二つの頭Two Heads

Read a sample in Japanese

What you'll learn

Yuji watches his brother sketch cranes and daydreams about his own ability to draw anything. He remembers his homework, returns home reluctantly, and wishes he could swap heads with his brother to finish it. After completing the homework, he dreams of an exam where he has his brother's head and succeeds, but wakes up to find he has bumped heads with his brother.

Key vocabulary

Grammar points you'll meet

• ～んだい N4Casual explanatory question or exclamation, often used by children.
  何んだい、僕だって描けますよ
• ～かしら N4Casual expression of uncertainty or wondering, often used by females or in literature.
  ほんとに僕は描けるのかしら
• ～と…と N3Listing items or actions, often with ～たり structure here but used as parallel actions.
  鶴だって、犬だって、山の絵だって、駅だって、街の絵だって、みんな描けます
• ～てゆく N3To proceed to do something; てゆく is a phonetic variant of ていく.
  試験の問題が不思議にすらすらとけてゆきます

Cultural notes

• School Homework and Exams in JapanHomework (宿題) and exams (試験) are a major part of Japanese education. The story reflects a child's anxiety about completing homework and the desire for an easy way out, like swapping heads with a smarter sibling.
• Dreams and SuperstitionsDreams in Japanese culture can be seen as omens or reflections of waking thoughts. The dream about swapping heads with his brother shows Yuji's wish fulfillment, but the rude awakening adds a humorous moral.

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Topics & grammar

Short Storychildrenimaginationchildhoodnostalgicheartwarmingaozora bunko