A small green creature is sitting by a river.

It looks a bit like a turtle, but it's walking on two legs.

It has smooth, wet skin and a funny dish-shaped head.

The strangest thing is that there's a little pool of water sitting in the dish on its head. The strangest thing is that there's a little pool of water sitting in the dish on its head.

It's holding a cucumber and munching on it happily. Suddenly it grins mischievously and splashes into the river,

disappearing beneath the surface with barely a ripple.

The only thing left is a faint smell of river mud.

Welcome to another episode of Creature Feature where we explore interesting monsters from legends and mythology.

We'll learn new words along the way and you can draw these creatures and submit them to our monstrous masterpieces gallery.

Kappas are water spirits from Japanese folklore.

They're often shown as being about the size of a child.

They have a turtle-like shell on their back and webbed hands and feet for swimming.

The water on their head is very important to them.

It's said to be the source of their power.

They can be mischievous, which means they like to play tricks and cause trouble.

They've been a part of Japanese folklore for hundreds of years.

They're often connected to rivers and ponds because water is a big part of life in Japan.

In old stories, Kappa were seen as dangerous creatures that would try to

drown people or pull them into the water. They were used to warn people about the dangers of rivers

and to teach kids to be careful near water. But Kappa aren't always portrayed as evil. Some stories

show them as being polite if you treat them right.

They're said to be very interested in human customs and can even be helpful sometimes.

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