Mother West Wind "Why" Stories — Page 47
Oh, Grandfather Frog, do tell us why it is that Jerry Muskrat builds his house in the water. Please do!"
「ねえ、カエルのおじいさん、どうしてジェリー・マスクラットが水の中に家を建てるのか教えてください。ぜひ教えて！」
"I have a mind not to, just to get even with you," said Grandfather Frog, settling himself comfortably, "but I believe I will, to show you that there are some folks who can take a joke without losing their temper."
「お返しに教えてやらないと思ったが」とカエルのおじいさんは落ち着いた様子で言いました。「でも、冗談を言われても怒らずにいられる者もいるということを見せてやろう」
"Goody!" cried Peter and Johnny Chuck together, sitting down side by side on the very edge of the bank.
「やった！」とピーターとジョニー・チャックは一緒に叫び、土手のふちに並んで腰を下ろしました。
Grandfather Frog folded his hands across his white and yellow waistcoat and half closed his eyes, as if looking way, way back into the past.
カエルのおじいさんは白と黄色のチョッキの上で手を組み、はるか遠い過去を見渡すかのように目を半分閉じました。
"Chug-a-rum!" he began. "A long, long time ago, when the world was young, there was very little dry land, and most of the animals lived in the water. Yes, Sir, most of the animals lived in the water, as sensible animals do to-day."
「チャガラム！」とおじいさんは話し始めました。「ずっとずっと昔、世界が若かった頃、陸地はほとんどなく、ほとんどの動物は水の中に住んでいました。そうですとも、今日の賢い動物たちがそうであるように、ほとんどの動物は水の中に住んでいたのです」
Peter nudged Johnny Chuck. "He means himself and his family," he whispered with a chuckle.
ピーターはジョニー・チャックをつつきました。「自分と自分の家族のことを言ってるんだよ」とくすくす笑いながらささやきました。
"After a time," continued Grandfather Frog, "there began to be more land and still more. Then some of the animals began to spend most of their time on the land. As there got to be more and more land, more and more of the animals left the water, until finally most of them were spending nearly all of the time on land.
「やがて」とカエルのおじいさんは続けました。「陸地がだんだんと増えていきました。すると動物の中には、ほとんどの時間を陸で過ごすものが出てきました。陸地がどんどん増えるにつれ、水を離れる動物も増えていき、ついにはほとんどの動物がほぼすべての時間を陸で過ごすようになりました。
Vocabulary
- ねえ
- nee — Hey; used to get someone's attention.
- カエル
- kaeru — Frog; a small amphibian.
- の
- no — Possessive or linking particle indicating relationship.
- おじいさん
- ojiisan — Old man; grandfather or elderly male person.
- どうして
- doushite — Why; for what reason.
- マスクラット
- masukuratto — Muskrat; a semi-aquatic rodent.
- が
- ga — Subject marker particle indicating the grammatical subject.
- 水
- mizu — Water; liquid essential for life.
- 中
- naka — Inside; middle or within something.
- に
- ni — Particle indicating location, direction, or target.
- 家
- ie — House; a place where people live.
- を
- wo — Object marker particle indicating the direct object.
- 建てる
- tateru — To build; to construct a structure.
- か
- ka — Question particle placed at the end of a sentence.
- 教えて
- oshiete — Please tell me; teach or inform (te-form request).
- ください
- kudasai — Please; polite request form.
- ぜひ
- zehi — By all means; certainly, please do.
- お返し
- okaeshi — A return favor; repayment or reciprocation.
- やらない
- yaranai — Will not do; negative form of yaru.
- と
- to — Particle meaning 'and' or quotation marker.
- 思ったが
- omotta ga — Thought that, but; past thought with contrast.
- は
- wa — Topic marker particle indicating the sentence topic.
- 落ち着いた
- ochitsuita — Calm; settled and composed in manner.
- 様子
- yousu — Appearance; manner or state of affairs.
- で
- de — Particle indicating means, location of action, or reason.
- 言いました
- iimashita — Said; polite past tense of 'to say'.
- でも
- demo — But; however, used to introduce a contrast.
- 冗談
- joudan — A joke; something said in jest.
- 言われて
- iwarete — Being told; passive te-form of 'to say'.
- も
- mo — Also; even, particle adding inclusiveness.
- 怒らず
- okorazu — Without getting angry; negative conjunctive form.
- いられる
- irareru — Can remain; potential form of 'to be/stay'.
- 者
- mono — Person; one who does something.
- いる
- iru — To exist; to be (for animate beings).
- という
- to iu — Called; known as, used to define or quote.
- こと
- koto — Thing; fact or matter (abstract concept).
