Old Mother West Wind — Page 1
All the little people who live on the Green Meadows and in the Smiling Pool and along the Laughing Brook were to have a holiday.
緑の野原に住む小さな生き物たち、微笑む池のほとり、笑い声を上げる小川のそばに暮らす者たちは皆、休日を過ごすことになっていました。
The Merry Little Breezes of Old Mother West Wind had been very busy, oh very busy indeed, in sending word to all the little meadow folks.
西風のお母さんの陽気な小さな風たちは、野原の小さな仲間たち全員に知らせを届けるために、とても忙しく、ああ本当にとても忙しく動き回っていました。
You see, Peter Rabbit had been boasting of how fast he could run.
というのも、ピーター・ラビットが自分がどれほど速く走れるかを自慢していたのです。
Reddy Fox was quite sure that he could run faster than Peter Rabbit.
レディ・フォックスは、自分がピーター・ラビットよりも速く走れると確信していました。
Billy Mink, who can move so quickly you hardly can see him, was quite sure that neither Peter Rabbit nor Reddy Fox could run as fast as he.
ビリー・ミンクは、あまりにも素早く動くので見えないほどですが、ピーター・ラビットもレディ・フォックスも自分ほど速くは走れないと確信していました。
They all met one day beside the Smiling Pool and agreed that old Grandfather Frog should decide who was the swiftest.
ある日、彼らは全員で微笑む池のほとりに集まり、年老いたカエルじいさんが誰が一番速いかを決めるべきだということで合意しました。
Now Grandfather Frog was accounted very wise.
さて、カエルじいさんはたいへん賢いとされていました。
You see he had lived a long time, oh, very much longer than any of the others, and therefore, because of the wisdom of age, Grandfather Frog was always called on to decide all disputes.
というのも、彼は長い間生きており、ああ、他の誰よりもずっと長く生きていたので、年齢の知恵ゆえに、カエルじいさんはいつもあらゆる争いごとの決断を求められていたのです。
He sat on his green lily-pad while Billy Mink sat on the Big Rock, and Peter Rabbit and Reddy Fox sat on the bank.
彼は緑の蓮の葉の上に座り、ビリー・ミンクは大きな岩の上に座り、ピーター・ラビットとレディ・フォックスは岸の上に座りました。
Each in turn told why he thought he was the fastest.
それぞれが順番に、自分が一番速いと思う理由を話しました。
Old Grandfather Frog listened and listened and said never a word until they were all through.
年老いたカエルじいさんはじっと耳を傾け続け、みんなが話し終わるまで一言も言いませんでした。
When they had finished, he stopped to catch a foolish green fly and then he said: "The best way to decide who is the swiftest is to have a race.
みんなが話し終わると、彼は一匹の愚かな緑のハエを捕まえるために立ち止まり、それからこう言いました。「誰が一番速いかを決める最善の方法は、競争をすることです。
Vocabulary
- 緑
- midori — Green color or greenery
- の
- no — Possessive or attributive particle linking nouns
- 野原
- nohara — Open field or meadow in nature
- に
- ni — Particle indicating location, direction, or time
- 住む
- sumu — To live or reside in a place
- 小さな
- chiisana — Small or little in size
- 生き物
- ikimono — Living creature or organism
- たち
- tachi — Plural suffix for people or creatures
- 微笑む
- hohoemu — To smile gently and softly
- 池
- ike — Pond or small body of still water
- ほとり
- hotori — Edge or bank beside a body of water
- 笑い声
- waraigoe — Sound of laughter or laughing voice
- を
- wo — Object marker particle in a sentence
- 上げる
- ageru — To raise, lift up, or let out
- 小川
- ogawa — Small stream or brook in nature
- そば
- soba — Near or beside something or someone
- 暮らす
- kurasu — To live one's daily life somewhere
- 者
- mono — Person or one who does something
- は
- wa — Topic marker particle highlighting the subject
- 皆
- minna — Everyone or all people together
- 休日
- kyuujitsu — Holiday or day off from work
- 過ごす
- sugosu — To spend time in a certain way
- こと
- koto — Thing, matter, or nominalizer for verbs
- なっ
- natt(e) — Became; conjunctive form of naru
- て
- te — Conjunctive particle connecting verb phrases
- い
- i — Auxiliary indicating ongoing state or action
- まし
- mashi — Polite past auxiliary verb stem
- た
- ta — Past tense ending for verbs
- 西風
- nishikaze — West wind blowing from the west
- お母さん
- okaasan — Mother; polite term for one's mother
- 陽気
- youki — Cheerful, merry, or lively in spirit
- な
- na — Adjectival particle linking na-adjectives to nouns
- 風
- kaze — Wind or breeze in the air
- 仲間
- nakama — Friend, companion, or member of a group
- 全員
- zen'in — All members or every single person
- 知らせ
- shirase — News, notice, or piece of information
- 届ける
- todokeru — To deliver or send something to someone
- ため
- tame — For the sake of or in order to
- とても
- totemo — Very or extremely; intensifier adverb
- 忙しく
- isogashiku — Busily; adverbial form of busy
- ああ
- aa — Ah or oh; exclamation of realization or feeling
- 本当
- hontou — Truth, reality, or truly genuine
- 動き回っ
- ugokimawatt(e) — Moving around busily from place to place
- と
- to — Particle meaning and, with, or quotation marker
- いう
- iu — To say, call, or be called
- も
- mo — Also or too; inclusive particle
- が
- ga — Subject marker particle in a sentence
- 自分
- jibun — Oneself or one's own self
- どれ
- dore — Which one; interrogative pronoun for selection
- ほど
- hodo — To the extent of or about how much
