Let's read the story "Dancing Skeleton"! Part 1/Japanese Learning Support LLC | blog

Let's read a story called The Dancing Skeleton.

It's been hot lately, so I'd like to introduce you to a scary story that's perfect for summer.

Read stories in Japanese and improve your Japanese skills!

This story is a bit long, so I will present it in two parts: part 1 and part 2.

This is part 1. I hope you enjoy the story.

"Dancing Skeleton" part 1

In a certain village, there lived two good friends named Rokubei and Shichibei.

The village is very small and there are no good jobs, so they decide to go to town to find work.

Rokubei worked hard in town every day, but Shichibei was lazy and spent his days playing around.

One day, after three years had passed, Rokubei and Shichibei decided it was time to return to the village, but Shichibei had no money and could not even buy souvenirs.

Rokubei: "Don't worry. I'll buy you a souvenir."

Shichibei: Yes, thank you.

So the two of them walked through the mountains and returned to the village.

On the way back, we came across a narrow log bridge.

Rokubei: "Hey, are we crossing here?"

Shichibei: "That's right. It looks like this is the only way. You go ahead. I'll carry your luggage."

Thus, Rokubei was to cross the log bridge first.

As Rokubei was slowly crossing the bridge, Shichibei followed him from behind and, with a bang, pushed him away.

Rokubei fell to the bottom of the valley.

Shichibei took the money and souvenirs that Rokubei had brought with him and took them back to the village.

Shichibei: "Hey, I'm back!"

Villager: "Oh! Shichibei's back! What happened to Rokubei?"

Shichibei: "Well... uuh... uuh... on the way home, I slipped and fell off the bridge..."

Shichibei lied to everyone.

One year later...

Shichibei had spent all the money he had taken from Rokubei and decided to go back to town to look for work.

As I walked through the mountains, I came across the log bridge again.

Then, from behind, I heard a rattle, rattle...

Shichibei: "Hmm?"

When Shichibei looked back, there was a skeleton standing there.

*Skeleton: A corpse that is nothing but bones

Skeleton: "Uhh... Shichibei..."

Shichibei: "Ahhhh!! The skeleton spoke!!"

Shichibei ran and crossed the bridge.

But the skeleton follows.

Skeleton: "Shichibei...!"

Shichibei: How do you know my name ?

Skeleton: "Hahaha, I'm Rokubei."

Shichibei: "Eh? What? You're Rokubei?"

Skeleton: "That's right. I'm the Rokubei. You're going out to town again to make some money, aren't you? If so, take me with you. I'll dance in front of everyone, and you can make some money."

Now, what will become of Shichibei?

Stay tuned for part 2!

How was it?

It's a slightly scary story perfect for summer.

Now, I would like to talk about the Japanese grammar that appears in the main text.

This time, I would like to introduce the grammar "~ndesu."

The grammar "~ndesu" can be used in a variety of ways, so today I will focus on using it as a question, "~desu desu ka."

Shichibei: How do you know my name ?

When the skeleton called Shichibei by his name, he said this.

What would happen if you didn't use "desuka" in this sentence?

-How do you know my name?

This is grammatically correct, but it sounds a little unnatural.

So, how can you use "desuka"?

① Expressing surprise and wanting an explanation

This is how Shichibei uses the phrase "How did you know?" He is expressing surprise and wants someone to explain how he knows.

Check what you see and hear

For example, if your friend is carrying a large suitcase, you might think, "Huh? That's different from usual." In that case, you can check like this.

- Oh? Are you going on a trip?

Also, say you heard from your friend A that your friend B got married. When you want to confirm this directly with B, you can say:

・I heard it from A-san! Did you get married?

3. When you are interested

For example, I have a friend who is going on a trip. When? With whom? Where? There are many things I want to ask.

・When are you going?

-Who are you going with?

・Where are you going?

So, if you are interested in something and want to know more, you can ask questions like this.

④What happened?

If you want a more detailed explanation of the circumstances or situation, use "Doushita desu ka?"

For example, a friend takes something out of his bag and does something with it.

In those cases, you can have a conversation like this:

What's wrong? I don't have my keys.

There are four ways to use "desuka".

If you can use "desuka", you can convey nuances such as interest or asking for an explanation rather than simply asking a question, and your Japanese will instantly become more natural.

Please try and master how to use "desuka" and have lots of conversations with Japanese people!

Today we talked about "Dancing Skeleton" part 1 and how to use "desuka" (is this the correct word?).

Stay tuned for part 2 next time!