The Little Sumo and the Roaring Bus, part 2 －小さなお相撲さんと雄叫びバス パート2－

 In part 1, Mummy, Daddy and the Little Sumo decided to go to Koenji by bus.  They each took a balloon, and went to the bus stop.

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“That bus is going to Koenji,” said Mummy.  “Let’s get on it.”

But then from inside the bus came a strange noise.  It was a little like the sound a cat makes, but it was much louder and deeper. 

“Roar!  Roar!  ROAR!” came the noise from inside the bus. 

“My goodness,” said Daddy.  “What can that noise be?” 

“It’s a lion!” said the Little Sumo.  “Mummy, Daddy: I don’t want to get on this bus!” 

* 

So they decided to wait, and take the next bus to Koenji.  Soon the doors of the roaring bus closed, and it drove off. 

“Don’t worry,” said Mummy.  “I’m sure the next bus will be less scary.” 

“Let’s all play with our balloons while we wait,” said Daddy.  Then he threw his balloon up into the air and caught it again.  The Little Sumo smiled, and played with his own balloon. 

Soon another bus came towards the bus stop. 

“This bus is going to Koenji too,” said Mummy.  “Now we can get on this one.” 

The bus pulled up at the bus stop, and the doors opened.  There was a strange noise from inside the bus.  It sounded like air escaping from a balloon.  The noise got louder. 

“Hsss!  Hsss!  HSSS!” came the noise from inside the bus. 

“My goodness,” said Daddy.  “What can that noise be?” 

“It’s a snake!” said the Little Sumo.  “Mummy, Daddy: I don’t want to get on this bus!” 

So they decided to wait, and to get the next bus to Koenji.  Soon the doors of the hissing bus closed, and it drove away. 

“Don’t worry,” said Mummy.  “I’m sure the next bus to Koenji will be less scary.” 

“Yes,” said Daddy.  “Let’s all drink something while we wait for the next bus.  He pulled out a thermos of hot coffee, and drank some.  Mummy had some hot coffee too, and the Little Sumo drank from his water bottle. 

Soon a third bus came toward the bus stop. 

“Oh!  We are lucky,” said Mummy.  “This bus is going to Koenji too!  I’m sure this one will be less scary.” 

The bus pulled up at the bus stop, and the doors opened.  But then from inside the bus there came a strange noise.  It was a little bit like the sound Daddy made when he hit his toe against the legs of the coffee table.  But it was even louder and stranger. 

“Ook!  Ook!  OOK!” came the noise from inside the bus. 

“My goodness,” said Daddy.  “What can that noise be?” 

“It’s a gorilla!” said the Little Sumo.  “Mummy, Daddy: I don’t want to get on this bus!” 

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Will the family ever make it safely to Koenji?  Will they learn why there are so many animals riding buses in Tokyo?  Find out next time!

 

Vocabulary:

to pull up somewhere – of a vehicle, to stop somewhere

to hiss – to make a noise like a snake, or air escaping through a small gap

a thermos – a vacuum flask, designed to keep hot drinks hot

The Little Sumo and the Roaring Bus, part 1 －小さなお相撲さんと雄叫びバス パート1－

One Sunday in summer the Little Sumo told Mummy that he wanted to go somewhere fun. 

“How about going to the shop that sells shaved ice?” said Mummy. 

“No, thank you, Mummy,” said the Little Sumo.  “I had shaved ice with strawberry sauce last Sunday.” 

“Then how about going to the fire station?” said Daddy.  “You can look at the huge ladder on the fire engine.” 

“Can I climb the ladder?” asked the Little Sumo. 

“No,” said Daddy.  “You can just look at it, and pretend that you are a fireman.” 

“Then I don’t want to go to the fire station today, Daddy.”  The Little Sumo thought for a moment.  “We haven’t been to Koenji recently.  Why don’t we go there?” 

Koenji was a nice area of Tokyo, not far from where the Little Sumo lived.  There was a shop which sold fried chicken there, and a little park with a slide and swings.  But mostly the Little Sumo liked to go to Koenji, because he and Mummy and Daddy always went there by bus.  The Little Sumo liked to travel on the bus. 

“Let’s go to Koenji!” said Mummy and Daddy together. 

Mummy and Daddy and the Little Sumo got ready to leave.  The Little Sumo put on his hat and sun-block to protect him from the sunshine.  And he hung a water bottle around his neck, in case he got thirsty.  Then he picked up three balloons, and he gave one to Mummy, and one to Daddy, and kept one for himself.  He had been given the balloons at a party recently, and liked to carry them around. 

“I’m not sure we need these balloons,” said Daddy.  “We will have to hold them all day, and be careful not to let them burst.” 

But the Little Sumo insisted. So the three of them were soon standing at the bus stop, each holding a balloon, waiting for the bus to arrive. 

A long green bus pulled up at the bus stop, and the doors opened. 

“That bus is going to Koenji,” said Mummy.  “Let’s get on it.” 

