Pathway to Japanese Literature

[Table of Contents]

Dr. Hoshino

Communication with Mars

The Canals of Mars

Are There Humans Living on Mars?

Aerial Flight

The Capital of Mars: Milchis Major City

Grand Welcome Party

Stomachache

The Tomato Incident

The Martian Nurse

Toward Earth

Ten Tarou's Report

Human Whiskers and Cat Whiskers

Crickets and Frogs

Dr. Hoshino

○

“Ten Tarou, deliver Father’s lunch box to him at the observatory.”

“Okay, I’m off!”

○

“Nyan-ko, Pichikun, come follow me.”
“Will you show me the observatory?”

Ten Tarou-san, I'll come along too.

○

“Alright everyone, let’s line up properly and head out!”

“Keep your steps together!”

“One two! One two!”

○

“Pichikun, don’t stick your nose right up against it.”

“But it smells amazing!”

“Oh dear, you’re right! How awful only getting to smell it!”

○

That’s the observatory. There’s where Father conducts his research into the world of stars.

The telescope for observing the moon and stars is located beneath that dome-shaped roof.

“Nyan-kun, you sure know your stuff!”

○

Is there a janitor here?

What a beautiful building.

Something was spinning round and round on the roof.

○

The Janitor brought a lunchbox to Father’s office.

I came along too.

“Well, well! If it isn’t Dr. Hoshino’s young master? The Doctor is in the laboratory.”

○

“So, is it okay if we go inside?”

“Ah, yes indeed! Go through that long corridor—it’s the round building at the end.”

○

There it was.

Oh my!

"That's quite a long corridor."

○

“This here’s Father’s Mars Laboratory, see?”
“Mars is the planet where humans live, right?”
“That’s right.”

○

"Oh my, what could that round cylindrical building connected over there be?"

"That building was the rocket hangar that flew to Mars."

I'd like to take a little peek.

○

“Ten Tarou-san, wait! Something seems off inside.”

It really was strange.

“Hmm... Well then, Nyan-chan, please investigate.”

○

Oh my! She was shocked! This was terrible!

○

(Clatter clatter)

Something had happened inside?

“Come down quickly and tell me what happened.”

○

"What's wrong, Nyan-chan?"

Inside the laboratory, there was a beard-pulling match.

"So they were fighting?"

○

That's right—it was Ten Tarou-san's father and Dr.Tsukino.

This looked bad! He needed to peek inside.

That settled it.

○

Let’s peek through this window. Shh! Quietly quietly.

Oh my!

What a strange fight.

○

“I simply cannot believe there are humans on Mars, I say.”

“No, you’re wrong—there are humans on Mars, I tell you.”

○

“This is outrageous! Pulling my beard—”

“My beard is also being pulled by you, I tell you.”

○

“Even if my beard gets pulled out，I won’t change my opinion.”

“Even if my head were torn off，I’d still believe it!”

○

"This way we'll never settle matters however long it takes. Let us pursue further research."

"Quite right - research takes precedence. Dr.Tsukino, kindly unhand my beard."

○

“This is inexcusable.”

“I must apologize as well.”

○

“Dr. Hoshino, you seem rather proud of that beard of yours.”
“Yours is truly splendid—though I’m afraid I mussed it up when I pulled. Here now, I’ve a comb.”

○

“This is most humbling.”

“No, no—the feeling is mutual.”

○

He wondered what would happen when they were pulling each other’s beards.

I should slip away quietly—no, I was too startled.

I was really worried—but I’m glad they made up.

○

“Father, I’ve brought your lunch box.”

○

“Oh, Ten Tarou.”

“Oh, Nyan-ko and Pichikun, you’ve done well. Do come in.”

○

“Well now, young master! Welcome, welcome! We were just playing barber with your father here.”

“Exactly right! Ahaha!”

Hmm-hmm

Hmm-hmm

Hmm-hmm

○

What’s today’s lunch box? Ah, these are rice balls wrapped in nori.

“What is it with you all? What’s so funny?”

“Hmm-hmm, snicker snicker.”

○

“Dr. Tsukino, how about one?”

“Well now, this happens to be my favorite. I shall partake of one.”

○

Well, if we assume this represents Mars...

○

"Are we discussing the matter of Martian canals?"

"Precisely so. When observed through a telescope, all waterways appear perfectly straight."

○

"They say these were made by Martians."

"Exactly—the Martian canals could not have been formed by natural forces like floods or volcanic eruptions."

○

"That's incorrect—they only appear straight because Earth is too far away."

"That is wrong."

○

"But they show up perfectly straight even in photographs," came the counterargument.

"The cameras and telescopes aren't fully reliable yet," retorted the opposition.

"Oh dear," Ten Tarou thought nervously. "Here they go again."

Any minute now one of them will end up pulling a beard.
This is getting stormy!

○

“Dr. Hoshino, you’re being quite unreasonable with your stubbornness.”

“You’re the stubborn one here!”

“Oh dear.”

Finally, he pulled the beard.

“Ahaha! How funny! So funny!”

○

"Oh! This is a terrible blunder—I've gone and pulled your father's precious beard!"

"No need to fuss about it! Hahaha!"

"Ahaha... Haha... Ha..."

○

“How about it， Dr． Tsukino？ Shall I give you half of a rice ball？”

“Thank you kindly.”

"Oh, they've made up again."

"I can't tell if they're getting along or not."

○

I wish we could have some rice balls too.

“That's right, I hadn't noticed that. Now, you all dig in too.”

The stories about Mars were fascinating, but...

The rice balls were tasty too.

Exactly! Ahaha!

Communication to Mars

○

“My boy, I’ll show you around the laboratory.”

"Oh, I'm so happy!"
"I'll have him show me."

○

I'd come to want to visit Mars.

○

“This is the machine I’m conducting research on.”

It’s enormous!

What could this be?

What sort of machine was this?

○

“I'm going to remove the machine's cover now, so stand back and watch.”

Ah! I get it! This is the Mars signal device Dad told me about once!

○

That’s correct—this machine sends signals from Earth to Mars.

Wow...

It's shining quite brightly.

It's exactly like a mirror.

○

“That’s correct—this is a mirror. It’s a method of signaling to Mars devised by an astronomer named Pickering.”

Are they sending signals to Mars with this?

○

"No—this is an experimental model. When actually signaling, we use a mirror about half a mile square!"

"A half-mile square mirror! That's an unbelievably huge one they'd use!"

○

“I’ve reflected the light beam onto that mountain over there.”

“Oh! It’s shining beautifully on the mountain!”

Oh, it's shining! It's shining!

○

"If we create a mirror with one-millionth of the sun's surface area," he explained, "it would need to measure exactly half a mile square."

"When that large mirror catches sunlight and shines," he continued, adjusting his glasses, "from Mars' perspective it would glow like a fifth-magnitude star..."

○

However, no matter how much we signal, if there are no intelligent beings on Mars, our signals cannot be received.

Oh! The forest so far away was illuminated and became bright.

○

Now he tried shifting the mirror's reflection toward the town.

○

Oh! The place that just lit up is the water tank.

○

"But if there are no living beings on Mars, then this kind of research would be pointless, wouldn't it?"

“No, no—that’s not so. There’s no waste in a scholar’s research. So long as you keep conducting studies, they can be applied to other matters.”

○

“Mr. Janitor, thank you for showing us all these things.”

That was truly fascinating.

“Mr. Janitor, thank you.”

"Please come to the observatory again, and I'll show you other things."

