Mother West Wind "Why" Stories — Page 81
You know he hasn't a feather on it, and it is very, very red.
ご存知の通り、そこには羽根一枚なく、とても、とても赤いのです。
It was a very interesting story, and it had been listened to with the closest attention by a lot of the little meadow and forest people.
それはとても興味深い話で、草原や森の小さな住人たちが大勢、じっと耳を傾けて聞いていました。
Unc' Billy Possum, who is Ol' Mistah Buzzard's particular friend, both having come from "way down souf," happened along just in time to hear the end of it.
ビリーおじさんポッサムは、オールド・ミスター・バザードの特別な友人で、二人とも「はるか南の方」からやって来たのですが、ちょうどその話の終わりを聞く頃合いにやって来ました。
"May Ah ask yo' a question, Brer Buzzard?" said he.
「バザード兄貴、一つ聞いてもよろしいですかい？」と彼は言いました。
"Cert'nly, Brer Possum. Cert'nly," replied Ol' Mistah Buzzard.
「もちろんですとも、ポッサム兄弟。もちろん」と、オールド・ミスター・バザードは答えました。
"Is Buzzard really your fam'ly name?" asked Unc' Billy.
「バザードというのは本当にあなたの家名なんですかい？」とビリーおじさんは尋ねました。
"No, Brer Possum, it isn't," replied Ol' Mistah Buzzard.
「いいえ、ポッサム兄弟、違いますよ」と、オールド・ミスター・バザードは答えました。
Everybody looked surprised.
みんなは驚いた顔をしました。
You see, no one ever had heard him called anything but Buzzard.
というのも、誰も彼のことをバザード以外の名前で呼ばれているのを聞いたことがなかったからです。
But no one said anything, and after a minute or two Ol' Mistah Buzzard explained.
しかし誰も何も言わず、一、二分後にオールド・ミスター・バザードが説明しました。
"Mah fam'ly name is Vulture," said he.
「わしの家名はヴァルチャーですよ」と彼は言いました。
"Yes, Sah, mah fam'ly name is Vulture, but we-uns done been called Buzzards so long, that Ah don' know as Ah would know Ah was being spoken to, if Ah was called Mistah Vulture."
「そうですとも、わしの家名はヴァルチャーなのですが、わし達はずっとバザードと呼ばれてきたもので、もしミスター・ヴァルチャーと呼ばれても、自分に話しかけられているとわかるかどうか、わからないくらいですよ。」
"An' do Ah understand that all of your fam'ly have red haids?" inquired Unc' Billy.
「それで、あなたのご家族は皆、赤い頭をしておられるのですかい？」とビリーおじさんは尋ねました。
Ol' Mistah Buzzard looked down at Unc' Billy, and he saw a twinkle in Unc' Billy's shrewd little eyes.
オールド・ミスター・バザードはビリーおじさんを見下ろすと、その抜け目のない小さな目がきらりと光っているのに気がつきました。
Ol' Mistah Buzzard grinned.
オールド・ミスター・バザードはにやりと笑いました。
"Ah knows jes' what yo' done got in your mind, Brer Possum," said he.
「ポッサム兄弟、あんたが何を考えているか、ちゃんとわかっていますよ」と彼は言いました。
"It's that trifling, no 'count cousin of mine.
「あのろくでなしで、役立たずのわしのいとこのことでしょう。
Vocabulary
- ご存知
- gozonji — Honorific expression meaning 'do you know?'
- の
- no — Possessive or nominalizing particle in Japanese.
- 通り
- toori — Street; or 'as expected / as stated'.
- そこ
- soko — That place; there (near the listener).
- に
- ni — Particle indicating location, direction, or time.
- は
- wa — Topic marker particle in Japanese grammar.
- 羽根
- hane — Feather; wing of a bird.
- 一枚
- ichimai — One flat thin object, e.g. one feather.
- なく
- naku — Without; lacking (negative conjunctive form).
- とても
- totemo — Very; extremely; quite.
