Mother West Wind "Why" Stories — Page 72
She had all the little people come before her in turn and tell their troubles.
彼女はすべての小さな者たちを順番に自分の前に呼び出し、悩みを話させました。
When it came Mr. Snake's turn, he had no complaint to make.
ヘビさんの番になると、彼には何も不満がありませんでした。
He seemed to be the only one who had no troubles.
彼は悩みを持たない唯一の者のように見えました。
She asked him a great many questions, and for each one he had a ready reply.
彼女は彼にたくさんの質問をしましたが、どれに対しても彼はすぐに答えました。
Of course a great many of these replies were lies, and every time he told one of these, he winked without knowing it.
もちろん、これらの答えの多くは嘘であり、嘘をつくたびに、彼は気づかずにウィンクしました。
You see, it had become a habit.
それはすでに癖になっていたのです。
"Now, with all his smartness, Mr. Snake had forgotten one thing, one very important thing.
「さて、あれほど賢いヘビさんでしたが、一つのこと、非常に重要なことを忘れていました。
It was this: You can't fool Old Mother Nature, and it is of no use to try.
それはこういうことです。大自然の母上をだますことはできないし、試みても無駄だということです。
He hadn't been talking three minutes before she knew who was at the bottom of all the trouble.
彼が話し始めて三分も経たないうちに、彼女はすべての騒動の黒幕が誰なのかを見抜いていました。
She let him finish, then called all the others about her and told them who had made all the trouble.
彼女は彼に話し終えさせ、それから他のみんなを呼び集めて、すべての騒動を引き起こした者が誰かを告げました。
Mr. Snake was very bold.
ヘビさんはとても大胆でした。
He held his head very high in the air and pretended not to care.
彼は頭を高く掲げ、気にしていないふりをしました。
When Old Mother Nature turned her head, he even ran out his tongue at her, just as all the Snake family do at you and me to-day.
大自然の母上が顔をそむけると、彼は彼女に向かって舌を突き出しました。今日、ヘビの仲間があなたや私に対してするのと同じように。
When she had finished telling them how cheating and stealing and lying isn't smart at all, but very, very dreadful, she turned to Mr. Snake and said:
ごまかしや盗みや嘘が少しも賢いことではなく、非常に非常に恐ろしいことだと彼らに話し終えると、彼女はヘビさんに向き直ってこう言いました。
"'From this time on, no one will believe anything you say, and you shall have no friends.
「『今この時より、誰もあなたの言葉を信じることはなく、あなたには友達ができないでしょう。
Vocabulary
- 彼女
- kanojo — She; her; girlfriend
- は
- wa — Topic marker particle in Japanese sentences
- すべて
- subete — All; everything; entirely
- の
- no — Possessive or linking particle
- 小さな
- chiisana — Small; little; tiny
- 者
- mono — Person; one; individual
- たち
- tachi — Plural suffix for people or animals
- を
- wo — Object marker particle
- 順番
- junban — Order; turn; sequence
- に
- ni — Direction, location, or indirect object particle
- 自分
- jibun — Oneself; myself; yourself
- 前
- mae — In front; before; previous
- 呼び出し
- yobidashi — Summoning; calling out someone
- 悩み
- nayami — Worry; trouble; personal problem
- 話さ
- hanasa — Speak; talk (verb stem form)
- せ
- se — Causative verb ending making someone do something
- まし
- mashi — Polite past tense auxiliary verb element
- た
- ta — Past tense verb ending
- ヘビ
- hebi — Snake
- さん
- san — Polite honorific suffix for names
- 番
- ban — Turn; number; order in sequence
- なる
- naru — To become; to turn into
- と
- to — And; with; quotation particle
- 彼
- kare — He; him; boyfriend
- 何
- nani — What; anything
- も
- mo — Also; too; even; emphatic particle
- 不満
- fuman — Dissatisfaction; discontent; complaint
- が
- ga — Subject marker particle
- あり
- ari — To exist; there is (verb stem)
- ませ
- mase — Polite negative auxiliary verb element
- ん
- n — Contraction of ない or explanatory particle
- でし
- deshi — Polite copula past tense stem
- 持た
- mota — Hold; have; possess (verb stem)
- ない
- nai — Negative form; not; does not exist
- 唯一
- yuiitsu — Only; sole; unique one
- よう
- you — Seem; appear; like; manner
- 見え
- mie — Appear; be visible; seem
- たくさん
- takusan — Many; a lot; plenty
- 質問
- shitsumon — Question; inquiry
- し
- shi — Do; and (conjunctive verb form)
- どれ
- dore — Which one (of three or more)
- 対し
- taishi — Toward; against; in response to
- て
- te — Conjunctive particle connecting actions
- すぐ
- sugu — Immediately; right away; soon
- 答え
- kotae — Answer; response; reply
- もちろん
- mochiron — Of course; certainly; naturally
- これら
- korera — These (plural of this)
- 多く
- ooku — Many; much; a large number
