Mother West Wind "Why" Stories — Page 11
He didn't like to work any more than Peter Rabbit does now.
彼は今のピーター・ラビットと同様、働くことが好きではありませんでした。
No, Sir, old Mr. Rabbit was afraid of work.
そうです、年老いたウサギさんは仕事を恐れていたのです。
The very sight of work scared old Mr. Rabbit.
仕事を見るだけで、年老いたウサギさんは怖くなってしまいました。
You see, he was so busy minding other people's business that he didn't have time to attend to his own.
というのも、彼は他人のことに首を突っ込むのに忙しすぎて、自分自身のことに構う暇がなかったのです。
So his brown and gray coat always was rumpled and tumbled and dirty.
そのため、彼の茶色と灰色の上着はいつもしわくちゃで乱れ、汚れていました。
His house was a tumble-down affair in which no one but Mr. Rabbit would ever have thought of living, and his garden--oh, dear me, such a garden you never did see!
彼の家はボロボロで、ウサギさん以外には誰も住もうとは思わないような有様で、庭に至っては――まあ、なんと、あんな庭は見たことがないというほどのものでした！
It was all weeds and brambles.
庭は雑草と茨だらけでした。
They filled up the yard, and old Mr. Rabbit actually couldn't have gotten into his own house if he hadn't cut a path through the brambles.
それらが庭を埋め尽くし、年老いたウサギさんは茨を切り開いて道を作らなければ、自分の家にさえ入れなかったほどです。
"Now when old Mr. Rabbit heard that Old Mother Nature was coming, his heart sank way, way down, for he knew just how angry she would be when she saw his house, his garden and his shabby suit.
「さて、年老いたウサギさんが老いたる大自然の母がやって来ると聞いたとき、彼の心はずっしりと沈みました。なぜなら、大自然の母が彼の家と庭と粗末な服を見たとき、どれほど怒るかがわかっていたからです。
"'Oh, dear! Oh, dear! What shall I do?' wailed Mr. Rabbit, wringing his hands.
「『ああ、どうしよう！どうしよう！どうしたらいいんだ？』ウサギさんは手をもみしだきながら嘆きました。
"'Get busy and clean up,' advised Mr. Woodchuck, hurrying about his own work.
「『さっさと動いて片付けなさい』とウッドチャックさんが自分の仕事に急ぎながら助言しました。
"Now Mr. Woodchuck was a worker and very, very neat.
「さて、ウッドチャックさんは働き者で、とてもとても几帳面でした。
He meant to have his home looking just as fine as he could make it.
彼は自分の家をできる限り立派に見せようと思っていました。
He brought up some clean yellow sand from deep down in the ground and sprinkled it smoothly over his doorstep.
彼は地面の深いところからきれいな黄色い砂を持ってきて、玄関の敷居の上に滑らかに撒きました。
Vocabulary
- 彼
- kare — He; third-person masculine pronoun.
- は
- wa — Topic marker particle in Japanese grammar.
- 今
- ima — Now; the present moment or time.
- の
- no — Possessive or nominalizing particle in Japanese.
- と
- to — And; with; quotation particle in Japanese.
- 同様
- dōyō — Likewise; in the same way or manner.
- 働く
- hataraku — To work; to labor or be employed.
- こと
- koto — Thing; fact; nominalizer for verb phrases.
- が
- ga — Subject marker particle in Japanese grammar.
- 好き
- suki — Liked; fond of something or someone.
- で
- de — Copula connector; at; by means of.
- あり
- ari — Stem of aru; to exist or be.
- ませ
- mase — Polite verb ending component in Japanese.
- ん
- n — Negative contraction; explanatory sentence-final particle.
- でし
- deshi — Polite copula past stem form.
- た
- ta — Past tense verb ending in Japanese.
- そう
- sō — So; that way; it seems like that.
- です
- desu — Polite copula meaning 'is' or 'are'.
- 年老い
- toshioi — Growing old; aging; becoming elderly.
