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Princess Mononoke Film Comic100 Cats and a Witch
I borrowed this children's book from my Japanese teacher, and I have translated it here.
This is the English-only version. There is also
a version with Japanese.
Once upon a time, in a certain place, there was a great palace. In this palace lived 100 cats.
The 100 cats had a couple of very close friends. They were the village boy Connel and his younger sister Anche. Connel, Anche, and the cats played happily every day in the fields.
One day, when the cats came out to the fields, there was a toad wearing clothes, crying.
"What a funny frog."
When the white cat named Kyatto picked it up, the toad spoke.
"It's me, your friend Connel! A witch came here and kidnapped my sister Anche. When I tried to help Anche, the witch struck me with her stick and changed me into this!"
When they heard Connel's story, the cats became angry. "Let's go rescue Anche!" "All of us together will beat that witch!"
Connel, in his frog form, jumped up on Kyatto's back and spoke.
"I'm going with you, too! We'll beat the witch and then I have to get my original shape back!"
"Ok, let's go!"
The cats walked along. They went out of the forest and over a steep mountain.
Soon, they could see an ancient castle on top of a rugged mountain.
"There's the witch's castle."
"Anche's up in that tower."
The cats climbed the rugged mountain.
When the cats quietly peeked in the window, they saw Anche weeping before the frightful witch.
The witch spoke to Anche in a terrible voice.
"How dare you say you don't want to play with me? Keep that up, and I'll turn you into a toad too."
"OK, let's rescue Anche!"
The 100 cats jumped in all at once.
"Waah...Help!"
The witch acted fast. Suddenly she raised her magic stick. She struck the mouse that lived in the corner of the room.
"Mouse, instantly become a lion!"
"ROAR!"
The mouse had become a fearsome lion.
"Heeheehee...It's no good hiding over there. Ok, lion, eat up the cats!"
At this, the 100 cats gathered themselves into one.
"GROWL!"
The lion was shocked and horrified, because it looked like a huge tiger had suddenly appeared.
The lion leaped away, knocking over the witch.
"Now, get her stick!"
With her stick taken away, the witch suddenly collapsed powerlessly to the ground.
"Waah, forgive me...I didn't mean to do such bad things and bully you so..."
"I've lived for 370 years, and all that time I've been all alone. I just wanted a friend. That's why I took Anche."
The witch seemed so lonely that the cats felt a little bit sorry for her.
"Don't cry like that," Kyatto said.
Suddenly the witch grabbed the stick.
"HeeHeeHee. Now that I have my stick back the advantage is mine."
Before anyone realized it, the witch had become frightening again.
"With this magic stick I can transform anything at all. ---So, shall I turn you all into ugly green lizards?"
"I have a better idea," the witch grinned.
"I think I'll turn you all into my friends. When I strike with this stick and say 'Become my friends!' all of you will turn into my friends, like it or not."
The cats were shocked.
"Oooh, what will we turn into?"
"Will we all become like witches?"
The witch struck among them with the stick.
"Become my friends!"
Suddenly white smoke filled the air...
When the smoke cleared, a black cat had appeared in front of them.
"Oh no, why did it turn me into a cat? Has my magic gone wrong somehow?"
At this point, Kyatto spoke.
"Isn't this a good thing? As you are now, we all will be your friends."
When the witch changed into a cat, the spell on Connel was broken and he returned to his original form.
All of them returned to the village, very happy.
"Like magic I suddenly have 100 friends!"
The black cat that was once a witch was also very happy.
Now 101 cats lived in the palace.
THE END
