The Tanuki's Tidy-Up

Read aloud, slowly and warmly. Stop often to let the children answer. There are no wrong answers here, only kind new ideas to try.

Read aloud, or let an older child read it themselves. Pause at each question so the heroes can decide together. There are no wrong answers here, only kinder ideas to try.

It is festival day in the Lantern Village. All morning the market has been getting ready, with stalls of paper fans, baskets of fruit, and rows of glowing lanterns. But oh dear. Pon the Tanuki was so excited that he bounced and rolled right through the market, and he knocked every stall over by mistake. Now the fans, the fruit, and the lanterns are all in one big jumble, and Pon feels terrible.

Granny Yuki the Tale-Keeper calls you to her. "You two have heads full of ideas and kind hearts," she says. "Will you help Pon set the market right before the festival opens?"

She gives you three gifts: a ball of red thread, a little bell, and a sweet rice cake. Then she smiles. "Up here we do not win by being the strongest. We win by being brave, kind, and full of ideas."

What is your hero name? Are you a hero of Imagination, of Courage, or of Kindness?

It was festival day in the Lantern Village, the brightest day of the whole year. All morning the market had been getting ready: stalls of painted paper fans, baskets heaped with plums and pears and golden persimmons, and long rows of paper lanterns waiting to glow. Cherry petals drifted on the breeze, and everyone hummed with excitement.

Nobody hummed more than Pon the Tanuki. He was so happy, so round, and so very bouncy, that he simply could not keep still. He rolled. He bounced. He tumbled head over heels right down the middle of the market, and one by one, every single stall went over with a clatter. When the dust settled, the fans, the fruit, and the lanterns lay in one enormous jumble, and poor Pon sat in the middle of it with his ears flat and his heart full of sorry.

Granny Yuki the Tale-Keeper, who knew every story in the mountains, called the two of you to her side. "You have heads full of ideas and kind hearts," she said, "and that is worth more today than the strongest pair of arms. Will you help Pon set the market right before the festival opens?"

Into your hands she pressed three gifts: a ball of bright red thread, a little bronze bell, and a soft, sweet rice cake. "Remember," she said with a smile, "in these mountains we do not win by being the strongest. We win by being brave, kind, and full of ideas."

What is your hero name? Which quality will you carry: Imagination, Courage, or Kindness?

You hurry to the market and find Pon the Tanuki sitting in the middle of the mess. His ears droop. His nose wobbles. "I have spoiled everything," he sniffs. "I only wanted to help."

He is too upset to tidy up. He needs a kind word first.

What could you do to help Pon feel better? You could sit beside him. You could tell him it was an accident. You could say that everyone can fix a muddle together. What do you try?

When you are kind to Pon, he wipes his nose and gives a little smile. "You are good friends," he says. "Let us tidy up together." And he jumps up, ready to help.

You hurried to the market square, and there in the very middle of the muddle sat Pon the Tanuki. His ears drooped. His round nose wobbled. A fat tear sat ready to fall. "I have spoiled the whole festival," he sniffed. "I only ever wanted to help, and I have made everything worse."

He was so sad and so flustered that he could not have tidied a single fan. Before any sorting could begin, Pon needed a friend.

What could you do to help Pon feel better? You might sit down beside him, or tell him that everybody knocks things over sometimes, or remind him that a muddle is much smaller when friends fix it together. What do you try?

When your kind words reached him, Pon wiped his nose on the back of his paw and gave a small, brave smile. "You are good friends to me," he said. "A muddle is not so big after all. Come on, let us tidy up together." And up he jumped, ready to put right every single thing.

Now you look at the jumble. Fans, fruit, and lanterns are all mixed up in one big heap. Everything must go back to the right stall before the festival opens.

The fans belong on the fan stall. The fruit belongs in the fruit baskets. The lanterns belong on the lantern posts. You will need to sort them, and count them, and match them up.