○

How delightful! How delightful!

"If there were living beings on Mars, that would be so interesting!"

"I wonder if there are cats like us..."

If there were cats, then naturally there would be mice too.

○

If there were mice on Mars, then mousetraps must have been invented there too.

The mice they caught would be taken to the police box and have them bought there.

Then that would mean there were police boxes on Mars too.

○

Oh! This is terrible!

Oh! My head suddenly started spinning.

What could be happening to me?

○

Quickly now—everyone must hide somewhere!

Oh! I get it! Dr. Tsukino is sending light to us through the Martian signaling device!

How blindingly bright it must be!

○

Ha ha ha! Everyone fled because it was too bright!

○

I surrender!

Whoa! Run! Run!

“Wait up!”

Martian Canals

○

"Oh... Heavy... Just... bit more... Heave-ho! Heave-ho!"

"Oh! Father returned."

○

Ten Tarou, Father is in a bad mood today.

“This is bad!”

“Oh! What happened?”

○

"There's no helping it—Dr. Tsukino grabbed my beard."

"Oh... My!"

Father is always having arguments.

○

“That’s correct. However, I also grabbed Dr. Tsukino’s beard.”

“You… Was this over something about Mars again?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”

○

"I got so angry that I pulled hard like this."

"Then Dr. Tsukino too clung to my beard and pulled hard like this with a grunt."

○

(Tug... YANK)

"Oh! This was a mistake."

"Well now, today at the observatory became this sort of great commotion!"

"Oh—the book—"

This was astonishing.

○

“Nyan-kun! Work in master’s room! Work! Come quick and help out!”

“Work.”

“Alright, I’ll help you out,” she said.

○

“You’re exaggerating, Pichikun, wearing that white head bandage like that.”

“You’re one to talk with that ridiculous cheek bandage!”

“Oh, what’s this, Father?”

“Hmm? What is it...”

○

“Hmm, well then. That was the root of my disagreement with Dr. Tsukino.”

“That’s a sketch of Mars’ canals.”

“So these canals are essentially large artificial waterways?”

○

Thus, when these canals are viewed through a telescope, they appear as such perfectly straight lines.

(Mars Sketch)

"So people say those canals were dug by some kind of living beings?"

"That's exactly right—there are scholars who propose the theory that living beings exist on Mars and built the canals."

“Father, are you saying there are no living beings on Mars?”

○

“I won’t say they don’t exist, but neither will I say they do.”

“Father, which is it?”

○

"I don't know which it is. But you see, I'm saying those canal-like things could be made without humans or anything."

"It would be so interesting if there were humans on Mars..."

○

“Ten Tarou, come out to the garden.”

“What will you do?”

○

"Pichi! You! Carry this paper in your mouth and run until I say stop! Understood?"

○

“If it’s a race, I won’t lose either!”

There’s no way I’d lose to someone like Nyan-kun!

○

Huffing and puffing... How far do I have to keep running?

"Oh please, you're such a quitter."

○

"Was Dr. Hoshino going to run further too?" Pichikun wondered.

"Stop. Good. Now climb up the tree," ordered Dr. Hoshino.

○

"Oh no, since I'm a dog, climbing trees is such a hassle."

"Then I'll climb up instead for you."

○

Ten Tarou-saan, is this spot okay here?

He’s saying to climb all the way to the top.

○

"Climbing higher... It's a bit scary, don't you think?"

"Oh come on! You called me a quitter, but look who's talking!"

○

"Well, I could climb a bit higher. It's quite an acrobatic feat, don't you think?"

"Oh, Dr. Hoshino was calling out loudly about something."

"He said to show the paper over here."

○

“Now then, Ten Tarou—take a good look at the paper Nyan-kun is holding right now.”

There was something drawn there.

○

“Oh!”

“There seem to be many lines drawn here.”

“Assuming those are Martian canals—try sketching one.”

○

"Alright, but I can't see it clearly."

Such cowardly talk wouldn't do—Father looked even farther every day at the observatory.

○

This was such a difficult task... What about Father? Every day he gazed across sixty-two million miles—the distance between Earth and the Sun. Even at its closest approach to Earth—though this varied by year—Mars remained thirty-five million miles away. It was so incredibly far away... No, rather—the sky was filled with stars that lay even much farther beyond.

○

I can't stand this anymore! My hands are going numb—I'm about to slip right off from up here!

○

"What's this? You're not using your head. You can use your feet too, can't you?"

○

"I can't take it anymore! My legs are starting to tremble too."

"Descend to the branch one level below—you won't be scolded."

○

"Oh, my bottom got sore."

"This was troublesome... Then onto the branch one level below."

○

"I've gotten bored."

"I'm bored too. Please come down to the lower branch."

○

“This is easier. You had some caramels, didn’t you?”

“That’s right. I’ll give you one.”

○

"Oh! Nothing could be seen where the tree had been."

“It’s true! What could have happened to Nyan-ko and them?”

○

That's right. I'll bring the telescope and take a look.

Oh, and I should also bring the model rocket Father made for me.

○

Let me see.

Oh my, this was surprising—both of them were sleeping under the tree!

○

Let me startle them with this rocket.

Hahaha! They'll be surprised for sure!

○

(Boom!)

“Whoa! That startled me!”

○

They had completely fallen asleep.

“I’m sorry, Ten Tarou.”

○

"You all must become more dedicated to researching Mars."

"But I was really scared when I climbed all the way to the top of that tall tree."

"Very well."

"No—he truly had to concede."

○

"By the way, Ten Tarou, show me the picture you sketched."

"I drew it like this."

○

"Ten Tarou, this is the picture you drew." Then,

"The real one is this."

"Oh! They're completely different!"

It really was.

That was strange...

○

“Even messy dots look that straight when seen from a distance.”

“That’s true! So even if Martian canals appear perfectly straight, you can’t say humans made them.”

“Exactly! You catch on quickly, my boy!”

○

“What does Dr. Tsukino say about this?”

“Dr. Tsukino shares the same theory as Professor Lowell—that Mars has little water, so Martians distribute water to the canals using large-scale pumping systems.”

"I wonder if that's true."
"I wonder if that's a lie."

○

"Alright! Once we finish dinner tonight, I'll show you all something wonderful!"

"Oh right! Today was when Father promised to show us magic lantern slides. I'm so happy!"

Magic lantern.

"Oh how wonderful! I want to see it soon!"

Do humans live on Mars?

○

This was a magic lantern slide of an imagined depiction of Martian canals.

Whoa! Amazing!

What was this thick pipe?

This must be the pipe that sent water to the plants thriving where the Martian canals were located.

“How long are the canals?”

"That’s extraordinary—they continue for thousands of miles."

"And sometimes through telescopes, the Martian canals appear as two parallel lines. Scholars call these double canals."

○

Was that truly double?

“That’s unclear—there are opponents too.”

The scholars who advocated this claimed a quarter of Mars’ canals were double.

○

“Father, what do Martians look like?”

“Haven’t a clue. Can’t even picture them. Doesn’t matter what you imagine anyway.”

It wasn’t even clear whether Martians had legs or hands.

But they built such splendid canals—they must have had heads and hands!

○

"That's right—Nyan-ko is correct. If they've built thousands of miles of canals anyway, then their surveying techniques at least must be highly developed."

"What exactly are surveying techniques like?"

"Nyan-kun, didn’t you know that yet?"

○

“Look! You know how people outside often set up three-legged stands and peer through telescope-like devices to measure the ground and roads?”

“Oh! I see now!”

