Shippetaro. Hello, this is Janna and welcome to Story Nori, which this week is brought to you by

outskull. Stay tuned for details. I'm here with an adventurous tale from Japan. It features some

demon cats and catty sound effects, so I would say that this story is slightly spooky than usual.

And by the way, we're recording this story on a very blustery day, so you might hear some real

life windy sound effects. There is also a mysterious character called Shippetaro. Who or what do you

think Shippetaro is? Listen on to find out. Long, long ago in the days of fairies, giants,

ogres and dragons, a brave young warrior set out into the wide world in search of adventures.

For some time he went on without meeting anything out of the ordinary,

then one evening when he was weary and tired, he found himself on the side of a lonely and wild

mountain. There was no sign of human life, not a village, not a cottage, not so much as a hut.

Dark was coming on and he wandered around trying to find the way back down.

But the more he wandered, the more he became lost, because every direction looked the same in the

dim light of evening. At last, as he stumbled on, he came across the ruins of a temple.

At least these deserted half-tumble-down walls gave him shelter.

He set his goodsaw down on the ground by his side, wrapped himself in his cloak and closed his eyes.

Towards midnight, he was awakened by a noise. At first he thought it must be a dream,

but the noise continued, with shrieks and yowls. The young warrior took a hold of his sword and rose to his feet.

Cautiously, he spied through a hole in the wall, then he saw something strange and awful in the pale moonlight.

A troop of hideous cats were dancing and singing. Their wild shrieks sounded like human words.

It seemed that they were hissing. Keep it close. Keep it dark. Do not tell our secret to ship it our own.

Then all at once the phantom cats disappeared and all was quiet again, apart from the distant

tooting of an owl. At first light, the warrior hurried on his way. It was a bright, clear morning,

...