How will you sort it all out? Could you make a pile for each kind of thing? Could you count the lanterns onto the posts? Could you match the fruit by its colour? What is your plan?

When you sort and count it all back into place, the market begins to look right again. Pon claps his paws. "What a good idea!" he says.

Now you looked properly at the heap, and what a heap it was. Fans, fruit, and lanterns lay all tangled together in one great mountain of muddle, and every last thing had to find its proper home before the festival could open.

The painted fans belonged, fanned out in their neat rows, on the fan stall. The plums and pears and persimmons belonged sorted into their baskets on the fruit stall. The paper lanterns belonged, one by one, upon the lantern posts that lined the square. To set it right you would have to sort, and count, and match, with calm and careful heads.

How will you bring order to all this? You might make a separate pile for each kind of thing, or count the right number of lanterns onto each post, or match every fruit to its basket by its colour. What is your plan?

Patiently, piece by piece, you sorted and counted it all back into place, and slowly the market grew tidy and bright again. Pon watched in wonder and clapped his small paws together. "You are so full of ideas and so calm," he said. "I would have rushed and made it worse, but you thought it all the way through."

The market is nearly perfect. But one lantern is still missing: the big red festival lantern that hangs over the very middle of the market. Without it, the festival cannot begin.

Then Kon the Fox trots out of the bamboo. "I saw something round and red roll under the plum tree by the bridge," he says with a wink. "Follow my clue."

Where could the last lantern be? Could you follow Kon's clue to the plum tree? Could you ask Pon to help you look? What do you do?

You follow the clue and there it is, the big red lantern, safe under the plum tree. You carry it back and hang it high. "I found the spot it rolled to," says Pon proudly. "I helped after all." And he stands a little taller.

The market looked almost perfect now, every fan and fruit and lantern in its place. Almost. For when you looked up at the heart of the square, you saw that the grandest lantern of all was missing: the big red festival lantern that hung high over the very middle, the one whose glow was the signal for the festival to begin. Without it, the drum could not sound.

Just then, Kon the Fox came trotting out of the bamboo with a leaf upon his head and a bright twinkle in his eye. "I am rather good at noticing things," he said. "And I do believe I saw something round and red go rolling away, down the lane, under the old plum tree by the bridge. Follow my clue, and think where a runaway lantern likes to hide."

Where could the last lantern have rolled to? You might follow Kon's clue to the plum tree, or ask Pon, who knows every corner of the market, to help you search. And how will you help Pon feel proud instead of ashamed? What do you do?

You followed the clue down the lane, and there, snug under the drooping plum tree, sat the great red lantern, quite unharmed. As you lifted it up, Pon came bounding over, and it was Pon who pointed out the very branch it had caught on. "I knew where it would roll," he said, and for the first time all day he stood up tall and proud. "I helped after all." Together you carried the lantern back and hung it high in its rightful place.

The market is set right at last. Every fan is fanned out, every basket of fruit is neat, and every lantern glows warm in its place, with the big red one shining in the middle.

Pon the Tanuki is forgiven, and best of all, he is proud. The drum begins to beat, the people come laughing into the square, and the festival opens at last.

High above, Amaterasu the Sun-Kami looks down and smiles. You did it together. You were brave, you were kind, and most of all, you were full of ideas. Well done, heroes of the Lantern Village.

The market was set right at last, and oh, how it shone. Every fan was fanned in its row, every basket of fruit sat neat and gleaming, and every paper lantern glowed warm and golden in its place, with the great red festival lantern burning brightest of all in the very middle of the square.

Pon the Tanuki was forgiven, and far better than forgiven, he was proud. The big drum began to beat, the villagers came laughing and dancing into the square, and with a happy ring the festival opened at last.

High above the blossom mountains, Amaterasu the Sun-Kami looked down through the warm light and smiled. You had done it, and you had done it together: with your imagination, with your courage, and above all with your kindness. Well done, heroes of the Lantern Village.