Once upon a time, there lived an old man a honest woodcutter and an old woman. They were happy together all their lives except that they had no children of their own. One day, the old man went out to the mountain to gather some firewood, while the old woman went down to the river to do some laundry. It was a fine spring morning, and everything looked fresh in the bright sunshine.

As the old woman was doing the wash in the river, a big peach floated by.” It’s fun to do washing on such a lovely day," said the old woman happily, crouching down by the water, when she saw the great big peach floating down the stream. “O My! A peach! Oh , What a size! How pretty! " cried she. "I'll take it home. A big surprise for my husband. “Then she quickly picked it up and managed to carry it home. Soon the husband came home for lunch, and they had a great time gloating over this unusual windfall. Then the husband took up a knife, saying, "The proof of the pudding ...."

No sooner had the blade touched the top of the fruit than it split open, and lo! A little bouncing boy jumped out of the peach! The old man and woman were astounded. But the baby said: "Don't be afraid. The God of Heaven saw how lonely you were without any children, so he sent me to be your son." What a joyful surprise! What a blessing for this childless couple! They named him Momotaro (Peach Boy), and they loved him dearly.

Years went by, and Momotaro grew up to be a fine young man, making his parents even happier. But the times were changing, and people were having a very hard time, because more and more ogres were ravaging their coasts in a merciless way. Nobody knew what to do.

Momotaro was about fifteen years old, Now Momotaro, brave and compassionate, made up his mind to go on an expedition Onigashima or Ogres' Island. He stated this determination to his parents, he went to his father and said: "Father, you have always been very kind to me. Now I am a big boy and I must do something to help my country. In a distant part of the sea there is an island named Ogre Island. Many wicked ogres live there, and they often come to our land and do bad things like carrying people away and stealing their things. So I'm going to go to Ogre Island and fight them and bring back the treasure which they have there. Please let me do this." . Now his Parents they were not very happy about it, but they did not try to dissuade him because they knew nothing would make him change his mind.

Momotaro decided to set out for the fiend's island. The very next morning he said goodbye to his parents. Then his father gave him a big sword, and his mother, The old woman made millet dumplings ( kibidango) for Momotaro to take with him.(Now these Kibidango Dumplings can only be found in the Provance of Okayama Kibidango Dumplings LINK HERE )

On the way, Momotaro met a Little Spotted Dog. He gave the Little Spotted Dog a kibidango and the Little Spotted Dog became his companion. Momotaro then met in turn a Monkey and a Pheasant, and to each Momotaro stated "Yes, my pet. I have here the nicest dumpings we have ever had. My mother made them specially for me," said Momotaro. "But I'll give you one if you come with us and help us beat the ogres on Onigashima."

"Oh, good," said the pheasant. "Let me have the dumpling and I'll join you." So Momotaro gave him a kibidango. They marched on and on until they came to the seashore. There, fortified with the rest of the kibidangodumplings, they set sail to Ogres' Island. Piloted by the sharp-eyed Pheasant, Momotaro steered, while the Little Spotted Dog and the Monkey rowed and rowed until they reached the island.

The ogres' fortress was forbidding. All the walls soared up into the sky and the gate was shut tight. But the Pheasant flew over the walls and found all the ogres were taking their afternoon nap. The Monkey climbed over the gate, unbarred it and flung it wide open for Momotaro and the Little Spotted Dog.

They all descended upon the sleeping giants. The Little Spotted Dog bit, the Monkey scratched, the Pheasant pecked, while Momotaro brandished his sword, until the king of the ogres, pinned to the ground by Momotaro, cried for mercy:

"Spare me for goodness' sake! Spare me, and I'll give you all my treasures,"

"Spare you? For all the goodness you have done to my people?"

"Let me promise you, for pity's sake, we'll never, never do any harm to your people again!"

"Never?"

"Never!"

Soon Monotaro and his company ,Little Spotted Dog , The Monkey and the Pheasant were sailing back toward their home, laden with gold, silver and coral.

Great was the joy of his people!

Greater was the joy of his parents!

There are many more adventures of "The Peach Boy", Momotaro!

Below is a link to a different version of this tale with Beautiful Graphics. Momotaro is also found as Momotarou.

The legend of Momotaro ,Beautiful !!! Different Version