Program 4, p. 34-36 of the Sunshine English Course level 3 (standard English-teaching textbook for Japanese public schools, 8th grade). Reading practice:
When I first met Rumi, she was sitting alone on the seashore. She was looking toward the sea. She was a cute little girl. Her mother and father went to Hiroshima on August 5. It was just before the last war ended. Before they left the island, they said that they would only stay overnight. One day passed. Another day passed, and still another day passed. But her parents did not come back.
Rumi's uncle took her to Hiroshima to look for her parents. They walked around the burned-out city for four days, but they could not find her parents. After they returned to the island, Rumi went to the seashore every day. She waited there alone for her parents. I felt sad whenever I saw her. Rumi had a pretty yellow ribbon in her hair. She loved it. It was made by her mother.
One day, I found that her hair was falling out. I said to her; "I'll make a red ribbon for you when your hair gets better." She smiled, and then turned toward the sea again to look for a ship. She said, "Mom and Dad said they would only stay overnight."A few days later, I saw Rumi on the seashore. She had a hat on. She said, "My uncle gave me this hat. My hair is sick." I did not know what to say.
A couple of days later, I found Rumi in her uncle's arms on the seashore. When I saw her face, I was very surprised. I hurried back home and made a red ribbon for her. Then I brought it to her. She slowly opened her eyes, and gave me a smile. Her teeth were red with blood." Thank ... you," she said weakly, and closed her eyes again. Tears ran down my face. Two days later, she died in her uncle's arms on the seashore.
After the first time I read this aloud for a class, each student chose a page to practice and one by one came into a separate room to read them to me, as I graded their pronunciation from C- to A+. Something about it seemed odd. I have since read this chilling tale to so many classes that I can almost recite it from memory.
This same book has a heartwarming and much more uplifting story published toward the end, called "The Mountain that Loved a Bird". Incidentally, it was written by my grandma, Alice Mclerran, so I was pretty surprised to find it in my English course textbook. Some small world.
1 comment:
I was moved to see why you were so pleased to find my story in that textbook, albeit in rather butchered form. I hope that at some point you can read the original story to them. Are their English skills likely to permit such a thing later in the year? Do you have a copy of the book with decent art? Let me know.
I wonder if the story you typed in was also yet more moving as it was originally written. Maybe at some point you can get a Japanese friend to find the source and let you know. Unlike mine, it may have originally been written in Japanese.
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