Mother West Wind "Why" Stories — Page 111
I had a long tail when I was young, and I was mighty glad to get rid of it."
「私は若い頃、長いしっぽを持っていたが、それを取り除けてとても嬉しかったよ。」
After he heard that, Peter felt better.
それを聞いて、ピーターは気分が良くなった。
But he didn't lose interest in tails, and he spent a great deal of time in wondering why some of his neighbors had big, bushy tails and some had long, slim tails and why he himself had almost no tail at all.
しかし彼はしっぽへの興味を失わず、なぜ隣人の中には大きくふさふさしたしっぽを持つ者がいて、細くて長いしっぽを持つ者がいて、自分自身にはほとんどしっぽがないのかと、長い時間をかけて不思議に思っていた。
So when Paddy the Beaver came to live in the Green Forest, and made a pond there by building a wonderful dam across the Laughing Brook, the first thing Peter looked to see was what kind of a tail Paddy has, and the first time he got a good look at it, his eyes popped almost out of his head.
だから、ビーバーのパディが緑の森に住むようになり、笑い川に素晴らしいダムを作って池を造ったとき、ピーターが最初に確かめようとしたのはパディがどんなしっぽを持っているかということで、初めてそれをじっくり見たとき、彼の目は飛び出しそうになった。
He just stared and stared.
彼はただじっと見つめ続けた。
He hardly noticed the wonderful dam or the equally wonderful canals which Paddy had made.
彼はパディが作った素晴らしいダムや同じく素晴らしい運河にはほとんど気づかなかった。
All he could think of was that great, broad, flat, thick tail, which is so unlike any tail he had ever seen or heard of.
彼の頭にあったのは、これまで見たり聞いたりしたどんなしっぽとも違う、あの大きくて、幅広で、平たくて、分厚いしっぽのことだけだった。
The very next morning he hurried over to the Smiling Pool to tell Grandfather Frog about it.
翌朝すぐに、彼はカエルのおじいさんにそのことを伝えるために微笑みの池へと急いだ。
Grandfather Frog's big, goggly eyes twinkled.
カエルのおじいさんの大きな、ぎょろりとした目がきらりと輝いた。
"Chug-a-rum!" said he.
「チャグ・ア・ラム！」と彼は言った。
"Paddy the Beaver has one of the most useful tails I know of.
「ビーバーのパディは、私が知る中で最も役に立つしっぽの一つを持っている。
Would you like to know how he comes by such a queer tail?"
彼がどうしてそんな奇妙なしっぽを持つようになったか、知りたいかい？」
[Illustration: The first thing Peter looked to see was what kind of a tail Paddy has.]
【挿絵：ピーターが最初に確かめようとしたのは、パディがどんなしっぽを持っているかということだった。】
"Oh, if you please!
「ああ、ぜひお願いします！
Vocabulary
- 私
- watashi — First-person pronoun meaning I or me
- は
- wa — Topic-marking grammatical particle in Japanese
- 若い
- wakai — Adjective meaning young or youthful
- 頃
- koro — Approximate time period or when something occurred
- 長い
- nagai — Adjective meaning long in length or duration
- しっぽ
- shippo — Noun meaning tail of an animal
- を
- wo — Object-marking grammatical particle in Japanese
- 持っ
- mot(te) — Verb stem meaning to have or hold something
- て
- te — Conjunctive particle connecting verb phrases together
- い
- i — Auxiliary verb indicating ongoing or resultant state
- た
- ta — Past tense auxiliary verb ending in Japanese
- が
- ga — Particle marking subject or expressing contrast
- それ
- sore — Pronoun meaning that or it near the listener
- 取り除け
- torinozoke — Verb form meaning removed or got rid of
- とても
- totemo — Adverb meaning very or extremely
- 嬉しかっ
- ureshikak(ta) — Past form of adjective meaning was happy or glad
- よ
- yo — Sentence-ending particle asserting or informing listener
- 聞い
- kii(te) — Verb form meaning listened or heard something
- 気分
- kibun — Noun meaning mood, feeling, or mental state
- 良く
- yoku — Adverb meaning well or in a good manner
- なっ
- nat(ta) — Verb form meaning became or turned into something
- しかし
- shikashi — Conjunction meaning however or but
- 彼
- kare — Third-person pronoun meaning he or him
- へ
- e — Directional particle indicating movement toward something
- の
- no — Possessive or nominalizing particle in Japanese
- 興味
- kyoumi — Noun meaning interest or curiosity in something
- 失わ
- ushinawa — Verb form meaning lost or was deprived of
- ず
- zu — Negative auxiliary verb meaning without doing something
- なぜ
- naze — Question word meaning why or for what reason
- 隣人
- rinjin — Noun meaning neighbor or person living nearby
- 中
- naka — Noun meaning inside, among, or in the middle
- に
- ni — Particle marking location, direction, or indirect object
- 大きく
- ookiku — Adverb meaning largely or in a big manner
- ふさふさ
- fusafusa — Adverb or adjective meaning fluffy, bushy, or thick
- し
- shi — Conjunction listing reasons or connecting clauses
- 持つ
- motsu — Verb meaning to have, hold, or possess something
- 者
- mono — Noun meaning person or one who does something
- 細く
- hosoku — Adverb meaning thinly or in a slender manner
- 自分
- jibun — Reflexive pronoun meaning oneself or one's own
- 自身
- jishin — Noun meaning oneself, emphasizing the self personally
- ほとんど
- hotondo — Adverb meaning almost, mostly, or nearly all
- ない
- nai — Negative auxiliary adjective meaning does not exist
- か
- ka — Sentence-ending question particle in Japanese
- と
- to — Particle meaning and, with, or quoting someone
- 時間
- jikan — Noun meaning time or a period of time
- かけ
- kake — Verb form meaning spent time or took time
- 不思議
- fushigi — Noun or adjective meaning mysterious or strange wonder
- 思っ
