洞熊学校を卒業した三人The Three Who Graduated from the Cave Bear School

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What you'll learn

The spider returns home hungry, builds a small web, catches and eats a mayfly, then a female spider joins him. They have many children, but most die. The spider becomes vice-chairman of the insect club, but eventually his greed leads to rotting and being washed away by rain.

The slug tricks a snail into sumo wrestling and eats him, then does the same to a lizard by pretending to heal him. He grows huge and mocks the spider, but the spider retorts. A frog challenges the slug to sumo, throws salt on him, and the slug melts away.

The raccoon, pretending to be a religious figure, tricks a rabbit by biting off its ears and legs, claiming it's the will of the Mountain Cat deity. He later does the same to a wolf, eating him entirely. However, the wolf's rice seeds sprout in the raccoon's stomach, causing him to swell and burst.

Key vocabulary

Grammar points you'll meet

• ～ために N3Indicates purpose: 'in order to'
  蜘蛛はもう一生けん命であちこちに十も網をかけたり、夜も見はりをしたりしました。
• ～ながら N4Indicates simultaneous actions: 'while'
  一生けん命糸をたぐり出して、やっと小さな二銭銅貨位の網をかけた。

Cultural notes

• 洞熊学校A fictional school run by a 'cave bear' teacher, reflecting the old Japanese education system with strict discipline and competition.

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Topics & grammar

Short Storyfolklorecompetitionfairnessphilosophicalhumorous〜ながらwhile (doing both)〜ためにin order to / because of