Once upon a time, there lived a sweet old couple in a small village in Japan. They did not have any children, and it was a source of never-ending sorrow for them.

The man was a woodcutter who went to the mountains to chop wood to sell. One day, the man went to gather food and his wife went to a nearby stream to wash her clothes.

Suddenly, she noticed an enormous peach floating in the water. She pulled the peach to the land and with great difficulty carried it home where she waited for her husband to return.

When the man came back home, the wife said, “Look what I found in the stream today.”

Looking at the peach, the man was amazed and responded, “I have never seen a peach this big. Let me cut the peach, and we can have it for dinner.”

The man took a knife and split open the peach. The next instant, there was a wailing sound and out of the peach came a baby boy. The shock made them silent at first.

Then the wife said, “A baby! We have a baby at last. He must be a gift from the heavens. We should thank the Lord for this blessing.”

The man agreed, “That’s true. What do we name the baby?”

The wife replied, “Let us called him Momotaro.”

Momo means peach and Taro is a common Japanese boys’ name.

Momotaro was loved dearly by the old couple. He grew to be an intelligent, brave, handsome and kind man. He was the strongest man in the village, and his fame spread far and wide.

One day, Momotaro went to his parents and said, “There is talk in the village that the Ogres living in ogres’ island are troubling the people of our Kingdom. People fear going out to do their work. I want to drive the Ogres away and so that our people can live in peace.”

His parents were worried, “We do not want to lose you, Momotaro. Do you want to go away from us? And what if the ogres hurt you?”

Momotaro begged them. “Please allow me to go. I promise I will come back safe and sound.”

Realising the futility in trying to convince Momotaro, they agreed. They packed some millet dumplings in a bag for his journey. Momotaro bravely started on his journey.

On the way, first, he met a dog. The dog asked, “Where are you going? And what is in your bag? It smells nice.”

Momotaro replied, “I am going to the ogre island to chase away the ogres. If you come with me and help me in my quest, I will give you one of the millet dumplings that I have in my bag. It is the best millet dumpling in the world. You should not miss it.”

The dog was hungry and so readily agreed. The dog ate the dumpling greedily and then joined Momotaro to become his companion on his journey.

Momotaro and the dog then came across a pheasant. The pheasant asked, “Where are you going? And what is in your bag? It smells nice.”

Momotaro replied, “We are going to the ogre island to chase away the ogres. If you come with us and help us in our quest, I will give you one of the millet dumplings that I have in my bag. It is the best millet dumpling in the world. You should not miss it.”

The pheasant also agreed and after eating a dumpling set off with them. There, three of them were met by a monkey who also wanted the dumpling. After eating the dumpling, the monkey joined Momotaro, the dog and the pheasant.

So all four of them went to the Ogre island. When they finally reached the island, they came across a colossal gate barring a building.

“Monkey, can you climb the gate and unlock it for us?” asked Momotaro.

The monkey did as asked and the four of them entered the courtyard where they saw the ogres sitting around the fire partying.

Momotaro and the three animals rushed into the courtyard and started attacking the ogres. The pheasant pecked on their faces, the monkey scratched their eyes, and the dog bit them in their hands and legs, and Momotaro attacked them all with his sword.

The ogres were in a party mood, so this stealth attack took them completely by surprise. Before they realised, all of them were tied together.

The leader of the ogres cried out, “Please allow us to leave this place. We will do anything you want.”

Momotaro replied, “I want you to leave this kingdom and never come back ever.”

The ogre leader said, “As you command. I am also returning to you all the treasure that we had looted from the people.”

All the ogres quickly took a ship and set sail to a distant place, and they were never heard of again in the kingdom.

Momotaro along with the dog, pheasant and the monkey came home with the vast treasure given by the ogres. The story of his bravery spread far and wide.

Momotaro, along with his parents and animal friends, lived happily and in comfort thanks to the treasure they got.