“That’s it! I know that well.”

○

"But you see, even without human power—through natural forces alone—straight canals as distinct as those projected here now can form. Look at that."

“Whoa!”

It’s a full moon!

The moon was beautiful.

○

"That moon is perfect evidence—when studying Mars, it serves as an excellent reference."

"Then, does the Moon also have features similar to the Martian canals?"

"There are such features—moreover, some are perfectly straight."

○

“Now look here—this is a photograph of the Moon’s surface. There’s a perfectly straight line right in the center, see?”

Ah, there it was! There it was!

“It really is!”

“What is that, Father?”

○

"That is a volcanic fissure," Father explained. "It's called the Ariadaeus Rille."

"How long is that?" Ten Tarou asked.

“It’s 150 miles long.”

○

"Are there many canal-like things like these on the Moon?"

“No, on the Moon there aren’t many over ten miles long. However, all Martian canals are large.”

○

"Well now, it’s become late. This concludes our discussion."

“Everyone, go to sleep early. See you tomorrow.”

“Well then, Father, goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”

○

They settled down to sleep. What a lovely moon it was.

“I’ve come up with a Martian nursery rhyme!”

“Well then, try singing it.”

○

“If there are cats on Mars, they don’t meow but woof!”

“Wow! Brilliant! Brilliant!”

"That's mean! Well, I could do it too."

○

"If there are dogs on Mars, they don't bark but meow."

"Brilliant! Brilliant!"

“That’s mean! That’s mean!”

○

That's an imitation of my song! An imitation!

"Ow! That hurts! Someone scratched my face!"

"Hey! Don't fight—behave yourselves now."

○

“Now let’s all sing together nicely.”

If there are cats on Mars

If there are cats on Mars

○

“Goodness me, what a commotion this is!”

○

“Shh! Mom's coming!”

This was bad.

Hide! Hide!

Midair Flight

○

Zzz Zzz

Zzz Zzz

Zzz Zzz Zzz

“My, everyone seems to be sleeping soundly.”

○

Mother had left. Now everyone would really go to sleep this time.

Zzz

○

Ten Tarou-san. Ten Tarou-san. Ten Tarou-san.

Zzz

Zzz

Zzz

○

Ten Tarou-san

Ten Tarou-san! Please wake up quickly! It's terrible! It's terrible!

Oh? What’s that?

Zzz Zzz

Zzz

○

Oh! Something came in through the hole in the stove’s chimney.

Ten Tarou-san.

Ten Tarou-san.

○

Oh my，so many had come out!

“Who are you?”

We are Martians.

Quickly, please wake Ten Tarou-san.

○

"Martians... Oh my, this is terrible! Then I'll wake him right away."

A flood seemed to be approaching.

They had to make preparations and flee immediately or face catastrophe.

○

“Ten Tarou-san! Please wake up quickly! It’s terrible! It’s terrible!”

Ah! He started awake. What was happening?

Mmph... mmph...

Please have this long-eared gentleman over here wake up too.

○

Hey! What in blazes was this? These were awfully small humans!

"These people are Martians," came an explanation somewhere nearby.

Sniff-sniff-sniffing hard through his nose made him queasy.

○

“Look! The flood has already arrived!”

Where in the world am I?

Ten Tarou-san, let's get out of here quickly!

Is this Mars? That’s strange…

○

Ah! The view outside the window was a splendid city.

"My, what a beautiful place this is!"

"Oh my! How splendid!"

"Come on, please get ready quickly."

○

"How did we get to Mars?"
"I don't know either."
"Me neither."
"Never mind that now! Quickly—out the window—"

○

"Whoa, it's so high up here! I can't jump from a place like this!"

"I—I really can't do it! It's too scary!"

○

“Please trust us. Look—you jump down like this.”

○

"You are honored guests from Earth—nothing bad will happen."

"Well then, since I'm light-bodied, I'll try jumping down first."

"In that case—"

"I'll jump down too."

○

Ah! Delightful!
My body was floating weightlessly! How strange!
"Isn't this completely different from Earth?"

“Oh my! I can fly like a butterfly!”

Hoho! This was fascinating! Absolutely fascinating!

○

"Look! Over there—Martians are evacuating from the flood right now!"

"Ah! Countless Martians were flying about like clouds!"

"Oh my! They were perching on building roofs like birds!"

○

“Now then, we shall guide you to a safe place.”

“Will the flood continue forever?”

“The floods on Mars are a regular occurrence.”

“Oh! Oh! The water’s flooding in so much!”

The banks of the canals were on the verge of disappearing as the water kept splashing in!

○

Whoa!
What an amazing building!
What a tall building this is!

This was the Earth Hotel—Mars's tallest building.

○

"This hotel was specially built to welcome guests from Earth."

"So we're the first guests, then."

"We're Earth's first arrivals—how amazing!"

"How interesting!"

○

“Now then, this is your room.”

“Oh my!”
“What a beautiful bed!”

A beautiful rug.
Striped patterns were everywhere.
○

Jumping and leaping about was such fun!

“Now then, let us go out to the lower terrace.”

○

“Ah, a Martian procession!”

Everyone was dressed so strangely.

“They’re singing something!”

“That’s their way of welcoming you all with formal greetings.”

The Martian capital, Milchis Major City.

○

“Now we shall guide you through the city area.”

“What is this city called?”

“This is Mars’s capital. It is called Milchis Major City.”

○

“Behold this splendid Martian canal.”

It was huge!

How magnificent!

This canal was straight!

○

“What is this canal used for?”

“On Mars there are several major floods each year; during those times we water the fields.”

○

"What's planted in that field?"

"Tomatoes."

"And what else grows there?"

"There's nothing but tomatoes."

I was amazed—that whole field was nothing but tomatoes!

○

"That's right. On Earth, bread and rice must be your staple foods, but Martians eat nothing but tomatoes."

"That's why Martians don't grow big—they only eat tomatoes!"

"That must be why!"

But even though their bodies were small, they seemed to possess true wisdom.

○

“Heheh, our wisdom is no less than Earthlings’. Look there at those people.”

Oh?

“People with large heads and

people with small heads have arrived, don’t you see?”

○

“Martians—the ones with large heads—do nothing but think about things.”

“What about the ones with small heads?”

“The ones with small heads do nothing but work.”

“The things thought up by the ones with large heads—”

“—the ones with small heads are who rapidly bring them to completion.”

○

Ah! Tomato harvest time.

"Look! Something interesting is about to start now."

"Oh! They’ve started bringing out the tomatoes."

○

On Mars, they distribute food to the citizens twice a day.

Hey! Everyone stuck their heads out of the windows.

○

“Look! They throw them up from below like this.”

“Wow, that’s skillful!”

○

“They’re good at catching them too!”

They climbed all the way up to such high points.

“I want to eat tomatoes too... I do like them, but...”

○

"Look—when you give the signal, they throw them over."

"Oh, they threw them over!"

"Catch them skillfully."

○

“Delicious! Delicious!”

“It’s so delicious I could lose my tongue!”

“The Martian tomatoes are delicious!”

○

"The building over there is the city hall."

"What's that curved structure on the left?"

"That is not a building. That is Mars's astronomical telescope."

“Huh? A telescope?”
That’s amazing.

○

“So, is that over there Mars’s observatory?”

“That’s correct. Let’s go and see.”

○

"Allow me to introduce you. This is the director of the Mars Observatory."

"I am Hoshino Ten Tarou."

“I am Hoshino Nyan-ko.”

