Piccolissima — Page 15
Art thou placed in the sun to strengthen thy wings?
お前は翅を強くするために日の光の中に置かれているのか？
Relate to me, quickly, thy metamorphosis whilst I dry myself.
私が乾いている間に、早く、お前の変態について話してくれ。
Let us see, hast thou been a caterpillar, a worm?
さあ、お前は毛虫だったのか、それとも芋虫だったのか？
How many feet didst thou once have?
お前はかつてどれほどの足を持っていたのか？
I will lay a wager thou didst not have any.
お前は一本も持っていなかったに違いないと賭けてもいい。
For me, I had three rows of feet, forty-two in all, at least.
私はといえば、少なくとも三列の足を持っていた、合計四十二本だ。
Come, then, speak, and tell me; answer my question."
さあ、話してくれ、教えてくれ。私の質問に答えてくれ。」
Usually Piccolissima did not require to be urged to speak; but these questions were of such an extraordinary nature, so unexpected, that the little girl remained silent.
普段、ピッコリッシマは話すように促される必要はなかったが、これらの質問はあまりにも異常な性質で、あまりにも予想外だったため、その少女は黙ったままでいた。
"Whether I have been a caterpillar or a worm?
「私が毛虫だったか芋虫だったかって？
A queer question at the commencement of an acquaintance."
知り合いになった最初から奇妙な質問だこと。」
In the mean time the questioner was silent.
その間、質問者は黙っていた。
Occupied with the comfort of exposing all his little person to the sun, he extended his wings, which, intersected with nerves, became every moment more substantial, without losing any of their delicacy.
全身を日光にさらす心地よさに浸りながら、彼は翅を広げた。翅は脈で交差しており、その繊細さを少しも失うことなく、刻一刻とより実質的になっていった。
This transparent network, divided like stained glass windows, by dark lines, resembled isinglass, sometimes decomposing the sun's rays, and showing the colors of the rainbow.
ステンドグラスの窓のように暗い線で区切られたこの透明な網状の模様は、膠質に似ており、時に太陽光を分解して虹の色を見せた。
The head of the insect, as it dried, became shiny like satin; the eyes, of a reddish brown, glowed in a circle of silver.
その昆虫の頭は、乾くにつれてサテンのように光沢を帯びてきた。赤みがかった茶色の目は、銀の輪の中で輝いていた。
Over a little jet band, on the top of his head, three little soft eyes peeped out like those which the young observer had already noticed in the other fly.
頭の頂上にある小さな漆黒の帯の上に、三つの小さな柔らかな目が覗いており、それはその若い観察者がすでに別のハエで気づいていたものに似ていた。
Vocabulary
- お前
- omae — Informal second-person pronoun meaning 'you'.
- は
- wa — Topic-marking grammatical particle in Japanese.
- 翅
- hane — Wings of an insect or bird.
- を
- wo — Object-marking grammatical particle in Japanese.
- 強く
- tsuyoku — Adverbial form of 'strong'; strongly, powerfully.
- する
- suru — To do; general-purpose action verb.
- ため
- tame — For the purpose of; for the sake of.
- に
- ni — Directional or purpose grammatical particle.
- 日
- hi — Sun; day; sunlight.
- の
- no — Possessive or linking grammatical particle.
- 光
- hikari — Light; radiance; beam of light.
- 中
- naka — Inside; middle; among something.
- 置か
- oka — Stem form of 'to place' or 'to put'.
- れ
- re — Passive grammatical auxiliary verb suffix.
- て
- te — Conjunctive particle connecting verb phrases.
- いる
- iru — To exist; to be (for animate subjects).
- か
- ka — Question-marking sentence-final particle.
- 私
- watashi — First-person pronoun meaning 'I' or 'me'.
- が
- ga — Subject-marking grammatical particle in Japanese.
- 乾い
- kawai — Stem of 'to dry'; in the process of drying.
- 間
- ma / aida — Interval; gap; while; during a period.
- 早く
- hayaku — Quickly; early; adverbial form of 'fast'.
- 変態
- hentai — Metamorphosis; transformation of an insect's form.
- つい
- tsui — Unintentionally; just now; before one realizes.
- 話し
- hanashi — Talk; story; speech; conversation.
- くれ
- kure — Imperative form of 'to give'; please do (for me).