- omot(te) — Verb form meaning thought or felt something
- だから
- dakara — Conjunction meaning therefore, so, or that is why
- ビーバー
- biibaa — Noun meaning beaver, a dam-building semi-aquatic mammal
- 緑
- midori — Noun or adjective meaning green color or greenery
- 森
- mori — Noun meaning forest or woods
- 住む
- sumu — Verb meaning to live or reside in a place
- よう
- you — Auxiliary meaning came to, seems like, or in order to
- なり
- nari — Verb form meaning became or came to be
- 素晴らしい
- subarashii — Adjective meaning wonderful, splendid, or magnificent
- ダム
- damu — Noun meaning dam, a water-blocking structure
- 作っ
- tsukut(te) — Verb form meaning made or built something
- 池
- ike — Noun meaning pond or small body of water
- 造っ
- tsukut(te) — Verb form meaning constructed or created something large
- とき
- toki — Noun meaning time, moment, or occasion when
- 最初
- saisho — Noun meaning the first time or the beginning
- 確かめ
- tashikame — Verb form meaning verified or made sure of something
- どんな
- donna — Adjective meaning what kind of or what sort
- いる
- iru — Verb meaning to exist or be present (animate)
- いう
- iu — Verb meaning to say, called, or referred to as
- こと
- koto — Noun meaning thing, fact, or matter (abstract)
- で
- de — Particle indicating location of action or means
- 初めて
- hajimete — Adverb meaning for the first time ever
- じっくり
- jikkuri — Adverb meaning carefully, slowly, or thoroughly
- 見
- mi — Verb stem meaning to look at or observe
- 目
- me — Noun meaning eye or eyes
- 飛び出し
- tobidashi — Verb form meaning popped out or jumped out suddenly
- そう
- sou — Adverb meaning so, that way, or it seems
- ただ
- tada — Adverb meaning just, simply, or merely
- じっと
- jitto — Adverb meaning still, fixedly, or without moving
- 見つめ
- Verb form meaning stared at or gazed fixedly
- 続け
- tsuzuke — Verb form meaning continued doing something
- や
- ya — Particle listing examples or expressing mild surprise
- 同じく
- onajiku — Adverb meaning similarly, likewise, or in the same way
- 運河
- unga — Noun meaning canal, an artificial waterway
- 気づか
- kizuka — Verb form meaning noticed or became aware of
- なかっ
- nakak(ta) — Past negative auxiliary meaning did not or was not
- 頭
- atama — Noun meaning head or mind
- あっ
- at(te) — Verb form of aru meaning there was or existed
- これまで
- koremade — Phrase meaning up until now or so far
- たり
- tari — Particle listing representative actions among others
- も
- mo — Particle meaning also, too, or even
- 違う
- chigau — Verb meaning to differ, be different, or be wrong
- あの
- ano — Demonstrative meaning that (far from both speakers)
- 幅広
- habahiro — Adjective meaning wide or broad in width
- 平たく
- hirataku — Adverb meaning flatly or in a flat manner
- 分厚い
- buatsui — Adjective meaning thick, bulky, or heavy
- だけ
- dake — Particle meaning only, just, or nothing but
- だっ
- dat(ta) — Past copula form meaning was or it was
- 翌朝
- yokuasa — Noun meaning the following morning or next morning
- すぐ
- sugu — Adverb meaning immediately, right away, or soon
- カエル
- kaeru — Noun meaning frog, a small amphibian
- おじいさん
- ojiisan — Noun meaning grandfather or elderly man
- その
- sono — Demonstrative adjective meaning that (near listener)
- 伝える
- tsutaeru — Verb meaning to convey, tell, or pass on information
- ため
- tame — Noun meaning purpose, for the sake of, or because
- 微笑み
- hohoemi — Noun meaning smile or gentle smiling expression
- 急い
- isoi(de) — Verb form meaning hurried or rushed somewhere
- だ
- da — Copula meaning is or it is (plain form)
- 大きな
- ookina — Attributive adjective meaning big or large
- ぎょろり
- gyorori — Adverb describing eyes rolling wide open or glaring
- きらり
- kirari — Adverb describing a brief sparkle or glitter
- 輝い
- kagayai(te) — Verb form meaning shone, sparkled, or glittered brightly
- 言っ
- it(te) — Verb form meaning said or told something to someone
- 知る
- shiru — Verb meaning to know or come to know something
- 最も
- mottomo — Adverb meaning most or the most among all
- 役に立つ
- yaku ni tatsu — Phrase meaning to be useful or helpful
- 一つ
- hitotsu — Noun meaning one thing or one of something
- どう
- dou — Adverb meaning how or in what way
- そんな
- sonna — Demonstrative adjective meaning such or that kind of
- 奇妙な
- kimyou na — Adjective meaning strange, odd, or peculiar
- 知り
- shiri — Verb stem meaning to know or learn about something
- たい
- tai — Auxiliary adjective expressing desire or want to do
- かい
- kai — Sentence-ending particle for informal questions
- 挿絵
- sashie — Noun meaning illustration or picture inserted in text
- ああ
- aa — Interjection meaning ah, oh, or I see
- ぜひ
- zehi — Adverb meaning by all means or definitely please
- お願い
- onegai — Noun or expression meaning please or a request
- ます
- masu — Polite verb ending indicating formal or respectful speech
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