Kaguya-hime - Japanese

Long ago, in a forest full of tall, green bamboo, a kind old bamboo cutter was at work. One day, he saw a special bamboo stalk glowing with a soft, warm light. It was so bright. This is the story of The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. When the man looked inside the glowing bamboo, he found a tiny baby, as small as his thumb. He gently carried the tiny baby home to his wife, and they decided to raise her as their very own princess.

They named the princess Kaguya-hime. The bamboo cutter and his wife loved her very much. She grew very, very quickly. Every time the old man cut bamboo, he would find treasures inside. He found shiny gold coins. He found beautiful, silky kimonos. Soon, their little house was full of wonderful things. Kaguya-hime loved her life on Earth. She loved playing in the green fields and listening to the birds sing their happy songs. But at night, she would look up at the big, round moon. The moon made her heart feel a little sad, but she did not know why. She knew her home was somewhere else, far, far away.

One night, the moon was very full and bright in the dark sky. A beautiful silver ship floated down, down, down from the sky. It had come from the Moon, which was Kaguya-hime's real home. It was time for the princess to go back. She hugged her Earth mother and father goodbye. It was sad to leave them, but she promised to always shine down on them from the sky. When you see the big, full moon, you can think of the moon princess. You can remember there is magic everywhere you look.