Once upon a time, a young brother and sister lived in a small village with their mother.

One day, their mother got work with the wealthiest family in the village

and had to leave her children alone for the day.

Watch your little sister while I’m away. I will be back in the evening with delicious rice cakes for both of you!

Mmm! I love rice cakes!

I will take good care of her, Mother.

Come home soon, Mother!

The brother and sister decided to prepare a nice surprise for their mother on her return.

They went together to a nearby chestnut grove to pick some fresh chestnuts for her.

The brother brought a long pole and the sister carried a basket.

Watch, if you shake the branches like this, the chestnuts will come down by themselves.

Oh, this is fun! I can catch them in my basket!

Watch out, here they come!

When they had gathered as many as they could carry,

the brother and sister sat down to peel them in their front yard.

They burst open the prickly shells to pick out the smooth brown chestnuts inside.

They look so good, I can’t wait to have some!

Wait, we have to roast them on the furnace first. Alright.

Meanwhile, their Mother was hurrying home across the hill balancing rice cakes on her head.

The children must be hungry by now. I am sure they will enjoy these rice cakes.

Suddenly, she heard a terrifying growl…

What was that!?

Slowly, the tiger leaped down from a tree and approached the frightened Mother, glaring at her with fierce yellow eyes.

I will perhaps let you go unscathed…if you hand over one of those rice cakes.

Oh is that all? You can have all the rice cakes you want! Here…

Ahh..they look so tempting,..

As the tiger busied himself with the delicious rice cakes, the Mother turned and ran for her life.

The mother had just reached another hill, when the same tiger blocked her path once more

I demand more rice cakes! You must have another hidden somewhere….give it to me now!

I am sorry…this is my last one…I have to feed my children…

The Mother turned and ran as fast as she could, hoping to reach home.

But she wasn’t fast enough, and the tiger stopped her again.

Ah, you again! Your life for a rice cake! Give one more and you can go….

But I gave you all I had! I don’t have anymore, I swear!

Is that so? Well, well, and how do I fill my empty belly?

I am still hungry…what do you think I should do?

No…please…please let me go, I have children waiting for me…Please have mercy...

Oh, what a tragic story. I am so sorry for you…

Disregarding her please, the merciless tiger grabbed her with his powerful jaws…

Still blissfully unaware, the children sat side-by-side by the warm furnace,

watching the chestnuts roast in the crackling flames.

Suddenly, they heard a strange voice.

Oh children! Mummy’s home! Why don’t you open the door?

Oh! Mother! Mother! Mother is home!

No, wait! There’s something wrong here…that isn’t Mother’s voice…

If you really are our Mother, show us your hand!

Filled with doubt and suspicion, the brother refused to open the door.

His instincts had served him well.

The voice outside the door was not their Mother, of course, but the ravenous tiger.

Finishing off the Mother, he had come to devour the children too.

What a clever boy…but I can fool him.

I still have some grains of rice on my paw from all those rice cakes.

When they see it, they will believe I am their mother!

So the tiger confidently demonstrated his paw with the rice grains stuck to it.

The Brother and Sister fell for the devious trick and opened the door.

It really must be Mother! Let’s open the door and let her in.

Oh, no, a tiger!!!! Help! Help!

I hope you are as tasty as your Mother!

You ate our Mother!? NO!! Mother! NO!!

Oh, stop your whining!

Hmm...you two look even plumper and juicier than her…which should I eat first?

Why don’t you help me decide? Eenie-Meenie-Minie-Moe….

When the tiger pointed his paw at the Sister, the Brother cried out…

Hold on! I bet you’ve never had a chestnut!

What? What’s a chestnut? What is it? Tell me.

Well, it’s only the most delicious thing in the world! Don’t you want to try one?

Desperate to save himself and his sister, the Brother had come up with a plan.

Can they be more delicious than rice cakes?

Of course they are! They are perfectly scrumptious! Look, we are roasting some right now…

They certainly do look delicious, so brown and crunchy…just looking at them makes my mouth water.

I will try one!

Ahh!!! My mouth!!! It burns! It burns! Ahhh!!! Help!

In his eagerness to snatch a chestnut,

the foolish Tiger burned his paws and tongue on the blazing furnace.

As he blundered around the room in pain and fury, the Brother and Sister seized their chance and ran.

Running out into the backyard, they clambered up a tree beside the well.

Oh, Brother, I am so scared of that tiger!

I am so scared! Shhh! Try not to cry so loudly! If he hears us, we are lost!

The sister stopped crying and sat still quietly.

The tiger was furious with the Brother for fooling him and causing him to burn himself.

Those horrid children! They will pay for this, both of them! You can run, but you can’t hide!

Do you really think you can trick me and get away with it!?

At that moment, the tiger glimpsed the children’s reflection in the water.

Ah…that’s where you’re hiding! You thought you could hide from me?

You are trapped now, you fools! You’re mine!!!

What? Where are they? Where did they go? Those rascals have tricked me again!

Seeing the tiger splashing helplessly around in the water, the Brother could not restrain his laughter.

You ridiculous creature! Couldn’t you tell it was just our reflection? We’re up in a tree!

Silly tiger! We fooled you again!

A reflection!? Oh, how could I be so stupid! I will get you for this!

Finally realizing that the children had never been in the well,

the humiliated tiger grabbed hold of the rope and dragged himself out.

Ugh…it’s so slippery! Ow! Ouch! That hurt! I can’t do this…how did you two get up there?

If you tell me the truth, I won’t eat you! I promise, I promise!

You won’t!? Oh, it was so simple. We just used an axe to help us up one step at a time.

No! Why did you tell him!? But..But..

Ah! Thank you! Thank you very much! Ha ha ha!

Grabbing an axe, the tiger scaled the tree the way the Sister had told him. The two children were horrified.

Please decide our fate! Send us a strong rope if we are meant to survive, or a rotten one if we must die!

Ah! The rope has come! Let’s try it…Thank you!

What!? Am I to be robbed of my prey at the last minute? I will not submit to this!

Send me a strong rope to let me achieve my purpose or a rotten one to cast me to the earth to die!

A thick rope descended slowly from the sky.

The instant the tiger grabbed hold of the rope, it snapped. The tiger’s rope was rotten!

He fell to the ground with a crash and was killed.

The Brother and Sister climbed their strong rope all the way into the sky

and became the sun and the moon to shed their light upon the world day and night.