- 嘘
- uso — Lie; falsehood; untruth
- で
- de — At; by means of; particle of location/method
- つく
- tsuku — To tell (a lie); to attach; stick
- たび
- tabi — Each time; whenever; every occasion
- 気づか
- kizuka — Notice; realize; become aware (stem)
- ず
- zu — Without doing; negative conjunctive form
- ウィンク
- uinku — Wink; closing one eye as signal
- それ
- sore — That; it (near listener)
- すでに
- sudeni — Already; by now; previously
- 癖
- kuse — Habit; quirk; mannerism
- なっ
- nat — Became; turned into (contracted form)
- い
- i — Exist; be (for animate things)
- です
- desu — Polite copula meaning 'is/am/are'
- さて
- sate — Well; now then; transitional expression
- あれほど
- arehodo — To that extent; that much; so very
- 賢い
- kashikoi — Clever; wise; intelligent; smart
- 一つ
- hitotsu — One thing; one item
- こと
- koto — Thing; matter; fact; event
- 非常
- hijou — Extremely; very; emergency
- 重要
- juuyou — Important; significant; crucial
- な
- na — Adjectival linking particle; don't (prohibitive)
- 忘れ
- wasure — Forget; slip one's memory (stem)
- こう
- kou — Like this; in this way; thus
- いう
- iu — Say; call; speak
- 大自然
- daishizen — Great nature; the natural world
- 母上
- hahaue — Honorable mother; formal term for mother
- だます
- damasu — To deceive; to trick; to cheat
- でき
- deki — Can do; be able to; possible
- 試み
- kokoromi — Attempt; try; endeavor
- 無駄
- muda — Useless; wasteful; in vain
- だ
- da — Plain form copula meaning 'is/am/are'
- 話し
- hanashi — Talk; speak; story (stem form)
- 始め
- hajime — Begin; start; beginning
- 三分
- sanbun — Three minutes
- 経た
- hetta — Passed; elapsed (time)
- うち
- uchi — Within; among; while; inside
- 騒動
- soudou — Commotion; disturbance; uproar
- 黒幕
- kuromaku — Mastermind; behind-the-scenes schemer
- 誰
- dare — Who; which person
- か
- ka — Question particle; or; someone
- 見抜い
- minui — See through; detect; discern (stem)
- 終え
- oe — Finish; complete; end (stem form)
- さ
- sa — Suffix nominalizing adjectives; casual filler
- から
- kara — From; because; after; since
- 他
- hoka — Other; another; the rest
- みんな
- minna — Everyone; all; everybody
- 呼び
- yobi — Call; summon (verb stem)
- 集め
- atsume — Gather; collect; assemble (stem)
- 引き起こし
- hikiokoushi — Cause; bring about; trigger (stem)
- 告げ
- tsuge — Inform; announce; tell (stem form)
- とても
- totemo — Very; extremely; quite
- 大胆
- daitan — Bold; daring; audacious
- 頭
- atama — Head; mind; top
- 高く
- takaku — Highly; tall; high (adverb form)
- 掲げ
- kakage — Raise; hold up; display (stem)
- 気
- ki — Spirit; feeling; mind; intention
- ふり
- furi — Pretense; acting as if; gesture
- 顔
- kao — Face; expression; countenance
- そむける
- somukeru — Turn away; avert one's face
- 向かっ
- mukatt — Face toward; head toward (contracted)
- 舌
- shita — Tongue
- 突き出し
- tsukidashi — Stick out; protrude; thrust forward
- 今日
- kyou — Today
- 仲間
- nakama — Companion; comrade; fellow member
- あなた
- anata — You (polite second person pronoun)
- や
- ya — And (listing); or; casual sentence-ending
- 私
- watashi — I; me (first person pronoun)
- する
- suru — To do; to make; to perform
- 同じ
- onaji — Same; identical; equal
- ごまかし
- gomakashi — Deception; cheating; cover-up
- 盗み
- nusumi — Theft; stealing; robbery
- 少し
- sukoshi — A little; few; slightly
- なく
- naku — Without; not having; lacking
- 恐ろしい
- osoroshii — Terrible; frightening; dreadful
- 彼ら
- karera — They; them (group of people)
- 終える
- oeru — To finish; to complete; to end
- 向き直っ
- mukinaott — Turn around; face again (contracted)
- 言い
- ii — Say; speak; tell (verb stem)
- 今
- ima — Now; at this moment; currently
- この
- kono — This (modifies following noun)
- 時
- toki — Time; moment; occasion
- より
- yori — From; than; more than; since
- 言葉
- kotoba — Words; language; speech; expression
- 信じる
- shinjiru — To believe; to trust; to have faith
- 友達
- tomodachi — Friend; companion
- でしょう
- deshou — Probably; right?; polite conjecture
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