- ウサギ
- usagi — Rabbit; a small long-eared mammal.
- さん
- san — Polite honorific suffix for names.
- 仕事
- shigoto — Work; job; occupation or task.
- を
- wo — Object marker particle in Japanese grammar.
- 恐れ
- osore — Fear; dread; being afraid of something.
- て
- te — Conjunctive verb form connecting actions.
- い
- i — Stem of iru; ongoing state auxiliary.
- 見る
- miru — To see; to look at; to watch.
- だけ
- dake — Only; just; merely; nothing more than.
- 怖く
- kowaku — Adverbial form of scary; frighteningly.
- なっ
- natt(e) — Became; connective form of naru (become).
- しまい
- shimai — End up doing; unfortunately complete an action.
- まし
- mashi — Polite past auxiliary verb component.
- という
- to iu — Called; known as; said to be.
- も
- mo — Also; too; even; as well.
- 他人
- tanin — Other people; strangers; others' affairs.
- に
- ni — Direction, location, or indirect object particle.
- 首
- kubi — Neck; head; also used figuratively.
- 突っ込む
- tsukkomu — To poke into; to meddle or intrude.
- 忙し
- isogashi — Busy; having no free time.
- すぎ
- sugi — Too much; excessively; overly.
- 自分
- jibun — Oneself; one's own self.
- 自身
- jishin — Oneself; personally; one's very own self.
- 構う
- kamau — To mind; to care about; to bother with.
- 暇
- hima — Free time; leisure; spare time available.
- なかっ
- nakatt(e) — Did not have; negative past connective form.
- その
- sono — That; the (referring to nearby thing).
- ため
- tame — Because of; for the sake of; result.
- 茶色
- chairo — Brown color; the color of tea.
- 灰色
- haiiro — Gray color; ash-colored; grey.
- 上着
- uwagi — Jacket; coat; outer garment worn on top.
- いつ
- itsu — When; at what time; always.
- しわくちゃ
- shiwakucha — Wrinkled; crumpled; full of creases.
- 乱れ
- midare — Disorder; disarray; being disheveled or messy.
- 汚れ
- yogore — Dirt; stain; being soiled or filthy.
- 家
- ie — House; home; residence; dwelling.
- ボロボロ
- boroboro — Tattered; worn-out; falling apart completely.
- 以外
- igai — Other than; except for; besides.
- 誰
- dare — Who; which person; anyone.
- 住もう
- sumō — Volitional form of sumu; intend to live.
- 思わ
- omowa — Think; negative or conditional stem of omou.
- ない
- nai — Not; does not exist; negative form.
- よう
- yō — Seems like; in such a way; manner.
- な
- na — Adjectival or sentence-final emphatic particle.
- 有様
- arisama — State; condition; situation; the way things are.
- 庭
- niwa — Garden; yard; outdoor grounds of home.
- 至っ
- itatt(e) — Coming to; reaching; arriving at a state.
- まあ
- mā — Well; my goodness; an exclamatory filler.
- なん
- nan — What; how; what kind of thing.
- あんな
- anna — Like that; that kind of; such a.
- 見た
- mita — Saw; looked at; past tense of miru.
- いう
- iu — To say; to call; to be called.
- ほど
- hodo — To the extent of; about; as much as.
- もの
- mono — Thing; object; something; nominalizer.
- 雑草
- zassō — Weeds; unwanted wild plants growing freely.
- 茨
- ibara — Thorns; brambles; thorny shrub or briar.
- だらけ
- darake — Full of; covered with; riddled with.
- それら
- sorera — Those things; plural form of sore.
- 埋め尽くし
- uzumetsu kushi — Completely covering; filling up entirely.
- 切り開い
- kirihirai — Clearing; cutting open a path through.
- 道
- michi — Road; path; way; route.
- 作ら
- tsukura — Make; create; negative or conditional stem.
- なけれ
- nakere — Must; unless; conditional negative form.
