A magical fairy tale that breathes warmth into forgotten and abandoned things.

This book is a story about a very insignificant thief.
“It would be difficult if you asked me to go into a chocolate tin or a cookie tin.
But if it's a house, I can go anywhere," said the thief Dorobong often.
He always looks around with sleepy, narrow eyes and then does something secretly in front of a door or window.
Then any door will open in the blink of an eye.

Too old to be a child, too young to be a grandfather.
He is too short to be called tall, and too tall to be called short.

Always be in the middle of something and something else.
It's neither here nor there, so no one will remember.
That is why no one thinks of Doro Peak when they come across it on the road or pass by it.

It's not just because of his appearance that Dorobong has been able to steal over a thousand times without getting caught.
The only things he steals are a juicer, a metal bar that looks like a health supplement, a remote control that doesn't know what it does, a noodle machine that's been stored away unused, a potted cactus, new baby shoes, a professional ping-pong racket, a chocolate cookie tin, a wooden red-billed gull, curtains that have never been hung, an empty glasses case, an album with only one photo in it, and a screw that's been carefully wrapped in plastic.

Even if you ask why it is like that, there is no way to explain.
Because I heard a voice.

It's just an item that even the owner has forgotten it was there.
Dorobong always heard voices like those.
The owner of the item may not have known it was missing, so no police report was ever filed.

'Phuuuu- hoo hoo hoo-'
When a sigh as if the wind was escaping comes from a house, Dorobong instinctively knows that the door of that house is unlocked and that no one is there at the moment.
Then, while listening to the faint voice of the object, he chants a strange spell and gathers his thoughts as one.


Road Peak Road Peak
Road road road
The snake's body has no tail.
A snake's tail has no body.
Road Peak Road Peak
Road road road

Just because there are no traces or victims doesn't mean the items Dorobong stole were worthless.
From the second floor of one house, a diamond ring was stolen, from another, a luxury foreign car was stolen, and from a luxurious, wealthy home, a large painting of unknown value was stolen.
What's even stranger is that the owners are glad that such expensive items are gone.
How is this possible?

A person who is thankful that the ring left behind by a lover who left behind, a foreign car, and the father's belongings that no one wants because they are worthless have disappeared.
The story of these forgotten and abandoned objects continues with the stories of people who each carry their own pain.

“Dorobong may have come to our house too.
Just thinking about it makes me feel really good.

“He’s a thief!”
Perhaps that is why author Naoko Higashi said that.

“Aren’t there good thieves in the world?”
The stories about the stolen items that Dorobong revealed in the investigation room clearly show the stories and lives of each of us contained in those items.
And even the detectives who were interrogating him were disarmed by the affection of the thief Dorobong, who listened to the sounds made by such objects and approached them with his heart.


And Dorobong, who decided to become a real thief to rescue Yozora, a dog who was being abused by her owner, and disappeared from prison.
The story of detective friends desperately searching for Doro Bong to prevent him from becoming a real thief is heartwarming until the very end.


Although it is a fairy tale for children, it is full of poetic sentences, and the dreamy yet realistic feel that does not feel exaggerated, and the emotion felt in the relationship between the detective and the thief who sincerely understand each other's situation are especially touching.
This literary quality and the weight of the work's theme are probably the reasons why it received favorable reviews from the Japanese children's literature community, as well as winning the 48th Japan Children's Literature Association New Writer's Award and the 64th Shogakukan Children's Publishing Culture Award.



The story of a thief who is so special and so ordinary that he resembles us.

For a fairy tale protagonist, Dorobong is very ordinary.
Although he is a thief, he does not have the appearance of a cool gentleman or flashy skills like the thief Lupin. He only has a plain appearance that no one would think of when he passes by, and a simple ability to listen when an object makes a sound.
In fact, hearing the sounds of objects is a great ability, but Dorobong thinks and acts as if nothing happened.
So ordinary that it's not ordinary, maybe this is just who we are.

We live in the ordinary, everyday life, without any sense of presence, but inside our hearts, like Dorobong, the ability to listen to anyone's words is stirring.



A world overflowing with discarded and useless things

Dorobong rescues useless items abandoned by their owners.
But were those things useless from the start? Each one had its own reason for being created.
At first, you bring things with a good heart, whether out of necessity or curiosity, but before you know it, you are captivated by the flood of new items and gradually neglect the things you already own.

But are silk objects the only things that are forgotten and discarded?
Wouldn't the feelings and memories I had when I first encountered that thing all be thrown away?

The more you do this, the more your mind becomes empty, and you end up in a vicious cycle of looking for new things again.

If circumstances change, things need to be organized rather than left unattended.
The items stolen by Dorobong each find new owners at the flea market and shine.
Just because I no longer need something doesn't mean the thing itself becomes useless.


The moment when you become a real thief

Dorobong tries to become a real thief at the last moment.
He set out to rescue a dog that was being abused by its owner.
But this time, you're not alone.
The detectives who had listened to Dorobong's absurd and strange story in the interrogation room for ten days also came out.
They desperately search for and help Dorobong to prevent him from becoming a real thief.

In a world full of the abandoned and forgotten, if you just listen and pay attention a little, beautiful things will happen without a second thought.



A fairy tale that adults read first and then pass on to children

Hasn't everyone had a time in their childhood when they felt incredibly sad, like they were forgotten or abandoned?
Nowadays, there are many children whose parents separate frequently and sometimes spend time alone for other reasons.
In these times, if we shared this book with children, how many memories and stories could emerge, how many moments of young lives could be revealed? Just imagining it is thrilling.
Perhaps children will recall the little dolls they played with until they were gone, and how many stories and conversations can be told through those forgotten objects?
Wouldn't such stories take us back to precious times or give us warm comfort now?