Time Slip Trouble
Ren English Readers · Level A2
“Why are we at this scary shrine again?” asked Sora. He looked up the hill. Trees covered the stairs.
“I wanted to find the ghost,” said Ren. “The last time we were here, it was closed.”
Sora bit his fingernails. “There are too many secrets here.”
“I know about the samurai who will take you if you don’t do your homework.” Ren smiled. “What are the other secrets?”
“I heard about dangerous animals.” Sora bit his fingernails.
“Don’t worry, Sora. I’ll protect you,” said Momo.
“Why do you like that shrine?” asked Sora.
“It is the oldest and biggest shrine around here,” said Hana. “This is Susanoo-no-Mikoto’s shrine.”
“Who’s he?” asked Ren.
“He’s the kami of storms and chaos. He’s always causing trouble,” said Hana. “Long ago, people were worried about storms. They built this shrine for him.”
“Did it work?” asked Ren.
“Maybe. Let’s go up the stairs. Maybe we can find the ghost.” Hana laughed.
“Do you believe in ghosts?” asked Ren.
Hana looked ahead. “Not really, but I love a good mystery.”
They walked up the stairs. Sora stayed behind the other three. “There’s going to be trouble. I can feel it.” He hugged himself.
“Hold my hand, Sora,” said Momo. “We can do this together.”
“Okay.” Sora reached out and took Momo’s hand.
At the top of the shrine, they saw the rabbit statue inside the gate. “Why is this here?” asked Ren.
“Maybe there’s a festival.” Hana rubbed the statue. “It’s warm.”
Ren joined her. So did Momo. “You’re right,” said Ren.
“You shouldn’t go in there.” Sora looked left and right.
“Come on, scaredy-cat. Rub the statue.” Momo smiled.
Sora rubbed the statue. “The statue is hot.” He shook his hand. “Hey! Where’s the shrine?”
The other three turned around.
“What the...?” Hana stepped forward.
Momo pointed down the hill. “What happened to the stairs?”
Ren sniffed the air. “The air smells different. It smells a little stinky. It’s cold, too.”
The rabbit statue stayed in the same spot. Hana touched it again, but nothing happened. “The statue is cold. Let’s go down the hill. Be careful.”
The four crept down the hill. At the bottom, the street was gone. A dirt path went past the hill, with a wooden house next to the path.
“That wasn’t here before,” said Hana.
“Let’s go onto the street.” Momo held her stomach. “I can smell food.”
They went to the edge of the house. The two men were carrying swords and wearing black clothes.
“Those are samurai. They have the right haircut. I think we time slipped.” Hana pulled her hair. “This is impossible.”
“You’re joking.” Sora bit his nails.
“When are we?” asked Momo.
“I don’t know.” Hana sounded nervous.
“Shush! Someone is coming,” Momo said.
A boy ran down the dirt street. He was carrying a bamboo tube. Hana ran into the street to stop him. The boy moved past her, tripped and fell, dropping the tube.
“What are you doing?” he asked angrily. “You made me fall! I have an important thing to do.”
“Sorry. Can you tell us where we are?” asked Hana.
“Are you crazy? Get out of my way!” he said. He picked up his bamboo tube and ran away. A roll of paper fell out of the back of the tube.
Hana picked up the paper. “Stop!” she shouted.
The boy turned the corner.
“Get back here!” shouted Sora.
Hana moved back behind the building.
“Why did you do that?” asked Ren.
“I wanted to find out what year it is.” Hana opened the paper and gasped. “We really did time slip. This is the Edo period.”
“When is the Edo period?” asked Ren.
“About two hundred years ago,” said Hana. “This is a report of the Black Ship coming to Japan.”
“Black Ship? What do you mean?” asked Ren.
“It’s when the Americans first came to Japan,” said Hana. “This is a very difficult time. Many people were hurt or killed.”
“Really? Are you sure?” asked Ren. His smile grew bigger.
“Don’t smile like that!” Sora trembled. “We could get hurt!”
“Sorry, but I love adventure. Are we going to be okay?” Ren asked.
“I don’t know, but this is very strange.” Hana bit her lip. “Why are we here?”
