McGuffey's Second Eclectic Reader — Page 48

English → Japanese Full Text Level 2/10

On a summer day, a man sitting on the bank of a river, in the shade of some bushes, watched a flock of ducks on the stream.

夏のある日、川岸のいくらかの茂みの陰に座っていた男が、川の流れの上にいるアヒルの群れを眺めていた。

Soon a branch with leaves came drifting among them, and they all took wing. After circling in the air for a little time, they settled down again on their feeding ground.

やがて葉のついた枝が彼らの間に流れてきたので、アヒルたちは皆飛び立った。しばらく空中を旋回した後、再びえさ場に舞い降りた。

Soon another branch came drifting down among them, and again they took flight from the river; but when they found the branch had drifted by and done them no harm, they flew down to the water as before.

やがてまた別の枝が彼らの間に流れてきたので、再び川から飛び立った。しかし枝が流れ去って何の害もなかったとわかると、以前のように水の上に舞い降りた。

After four or five branches had drifted by in this way, the ducks gave little heed to them. At length, they hardly tried to fly out of their way, even when the branches nearly touched them.

このようにして四、五本の枝が流れ過ぎると、アヒルたちはほとんど気にしなくなった。ついには枝がほぼ体に触れそうになっても、ほとんど逃げようとしなかった。

The man who had been watching all this, now began to wonder who had set these branches adrift. He looked up the stream, and spied a fox slyly watching the ducks. "What will he do next?" thought the man.

これをずっと見ていた男は、誰がこれらの枝を流したのだろうかと不思議に思い始めた。彼は川上を見やると、キツネがこっそりとアヒルを見張っているのを見つけた。「次に何をするつもりだろう？」と男は思った。

When the fox saw that the ducks were no longer afraid of the branches, he took a much larger branch than any he had yet used, and stretched himself upon it so as to be almost hidden. Then he set it afloat as he had the others.

キツネはアヒルたちがもはや枝を怖がらなくなったのを見ると、これまで使ったどの枝よりもずっと大きな枝を取り、ほとんど隠れてしまうようにその上に身を伸ばした。そして他の枝と同じように流した。

