Shipitaro, hello, this is Jana and welcome to Story Nouri, which this week is brought to you by OutSchool.

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 spooker 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 Shipitaro.

Who or what do you think Shipitaro 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 good sword 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 yells.

The young warrior took a hold of his sword and rose to his feet. Cautiously he spied through a hole in the wall.

...