作品Free Graded Reading
カメサン ノ サウダンTurtle's Consultation
Kame-san no Soudan
by 村山 籌子 · Murayama Kazuko
Two sleepy turtles try to discuss festival outfits but keep dozing off.
About this story
Two elderly turtles discuss what to wear to an upcoming pond festival.
Read a sample in Japanese
Source
This text comes from Aozora Bunko (青空文庫), the volunteer-run library of Japanese writing that is out of copyright. See this work on Aozora Bunko
Base edition (底本): 「日本児童文学大系 第二六巻」ほるぷ出版
1978(昭和53)年11月30日初刷発行
Typed in by 菅野朋子. Proofread by noriko saito.
Yomimaru rewrote this all-katakana text in the hiragana and kanji a modern edition would use.
The furigana are Yomimaru's. In the app it is split into 2 parts.
What you'll learn
On a warm autumn day, two turtle ladies plan to discuss clothes for an upcoming festival but repeatedly fall asleep. They finally wake in the evening, and continue daily, but always end up sleeping, so they remain naked.
Key vocabulary
| カメ | turtle |
|---|---|
| オマツリ | festival |
| キモノ | kimono |
| ネムル | to sleep |
| サウダン | consultation |
Grammar points you'll meet
- ~ました N5Polite past tense of verbs.
ネムリコンデ シマヒマシタ
- ~のデス N4Explanatory 'no desu' used for giving reasons or explanations.
オマツリガ アルノデス
- ~ながら N4While doing something; indicates simultaneous actions.
ハンブン ヰネムリナガラ
- ~てしまう N4Indicates completion or regret of an action.
ネムリコンデ シマヒマシタ
- ~ト イフノハ N3Saying that; expressing what something is called.
サウダント イフノハ ホカデモアリマセン
Cultural notes
- Japanese Festivals (Matsuri)Matsuri are traditional festivals held at shrines or in communities. People often wear special clothes like yukata or kimono. The story revolves around deciding what to wear for such an event.
- Turtles in Japanese FolkloreTurtles (亀) are auspicious symbols in Japan, representing longevity and good luck. They often appear in folktales like 'Urashima Taro'.
Try a comprehension question
What do the two turtle ladies discuss?
- What to eat
- What to wear
- Where to go
- When to sleep
Sensei's reading tip
This text is written entirely in katakana, which is unusual. Practice reading katakana quickly to build fluency.
Topics & grammar
同級More at N3
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