Old Mother West Wind — Page 2
There was very little dry land--oh, very little indeed! There were no boys to throw stones and no hungry Mink to gobble up foolish Frog-babies who were taking a sun bath!"
陸地はほとんどありませんでした――ああ、本当にほとんどなかったのです！石を投げる少年もおらず、日光浴をしている愚かなカエルの赤ちゃんをむさぼり食う腹ペコのミンクもいませんでした！」
Billy Mink, who had joined the Merry Little Breezes and was listening, squirmed uneasily and looked away guiltily.
陽気な小風たちの仲間に加わって聞いていたビリー・ミンクは、居心地悪そうにもじもじして、やましそうに目をそらしました。
"In those days all the Frogs had tails, long handsome tails of which they were very, very proud indeed," continued Grandfather Frog.
「その頃、カエルたちはみんな尻尾を持っていました。長くてりっぱな尻尾で、みんな本当にとても、とても誇りに思っていました」とおじいさんガエルは続けました。
"The King of all the Frogs was twice as big as any other Frog, and his tail was three times as long.
「カエルたちの王様は他のどのカエルよりも二倍の大きさで、その尻尾は三倍の長さがありました。
He was very proud, oh, very proud indeed of his long tail.
王様は自分の長い尻尾をとても、ああ、本当にとても誇りに思っていました。
He used to sit and admire it until he thought that there never had been and never could be another such tail.
王様はよく座ってその尻尾に見惚れ、これほどの尻尾はこれまでになかったし、これからもあり得ないと思うようになりました。
He used to wave it back and forth in the water, and every time he waved it all the other Frogs would cry 'Ah!' and 'Oh!'
王様はよく水の中でその尻尾を前後に振り、振るたびに他のカエルたちが「ああ！」「おお！」と声を上げるのでした。
Every day the King grew more vain.
日が経つにつれて、王様はますます虚栄心が強くなっていきました。
He did nothing at all but eat and sleep and admire his tail.
王様は食べて、寝て、自分の尻尾に見惚れる以外、何もしませんでした。
"Now all the other Frogs did just as the King did, so pretty soon none of the Frogs were doing anything but sitting about eating, sleeping and admiring their own tails and the King's.
「さて、他のカエルたちもみんな王様と同じようにしていたので、やがてカエルたちは誰一人として、ただそこに座って食べたり、寝たり、自分たちの尻尾や王様の尻尾に見惚れたりする以外、何もしなくなってしまいました。
"Now you all know that people who do nothing worth while in this world are of no use and there is little room for them.
「さて、この世の中で価値あることを何もしない者は役に立たず、そのような者の居場所はほとんどないということは、皆さんもよくご存じのことと思います。
Vocabulary
- 陸地
- rikuchi — Land; dry ground as opposed to water.
- は
- wa — Topic marker particle in Japanese grammar.
- ほとんど
- hotondo — Almost; nearly; hardly any.
- あり
- ari — Stem form of 'aru'; to exist (inanimate).
- ませ
- mase — Polite verb ending component used in formal speech.
- ん
- n — Negative or explanatory sentence-ending particle.
- た
- ta — Past tense grammatical suffix for verbs.
- ああ
- aa — Ah; oh; exclamation of realization or emotion.
- 本当
- hontou — True; real; indeed; genuinely so.
- に
- ni — Particle indicating direction, time, or purpose.
- なかっ
- nakatt — Past negative stem; did not exist or have.
- の
- no — Possessive or nominalizing particle in Japanese.
- です
- desu — Polite copula meaning 'is,' 'am,' or 'are.'
- 石
- ishi — Stone; rock; a hard mineral object.
- を
- wo — Object marker particle indicating direct object.
- 投げる
- nageru — To throw; to hurl an object.
- 少年
- shounen — Boy; young male; youth.
- も
- mo — Also; too; even; particle of inclusion.
- ず
- zu — Classical negative verb suffix meaning 'without doing.'
- 日光浴
- nikkouyoku — Sunbathing; basking in sunlight.
- し
- shi — Verb conjunctive form; and/also connective suffix.
- て
- te — Te-form particle connecting verbs in sequence.
- いる
- iru — To exist; to be (animate); progressive marker.
- 愚か
- oroka — Foolish; stupid; lacking good judgment.
- な
- na — Adjectival particle linking na-adjective to noun.
- カエル
- kaeru — Frog; a small amphibious jumping animal.
- 赤ちゃん
- akachan — Baby; infant; very young child.
- むさぼり
- musabori — Greedily; ravenously; with excessive appetite.
- 食う
- kuu — To eat; to devour (casual/rough speech).
- 腹ペコ
- harapeko — Very hungry; starving; famished.
- ミンク
- minku — Mink; a small carnivorous furry animal.
- い
- i — Verb ending for i-adjectives or informal 'iru.'
- 陽気
- youki — Cheerful; merry; lively in mood or weather.
- 小風
- kofuu — Light breeze; gentle small wind.
- たち
- tachi — Plural suffix for people or animate beings.
- 仲間
- nakama — Companion; fellow; group member; comrade.
- 加わっ
- kuwawatt — Joined; added to; became part of group.
- 聞い
- kii — Te-form of 'kiku'; listened; asked; heard.
- 居心地
- igokochi — Comfort level; how comfortable one feels somewhere.
- 悪
- waru — Bad; evil; poor quality or feeling.
- そう
- sou — Seeming; appearing to be that way.
- もじもじ
- mojimoji — Fidgeting; squirming with shyness or discomfort.
- やまし
- yamashi — Feeling guilty; having a guilty conscience.
