Mother West Wind "Why" Stories — Page 27

English → Japanese Full Text Level 2/10

Every night he came home early and went to bed by sundown, and everybody said what good habits Mr. Fox had.

毎晩、彼は早く帰宅して日没までに床に就き、みんなはキツネさんが何と良い習慣を持っているのだろうと言った。

"But when everybody else was asleep, Mr. Fox used to steal out and be gone half the night.

「しかし、他のみんなが眠っている時、キツネさんはこっそりと抜け出して夜の半分もいなくなるのが常だった。

Yes, Sir, sometimes he'd be gone until almost morning.

そうです、時には朝近くまでいなくなることもあった。

But he always took care to get home before any of his neighbors were awake, and then he'd wait until everybody was up before he showed himself.

しかし彼はいつも、近所の誰かが目を覚ます前に帰宅するよう気をつけており、それからみんなが起き出すまで姿を現さずに待つのだった。

When he came out and started to hunt for his breakfast, some one was sure to tell him of mischief done during the darkness of the night.

彼が出てきて朝食を探し始めると、必ず誰かが夜の闇の中で行われたいたずらについて話してくれた。

Sometimes it was a storehouse broken into, and the best things taken.

ある時は貯蔵庫に押し入られ、一番良いものが盗まれていた。

Sometimes it was of terrible frights that some of the littlest people had received by being wakened in the night and seeing a fierce face with long, sharp teeth grinning at them.

ある時は、最も小さな者たちが夜中に起こされ、長くて鋭い歯を持つ恐ろしい顔がにやりと笑っているのを見て、ひどい恐怖を味わったということだった。

Sometimes it was of worse things that were told in whispers.

ある時は、もっとひどいことがささやき声で語られた。

Mr. Fox used to listen as if very much shocked, and say that something ought to be done about it, and wonder who it could be who would do such dreadful things.

キツネさんはひどく驚いたような様子で聞き、何か対処しなければならないと言い、そのような恐ろしいことをするのは一体誰なのだろうと不思議がるのだった。

"By and by things got so bad that they reached the ears of Old Mother Nature, and she came to find out what it all meant.

「やがて事態はひどくなり、偉大な自然の母の耳に届くほどになり、彼女はそれが何を意味するのかを調べにやって来た。

Now, the very night before she arrived, Mrs. Quack, who lived on the river bank, had a terrible fright.

