Let’s all learn to sing and dance the Bento Box Song with this cute little cat!
Two things are guaranteed to help when you’re in a bad mood: cute music and a cute cat. And we have great news about this video picking up steam on Japanese Twitter: it blends them both!
The video stars Mantaro, a gorgeous and extremely patient Munchkin cat. It wasn’t Mantaro’s owner who brought him into the limelight though, it was their friend, Twitter user @parapilia.
▼ “My friend sent this to me. I’ve been healed…. I could watch this forever….”
https://twitter.com/parapilia/status/1194981003376226305In the video a cheery children’s song plays, one parents in Japan might recognize as the Bento Box Song. The song uses gestures to indicate a small or big bento box, then uses an increasing number of fingers to represent various food stuffs that might fill it up.
Mantaro, having fluffy round cat paws and no fingers, has to settle for simply having his paws bounced up and down by his owner. This doesn’t stop him from beautifully outlining an imaginary bento box, though, and at the end of the video he even waves the viewer goodbye.
Want to sing along to the Bento Box Song as you look into Mantaro’s beautiful, soothing eyes? Here’s the lyrics, both in Japanese romanized text and English:
Kore kurai no obento naka ni
Onigiri, onigiri choitto tsumete
Kizami shōga ni gomashio futte
Ninjin-san
Sakuranbo-san
Shiitake-san
Gobō-san
Ana no aita renkon-san
Suji no tōtta
Fuki
Inside a bento box, about this big
Rice balls, rice balls, a couple placed inside
Sprinkle salt and sesame on the chopped ginger
Now the carrots,
Cherries,
Mushrooms,
Burdock root
Then the lotus root, full of holes
And butterbur stalks with strings.
Mantaro isn’t the best teacher for the gestures, due to his aforementioned lack of fingers, so here’s a slightly more articulated guide.
Those who were able to tear their eyes away from Mantaro’s adorable kitty dance left screams of “cuuuuuute” and “poor baby looks so grumpy” in the replies.
Several recognized Mantaro from @parapilia’s friend’s Instagram, and raised concern about her possibly posting it without permission — thankfully @parapilia assuaged concerns that her friend knew about the Tweet, and she also linked to their Instagram in a reply.
▼ Even more adorableness await you here!
As cute as Mantaro’s dancing is, it’s plain to see that his owner is very hands-on and handles most of the choreography. Mantaro seems like a chill and languid cat, so perhaps it’s too much to expect him to do any wild bellydances or tissue box shuffles of his own volition. But hopefully he’ll inspire you to do a little Bento Box dance of your own today, and that’s what counts!
Source, featured image: Twitter/@parapilia
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