Once upon a time an old man and woman lived in the mountains. Everyday the old man went to the mountain and collected firewood， while the old woman went to the river and did the laundry. One day， she was doing the washing when a big peach came floating down the river towards her. As it was a big and juicy-looking fruit， she thought that her husband would be glad to eat it so she took it home. When the old man came back for lunch and saw the nice peach， he was really happy. The old woman cut the big peach open with a knife. What a surprise！ A lovely little boy was in the peach.
The old man and woman had no children so they were really grateful the gods had sent them a boy in this peach. Since he was born in a peach， they decided to call him Momotaro which means “peach-boy”。 The old woman cooked a meal for the little boy who ate as much as he could； the more he ate， the more he grew. Soon he became a tall and strong boy.
No matter how tall or strong he was， Momotaro was a lazy boy. Day after day， all he did was sleep and eat. In the village the other boys went to the mountain and picked firewood while Momotaro was the only one doing nothing. This worried the old man and the old woman， so they asked the other boys to try to make Momotaro go and work with them.