Totoro
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Princess Mononoke Film ComicMy Neighbor Totoro, Chapter 2:
Mei Meets Totoro
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"My Neighbor Totoro" is a classic Japanese children's film by Hayao Miyazaki about a magical forest-creature named Totoro, who lives near a family with two young girls that has just moved to the neighorhood.
I borrowed a children's book made from the movie from my Japanese teacher, and I have translated it here. This is part two, "Mei Meets Totoro".
You may prefer the version with Japanese.
Chapter 2 - Mei Meets Totoro
It was another day. Satsuki was at school and Father was working. Mei was playing all by herself.
"Ah, I found an acorn." As soon as she saw one, she saw another one over there, and another across the way, that had been dropped one after another.
Mei became engrossed with picking up acorns as she went along.
As she did this, she saw a pair of white, small, sharp things coming her way from the middle of the field.
What was this? A strange kind of creature that she had never seen before became visible. What could it be? Mei got excited and followed it. At this, the little white creature got scared. Pitter-patter it ran away. "Wait!"
Skurry, skurry, it found a hiding place under the house. Slowly, slowly it sneaked out behind the back of the intently watching Mei.
Aha! Now there were two of them! Mei started running. In great confusion they ran away into the thicket. It was a tunnel. The tunnel continued through the thicket.
Mei's hat fell off and her clothes got dirty. She was engrossed with the chase. Soon, the two creatures seemed to disapper into the trunk of a big tree.
At the base of the tree was a dark hole, and by the mouth of it was a single acorn. Mei tried to get it and her foot slipped. "Waaa---." Whump! Whew, that was a surprise.
What a strange place it was! Even though she was in a tree, the light flowed down from the ceiling and all around was glistening green.
But, to her surprise there was a creature MUCH bigger than the two she saw before, asleep and snoring. Like a bear, like a racoon, like an owl, a mysterious creature. Mei's eyes grew round with astonishment and she went up to it.
"Who are yoou?" asked Mei, and the strange creature slowly blinked its eyes. Somehow, it looked very sleepy.
When she tried tickling its nose, it opened its huge mouth and roared out, "DOH, DOH, DORORORORO..."
What a huge mouth! An amazing blast of air came out.
"Yaah, you're blowing me into the air!" Mei, more excited, roared
along with it.
"GYAAAAH!"
"DOH, DOH, RORORO..."
"To, to, ro...? Totoro! Your name is Totoro, right?" Mei spoke to it gently, stretching out on the fluffy fur. "Hee hee, Totoro."
With this, Mei's eyes started slowly blinking too, and before she knew it she had fallen fast asleep with Totoro.
When Satsuki got home from school, she couldn't see Mei anywhere. When she got worried and looked for her, she saw the fallen hat in front of the thicket. "Daaddy, I found Mei's hat!"
A quick peek into the thicket showed the tunnel it formed. Satsuki zoomed down it. There, where the tunnel opened wider, she suddenly saw Mei lying flat on the ground.
"Mei, Mei!" she called, shaking her in confusion, and
Mei woke up and looked around in a daze.
"Hey, where's Totoro?"
"Totoro?"
Just then, Father came along.
"I met Totoros. First a little one, then a bigger one, then a
really really BIG one with a face like this. This way!"
Mei dashed off into the thicket. Satsuki and Father went after her. But the place she came out of the tunnel was into the backyard.
"Huh...? " Satsuki and Father started laughing when they saw Mei blinking her eyes in surprise.
"It's true. I'm not lying!" Mei looked like she was about to cry.
Father looked at Mei's face, and spoke gently, "Mei has surely met the master of Tsuka Forest. But he can't be seen all the time. That's it. Let's all go up to Tsuka Forest and say hello."
When they climbed the dark steps, they came to where they could see the huge camphor tree.
"That's it! That's the tree!" said Mei, and she went and peered at the base of the tree.
But to her surprise, what did she find? The hole she expected to see had vanished.
"Like I said, he can't always be found." said Father, looking up at the tree. "This is a splendid tree, isn't it? Surely it's been standing here from long, long ago, watching over all the people. Well, let's give it a greeting."
The three of them lined up in front of the tree and humbly bowed their heads.
"We owe you thanks about Mei. Please also give us any help you can in the future."
That evening, Satsuki wrote a letter to her mother.
"Mother, today I have very wonderful news for you.
Mei has met Totoro.
...I'm thinking that I would like to meet him, too."
"Whoo, whoo, whoo." That night also the owl was calling.
