息子：お母さん、虎の子あるんでしょ。テレビ電話買ってよ。
母親：大切な虎の子を、そんなものには使いませんよ。
Tora no Ko
Musuko: Okaasan, tora no ko aru'n desho? Terebi-denwa katte yo.
Haha-oya: Taisetsu na tora noko wo, sonna mono ni wa tsukaimasen yo.
Son: Mom, you have some special savings set aside, right? Buy a picture phone, won't you?
Mother: My special savings? Spend it on something like that? I'm afraid not.
Tora no ko is a colloquialism used to refer to something one treasures and cannot or will not easily part with - one's special savings or a prized possession. The expression comes from the way tigers take such good care of their cubs.
The number of households with picture phones has apparently increased. Though one might expect the screens on such phones to show movement similar to that on a television screen, the pictures are in fact still - one sends what could best be described as a photograph to the person on the other end. The phones can be bought for about \50,000 or \60,000.
The son in the conversation is bugging his mother to buy a picture phone. He probably wants to be able to see his girlfriend's face when he calls her up at night. No matter. Haha-oya no tora no ko wo ate ni suru to wa, nasakenai (It's shameful to expect one will be able to use one's mother's treasured savings). The mother tells her son: "That money is for me. Use the money you earn at your part-time job." Indeed, it's not very difficult for him to earn enough to buy a picture phone. A week's work at the "snack" where he earns \1,000 an hour should do the trick. Okaasan no tora no ko wo tsukawanakute mo sumimashita (Everything worked out without his having to use his mother's special savings). His mother makes only \500 an hour working as a checkout clerk at a nearby supermarket. Since her special savings took time to earn (yatto tameta tora no ko) it's only natural that she spend the money on herself.
The boy finally calls his girl using the picture phone. Surprise! The girl who'd always looked so refined is homely-looking when at home. Without her makeup she looks five years older. He laments, "Aa, konna koto ni naru no nara, terebi-denwa nanka kawanakereba yokatta (If I'd known it was going to turn out like this I never would have bought the silly phone)." But it's too late. He's lost interest. The picture phone becomes his mother's possession.
Now the boy's father is excited. He'll be able to see how his mother and father in the country are doing.
He immediately buys a picture phone for them. His wife: "Watashi no taisetsu na tora no ko de katte agemasu (I'll buy it with my special savings)." As you can imagine, the grandparents are overjoyed when they find out they'll be able to see their grandchildren. (This isn't a plug for the phone company. These things really happened.)