- 赤い
- akai — Red; crimson in color.
- です
- desu — Polite copula meaning 'is / am / are'.
- それ
- sore — That; referring to something near the listener.
- 興味深い
- kyoumibuka i — Interesting; fascinating; arousing curiosity.
- 話
- hanashi — Story; tale; conversation; talk.
- で
- de — Particle indicating means, location of action, or 'and'.
- 草原
- sougen — Grassland; meadow; open grassy plain.
- や
- ya — Particle listing examples: 'and / or / among others'.
- 森
- mori — Forest; woods; grove of trees.
- 小さな
- chiisana — Small; little; tiny (attributive adjective).
- 住人
- juunin — Resident; inhabitant; dweller of a place.
- たち
- tachi — Plural suffix for people or animate beings.
- が
- ga — Subject marker particle in Japanese grammar.
- 大勢
- oozei — A large number of people; a crowd.
- じっと
- jitto — Quietly; motionlessly; intently without moving.
- 耳
- mimi — Ear; the organ of hearing.
- を
- wo — Object marker particle in Japanese grammar.
- 傾け
- katamuke — To tilt; to lend (as in 'lend one's ear').
- て
- te — Conjunctive particle connecting verb phrases.
- 聞い
- kiite (stem) — Listening; hearing (conjunctive stem of 聞く).
- い
- i — Auxiliary verb continuing state or action (いる stem).
- まし
- mashi — Polite past auxiliary (stem of ました).
- た
- ta — Past tense auxiliary marker in Japanese.
- おじさん
- ojisan — Uncle; middle-aged man; familiar male address.
- ミスター
- misutaa — Mister; honorific title for men (loanword).
- 特別
- tokubetsu — Special; particular; extraordinary; exceptional.
- な
- na — Adjectival copula linking na-adjectives to nouns.
- 友人
- yuujin — Friend; close acquaintance (formal usage).
- 二人とも
- futari tomo — Both people; both of them together.
- はるか
- haruka — Far away; distant; much (far off).
- 南
- minami — South; the southern direction.
- 方
- kata / hou — Direction; side; also honorific word for person.
- から
- kara — From; because; starting point particle.
- やって来
- yatte ki — To come along; to arrive; to show up.
- ちょうど
- choudo — Just; exactly; precisely at that moment.
- その
- sono — That (adjective); referring to something previously mentioned.
- 終わり
- owari — End; conclusion; finish of something.
- 聞く
- kiku — To listen; to hear; to ask.
- 頃合い
- koroai — Right moment; appropriate timing; good opportunity.
- 兄貴
- aniki — Older brother; familiar or rough address for senior.
- 一つ
- hitotsu — One thing; one item (general counter).
- も
- mo — Also; too; even; as well (particle).
- よろしい
- yoroshii — Good; acceptable; fine (polite form of よい).
- かい
- kai — Casual question-ending particle (informal).
- と
- to — Particle meaning 'and', 'with', or quoting speech.
- 彼
- kare — He; him; that man; boyfriend.
- 言い
- ii (stem of iu) — Saying; speaking (conjunctive stem of 言う).
- もちろん
- mochiron — Of course; certainly; naturally; without doubt.
- 兄弟
- kyoudai — Brothers; siblings; brethren.
- 答え
- kotae — Answer; reply; response to a question.
- いう
- iu — To say; to speak; to be called.
- 本当
- hontou — True; real; genuine; indeed; really.
- あなた
- anata — You; polite second-person pronoun.
- 家名
- kamei — Family name; surname; clan or house name.
- ん
- n — Informal contraction of の; seeking confirmation or explanation.
- 尋ね
- tazune — To ask; to inquire; to question someone.
- いいえ
- iie — No; a negative response or denial.
- 違い
- chigai — Difference; mistake; being wrong or incorrect.
- ます
- masu — Polite verb ending for present or future tense.
- よ
- yo — Sentence-ending particle asserting or emphasizing information.
- みんな
- minna — Everyone; all; everybody together.