“Let’s go exploring. Maybe we’ll find out,” said Ren.
“Good idea. Maybe we can find some good food.” Momo rubbed her hands together.
Sora curled into a ball. “No! I want to go home.”
“We can try, but the shrine is gone. How are we going to get home?” asked Hana.
“Does it have any connection to the shrine?” asked Momo.
“Let me check again.” Hana opened the paper. Her eyes got bigger as she got closer to the bottom. “Oh no!” She slapped her head.
“What is it?” asked Sora.
“This paper is important. We have to give it back to the boy. It asks the lord of this land to build a shrine to Susanoo,” said Hana.
“You mean the shrine we were at?” asked Ren.
Hana nodded. “This is my fault. He dropped the letter when I stopped him.” She bit her lip.
“Everyone makes mistakes. Let’s find him,” said Ren.
“I’m going to stay here,” said Sora.
“Come on, Sora. We should stay together.” Momo pulled him along.
Sora frowned. “Okay. But we have to be careful.”
The four followed the boy.
“Which way did he go?” asked Hana. She bit her nails.
“There’s an old woman over there washing some clothes. Maybe she saw something,” said Ren.
“I’ll go ask her.” Hana stepped out of the trees.
“Wait!” Sora grabbed her arm.
“What is it, Sora?” asked Hana.
“Momo should go,” said Sora.
“Me?” Momo pointed to her nose.
“Maybe, but this is my fault.” Hana stomped her foot. “I have to fix it!”
“It’s not your fault, but Momo’s also the friendliest. Everyone talks to her. Ren looks like a foreigner, and you are too upset.” Sora bit his fingernail.
“What about you, Sora?” Ren asked.
“I’m too nervous.” Sora raised his hands.
“Sora’s right,” said Momo. “I’ll be right back.”
Hana trembled in anger. “I should be doing this.” She hit the tree with her fist.
“Next time,” said Ren. “And be careful. You’ll hurt your hand.”
The three watched Momo talk to the old woman. Momo bowed. The old woman slapped her knee and went inside her house. When she came back outside, she handed Momo a package.
“What was that?” asked Hana.
“The old woman saw the boy. He turned at the corner,” said Momo.
“What did she give you?” asked Sora.
Momo opened the package. “Kusaya. Stinky fish. My stomach rumbled. She gave me some food.” She licked her lips.
Sora held his nose. “Don’t eat that. It stinks.”
Ren and Hana stepped away from Momo. They held their noses, too.
“It was a gift. Itadakimasu.” Momo licked her lips and ate the fish. “Mmmm. Yummy.”
Sora closed his eyes. “No thank you.” He stuck out his tongue.
“Let’s go,” said Hana. “I want to find the boy.”
After running down the street, they turned the corner quickly. Two samurai stopped them.
“Halt! Who are you? Why are you running?” asked the samurai on the right.
“It’s dangerous. You could hit someone,” said the samurai on the left.
“We are looking for a boy with a bamboo tube. Have you seen him?” asked Hana.
“He turned left at the corner,” the samurai on the right said.
“You have strange clothes. Where did you come from?” asked the samurai on the left. He put his hand on his sword. “Answer me.”
The samurai on the right put his hand on his sword.
“Umm.” Hana looked at Ren. He stepped back.
Ren looked at Momo. She burped. “Sorry.”
“We came from the south.” Sora bowed. His legs were shaking. “Our friend dropped a message. We have to give it back.”
“Where in the south?” asked the samurai on the right. His hand closed around his sword.
Sora swallowed. “Tosa province.”
The two samurai relaxed and removed their hands from their swords. “I have met many samurai from Tosa province. They love to travel and wear different clothes,” said the samurai on the right.
“Please be more careful.” The samurai on the left crossed his arms. “The next time will be more dangerous.”
“We will.” Sora bowed. The other three copied Sora.
Around the corner, Momo grabbed Sora’s arm. “What was that?”
Sora wiped his head. “I love old samurai dramas. I watched a story about Sakamoto Ryoma last week. He was from Tosa Province. It is called Kochi today.”
“You were very brave, Sora,” said Ren.
“Thank you,” said Hana. “I should have been more careful.”
“That’s okay.” Sora’s face turned red.