さて、彼女が到着する前夜、川岸に住んでいたクワックおばさんは、ひどい恐怖を味わった。

Vocabulary

毎晩: maiban — Every night; each and every evening.
彼: kare — He; him; third-person masculine pronoun.
は: wa — Topic marker particle indicating the sentence topic.
早く: hayaku — Early; quickly; at a fast pace.
帰宅: kitaku — Returning home; arriving back at one's house.
し: shi — Conjunctive verb form connecting actions or reasons.
て: te — Conjunctive particle linking sequential actions together.
日没: nichibotsu — Sunset; the moment the sun goes down.
まで: made — Until; up to a certain time or place.
に: ni — Particle indicating direction, time, or location.
床: toko / yuka — Bed or floor; going to bed to sleep.
就き: tsuki — Going to bed; taking up a position or place.
みんな: minna — Everyone; all people present or involved.
キツネ: kitsune — Fox; a cunning wild animal in Japanese folklore.
さん: san — Polite honorific suffix added to names.
が: ga — Subject marker particle identifying the grammatical subject.
何: nani / nan — What; an interrogative word asking about things.
と: to — Quotation particle or conjunction meaning 'and' or 'with'.
良い: yoi / ii — Good; fine; of positive quality or character.
習慣: shūkan — Habit; a regular practice or custom one follows.
を: wo / o — Object marker particle indicating the direct object.
持っ: motte (mot-) — Holding; having; possessing something (て-form base).
いる: iru — To exist; to be (used for animate beings).
の: no — Explanatory or possessive particle; nominalizer.
だろう: darō — Probably; expression of conjecture or supposition.
言っ: itte (it-) — Said; spoke (て-form base of 言う, to say).
た: ta — Past tense auxiliary indicating completed action.
しかし: shikashi — However; but; a conjunction expressing contrast.
他: hoka / ta — Other; another; different person or thing.
眠っ: nemotte (nemot-) — Sleeping; fell asleep (て-form base of 眠る).
時: toki — Time; moment; when something occurs.
こっそり: kossori — Secretly; stealthily; without others noticing.
抜け出し: nukedashi — Slipping out; sneaking away from a place.
夜: yoru — Night; the nighttime hours of the day.
半分: hanbun — Half; one of two equal portions.
も: mo — Also; even; as much as (additive particle).
いなく: inaku — Not being there; absent (negative form of いる).
なる: naru — To become; to turn into something.
常: tsune — Always; usually; habitual state or custom.
だっ: datte (dat-) — Was; were (past form base of the copula だ).
そう: sō — So; that way; it seems; expressing agreement.
です: desu — Polite copula meaning 'is', 'am', or 'are'.
朝: asa — Morning; the early part of the day.
近く: chikaku — Near; close to; nearby in time or space.
こと: koto — Thing; fact; matter; nominalizer for verbs.
あっ: atte (at-) — There was/being (て-form base of ある, to exist).
いつも: itsumo — Always; all the time; habitually.
近所: kinjo — Neighborhood; the area near one's home.
誰か: dareka — Someone; somebody; an unspecified person.
目: me — Eye; the organ of sight; gaze.
覚ます: samasu — To wake someone up; to rouse from sleep.
前: mae — Before; in front of; prior to something.
する: suru — To do; to perform an action.
よう: yō — So that; in order to; expressing purpose or manner.
気: ki — Spirit; mind; feeling; attention; energy.
つけ: tsuke — Attach; pay attention; be careful (imperative base).
おり: ori — Being; existing (humble/formal form of いる).
それから: sorekara — After that; then; and then subsequently.
起き出す: okidasu — To get up and start moving; to rise and go out.
姿: sugata — Figure; appearance; one's visible form or shape.
現さ: arawasa — Showing; revealing; making one's figure appear.
ず: zu — Without doing; negative conjunctive verb suffix.
待つ: matsu — To wait; to await someone or something.
出: de / de- — Going out; coming out; emergence from a place.
き: ki — Come (classical/literary conjunctive form of 来る).
朝食: chōshoku — Breakfast; the first meal of the day.
探し: sagashi — Searching; looking for something or someone.
始める: hajimeru — To begin; to start doing something.
必ず: kanarazu — Certainly; without fail; always without exception.
闇: yami — Darkness; the dark; obscurity or blackness.
中: naka / chū — Inside; within; in the middle of something.
で: de — Particle indicating location of action or means.
行わ: okonawa- — Carried out; performed; conducted (passive base).
れ: re — Passive verb suffix indicating being acted upon.
いたずら: itazura — Mischief; prank; a playful or harmful trick.
つい: tsui — Unintentionally; before one knows it; inadvertently.
話し: hanashi — Story; talk; speaking about something.
くれ: kure — Give (to me); do (for me) as a favor.
ある: aru — To exist; to be; to have (inanimate things).
貯蔵庫: chozōko — Storage room; a place for storing provisions or goods.
押し入ら: oshiira- — Breaking into; forcing one's way into a place.
一番: ichiban — Number one; the most; the best or first.
もの: mono — Thing; object; a tangible or abstract entity.
盗ま: nusuma- — Stealing; taken by theft (passive stem of 盗む).
い: i — Existence verb suffix or adjective ending form.
最も: mottomo — Most; extremely; the highest degree of something.
小さな: chiisana — Small; little; tiny in size or scale.
者: mono — Person; one who does something; an individual.
たち: tachi — Plural suffix for people or living beings.
夜中: yonaka — Middle of the night; dead of night.
起こさ: okosa- — Waking someone up; causing someone to wake.
長く: nagaku — Long; for a long time; in a lengthy way.
鋭い: surudoi — Sharp; keen; pointed in edge or intelligence.
歯: ha — Tooth; teeth; a hard biting structure in the mouth.
持つ: motsu — To hold; to have; to possess something.
恐ろしい: osoroshii — Terrifying; dreadful; causing great fear or horror.
顔: kao — Face; one's facial appearance or expression.
にやり: niyari — With a grin; smirking slyly or menacingly.
笑っ: waratte (warat-) — Laughing; smiling (て-form base of 笑う).
見: mi- — Seeing; looking; viewing (stem of 見る).
ひどい: hidoi — Terrible; awful; severe; cruel or harsh.
恐怖: kyōfu — Terror; intense fear; a feeling of dread.
味わっ: ajiwatte (ajiwat-) — Experiencing; tasting; savoring something (て-form base).
いう: iu — To say; to tell; to be called or named.
もっと: motto — More; even more; to a greater degree.
ささやき: sasayaki — Whisper; a soft, hushed voice or murmur.
声: koe — Voice; sound produced by speaking or singing.
語ら: katara- — Telling; narrating; recounting a story or tale.
ひどく: hidoku — Terribly; severely; to an extreme degree.
驚い: odoroite (odoroi-) — Surprised; shocked; startled by something unexpected.
な: na — Sentence-ending particle expressing emotion or emphasis.
様子: yōsu — State; appearance; how something looks or seems.
聞き: kiki — Listening; hearing (stem form of 聞く).
何か: nanika — Something; some kind of unspecified thing.
対処: taisho — Dealing with; coping with; handling a situation.
なけれ: nakere- — Must; conditional negative base (must do something).
ば: ba — Conditional particle meaning 'if' or 'when'.
なら: nara — If; in that case; conditional expression.
ない: nai — Not; negative auxiliary adjective for non-existence.
言い: ii (i-) — Saying; stating (conjunctive stem of 言う).
その: sono — That; the (demonstrative adjective for nearby things).
一体: ittai — On earth; in the world; used for emphasis in questions.
誰: dare — Who; asking about a person's identity.
不思議: fushigi — Mysterious; strange; wonderfully inexplicable or puzzling.
がる: garu — Suffix meaning to show signs of feeling a certain way.
やがて: yagate — Before long; soon; eventually in due course.
事態: jitai — Situation; state of affairs; the current circumstances.
なり: nari — Becoming; turning into (conjunctive form of なる).
偉大: idai — Great; grand; magnificent; of remarkable importance.
自然: shizen — Nature; the natural world; occurring without human intervention.
母: haha — Mother; one's own female parent.
耳: mimi — Ear; the organ used for hearing sounds.
届く: todoku — To reach; to arrive; to be delivered to someone.
ほど: hodo — To the extent that; as much as; approximately.
彼女: kanojo — She; her; third-person feminine pronoun.
それ: sore — That; it; referring to something previously mentioned.
意味: imi — Meaning; significance; what something signifies.
か: ka — Question particle placed at the end of sentences.
調べ: shirabe — Investigation; examining or looking something up.
やっ: yatte (yat-) — Doing; performing (て-form base of やる, to do).
来: ki- — Come; coming (stem of 来る, to come).
さて: sate — Well; now then; used to shift topic or begin anew.
到着: tōchaku — Arrival; reaching a destination after traveling.
前夜: zen'ya — The previous night; the eve before an event.
川岸: kawagishi — Riverbank; the edge or shore along a river.
住ん: sunde (sun-) — Living; residing in a place (て-form base of 住む).
おばさん: obasan — Aunt; middle-aged woman; a respectful address for women.

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