“I am Hoshino Pichi.”

○

"My father works at an observatory on Earth."

"Well, well! Welcome! I am well acquainted with Dr. Hoshino."

“Huh?”

○

“The other day, I had a beard tug-of-war with your father and Dr. Tsukino.”

Huh?
How does he know?

○

“We know all about it. Ahahaha! Everything that happens on Earth can be seen from Mars.”

I’m so surprised…

○

“There’s no need to be surprised.”

“Everyone, please look carefully at this observatory’s equipment.”

This is amazing…

○

“Mr. Ten Tarou, what kind of telescope does your father use?”

“There are various ones - six-inch aperture models and a larger twenty-four-inch one.”

“On Mars, we use ones that are a thousand times larger than Earth’s.”

○

"So everything that happens on Earth can be seen..."

"That's right. Come now, shall I let you take a look through the telescope?"

○

“Now then, Mr. Ten Tarou, take a look.”

“Ah?!”
“It’s Dad!”

“Let me see too!”

“Let me see too!”

○

“Your father must be busy calculating something, right?”

“It really is!”

Wow, I can even see the numbers on the notebook!

○

“Daaaaad! It’s me! Ten Tarou here!”

“Ahahaha! Even if you call, he can't hear you.”

“Let me see too!”

○

“Now then, let’s change the telescope’s direction and have a look.”

“Oh, this place looks somehow familiar.”

“Let me see too! Let me have a look!”

○

Ah! I get it!
It's the bean shop.

“So, is that the bean shop near the school?”

“Let me see, let me see!”

○

Just as I thought! Oh! A child has come to buy beans. Oh, the old man has spilled three beans.

○

“I’m amazed! You can see absolutely everything!”

“Thank you very much for everything.”

“When you return to Earth, please give my regards to Dr. Hoshino and Dr. Tsukino.”

“Now then, I hear the Mayor will be holding a welcome party for you all. Let us be off.”

Grand Welcome Party

○

That was the entrance to Milchis Major City Hall.

Ah...

"It's splendid."

○

“Wow, there's quite a crowd lined up here!”

“I feel sort of embarrassed...”
“What a scaredy-cat! You’ll be fine!”

○

“Mr. Ten Tarou, this person is Mayor Milchis Major.”

“Well, well! Welcome, welcome!”

○

“Now then, please have a seat right here.”

“You want us sitting directly in front?”

“They’re guests from Earth. Please, go ahead.”

“Nyan-chan, look at you acting all prim!”

“You're putting on airs yourself!”

○

“We will now commence the welcome ceremony for our esteemed guests who have journeyed all the way from Earth.”

“First, we will have our esteemed guests from Earth introduce themselves.”

?

?

○

"Oh no! What's this 'self-introduction' thing? I don't know how to do that!"

"I don't know either. This is tricky!"

"That's what they call a self-introduction—when you say yourself what kind of person you are. I'll go first, so just copy what I do."

○

“Good day, everyone. I am an elementary school student from Earth named Hoshino Ten Tarou. My job is going to school every day.”

“Ah, school. We don’t have such things on Mars.”

○

"I am Hoshino Pichi. I am a dog from Earth. My job is chasing away thieves and suspicious things."

"Ah, dogs, thieves, suspicious things—we have none of those on Mars."

○

“I am Nyan-ko Hoshino. I am a cat girl from Earth. My job is eating bad mice and chasing them.”

“Cats, mice—we have no such things on Mars.”

○

“We will now commence a music concert, followed by a dance competition.”

○

"How lovely!"

That splendid music was being played entirely on its own by that automatic music machine with a trumpet-shaped horn.

It was such fun!

○

Ah! This feels strange.

Is something wrong?

○

His stomach suddenly started hurting.

“That’s serious!”

“Oh dear, I’m starting to get a stinging pain in my stomach too.”

○

“Uun... Uun...”

“It hurts! It hurts! Oww!”

“My stomach hurts too.”

This was serious—it seemed to be an illness.

They were immediately sent to the hospital.

○

"My stomach hurts... Ugh."

"It hurts! It hurts!"

"Aah... Aah..."

“Quickly! Call the hospital car!”

“Ladies and gentlemen, regrettablyyy, we will be canceling the welcome party!”

Abdominal pain.

○

The Earth guests fell ill.

"What could be happening?"

"Ah! The hospital car has arrived."

("Everyone—please remain quiet!")

○

“It hurts! It hurts!”

“Pichi, you mustn’t thrash about so much.”

“But it hurts!”

○

He couldn't quite grasp what was happening.

"Everyone, please lend a hand."

"Because they're patients, please load them quietly."

○

“Proceed!”
“Full speed to the hospital!”

○

Well now, we've arrived at the hospital.

○

"We'll need to administer about a hundred injections immediately."

"Whoa! Are you really going to give us that many shots?"

○

"This is the X-ray room. Let's examine your stomach properly."

"Doctor, please check me quickly! It really hurts!"

○

"Hmm... This looks suspicious," murmured the medical staff.

They examined how their stomachs were doing.

"Please make the pain stop quickly!" the patients pleaded.

“I’ll stop your pain right away.”

However, this treatment would prove prolonged.

○

Now then, they entered the hospital room.

"Now now," [someone] prepared three beds in the hospital room.

"Yes."

This turned into quite a predicament.

○

“Please rest quietly.”

How long would it take for us to recover?

“I’ll stop your pain right away.”

Ah! I’m happy!

○

A get-well flower arrangement from the Mayor has just arrived.

“How is everyone? The pain has stopped, hasn’t it?”

Ah! The pain’s gone!

○

“Here is a bouquet from the Mayor.”

“Ah, thank you!”

The Martian mayor was certainly kind.

What beautiful flowers.

○

Huh?!
When I grasped the flowers, they started burning.

What was happening?

This was bad!

“No, your fever isn’t that high. That’s why you need to stay still and rest.”

○

Ten Tarou-san, I wonder what will happen?

Nah, it'll heal soon. Martian medicine is advanced.

○

This was shocking—I had a terrible high fever too.

"Oh?"
"Everything I touch keeps burning up!"

Wow, everyone had such a high fever!

○

“That illness was what they called Pecha... Kusha.”
“Hmm, hence Pecha-Pecha.”
“That’s why it’s called Pecha-Kusha.”
“It seems this Pecha-Kusha illness is quite severe.”

○

"Huh?! What are the patients making such a commotion about, I wonder?"

(Thud! Bang!)

○

“Ah! What's happened to all of you?”

“But everything I touch keeps burning up!”

“We’re putting out the fire right now.”

○

“If the fire starts up again, Ten Tarou-san, please press that button over there.”

Button?

Which one was it?

Ah—this button? Should I press this one?

○

(Splish-splash splish-splash splish-splash)

○

"Huh?!"
I jumped in surprise.

Torrential rain suddenly cascaded from the ceiling.

"Oh! This is amazing! Amazing!"

○

“Since you have quite a high fever, please try not to wave your hands about too much.”

“Everyone, keep lying down with your hands placed on your foreheads.”

This is so boring.

Ah... I want to get better soon...

○

“Now then, everyone—what did you eat today? You must have eaten tomatoes. Even the seeds.”

“Yes, we ate them.”

○

"That was the problem—they'd eaten the seeds."

"On Earth, people eat tomatoes including the seeds."

○

On Mars, people do not eat tomato seeds. They carefully remove them and discard them into the canals.

Then during the great floods, the seeds get naturally sown in the fields.

So I don't need to sow them after all.