Vocabulary

夏: natsu — Summer, the warmest season of the year.
の: no — Possessive or linking particle connecting nouns.
ある: aru — To exist; also used as 'a certain' attributively.
日: hi — Day; also means sun or sunlight.
川岸: kawagishi — Riverbank, the edge alongside a river.
いくらか: ikuraka — Somewhat, a little, to some extent.
茂み: shigemi — Thicket, dense cluster of bushes or shrubs.
陰: kage — Shade, shadow, or a sheltered hidden spot.
に: ni — Particle indicating location, direction, or time.
座っ: suwat(te) — Sat; stem of suwaru, to sit down.
て: te — Conjunctive particle linking sequential actions.
い: i — Stem of iru, indicating ongoing state or action.
た: ta — Past tense auxiliary indicating completed action.
男: otoko — Man, male person.
が: ga — Subject-marking particle in a sentence.
川: kawa — River, a flowing body of fresh water.
流れ: nagare — Flow, current; the movement of water downstream.
上: ue — Above, on top of, or upstream.
いる: iru — To exist (animate); indicates ongoing action or state.
アヒル: ahiru — Domestic duck, a common waterfowl.
群れ: mure — Flock, herd, or group of animals.
を: wo — Object-marking particle indicating the direct object.
眺め: nagame — Gazing, watching; a view or prospect.
やがて: yagate — Before long, soon, eventually, in due course.
葉: ha — Leaf, foliage of a plant or tree.
ついた: tsuita — Attached, bearing; past form of tsuku (to attach).
枝: eda — Branch or twig of a tree.
彼ら: karera — They, them; third-person plural pronoun.
間: aida — Between, among, the space or time interval.
で: de — Particle indicating location of action or means.
たち: tachi — Plural suffix added to pronouns or nouns.
は: wa — Topic-marking particle highlighting the sentence subject.
皆: mina — Everyone, all, the whole group together.
飛び立っ: tobitat(te) — Took flight, flew off; stem of tobitatsu.
しばらく: shibaraku — For a while, for some time, briefly.
空中: kūchū — Midair, in the air, airborne space.
旋回: senkai — Circling, wheeling around in the air.
し: shi — Conjunctive form of suru (to do), linking actions.
後: nochi / ato — After, afterward, later in time.
再び: futatabi — Again, once more, a second time.
えさ場: esaba — Feeding ground, place where animals find food.
舞い降り: maiori — Swooped down, descended gracefully through the air.
また: mata — Again, also, furthermore, in addition.
別: betsu — Different, another, separate, distinct.
から: kara — From, since; particle indicating origin or cause.
しかし: shikashi — However, but, nevertheless; conjunctive contrast word.
流れ去っ: nagare-sat(te) — Drifted away, flowed past and disappeared downstream.
何: nani — What; used in questions or as 'nothing' negated.
害: gai — Harm, damage, injury, or adverse effect.
も: mo — Also, too; with negation means 'not at all'.
なかっ: nakat(ta) — Was not; past negative form of nai.
と: to — Quotation particle; also means 'and' between nouns.
わかる: wakaru — To understand, to know, to realize something.
以前: izen — Before, previously, formerly, in the past.
よう: yō — Like, as if; indicates resemblance or manner.
水: mizu — Water, the clear liquid essential for life.
この: kono — This (near speaker); demonstrative adjective.
四: shi / yon — Four, the number 4.
五本: gohon — Five long thin objects (counter for branches, sticks).
過ぎる: sugiru — To pass by; also means too much of something.
ほとんど: hotondo — Almost, nearly, hardly, mostly.
気: ki — Mind, spirit, attention, mood, or notice.
なく: naku — Without; conjunctive negative form of nai.
なっ: nat(te) — Became; stem of naru, to become or result in.
ついに: tsui ni — Finally, at last, in the end.
ほぼ: hobo — Almost, approximately, nearly, roughly.
体: karada — Body, the physical form of a person or animal.
触れ: fure — Touched, came into contact with something.
そう: sō — So, like that; indicates appearance or likelihood.
逃げ: nige — Fled, escaped; stem of nigeru, to run away.
これ: kore — This, this thing (near the speaker).
ずっと: zutto — All along, continuously, the whole time.
見: mi — Seeing, looking; stem of miru, to look or watch.
誰: dare — Who; interrogative pronoun for a person.
これら: korera — These (things), plural demonstrative pronoun.
流し: nagashi — Letting flow, setting adrift; stem of nagasu.
だろう: darō — Probably, I wonder; expresses conjecture or supposition.
か: ka — Question-marking particle at the end of a sentence.
不思議: fushigi — Strange, mysterious, wonderful, puzzling, curious.
思い: omoi — Thought, feeling, impression; stem of omou.
始め: hajime — Beginning; stem of hajimeru, to start or begin.
彼: kare — He, him; third-person masculine singular pronoun.
川上: kawakami — Upstream, the upper reaches of a river.
見やる: miyaru — To gaze toward, look off into the distance.
キツネ: kitsune — Fox, a wild canine known for cunning.
こっそり: kossori — Stealthily, secretly, quietly without being noticed.
見張っ: miharat(te) — Watched, kept watch over; stem of miharu.
見つけ: mitsuke — Found, discovered; stem of mitsukeru, to find.
次: tsugi — Next, the following one in sequence.
する: suru — To do, to perform an action; versatile verb.
つもり: tsumori — Intention, plan, expectation of doing something.
思っ: omot(te) — Thought, felt; stem of omou, to think.
もはや: mohaya — No longer, already, not anymore.
怖がら: kowagara — Being afraid; stem of kowagaru, to feel scared.
見る: miru — To see, to look, to watch something.
まで: made — Until, up to, as far as.
使っ: tsukuat(te) — Used; stem of tsukau, to use or employ.
どの: dono — Which (of several); interrogative demonstrative adjective.
より: yori — Than; particle used in comparisons.
大きな: ōkina — Big, large; attributive adjective form.
取り: tori — Taking, getting; stem of toru, to take.
隠れ: kakure — Hidden, concealed; stem of kakureru, to hide.
しまう: shimau — To end up doing; completion or regret auxiliary.
その: sono — That (near listener); demonstrative adjective.
身: mi — One's own body, self, or person.
伸ばし: nobashi — Stretching out; stem of nobasu, to extend.
そして: soshite — And then, and so; sentence-connecting conjunction.
他: hoka — Other, another, the rest, elsewhere.
同じ: onaji — Same, identical, equal, alike.

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