ライオンの大損The Lion's Big Loss

What you'll learn

A boastful lion wakes from a nap to find his cherished beard missing. After being rudely neglected by a bear, he realizes the loss and begins a frantic search, first misled by a cricket and later discovering the beard for sale at a tanuki's shop. He buys it back at a high price, only to find a new beard has already grown, resulting in a great loss.

Key vocabulary

Grammar points you'll meet

• ～てゐる N1Old-fashioned written form of ～ている, indicating ongoing action or state.
  お昼寝をしてゐる間に
• ～てしまふ（～てしまった） N4To finish doing something; or to regret that something has happened (in this case, losing the beard).
  大切な、日頃自慢のあごひげを、誰にとられたのか、それとも抜け落ちてしまつたのか、
• ～つた (past tense old form) N1Old-fashioned written form of ～った, used in classical literature.
  抜け落ちてしまつた
• ～ます / ～です N5Polite verb and adjective endings.
  ライオンは大損をいたしました。
• ～ので N4Because; reason clause.
  のどがかわいたので、水をのみに、

Cultural notes

• Tanuki in FolkloreThe tanuki (raccoon dog) is a popular trickster figure in Japanese folklore, often depicted as mischievous and shape-shifting. In this story, the tanuki sells the lion his own beard at an inflated price, out of spite for being bullied.
• Historical Kana UsageThe text uses pre-war kana orthography, such as ゐ (wi) and つた (tta). This was standard before the 1946 reform. Recognizing these forms is important for reading older texts.
• Moral of the Story: Haste Makes WasteThe lion's impatience leads him to buy back a beard he no longer needs, teaching a lesson about acting impulsively and the foolishness of pride.

Try a comprehension question

Read a sample in Japanese

Topics

Short Storychildrenvanitylosshumorousaozora bunko