0:00:06 > 0:00:10Here they come, my two intrepid explorers,
0:00:10 > 0:00:12Charlotte and Lokesh.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14I'm their great aunt Lizzie, you see,
0:00:14 > 0:00:17and I wonder which one is coming to see me today.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23Ah! So, it's Charlotte.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26- Hello, Charlotte! - Hello, Great Aunt Lizzie.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35Once upon a time, I travelled the world
0:00:35 > 0:00:38discovering treasures from long ago and far away
0:00:38 > 0:00:42and no end of stories to remind me.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46But my most precious possession of all
0:00:46 > 0:00:51is my extraordinary collection of teacups.
0:01:04 > 0:01:05Here we are.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09No time to count the clouds.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11Let's have a nice cup of tea and a story.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13But first we need the teacup.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17But which one?
0:01:30 > 0:01:32That one.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35Ah.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37It's a Japanese inro.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42That is a very special type of Japanese case.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45It has lots of hidden compartments inside
0:01:45 > 0:01:48and there's a great story hiding in there, too.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56- Have you been baking, Aunt Lizzie?- Maybe.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59But it won't be ready for some time yet.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01In the meantime, shall I tell you the tale
0:02:01 > 0:02:07- of Charlotte and the adventure of the two identical inro?- Yes, please.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10Our story begins hundreds of years ago,
0:02:10 > 0:02:13in the beautiful islands of Japan,
0:02:13 > 0:02:16the land of the rising sun.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37After journeying for days through forests and mountains,
0:02:37 > 0:02:40Charlotte found herself in a small, picturesque town
0:02:40 > 0:02:42near the Sea of Japan.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45From a distance, she could hear someone calling out...
0:02:45 > 0:02:49- Exchange! Exchange!- So, she decided to follow the voice...
0:02:49 > 0:02:53- Exchange! Exchange! - ..until she came to a market stall
0:02:53 > 0:02:57crammed with extraordinary things she had never seen before.
0:02:57 > 0:02:58Exchange!
0:02:58 > 0:02:59Ah.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03What can I offer you today, my dear writer?
0:03:03 > 0:03:05The finest paper?
0:03:05 > 0:03:07A bag with compartments?
0:03:07 > 0:03:09Perhaps, a new brush?
0:03:09 > 0:03:14I just received one so good it will make you...blush.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17I've got a brush myself to swap, actually.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20Right now, I am looking for some ink.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23Deal. Could you come closer, please?
0:03:23 > 0:03:27I think you have something... in your ear! Ta-da.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30- ALL LAUGH - Ah! Bravo!
0:03:31 > 0:03:34The writer squirreled away a dark brown piece of ink
0:03:34 > 0:03:38in an ornately decorated black container, his inro.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41And what can I offer you today, Chef Machi?
0:03:41 > 0:03:43Some herbs, roots?
0:03:43 > 0:03:45Exotic fruits?
0:03:45 > 0:03:48I will have this miso paste.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51Oh, this is a very fine miso paste
0:03:51 > 0:03:54made by the one and only Chiyo.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57Oh, Chiyo! Of course, I knew it was good.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01Would you be interested in swapping it with some shiso leaves?
0:04:01 > 0:04:03- HE CLICKS HIS FINGERS - Always.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07Chef Machi's inro was identical in every way
0:04:07 > 0:04:11and the dense miso paste looked almost exactly like the ink.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14Can I offer you some fresh cherries?
0:04:14 > 0:04:17- A treat for my very best customers. - Oh!
0:04:17 > 0:04:22Those two identical cases lay side by side.
0:04:26 > 0:04:27- Mmm!- Mmmm!
0:04:29 > 0:04:32Mother Nature's recipes are always the best.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36Apart from those created by Chef Machi.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38Oh, you're too kind.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41- It happened so quick.- Thank you.
0:04:41 > 0:04:46But had the writer and the chef accidentally swapped their inro?
0:04:46 > 0:04:49- Goodbye. - Nice doing business with you.
0:04:49 > 0:04:50Exchange!
0:04:50 > 0:04:52Exchange! Exchange!
0:04:53 > 0:04:56Charlotte wasn't certain about the swap.
0:04:56 > 0:05:01She thought she'd better tell one of them right away, just in case,
0:05:01 > 0:05:03so she followed Chef Machi
0:05:03 > 0:05:07back to her kitchen, where she was making some of her famous miso soup.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09Pff...
0:05:09 > 0:05:10Ugh!
0:05:10 > 0:05:13My soup tastes terrible.
0:05:14 > 0:05:15- Excuse me.- Not now.
0:05:15 > 0:05:19- I am in the middle of a very big crisis.- But I think I can...
0:05:19 > 0:05:22Kojiro the Samurai is holding a big dinner party tonight
0:05:22 > 0:05:26and he has asked me to make him my famous soup.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30Me! Do you understand? Do you know how important this is?
0:05:30 > 0:05:33It is a great honour for a chef, a great honour,
0:05:33 > 0:05:40but now my soup tastes like rotten bananas and pickled tomatoes!
0:05:40 > 0:05:45- I think it's because of the ink. - What? What ink?- At the market,
0:05:45 > 0:05:47you and the writer had two identical inros
0:05:47 > 0:05:51and I think they got mixed up when you tasted the cherries.
0:05:54 > 0:05:59You're right. This is not my special miso paste!
0:05:59 > 0:06:03Oh! Now I have to start the soup all over again
0:06:03 > 0:06:08and, still, I don't have my special miso paste.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10I could help. I could take the inro
0:06:10 > 0:06:12and swap it back again with the writer.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16Oh! Yes. That would be kind.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18She passed her the inro. It was beautiful.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21Made of mirror-black lacquered wood
0:06:21 > 0:06:24and decorated with golden feathers and shells.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26Thank you so much.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28I'll be as quick as I can.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34But where on earth would Charlotte find the writer now?
