Hiro’s Festival

Abstract

What do you need to be happy? Can changing your situation and responsibilities make you happy? In this children’s story of folk-lore short fiction, Hiro is a young boy that is feeling trapped. Because his father is the village headman, he had great duties and responsibilities. One unhappy day, Hiro hears a voice that asks him why he is so unhappy. He says he would like more time to himself. He is transformed into mouse so he can run in the fields. He is chased by a cat and realizes that is the better animal to become. He tries a day as a cat, and later as fox, but nothing seems to give him the happiness and freedom he desires. Each animal, it seems, has responsibilities. Finally, Hiro realizes that is place, and his duties, with his father and his tribe are something to be accepted and enjoyed.