| Tora | Japan | Japanese | gowns |
| Hana | mirror | carriage | hastens |
Hana is a little Japanese girl. Her name, in the language of Japan, means flower or blossom. If you should see her you would say that she is as beautiful as the gayest flower in the garden.
Tora is her brother and his name means tiger. He is called Tora because his father and mother wish him to be as strong and as brave as a tiger.
Hana and Tora live in one of the beautiful islands of Japan. Let us visit them in their home on the other side of the world.
We must cross the ocean to reach this far away land. So we go on board a great steamer and for days and days we sail over the sea.
At last we come to the city where our little friends live. We leave the ship and climb into a two-wheeled carriage which is drawn by a man. He runs along the street with our carriage almost as fast as a horse can trot.
How strange everything seems. The men, women, and children all wear gowns that look like dresses. They clatter along in wooden shoes, and they carry paper umbrellas. We ride through narrow streets. There are no sidewalks nor green lawns.
And now our carriage stops. We have come to the home of Hana and Tora. The front of the house is open like a doll's playhouse, and we can see through to the garden beyond.