And the I'm going to be. Welcome to Snuscast, the podcast designed to help you fall asleep.

Tonight we'll read a Japanese folk tale called The Story of Urishima

Taro, The Fisher Lad, compiled in Japanese fairy tales by Yea Theodora

Ozaki. Uroshima is a fisherman rewarded for rescuing a turtle.

The tale, sometimes called the Japanese Rip Van Winkle,

originates from 8th century Japanese literature.

It is considered a national fairy tale.

Let's get cozy. Close your eyes. Relax your body into the softness of your bed.

Now, take a few deep breaths.

Long, long ago, in the province of Tango, there lived on the shore of Japan in the little fishing village of Mo Noye, a young fisherman named Uroshima Taro.

His father had been a fisherman before him, and his skill had more than doubly descended to his son.

For Uroshima was the most skillful fisher in all that countryside, and could catch more bonito and tie in a day than his comrades could in a week.

But in the little fishing village, more than for being a clever fisher of the sea, he was known for his kind heart.

In his whole life, he had never hurt anything either great or small and when a boy his

companions had always laughed at him for he would never join them in teasing animals but always tried to keep them from

this cruel sport. One soft summer twilight he was going home at the end of the day's fishing when he came

upon a group of children. They were all screaming and talking at the tops of their voices and seemed to be in a state of great

excitement about something and on his going up to them to see what was the matter, he saw that they were tormenting a tortoise.

First one boy pulled it one way, then another boy pulled it another way,

while a third child beat it with a stick,

and the fourth hammered its shell with a stone.

Now Urishima felt very sorry for the poor tortoise and made up his mind to rescue it.

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