- ば
- ba — Conditional particle meaning if or when.
- さえ
- sae — Even; as long as; at least.
- 入れ
- ire — Put in; enter; insert; imperative of ireru.
- さて
- sate — Well then; now; transitional discourse marker.
- 老い
- oi — Old age; aging; growing old.
- たる
- taru — Attributive copula; being; who is (formal).
- 大自然
- daishizen — Great nature; Mother Nature; the natural world.
- 母
- haha — Mother; one's own mother.
- やっ
- yatt(e) — Did; connective form of yaru (do/come).
- 来る
- kuru — To come; to arrive; to approach.
- 聞い
- kioi — Heard; listened; connective past form of kiku.
- とき
- toki — Time; moment; when something happens.
- 心
- kokoro — Heart; mind; spirit; inner feelings.
- ずっしり
- zusshiri — Heavily; with a weighty sinking feeling.
- 沈み
- shizumi — Sinking; going down; feeling heavy or low.
- なぜ
- naze — Why; for what reason.
- なら
- nara — If; in that case; conditional particle.
- 粗末
- somatsu — Shabby; crude; treating carelessly or poorly.
- 服
- fuku — Clothes; clothing; garment; outfit.
- どれ
- dore — Which one; which thing among several.
- 怒る
- okoru — To get angry; to become upset or mad.
- か
- ka — Question particle; or; whether.
- わかっ
- wakatt(e) — Understood; past connective form of wakaru.
- から
- kara — Because; from; since; after.
- ああ
- ā — Oh; ah; expressing distress or realization.
- どう
- dō — How; in what way; what should be done.
- しよう
- shiyō — Let's do; volitional form of suru.
- し
- shi — And; do; connective or listing particle.
- たら
- tara — If; when; conditional past verb form.
- いい
- ii — Good; fine; alright; acceptable.
- だ
- da — Informal copula meaning 'is' or 'am'.
- 手
- te — Hand; arm; means; method.
- もみしだき
- momishidaki — Wringing hands; twisting anxiously with worry.
- ながら
- nagara — While doing; simultaneously performing two actions.
- 嘆き
- nageki — Lament; grief; sigh of sorrow.
- さっさと
- sassato — Quickly; promptly; without delay; hurry up.
- 動い
- ugoi — Moved; connective past form of ugoku.
- 片付け
- katazuke — Clean up; tidy up; put things away.
- なさい
- nasai — Please do; polite imperative command form.
- 急ぎ
- isogi — Hurry; haste; urgency; rushing.
- 助言
- jogen — Advice; counsel; a word of guidance.
- 働き者
- hatarakimono — Hard worker; diligent and industrious person.
- とても
- totemo — Very; extremely; quite; incredibly.
- 几帳面
- kichōmen — Meticulous; neat; methodical; very tidy person.
- できる
- dekiru — Can do; to be able to; capable.
- 限り
- kagiri — As much as possible; limit; extent.
- 立派
- rippa — Splendid; fine; admirable; respectable appearance.
- 見せよう
- miseyō — Let's show; volitional form of miseru.
- 思っ
- omott(e) — Thought; connective past form of omou.
- 地面
- jimen — Ground; earth surface; the floor outside.
- 深い
- fukai — Deep; profound; far down below surface.
- ところ
- tokoro — Place; spot; point; situation; part.
- きれい
- kirei — Clean; beautiful; pretty; tidy.
- 黄色い
- kiiroi — Yellow; having a yellow color.
- 砂
- suna — Sand; fine granular material from earth.
- 持っ
- mott(e) — Held; carried; connective form of motsu.
- き
- ki — Came; connective past form of kuru.
- 玄関
- genkan — Entryway; front entrance; foyer of home.
- 敷居
- shikii — Threshold; door sill; entrance step.
- 上
- ue — Above; on top of; upper surface.
- 滑らか
- nameraka — Smooth; sleek; even surface texture.
- 撒き
- maki — Scattering; sprinkling; spreading around.
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →