As the saying goes, “A horse without legs can travel a thousand miles,” words spread quickly in an instant.
And as it passes from mouth to mouth, it keeps growing and growing, and before you know it, it becomes a new rumor and changes into something completely different from what it was at first.
This new book by Tatsuya Miyanishi, a picture book author known for his witty stories, comically depicts the process by which rumors change in unexpected ways as they are passed from mouth to mouth.

The pig is crying because he is upset because of the wolf.
The wolf offered to trade sweet potatoes for rice balls, but he only took the pig's rice balls and ran away.
The pig complains to the mouse who asks why he is crying.
The mouse runs to the rabbit and tells him the pig's story of injustice.
But the story is a little different.
The rabbit tells the pig's story to the monkey, and the monkey tells the raccoon's story again.
Meanwhile, the story takes a surprisingly absurd turn.
It's unbelievable that a pig holding a rice ball suddenly turns into a wolf and then into a sweet potato.
By the time the raccoon runs out of breath and tells the hippo his story, it's so far off that it's hard to remember what happened in the first place.
The hippopotamus hears rumors about a pig that has been turned into a sweet potato and goes out to find it. However, he is terrified when he sees a wolf trying to swallow the sweet potato in one bite.
Because I can't let my friend the pig get eaten by the wolf.
The hippopotamus, who saved the pig, is holding the pig, which has turned into a sweet potato, in his arms as he returns home, when he witnesses an unexpected sight.

The author, who displays a unique sense of humor in each of his works, makes readers laugh with a surprising twist in this story as well.
This short story will help young readers experience the power and fun of words as a tool for understanding and communicating with one another.