“You’re really strong, Sora.” Momo hugged the smaller boy.
Sora’s face turned redder.
“Let’s go. We have to find this boy. He needs the paper,” Ren said.
“Don’t run,” said Hana. “Nobody is running. We don’t want another samurai to stop us.”
“Good idea. Sora, you take the lead,” said Ren.
“Me? Why?” Sora asked.
“You know most about the people here. You have saved us twice. You can do it!” Ren stuck out his fist.
Sora bumped Ren’s fist and walked in front.
They walked quickly down the street and turned at the corner. An old man was pulling a cart. He shouted, “Yaki-imo!”
Momo sniffed the air. “That’s yaki imo.” She turned towards the smell.
“That’s a roasted potato, right?” asked Ren.
“Yes.” Hana nodded.
“They are really yummy. I want to try one,” Momo went towards the cart.
Ren grabbed her shoulder. “We don’t have time. We have to find the boy.”
Momo frowned. “Okay, but it smells so good.”
“I know. Maybe after we find the boy,” said Ren.
“Besides, we don’t have any money, Momo. We can’t buy a potato,” said Hana.
Momo clapped her hands together. “Maybe if we asked nicely?”
The other three shook their heads. As they walked down the street, the boy with the bamboo tube ran towards them.
“Wait,” Hana said.
“You!” He was really angry. “Leave me alone! You made me drop my letter. My Master will kill me!” He ran past them and turned the corner. They heard a loud crash.
“Oh my god!” Hana couldn’t move.
“He was too quick,” Ren said. “Hurry, let’s run after him.”
The four ran around the corner. The yaki imo cart was on the ground, with yaki imo everywhere. The old man was holding his head.
“We have to help him,” said Momo.
“But what about the boy?” asked Hana. “He might die! It will be my fault!”
“No, it won’t. He can wait.” Momo went to the old man. “Are you all right?” she asked.
The old man nodded. “That boy was in a big hurry.”
Ren and Sora picked up the cart. Ren checked the wheels. Hana touched the pots on the ground. “They’re hot.”
“Be careful of those,” said the old man. “You could burn yourself.”
“I will.” Hana took out her handkerchief from her pocket. Momo helped her put the pots back on the cart.
The old man checked his pots. “My hot coal is okay.”
“That’s good.” Momo pulled a small coin from her pocket. “Can I trade you for one?”
“You can’t use that here,” Hana said. “That’s a modern coin.”
“It’s okay. Your help was enough. Here you are.” He gave them two fried sweet potatoes in a thick piece of paper. “Thank you for helping me.”
“Thank you.” Momo licked her lips. “They smell delicious.”
“We can’t eat now,” said Hana. “We have to find the boy.”
“But they are hot,” said Momo.
“Later!” Hana ran after the boy.
“I’ll stay with her. You two catch up,” said Ren.
“Okay,” grumbled Momo.
Sora opened his bag. “Put them in here, Momo. My bag is special. It’ll keep them warm.”
“Thank you, Sora.” Momo put the potatoes in the bag.
“That is a strange bag,” said the old man.
“We brought it from Tosa province,” said Sora.
The old man smiled.
Momo and Sora ran after the other two. They caught up to them at the corner.
“Which way did the boy run?” asked Hana. “We lost him!” She sank to her knees. Ren rubbed her back.
The old man pointed down the street. “He turned right at the corner.”
“He?” Hana looked up. Her face was covered in tears.
“The boy who hit me.” The old man scratched his face.
“He must be going back to the shrine hill,” said Ren. “We can catch him there.”
The four bowed to the old man. Then they ran after the boy.
“We should be careful. Running is dangerous,” said Hana.
“How are we going to beat the boy back to the shrine?” asked Sora.
Hana stopped. “We can’t beat the boy. He’s running too fast. Besides, we helped the old man. We should go back to the shrine.”
“Why?” asked Sora.
“I have his letter here. Maybe we can find him.” Hana held up the letter.
The four passed the samurai from earlier on the way back to the shrine.
“It’s good not to run. We were making many mistakes.” Hana rubbed her hands together.
“Everybody makes mistakes,” said Sora.
