Mother West Wind "Why" Stories — Page 20
Lynx. Old Mr. Possum told him the same story he had told Mr. Panther, and Mr. Lynx went bounding off in a terrible hurry, for fear that he would not be in time to share in that good breakfast.
オオヤマネコ。オポッサムの老人は、パンサー氏に話したのと同じ話をオオヤマネコ氏にして、オオヤマネコ氏はあの素晴らしい朝食にありつけなくなるのを恐れて、ものすごい勢いで跳び去っていきました。
It was such a good joke that old Mr. Possum tried it on Mr. Wolf and Mr. Fisher and Mr. Fox.
それはとても素晴らしいいたずらだったので、オポッサムの老人はオオカミ氏、フィッシャー氏、キツネ氏にも同じことを試みました。
In fact, he hunted up every one he could think of and sent them to call on Old King Bear, and without really telling them so, he made each one think that he would get a share in that breakfast."
実のところ、彼は思いつく限りの者をみな探し出し、クマ王様のところへ挨拶に行かせ、はっきりとは言わないまま、それぞれに朝食の分け前にありつけると思わせたのでした。」
"Now, there wasn't any more breakfast than Old King Bear wanted himself, and by the time Mr. Panther arrived, there wasn't so much as a crumb left.
「さて、朝食はクマ王様が自分で食べたいと思う分しかなく、パンサー氏が到着したころには、パンくず一つ残っていませんでした。
Then, one after another, the others came dropping in, each licking his chops, and all very polite to Old King Bear.
それから、他の者たちが次々とやってきて、それぞれが口をなめまわしながら、クマ王様にとても丁寧に挨拶しました。
At first he didn't know what to make of it, but pretty soon Mr. Fox delicately hinted that they had come in response to the invitation sent by Mr. Possum, and that as they were all very hungry, they would like to know when the feast would be ready.
最初、クマ王様はどうしたことかと訝しんでいましたが、やがてキツネ氏が、オポッサム氏が送った招待に応じてやってきたのであり、みんなとても腹が空いているので、ごちそうがいつ用意されるか知りたいと、遠回しに示唆しました。
Right away Old King Bear knew that old Mr. Possum had been up to some of his tricks, and he told his visitors that they were the victims of a practical joke.
すぐにクマ王様は、オポッサムの老人がいたずらを仕掛けたのだとわかり、訪問者たちに、彼らが悪ふざけの被害者だと告げました。
[Illustration: "As they were all very hungry, they would like to know when the feast would be ready."
【挿絵：「みんなとても腹が空いていたので、ごちそうがいつ用意されるか知りたかったのです。」】
Vocabulary
- の
- no — Possessive or nominalizing particle
- 老人
- roujin — Old person; elderly man or woman
- は
- wa — Topic-marking particle indicating the subject
- 氏
- shi — Mr. or Ms.; honorific suffix for names
- に
- ni — Particle indicating direction, location, or indirect object
- 話し
- hanashi — Talk, story; the act of speaking
- た
- ta — Past tense auxiliary verb ending
- と
- to — Particle meaning 'and', 'with', or quotation marker
- 同じ
- onaji — Same; identical to something else
- 話
- hanashi — Story, tale, conversation, talk
- を
- wo — Object-marking particle indicating direct object
- して
- shite — Te-form of suru; doing, and then doing
- あの
- ano — That over there; referring to something distant
- 素晴らしい
- subarashii — Wonderful, magnificent, splendid, excellent
- 朝食
- choushoku — Breakfast; the first meal of the day
- ありつけ
- aritsuke — Manage to get; succeed in obtaining something
- なく
- naku — Without; negative conjunctive form of nai
- なる
- naru — To become; to turn into something
- 恐れ
- osore — Fear, dread; apprehension about something bad
- て
- te — Te-form conjunctive particle connecting verb phrases
- ものすごい
- monosugoi — Tremendous, terrific, incredibly intense or extreme
- 勢い
- ikioi — Force, momentum, energy, vigor, speed
- で
- de — Particle indicating means, location of action, or cause
- 跳び
- tobi — Jump, leap; bounding movement through the air
- 去っ
- satt(a) — Left, departed; moved away quickly
- いき
- iki — Going; conjunctive form of iku (to go)
- まし
- mashi — Polite past auxiliary verb stem form
- それ
- sore — That; demonstrative pronoun for nearby things
- とても
- totemo — Very, extremely, quite; intensifying adverb
- いたずら
- itazura — Prank, mischief, trick played on someone
- だっ
- datt(a) — Past form of da; copula indicating past state
- ので
- node — Because, since; causal connective particle
- も
- mo — Also, too, even; inclusive particle
- こと
- koto — Thing, matter, fact; nominalizer for actions
- 試み
- kokoromi — Attempt, try, endeavor at something
- 実
- jitsu — Actually, in truth; reality, fruit, seed
- ところ
- tokoro — Place, point, moment; situation or circumstance
- 彼
- kare — He, him; third-person masculine pronoun
- 思いつく
- omoitsuku — To come up with an idea; to think of
- 限り
- kagiri — Limit, extent, as far as possible
- 者
- mono — Person, one; someone with a certain quality
- みな
- mina — Everyone, all; every person included
- 探し
- sagashi — Search, look for; seeking something or someone
- 出し
- dashi — Take out, bring out; extraction or start
- 王様
- ou-sama — King; a male monarch with royal status
