The Terrible Leak
by Yushiko Uchida
created by Linda Shaffer
Narrator 1 --- Old Man --- Boy --- Theif --- Wolf
Narrator 2 --- Tiger --- Monkey
Narrator 1 - One rainy night, long, long ago, a small boy sat with
his grandmother and grandfather around a charcoal brazier. They told
stories and talked of many things. Outside, the wind blew and the
rain splattered on the thatched roof of the cottage.
Old man - I surely hope we don't have a leak. Nothing would be so
terrible as to have to put up a new thatched roof now when we are so
busy in the fields.
Narrator 1 - The little boy listened to the lonely wail of the wind
as it whipped through the bamboo grove. He shivered, and turned to
look at his grandfather's face. It was calm and smiling and
unafraid.
Boy - Ojii-san, is there anything you're afraid of?
Old man - (laugh while saying) Why, of course, lad there are many
things a man fears in life.
Boy - Well then what are you most afraid of in all the world?
Old man - (Say looking proud) Let me see. Among human beings, I think
I fear a thief the most.
Narrator 2 - Now, at the very moment the old man was saying this, a
thief had climbed onto the roof of the cowshed, hoping to steal one
of the cows. He happened to hear what the old man said, and he thrust
out his chest proudly.
Thief - So, I am the very thing the old man fears most in all the
world. (Laugh)
Boy - Ojii-san, of all the animals in the world, which one are you
most afraid of?
Old man - Of all the animals, I think I fear the wolf the most.
Narrator 2 - Just as the old man said this, a wolf was prowling
around the cowshed, for he had come to see if there were some
chickens he might steal. When he heard what the old man said, he
laughed to himself.
Wolf - (Say looking proud) Ah-ha! So I am the animal the old man
fears the most.
Narrator 1 - But inside the house the boy went on.
Boy - Ojii-san, even more than a thief or a wolf, what are you the
most, most , most afraid of?
Narrator 1 - The old man sat thinking for a long while. He thought
again how terrible it would be to have a leak in his roof.
Old man - Well, the one thing I fear most of all right now is a leak!
And I'm afraid one may come along any minute!
Narrator 2 - Now when the thief and the wolf heard this, they didn't
know the old man was talking about a leak in the roof.
Thief - A leak, what kind of terrible animal could that be? If the
old man fears it more than a thief or a wolf, it must be a fearsome
thing!
Narrator 1 -Down below the wolf thought the same thing.
Wolf - A leak must be a dreadful creature if the old man fears it
more than me or a thief.
Narrator 1 - And he peered into the darkness, wondering if a leak
might not spring out of the forest, for the old man had said one
might come at any moment.
Narrator 2 - Up on the roof of the cowshed, the thief got so excited
he slipped and tumbled down into the darkness. But instead of falling
to the ground, he fell right on the back of the wolf. The wolf gave a
frightened yelp. From somewhere above him in the dark night,
something had leaped on his back and was clutching his neck.
Narrator 1 -Both the wolf and the thief had the same thoughts.
Wolf - This must be the terrible leak the old man talked about.
Thief - I must be on the back of the terrible leak the old man talked
about.
Narrator 1 - Fearfully the thief closed his eyes and hung on to the
wolf. The harder the thief clung to the wolf's neck, the faster the
wolf ran. Finally, when he felt a big branch sweep past, he caught it
and swung himself up into a tree. But the wolf did not know what had
happened. When he finally stopped, he realized the thing on his back
was gone.
Wolf - (say with a sigh of relief) Ah, the leak has dropped off
somewhere.
Narrator 2 - The next morning, the wolf went to see his friend, the
tiger.
Wolf - Mr. Tiger, Mr. Tiger! What a terrible fright I had last night.
Do you know what kind of creature a leak is?
Tiger - (shake your head) Why, I don't believe I've ever heard of
anything called a leak. What is it?
Wolf - It is something human beings fear more than anything else in
this world. And do you know, one of those terrible creatures jumped
on my back last night? I ran all night through the forest with this
leak hanging onto my neck, for it clutched at me and almost choked me
to death!
Tiger - Ah, how terrible that must have been.
Wolf - (Take a deep breath) The leak dropped off somewhere after I
got into the forest, but I'm sure it must still be here. If we don't
capture it, none of us will ever be safe again. Will you help me to
find it?
Tiger - (nodding) Certainly, I'll help. Besides, I'd like to see what
a leak looks like. I wonder if it has two heads.
Narrator 1 - And so the tiger and the wolf set off to look for the
terrible leak. As they prowled through the forest, a monkey sitting
in a tree peered through the leaves and saw them below.
Monkey - Say, Mr Tiger! Mr. Wolf! Where are you going with such
worried frowns on your faces?
Tiger - We are searching for a leak.
Wolf - It is something so terrible that human beings fear it more
than a thief or a wolf. It must surely be the most fearsome thing in
the whole world, and we cannot live safely in this forest until we
capture it.
Monkey - A leak? Why, I've never heard of such a creature. Surely,
you must be mistaken.
Wolf - (shaking his head) No, no! I am not mistaken, for this very
creature clutched at my throat and rode on my back all the way into
the forest last night. It dropped off somewhere, and must be hiding
near us this very minute!
Narrator 1 - Now the monkey had seen the wolf running through the
forest the night before, with the thief hanging on to his neck. He
suddenly realized that his terrible thing they feared was only a
human being.
Monkey - Why, if that is the thing you are searching for, I can tell
you where he is. He is sitting on one of the branches of the tree
over there. In fact, I shall go and capture him single-handed if you
want me to.
Narrator 2 - The tiger and the wolf looked over at the tree where the
monkey pointed. Sure enough, there, on one of the branches sat a
creature. The tiger growled and bared his long, sharp teeth. The wolf
looked up at the sky and started to howl. The thief heard their
cries, and fell off the branch into a hole in the trunk of the tree.
As the three animals saw him fall, they ran over to the tree and
stood around the hole where the thief was hiding.
Monkey - Now, how shall we go about capturing this leak?
Tiger - Whoever captures him will be king of the forest for he will
surely be the bravest and strongest of all.
Monkey - That is an excellent idea.
Narrator 1 - The monkey marched right up to the hole in the tree
trunk, thrust his tail inside, and flipped it about.
Monkey - Are you in there, Mr. Leak? Are you inside?
Thief - It will never do to let them capture me. For if they catch me
they will surely kill me.
Narrator 2 - He decided he must do something to frighten them away,
so he grabbed the monkey's tail and pulled as hard as he could. Then,
he growled and shouted fiercely. He pulled so hard the monkey's tail
broke off with snap.
Monkey - My tail, by tail! My beautiful tail!
Narrator 1 - And he ran off into the forest.
Wolf - The leak is certainly a fearful thing.
Narrator 2 - And he ran off into the forest.
Tiger - It is best to leave such fearful things alone.
Narrator 1 - And he ran off into the forest.
Narrator 2 - When all the animals had gone, the thief crept out of
the tree trunk and ran as fast as he could out of the forest. The
thief never learned that what he thought was the terrible leak was
only a frightened wolf, and the wolf never discovered that what he
thought was the most terrible thing in all the world was only a
frightened thief.
Narrator 1 -The little boy and his grandmother and grandfather didn't
have to be afraid of a leak in the roof after all, for in the
stillness of the night the rain stopped, the moon came out bright and
clear, and the next days were full of the promise of sunshine.