《桃太郎》是日本童話故事中最受兒童喜愛的一篇古老童話。雖然經歷了很多世紀後，故事的講述形式和內容略有變動，但是大多數版本都緊緊地圍繞著同樣的主題：一對無兒無女的老夫婦意外地在一顆桃子裡發現了一個小男孩。這個孩子長大後，立志去徵服邪惡的食人怪。他帶著一袋老婆婆做的小米餅上路了，途中遇到了一條狗，一隻猴子和一隻野雞。後來，在這幾個忠實夥伴的幫助下，桃太郎把食人怪打得落花流水，光榮地凱旋故裡。
故事的語言簡短，結構明快，生動塑造了日本的一個傳奇形象--桃太郎。值得一提的是，童話在頌揚桃太郎這樣一個勇敢，機智，善良，強壯人物的同時，也反映了他幼年時的懶惰，從而使這個形象變得豐滿起來。和世界上其他童話相似，該故事中也用豐富的想像，為桃太郎安排了很多得力的助手，從而使故事在一系列巧合中體現「善良最終戰勝邪惡」的主題。
Once upon a time an old man and woman lived in the mountains. Everyday the old man went to the mountain and collected firewood, while the old woman went to the river and did the laundry. One day, she was doing the washing when a big peach came floating down the river towards her. As it was a big and juicy-looking fruit, she thought that her husband would be glad to eat it so she took it home. When the old man came back for lunch and saw the nice peach, he was really happy. The old woman cut the big peach open with a knife. What a surprise! A lovely little boy was in the peach.
The old man and woman had no children so they were really grateful the gods had sent them a boy in this peach. Since he was born in a peach, they decided to call him Momotaro which means "peach-boy". The old woman cooked a meal for the little boy who ate as much as he could; the more he ate, the more he grew. Soon he became a tall and strong boy.
No matter how tall or strong he was, Momotaro was a lazy boy. Day after day, all he did was sleep and eat. In the village the other boys went to the mountain and picked firewood while Momotaro was the only one doing nothing. This worried the old man and the old woman, so they asked the other boys to try to make Momotaro go and work with them.
The boys then invited him, "Momotaro, would you come with us? We're going to collect firewood."
But he answered, "I haven't a basket, so I can't go with you" and went back to sleep.
The following day, they invited him again, "Momotaro, would you come with us? We're going to collect firewood."
And he answered them, "I haven't any sandals, so I can't go with you" and went back to sleep. Upon hearing this, the old woman got angry with Momotaro for being so lazy, so the next day he went to collect firewood with the other boys.
While the boys were working and collecting firewood, Momotaro took a nap. When the work was finished, the boys decided to go back to the village. Just then, Momotaro awoke and said to them, "I'll collect firewood and come back with you."