The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck — Page 3

English → Japanese Full Text Level 2/10

I would teach it to mind its own business!"

「余計なお世話をしないように教えてやるんだが！」

"But as to a nest--there is no difficulty: I have a sackful of feathers in my wood-shed.

「しかし、巣についてはご心配なく。薪小屋に羽根をたっぷり詰めた袋がございます。

No, my dear madam, you will be in nobody's way.

いいえ、奥様、どなたのご迷惑にもなりませんよ。

You may sit there as long as you like," said the bushy long-tailed gentleman.

いつまでもそこにお座りになっていただいて結構です」と、ふさふさした長い尾の紳士は言いました。

He led the way to a very retired, dismal-looking house amongst the fox-gloves.

彼はジギタリスの茂みの中にある、ひどく人里離れた、陰気な様子の家へと案内しました。

It was built of faggots and turf, and there were two broken pails, one on top of another, by way of a chimney.

その家は束ね薪と芝土でできており、煙突代わりに壊れたバケツが二つ、重ねて置いてありました。

"This is my summer residence; you would not find my earth--my winter house--so convenient," said the hospitable gentleman.

「こちらが私の夏の住まいです。私の穴――冬の家――はこれほど便利ではないでしょう」と、もてなし上手な紳士は言いました。

There was a tumble-down shed at the back of the house, made of old soap-boxes.

家の裏手には、古い石鹸箱でできた今にも崩れそうな小屋がありました。

The gentleman opened the door, and showed Jemima in.

紳士はドアを開けて、ジェマイマを中へ案内しました。

The shed was almost quite full of feathers--it was almost suffocating; but it was comfortable and very soft.

小屋の中はほとんど羽根でいっぱいで――息が詰まりそうなほどでしたが――居心地よく、とても柔らかでした。

Jemima Puddle-duck was rather surprised to find such a vast quantity of feathers.

ジェマイマ・パドルダックは、これほど大量の羽根があることにかなり驚きました。

But it was very comfortable; and she made a nest without any trouble at all.

しかし、とても居心地が良く、彼女はまったく苦労せずに巣を作りました。

When she came out, the sandy whiskered gentleman was sitting on a log reading the newspaper--at least he had it spread out, but he was looking over the top of it.

彼女が出てくると、砂色のひげの紳士は丸太に腰かけて新聞を読んでいました――少なくとも新聞を広げてはいましたが、その上から目でこちらをうかがっていました。

He was so polite, that he seemed almost sorry to let Jemima go home for the night.

彼はとても礼儀正しく、ジェマイマを夜の帰宅のために帰すのが惜しそうにさえ見えました。

He promised to take great care of her nest until she came back again next day.

