Japanese Reader Collection Volume 4 The Mouse Bride

The Mouse Bride
a Japanese Reader

Clay & Yumi Boutwell

Published by Kotoba Books




Copyright 2010, 2012 Kotoba, Inc.




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Table of Contents

Introduction
The Story with Running Gloss
Grammatical Notes
The Story in Hiragana with Spaces and no Kanji
The Story in Japanese Alone
The Story in English
DOWNLOAD the MP3s

Introduction

The key to learning vocabulary is, quite simply, reading. Not only are you more
likely to pick up words that interest you, but you also learn them in context. We
hope this ebook will help with this goal.

FOR BEGINNERS

The Mouse Bride is designed for those new to Japanese. We recommend
learning hiragana first, but we are also including romaji so you can be sure you
are reading with the correct pronunciation.

MP3s

Included at no extra charge are two MP3s of the story. One is read at the normal
speed and the other at a slow, easy to follow speed. If the MP3s were not
included when you purchased this ebook, please see the last page for a download
link. If you have ANY trouble downloading, please email us at
[email protected].

ABOUT THIS EBOOK

This ebook contains several versions of the story. First, we have the story broken
down line by line with every vocabulary word defined and explained. Next, we
go through major grammatical patterns found in the story. After that, read the
story with no English, both in just hiragana (with spaces) and in natural Japanese
(kanji included). Lastly, we are including a simple English translation, which
should be avoided until you are sure you understand the story or find it too
difficult to figure out on your own.

You may want to try to read the story either in Hiragana or in natural Japanese
first. Or if you are a beginner, it may be better to go through the vocabulary first.
Any way you do it, this ebook offers several ways to read, listen, and learn.

Lastly, we would love to hear from you. If you have any suggestions to make this and other ebooks better,
please let us know.

Clay & Yumi Boutwell
http://www.TheJapanShop.com

The Mouse Bride
The Story with Running Gloss


Read the story, one line at a time. After each line, review the vocabulary to make
sure you understand the meaning. After the story, we'll discuss important
grammatical notes.

mukashi, mukashi, aru tokoro ni nezumi no otousan, okaasan ga sunde imashita.

mukashi mukashi A long time ago
aru tokoro ni Some place
nezumi Mouse
o tousan Father
nezumi no otousan The father mouse
okaasan Mother
sunde imashita There lived...

futari wa, hitori musume no chu-ko wo taihen kawaigatteimashita.

futari The two (Mice)
hitori One person
musume Daughter
hitori musume One and only daughter
musume no chu-ko A daughter named Chu-ko
taihen Very
kawaigatteimashita Loved; tender loving care [from kawaigaru]

kono musume wa, totemo bijin de otousan to okaasan wa, itsumo jiman bakari
shite imashita.

kono This
totemo Very
bijin Beautiful woman
to And
itsumo Always
jiman Pride; boast(ing)
itsumo jiman bakari Always bragging (about daughter)

chu-ko ga toshigoro ni natta node, dokoka oyome ni yaru koto ni shimashita.

toshigoro Of (marriageable) age
ni natta Became [ ~ni naru to become]
node Therefore
dokoka Somewhere
oyome Bride
oyome ni yaru Give one’s daughter in marriage
koto Situation; matter

otousan wa, aru hi okaasan to soudan shimashita.

o tousan Father
aru hi One day
okaasan Mother
soudan Consult; talk it over

chu-ko wa, totemo bijin dashi, kidate no ii ko da. sekai de ichiban erai hito to
kekkon saseyou.

totemo bijin A very beautiful woman
kidate no ii Good natured; kindhearted
ko Child
sekai de In the world
ichiban #1; the best; -est
erai Great; famous
ichiban erai hito Greatest person (in the world)
to With
kekkon Marriage
kekkon saseyou Let’s marry her off

okaasan wa, sansei shite iimashita.

okaasan Mother
san sei Agreement; approval
sansei shite iimashita Agreeing, she said...

mochiron desu tomo. sekai de ichiban erai hito to kekkon shite hoshii desu wa.

mochiron Of course
~tomo Certainly; of course
mochiron desu tomo Of course! To be sure!
sekai de ichiban erai hito The world’s greatest man
hoshii Want; desire
to kekkon shite hoshii Want (daughter) to get married to (greatest man)
wa [sentence ender used by women]

demo, sekai de ichiban erai hito tte dare deshou?