○

“You swallowed tomatoes with their seeds. That’s why tomatoes have grown in your stomachs.”

“What?!”
“Inside our bodies?”
“The tomatoes have grown inside us?!”

Aaaah!
This was a problem.

○

"I'm in real trouble," I thought.

“Waaah waaah! I’m in such trouble!”

“Crying won’t make it better.”

“No need to worry—we’ll definitely cure you.”

“Well then, I’ll come visit again.”

Tomato Trouble

○

“Ah... This is so boring.”

“Pichikun, you mustn’t wave your hands around like that.”

“I hate this! It’s so boring!”

○

“Wow, this is fun! Everything I grab catches fire!”
“If it’s not working, Pichikun, just quit it! Quit it already!”
“You’re so annoying!”

○

“You all need to stay quiet or you’ll never get better! If you keep waving your hands around like that, I told you it’s no good! No matter how much I say, you just don’t get it!” Ouch! What? He scratched me!

○

Ouch!
Nyan-chan! This is bad!

Oh dear! What's happened to my ribbon?

Ah!

○

"This is such a mess."

Waaah waaah.

“Someone hurry up and put it out!”

That's it! I should press that button quickly!

○

Ah, this feels cool!

“Sorry, Nyan-chan.”

“Waaah waaah! But I don’t have a ribbon anymore!”

○

“This is awful! Awful! My ribbon’s gone…”
“Waaah waaah!”

"I'm sorry. I'll find one somewhere and bring it back for you someday."

○

Hello? Hello?

Ah! Someone’s here.

……

……

○

“Oh my! Everyone, what happened? The room’s full of water!”

Ah—it was the hospital nurse.

“Nurse! Pichikun burned up my ribbon!”

○

Please press the button to stop the water.

Click! Got it.

○

“Sometimes they fight, you know.”

“But I lost my ribbon!”

“Now, now, don’t cry. I’ll give you a replacement.”

○

“Here, let me give you my ribbon.”

“Oh, I’m so happy!”

Ah!

How simple!

○

“Now then, everyone, don’t fight and go to sleep.”

“Nurse, thank you for the ribbon.”

“Good night, Nurse!”

○

“You got that ribbon because I burned yours.”

“That’s not true! You’re being mean!”

What a kind nurse.

○

"What a problem... A disease where tomatoes grow in our stomachs."

"I’ve come to want to go back to Earth now."

"It's no use—if our illness doesn't get better, we can't go home."

○

“Well then, let us move those guests from Earth to the outdoor hospital.”

“Please try not to startle the patients too much.”

The preparations were complete.

The Martian nurse

○

“You will now be transferred to the outdoor hospital.”

“How are you feeling physically?”

“My fever just won’t go down.”

Are we going to an outside hospital?

○

“Now then, please blindfold all three of you with tomato leaves.”

“Yes, understood.”

What were they going to do?

I'm worried.

○

There's no need to worry so much.

“But I feel uneasy.”

Ah... I couldn’t see anything.

Three cars were prepared.

The preparations were acknowledged.

○

The preparations were complete.

“Now then, let’s depart!”

○

They had no idea what area they were driving through.

Here, they were driving along the canal.

○

"What kind of place was this outdoor hospital?" he wondered.

"That was what we call a modern-style hospital," came the explanation.

○

Everyone had gotten separated.

“You’ll all be together again soon.”

○

"Now then, everyone had arrived at the hospital."

"This entire area is the hospital."

"I can't see anything because I'm blindfolded!"

Sniff sniff. There was a pleasant smell of something.

"It smells like tomatoes."

○

“Now then, let’s go down the stairs from this entrance.”
“Be careful not to trip.”

○

It feels like we're walking underground.

That was indeed the case.

I don't like this.

I feel so alone.

○

"I wonder how long this'll take..."
"I can't stand this anymore."
They would soon emerge above ground.

○

“Now then everyone, we’ve arrived.”

“Can I take off the leaf blindfold?”

“Not yet, not yet.”

○
"Please stand on this platform and be careful not to fall."
"Oh! It feels like my body is rising up."
(Buzz buzz buzz)
○

“Next—you there. Now, stand steady.”

“Very well. Engage the switch, if you please.”

○

(Buzz buzz buzz)

Oh, I can't tell if I'm going to heaven or hell.

○

“Now then, Miss Cat, up you go.”

I'm scared.

“There’s no need to worry.”

○

(Buzz buzz buzz)

Ahh... I'm scared—

○

The work was done. Let's head back.

“Those Earth patients are such a hassle.”

“It’s quite different from dealing with Martian patients, isn’t it?”

○

"Whoa! I came out in a place like this?"

"This was inside a glass tube."

"What happened to everyone?"

○

"Oh my!"
"Everyone was put into containers like this."

○

Oh no! Everyone's been scattered all over the place!

Ten Tarou-saaan! Please save me quickly!

I can't get out either!

○

"Oh no! No matter how much I thrashed about, it was no use. This was so frustrating!"

Alright!
Once I get out of here, I'll stomp all you damn tomatoes flat!

“Waah! You gluttonous Earth pests!”
“You pests who even gobbled up the seeds!”
“You’re all so mean! You shouldn’t be peeking like that!”

Tomatoes will grow in your stomachs, they say.

Oh no! There's nothing I can do—we've been thrown into this ridiculous outdoor hospital!

○

"Oh, the doctor has arrived."

"What do you think? The Martian hospital is rather splendid, isn't it?"

"It's not good at all!"

"Hurry up and get me out of here!"

"Hmm, not behaving very well, are we?"

○

“Doctor! This is awful! You’re locking us up in a place like this!”

“No, that is not it. Even on Earth, there exist things called greenhouses.”

○

“Well then, let’s begin the examination.”

“Gah!”

“There, there. You don’t need to be afraid.”

“You seem to be doing rather well.”

○

“Now stick out your tongue and say ‘Ahh’.”

“Ahh.”

○

“Well, that’s quite an impressive tongue you have there.”

“Well now, splendid! Simply splendid!”

“Who cares about the tongue? When will I get better?”

○

"Indeed, after about a thousand years have passed, you should be able to be discharged, I suppose."

"What?!"
"A thousand years?"

"Waaah!"

"Hahaha!"

○

“Now then, how about our young cat lady next?”

“This is outrageous! Locking someone up in a place like this!”

“My, my—quite furious aren’t we? The cure will take effect shortly.”

○

“Oh my, how delightful!”
“What a kind nurse!”
“Well now, it seems the young cat lady has taken quite a liking to you.”
“Yes, I gave her a ribbon.”

○

"The inside of this glass cylinder has been set to Earth's temperature."

"I see."

"So that keeps tomatoes from growing?"

"Exactly."

○

“Now everyone, please keep behaving calmly here, okay? I'll come back later.”

“I’ll come back again, okay?”

○

They were already completely worn out.

No matter where I looked, there was nothing but tomato fields—how dull!

I really wanted to go back to Earth...

○

I wonder if there's some way to get out of here...

I want to go home too!

I suddenly found myself wanting to see Father and Mother.

○

Oh no, Ten Tarou started sniffling and crying.

No wonder—even I ended up feeling sad! Waaah! Waaah!
Everyone had grown homesick for Earth.

Toward Earth.

○

Oh! A storm!
A storm!

Whoa!
Scary!
Lightning!

What a terrific storm!

○

Whoa!

“Help!”

Everyone needed to stay strong.

○

Whoa! The glass hospital looked like it was going to collapse!

Maybe we can get out.

