Japanese Fairy Tales
Momotaro, or the Story of the Son of a Peach
by Yei Theodora Ozaki
An old woman finds a large peach in a river, and when she and her husband cut it open to eat it, they find a child inside. They are overjoyed to now have a son to ease their lonely days. When the boy is fifteen, he goes off to rid the land of devils who live on an island, and takes a dog, a monkey, and a pheasant with him. He is victorious over the devils and returns home to live happily with his parents.