demo But
sekai de ichiban erai hito The world’s greatest man
tte [casual topic marker: speaking of..., who is he?]
dare Who
dare deshou Who could it be?

otousan wa, sukoshi kangaete kara iimashita.

o tousan Father
sukoshi A little
kangaete Thinking [ kangaeru to think]
sukoshi kangaete kara After thinking a little…
iimashita Said

sore wa, yahari taiyou san darou.

sore wa As for that
yahari Not surprisingly; as expected
taiyou san The sun [Mr. Sun]
darou I suppose

futari wa, taiyou no tokoro e dekakete ikimashita.

futari The couple
taiyou no tokoro The sun’s place; Where the sun is
e To; the direction of
dekakete ikimashita Left; went

taiyou ni au to, nezumi no fuufu wa, iimashita.

taiyou ni au to Upon meeting the sun...
fuufu Husband and wife
iimashita Said

sekai de ichiban erai taiyou san. douzo musume wo oyome ni moratte kudasai.

sekai de ichiban erai taiyou san Oh Sun, who is the greatest in the world...
douzo Please (take our daughter)
oyome Bride
oyome ni moratte kudasai Please take (daughter) as a bride

taiyou wa, bikkuri shite iimashita.

taiyou The sun
bikkuri Surprised
iimashita Said

watashi ga sekai de ichiban erai datte? tondemonai.

watashi I
sekai de in the world
ichiban the best; the most
erai important
tte [casual topic marker: speaking of...,]
tondemonai Absurd; preposterous

watashi wa, kumo san ni wa kanawanai.

watashi wa As for me…
kumo san Clouds [Mr. Cloud]
kanawanai Cannot match; be no match for
kumosan niwa kanawanai I’m no match for the clouds.

kumo san ga detekureba, watashi wa sukkari kakurete shimau kara ne.

kumo san Clouds [Mr. Cloud]
detekureba If comes out
sukkari completely
kakurete shimau Completely hidden
kara Because [after explanation]
ne [sentence ender to emphasize]

sokode, nezumi no fuufu wa, kumo san no tokoro e dekaketeikimashita.

soko de Then
fuufu Husband and wife
kumosan no tokoro The Cloud’s place; Where the cloud is
e To
dekakete ikimashita Left; went

sekai de ichiban erai kumo san. douzo musume wo oyome ni moratte kudasai.

sekai de in the world
ichiban the best; the most
erai important
kumo san Clouds [Mr. Cloud]
douzo Please
musume o oyome ni moratte kudasai Please take (our) daughter as a bride

kumo wa, bikkuri shite iimashita.

kumo Cloud
bikkuri Surprised
bikkuri shite iimashita Surprised, he said…

watashi ga sekai de ichiban erai tte? tondemonai.

watashi I
sekai de in the world
ichiban the best; the most
erai important
tte [casual topic marker]
tondemonai Absurd; preposterous

watashi wa, kaze san ni wa kanawanai.

watashi wa As for me…
kaze Wind
kanawanai Cannot match; be no match for

kaze san ga fukeba watashi wa fuki tobasarete shimau kara ne.

kaze Wind
ga [subject marker]
fukeba If blows [ kaze ga fuku Wind blows]
watashi wa As for me…
fuki tobasarete shimau Blow completely away
kara Because [after explanation]
ne [sentence ender used for emphasis]

sokode, nezumi no fuufu wa, kaze no tokoro e dekakete ikimashita.

soko de Then
nezumi mice
fuufu Husband and wife
kumo no tokoro The Cloud’s place; Where the cloud is
e To
dekakete ikimashita Left; went

sekai de ichiban erai kaze san. douka musume wo yome ni moratte kudasai.

sekai de in the world
ichiban the best; the most
erai important
kaze san Mr. wind
douka Please [a little more pleading than ]
musume daughter
wo [direct object marker]
yome bride
musume o oyome ni moratte kudasai Please take (our) daughter as a bride

kaze wa, bikkuri shite iimashita.

kaze wind
bikkuri Surprised
bikkuri shite iimashita Surprised, he said…

watashi ga sekai de ichiban erai datte? tondemonai.

watashi I
sekai de in the world
ichiban the best; the most
erai important
tte [casual topic marker]
tondemonai Absurd; preposterous

watashi wa, kabe san ni wa kanawanai.

watashi wa as for me; I...
kabe san Wall [Mr. Wall]
niwa kanawanai No match against…

watashi ga ikura fuitemo kabe san wa bikutomoshinai kara ne.

