Once upon a time, there lived a little old man and his two little granddaughters. The little granddaughters were always lonely because they didn't have any friends their own age to play with. But one day, that all changed.
"Ayame, Suzume," the little old man said to his granddaughters. "Kenshin-san is making mochi. Why don't you two go help him."
"Hai, Jiichan!" the little girls replied and they ran off to help make the mochi.
"Little ones!" said Kenshin as the girls entered the room. "Have you come to help me?"
"Uh huh," said Suzume. She plopped herself onto the floor next to Kenshin and watched curiously. Ayame followed suit.
Eventually, the little girls became bored and Kenshin took notice. "Little ones," he said. "We already have enough mochi. Why don't you two make little shapes out of what's left." The girl's faces lit up at this suggestion.
"Suzume, let's make a little mochi boy to play with!" Ayame said.
"Yay!" cheered her younger sister.
The girls worked perfecting the shape of the mochi boy for what seemed like hours, sculpting every aspect of the face and body. Finally, Kenshin demanded they bake him. Ayame and Suzume glowed with pride as they watched him cook. He had spiky hair and wore funny little hakama. "Let's name him Yahiko," Suzume said.
"Okay!" Ayame agreed.
At last the mochi boy was done! But when Kenshin took him out of the oven, he leapt out of his hands! Laughing, the little boy shot out the door with Ayame and Suzume chasing after. The girls ran as fast as they could, but the mochi boy just ran faster.
Still laughing, he called over his shoulder,
"Run,
run, as fast as you can!
You can't catch me,
I'm the mochi man!"
"Mochi BOY," shouted the girls. "Boy, not man!"
"Shaddup!" yelled the mochi boy. "I am too a man…" And with that, he ran out of sight.
The mochi boy then ran into a rooster. The rooster said to him, "Hey, wait! I haven't eaten in hours. Won't you let me eat you?"
The mochi boy shouted, "No way! I ran from two little girls and now I'll run away from you." He ran faster and faster laughing and shouting,
"Run, run, as fast as you can!
You can't catch me,
I'm the mochi man!"
"You look more like a mochi boy to me," called the rooster.
"Man!" cried the mochi boy. "I'm a man!" And with that, he ran out of sight.
The mochi boy ran on until he met a weasel. "Wow! You look good enough to eat," said the weasel.
The mochi boy shouted, "Yeah, like I'd let a weasel like you eat me. I ran from two little girls and a rooster and now I'll run from you!" He looked over his shoulder as he ran laughing and shouting,
"Run, run, as fast as you can!
You can't catch me,
I'm the mochi man!"
"You're not a man!" yelled the weasel. "Your just a little bratty boy."
"I'm a man, I tell you! A MAN!!!" And with that, the mochi boy ran out of sight.
The mochi boy ran and ran until he met a raccoon. "Whoa there," said the raccoon. "Why don't you come with me and we can have a… snack."
"No!" screamed the mochi boy. "I ran away from two little girls, a rooster and a weasel and now I'll run away from you!" As the raccoon chased him, the mochi boy called over his shoulder,
"Run, run, as fast as you can!
You can't catch me,
I'm the mochi man!"
"You're a boy!" shouted the raccoon. "A snot-nosed little boy!"
"I'M A MAN!!!" And with that, the mochi boy ran out of sight.
Next the mochi boy ran into a fox. This fox also wanted to eat the mochi boy, but she knew that he would never let her. So she said, "I'll just run along with you, wherever you plan on going."
But again the mochi boy ran faster and faster. He called, "I've run away from two little girls, a rooster, a weasel and a raccoon and now I'll run away from you!" The fox was gaining on him, so the mochi boy ran as fast as his little legs could carry him. He shouted,
"Run, run, as fast as you can!
You can't catch me,
I'm the mochi man!"
"You're quite a little man," said the fox.
"But I'm still a man!" cried the mochi boy. He continued running until he reached a river. He knew that he could never swim across, for the current was much too strong and the river was much too wide for a little mochi boy, but he wanted to keep running from the two little girls, the rooster, the weasel and the raccoon.
The fox said, "Just jump on my tail, and I'll take you across the river so you don't get eaten." He nodded and jumped on just as the two little girls, the rooster, the weasel and the raccoon all reached the riverbank.
Once they were in the water, the fox said, "You'd better move to my back, or you might fall off in this deep water." So the mochi boy did so.
A little farther on, the fox said, "You might get wet so you better come sit on my shoulder." So the mochi boy did so.
When they were almost to the other side of the river, the fox said to the mochi boy, "This is the deepest water yet! You had better climb onto my head." So the mochi boy did so.
Finally, the fox said, "We're almost there. Why don't you crawl onto my nose so you can jump off right when we get to the shore." So the mochi boy did so.
When they reached the other side of the river, the mochi boy prepared to jump off the fox's nose, but then… SNAP!!! The fox ate the mochi boy in one bite! And that was the end of the mochi boy.