Piccolissima — Page 3
She adhered to the old-fashioned notions, and could not suppose it possible that her little one could sleep without rocking.
彼女は昔ながらの考えを守り、赤ちゃんを揺らさずに眠らせることができるなどとは到底思えませんでした。
What the good little mother found the most trouble from, in the extreme smallness and delicacy of the limbs of her new-born doll baby, was the impossibility of swathing and dressing it.
善良な小さなお母さんが最も困ったのは、生まれたばかりの人形のような赤ちゃんの手足が極めて小さくて繊細であるために、産着を巻いて着せることができないということでした。
So she was forced to resign herself to doing as the birds do, and bring up her little one on a bed of moss and down.
そのため彼女はやむなく鳥のやり方に倣い、苔と羽毛の寝床で赤ちゃんを育てることにしました。
She hardly dared to put upon the little arm, smaller than her own little finger, a little shift made of the fine white skin of the inside of an eggshell.
彼女は自分の小指よりも細い赤ちゃんの腕に、卵の殻の内側の薄い白い膜で作った小さなシュミーズを着せることさえ、ためらわれるほどでした。
The boots of the little one had soles cut out of the inside husks of the corn; a poppy leaf made her an ample bonnet.
赤ちゃんの靴の底はトウモロコシの内側の薄皮を切って作られ、ケシの葉が十分な大きさのボンネットになりました。
The spider's web which the dew whitens, and the wind winds up in balls, seemed too coarse too weave her sheets with, and the cup of an acorn was big enough for Piccolissima.
露が白く染め、風が玉状に丸める蜘蛛の巣でさえ、シーツを織るには粗すぎるように思われ、どんぐりのカップはピッコリッシマには十分すぎるほど大きいのでした。
Her parents obtained all her wardrobe, and all the small furniture for her use from those thousands of skilful laborers, so adroit, and yet of whom we think so little, who hide themselves in all the walls, in the leaves of the trees turned up like horns, under the bark of the trees; in short, that are found in all the corners and crevices of creation.
彼女の両親は、彼女のための衣装一式と小さな家具のすべてを、何千もの器用な働き者たちから手に入れました。その働き者たちとはとても巧みでありながら、私たちがほとんど気に留めることのない生き物たちで、壁のあちこちに、角のように丸まった木の葉の中に、木の皮の下に隠れ、つまり創造物のあらゆる隅や割れ目に見つかる者たちでした。
Mr. and Mrs. Tom Thumb were not people who could be astonished.
親指トムの夫妻は、驚くような人たちではありませんでした。
Vocabulary
- 彼女
- kanojo — She; her; girlfriend.
- は
- wa — Topic-marking particle indicating the subject.
- 昔ながら
- mukashinagara — In the old-fashioned or traditional way.
- の
- no — Possessive or attributive linking particle.
- 考え
- kangae — Thought, idea, or way of thinking.
- を
- wo — Object-marking particle indicating direct object.
- 守り
- mamori — To protect, keep, or uphold something.
- 赤ちゃん
- akachan — Baby; infant.
- 揺らさ
- yurasa — To rock or sway (negative stem form here).
- ず
- zu — Classical negative auxiliary meaning 'without doing.'
- に
- ni — Particle indicating direction, location, or purpose.
- 眠ら
- nemura — To sleep; to put to sleep (verb stem).
- せる
- seru — Causative auxiliary verb meaning 'to make/let do.'
- こと
- koto — Thing; fact; nominalizer for verb phrases.
- が
- ga — Subject-marking particle.
- できる
- dekiru — To be able to do; to be possible.
- など
- nado — Et cetera; and so on; such things as.
- と
- to — Quotation particle or conjunctive meaning 'and/that.'
- 到底
- tōtei — By no means; absolutely not (used with negatives).
- 思え
- omoe — To think; to feel (potential/imperative stem form).
- ん
- n — Negative contraction used in polite speech.
- た
- ta — Past tense auxiliary verb ending.
- 善良
- zenryō — Good-natured, virtuous, and honest in character.
- な
- na — Adjectival particle linking na-adjective to noun.
- 小さな
- chīsana — Small; little (attributive adjective form).
- お母さん
- okāsan — Mother; mom (polite form).
- 最も
- mottomo — Most; extremely (superlative adverb).
- 困っ
- komatte — To be troubled or in difficulty (te-form).
- 生まれ
- umare — Birth; to be born.
- ばかり
- bakari — Just; only; having just done something recently.
- 人形
- ningyō — Doll; puppet; figurine.
- よう
- yō — Like; similar to; appearing as though.
- 手足
- teashi — Hands and feet; limbs of the body.
- 極めて
- kiwamete — Extremely; exceedingly; to the utmost degree.
- 小さく
- chīsaku — Small; in a small manner (adverbial form).
- て
- te — Conjunctive particle connecting verb phrases.
- 繊細
- sensai — Delicate, fine, and sensitive in nature.
- で
- de — Particle indicating means, location, or reason.
- ある
- aru — To exist; to be (for inanimate things).
- ため
- tame — Because of; for the purpose of; due to.
- 巻い
- maite — To wrap or wind around something (te-form).
- 着せる
- kiseru — To dress someone; to put clothes on another.
- でき
- deki — Able to do; possible (stem of dekiru).
- ない
- nai — Negative auxiliary; not existing or not doing.
- いう
- iu — To say; to be called; to be described as.
- そのため
- sono tame — For that reason; therefore; because of that.
- やむなく
- yamonaku — Unavoidably; having no choice but to do.
- 鳥
- tori — Bird.
- やり方
- yarikata — Method; way of doing something.
- 倣い
- narai — To follow or imitate another's example or method.