- さあ
- saa — Interjection expressing encouragement or uncertainty; 'well' or 'come on'.
- 毛虫
- kemushi — Hairy caterpillar; larva covered with bristles.
- だっ
- datte — Colloquial past or emphatic form of copula 'da'.
- た
- ta — Past tense grammatical auxiliary suffix.
- それとも
- soretomo — Conjunction meaning 'or' between two alternatives.
- 芋虫
- imomushi — Smooth caterpillar; hairless larva of a butterfly.
- かつて
- katsute — Once; formerly; in the past.
- どれ
- dore — Which one; interrogative pronoun selecting among items.
- ほど
- hodo — To the extent of; about; approximately.
- 足
- ashi — Leg; foot; limb used for movement.
- 持っ
- motte — Stem/te-form of 'to have' or 'to hold'.
- い
- i — Abbreviated form of 'iru'; to be or exist.
- 一本
- ippon — One long thin object; counter for sticks or legs.
- も
- mo — Particle meaning 'also', 'even', or 'not even'.
- なかっ
- nakatta — Negative past stem; did not have or exist.
- 違い
- chigai — Difference; discrepancy; distinction between things.
- ない
- nai — Negative auxiliary; does not exist or is not.
- と
- to — Particle meaning 'and', 'with', or quotation marker.
- 賭け
- kake — A bet; wager; gambling on an outcome.
- いい
- ii — Good; fine; acceptable.
- いえ
- ie — No; interjection of negation or correction.
- ば
- ba — Conditional particle meaning 'if' or 'when'.
- 少なく
- sukunaku — At least; adverbial form of 'few' or 'little'.
- とも
- tomo — At least; even; suffix indicating 'both' or minimum.
- 三列
- sanretsu — Three rows or lines arranged in columns.
- 合計
- gōkei — Total; sum; grand total of items counted.
- 四十二
- yonjūni — The number forty-two.
- 本
- hon — Counter for long thin objects; also means 'book'.
- だ
- da — Copula meaning 'is' or 'am'; plain-form 'be'.
- 教え
- oshie — Teaching; instruction; to inform or teach someone.
- 質問
- shitsumon — A question; inquiry posed to someone.
- 答え
- kotae — Answer; response; reply to a question.
- 普段
- fudan — Usually; ordinarily; in everyday circumstances.
- 話す
- hanasu — To speak; to talk; to converse with someone.
- よう
- yō — In a way that; so as to; appearing to be.
- 促さ
- unagasa — Passive stem of 'to urge' or 'to prompt someone'.
- れる
- reru — Passive or potential grammatical auxiliary suffix.
- 必要
- hitsuyō — Necessity; need; something required or essential.
- これら
- korera — These (plural); referring to nearby multiple items.
- あまりにも
- amarinimo — Far too; excessively; beyond normal expectation.
- 異常
- ijō — Abnormal; unusual; out of the ordinary.
- な
- na — Adjectival particle linking na-adjectives to nouns.
- 性質
- seishitsu — Nature; character; inherent quality of something.
- で
- de — Particle indicating location, means, or cause.
- 予想外
- yosōgai — Unexpected; beyond what was anticipated or foreseen.
- その
- sono — That (near listener); demonstrative adjective.
- 少女
- shōjo — Young girl; female child or adolescent.
- 黙っ
- damatte — Te-form of 'to be silent'; staying quiet.
- まま
- mama — As is; remaining in a given state or condition.
- って
- tte — Colloquial quotation or topic-marking particle.
- 知り合い
- shiriai — Acquaintance; someone one knows casually.
- なっ
- natte — Te-form of 'to become'; transitioning to a state.
- 最初
- saisho — The very beginning; first; from the start.
- から
- kara — From; because; starting point particle.
- 奇妙
- kimyō — Strange; peculiar; odd in an unusual way.
- こと
- koto — Thing; fact; nominalizer turning verbs into nouns.
- 質問者
- shitsumonsha — Questioner; the person who asks questions.
- 全身
- zenshin — Whole body; entire physical body.
- 日光
- nikkō — Sunlight; rays of the sun.
- さらす
- sarasu — To expose; to lay bare to light or view.
- 心地よ
- kokochiyosa — Comfortable feeling; pleasant sensation or comfort.
- さ
- sa — Nominalizing suffix turning adjectives into nouns.
