Mother West Wind "Why" Stories — Page 5
Chipmunk wore just a little, plain brown coat.
シマリスは、ただの小さな地味な茶色のコートを着ていました。
It didn't worry him a bit, not a bit, that his coat was just plain brown.
コートがただの地味な茶色であることは、彼を少しも、少しも悩ませませんでした。
It kept him just as warm as if it were a beautiful red, like that of Mr. Fox, or handsome black and white, like that of Mr. Skunk.
それは、キツネさんのような美しい赤や、スカンクさんのような立派な白黒であるかのように、彼を同じくらい暖かく保ってくれました。
He was perfectly satisfied with his little plain brown coat and took the best of care of it.
彼は自分の小さな地味な茶色のコートに完全に満足しており、それを大切に手入れしていました。
"One day as he was hurrying home to dinner, he climbed up on an old stump to look around and make sure that the way was clear.
「ある日、夕食のために家へ急いでいると、彼は古い切り株に登って周りを見渡し、道が安全であることを確かめました。
Over in a little path in the meadow grass was walking old Mr. Meadow Mouse.
草原の草の中の小さな小道を、年老いたノネズミさんが歩いていました。
He was strolling along as if there was nothing in the world to fear.
彼は世界に何も恐れるものがないかのように、のんびりと歩いていました。
Way back behind him in the same little path, walking very fast but very quietly, was big Mr. Bob Cat.
同じ小道のずっと後ろを、とても速く、しかしとても静かに歩いていたのは、大きなボブキャットさんでした。
His eyes were yellow, and a hungry look was in them.
その目は黄色く、飢えた様子をしていました。
He didn't see Mr. Meadow Mouse, but he would in a few minutes.
彼はまだノネズミさんに気づいていませんでしたが、もう数分もすれば気づくでしょう。
Mr. Chipmunk saw that he would, and that there was no place for Mr. Meadow Mouse to hide.
シマリスさんはそうなることを見てとり、ノネズミさんが隠れる場所がないことも分かりました。
"'Humph! I never meddle in other people's affairs, and this is none of my business,' said little Mr. Chipmunk.
「『ふん！私は他人のことに口を出したことはないし、これは私には関係のないことだ』と小さなシマリスさんは言いました。
"But old Mr. Meadow Mouse was a friend.
「しかし、年老いたノネズミさんは友人でした。
He thought a great deal of Mr. Meadow Mouse, did little Mr. Chipmunk.
小さなシマリスさんは、ノネズミさんをとても大切に思っていました。
He couldn't bear to think of what would happen to Mr. Meadow Mouse if big Mr.
彼は、大きな…さんがいたら、ノネズミさんに何が起こるかを考えることすら耐えられませんでした。
Vocabulary
- シマリス
- shimarisu — Chipmunk; small striped squirrel-like rodent
- は
- wa — Topic marker particle indicating the subject
- ただ
- tada — Just, only, merely; nothing more than
- の
- no — Possessive or nominalizing particle
- 小さな
- chiisana — Small, little, tiny in size
- 地味
- jimi — Plain, dull, modest, not flashy in appearance
- な
- na — Adjectival linking particle for na-adjectives
- 茶色
- chairo — Brown color
- コート
- kooto — Coat; outer garment worn for warmth
- を
- wo — Object marker particle indicating direct object
- 着て
- kite — Wearing; putting on clothing (te-form of kiru)
- い
- i — Auxiliary verb stem indicating ongoing state
- まし
- mashi — Polite auxiliary verb stem (past polite form)
- た
- ta — Past tense grammatical ending
- が
- ga — Subject marker particle; also means 'but'
- で
- de — Particle indicating location, means, or cause
- ある
- aru — To exist, to be (for inanimate things)
- こと
- koto — Thing, fact, matter (nominalizer)
- 彼
- kare — He, him; third person male pronoun
- 少し
- sukoshi — A little, a bit, slightly
- も
- mo — Also, too, even; inclusive particle
- 悩ませ
- nayamase — To trouble, bother, or worry someone
- ませ
- mase — Polite imperative or negative auxiliary ending
- ん
- n — Negative contraction or nominalizing colloquial form
- でし
- deshi — Polite copula stem used before past tense
- それ
- sore — That; demonstrative pronoun for nearby object
- キツネ
- kitsune — Fox; cunning wild canine animal
- さん
- san — Honorific title used after names
- よう
- you — Like, similar to; resemblance or manner
- 美しい
- utsukushii — Beautiful, lovely, gorgeous in appearance
- 赤
- aka — Red color
- や
- ya — And, or; particle listing examples non-exhaustively
- スカンク
- sukanku — Skunk; black-and-white odor-spraying mammal
- 立派
- rippa — Splendid, magnificent, impressive, admirable
- 白黒
- shirokuro — Black and white; two contrasting colors
- か
- ka — Question marker particle or 'or' conjunction
- に
- ni — Particle indicating direction, location, or time
- 同じ
- onaji — Same, identical, equal
- くらい
- kurai — About, approximately; to the extent of
- 暖かく
- atatakaku — Warmly; in a warm manner (adverb form)
- 保っ
- tamotts(u) — To keep, maintain, preserve a state
- て
- te — Te-form connective particle linking verb phrases
- くれ
- kure — To give (to speaker); do something for me
- 自分
