The Sequel (Part 2) to Children's 'Cute Mispronunciations🎶'

Hello! I'm Harapeko Yama-chan.

The 'Harapeko Family' consists of:
A trio of hungry, growing boys:
1-peko (Eldest son, middle schooler)
2-peko (Second son, middle schooler)
3-peko (Third son, preschooler)
And my wife and myself, a family of five.

This time, it's the sequel (Part 2) to 3-peko's (third son)
'cute mispronunciations'.

Let's get to Part 2!🎶

The time has finally come.
Golden Week is here!

The long-awaited
'Aqua Totto Gifu' showdown day is here!

Appearing at the meeting spot was
a foreign friend who is a native Kansai-ben speaker,
wearing a flashy aloha shirt.

"Oh! Harapeko Family!
Maido ookini!!"

Fluent, native Kansai-English
echoing through the Gifu blue sky.

3-peko ran up to him, shouting
"OCCHAN!!" (Hey, mister!!)
Having secured his own personal interpreter,
he had a smug look like a Hollywood star.

We headed into the building immediately.

First,
it starts from the headwaters of the Nagara River,
overflowing with greenery and natural light.

And then,
as we gradually moved forward,
the scale expanded to rivers of the world.

The Harapeko family's
main goal this time was
"The fish of the Amazon and the Mekong."

We wanted to wrap up 3-peko's enthusiastic
pleas to go there with a fun experience.
Our creature expert, 2-peko (second son),

seemed a bit more eager than usual.
Shaking his two-block haircut,
he pushed up his glasses
and had already entered 'guide mode'.
"Listen, 3-peko, this is the Mekong River from here on.

It's a treasure trove of giant fish."

When we arrived in front of the giant tank,
there was the 'Mekong Giant Catfish',
swimming leisurely like the master of the house!

"SO BIG!!"

Hiding behind my
well-trained, rugby-player-like back,
3-peko was trembling.
From there,

"M-Mister! Ask that fish
if it's hungry!!"
3-peko whispered, barely audible.
Our personal interpreter didn't miss it.
It was his time to shine.

But the other party is a fish.

Watching to see what he would do,

the foreign friend brought his face close to the tank,
"Hey, Catfish Brother!"
(Pfft!? I burst out laughing...)

Then the friend continued,

"Are you hungry right now?

Uh-huh, I see."

He started communicating via mysterious telepathy.
Then he turned back to 3-peko

and said with a serious face,

"3-peko, he says he already ate
his fill of okonomiyaki today,

so he won't eat any little boys!!"
"Really!? He ate okonomiyaki!?"
No way...💦😂
But 3-peko looked at him
with eyes full of respect, saying, "English is amazing!"

It was a perfect misunderstanding, but

what was even more hilarious was when 3-peko said,

"Mister! What is that zookeeper doing!?
Ask him in English!"
giving him instructions.

No way...💦😂

The kind-looking zookeeper
was startled for a moment
and gave a slightly bitter smile.
My apologies!💦

1-peko (eldest son) was

holding his stomach behind us,
rolling with laughter, saying, "Oh man, my stomach hurts lol."
And finally, we reached the main event,

the 'Arapaima' tank.

The intimidation of this 'living fossil',
which can reach 3 meters in length, was immense,
a power that overwhelms even adults.
3-peko lost his words at the sheer size,

his mouth hanging open.
At that moment, our family's beast tamer (my wife)

said sharply,
"Hey, 3-peko!
Don't leave your mouth hanging open!

Say hello to Mr. Arapaima!"
Thanks to the beast tamer's precise instructions,

3-peko came to his senses.
However, this is the Amazon (according to our setting).

Thinking that speaking directly wouldn't work,
3-peko pulled hard on the hem
of the foreign friend's clothes.
"Mister! Mister!!

Say hello, I'm 3-peko,
please don't eat me!
Hurry, hurry, say it in English!!"
The rushed foreign friend

bowed deeply to the Arapaima
and said in a slightly loud whisper,
"MAIDO!!"
(A Showa-era style pratfall)

1-peko, 2-peko, and I
collapsed to our knees...💦😂

Good grief.
However, strangely enough,

perhaps reacting to that overly suspicious Kansai-ben,

the giant Arapaima slid
closer through the tank!
"Whoa!! It's coming!!"
3-peko panicked.

His wide-eyed gaze

was almost entirely

popping out
like a scene from a manga.😂
"3-peko-chan, the Arapaima
came to greet you back saying 'Maido' too!!"

the foreign friend added with a random explanation.

"Really!? The Arapaima
said 'Maido'!?
In English!?"

"Yeah! It's Amazonian 'Maido'!!"
I have no idea what's going on anymore.
It was the moment

Native Kansai-English

was suddenly introduced

to the Amazon River ecosystem.
And so,
the chaotic
'Aqua Totto Gifu' tour

came to a safe conclusion.
On the way home, 3-peko said,
"Everyone at the aquarium
spoke English!

Thanks to Mister, we were saved!"
with a very satisfied, smug look.
I hesitated whether to correct him,
but seeing his sparkling smile,
my wife and I laughed together,

thinking, 'Well, let's leave it like this for a while.'
"What was the best part?"
2-peko asked, like a reporter.
"The 3-piki (three) Arapaima!"

...'Piki' (counter for small animals).
I should probably correct his counting.

Well, well.😂

We walked and laughed a lot,

and our hunger meter was off the charts!

"Alright! For lunch, Dad

is going to make
a 'meat-main rice ball'

that's even bigger
than the Amazon's Arapaima!!"
"Yaaay, meat🎶 meat🎶"
Of course, the foreign friend joined us too.
And at the Harapeko family home,

the party covered in meat,

with meat-main rice balls and pasta,

began!🎶
We had a potluck with the foreign friend,
a cheap-but-good wine showdown.
"This Yama-chan meat

and this French Bordeaux wine
are saying 'Bonjour' and it's the best!"

I thought,
Foreign friend,
are you
trying to go as far as French too?

Starting from lunch until late at night,
the foreign friend's
Native Kansai-English
echoed without pause,
making it a rowdy night

at the Harapeko family home.

If you haven't seen the first part, please take a look.
I posted it previously.
↓↓Details here↓↓

Men's cooking
If you haven't seen the story of 'It's pasta with meat as the main dish🎶',
please take a look.
I posted it previously.
↓↓Details here↓↓