Japanese folktales

This story is called Only an Oni, written and read by Ryan Aoto. This is a LibraryCall recording. The clothes dryer exploded. That was a problem. There was a pair of underwear stuck to the ceiling. That was funny, but also a problem. There was a pair of underwear on fire, in the middle of the room. That was funny, and a problem, and also extremely dangerous. Why had the dryer exploded? There had been a demon in it. Why was there a demon in the dryer? A boy named Haruo had put it there. Why had Haruo put a demon in a dryer?

The Monkey and the Crab by Ryan Aoto, adapted from the Japanese folktale The Monkey and Crab Battle. This is a LibraryCall Recording. One day, a monkey walked down to the riverbank. There, he saw a crab holding an omusubi, a ball of rice wrapped in seaweed. The monkey’s first thought was to run over and steal the omusubi for himself, as he was both hungry and greedy. The crab was smaller than him, so he shouldn’t have much trouble. Just as he was about to run over, he noticed the crab’s sharp claws. “I would not want to be pinched by those,” the monkey thought.