- 驚い
- odoroi (stem) — Surprised; astonished (conjunctive form of 驚く).
- 顔
- kao — Face; facial expression; countenance.
- し
- shi — Conjunctive form listing reasons or actions.
- という
- to iu — Called; named; meaning; known as.
- 誰
- dare — Who; which person; someone.
- こと
- koto — Thing; fact; matter; nominalizer for verbs.
- 以外
- igai — Other than; except for; besides; apart from.
- 名前
- namae — Name; given name; personal name.
- 呼ば
- yoba (stem) — To be called; addressed by name (passive stem).
- れ
- re — Passive or potential auxiliary verb suffix.
- いる
- iru — To exist; to be (for animate beings).
- なかっ
- nakatta (stem) — Was not; did not exist (negative past stem).
- しかし
- shikashi — However; but; nevertheless; yet.
- 何
- nani / nani — What; something; anything.
- 言わ
- iwa (stem) — Saying; speaking (negative/passive stem of 言う).
- ず
- zu — Negative conjunctive form meaning 'without doing'.
- 一
- ichi / hito — One; the number one.
- 二分
- nifun — Two minutes; a short period of time.
- 後
- ato / go — After; later; behind; following.
- 説明
- setsumei — Explanation; description; clarification of something.
- わし
- washi — I; me (old-fashioned or dialect male pronoun).
- そう
- sou — So; that way; like that; I see.
- 達
- tachi — Plural suffix indicating a group of people.
- ずっと
- zutto — All along; continuously; far; much more.
- き
- ki — Coming; arriving (stem of 来る kuru).
- もの
- mono — Thing; object; person; nominalizer expressing reason.
- もし
- moshi — If; supposing that; in case (conditional opener).
- 自分
- jibun — Oneself; myself; yourself; one's own self.
- 話しかけ
- hanashikake — To speak to; to address; to initiate conversation.
- られ
- rare — Passive or potential auxiliary suffix for verbs.
- わかる
- wakaru — To understand; to know; to be clear.
- か
- ka — Question particle placed at sentence end.
- どうか
- douka — Whether or not; please (used in requests).
- わから
- wakara (stem) — Not understanding (negative stem of わかる).
- ない
- nai — Negative auxiliary: not; does not exist.
- くらい
- kurai — About; approximately; to the extent that.
- ご
- go — Honorific prefix showing respect or politeness.
- 家族
- kazoku — Family; one's household members.
- 皆
- mina — Everyone; all people; everybody.
- 頭
- atama / kashira — Head; top; leader; chief of a group.
- おら
- ora — I; me (rural or rough masculine pronoun).
- れる
- reru — Passive or potential verb suffix in Japanese.
- 見下ろす
- miokudasu — To look down upon; to overlook from above.
- 抜け目
- nukeme — Shrewdness; being sharp; not missing anything.
- 目
- me — Eye; eyesight; gaze; vision.
- きらり
- kirari — With a glitter or sparkle; flashing briefly.
- 光っ
- hikat (stem) — Shining; gleaming; sparkling (stem of 光る).
- 気がつき
- ki ga tsuki — To notice; to realize; to become aware.
- にやり
- niyari — With a grin; smirking; smiling slyly.
- 笑い
- warai — Laughter; smile; a laugh or chuckle.
- あんた
- anta — You (informal, slightly rough second-person pronoun).
- 考え
- kangae — Thought; idea; thinking; consideration.
- ちゃんと
- chanto — Properly; correctly; neatly; without fail.
- わかっ
- wakatta (stem) — Understood; realized (past stem of わかる).
- あの
- ano — That (over there); used to refer to something distant.
- ろくでなし
- rokudenashi — Good-for-nothing; worthless person; scoundrel.
- 役立たず
- yakutatazu — Useless person; someone of no practical value.
- いとこ
- itoko — Cousin; child of one's aunt or uncle.
- しょう
- shou — Let's; shall we (volitional/suggestion sentence ending).
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