- 浸り
- hitari — Immersed in; soaking in; basking in something.
- ながら
- nagara — While doing; simultaneously performing two actions.
- 彼
- kare — He; him; third-person male pronoun.
- 広げ
- hiroge — To spread out; to open wide or extend.
- 脈
- myaku — Vein; pulse; vascular channel running through wings.
- 交差
- kōsa — Intersection; crossing of lines or paths.
- し
- shi — Conjunctive verb form; and/moreover; listing reasons.
- おり
- ori — Polite continuous form of 'iru'; being in a state.
- 繊細
- sensai — Delicate; fine; subtle in texture or feeling.
- 少し
- sukoshi — A little; slightly; a small amount.
- 失う
- ushinau — To lose; to be deprived of something.
- なく
- naku — Without; negative conjunctive form of 'nai'.
- 刻一刻
- kokuikoku — Moment by moment; with every passing instant.
- より
- yori — More than; from; comparative particle.
- 実質的
- jisshitsuteki — Substantial; practical; having real material significance.
- いっ
- itte — Te-form of 'to say' or 'to go'; colloquial form.
- ステンドグラス
- sutendo gurasu — Stained glass; colored decorative glass in windows.
- 窓
- mado — Window; opening in a wall for light.
- 暗い
- kurai — Dark; dim; lacking light or brightness.
- 線
- sen — Line; streak; thin mark or boundary.
- 区切ら
- kukira — Passive stem of 'to partition'; divided into sections.
- この
- kono — This (near speaker); demonstrative adjective.
- 透明
- tōmei — Transparent; clear; allowing light to pass through.
- 網状
- mōjō — Net-like; reticulate; having a mesh-like pattern.
- 模様
- moyō — Pattern; design; decorative markings on a surface.
- 似
- ni — Resembling; similar to; likened to something.
- 時
- toki — Time; moment; when something occurs.
- 太陽光
- taiyōkō — Sunlight; light emitted directly from the sun.
- 分解
- bunkai — Decomposition; breaking down into component parts.
- 虹
- niji — Rainbow; arc of colors in the sky.
- 色
- iro — Color; hue; shade of a visible spectrum.
- 見せ
- mise — Stem of 'to show'; displaying something to someone.
- 昆虫
- konchū — Insect; six-legged arthropod creature.
- 頭
- atama / kashira — Head; the uppermost part of a body.
- 乾く
- kawaku — To dry; to become dry or desiccated.
- つれ
- tsure — As; in proportion to; accompanying a change.
- サテン
- saten — Satin; smooth glossy fabric or texture.
- 光沢
- kōtaku — Luster; gloss; shiny reflective surface quality.
- 帯び
- obi — To take on; to bear; acquiring a quality.
- 赤み
- akami — Reddish tinge; slight redness in color.
- かっ
- katta — Past tense stem of an adjective; colloquial form.
- 茶色
- chairo — Brown color; the color of tea.
- 目
- me — Eye; organ of sight.
- 銀
- gin — Silver; the precious metallic element or its color.
- 輪
- wa — Ring; circle; hoop-shaped band.
- 輝い
- kagayai — Stem form of 'to shine'; gleaming brilliantly.
- 頂上
- chōjō — Summit; top; highest point of something.
- ある
- aru — To exist; to be present (for inanimate things).
- 小さな
- chiisana — Small; tiny; little in size.
- 漆黒
- shikkoku — Jet black; deep glossy blackness like lacquer.
- 帯
- obi — Band; belt; strip; a sash worn around waist.
- 上
- ue — Above; top; upper position or surface.
- 三つ
- mittsu — Three (items); the number three in counting.
- 柔らか
- yawaraka — Soft; tender; gentle in texture or manner.
- 覗い
- nozoi — Stem of 'to peek'; glancing into or through something.
- それ
- sore — That (near listener); third-person demonstrative pronoun.
- 若い
- wakai — Young; youthful; of a relatively early age.
- 観察者
- kansatsusha — Observer; person who watches and studies carefully.
- すでに
- sudeni — Already; by now; before the current moment.
- 別
- betsu — Separate; different; another distinct thing.
- ハエ
- hae — Fly; common flying insect of order Diptera.
- 気づい
- kizui — Stem of 'to notice'; becoming aware of something.
- もの
- mono — Thing; object; person; nominalizing expression.
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