0:06:34 > 0:06:37She headed back to the trader to pick up his trail.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41When she got there, she wasn't the only one who had returned.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44This ink is completely useless! I demand to have my brush back.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46It is good ink - I tried it myself.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50I'm telling you, no matter how many times I write with it,
0:06:50 > 0:06:52it keeps fading away.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55I have a very important speech to write before tonight.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58I cannot afford to waste a moment more.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02Excuse me, I think I have your inro and your ink is inside.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07If that's my inro then whose inro is this?
0:07:07 > 0:07:11You must have got your inro mixed up with Chef Machi's inro.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14That means you're writing with...
0:07:14 > 0:07:15Miso paste.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21Thank you. The only trouble is,
0:07:21 > 0:07:27in my many attempts to write with the miso paste, I used it all up.
0:07:27 > 0:07:31- I'm so sorry.- Oh, dear, I only have the ordinary miso left.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34If you need the good stuff, the only thing I can suggest
0:07:34 > 0:07:38is you go see Chiyo on the other side of the mountains.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42Was it even possible to get across the mountains and back again
0:07:42 > 0:07:44in time for the Samurai's dinner party?
0:07:44 > 0:07:48It was only lunchtime and already it was so complicated.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53Mm! It smells delicious.
0:07:54 > 0:07:55It looks amazing.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59- Would you like a piece? It's my special recipe.- Yes, please.
0:07:59 > 0:08:04- What about Chef Machi's special recipe?- Her soup, you mean?
0:08:04 > 0:08:07Well, it wouldn't taste the same without miso paste.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09The trader does have some ordinary miso.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12Chef Machi really needs her special miso,
0:08:12 > 0:08:16so that it's perfect for the party, for Kojiro the Samurai.
0:08:16 > 0:08:17She can't disappoint him.
0:08:17 > 0:08:22I think you're right. If it was me, I wouldn't mess with the Samurai.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25- That would be a terrible idea. - It would!
0:08:25 > 0:08:27So, Charlotte couldn't go back
0:08:27 > 0:08:31without trying to find the special miso paste now, could she?
0:08:39 > 0:08:44So, off went Charlotte in her hat, bag and boots.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49Along the seashore...
0:08:52 > 0:08:53..and up the rocky mountains.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04When she was almost out of breath,
0:09:04 > 0:09:07the path ran out!
0:09:12 > 0:09:14There was only one way to get to the bottom.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24Charlotte took a deep breath.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30WHOOMPH!
0:09:55 > 0:09:57Safely across,
0:09:57 > 0:10:01Charlotte emerged into the dazzling light on top of the mountain.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06There was no time to admire the view,
0:10:06 > 0:10:10Charlotte had to get that special miso paste for the chef.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16Soon, she came to a little house surrounded by cartloads of barrels,
0:10:16 > 0:10:19the home of Chiyo the miso maker.
0:10:19 > 0:10:24Excuse me, may I have a little bit of your special miso paste?
0:10:24 > 0:10:28You may, but you will have to wait a little while.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31- How long?- 12 months.- A whole year?
0:10:31 > 0:10:35Charlotte couldn't wait a whole year! Chef Machi needed it tonight.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37I only need a little bit.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40Maybe you have some left from an old batch?
0:10:40 > 0:10:43- I'm afraid not.- Chef Machi really needs it for tonight.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46The great Chef Machi sent you?
0:10:46 > 0:10:49Why didn't you say so?
0:10:49 > 0:10:52Of course I can find some miso for Chef Machi.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56I always keep a bit of our special blend just for her.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58It will make her soup taste so good
0:10:58 > 0:11:02that all her guests will start singing and dancing.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04There you go.
0:11:05 > 0:11:06Thank you.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13Back came Charlotte
0:11:13 > 0:11:16in her hat, bag and boots.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21Down the rocky mountains and along the seashore.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29She arrived back in time,
0:11:29 > 0:11:33very much to the relief of a very nervous chef.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39- I've got it. - And she was just in time.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41Ah, Chef Machi.
0:11:41 > 0:11:46Can I finally try your famous soup that everyone's been talking about?
0:11:46 > 0:11:51Please, let me just add one more thing before you do -
0:11:51 > 0:11:52my secret ingredient.
0:12:15 > 0:12:16Wonderful.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20The best soup I have ever tasted.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27And fine work on my speech, too.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30Excellent work, all of you.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32Let the dinner party begin!
0:12:35 > 0:12:39- Thank you. You have saved my soup! - And my speech.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43We just make sure we don't get these mixed up again!
0:12:43 > 0:12:45THEY LAUGH
0:12:45 > 0:12:47May I?
0:12:50 > 0:12:53And that was that, the whole kit and caboodle,
0:12:53 > 0:12:56the tale of Charlotte and the two identical inro.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00I bet the soup was delicious. I wish I could try it myself.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04- So do I.- And I wish I had an inro, as well.- What would you put in it?
0:13:04 > 0:13:08- A small notebook and some pencils. - And some marbles, maybe?
0:13:08 > 0:13:10Yes, and hairpins and stickers...
0:13:10 > 0:13:13And some miso paste?
0:13:13 > 0:13:15Only the best, of course!
0:13:15 > 0:13:17Oh, my, is that really the time?
0:13:17 > 0:13:19Come on! We have to get going.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29Now, how did that get there?
0:13:29 > 0:13:31Home time, Charlotte.
0:13:36 > 0:13:41- Thanks, Great Aunt Lizzie. - Cheery-bye, Charlotte.- Bye!