- へ
- e — Directional particle meaning toward or to
- 挨拶
- aisatsu — Greeting, salutation; formal acknowledgment of someone
- 行か
- ika — Negative or causative stem of iku (go)
- せ
- se — Causative verb ending; make or let someone do
- はっきり
- hakkiri — Clearly, distinctly, plainly, without ambiguity
- 言わ
- iwa — Stem of iu; say, speak, state something
- ない
- nai — Negative auxiliary; not, does not exist
- まま
- mama — As is, remaining in a certain state unchanged
- それぞれ
- sorezore — Each, respectively; each one separately
- 分け前
- wakemae — Share, portion; one's allotted part of something
- ありつける
- aritsukeru — To manage to get; succeed in obtaining food
- 思わ
- omowa — Stem of omou; think, believe, consider
- でし
- deshi — Polite copula stem; past polite form of desu
- さて
- sate — Well then, now; transitional discourse interjection
- が
- ga — Subject particle; also indicates contrast or but
- 自分
- jibun — Oneself, one's own; reflexive pronoun
- 食べ
- tabe — Eat; stem form of taberu (to eat)
- たい
- tai — Want to do; desire auxiliary verb form
- 思う
- omou — To think, feel, believe, suppose something
- 分
- bun — Share, portion, amount allotted to someone
- しか
- shika — Only; used with negative to mean nothing but
- 到着
- touchaku — Arrival; reaching a destination or place
- し
- shi — Conjunctive verb form; and also, furthermore
- ころ
- koro — Around that time; approximate point in time
- パン
- pan — Bread; a baked flour-based food item
- くず
- kuzu — Crumbs, scraps, waste; leftover fragments
- 一つ
- hitotsu — One; a single item or unit
- 残っ
- nokott(a) — Remained, was left over; past form of nokoru
- い
- i — Stem of iru; to exist, be present (animate)
- ませ
- mase — Polite imperative or negative auxiliary ending
- ん
- n — Colloquial negative or explanatory sentence ending
- から
- kara — Because, since, from; causal or directional particle
- 他
- hoka — Other, another, the rest; different ones
- たち
- tachi — Plural suffix for people or animate beings
- 次々
- tsugitsugi — One after another; successively in quick order
- やっ
- yatt(e) — Colloquial form of yatte; doing, coming along
- き
- ki — Stem of kuru; came, coming (conjunctive form)
- 口
- kuchi — Mouth; opening used for eating and speaking
- なめ
- name — Lick; stem of nameru (to lick)
- まわし
- mawashi — Turn around, circulate; stem of mawasu
- ながら
- nagara — While doing; simultaneous action conjunction
- 丁寧
- teinei — Polite, courteous, careful, thorough
- 最初
- saisho — First, beginning, at the start
- どうし
- doushi — Why, how come; interrogative for reason
- か
- ka — Question particle; marks interrogative sentences
- 訝しん
- ibukarishin — Suspecting, wondering; feeling doubtful or puzzled
- やがて
- yagate — Soon, before long, eventually, in due time
- 送っ
- okott(a) — Sent, saw off; past form of okuru
- 招待
- shoutai — Invitation; formally inviting someone to come
- 応じ
- ouji — Respond, accept, comply with an invitation
- あり
- ari — There is, exists; conjunctive form of aru
- みんな
- minna — Everyone, all, everybody together
- 腹
- hara — Stomach, belly; also means feelings or true intent
- 空い
- sui — Empty, vacant; hungry (stomach empty)
- いる
- iru — To be, to exist (animate beings)
- ごちそう
- gochisou — Feast, treat, fancy meal; delicious food spread
- いつ
- itsu — When; interrogative word for time
- 用意
- youi — Preparation, readiness; getting something ready
- さ
- sa — Casual sentence-ending particle or nominalizer suffix
- れる
- reru — Passive or potential auxiliary verb ending
- 知り
- shiri — Know, learn; stem of shiru (to know)
- 遠回し
- toomawashi — Roundabout, indirect; hinting without stating directly
- 示唆
- shisa — Suggestion, hint, implication; indirect indication
- すぐ
- sugu — Soon, immediately, right away, quickly
- 仕掛け
- shikake — Trick, device, scheme, setup, mechanism
- だ
- da — Copula; plain form of desu meaning 'is/are'
- わかり
- wakari — Understanding; stem of wakaru (to understand)
- 訪問者
- houmonsha — Visitor, guest; person who comes to visit
- 彼ら
- karera — They, them; third-person plural pronoun
- 悪ふざけ
- warufuzake — Bad joke, harmful prank, crude mischief
- 被害者
- higaisha — Victim; person who suffered harm or damage
- 告げ
- tsuge — Tell, inform, announce; stem of tsugeru
- 挿絵
- sashie — Illustration, picture inserted in a text
- たかっ
- takatt(a) — Was high or wanted; past stem of takai or tagaru
- です
- desu — Polite copula meaning 'is', 'am', 'are'
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