- 目
- me — Eye; eyesight; vision.
- そらし
- sorashi — Averting; turning away (eyes or gaze).
- まし
- mashi — Polite past tense verb ending component.
- その
- sono — That; the (near the listener).
- 頃
- koro — Time; around that period; about then.
- みんな
- minna — Everyone; all; everybody together.
- 尻尾
- shippo — Tail; the rear appendage of an animal.
- 持っ
- mott — Held; had; possessed (te/past stem of motsu).
- 長く
- nagaku — Longly; in a long manner; at length.
- りっぱ
- rippa — Splendid; fine; impressive; admirable.
- で
- de — Particle indicating location, means, or conjunction.
- とても
- totemo — Very; extremely; quite; really.
- 誇り
- hokori — Pride; sense of honor; self-respect.
- 思っ
- omott — Thought; felt; believed (te/past stem of omou).
- と
- to — Particle meaning 'and,' 'with,' or quotation marker.
- おじいさん
- ojiisan — Grandfather; old man; elderly male person.
- ガエル
- gaeru — Frog (voiced form used in compounds).
- 続け
- tsuzuke — Continued; kept going; carried on doing.
- 王様
- ou-sama — King; a male monarch ruling a kingdom.
- 他
- hoka — Other; another; the rest; different ones.
- どの
- dono — Which; whichever (among multiple options).
- より
- yori — Than; compared to; more than (comparison particle).
- 二倍
- nibai — Twice as much; double the amount.
- 大き
- ooki — Large; big (adjective stem form).
- さ
- sa — Nominalizing suffix turning adjective into noun.
- 三倍
- sanbai — Three times as much; triple the amount.
- 長
- naga — Long; length; elongated (stem or compound form).
- が
- ga — Subject marker particle; but (contrastive conjunction).
- 自分
- jibun — Oneself; one's own self; myself/yourself.
- 長い
- nagai — Long; lengthy in size or duration.
- よく
- yoku — Often; well; frequently; skillfully.
- 座っ
- suwatt — Sat; was seated (te/past stem of suwaru).
- 見惚れ
- mihotore — Captivated by sight; gazing in admiration.
- これ
- kore — This; this thing (near the speaker).
- ほど
- hodo — To the extent; as much as; degree.
- まで
- made — Until; up to; as far as.
- から
- kara — From; because; since; after doing.
- 得
- e/u — To obtain; can; possible; gain something.
- ない
- nai — Not; does not exist; negative adjective ending.
- 思う
- omou — To think; to feel; to believe.
- よう
- you — Seems like; in the manner of; resembling.
- なり
- nari — Became; turned into (conjunctive form of naru).
- 水
- mizu — Water; fresh liquid water.
- 中
- naka — Inside; middle; among; within.
- 前後
- zengo — Back and forth; front and back; around.
- 振り
- furi — Waving; swinging; a swing or shake.
- 振る
- furu — To wave; to swing; to shake something.
- たび
- tabi — Each time; whenever; every occasion.
- おお
- oo — Oh; wow; exclamation of surprise or admiration.
- 声
- koe — Voice; a sound produced by speaking.
- 上げる
- ageru — To raise; to lift up; to give.
- 日
- hi — Day; sun; daytime.
- 経つ
- tatsu — Time passes; to elapse; days go by.
- つれ
- tsure — As; along with; in proportion to (conjunction).
- ます
- masu — Polite verb ending indicating present/future tense.
- 虚栄心
- kyoueishin — Vanity; excessive pride in one's appearance.
- 強く
- tsuyoku — Strongly; powerfully; intensely.
- なっ
- natt — Became; turned into (te/past stem of naru).
- いき
- iki — Going; heading toward; increasingly (progressive).
- 食べ
- tabe — Eating; stem form of taberu (to eat).
- 寝
- ne — Sleep; stem form of neru (to sleep).
- 見惚れる
- mihotoreru — To be captivated; to gaze admiringly at.
- 以外
- igai — Other than; except for; besides.
- 何
- nani — What; anything; something (interrogative pronoun).
- さて
- sate — Well then; now; by the way (transitional).
- 同じ
- onaji — Same; identical; equal; alike.
- やがて
- yagate — Soon; before long; eventually; in time.
- 誰
- dare — Who; which person (interrogative pronoun).
- 一人
- hitori — One person; alone; by oneself.
- ただ
- tada — Just; merely; only; free of charge.
- そこ
- soko — There; that place (near the listener).
- たり
- tari — Listing actions alternately; doing things like.
- や
- ya — And; or; listing particle (informal).
- する
- suru — To do; to perform; to make happen.
- なく
- naku — Without; not being; negative conjunctive form.
- しまい
- shimai — End up; finish; completed regrettably.
- この
- kono — This (adjective modifying nearby noun).
- 世
- yo — World; society; era; this life.
- 価値
- kachi — Value; worth; merit; significance.
- ある
- aru — To exist; to have; there is (inanimate).
- こと
- koto — Thing; matter; fact; nominalizer for verbs.
- 者
- mono — Person; one who does; individual.
- 役
- yaku — Role; use; service; function.
- 立た
- tata — Standing; serving purpose (stem of tatsu).
- 居場所
- ibasho — Place to belong; one's own spot or niche.
- いう
- iu — To say; to speak; to be called.
- 皆さん
- minasan — Everyone; ladies and gentlemen; all of you.
- ご存じ
- gozonji — Honorific 'to know'; you are aware of.
- 思い
- omoi — Thought; feeling; emotion; one's inner sentiment.
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