- 苔
- koke — Moss; soft green plant growing on surfaces.
- 羽毛
- umō — Feathers; down; soft bird plumage.
- 寝床
- nedoko — Bed; sleeping place; a place to rest.
- 育てる
- sodateru — To raise, nurture, or bring up a child.
- し
- shi — Conjunctive verb ending listing multiple reasons.
- 自分
- jibun — Oneself; one's own self.
- 小指
- koyubi — Little finger; pinky finger.
- より
- yori — Than; more than; compared to something.
- も
- mo — Also; even; too (inclusive particle).
- 細い
- hosoi — Thin; slender; narrow.
- 腕
- ude — Arm; skill or ability.
- 卵
- tamago — Egg; also used for chicken egg in food.
- 殻
- kara — Shell; husk; outer casing of an egg.
- 内側
- uchigawa — Inside; inner side of something.
- 薄い
- usui — Thin; light; pale; of low density.
- 白い
- shiroi — White; whitish in color.
- 膜
- maku — Membrane; thin film or layer.
- 作っ
- tsukutte — To make, create, or produce (te-form).
- さえ
- sae — Even; as long as (emphatic or conditional particle).
- ためらわ
- tamerawa — To hesitate; to waver in decision (stem form).
- れる
- reru — Passive or potential auxiliary verb suffix.
- ほど
- hodo — To the extent that; about; approximately.
- 靴
- kutsu — Shoes; footwear.
- 底
- soko — Bottom; sole; base of an object.
- トウモロコシ
- tōmorokoshi — Corn; maize.
- 薄皮
- usukawa — Thin skin or peel of a fruit or vegetable.
- 切っ
- kitte — To cut; to slice (te-form of kiru).
- 作ら
- tsukura — To make or create (negative/passive stem form).
- 葉
- ha — Leaf; leaves of a plant.
- 十分
- jūbun — Sufficient; enough; adequate amount.
- 大き
- ōki — Large; big (stem form of ōkii).
- さ
- sa — Suffix turning adjective into noun meaning 'degree/size.'
- なり
- nari — Becoming; suitable for; enough to serve as.
- 露
- tsuyu — Dew; moisture droplets on surfaces at night.
- 白く
- shiroku — White; in a white manner (adverbial form).
- 染め
- some — To dye; to color or stain something.
- 風
- kaze — Wind; breeze; air current.
- 丸める
- marumeru — To roll into a ball; to round something up.
- 蜘蛛
- kumo — Spider.
- 巣
- su — Nest; web; lair of an animal.
- シーツ
- shītsu — Sheet; bed sheet used for sleeping.
- 織る
- oru — To weave fabric or thread together.
- 粗
- ara — Coarse; rough; crude in texture or quality.
- すぎる
- sugiru — Too much; to exceed a reasonable degree.
- 思わ
- omowa — To think; to feel (passive/negative stem form).
- どんぐり
- donguri — Acorn; the nut of an oak tree.
- カップ
- kappu — Cup; a small drinking vessel.
- 大きい
- ōkii — Big; large in size.
- 両親
- ryōshin — Both parents; father and mother together.
- 衣装
- ishō — Costume; clothing; attire or wardrobe.
- 一式
- isshiki — A complete set or full kit of items.
- 家具
- kagu — Furniture; household furnishings.
- すべて
- subete — All; everything; entirely without exception.
- 何千
- nanzen — Thousands; many thousands of something.
- 器用
- kiyō — Skillful; dexterous; clever with one's hands.
- 働き者
- hatarakimono — Hard worker; a diligent and industrious person.
- たち
- tachi — Plural suffix for people or animate beings.
- から
- kara — From; because of; indicating origin or cause.
- 手
- te — Hand; hands.
- 入れ
- ire — To put in; to insert; to obtain something.
- その
- sono — That; those (demonstrative adjective).
- とても
- totemo — Very; extremely; quite a lot.
- 巧み
- takumi — Skillful; clever; craftsmanship or artistry.
- あり
- ari — To exist; to be present (formal/stem form).
- ながら
- nagara — While doing; although; even though (concessive).
- 私たち
- watashitachi — We; us; our group.
- ほとんど
- hotondo — Almost; mostly; hardly ever (with negatives).
- 気
- ki — Spirit; attention; mood; notice or awareness.
- 留める
- todome ru — To fasten; to notice; to pay attention to.
- 生き物
- ikimono — Living creature; organism; living being.
- 壁
- kabe — Wall; partition inside a building.
- あちこち
- achikochi — Here and there; various places; all around.
- 角
- kado — Corner; edge; angle of a room or object.
- 丸まっ
- marumatte — To curl up; to become round (te-form).
- 木
- ki — Tree; wood; timber.
- 中
- naka — Inside; middle; among; within something.
- 皮
- kawa — Skin; bark; peel; leather.
- 下
- shita — Below; under; beneath something.
- 隠れ
- kakure — To hide; to conceal oneself (stem form).
- つまり
- tsumari — In other words; that is to say; namely.
- 創造物
- sōzōbutsu — Creation; something that has been created or made.
- あらゆる
- arayuru — Every; all kinds of; each and every type.
- 隅
- sumi — Corner; nook; remote edge of a space.
- や
- ya — And; or; listing particle between nouns.
- 割れ目
- wareme — Crack; crevice; split or gap in a surface.
- 見つかる
- mitsukaru — To be found; to be discovered by someone.
- 者
- mono — Person; one who does something; an individual.
- 夫妻
- fusai — Husband and wife; a married couple.
- 驚く
- odoroku — To be surprised; to be astonished or amazed.
- 人たち
- hitotachi — People; a group of persons.
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