作品Free Graded Reading
ライオンの大損The Lion's Big Loss
Raion no Taizon
by 村山 籌子 · Murayama Kazuko
A proud lion loses his magnificent beard and goes on a hilarious quest to find it.
About this story
About this storyA proud lion wakes up to find his magnificent beard missing and frantically searches for it among the forest animals.
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, and replaced classical grammar with its modern form.
The furigana are Yomimaru's. In the app it is split into 2 parts.
What you'll learn
What you'll learnA 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
Key vocabulary| 威張り屋 (いばりや) | boastful person |
|---|---|
| あごひげ | chin beard, goatee |
| きりぎりす | cricket (insect) |
| たぬき | raccoon dog, tanuki |
| 古道具屋 (ふるどうぐや) | secondhand shop, antique store |
Grammar points you'll meet
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
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
Try a comprehension questionHow does the lion first realize his beard is missing?
- He sees it in a mirror.
- The bear tells him.
- He looks in the river.
- The cricket tells him.
Sensei's reading tip
Sensei's reading tipPay attention to the historical kana usage: ゐ is read as 'i' and つた as 'tta'.
Topics & grammar
Topics & grammar
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