彼は翌日また彼女が戻ってくるまで、巣をしっかりと守ると約束しました。

Vocabulary

余計な: yokei na — Unnecessary, unwanted, or meddlesome.
お世話: osewa — Care, help, or looking after someone.
を: wo — Object marker particle in Japanese grammar.
しない: shinai — Negative form of 'to do'; not doing.
よう: you — Indicates purpose or resemblance; 'so that' or 'like'.
に: ni — Particle indicating direction, location, or indirect object.
教え: oshie — Teaching or instruction; stem form of 'to teach'.
て: te — Conjunctive particle connecting verbs or clauses.
やる: yaru — To do or give (casual); used as auxiliary verb.
ん: n — Colloquial contraction of 'no'; explanatory nominalizer.
だ: da — Plain form copula meaning 'is' or 'am'.
が: ga — Subject marker particle; also means 'but'.
しかし: shikashi — However; a conjunction indicating contrast or reversal.
巣: su — Nest or den; animal's home or dwelling place.
について: ni tsuite — Regarding, about, or concerning a topic.
は: wa — Topic marker particle highlighting the sentence topic.
ご: go — Honorific prefix showing respect toward others' actions.
心配: shinpai — Worry or concern about something or someone.
なく: naku — Without; negative connective form of 'nai'.
薪: maki — Firewood; cut wood used as fuel for burning.
小屋: koya — Small shed, hut, or simple structure.
羽根: hane — Feather or wing; light fluffy material from birds.
たっぷり: tappuri — Plenty, abundantly, or more than enough of something.
詰め: tsume — Packing or stuffing; stem form of 'to pack'.
た: ta — Past tense auxiliary indicating completed action.
袋: fukuro — Bag or sack used to hold or carry things.
ございます: gozaimasu — Formal polite form of 'to be' or 'to exist'.
いいえ: iie — No; polite negative response to a question.
奥様: okusama — Honorific term for another person's wife; madame.
どなた: donata — Polite form of 'who'; respectful way of asking identity.
の: no — Possessive or nominalizing particle in Japanese.
迷惑: meiwaku — Trouble, nuisance, or inconvenience caused to others.
も: mo — Also, too, or even; inclusive particle in Japanese.
なり: Become; conjunctive form of 'naru' (to become).
ませ: mase — Polite imperative suffix used in formal requests.
よ: yo — Sentence-ending particle asserting information to listener.
いつ: itsu — When; interrogative word asking about time.
まで: made — Until, up to, as far as a point.
そこ: soko — There; that place near the listener.
お: o — Honorific prefix indicating politeness or respect.
座り: suwari — Sitting; stem form of 'to sit down'.
なっ: natt(e) — Contracted connective form of 'naru' (to become).
いただい: itadai — Humble receiving; stem of 'itadaku' (to receive humbly).
結構です: kekkou desu — That's fine; no thank you; sufficient as is.
と: to — And; with; quotation particle in Japanese grammar.
ふさふさ: fusafusa — Fluffy, bushy, or thick (hair or fur).
し: shi — Conjunctive verb form; also 'and' or 'moreover'.
長い: nagai — Long in length or duration; lengthy.
尾: o — Tail of an animal.
紳士: shinshi — Gentleman; a man of refinement and good manners.
言い: ii — Saying; stem form of 'to say' (iu).
まし: mashi — Polite past auxiliary; part of 'mashita' ending.
彼: kare — He; third person masculine pronoun in Japanese.
茂み: shigemi — Thicket or dense bushes; overgrown vegetation area.
中: naka — Inside, within, or in the middle of something.
ある: aru — To exist; to be (for inanimate objects or places).
ひどく: hidoku — Terribly, severely, or awfully; adverb form of 'hidoi'.
人里離れ: hitozato hanare — Remote from human settlement; isolated or secluded location.
陰気な: inki na — Gloomy, dark, or melancholy in atmosphere.
様子: yousu — Appearance, situation, or state of things/people.
家: ie — House or home; a place where people live.
へ: e — Directional particle indicating movement toward a place.
案内: annai — Guidance or leading someone to a place.
その: sono — That; demonstrative adjective referring to nearby thing.
束ね: tabane — Bundle; gathering or tying things together.
で: de — Particle indicating means, location of action, or reason.
でき: deki — Can do; stem of 'dekiru' (to be able to).
おり: ori — Polite form of 'iru' (to be/exist); humble being.
煙突: entotsu — Chimney or smokestack for directing smoke upward.
代わり: kawari — Substitute or replacement; instead of something else.
壊れ: kowore — Broken; stem form of 'kowareru' (to break).
バケツ: baketsu — Bucket or pail used to hold liquids.
二つ: futatsu — Two items; the native Japanese counter for two things.
重ね: kasane — Stack or layer; piling things on top of each other.
