Piccolissima — Page 14
It seems that the fly, being only able to take up liquids through his trunk, wetted and dissolved the sugar that he might suck it up.
ハエは口吻から液体しか吸い取れないため、砂糖を湿らせて溶かし、吸い上げようとしていたようだ。
It was a pleasant thing to see his lips swell out, and press, handle, and knead, as it were, the amber surface of the sugar in order to make it melt sooner, and enable him to draw it up faster.
砂糖をより早く溶かして吸い上げるために、琥珀色の砂糖の表面を口でふくらませ、押し、なで、こねるように動かすさまは、見ていて微笑ましいものだった。
After having examined all these proceedings for some time, with great amusement, the little apprentice naturalist cried out, "Well, my little guest has a remarkable talent for eating barley sugar."
しばらくの間、大いに楽しみながらこの一部始終を観察した後、小さな見習い博物学者は叫んだ。「まあ、私の小さなお客様は、麦芽糖を食べる素晴らしい才能をお持ちね。」
The other fly, timid, wet, and with his wings folded, so that he seemed naked, remained behind upon the frame of the window.
もう一匹のハエは、臆病で濡れており、翅をたたんで裸のように見え、窓枠の上に残ったままでいた。
"Come, poor little wet chicken as thou art," cried the elder fly; "thou wast complaining just now of having found in life only discomfort and cold; dost thou not see these rays of the sun? dost thou not perceive the perfume of this delicious food?"
「さあ、濡れた哀れな小さな鶏め」と先のハエが叫んだ。「お前はついさっき、人生には不快と寒さしかないと嘆いていたではないか。この太陽の光が見えないのか？この美味しい食べ物の香りが感じられないのか？」
The young, inexperienced fly was disposed to take Piccolissima, the dictionary, and the barley sugar for a chain of mountains.
若くて経験のないハエは、ピッコリッシマと辞書と麦芽糖を、山脈と勘違いしそうになっていた。
However, when the little girl turned her gentle, child-like face towards him, the insect felt the pleasant warmth of her breath; it reanimated him, and gave him courage, and with one bound he flew upon the arm of Piccolissima.
しかし、その小さな女の子が優しい子供らしい顔を彼の方へ向けると、その虫は彼女の息の心地よい温かさを感じた。それが彼に活力を与え、勇気をもたらし、ひと跳びでピッコリッシマの腕の上に飛び乗った。
With a sudden familiarity he murmured in a low voice, "Art thou, perhaps, an elder sister of mine? Thou warmest me.
突然打ち解けた様子で、彼は低い声でつぶやいた。「もしかして、あなたは私のお姉さんですか？あなたは私を温めてくれる。
Vocabulary
- ハエ
- hae — A fly; small flying insect.
- は
- wa — Topic marker particle in Japanese grammar.
- から
- kara — From; because; since (particle).
- 液体
- ekitai — Liquid; fluid substance.
- しか
- shika — Only; nothing but (used with negatives).
- 吸い取れ
- suitore — Can suck up; able to absorb liquid.
- ない
- nai — Not; negative form ending.
- ため
- tame — For the purpose of; because of; in order to.
- 砂糖
- satō — Sugar; refined sweet granular substance.
- を
- wo — Object marker particle in Japanese grammar.
- 湿らせ
- shimarase — To moisten; to make something damp.
- て
- te — Conjunctive particle connecting verb clauses.
- 溶かし
- tokashi — Dissolving; melting a substance into liquid.
- 吸い上げ
- suiage — Sucking up; drawing liquid upward.
- よう
- yō — Appears to; seems like; intending to.
- と
- to — And; with; quotation particle.
- し
- shi — And; doing (conjunctive verb form).
- い
- i — Continuous state; being (verb stem).
- た
- ta — Past tense verb ending.
- だ
- da — Copula; is; informal sentence-ending assertion.
- より
- yori — Than; more than; from (comparison particle).
- 早く
- hayaku — Quickly; early; faster than usual.
- 吸い上げる
- suiageru — To suck up; to draw liquid upward.
- に
- ni — In; at; to; direction/location particle.
- の
- no — Possessive or attributive particle.
- 表面
- hyōmen — Surface; outer face of an object.
- 口
- kuchi — Mouth; opening of the face.
- で
- de — With; by; at (instrumental/locative particle).
- ふくらませ
- fukuramase — To inflate; to puff up; to expand.
- 押し
- oshi — Pushing; pressing against something.
- なで
- nade — Stroking; gently rubbing a surface.
- こねる
- koneru — To knead; to work dough or material.
- 動かす
- ugokasu — To move; to cause something to move.
- さま
- sama — Manner; appearance; state of things.
- 見て
- mite — Seeing; looking at (te-form of miru).
- 微笑ましい
- hohoemashii — Heartwarming; endearing; pleasantly charming to observe.
- もの
- mono — Thing; object; used for emphasis or reflection.
- だっ
- da(t) — Past copula form; it was (informal).
- しばらく
- shibaraku — For a while; for some time.
- 間
- aida / ma — During; interval of time or space.
- 大いに
- ōini — Greatly; very much; to a large extent.
- 楽しみ
- tanoshimi — Enjoyment; pleasure; something to look forward to.
- ながら
- nagara — While doing; simultaneously performing two actions.
- この
- kono — This (demonstrative adjective modifying a noun).
- 観察
- kansatsu — Observation; careful watching and study.
- 後
- nochi / ato — After; later; afterward.
- 小さな
- chiisana — Small; little (attributive adjective form).
- 見習い
- minarai — Apprentice; trainee learning by observation.
