The following is a short story written by Naoki Urasawa and originally presented as a children's story within his manga series, [i]Monster[/i]. [quote]Once upon a time, in a land far away, there lived a nameless monster. The monster was dying to have a name. So the monster made up his mind, and set out on a journey to look for one. But the world was such a very large place. The monster split in two, and went on separate journeys. One went east. The other headed west. The one who went east came upon a village. There was a blacksmith who lived at the village's entrance. "Mr. Blacksmith, please give me your name!" said the monster. "I can't give you my name!" replied the blacksmith. 'If you give me your name, I'll go inside you and make you strong," said the monster. "Really?" said the blacksmith, "If you make me stronger, I'll give you my name." The monster went into the blacksmith. And so, the monster became Otto the blacksmith. Otto was the strongest man in town. But then one day he said, "Look at me! Look at me! The monster inside of me is getting bigger!" Munch munch, chomp chomp, gobble gobble, gulp. The hungry monster ate up Otto from the inside out. Once again, he was a monster without a name. Next, he went into Hans the shoemaker. However... Munch munch, chomp chomp, gobble gobble, gulp. Once again, he went back to being a monster without a name. Then, he became Thomas the hunter. But soon... Munch munch, chomp chomp, gobble gobble, gulp. Back he went to being a monster without a name. The monster next went to a castle to look for a nice name. He came upon a very sick boy who lived in that castle. "If you give me your name, I'll make you strong," said the monster. The boy replied, "If you can make me healthy and strong, I will give you my name!" So the monster jumped right into the boy. And the boy became full of vigor. The king was overjoyed. He announced, "The prince is healthy! The prince is strong!" The monster became quite fond of the boy's name. He was also quite pleased with his royal life in the castle. So he controlled himself no matter how ravenous his appetite became. Day after day, despite his growing hunger, the monster stayed put inside the boy. But finally, the hunger just became too great... "Look at me! Look at me!" said the boy, "The monster inside of me has gotten this big!" The boy devoured the king and all his servants. Munch munch, chomp chomp, gobble gobble, gulp. The castle was lonely now with everyone gone, so the boy left on a journey. He walked and walked for days. And then one day, the boy came upon the monster who had gone west. "I have a name!" said the boy, "And it's such a wonderful one at that!" But the monster who went west replied, "Who needs a name? I'm perfectly happy without one. After all, that's what we are - nameless monsters." The boy ate up the monster who went west. At last he had found a name, but there was no longer anyone to call him by it. Such a shame, because Johan was such a wonderful name.[/quote]