watashi I; me
ga [subject marker]
ikura fuitemo However much (I) blow
kabe san Wall [Mr. Wall]
biku to mo shinai Does not budge an inch; unmovable
kara because [used to explain something]
ne isn't it [sentence ender to emphasize and prompt for acknowledgement]

sokode, nezumi no fuufu wa, kabe san no tokoro e ikimashita.

sokode Then
nezumi mouse
fuufu Husband and wife
kabesan no tokoro Where the wall is
~e ikimashita Went to …

sekai de ichiban erai kabe san.

sekai de in the world
ichiban the best; the most
erai important
kabe san Mr. Wall

douka musume wo yome ni moratte kudasai.

douka Please [a little more pleading than ]
musume daughter
wo [direct object marker]
yome bride
musume o oyome ni moratte kudasai Please take (our) daughter as a bride

kabe wa, bikkuri shite iimashita.

kabe wall
bikkuri Surprised
bikkuri shite iimashita Surprised, he said…

watashi ga sekai de ichiban erai datte? tondemonai.

watashi I
sekai de in the world
ichiban the best; the most
erai important
tte [casual topic marker]
tondemonai Absurd; preposterous

watashi wa nezumi san ni wa kanawanai.

watashi wa I; as for me...
nezumi mouse
watashi wa nezumi san ni wa kanawanai I’m no match for the Mouse

nezumi san wa watashi ni ana wo akete shimau kara ne.

nezumi mouse
watashi ni in me
ana Hole
akeru To open
watashi ni ana o akete shimau (Mouse) Opens holes in me.

nezumi no fuufu wa, kao wo miawasete kou iimashita.

nezumi mouse
fuufu husband and wife
kao Face
mi awasete Look at each other
kou like this
kou iimashita Said the following

na-nda. nezumi ga sekai de ichiban erai no ka.

na-n da What?!
sekai de in the world
ichiban the best; the most
erai important
no ka [finally realizing the truth]

soshite, nezumi no chu-ko san wa, tonarimura no chu-kichi san to kekkon suru
koto ni narimashita. oshimai.

soshite And then
nezumi no chu-ko san The mouse Chuko
tonari mura The next village
chu-kichi Chukichi
to kekkon suru Get married to…
koto ni narimashita The matter (marriage) happened
oshimai The End

Grammatical Notes

1)

This is a very typical opening for Japanese fairy tales similar to “Once upon a
time...”
[mukashi—long time ago] the repetition makes this a very long time ago.
[aru tokoro ni—in a certain place]



2)

Papa Mouse—A common construction for describing someone: The father who
is a mouse.
kuma no pu-san Winnie the Pooh; tonari no yamada Our neighbors, the
Yamadas; akage no an Anne of Green Gables



3)

Counter for people: hitori One person, futari Two people—three people on uses
nin: san nin, yo nin (notice yo not yon)
hitori musume—One (and Only) daughter



4)

ko is a common ending in female names.



5)

taihen usually means "very" as in this case. When used alone as in it means
"trouble" or "I’m doing something difficult."



6)

~bakari only; nothing but…
Together with , the reinforces the idea that the parents are constantly bragging
about their daughter.



7)

toshigoro ni natta become of (marriageable) age



8)

koto ni suru It was decided to do...



9)

The shows who the father consulted () with ()



10)
… da shi… Used when giving a list of reasons (she’s beautiful and well-mannered).


11)

ichiban which means #1 is often used as an adjective to mean "the best" or "-
est": The greatest man



12)

= (make, have done, let...) + (Imperative): Let’s cause her to get married.



13)

tomo A sentence ender stressing agreement.



14)

1) ~shite hoshi Want to…
2) wa A feminine ending



15)

tte Acts as a casual topic marker (similar to ) .



16)

yahari Must be…; As expected… [The father mouse thinks it is understood the
Sun must be the greatest, but uses darou to show he isn’t 100% sure.]



17)

tte As above, it acts as a casual topic marker, but it also shows disbelief as a
question marker.



18)

kanawanai No match [The shows who (the Cloud) the speaker (the Sun) is no
match for]

19)

- > If comes out



20)

(after the form) shows completion and sometimes regret.
kara Because



21)

tobasareru To be caused to fly (away)



22)

No matter how… (much I blow)



23)

Really The emphasizes their surprise



24)

is an abbreviation of and is used to indicate an explanation or show emphasis.
The makes the sentence into something of a rhetorical question.

The Story by Itself in Hiragana with Spaces