Mother West Wind "Why" Stories — Page 44
Probably he is taking a nap in that big house of his," said Johnny Chuck, "and if he is we'll have to sit here until he wakes up, or else go back home and visit him some other time."
「おそらく彼はあの大きな家で昼寝をしているんだろう」とジョニー・チャックは言った。「もしそうなら、彼が目を覚ますまでここに座って待つか、でなければ家に帰ってまた別の機会に訪ねるしかないね。」
"That's so," replied Peter.
「そうだね」とピーターは答えた。
"I don't see what he has his house in the water for, anyway.
「それにしても、なんで彼は水の中に家を建てたんだろうね。
If he had built it on land, like sensible people, we might be able to waken him.
もし賢い人たちみたいに陸の上に建てていたら、彼を起こせたかもしれないのに。
Funny place to build a house, isn't it?"
家を建てるのに変な場所だよね？」
Johnny Chuck scratched his head thoughtfully.
ジョニー・チャックは考え込みながら頭をかいた。
"It does seem a funny place," he admitted.
「確かに変な場所だね」と彼は認めた。
"It certainly does seem a funny place.
「本当に変な場所に思えるよ。
But then, Jerry Muskrat is a funny fellow.
でも、ジェリー・マスクラットは変わった奴だからね。
You know how much of the time he stays in the water.
彼がどれだけ長い時間水の中にいるか知っているだろう。
That seems funny to me.
それが僕には不思議に思えるよ。
I suppose there is a reason for it, and probably there is a reason for building his house where it is.
それにはきっと理由があるんだろうし、あの場所に家を建てたことにも理由があるんだと思う。
I've found that there is a reason for most things.
たいていのことには理由があるものだって、僕はわかったよ。
Probably Jerry's great-great-grandfather built his house that way, and so Jerry does the same thing."
おそらくジェリーの曾々祖父がそうやって家を建てたから、ジェリーも同じようにしているんだろうね。」
Peter Rabbit suddenly brightened up.
ピーター・ラビットは突然顔を明るくした。
"I do believe you are right, Johnny Chuck, and if you are, there must be a story about it, and if there is a story, Grandfather Frog will be sure to know it.
「ジョニー・チャック、君の言う通りだと思うよ。そうなら、きっとそれにまつわる話があるはずだし、話があるなら、カエルのお爺さんが必ず知っているはずだ。
There he is, over on his big green lily-pad, and he looks as if he might be feeling very good-natured this morning.
あそこにいるよ、あの大きな緑の蓮の葉の上に。今朝はとても機嫌が良さそうに見えるね。
Vocabulary
- おそらく
- osoraku — Probably; most likely; used to express uncertainty.
- 彼
- kare — He; him; third-person masculine pronoun.
- は
- wa — Topic marker particle indicating the sentence topic.
- あの
- ano — That (over there); demonstrative referring to distant thing.
- 大きな
- ookina — Big; large; describing something of great size.
- 家
- ie — House; home; building used as a residence.
- で
- de — At; in; particle indicating location of action.
- 昼寝
- hirune — Nap; daytime sleep; short rest during the day.
- を
- wo — Object marker particle indicating the direct object.
- し
- shi — Do; conjunctive form of する connecting clauses.
- て
- te — Te-form connective particle linking verb phrases together.
- いる
- iru — To be; to exist; indicates ongoing action or state.
- ん
- n — Explanatory contraction of の; softens or explains statement.
- だろう
- darou — Probably; right?; expresses conjecture or seeking agreement.
- と
- to — Quotation particle; also means 'and' or 'with'.
- 言っ
- it(te) — Said; te-form of 言う meaning to say or speak.
- た
- ta — Past tense auxiliary; indicates completed action.
- もし
- moshi — If; used to introduce a hypothetical or conditional clause.
- そう
- sou — So; like that; indicating agreement or supposition.
- なら
- nara — If that is the case; conditional particle expressing supposition.
- が
- ga — Subject marker particle highlighting the grammatical subject.
- 目
- me — Eye; organ of sight; also can mean 'awakening'.
- 覚ます
- samasu — To wake someone up; to rouse from sleep.
- まで
- made — Until; up to; indicates a limit in time or space.
- ここ
- koko — Here; this place; near the speaker.
- に
- ni — At; in; to; directional or locational particle.
- 座っ
- suwat(te) — Sit; te-form of 座る meaning to sit down.
- 待つ
- matsu — To wait; to stay in place expecting something or someone.
- か
- ka — Or; question particle; indicates choice or inquiry.
- なけれ
- nakere — Must; conditional negative stem used in obligation expressions.
- ば
- ba — If; conditional particle forming hypothetical clauses.
- 帰っ
- kaet(te) — Return; te-form of 帰る meaning to go back home.
- また
- mata — Again; once more; additionally; at another time.
- 別
- betsu — Different; separate; another; distinct from the current one.
- の
- no — Possessive or nominalizing particle linking nouns or clauses.
- 機会
- kikai — Opportunity; chance; a suitable occasion to do something.
- 訪ねる
- tazuneru — To visit; to call on someone at their place.
- しか
- shika — Only; nothing but; used with negative to mean 'only'.
- ない
- nai — Not; negative form indicating absence or non-existence.
- ね
- ne — Right?; isn't it?; seeks confirmation or shared feeling.
- だ
- da — Is; plain form copula asserting identity or state.
- 答え
- kotae — Answer; reply; response to a question or situation.