Near the shrine, they found the boy sitting on the ground. He was crying.
“Are you okay?” asked Hana.
“No. I can’t find the letter. My Master is going to be very angry with me,” said the boy.
“I’m very sorry.” Hana handed him the letter. “We found this where you fell. We were trying to give it back to you. I’m sorry I stopped you. This was my fault.”
The boy jumped up. “You opened it. Why?”
“I needed to find out what was on it,” said Hana. “My friends and I are strangers here. With the Black Ships coming, everything is changing.”
“That’s true. My master is very worried.” He took the letter and put it back in the bamboo tube. “You found my letter. Thank you. It was my fault too. I shouldn’t run. I hit a yaki-imo cart as well.”
“We helped the old man pick up his cart,” said Ren.
“Really. Thank you.” The boy bowed. “I have to go, but I won’t run.” He bowed to the four again.
They watched him go around the corner.
“We did it,” said Ren.
“Yes, but why are we still here?” asked Sora.
“So, we can try the yaki-imo.” Momo looked at the other three.
“Let’s go back to the shrine first,” said Hana.
They walked back up the hill.
“This is a lot harder without steps.” Sora was breathing hard.
“I agree.” Hana grabbed a branch. “There are too many rocks here.”
“We’re almost there,” said Ren.
At the top, the rabbit statue was there, but nothing else. Hana touched it. “It’s not hot.”
“What do you mean?” asked Ren.
“When we came here, the statue was hot,” said Hana.
“What do we do now?” asked Sora. He hit the ground. “We’re stuck here.”
“Don’t worry, Sora. Everything will work out. Let’s eat.” Momo clapped her hands.
Sora stared at her. “Why are you so happy all the time, Momo?”
“Because you’re so grumpy. Someone has to be happy.” Momo laughed.
“I am not grumpy.” Sora opened his bag, took out the yaki-imo and broke it into two. He gave one to Momo and one to Ren. After that, he broke the second one in two and gave one to Hana.
“Itadakimasu,” the four friends said together.
“It’s still hot,” said Momo. Her mouth was full of sweet potato.
“How will we get back home?” asked Ren.
“I don’t know. Let’s touch the statue again. Maybe it will work,” said Hana. She stood up. The other three joined her. Sora’s hand shook, but he grabbed the leg.
“Nothing’s happening,” said Sora. “Wait. It’s hot.”
“Excuse me,” said a voice behind them. “What are you doing?”
The four jumped to their feet. They saw a man wearing a white shrine outfit.
“You!” Ren shouted. “You were the ghost!”
“How dare you. I’m not a ghost.” The man crossed his arms. “Why are you eating here?”
“When we came up here, the shrine was gone,” said Hana. “We time-slipped and went to Edo. There, we helped a boy deliver a message and got yaki-imo.”
He laughed. “You touched the rabbit when it was hot, didn’t you?”
“Yes, we did,” said Ren. He looked at the man. “How’d we get back here?”
“You fixed your mistake. He got the letter back,” said the man. He stared at Ren.
“What do you mean?” asked Sora. “Tell us!” He stomped his foot.
“Are there more secrets?” asked Ren.
“I can’t tell you that. It’s against the rules. However, this shrine has a lot of secrets,” said the man. “You’re not ready yet. Maybe you can find them.” He looked at his watch. “It’s time to close. Please come back tomorrow.”
The four friends walked down the stairs.
“Are you sure you’re not a ghost?” asked Ren.
The old man touched the side of his nose. “Trust me. I’m not.” A cold wind blew from behind him. Ren shivered.
Ren stepped away from the man slowly and went down the stairs. “Was that a dream?” he asked.
“I don’t think so,” said Hana. “The sweet potato was real.”
“Let’s not come back here again,” said Sora.
“I had fun.” Momo clapped her hands.
“You like anything where you get food.” Sora sighed.
“Of course.” Momo rubbed her stomach.
The four friends walked down the stairs. At the bottom, Ren looked up at the shrine.
“I’m coming back here again. I want to find out the shrine's secrets,” he said.
“We’ll help,” said Momo and Hana together.
“But next time we’ll think before we act,” said Hana.
Sora grabbed his head. “I hate this place.”