Old Mother West Wind — Page 7
"Jimmy Skunk," said Old Dame Nature, "because your handsome black coat of which you are so proud has made it possible for you to move about in the night without being seen, and because we can no longer trust you upon your honor, henceforth you and your descendants shall wear a striped coat, which is the sign that you cannot be trusted.
「ジミー・スカンクよ」と老いたる自然の母は言いました。「お前が誇りに思っているその立派な黒い毛皮のせいで、お前は夜の間も誰にも気づかれずに動き回ることができた。そして、もはやお前の言葉を信用することができないゆえに、今後はお前もお前の子孫たちも縞模様の毛皮を身にまとうことになる。それは、お前が信用できないことを示す印じゃ。
Your coat hereafter shall be black and white, that when you move about in the night you will always be visible."
これからのお前の毛皮は黒と白になる。夜に動き回る時も、常に目に見えるようにのう。」
And this is why that to this day Jimmy Skunk wears a striped suit of black and white.
これが、今日に至るまでジミー・スカンクが黒と白の縞模様の服を着ている理由なのです。
Vocabulary
- よ
- yo — Sentence-ending particle expressing assertion or emphasis.
- と
- to — Particle meaning 'and', 'with', or quotation marker.
- 老い
- oi — Old age; the state of growing old.
- たる
- taru — Classical attributive form meaning 'being' or 'who is'.
- 自然
- shizen — Nature; the natural world around us.
- の
- no — Possessive or linking particle connecting nouns.
- 母
- haha — Mother; one's female parent.
- は
- wa — Topic-marking particle indicating the sentence topic.
- 言い
- ii — Stem of 'to say'; speaking or telling something.
- まし
- mashi — Classical polite auxiliary verb stem (past polite).
- た
- ta — Past tense auxiliary indicating completed action.
- お前
- omae — Informal second-person pronoun meaning 'you'.
- が
- ga — Subject-marking particle identifying the grammatical subject.
- 誇り
- hokori — Pride; a feeling of honor or self-respect.
- に
- ni — Particle indicating location, direction, or indirect object.
- 思っ
- omot(te) — Te-form of 'to think'; feeling or believing something.
- て
- te — Te-form conjunctive particle connecting verb phrases.
- いる
- iru — To be; indicates ongoing or current state/action.
- その
- sono — Demonstrative adjective meaning 'that' or 'the'.
- 立派
- rippa — Splendid, magnificent, or impressive in appearance.
- な
- na — Adjectival particle linking na-adjectives to nouns.
- 黒い
- kuroi — Black; having a dark black color or hue.
- 毛皮
- kegawa — Fur; an animal's coat or pelt.
- せい
- sei — Fault, cause; something to blame for a result.
- で
- de — Particle indicating means, location of action, or cause.
- 夜
- yoru — Night; the dark period after sunset.
- 間
- ma / kan — Interval, space, or period of time between things.
- も
- mo — Particle meaning 'also', 'even', or 'too'.
- 誰
- dare — Who; an interrogative pronoun asking about a person.
- 気づか
- kizuka — Negative stem of 'to notice'; not being noticed.
- れ
- re — Passive auxiliary verb suffix indicating passive voice.
- ず
- zu — Classical negative auxiliary meaning 'without doing'.
- 動き回る
- ugokimawaru — To move around; to wander or roam about freely.
- こと
- koto — Thing; nominalizer turning verbs into noun phrases.
- でき
- deki — Stem of 'dekiru'; to be able to do something.
- そして
- soshite — And then; a conjunction connecting sequential statements.
- もはや
- mohaya — No longer; already beyond a certain point or state.
- 言葉
- kotoba — Words, language; spoken or written verbal expression.
- を
- wo / o — Object-marking particle indicating the direct object.
- 信用
- shin'yō — Trust, confidence; relying on someone or something.
- する
- suru — To do; a versatile verb meaning to perform an action.
- ない
- nai — Negative auxiliary; indicates negation of a verb.
- ゆえ
- yue — Therefore, because; classical reason or cause connector.
- 今後
- kongo — From now on; in the future going forward.
- 子孫
- shison — Descendants, posterity; one's offspring across generations.
- たち
- tachi — Plural suffix for people or animate beings.
- 縞模様
- shima moyō — Striped pattern; a design with alternating colored stripes.
- 身
- mi — One's body or self; a person's physical being.
- まとう
- matō — To wear, to drape; to clothe oneself with something.
- なる
- naru — To become; to change into a new state or form.
- それ
- sore — That; a demonstrative pronoun referring to something.
- 示す
- shimesu — To show, indicate; to make something known or visible.
- 印
- shirushi — Mark, sign; a symbol indicating something specific.
- じゃ
- ja — Informal copula meaning 'is' or 'well then'.
- これから
- korekara — From now on; henceforth, going into the future.
- 黒
- kuro — Black; the darkest color, absence of light.
- 白
- shiro — White; the lightest color, reflecting all light.
- 時
- toki — Time, moment; a point or period in time.
- 常
- tsune — Always, constant; something perpetual or unchanging.
- 目
- me — Eye; the organ of sight in a living being.
- 見える
- mieru — To be visible; to be seen or appear to someone.
- よう
- yō — Manner, appearance; indicates resemblance or purpose.
- これ
- kore — This; a demonstrative pronoun for nearby things.
- 今日
- kyō / konnichi — Today; the current day or present time.
- 至る
- itaru — To reach, arrive at; to extend up to a point.
- まで
- made — Until, up to; indicating a limit in time or space.
- 服
- fuku — Clothes, clothing; garments worn on the body.
- 着て
- kite — Te-form of 'to wear'; wearing or putting on clothes.
- 理由
- riyū — Reason, cause; an explanation for why something happens.
- です
- desu — Polite copula meaning 'is', 'am', or 'are'.
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