Oh wind, blow and blow! Please blow down the glass hospital!

○

"Heave-ho! Heave-ho!"

"Mr. Wind! Please help us!"

"Huh?"
"The hospital went flying up!"

○

Huh? What's happening?

Things were dire!

What should we do?

○

Ah!

(Crash☆)

○

Oh! They got out!

Yippee!

○

Come on—everyone gather!

Ten Tarou—!

What should we do?

○

“What should we do, Ten Tarou-san?”

I have to think of something…

Ah! From over there—

The kind nurse came running.

○

“Hey, Nurse!”

“We had such an awful time.”

“Come on, everyone!”
“You must escape from Mars right away while you still can!”

○

I don't want to have that glass hospital put over us again!

“You must go to the observatory right away! Hurry, hurry!”
“And escape by rocket!”

○

“Thank you, Nurse.”

“Come on, everyone—keep moving!”
“Hurry!”
“If we don’t hurry, they’ll catch up!”

○

“What are you doing, Pichikun? Picking tomatoes or something—how carefree can you be!”

“No—we have to load the rocket with supplies!”

“You’re thorough, aren’t you?”

○

Run! Run!

The Earth-bound rocket was at the far right end of the hangar.

“Thank you!”

○

"That's it! I received a ribbon from the Nurse, but I don't have anything to give you as a farewell memento."
"Then I'll give this."

○

"I really did come up with something clever!"

"I'll give you this—it's just a button from a dress, though."

“Oh!”
“How pretty! Thank you. Well then, goodbye.”

○

“Come on, the observatory’s right there!”

Run! Run!

○

“Here we are!”

This was the hangar.

“Where should we enter from?”

○

"Let's go through the hangar's skylight."

"Alright!"

"That works."

○

“Everyone, be careful not to get blown away by the wind!”

○

“Everyone, be careful!”

Dangerous—dangerous!

“Ah!”
“We can get in here!”

○

Wow, there were an awful lot of rockets lined up here!

"Wow!"
He was surprised. Which one was the Earth-bound rocket?

There were so many that they couldn't tell.

○

He had told them it was at the right end of the hangar.

This one was bound for Venus.

"There it was! There it was!"
"This was it! This was it!"

○

“Come on, let’s board now!”
“But we need to move the rocket out to the plaza first!”
“Never mind that! We’ll launch straight through the roof!”

○

“Ten Tarou-san, can you pilot the rocket?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then it’s no good.”

○

It would be alright—they needed only to press every button within reach.

I'll try moving all the handles.

That's it! That's it!

○

What's this? There's a leather strap attached here.
I see! This is for securing our bodies.

○

"Perfect!"
"It's moving!"

(Vroom vroom! Whoosh whoosh!)

○

(Kaboom!)

"Incredible!"

"Whoa!"
The rocket broke through the roof!

“Incredible!”

○

“Take a look through that round window there!”
“Oh!”
“The Nurse is waving goodbye!”

Nursee!

○

Farewell, O Mars!

○

I wonder how long we've been flying.

One minute and five seconds since departure!

What's the speed?

Ohhh, incredible!
Seven thousand kilometers per hour!!

○

“What’s wrong?”

“Huh? Something’s off! Quick—find the rudder!”

“Which one’s the rudder?”

○

Our bearings were off—this wasn’t Earth! We seemed to be rushing straight toward the Moon!!

What?!
“Heading toward the Moon?”
“This is awful! What should we do?”

○

Ah! The Moon!!

○

This was terrible!! If we landed on the Moon, we'd be in real trouble!

○

Ah! This must be the rudder!

We have to quickly turn the rocket toward Earth!!

○

Ah—it seemed they were finally heading toward Earth this time.

○

Whew, they finally felt relieved.

They had truly been worried.

○

Hmm?
They seemed about to arrive at a somehow familiar-looking town...

○

What's this?
This is terrible!
They had circled back to Mars!

○

Oh no, they were in trouble!
What was going on?

Ah, they were drenched in sweat.

○

"Huh?"
"They figured it out!"
"Pichikun, you're stepping on a strange button!"

Ah!
This was bad.

Ah! They succeeded!
Success!!

○

They seemed to be heading straight toward Earth.

○

“Nyan-chan, turn the right handle!”

“Pichikun, press that button there.”

They were so busy.

○

(Beep beep! Glug glug)

(Clatter clatter)

(Ssss ssss)

"Glug glug—they call that a glug glug? What a strange sound," she chuckled. "Hoho."

○

Oh，Earth came closer！

○

“That glowing area must be the Pacific Ocean.”

“Ten Tarou-san, please don’t drop us into the sea!”

○

“Ten Tarou-san, won’t you eat one tomato?”

This wasn’t about tomatoes—the rocket might be malfunctioning.

(Beep beep)

○

"Oh no—Nyan-chan had gone and eaten another tomato, seeds and all."

"Fine then! If tomatoes do grow, we'll just have Earth doctors cure us."

They were such a carefree bunch. The rocket really seemed off.

(Glug glug)

○

(Glug glug glug glug)

The glug-glugs started up again.

"Oh no! This was bad!"
"The rocket malfunctioned!"

"Hurry! Prepare the parachutes!"

(Beep beep beep)

○

“What are we supposed to do?”

They attached parachutes around their bodies.

“Be ready to jump outside when I open this hatch!”

○

(Glug glug, clatter clatter, sputter sputter)

Oh no! The rocket was shaking sideways!

○

(Bang!)

Whoa! It was gonna blow!

○

Nyan-chan! Nyan-chan!

Oh, she's unconscious.

○

Alright, time to give her a revival jolt!

(Pop)

She groaned...

○

Ah!
We were saved.

○

(Snap)

Ah!

○

Crash landing!

○

Ouch!

○

Huh?!

Where is this place?

○

“Huh?! What happened to you all?……”

Ten Tarou had fallen from his bunk.

“He must’ve been half-asleep.”

○

Ah... I'm relieved. It was just a dream.

“I had a dream.”
“We were so surprised!”

○

"I had a dream where I went to Mars with you all."

"But I didn't see anything."

“I didn’t see anything either. How boring.”

Ten Tarou's Report

○

“Father, I had a dream where I went to Mars last night.”

“That’s nice. I wanted to see it too.”

○

"Pichikun and Nyan-chan were there together too."
"I would never have such a dream!"
"My dream last night was boring."

“Ha ha ha! A whole crowd can’t share the same dream, you know.”

○

“On Mars there was also an observatory. The director there knew Father.”

“Huh?”
“Did they know me on Mars?”

○

“Ahem!”
“Ahem!”

“I see. So did they know about my research there on Mars?”

“Yes, they knew absolutely everything.”

○

Even the incident where Dr. Tsukino and Father pulled each other's beards

“Huh?!”
“How could they possibly know about that?”
“......”

(Chuckle.)

(Snicker.)

○

On Mars, they were watching Earth's events through a tall, large building-like telescope.

“What?!”
“That’s utterly absurd!”

“But Father, it really did exist!”
“That’s preposterous!”

“Oh, you! Isn’t that just Ten Tarou’s dream story?”

○

“I really did see it in my dream!”

There! It failed!
Did he get truly angry? Ha ha ha

○

Come, come, breakfast is ready.

"But, Ten Tarou,"

"To observe Mars from Earth, a large telescope isn't necessarily required."

"Is a small telescope okay?"

○

“Well then, an aperture of eight or ten inches would be more than sufficient.”

“There’s something more important than the size of a telescope.”

“What is that?”