- 速く
- hayaku — Quickly or fast; adverbial form
- 走れる
- hashireru — Able to run; potential form of run
- か
- ka — Question marker particle at sentence end
- 自慢
- jiman — Boasting or taking pride in something
- し
- shi — Conjunctive verb form or listing particle
- です
- desu — Polite copula meaning is, are, or am
- より
- yori — Than; comparative particle for comparisons
- 確信
- kakushin — Conviction or firm belief in something
- ミンク
- Minku — Mink; small fast semi-aquatic mammal
- あまり
- amari — Not very or not so much
- 素早く
- subayaku — Quickly and nimbly; with swift agility
- 動く
- ugoku — To move or shift position
- で
- de — Particle indicating means, location, or cause
- 見え
- mie — Appear or be visible to eyes
- ない
- nai — Negative auxiliary meaning not or does not
- 走れ
- hashire — Run; imperative or potential stem of run
- ある
- aru — To exist or there is something
- 日
- hi — Day or the sun
- 彼ら
- karera — They or them; third person plural
- 集まり
- atsumari — Gathering or assembly of people together
- 年老い
- toshioi — Aged or grown old in years
- カエル
- kaeru — Frog; amphibian living near water
- じいさん
- jiisan — Old man or grandfather figure
- 誰
- dare — Who; interrogative pronoun for a person
- 一番
- ichiban — Number one or the most; superlative marker
- 速い
- hayai — Fast or quick in movement
- 決める
- kimeru — To decide or determine something firmly
- べき
- beki — Should or ought to do something
- だ
- da — Plain form copula meaning is or are
- 合意
- goui — Agreement or mutual consent between parties
- さて
- sate — Well now or anyway; transitional expression
- たいへん
- taihen — Very or extremely; also means terrible trouble
- 賢い
- kashikoi — Wise, clever, or intelligent person
- さ
- sa — Nominalizing suffix or light exclamation particle
- れ
- re — Passive or potential auxiliary verb form
- 彼
- kare — He or him; third person male pronoun
- 長い
- nagai — Long in length or duration of time
- 間
- aida / ma — Period of time or space between things
- 生き
- iki — Living; stem of the verb to live
- おり
- ori — Polite form of いる meaning to be
- 他
- hoka — Others or the rest of something
- ずっと
- zutto — For a long time or much longer
- 長く
- nagaku — Long; adverbial form of nagai
- 年齢
- nenrei — Age or number of years lived
- 知恵
- chie — Wisdom, knowledge, or intelligent insight
- ゆえ
- yue — Because of or therefore; reason or cause
- いつも
- itsumo — Always or usually at all times
- あらゆる
- arayuru — Every or all kinds of things
- 争い
- arasoi — Dispute, conflict, or quarrel between parties
- ごと
- goto — Every or each matter or thing
- 決断
- ketsudan — Decision or resolution made with determination
- 求め
- motome — Request or seek something from someone
- られ
- rare — Passive or potential auxiliary verb form
- 蓮
- hasu — Lotus flower plant growing in water
- 葉
- ha — Leaf of a plant or tree
- 上
- ue — Above, on top of, or upper position
- 座り
- suwari — Sitting down; stem of to sit
- 大きな
- oukina — Big or large in size
- 岩
- iwa — Rock or large stone in nature
- 岸
- kishi — Shore, bank, or edge of water
- それぞれ
- sorezore — Each one respectively or individually
- 順番
- junban — Turn or order in a sequence
- 思う
- omou — To think or feel about something
- 理由
- riyuu — Reason or cause for something
- 話し
- hanashi — Story, talk, or speaking about something
- じっと
- jitto — Quietly still or motionlessly without moving
- 耳
- mimi — Ear or sense of hearing
- 傾け
- katamuke — To incline or lend one's ear attentively
- 続け
- tsuzuke — Continue doing something without stopping
- みんな
- minna — Everyone or all people in group
- 終わる
- owaru — To end or finish something completely
- まで
- made — Until or up to a point in time
- 一言
- hitokoto — A single word or brief comment
- 言い
- ii — Saying; conjunctive stem of to say
- ませ
- mase — Polite imperative or auxiliary verb ending
- ん
- n — Negative ending or explanatory contraction
- でし
- deshi — Polite copula past stem form
- 一匹
- ippiki — One small animal counter word
- 愚か
- oroka — Foolish or stupid in behavior
- ハエ
- hae — Housefly; common flying insect pest
- 捕まえる
- tsukamaeru — To catch or capture something or someone
- 立ち止まり
- tachitomari — Stopping in one's tracks momentarily
- それ
- sore — That thing near the listener
- から
- kara — From or because of; starting point particle
- こう
- kou — Like this; in this way or manner
- 最善
- saizen — Best or optimal course of action
- 方法
- houhou — Method or way of doing something
- 競争
- kyousou — Competition or race between rivals
- する
- suru — To do or perform an action
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