作品Free Graded Reading
泣いてゐるお猫さんThe Crying Cat
Naite Iru O Neko-san
by 村山 籌子 · Murayama Kazuko
A crying cat wins a photo contest and learns a lesson!
About this story
About this storyA greedy cat races to a photo contest only to lose her borrowed ribbon.
Read a sample in Japanese
Read a sample in JapaneseSource
SourceThis 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 changed the spelling to modern kana and modern kanji.
The furigana are Yomimaru's. In the app it is split into 2 parts.
What you'll learn
What you'll learnThe greedy cat sees an advertisement for a photo contest with a prize of 1 yen 50 sen, then polishes its fur and goes to borrow a ribbon from the duck neighbor.
The cat borrows a ribbon from the duck and rushes to the photo studio, worried about missing the chance.
At the studio, the cat discovers the ribbon is lost and feels too sad to smile for the photo.
Key vocabulary
Key vocabulary| 慾ばり (よくばり) | greedy |
|---|---|
| ピカピカ | shiny, glittering |
| てつぺん | top of the head |
| 円タク (えんタク) | taxi (short for 円タクシー, a taxi that charges by the yen) |
| ぼんやり | in a daze, absentmindedly |
Grammar points you'll meet
Grammar points you'll meet- ～てしまう N4Indicates completion or regret of an action. Here, 'してしまひました' expresses regret or unintended outcome.お猫さんはぼんやりしてしまひました。
- ～かも分らない N4Colloquial form of かもしれない meaning 'maybe' or 'might'.うつしてもらへないかも分らない。
- ～てゐる N4Classical form of ～ている indicating ongoing state.写真屋さんの広告が出てゐました。
Cultural notes
Cultural notes- Prize money in old JapanIn the story, the prize for winning the photo contest is 1 yen 50 sen (一円五十銭). In early 20th century Japan, this was a modest sum, roughly equivalent to a few thousand yen today. The cat's financial calculation reflects everyday economics of the time.
Try a comprehension question
Try a comprehension questionWhat does the cat see in the newspaper?
- An ad for a photo contest
- An ad for a ribbon shop
- A story about a duck
- A weather forecast
Sensei's reading tip
Sensei's reading tipPay attention to the historical kana usage (e.g., ゐ for い) – common in pre-WWII texts.
Topics & grammar
Topics & grammar
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