○

“That’s what astronomers call ‘Good seeing’.”

“This is technical jargon.”

Good seeing

Good seeing

○

“Good seeing! I’ve memorized an astronomical term! Ta-da!”

“My! You’re using such difficult words there, Ten Tarou! What on earth does that mean?”

Oh? She hadn’t heard that yet.

○

“Ha ha ha! That means you shouldn’t rely solely on machinery when observing celestial bodies—you must maintain ‘optimal viewing conditions’.”

“Ah, I get it! Like building observatories on high mountain peaks?”

○

That was correct—but even if built upon high mountains, locations with frequent cloud cover would prove inadequate.

That’s right—high and cloudless.

○

“Exactly—Earth’s clouds are a nuisance. But observing Martian clouds—that’s my job.”

“It’s so complicated…”

○

“Ten Tarou, were there humans on Mars?”
“There were ones with big heads and small ones.”
“Oh my, I’d love to go see that!”
“Hohoho! My, what an interesting place!”

○

“I won’t have this! There can’t possibly be any living beings there—the air’s too thin for anything to survive!”

"Oh, Father is getting indignant again about Ten Tarou’s dream story."

○

Ah! I failed again!

○

Then I became so light that I could fly freely through the sky.

“Oh my, I want to go see that!”

“No way! You can’t just go into Ten Tarou-san’s dream!”

○

"The surface gravity of Mars is two-fifths of Earth's. That means people can jump two and a half times higher than on Earth—but they shouldn't be able to jump any higher than that."

"Oh come on! That's barely any difference—how boring!"

"Father, then I met the Mayor. The city was called Milchis Major City."

○

(What?! Milchis Major?)

“Agh!”
“Look out!”
“Dad!”

Dr. Hoshino's eyes widened.

"What's the matter with you?!"

○

“Dad, please pull yourself together!”

“My, what bad manners.”

“Oh! That startled me!”

Ah! What a shock!

○

“Ten Tarou—was the city you went to called Milchis Major?”

“It’s true.”

“What exactly is this Milchis Major you speak of?”

○

"I was surprised—in your dream story, that part alone is actually true."

“Huh?”
“Dad, does it really exist?”

“Well now—does such a place actually exist on Mars?”

○

It’s not the name of a Martian city, but it certainly exists among the canal names given by Earth scholars.

Why would Ten Tarou have dreamed of that?

○

Certainly, if there was Milchis Major, then the canals had names like Nectar Agathodaemon and Hades—all of them were given names.

So they've properly made a map of Mars then.

○

“Even so, that you saw Milchis Major in your dream is downright strange.”

“It really is strange.”

“Really now—”

○

Something's off... Wait a minute.

○

"Oh? Where did he go?"

○

"It's so boring that only Ten Tarou-san gets to have interesting dreams."

"Ah, right! Right! Nyan-chan received a ribbon from the Martian nurse, you know!"

"My!"
"If that's really true... I'd be glad... but..."

○

This is it! This is it!

○

“Ten Tarou—have you ever seen a book like this in your father’s study?”

“What kind of book is it? Since I do sometimes look at your books, Dad.”

“Well now—this book! Have you never seen such pictures in it?”

“Ah!”
“It was there! I saw it!”

○

This was Milchis Major.

○

"Hmm... I see! That's it!"

"You saw the book and stored the name deep in your mind—that's why it suddenly appeared in your dream."

"It must be exactly that."

○

“Dad, did you really think I went to Mars?”

“I didn’t think so—but since you said the actual name, I got quite startled myself! Ha ha ha ha!”

“Ho ho.”

○
“Since you’ve filled your head with Martian nonsense from that dream, come to my laboratory—I’ll show you the real thing.”
“I’m so happy!”
“Let’s all go today, okay?”

“Please do come in.”

Human Beards and Cat Whiskers

○

“Ten Tarou-san, are you going to become an astronomer when you grow up?”

“I will become one.”

“How nice. So you’ll go flying off to Mars in a rocket?”

○

“No way! Going to Mars... I’d rather stay living on Earth!”

“Oh? So you’re going to become a cowardly astronomer?”

○

“But going to a place where my father and mother aren’t is something I don’t want to do!”

○

“Well then, how about you all come to Mars with me?”

“Pichikun, how about you?”

“I don’t really feel like it.”

○

“Gotcha! You’re all scaredy-cats too!”

“Even if we went, it’d be awful if we couldn’t come back.”

“Nyan-chan, what will you be when you grow up?”

“Even when I grow up, I can’t become anything but a cat—how boring.”
“If you say that, even I can’t get further ahead than a dog.”

○

Even so... if I could become skilled at catching mice…

That's right, that's right.

Everyone should simply fulfill their proper roles.

○

Ah!
In the observatory garden, Father was watching their way.

He urged them to hurry.

“Run!”
“Run!”

○

“Well now, you’ve come. What were you all discussing?”

“Nyan-chan and Pichikun were feeling discouraged about not being able to become astronomers.”

○

“Ahahaha! That’s where you’re mistaken!”

“Nyan-ko, what are your whiskers for?”
“These whiskers? They’re essential for catching mice.”

○

“Then show me how you use them.”

“Well, people say cats can see in any darkness, but that’s a lie.”

“In places with absolutely no light at all, our eyes can’t see anything.”

At such times—she demonstrated—we assume this posture and use our whiskers like so, feeling our way across the floor as we walk to search for areas where mice might reside.

“In such situations like this”—Nyan-ko continued—“we assume this posture and use our whiskers like so, feeling our way across the floor as we walk to search for areas where mice might reside.”

○

“Therefore, humans must not cut us cats’ whiskers.”

○

“Look here—cat’s whiskers have such splendid uses.”

“By the way—what were these human whiskers growing for?”

“Ah, I see! They grow so you can show off.”

“Hahaha! How amusing!”

○

“Hahaha! That’s exactly right! And then there are times when Nyan-ko licks paws and washes ears and nose repeatedly.”

“Yes, that’s because when snow or storms are coming, the weather is about to change.”

○

"You see—knowing exactly when the weather will change is more impressive than any astronomer."

“Even cats are amazing, huh?”

“You’re right.”
“When you praise me so much, I feel embarrassed.”

○

Oh, Nyan-ko was being praised and getting all flustered!

“Nyan-chan, when you make that face, I end up feeling embarrassed too!”
“Oh, now Pichikun’s getting embarrassed!”

○

(Mars Laboratory)

"This is the special laboratory—now then everyone inside!"

What a strange building.

○

"Oh? That's strange—the inside's completely empty."

This felt kind of creepy.

“Now then, there are round windows and doors over there—go take a look.”

○

“Oh! Amazing—this room here has a double layer!”

Machinery was packed tight inside.

What was this place used for?

“Now I’ll show you various experiments.”

○

"Now then, everyone, please put on your masks."

"Nyan-chan, your mask is upside down."

"Oh, is that so?"

○

"Masks make such peculiar shapes of us all."

"That mask also functions as an oxygen inhaler."

"Everyone looked like octopus monsters."

○

"Oh, Father's the only one not wearing a mask."

"I'll be in the next chamber. First, I'll adjust this room to Martian conditions."

○

What was about to happen?

“Father, don’t do anything too scary, okay?”

“What’s this? The child of a scientist voicing such weakness—”

○

“If something dangerous happens, open the door and go outside.”

○

The explanation was set up to project onto that wall.

“Is everyone ready?”

“Okay...”

“What’s this? You let out such a pathetic sound.”

