『まほうのロッキングチェア』 子供のためのオーディオブック
英語で読める “The Magic Rocking Chair” の絵本
The Magic Rocking Chair
Page 1
The Brown family had just moved to Boston, and Jack was excited to live in a huge house in a new city. He was playing video games in his room, but he should have been helping his mother and father. There were still lots of boxes to unpack. Jack’s mother had called his name two times already. Then, once again, he heard, “Jack!” This time, his mother sounded angry. He put his game away, and he went downstairs.
Page 2
Jack’s mother said, “Here are your old toys that you never play with. Take them up to the attic, right now.” Jack did not know that there was an attic! That made him even more excited about his new house. Jack took the box of toys, and he went up to the third floor. There, in the ceiling, he saw the door to the attic.
Page 3
Jack saw a ladder leaning against the wall. He set up the ladder, and he climbed up to the attic. He could not wait to see what kinds of things were in the attic. “I bet there’s a spooky old chest,” he thought. “Or some creepy paintings!” Jack opened the door, and he poked his head through it. The attic was dark, but he could see that it was empty. Jack said, “How boring!” Then, he went down the ladder to get the box of toys.
Page 4
Jack went back up to the attic with the box of toys. He lifted the box through the door. Then, he climbed into the attic himself. He found the light switch, and he tried to turn it on. Nothing happened. He called down to his mother. He said, “Mom! The light doesn’t work in the attic.” Jack stood there for a few minutes, and his eyes got used to the darkness. He turned around, and “Oh! I didn’t see that before!” Jack was surprised to see an old rocking chair.
Page 5
Just then, Jack’s mother came up into the attic. She put in the new light bulb, and she turned on the light. That is when she and Jack got a good look at the rocking chair. Jack’s mom said, “It’s such a cute little chair. I bet it’s a perfect size for you, Jack.” And Jack said, “Look! There’s a world map carved into the back of it. Neat!” Jack’s mother said, “Let’s take it downstairs. Maybe your dad can clean it up and you can keep it in your room.” That made Jack happy.
Page 6
That night at dinner, they did not have a table or chairs. None of their furniture had arrived yet. So they all had to sit on the floor and use boxes as a table. Jack said, "It's really weird, sitting on the floor to eat dinner!" Then, just as soon as Jack had sat down, he remembered the chair from the attic. He asked his mom, “Can I use my rocking chair? I bet Dad wants to see it!” Jack’s mother said, “OK. You can use your rocking chair tonight.” So Jack ran upstairs to get his rocking chair.
Page 7
Jack brought his rocking chair into the dining room, and he set it next to the boxes they were using as a table. Jack’s dad said, “That’s a nice chair! What’s that written on the arms?” Jack had not noticed it before, but on the left arm, the word “DON’T” was written. And on the right arm, “ROCK” was written. "DON'T ROCK" Jack’s mother said, “What strange words to write on a rocking chair!” Jack asked, “Do you think it’s OK for me to rock?” Jack’s father laughed, and he said, “Sure. What could happen?”
Page 8
Jack sat down in his rocking chair, and he rocked as far back as he could. He was looking right up at the ceiling! When he came forward again, he said, “Ha! Nothing happened.” But then, he saw that his mother and father had disappeared. He was in a different room! People who he had never seen before were sitting around the table. They were all eating, but they were not using knives or forks. They were just using their hands!
Page 9
Jack asked the oldest man there, “Why do you eat with your hands?” The old man said, “We are Indian. This is the way our ancestors ate. They believed that feeling the warmth and textures of the food, in their hands made eating more pleasurable.” Then, the old man smiled and said, “Also, some of our food, like roti, is just too hard to eat with a fork or a spoon.” When Jack heard this, he realized that there was no right or wrong way to eat. He said, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” So, he began using his hands to eat the food. Then, without thinking, Jack rocked back in his chair.
Page 10
When Jack came forward again, he was in China! Once again there were no forks or spoons. But this time, everybody was using tiny chopsticks. A woman handed Jack a pair of chopsticks, and invited him to eat with them. Jack loved the Chinese dumplings, and ate everything on his plate. He was getting full, but he was given more. Jack thought it would be rude to not finish, so he ate everything again. After that, they brought him even more! Finally, the oldest person at the table said, “In China if you are full you have to leave a small piece of food on your dish. That way, we understand that you ate as much as you could. If there’s nothing left, we think you’re still hungry!” Jack said, “Oh!” Then, he laughed, and that made his chair rock back.
Page 11
This time he was at a dinner table in Japan. They had chopsticks, and they were sitting on the floor. Jack remembered laughing when his mom and dad had to sit on the floor because they did not have any chairs. When they did that, he thought it was strange. But now, he knew it was normal in some cultures, and he sat down on the floor, too. A girl who was about Jack’s age offered him a bowl of hot soup with thick, noodles called udon. Jack thought the soup was too hot, so he was waiting for it to cool. Then, he heard everybody making the slurping sounds. Jack had learned that slurping your food was rude. But the girl said, “It’s not rude in Japan. We slurp our hot food and drinks to make them cooler.” Jack also slurped down all of his udon. Then, Jack’s legs went to sleep from sitting on the floor. When he tried to stand up, he lost his balance He fell -- PLOP! -- right into his chair, and it rocked way back.
Page 12
Jack leaned forward, and he had traveled again! He saw people sitting on the floor, just like in Japan. But this time there was no dinner table. Jack was in Egypt. Everybody was sitting around a big tray with a lot of food on it. Nobody was eating, so Jack asked, “What are you waiting for?” A young man said, “We’re waiting for my grandfather. He’s the head of our family.” Then, an old man came into the room, and he sat down. Everyone said, “Bismillah,” which is a short prayer before eating. Then, the head of the family began to eat, and everyone followed. The young man offered Jack some food, but Jack said, “No, thank you. I’m full!” Everyone was shocked, and they kept offering food to Jack. Finally, the head of the family said, “In Egypt, it’s rude to reject food. Even if you’re not hungry, you must accept.” So, Jack joined them, and he ate some delicious hummus, a food spread made with chickpeas and olive oil. Suddenly, Jack realized that he had been gone for a long time. He needed to try to go home. He said goodbye to his new Egyptian friends, and he sat down in his chair, and he rocked back.