- 叫ん
- sakeん (sakende) — Shouting; crying out loudly.
- まあ
- maa — Well; my goodness; expression of mild surprise.
- 私
- watashi — I; me (first-person pronoun).
- お客様
- okyakusama — Guest; customer; honorific term for visitor.
- 食べる
- taberu — To eat; to consume food.
- 素晴らしい
- subarashii — Wonderful; splendid; magnificent.
- 才能
- sainō — Talent; natural ability or gift.
- お持ち
- omochi — To have; honorific form of possessing something.
- ね
- ne — Isn't it; seeking agreement or confirmation.
- もう
- mō — Already; another; soon; no more.
- 一匹
- ippiki — One small animal; counter for small creatures.
- 臆病
- okubyō — Cowardly; timid; easily frightened.
- 濡れ
- nure — Wet; soaked; dampened state.
- おり
- ori — Being; existing (formal continuous form).
- たたん
- tatan — Folded; collapsed (wings folded inward).
- 裸
- hadaka — Naked; bare; exposed without covering.
- 見え
- mie — Appearing; being visible; seeming.
- 窓枠
- madowaku — Window frame; the border structure of a window.
- 上
- ue — Above; on top of; upper position.
- 残っ
- nokot(te) — Remaining; left behind; staying put.
- まま
- mama — As is; remaining in the same state.
- さあ
- saa — Well now; come on; expression of invitation.
- 哀れ
- aware — Pitiful; pathetic; evoking sympathy.
- な
- na — Sentence-ending exclamation or adjectival connector.
- 鶏
- niwatori — Chicken; domestic fowl.
- 先
- saki — Ahead; earlier; before; the tip of something.
- が
- ga — Subject marker particle in Japanese grammar.
- お前
- omae — You (informal, often rough or familiar address).
- つい
- tsui — Just; unintentionally; inadvertently; just a moment ago.
- さっき
- sakki — A moment ago; just now; a short while earlier.
- 人生
- jinsei — Life; one's lifetime and experience.
- 不快
- fukai — Unpleasant; uncomfortable; disagreeable feeling.
- 寒さ
- samusa — Coldness; the cold; chilly temperature.
- 嘆い
- nagekoi (naite) — Lamenting; grieving; complaining sorrowfully.
- か
- ka — Question particle; or; expressing uncertainty.
- 太陽
- taiyō — The sun; solar body.
- 光
- hikari — Light; brightness; radiance.
- 美味しい
- oishii — Delicious; tasty; good-flavored food.
- 食べ物
- tabemono — Food; something to eat.
- 香り
- kaori — Fragrance; aroma; pleasant scent.
- 感じ
- kanji — Feeling; sensation; sense of something.
- られ
- rare — Passive or potential verb suffix.
- 若く
- wakaku — Young; youthfully; at a young age.
- 経験
- keiken — Experience; personal practical knowledge.
- 辞書
- jisho — Dictionary; reference book of word definitions.
- 山脈
- sanmyaku — Mountain range; series of connected mountains.
- 勘違い
- kanchigai — Misunderstanding; mistaken belief about something.
- そう
- sō — So; that's right; like that.
- なっ
- nat(te) — Became; turned into (te-form of naru).
- しかし
- shikashi — However; but; nevertheless.
- その
- sono — That (demonstrative adjective near the listener).
- 女の子
- onnanoko — Girl; young female child.
- 優しい
- yasashii — Kind; gentle; tender-hearted.
- 子供
- kodomo — Child; children; young person.
- らしい
- rashii — Seems like; typical of; apparently.
- 顔
- kao — Face; facial expression.
- 彼
- kare — He; him; that man.
- 方
- hō — Direction; side; way; person (honorific).
- へ
- e — Toward; directional particle indicating destination.
- 向ける
- mukeru — To turn toward; to direct something at.
- 虫
- mushi — Insect; bug; small creature.
- 彼女
- kanojo — She; her; girlfriend.
- 息
- iki — Breath; breathing; exhalation.
- 心地よい
- kokochiyoi — Comfortable; pleasant; agreeable sensation.
- 温かさ
- atatakasa — Warmth; the quality of being warm.
- それ
- sore — That; it (demonstrative pronoun).
- 活力
- katsuryoku — Vitality; energy; liveliness; vigor.
- 与え
- atae — Giving; providing; granting something to someone.
- 勇気
- yūki — Courage; bravery; bold spirit.
- もたらし
- motarashi — Bringing about; causing; producing a result.
- ひと
- hito — Person; human being; one (prefix meaning single action).
- 跳び
- tobi — Jumping; leaping; springing upward.
- 腕
- ude — Arm; one's physical arm.
- 飛び乗っ
- tobinot(te) — Jumped onto; leaped aboard something.
- 突然
- totsuzen — Suddenly; abruptly; without warning.
- 打ち解け
- uchitoke — Opened up; became friendly; relaxed reserve.
- 様子
- yōsu — Appearance; manner; situation; state of affairs.
- 低い
- hikui — Low; short in height or volume.
- 声
- koe — Voice; sound produced by speaking.
- つぶやい
- tsubuyai — Murmuring; muttering quietly to oneself.
- もしかして
- moshikashite — Perhaps; could it be that; by any chance.
- あなた
- anata — You (polite second-person pronoun).
- お姉さん
- onēsan — Older sister; respectful address for older girl.
- です
- desu — Polite copula; is; are (formal sentence ending).
- 温め
- atatame — Warming; heating something up.
- くれる
- kureru — To give (to me); to do a favor for me.
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