Do you know the story of The Happy Prince? Let's try reading in Japanese! / Japanese Learning Support LLC
Do you know the story of the Happy Prince?
This is not a Japanese folktale but a famous story from overseas, so some of you may have read it.
Let's read this story in Japanese today.
Reading is a very effective way to study Japanese, so read lots of fun stories and keep improving your level!
Also, this story is a bit long, so I will upload it in two parts: part 1 and part 2.
"The Happy Prince" Part 1
Once upon a time, in a certain country, there was a statue of a prince called the Happy Prince.
This prince died at a young age, so the people built a beautiful statue of him.
His sword was adorned with rubies, his eyes were of sapphires, and his whole body was covered with gold leaf.
*Gold leaf: Gold that has been beaten to make it as thin as paper.
One day, a traveling swallow came and landed on the statue of the Happy Prince.
Swallow: "Phew, I'm tired. But I still have a long way to fly to Egypt, so I'll rest here for a while."
Then the statue of the prince spoke to the swallow.
Prince Statue: "Excuse me, Mr. Swallow. I'd like to ask you a favor..."
Swallow: "Hmm? Where is this voice coming from?"
Prince Statue: "Here it is! The statue you're standing on."
Swallow: "Oh! Was that a statue of the Prince?"
Prince Statue: "Yes. Now, please, can you see that sick little boy over there? Please take my ruby to him."
Swallow: "Okay. I'll just take the ruby."
The Swallow took the ruby ornament from the Prince's sword and brought it to the sick boy.
The boy's mother received a ruby,
Mom: "Well, now I can buy some medicine!"
I was so happy.
The next day, the prince asked the swallow to deliver the sapphire to a poor composer.
The swallow took the sapphire from the prince's eye and brought it to the composer.
Composer: "Now I can finally eat some food!"
*Composer: A person whose job is to write songs and music
After that, the prince asked the swallow to deliver another sapphire to the girl who had no money.
The swallow took the sapphire and brought it to the girl.
Girl: "Now I can buy new clothes and my mommy and daddy won't bully me anymore!"
The girl was happy.
However, the prince lost both his eyes and could no longer see.
to be continued…
How was it.
What will happen to the prince now that he has lost both his eyes?
Please see part 2 for more.
Now, I would like to introduce some of the grammar that came up in the story.
Today I'd like to introduce you to the words "take" and "bring."
In the story, the statue of the prince makes a request to the swallow, and says the following:
Prince Statue: "See that sick little boy over there? Please take my ruby to him."
So, what is the difference between "take" and "bring"?
To "take" means to take something and move it somewhere else.
"Bring" means to come toward the speaker with something in hand.
The prince's statue asked the swallow to take something (a ruby) and move to another place (where the boy was).
Here, "take" is used, not "bring."
This is because the swallow is going to the boy (moving away from the prince's statue), so it would sound unnatural to say that it "brings" the statue.
Now let's look at sentences using "take" and "bring."
Examples of "take"
Sample1
A: How much money will you take on your trip next month?
B: Hmm, I've already paid for the hotel and flight, so I'll probably only bring about 50,000 yen!
Sample2
A: I'm going to visit my boss's house this weekend. What should I bring with me?
B: That's right. How about we buy something sweet from the cake shop in front of the station?
Sample3
A: When you go to the hospital, you have to take your health insurance card with you.
B: Yes, I'm already prepared .
Sample4
A: Welcome back. Oh? Did you bring your umbrella today?
B: Yeah, it was cloudy so I brought an umbrella to work just in case, but I ended up not using it.
Examples of "bring"
Sample1
A: Welcome. Welcome. What? You brought all that luggage by yourself? It must have been hard.
B: It's been a while! No, it was big but not that heavy so it was fine.
Sample2
A: Section chief, are you feeling better after your injury?
B: Oh, Mr. A. Thank you for coming all the way to the hospital. You brought me a souvenir too. I'll eat it later.
Sample3
A: Sorry teacher, I forgot to bring my homework.
B: Again? There have been a lot of them lately. Please be sure to bring them tomorrow.
Sample4
A: We're missing one tent for tomorrow's camping trip. B-san, you have two tents. Sorry, but can you bring your own?
B: Yeah, that's fine.
If you look at the example sentences, you can understand it clearly.
"Take" means that the speaker or listener moves somewhere with something.
"Bring" gives the image of the listener carrying something and approaching the speaker.
How was it.
Today we talked about "The Happy Prince" part 1 and the two grammar points "take" and "bring."
If you have learned anything new, be sure to remember it and try to use it in your everyday conversations.
That's all for today!
See you in the next blog.
