Totoro
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Princess Mononoke Film ComicMy Neighbor Totoro, Chapter 3:
Totoro's Memento
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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 three, "Totoro's Memento".
You may prefer the version with Japanese.
Chapter 3: Totoro's Memento
One evening, it began to rain. "Daddy didn't take his umbrella,"
said Satsuki, looking at her watch. Father had gone to the university
but it was almost time for him to come home.
"That's right. Let's go meet him."
The usual bus arrived just after they got to the bus stop. But Father
was not on it.
"What could have happened? I'm sure he'll be on the next bus,"
said Satsuki.
It was a long time before the next bus would come. But they decided to wait there.
As they did this, Mei began to doze off as she stood. She was already completely tired of waiting.
"Oh well, there's nothing else I can do."
Satsuki lifted Mei
onto her back and patiently continued waiting at the empty bus stop.
Before she knew it, the sun had gone down and it was black all around. Satsuki was starting to get discouraged.
Thud thud, thud.... Footsteps approached, and suddenly someone was beside them. Who could it be...? Katsuki glanced sideways from under the umbrella, and saw long claws on a hairy foot. It wasn't human!
Satsuki fearfully raised the umbrella and looked beside her.
Could it be Totoro?
Satsuki, with her heart pounding, looked again.
It had to be Totoro! She had finally met Totoro! Totoro was standing with a lotus leaf on his head, getting soaking wet.
"I see your problem. Here, I'll lend you this," said Satsuki, and she held out Father's umbrella.
Even though Totoro took the umbrella, he just stared blankly at it.
He had never seen an umbrella before.
"You use it like this," said Satsuki, holding up her umbrella to show him, and Totoro, copying her, also raised his umbrella.
Patter, patter, plop. Rain was dripping off the tree leaves unto Totoro's umbrella.
Patter patter plish, plop-plop plop. What a wonderful sound it was! Totoro was thinking of the umbrella as a musical instrument.
"Guh...., Guhuhuh..." laughed Totoro happily, and with a "boing" he leaped into the air.
Whomp!
The ground shook, and rain came down all at once
from the trees around them.
PATTERPATTERPATTER, PLOPPLOPPLOP.
Totoro was overjoyed.
"GOOOOOOH!"
At this enormous shout, Mei opened her eyes.
Just then, from out of the darkness they could see lights. It looked like the bus had finally come.
No, it wasn't a bus. It was a cat. No, a bus. A terribly huge cat-bus.
The Catbus stopped in front of the bus stop. As it stared at Satsuki and Mei with its big eyes, didn't it have a wiiide grin?
Even this experienced pair was surprised at this. They didn't even make a sound.
Totoro held out something. It was a little package wrapped in bamboo-grass leaves and tied with dragon-whisker grass.
As soon as Mei took it, Totoro boarded the Catbus. It set off running at an amazing speed, rustling its twelve legs as it went. Through the forest and over the fields....
Quicker than you could say "ah" it vanished completely from sight.
"Oh no, Totoro went off with Daddy's umbrella," murmured Satsuki as she continued to stare blankly.
A few days later, a letter from Satsuki arrived at their mother's room..
"Mommy, it feels like my heart is still pounding. It was the most strange, weird, and fun day.
"When we took home the package and opened it, we found it was packed full of tree nuts. ...It would be wonderful to make our garden into a forest, so we decided to sow the nuts there. But, they just won't sprout.
"Every day, Mei says, 'Not yet, not yet.' It seems like she's getting as crabby as the crabs in the story of 'The Monkey-Crab Battle.'
[Note: 'The Monkey-Crab Battle' is a famous Japanese fable in which a family of baby crabs fight a cruel monkey.]
"Soon it will be summer vacation. Please get well soon."
Tum tum tum. Tum tum tum. Tum tattatum..
One night, Satsuki and Mei were awakened by strange sounds.
Tum tum tum. Tum tum tum. Tum tattatum..
It was Totoro. All the totoros had come into the garden.
"Totoro is using the umbrella."
"Uh-huh. He's walking around where we planted the nuts, isn't he?"
The two of them rushed out just as they were, with bare feet.
Tum tum tum. Tum tum tum.
All of the totoros were squatting down and stretching up in time
with the sound. Satsuki and Mei did the same thing.
It was as if Big Totoro was pulling something from the ground, putting power into his upward motion, letting out his breath with a "PAH!" as he stretched up to the heavens.
Squatting, he grunted with effort, "GUUUUH!" and at the moment he gasped "PAH!" the tiny sprouts popped out all at once.
"Wow!" Satsuki and Mei also stretched up with all their strength. As they did, weren't the sprouts growing bigger and bigger, as if they were being pulled up by the motion?
Squat down and stretch up, squat down and stretch up, tum tum tum, tum tum tum, grow bigger and bigger!
The trees, pointing to the sky, steadily put out branches and leaves.
Soon, the trees fused into one, forming a single big, BIG tree.
When that happened, Big Totoro pulled out a top and cast it down with a "vroom!"
The big top spun very vigorously.
Big Totoro, with a big grin, suddenly jumped onto it. "Come on!" he "said".
One by one they all jumped onto Totoro. Whee!
As the top roared, they were whirled up into the sky, riding on the wind.
"Doooh, dorororo... GOOOH!" roared Totoro.
What a wonderful night! Satsuki and Mei also roared
with all their might.
"Mei, we're becoming the wind!"
So it was, for Totoro's roar was the sound of the wind.
After this, they played ocarinas on the top of the big Camphor Tree of Tsuka Forest. Whoo, whoo. Whoo, whoo. Whoo, whoo, whoo.
The noise of the ocarinas resounded in the peaceful night. At home, their father probably was thinking that a lot of owls were hooting.
The next morning, they practically flew outside to look in the garden.
"Hey, the tree isn't there!"
"I guess it was just a dream..."
But then, when they looked more closely, weren't those tiny sprouts
sparkling and glistening in the morning light?
"Yay, we did it!"
"It wasn't just a dream! It was dream, but not a dream!"
The two girls jumped around with great joy.
