woof woof.

Yae
"It's okay! I'll row too, so let's work hard together!"

Shizuka
"If Momotaro is doing it, I'll help too."

Kathrina
"What's that!? If you could do it, you should have from the beginning!"

Panda
"...And so, Momotaro was greatly adored by his companions."

Panda
"Gwahaha! I was just pretending to be defeated to steal the dumplings!"

Chisa
"Grandpa, please stop! Please go back to being the kind old man you used to be...!"

Panda
Hey, I was playing the oni demon just now!? Don't suddenly bring in the old woman!

Yae
Ehh, the enemy we thought was a demon was actually the old man!? W-What should we do...!?

Shizuka
This suddenly got deep...

Panda
"Ugh...that's right! I just wanted to eat the old woman's dumplings, so I came up with this plan!"

Kathrina
...That was a simple reason.

Chisa
Panda, you need to flap your wings of imagination more.

Panda
I'm trying to keep the story coherent! This is what happens when someone suddenly throws in a twist!

Yae
"...And so, the repentant demons decided to return all the treasures they had taken."

Yae
"And they all lived happily ever after."

Yae
Haah...that was fun♪

Shizuka
I-I'm glad...that Yae-chan enjoyed it...

Kathrina
I feel more tired than after a tough rehearsal...to think we'd have such intense action...

Panda
Since not just Momotaro's group but also the demons ate the dumplings, it turned into something like a shonen manga...

Shizuka
It's like improvisational theatre where you have to think of multiple story paths while acting...of course it's tiring...

Kokona
But I never expected Lord Fish would come to the rescue at the end!

Yae
Since he only appeared at the beginning. I thought he might be lonely, so I quickly brought him back♪

Kathrina
Because everyone ate the kibidango, it turned into a monster movie. But that kind of outrageous concept makes for interesting acting once in a while.

Yae
I thought "Momotaro" was just a familiar old tale, but I'm surprised we could get so excited about it!

Yae
Thank you all for today♪

Shizuka
Do you think you can write your book report now?

Yae
Yes! I want to write down the impressive scenes while I still remember them!

Panda
Well, I'm glad it worked out. Our efforts paid off.

Kathrina
There might be some questions about whether that content is appropriate, but if Sasuga has done this before, I'm sure it'll be-

Yae
Ah, aaaah!?

Shizuka
What's wrong, Yae-chan!?

Yae
...I looked at the homework sheet, and it says picture books are not allowed.

Kokona
N-No way!? After we worked so hard~!

Kathrina
Haah, it can't be helped. Let's all think of a different recommendation.

Edit

Pub: 17 Aug 2025 19:58 UTC

Views: 3