○

"Oh, Father has disappeared."

"Ah, the groaning sound of machinery began."

(Brrrm Brrrm Brrrm)

"Mr. Ten Tarou, are you all right?"

○

(Brrrmm Brrrmm Brrmm Brrmm, Whirr-clatter clatter clatter, Hohoho!)

?

?

Oh my, the machine started laughing.

○

Oh, something appeared on the projection screen.

Oh! This was fascinating.

(We will now expel all the air from this room.)

○

(Clank clank clank)

(Mars has a diameter of 4,200 miles - slightly longer than half of Earth's.)

○

“Oh?”
I felt my body growing lighter.
"That’s strange... I’m as light as a soap bubble!"
"Oh! This is fun! So fun!"
○
Flying here, jumping there—how delightful!
"Oh! This is so fun!"

"I can jump endlessly!"

(The gravity on Mars is only two-fifths that of Earth.)
(Therefore, your weight has also decreased to two-fifths.)

○

Their bodies felt light and pleasant.

(A human who weighs 150 pounds on Earth would weigh 60 pounds on Mars.
People can jump two and a half times higher than when they are on Earth.)

○

(The laboratory had now become like Mars.
Though there was oxygen, nitrogen, water vapor and such, they were extremely scarce.)

"They said oxygen was scarce - if our masks came off, we'd all die!"

"Oh, how dreadful! Then there aren't any humans on Mars after all."

○

Without oxygen, even cats couldn't survive.

(On Mars, water is also scarce. If there were any seas, they would be shallow ones that only form when the snow melts in spring.)

○

(The dark areas visible on Mars from Earth were therefore not so much seas as marshes—whether a collection of small marshes or rivers.)

Mars is such a desolate place indeed.

○
(This was the imagined Martian surface—a vast sandy plain where plants also grew.)
"Oh! We've come to such a desolate place!"
"It's exactly like a desert."
○

The Mars dream I had wasn't this desolate.

“But it was a dream—you could see anything in it!”

That's right—science is more real than dreams.

○

“Nonsense! All sorts of sciences were born from dreams!”

“Well then, Ten Tarou-san—what exactly was born from what?”

○

“For example, because humans had been wanting to fly through the sky, they finally conceived of something called the airplane.”

“That’s right—imagination is the mother of invention!”

○

“That’s not right! Your dream was seen with closed eyes, I suppose. The dreams that give birth to science are ones seen with open eyes!”

“You’re so insolent!”

“Can you see dreams with your eyes open?”

○

"You can see them—those kinds of dreams are called imagination or fantasy!"

"No way! Scientists don't go around daydreaming!"

"That's not true! They do!"

○

"Nyan-chan, you're hopeless!"

"You only ever dream about mice anyway!"

"How mean! How mean! Ahn! Well then, Pichi-chan, you only ever dream of chasing burglars! Ahn!"

○

(Now, now, everyone stop fighting!!)

Huh?
They were scolded.

It really does show everything.

(Heh heh heh.)

○

“Hey, Nyan-kun just giggled right now!”
“The crow that was crying just now started laughing—Ha ha ha!”
“But it’s funny seeing that reflected there!”
“Nyan-chan, let’s make up.”

○

"How strange. I'm suddenly feeling cold."
"What was happening?"

I'm not cold at all.

○

"It’s freezing!"
"I can't take this anymore!"

(Brr brr brr)

"It's true—it is getting a bit chilly here."

_I don't feel it at all._

○

"Nyan-kun, squeeze in between Pichi-kun and me like this."

(Brr brr brr)

"Cats have always been cold-natured creatures from ancient times."

○

"Oh! This is beautiful."

"Look here! It's become completely covered in ice."

(Brr brr brr)

Wow! So beautiful! Whoa—it’s freezing!

○

(They gradually lowered the temperature inside the laboratory to simulate the cold of Mars.)

Just how cold was Mars?

"Oh dear, it's getting chilly."

(Brrrrrr)

"Dogs were always supposed to be animals that don't mind the cold."

○

(Mars also has cold regions like those at Earth's North Pole.
"They call these 'Polar Ice Caps'."
What you see between them is a Martian moon rising.
These frigid areas experience temperatures from -40°C to -70°C.)

"Oh! It was freezing! This was unbearable!"

○

Ah!
Pichikun had gotten all stretched out.

"Huh?"

○

“Dad!”
“It’s an emergency! Please open up!”

“Knocking there won’t work. You need to open that door over there.”

Crickets and Frogs

○

“Ah, we’re saved!”

Dad! Pichikun's ended up like this!

“This was a failure... But the laboratory’s still hovering around minus forty degrees.”

I need to warm him up fast...

○

"It was nothing serious—see, he opened his eyes."

"Huh?"
"Where am I?"

"You were about to freeze to death!"

"Pichikun's even more of a scaredy-cat than Nyan-chan! Ahaha!"

○

“Come along now—I’ll show you the Mars-bound rocket.”

“I’m not going to Mars!”

“Hahaha! Our Ten Tarou’s gone and developed quite the aversion to Mars, hasn’t he?”

“That’s not true! I like all the stars—and Mars is my very favorite!”

○

“And why are you being so reluctant to go to Mars?”

“I had such a strange dream.”

○

“Hahaha! So Ten Tarou wanted to know the truth, did he?”

“That’s right.”

○

"So when seeking truth, you mustn't force yourself to think humans exist on Mars."

"That's right. We should study whether they exist there or not."

"That settles it."

○

If you want to see a Mars dream, you should do like Ten Tarou and watch it from your bed.

"I won't have any more dreams about Mars," I resolved inwardly. "This time I'll peer through instruments and discover real truths."

"Agreed!"

"Agreed!" Nyan-ko chimed in.

○

“Come now, let us all return.”

Dad had shown him various things; now Ten Tarou was to return home and do his schoolwork.

_Farewell._

_Goodbye._

○

“Now now Ten Tarou, wait a moment! Since yesterday, a cricket’s been nesting in Dad’s beard!”

(Huh?)

“My goodness! In your beard?”

○

“Well then, I left it alone because I dislike killing.”
“There! It’s chirping.”

“Oh? How strange?”

○

“Oh my goodness, I really want to hear it!”
“Please let me hear it too.”
“If you make noise, it won’t chirp. Come closer quietly.”

○

(Chirp chirp chirp)

Ah! It really is!

Why on earth had it gotten into his beard?

What a lovely voice.

○

(Chirp chirp chirp Achoo!)

Oh! The cricket sneezed!

○

Ah, I get it! Dad was making the chirping sound with his mouth!

“Well then, everyone, farewell.”

○

Dad tricked me.

I'm so frustrated!

Somehow going back like this felt like such a shame.

○

I feel the same way. It's so frustrating that kids and dogs and cats keep losing to scientists.

Somehow I just can't bring myself to leave like this.

How frustrating I feel!

○

"I've thought of a good idea, everyone... Right?"

"That's a clever idea."

"This is so frustrating!"

○

This was hopeless—these blasted noisy frogs!

○

“Dr. Hoshino, those frogs are becoming quite a racket.”

(Ribbit ribbit ribbit)

“We can’t conduct any research or accomplish anything like this.”

○

Oh? What was this?

Blast!

Another attack from those earlier enemies? This won't do!

○

(Splash!)

○

Alright everyone，let’s head back．

(Ribbit ribbit，ribbit ribbit)

At last，my chest felt cool and refreshed．

(Gek gek gek gek)

Hahaha!

(Riiibbit Croak croak ribbit)