But then from inside the bus came a strange noise.  It was a little like the sound a cat makes, but it was much louder and deeper. 

“Roar!  Roar!  ROAR!” came the noise from inside the bus. 

“My goodness,” said Daddy.  “What can that noise be?” 

“It’s a lion!” said the Little Sumo.  “Mummy, Daddy: I don’t want to get on this bus!”

* 

Will Mummy, Daddy, and the Little Sumo get eaten by a lion?  Will they survive to see Koenji?  Find out next time!

 

Vocabulary:

a ladder – a tool used to climb up or down using both hands and feet

sun-block – a cream spread on the skin to protect the skin from strong sunlight

to burst – of a pressurised object, such as a tyre or balloon, to suddenly break apart

to insist – to refuse to back down, or to refuse to accept, “No,” for an answer

Confessions of a Light-bulb －電球さんの告白－

I have a friend from England who married a Japanese woman.  The couple used to live in Tokyo, not far from where my wife and I live, and so we used to spend time together.  Generally we would start drinking alcohol in a group of four, and keep drinking alcohol together for several hours until we were all pretty drunk.  Then I would sit and chat with my friend, whom I will call Mark, while my wife would sit and chat with his wife, whom I will call Noriko.

As we got drunker, we would start to make jokes aimed at each other.  Noriko in particular enjoyed making jokes at her husband’s expense. 

“Mark is getting balder and balder,” she used to say.  “Shall we turn the lights down?  The light is shining off his balding head as brightly as a light-bulb.  Mark, you’re a light-bulb!” 

My poor friend had started to lose his hair early, in his late twenties.  I loved spending the evening with Mark and Noriko, and I used to laugh hard at Noriko’s light-bulb comparisons. 

I wish I hadn’t laughed so hard.  I am 39 years old now, and my own head is starting to shine like a light-bulb in the middle.  When I went to the barber recently, he gave me some tips about how to make my hair look thicker. 

“I will leave your hair longer at the sides, and you can comb it into the middle to cover the bald patch.  I also help customers with wigs, you know…” 

On the bright side -pardon the pun -in Western comic-books, showing a character’s head as a light-bulb signifies that they have had a sudden, “bright idea”.  It is a sign of intelligence. 

So I am not going to try to hide my increasing baldness.  I am confident that people who see me will shade their eyes from the glare and think, “That man’s brain must be hot with ideas.  It is a sure sign that he is a clever fellow!” 

My friend Mark is smart too.  At least I think so.  We light-bulbs have to stick together, and not laugh too hard at one another.

 

Vocabulary:

“whom I will call…” – in other words, the writer is choosing to give these people false names

to make a joke at (one’s husband’s) expense – to make a joke in which people are supposed to laugh at (one’s husband)

to be balding – to be losing one’s hair

a patch – a spot or area

a wig – a set of fake hair, usually used by bald or balding people in order to hide their condition

a pun – a word or phrase with a double-meaning

a glare – a bright light which hurts the eyes to look at

 

Donald and the Spider’s Thread －ドナルドと蜘蛛の糸－

One day, the Buddha was strolling alone along the edge of a lotus pond in Paradise. 

After a time, the Buddha paused at the edge of the pond and from between the lotus leaves that covered it saw a glimpse of the state of things below.  Now this celestial pond just happened to lie directly over Hell, and peering through that crystal-clear water was like looking through a magnifying glass at the Great Swamp and the Bone House at its centre. 

The Buddha saw there, in the depths of Hell, a single man flailing around amidst the other sinners.  This man was named Donald and he had fallen deep into the swamp. 

He was floating and sinking in the swamp at the bottom of Hell.  It was pitch black no matter which way he looked, and the occasional glimpse of light that he would see in the darkness would turn out just to be a glint of light from the terrible Mountain of Guns.  How lonely he must have felt!  The Donald could only squirm like a dying frog as he choked in his coronavirus mask. 

Donald was a notorious attention-seeker who had committed racist acts, corruption, collusion with foreign enemies, and other acts of evil.  In his past, however, he had performed just one smart deed: whilst seeking attention and avoiding blame falling on himself, he had bashed the Chinese Communist Party.  Even the Buddha had little sympathy for the Chinese Communist Party. 

Looking down on the sinners in Hell, the Buddha recalled this.  On a lotus leaf beside him, the Buddha saw a single spider spinning out a web of silver thread.  The Buddha decided to lower this thread as a rope to help Donald climb out of the bottom of the Great Swamp. 

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Will Donald climb out?  Or will the thin thread snap from the great weight of Donald’s sins?  Find out soon!

 

Vocabulary:

a glimpse – a very short look

celestial – Heavenly

a magnifying glass – a glass used to make things, such as insects, look bigger

to flail around–to move wildly about, without a clear purpose or without control

pitch black – deeply black, like oil

to squirm – to move your body about as if in pain or great discomfort

to choke – to be unable to breathe

notorious – famously bad

corruption – unfair or immoral dealings, especially of a politician

collusion–secret or illegal cooperation with others