- jibun — Oneself, myself; reflexive personal pronoun
- 完全
- kanzen — Complete, perfect, total, entire
- 満足
- manzoku — Satisfaction, contentment, fulfillment
- し
- shi — Conjunctive verb ending listing reasons or actions
- おり
- ori — Humble form of 'iru'; to be, to exist
- 大切
- taisetsu — Important, precious, valuable, cherished
- 手入れ
- teire — Care, maintenance, grooming of something
- 日
- hi — Day, sun; unit of time or celestial body
- 夕食
- yuushoku — Dinner, evening meal
- ため
- tame — For the purpose of, for the sake of
- 家
- ie — House, home, household
- へ
- e — Directional particle meaning toward or to
- 急い
- isoide — Hurrying, rushing (te-form of isogu)
- いる
- iru — To exist, to be (for animate beings)
- と
- to — And; with; quotation particle; conditional 'when'
- 古い
- furui — Old, aged, ancient (for objects)
- 切り株
- kirikabu — Tree stump; base left after cutting a tree
- 登っ
- nobotts(u) — Climbed, ascended (past stem of noboru)
- 周り
- mawari — Surroundings, area around, vicinity
- 見渡し
- miwatashi — Surveying, looking out over a wide area
- 道
- michi — Road, path, way, route
- 安全
- anzen — Safety, security, being free from danger
- 確かめ
- tashikame — To confirm, verify, make sure of something
- 草原
- sougen — Grassland, meadow, prairie
- 草
- kusa — Grass, weeds, plants
- 中
- naka — Inside, middle, among, within
- 小道
- komichi — Narrow path, small trail, lane
- 年老い
- toshioi — Aged, elderly, having grown old
- ノネズミ
- nonezumi — Field mouse; small wild rodent living outdoors
- 歩い
- aruite — Walking (te-form of aruku)
- 世界
- sekai — World, the earth, global scope
- 何
- nani — What; anything, something (interrogative)
- 恐れる
- osoreru — To fear, to be afraid of something
- もの
- mono — Thing, object, matter, person (nominalizer)
- ない
- nai — Not exist; negative auxiliary adjective
- のんびり
- nonbiri — Leisurely, carefree, relaxed, unhurried
- ずっと
- zutto — All along, continuously, by far
- 後ろ
- ushiro — Behind, back, rear direction
- とても
- totemo — Very, extremely, quite
- 速く
- hayaku — Quickly, fast, swiftly (adverb form)
- しかし
- shikashi — However, but, nevertheless
- 静か
- shizuka — Quiet, silent, calm, peaceful
- 大きな
- ookina — Big, large, great in size
- その
- sono — That (adjective); referring to nearby noun
- 目
- me — Eye, eyes; sight, vision
- 黄色く
- kiiroku — Yellowly; in a yellow manner (adverb form)
- 飢え
- ue — Hunger, starvation, famine
- 様子
- yousu — Appearance, state, situation, look
- まだ
- mada — Still, not yet, even now
- 気づい
- kidzuite — Noticed, became aware of (te-form of kidzuku)
- もう
- mou — Already, anymore, soon, now
- 数分
- suufun — A few minutes, several minutes
- すれ
- sure — Conditional form of suru (to do)
- ば
- ba — Conditional particle meaning 'if' or 'when'
- 気づく
- kidzuku — To notice, to become aware of something
- でしょ
- desho — Probably, right? Seeking confirmation or inferring
- う
- u — Volitional ending expressing probability or intention
- そう
- sou — So, that way, like that
- なる
- naru — To become, to turn into
- 見て
- mite — Looking, seeing (te-form of miru)
- とり
- tori — Taking; stem of toru, to take or grab
- 隠れる
- kakureru — To hide, to conceal oneself
- 場所
- basho — Place, location, spot, position
- 分かり
- wakari — Understanding, comprehension (stem of wakaru)
- ふん
- fun — Hmph; dismissive interjection expressing indifference
- 私
- watashi — I, me; first person singular pronoun
- 他人
- tanin — Other people, strangers, others
- 口
- kuchi — Mouth; also means speech or words
- 出し
- dashi — Bringing out, interfering (stem of dasu)
- これ
- kore — This; demonstrative pronoun for close object
- 関係
- kankei — Relationship, connection, involvement, concern
- だ
- da — Copula; informal 'is' or 'to be'
- 言い
- ii — Saying (stem of iu/yuu, to say)
- 友人
- yuujin — Friend, close companion
- 思っ
- omotte — Thinking, feeling (te-form of omou)
- たら
- tara — Conditional 'if/when'; after completing an action
- 起こる
- okoru — To happen, to occur, to take place
- 考える
- kangaeru — To think, to consider, to ponder
- すら
- sura — Even; emphatic particle indicating extreme case
- 耐え
- tae — Enduring, bearing, tolerating (stem of taeru)
- られ
- rare — Potential or passive auxiliary verb ending
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