置い: ooi — Placed; conjunctive form of 'oku' (to place/put).
あり: ari — Exists; connective form of 'aru' (to exist).
こちら: kochira — This way; polite reference to this place or person.
私: watashi — I or me; first person singular pronoun.
夏: natsu — Summer; the warmest season of the year.
住まい: sumai — Residence or dwelling place where one lives.
穴: ana — Hole, burrow, or hollow space in a surface.
冬: fuyu — Winter; the coldest season of the year.
これ: kore — This; demonstrative pronoun for nearby things.
ほど: hodo — To the extent of; about; degree or extent.
便利: benri — Convenient or handy; easy to use or access.
ない: nai — Not exist; negative auxiliary or adjective.
でしょ: desho — Probably; seeking agreement or expressing conjecture.
う: u — Volitional suffix expressing intention or conjecture.
もてなし: motenashi — Hospitality; entertaining and caring for guests warmly.
上手: jouzu — Skilled or good at doing something; proficient.
裏手: urate — Back side or rear of a building or property.
古い: furui — Old or aged; not new; having existed a long time.
今: ima — Now; the present moment or current time.
崩れ: kuzure — Crumbling or collapsing; falling apart gradually.
そう: sou — That way; seems like; used to express resemblance.
ドア: doa — Door; an entrance or exit of a room or building.
開け: ake — Open; stem form of 'akeru' (to open something).
ほとんど: hotondo — Almost, mostly, or nearly all of something.
いっぱい: ippai — Full or a lot; packed to capacity.
息: iki — Breath; air inhaled and exhaled while breathing.
詰まり: tsumari — Clogged or stuffed; also means 'in other words'.
でし: deshi — Polite past form fragment; part of 'deshita' (was).
居心地: igokochi — Comfort or ease in a place; how comfortable somewhere feels.
よく: yoku — Well or often; adverb indicating good quality or frequency.
とても: totemo — Very or extremely; intensifying adverb in Japanese.
柔らか: yawaraka — Soft, gentle, or tender to the touch.
大量: tairyou — Large quantity or a great amount of something.
こと: koto — Thing or fact; nominalizer turning verbs into nouns.
かなり: kanari — Fairly, considerably, or quite; moderately strong degree.
驚き: odoroki — Surprise or astonishment; a state of being shocked.
良く: yoku — Well; adverb form of 'yoi' (good).
彼女: kanojo — She or her; also means girlfriend in modern Japanese.
まったく: mattaku — Completely, utterly, or not at all (with negative).
苦労: kurou — Hardship or trouble; effort spent overcoming difficulties.
せ: se — Causative verb stem; making or letting someone do something.
ず: zu — Negative verb form meaning without doing something.
作り: tsukuri — Making or creating; stem form of 'to make'.
出: de — Going out or coming out; stem of 'deru' (to exit).
くる: kuru — To come; also auxiliary indicating action toward speaker.
ひげ: hige — Whiskers, beard, or mustache on a face.
丸太: maruta — Log; a thick round piece of cut timber.
腰かけ: koshikake — Seat or bench; something to sit on briefly.
新聞: shinbun — Newspaper; a daily printed publication of news.
読ん: yon — Reading; conjunctive form of 'yomu' (to read).
い: i — Continuous form of 'iru'; being in a state.
少なくとも: sukunakutomo — At least; not less than a minimum amount.
広げ: hirogete — Spreading out or opening wide; unfolding something.
上: ue — Above, top, or upper part of something.
から: kara — From; because of; starting point in time or place.
目: me — Eye; the organ used for seeing.
うかがっ: ukagatt(e) — Humbly looking or visiting; polite form of observing.
礼儀: reigi — Etiquette, manners, or proper social behavior.
正しく: tadashiku — Correctly or properly; adverb of 'correct' or 'right'.
夜: yoru — Night; the dark period after sunset.
帰宅: kitaku — Returning home; coming back to one's residence.
ため: tame — For the purpose of; for the sake of something.
帰す: kaesu — To send someone home; to let someone return.
惜し: oshi — Reluctant to let go; regrettable or a pity.
さえ: sae — Even; a particle emphasizing an extreme or minimum case.
見え: mie — Appear or seem; stem of 'mieru' (to be visible).
翌日: yokujitsu — The next day; the following day after today.
また: mata — Again; once more; also or additionally.
戻っ: modott(e) — Returned; conjunctive form of 'modoru' (to return).
しっかり: shikkari — Firmly, reliably, or with strong resolve; steadily.
守る: mamoru — To protect or keep; to uphold a promise or rule.
約束: yakusoku — Promise or appointment; an agreed commitment between people.

← Previous Next →

Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.

Create free account →