- それ
- sore — That; that thing; refers to something near the listener.
- も
- mo — Also; too; even; inclusive particle adding to previous item.
- なん
- nan — What; how; informal contraction of 何 in speech.
- 水
- mizu — Water; liquid essential for life; H₂O.
- 中
- naka — Inside; middle; within; referring to interior of something.
- 建て
- tate — Built; construction style; manner of building a structure.
- 賢い
- kashikoi — Clever; wise; intelligent; showing good judgment or intelligence.
- 人
- hito — Person; human being; individual; people in general.
- たち
- tachi — Plural suffix for people; indicates a group of individuals.
- みたい
- mitai — Like; seems like; resembles; informal comparison expression.
- 陸
- riku — Land; shore; dry ground as opposed to water.
- 上
- ue — Above; on top; upper part; surface of something.
- い
- i — Be; stem of いる indicating existence or ongoing state.
- たら
- tara — If; when; conditional form indicating hypothetical situation.
- 起こせ
- okose — Wake up!; imperative form of 起こす to rouse someone.
- かも
- kamo — Might; maybe; expresses possibility or conjecture softly.
- しれ
- shire — Know; part of かもしれない meaning 'might be'.
- 建てる
- tateru — To build; to construct a building or structure.
- 変
- hen — Strange; weird; odd; unusual in a puzzling way.
- な
- na — Attributive form of だ; links adjective to following noun.
- 場所
- basho — Place; location; spot; a specific area or site.
- よ
- yo — Sentence-ending particle asserting information to the listener.
- 考え込み
- kangaekomи — Deep in thought; pondering seriously; to think hard about.
- ながら
- nagara — While doing; simultaneously performing two actions together.
- 頭
- atama — Head; the top part of the body; also means mind.
- かい
- kai — Scratching; or informal question particle used by males.
- 確か
- tashika — Certainly; surely; if I recall correctly; reliable.
- 認め
- mitome — Acknowledge; admit; recognize as true or valid.
- 本当
- hontou — Truth; reality; truly; really; genuine.
- 思える
- omoeru — Seem; appear to think; potential form of 思う.
- でも
- demo — But; however; even so; introduces contrasting statement.
- 変わっ
- kawat(te) — Changed; te-form of 変わる meaning to change or differ.
- 奴
- yatsu — Guy; fellow; informal and slightly rough word for person.
- から
- kara — From; because; since; indicates origin or reason.
- どれ
- dore — Which; which one; used to select among multiple options.
- だけ
- dake — Only; just; to the extent of; limiting particle.
- 長い
- nagai — Long; lengthy; extended in time or physical length.
- 時間
- jikan — Time; hours; a period or duration of time.
- 知っ
- shit(te) — Know; te-form of 知る meaning to know or learn.
- 僕
- boku — I; me; informal first-person pronoun used by males.
- 不思議
- fushigi — Wonder; mystery; strange and hard to explain phenomenon.
- きっと
- kitto — Surely; certainly; definitely; expressing strong conviction.
- 理由
- riyuu — Reason; cause; explanation behind an action or event.
- ある
- aru — To exist; there is; to have (for inanimate things).
- こと
- koto — Thing; fact; matter; nominalizer turning verbs into nouns.
- 思う
- omou — To think; to feel; to believe or suppose something.
- たいてい
- taitei — Usually; generally; in most cases; ordinarily.
- もの
- mono — Thing; object; matter; also used for emotional emphasis.
- って
- tte — Informal quotation or topic marker; colloquial form of と/は.
- わかっ
- wakat(te) — Understand; te-form of わかる meaning to understand or realize.
- やっ
- yat(te) — Did; te-form of やる meaning to do or perform.
- 同じ
- onaji — Same; identical; not different from another thing.
- よう
- you — Like; similar to; it seems; resemblance or manner.
- 突然
- totsuzen — Suddenly; all at once; without warning or preparation.
- 顔
- kao — Face; facial expression; one's countenance or appearance.
- 明るく
- akaruku — Brightly; cheerfully; adverb form of 明るい meaning bright.
- 君
- kimi — You; informal second-person pronoun, often used by males.
- 言う
- iu — To say; to speak; to tell someone something.
- 通り
- toori — As; just as; in the way that was said or done.
- まつわる
- matsuwaru — To relate to; to be associated with; to surround.
- 話
- hanashi — Story; talk; conversation; an account or narrative.
- はず
- hazu — Should be; expected to be; based on logical expectation.
- カエル
- kaeru — Frog; a small amphibian living near water.
- お爺さん
- ojiisan — Grandfather; old man; respectful term for elderly male.
- 必ず
- kanarazu — Certainly; without fail; always; expressing definite occurrence.
- あそこ
- asoko — Over there; that place far from both speaker and listener.
- 緑
- midori — Green; the color of plants and nature.
- 蓮
- hasu — Lotus; a water plant with large floating leaves.
- 葉
- ha — Leaf; the flat green part of a plant.
- 今朝
- kesa — This morning; earlier today in the morning hours.
- とても
- totemo — Very; extremely; quite; intensifying adverb for adjectives.
- 機嫌
- kigen — Mood; humor; temper; one's emotional state or disposition.
- 良
- yо — Good; fine; abbreviated form of 良い meaning good.
- さそう
- sasou — Seems; looks like; suffix indicating apparent state or appearance.
- 見える
- mieru — To be visible; to appear; to seem from observation.
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