- 見せて
- misete — Show (te-form); to let someone see something.
- やろう
- yarou — Let's do it; volitional form of yaru.
- やった
- yatta — Did it; exclamation of success or achievement.
- 一緒
- issho — Together; in the same place at once.
- 叫び
- sakebi — A shout; cry or scream loudly.
- 土手
- dote — Embankment; a raised bank along a river.
- ふち
- fuchi — Edge; rim or border of something.
- 並んで
- narande — Lined up; standing or sitting in a row.
- 腰
- koshi — Hips; waist or lower back area.
- 下ろし
- oroshi — Lowering; setting something down.
- ました
- mashita — Polite past tense ending for verbs.
- 白
- shiro — White; the color white.
- 黄色
- kiiro — Yellow; the color yellow.
- チョッキ
- chokki — Vest; a sleeveless garment worn over a shirt.
- 上
- ue — Above; upper position or on top of.
- 手
- te — Hand; the body part at the end of the arm.
- 組み
- kumi — Folding or joining; grouping together.
- はるか
- haruka — Far; distant in space or time.
- 遠い
- tooi — Far away; distant in space or time.
- 過去
- kako — The past; time that has already occurred.
- 見渡す
- miwatasu — To look out over; to survey a wide area.
- よう
- you — As if; like, used to express likeness or intent.
- 目
- me — Eye; the organ used for seeing.
- 半分
- hanbun — Half; one of two equal parts.
- 閉じ
- toji — Closing; shutting (eyes or something similar).
- 話し
- hanashi — Talk; story or conversation.
- 始め
- hajime — Beginning; the start of something.
- ずっと
- zutto — All along; continuously or for a long time.
- 昔
- mukashi — Long ago; olden times or the past.
- 世界
- sekai — World; the entire earth or universe.
- 若かった
- wakakatta — Was young; past tense of 'young'.
- 頃
- koro — Around that time; approximate period or era.
- 陸地
- rikuchi — Land; solid ground as opposed to water.
- ほとんど
- hotondo — Almost; mostly, nearly all.
- なく
- naku — Without; lacking (conjunctive negative form).
- 動物
- doubutsu — Animal; a living creature that moves.
- 住んで
- sunde — Living (te-form); residing in a place.
- い
- i — Continuative form of iru; ongoing existence.
- そうです
- sou desu — That's right; it seems so, polite agreement.
- とも
- tomo — Certainly; of course, emphatic agreement.
- 今日
- kyou — Today; the current day.
- 賢い
- kashikoi — Clever; smart or wise.
- たち
- tachi — Plural suffix for people or animate beings.
- そう
- sou — So; that way, it seems.
- ある
- aru — To exist; there is (for inanimate things).
- た
- ta — Past tense auxiliary verb ending.
- です
- desu — Polite copula meaning 'is' or 'are'.
- つつき
- tsutsuki — Pecking; poking or prodding repeatedly.
- 自分
- jibun — Oneself; one's own self or identity.
- 家族
- kazoku — Family; one's relatives or household members.
- 言ってる
- itteru — Is saying; ongoing speech (casual form).
- ん
- n — Explanatory or assertive sentence-ending particle.
- だよ
- da yo — It is; casual assertive sentence ending.
- くすくす笑い
- kusukusu warai — Giggling; quiet, suppressed laughter.
- ながら
- nagara — While doing; simultaneous action conjunction.
- ささやき
- sasayaki — A whisper; speaking very softly.
- やがて
- yagate — Before long; soon, eventually.
- 続け
- tsuzuke — Continue; keep doing (conjunctive form).
- だんだん
- dandan — Gradually; little by little over time.
- 増えて
- fuete — Increasing (te-form); growing in number.
- いき
- iki — Going; progressive movement or change.
- すると
- suru to — Then; and then, thereupon.
- 時間
- jikan — Time; a period or amount of time.
- 陸
- riku — Land; dry ground or mainland.
- 過ごす
- sugosu — To spend time; to pass time somewhere.
- もの
- mono — Thing; an object or abstract entity.
- 出て
- dete — Coming out (te-form); emerging or appearing.
- き
- ki — Coming (conjunctive of kuru); approaching.
- どんどん
- dondon — Rapidly; progressively and continuously increasing.
- 増える
- fueru — To increase; to grow in number or amount.
- つれ
- tsure — As; in proportion to, as something happens.
- 離れる
- hanareru — To separate; to move away from something.
- ついに
- tsui ni — Finally; at last, in the end.
- ほぼ
- hobo — Almost; nearly, approximately.
- すべて
- subete — All; everything, the whole amount.
- なり
- nari — Becoming; having become (literary/classical form).
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →