Once upon a time there was an old man and his old wife living in a village in Japan. They lived alone as they had no children.
One day the old woman went to the river and had just begun washing the clothes when, to her surprise, a giant peach came floating down the river. It was the biggest peach she had ever seen and she coaxed it out of the river and took it home for supper.

As she was getting ready to cut the peach in half, the sound of a human voice came from inside the peach. “Wait! Don’t cut me!” said the voice. Suddenly the peach split open and a beautiful baby boy jumped out of the peach.
The old people were astounded. But the baby said, “Don’t be afraid. Heaven saw how lonely you were without any children and sent me to you.”