Old Mother West Wind — Page 4

English → Japanese CHAPTER II WHY GRANDFATHER FROG HAS NO TAIL Level 2/10

Grandfather Frog smacked his lips and continued:

カエルのおじいさんは唇をなめて、続けました：

"And from that day to this every Frog has started life with a big tail, and as he has grown bigger and bigger his tail has grown smaller and smaller, until finally it disappears, and then he remembers how foolish and useless it is to be vain of what nature has given us.

「あの日から今日まで、すべてのカエルは大きなしっぽを持って生まれてきます。そして体が大きくなるにつれて、しっぽはどんどん小さくなり、ついには消えてしまいます。そのとき、自然が与えてくれたものを自慢することがいかに愚かで無駄なことかを思い知るのです。

And that is how I came to lose my tail," finished Grandfather Frog.

そして、それが私がしっぽをなくすことになったいきさつです」と、カエルのおじいさんは話を締めくくりました。

"Thank you," shouted all the Merry Little Breezes.

「ありがとう」と、陽気な小さな風たちは全員叫びました。

"We won't forget."

「忘れません。」

Then they ran a race to see who could reach Johnny Chuck's home first and tell him that Farmer Brown was coming down on the Green Meadows with a gun.

それから彼らは、ジョニー・チャックの家に誰が一番早く着けるか競争し、ブラウン農夫が銃を持って緑の牧草地にやって来ると知らせようとしました。

Vocabulary

カエル: kaeru — Frog; a small amphibian animal.
の: no — Possessive or linking particle indicating relationship.
おじいさん: ojiisan — Old man; grandfather or elderly male person.
は: wa — Topic-marking particle indicating the sentence subject.
唇: kuchibiru — Lips; the fleshy edges of the mouth.
を: wo — Object-marking particle indicating the direct object.
なめ: name — Lick; to run tongue over a surface.
て: te — Conjunctive particle connecting sequential actions.
続け: tsuzuke — Continue; keep doing something without stopping.
まし: mashi — Polite past auxiliary verb stem form.
た: ta — Past tense auxiliary; indicates completed action.
あの: ano — That (over there); refers to something distant.
日: hi — Day; a single calendar day or sunlight.
から: kara — From; indicates starting point in time or place.
今日: kyou — Today; the current day.
まで: made — Until; up to a point in time or space.
すべて: subete — All; everything without exception.
大きな: ookina — Large; big in size or scale.
しっぽ: shippo — Tail; the rear appendage of an animal.
持っ: mot(te) — Have; to hold or possess something.
生まれ: umare — Born; to come into existence at birth.
き: ki — Auxiliary indicating action coming toward present state.
ます: masu — Polite verb ending indicating present or future tense.
そし: soshi(te) — And then; connecting two sequential statements.
体: karada — Body; the physical form of a person or animal.
が: ga — Subject-marking particle identifying the grammatical subject.
大きく: ookiku — Become large; adverbial form of big.
なる: naru — Become; to change into a new state.
に: ni — Particle indicating direction, time, or purpose.
つれ: tsure — As; proportionally along with a change.
どんどん: dondon — Rapidly; progressing steadily and continuously.
小さく: chiisaku — Small; adverbial form meaning becoming smaller.
なり: nari — Become; conjunctive form of naru.
つい: tsui — Finally; eventually ending up doing something.
消え: kie — Disappear; to vanish or fade away completely.
しまい: shimai — End up; completing an action often regrettably.
その: sono — That; refers to something near the listener.
とき: toki — Time; moment or occasion when something occurs.
自然: shizen — Nature; the natural world or what is natural.
与え: atae — Give; to bestow or provide something to someone.
くれ: kure — Give (to me); receiving a favor from someone.
もの: mono — Thing; an object or something one possesses.
自慢: jiman — Boast; to brag or show off about something.
する: suru — Do; general verb meaning to perform an action.
こと: koto — Thing; nominalizer turning a verb into a noun.
いかに: ika ni — How; to what extent or degree something is.
愚か: oroka — Foolish; lacking wisdom or good judgment.
で: de — Particle indicating means, location of action, or reason.
無駄: muda — Wasteful; useless effort or pointless action.
な: na — Adjectival particle linking na-adjective to a noun.
か: ka — Question particle or emphatic marker at sentence end.
思い知る: omoishiru — Realize painfully; to come to deeply understand something.
です: desu — Polite copula meaning 'is' or 'are.'
それ: sore — That; refers to something near the listener.
私: watashi — I; first-person pronoun for oneself.
なくす: nakusu — Lose; to misplace or get rid of something.
なっ: nat(te) — Became; conjunctive past form of naru.
いきさつ: ikisatsu — Circumstances; the background details of an event.
と: to — Quotation particle or conjunction meaning 'and/with.'
話: hanashi — Story; a spoken tale or conversation.
締めくくり: shimekukuri — Conclusion; wrapping up or finishing a speech.
ありがとう: arigatou — Thank you; expression of gratitude.
陽気: youki — Cheerful; merry and in good spirits.
小さな: chiisana — Small; little in size or scale.
風: kaze — Wind; moving air or a breeze.
たち: tachi — Plural suffix for people or animate beings.
全員: zen'in — All members; every person in a group.
叫び: sakebi — Shout; to cry out loudly in excitement.
忘れ: wasure — Forget; to fail to remember something.
ませ: mase — Polite negative auxiliary verb stem component.
ん: n — Negative ending; contraction of nai meaning not.
彼ら: karera — They; third-person plural pronoun for a group.
家: ie — House; a residential building or home.
誰: dare — Who; asking about an unknown person's identity.
一番: ichiban — Number one; the most or first among others.
早く: hayaku — Quickly; in a fast manner or early timing.
着ける: tsukeru — Arrive; to reach a destination.
競争: kyousou — Competition; a race or contest between participants.
し: shi — Do; conjunctive form of suru linking clauses.
農夫: noufu — Farmer; a person who works agricultural land.
銃: juu — Gun; a firearm or shooting weapon.
緑: midori — Green; the color of grass and leaves.
牧草地: bokusouchi — Pasture; a grassy field where animals graze.
やっ: yat(te) — Do; conjunctive form of yaru meaning to do.
来る: kuru — Come; to move toward the speaker's location.
知らせ: shirase — Notice; information or news conveyed to someone.
よう: you — Let's; volitional ending expressing intention or suggestion.

← Previous Next →

Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.

Create free account →