This A2 Elementary retelling of The White Hare of Inaba keeps the plot clear for learners while still giving the story some atmosphere and momentum. There was once a white hare who lived on Oki Island. He was clever and quick, but he was also very lonely.
This version teaches Japanese through English and includes clickable word help inside the story, full story audio, and lesson notes after the reading. It is free to use on Yak Yacker and is designed to feel natural, readable, and manageable for learners.
There was once a who lived on . He was and quick, but he was also very . Every day, he looked across the sea and dreamed of the mainland.
One morning, the hare saw a group of swimming near the shore. 'Hello, sharks!' he called. 'How many of you are there? I wonder if there are more sharks than hares in the world.' The sharks looked at each other. 'We don't know,' one said. 'Can you us?'
'Of course!' said the hare with a smile. 'But you must , one after another, all the way to the mainland. Then I can count you easily.' The sharks thought this was a great idea. They quickly a long, bridge from the island to the shore.
The hare hopped happily from shark to shark, as he went. 'One, two, three…' His little feet pattered on their backs. When he was almost at the end, he couldn't help but laugh. 'Foolish sharks! I don't care how many you are-I just wanted to the sea!'
The last shark heard this and became . He snapped at the hare with his sharp teeth and pulled off all his soft white fur. 'Now you will remember not to us!' the shark growled. The hare lay on the beach, shivering and in terrible .
Soon, the hare saw some walking by. 'Please help me!' he cried. 'What should I do?' The travelers, who were not very kind, laughed and said, 'Go and swim in the sea, then roll in the sand. That will make you feel better.' The hare tried their advice, but it only made his skin more.
Later, a young man came along and saw the hare in tears. 'What happened?' he asked. The hare told him everything. 'Oh, you poor thing,' said the man. 'Wash yourself in the river water, then roll on soft green leaves. That will you.' The hare did as he was told, and soon his fur began to grow back, soft and white as before. He was never so lonely again.
A lonely white hare from Oki Island looked across the sea and dreamed of visiting the mainland.
The hare asked a group of sharks if they could line up so he could count them, secretly wanting to use them as a bridge.
The sharks agreed, forming a wobbly bridge to the mainland for the hare to cross.
As the hare hopped along the sharks, counting, he laughed and revealed his trick just before reaching the shore.
The last shark, furious, bit off the hare's fur, leaving him in pain on the beach.
Unkind travelers told the hare to swim in saltwater and roll in sand, which only made his pain worse.
A kind young man advised the hare to wash in fresh water and roll on soft leaves, healing him and ending his loneliness.
This story uses a few important words that help you follow the hare's journey. A hare is a rabbit-like animal, and lonely means sad because you are by yourself.
Other useful words are shore, mainland, trick, and heal. The shore is the edge of the sea, the mainland is the main land area, a trick is a sneaky plan, and to heal means to get better after being hurt.
- lonely = sad because you are alone
- shore = the land next to the sea
- trick = a sneaky or dishonest plan
- heal = become healthy again
The hare is clever, but he is not honest. He asks the sharks a question to make them trust him, then he uses their help to cross the sea. This is a good example of a character using words to get what he wants.
Notice the simple past tense in the story: lived, saw, called, thought, formed, snapped. In English, we often use the past tense to tell a story about something that already happened.
- Use the past tense for story events
- Words like saw and called show actions that happened before now
- The hare's speech makes the story lively and direct
The story repeats a clear pattern: first the hare is hurt, then he gets bad advice, and finally he gets good advice. This makes the story easy to follow and helps the listener compare the two kinds of help.
You can also notice contrast words like but and then. But shows a difference, and then shows the next step in a sequence. These small words are very useful for telling stories clearly.
- but = shows a contrast
- then = shows what happens next
- first / later / soon help organize the story
- Compare bad advice and good advice
The White Hare of Inaba is a story about cleverness, kindness, and the difference between helpful and unhelpful advice. It also reminds us that words can heal or hurt, depending on how we use them.
If you want to practice, try retelling the story in three parts: the trick, the injury, and the healing. Keep your sentences short and simple, and you will sound clear and confident.
- Retell the story in 3 steps
- Use short past-tense sentences
- Think about who was kind and who was not
The White Hare of Inaba comes from the Japanese / Kojiki myth tradition and is best known as a myth/fable. This Yak Yacker article is an original learner retelling based on Ancient Japanese myth; public domain, so the wording here is simplified for modern learners rather than copied from one old edition.
Older printings, translations, and retellings of this story can vary quite a bit. The original audience was usually kids/general, but this version is adapted for A2 Elementary learners studying Japanese. Good animal/moral story.
If you want to look into the source tradition, start with Wikipedia.
If you want to keep going, browse more in our Japanese section and review the Geography Vocabulary in Japanese. After that, try Japanese Question Words for another useful next step.
More Japanese to explore
Urashima Tarō: A Simple Japanese Folk Tale with Audio for Beginners
The Old Man Who Made Withered Trees Blossom – Japanese Story with Audio for Beginners
The Snow Woman: A Chilling Japanese Folktale for Elementary Learners (A2 Audio Story)
