1 THE STORY OF URASHIMA TARO, THE FISHER LAD
1 漁師の浦島太郎の物語
2 Long, long ago in the province of Tango there lived on the shore of Japan in the little fishing village of Mizu-no-ye a young fisherman named Urashima Taro. His father had been a fisherman before him, and his skill had more than doubly descended to his son, for Urashima was the most skillful fisher in all that country side, and could catch more Bonito and Tai in a day than his comrades could in a week.
2 むかしむかし、丹後の国の海辺の小さな漁村、水の家に浦島太郎という若い漁師が住んでいました。彼の父は彼の前に漁師であり、浦島はその田舎で最も熟練した漁師であり、彼の仲間が一日でより多くのカツオとタイを釣ることができた.週。
3 But in the little fishing village, more than for being a clever fisher of the sea was he known for his kind heart. In his whole life he had never hurt anything, either great or small, and when a boy, his companions had always laughed at him, for he would never join with them in teasing animals, but always tried to keep them from this cruel sport.
3 しかし、小さな漁村では、彼は賢い海の漁師である以上に、優しい心で知られていました。生涯を通じて、彼は大小を問わず、何も傷つけたことはありませんでした。少年の頃、彼の仲間はいつも彼を笑っていました。なぜなら、彼は彼らと一緒に動物をからかうことは決してなく、常にこの残酷なスポーツから彼らを遠ざけようとしたからです。
4 One soft summer twilight he was going home at the end of a day�fs fishing when he came upon a group of children. They were all screaming and talking at the tops of their voices, and seemed to be in a state of great excitement about something, and on his going up to them to see what was the matter he saw that they were tormenting a tortoise. First one boy pulled it this way, then another boy pulled it that way, while a third child beat it with a stick, and the fourth hammered its shell with a stone.
4 ある柔らかな夏の夕暮れ、一日の終わりに釣りを終えて家に帰る途中、子供たちのグループに出くわしました。彼らは皆、叫び声をあげて大声で話し、何かにとても興奮しているように見えました。彼が彼らに近づき、彼らが亀を苦しめているのを見ました。最初の男の子はこちらに引っ張り、次に別の男の子はあちらに引っ張り、3 番目の子は棒で叩き、4 番目の子は石で甲羅を叩きました。
5 Now Urashima felt very sorry for the poor tortoise and made up his mind to rescue it. He spoke to the boys:
5 さて、浦島は可哀想なカメをかわいそうに思い、カメを助けようと決心した。彼は少年たちに次のように話しました。
6 �gLook here, boys, you are treating that poor tortoise so badly that it will soon die!�h
6 「ほら、男の子たち、あなたはかわいそうな亀をひどく扱っているので、すぐに死んでしまいます!」
7 The boys, who were all of an age when children seem to delight in being cruel to animals, took no notice of Urashima�fs gentle reproof, but went on teasing it as before. One of the older boys answered:
7 子供たちが動物に残酷であることを喜んでいるように見える年齢だった少年たちは、浦島の穏やかな叱責に気付かず、以前と同じようにそれをからかった.年長の男の子の一人はこう答えました。
8 �gWho cares whether it lives or dies? We do not. Here, boys, go on, go on!�h
8 生きるか死ぬか誰が気にしますか?私たちはしない。ほら、みんな、続けて、続けて！
9 And they began to treat the poor tortoise more cruelly than ever. Urashima waited a moment, turning over in his mind what would be the best way to deal with the boys. He would try to persuade them to give the tortoise up to him, so he smiled at them and said:
9 そして彼らはかわいそうな亀をこれまで以上に残酷に扱い始めました。浦島は少し待って、少年たちにどう対処するのが最善かを頭の中で考えました.彼はカメを彼に渡すように彼らを説得しようとしたので、彼は彼らに微笑んで言った：
10 �gI am sure you are all good, kind boys! Now won�ft you give me the tortoise? I should like to have it so much!�h
10 �g きっとみんないい子だな！亀をくれませんか？私はそれがとても欲しいです！
11 �gNo, we won�ft give you the tortoise,�h said one of the boys. �gWhy should we? We caught it ourselves.�h
11 「いいえ、亀はあげません」男の子の一人が言いました。なぜ私たちはすべきなのですか？私たちはそれを自分たちで捕まえました。
12 �gWhat you say is true,�h said Urashima, �gbut I do not ask you to give it to me for nothing. I will give you some money for it?in other words, the Ojisan (Uncle) will buy it of you. Won�ft that do for you, my boys?�h He held up the money to them, strung on a piece of string through a hole in the center of each coin. �gLook, boys, you can buy anything you like with this money. You can do much more with this money than you can with that poor tortoise. See what good boys you are to listen to me.�h
12 「あなたの言うことは本当だ」と浦島は言った、「しかし私はあなたにただでそれを私にくれと頼んではいません。お金をあげる、つまりおじさんが買ってあげる。少年たちよ、それでいいのだろうか? 彼は、各硬貨の中央にある穴に紐を通し、そのお金を彼らに見せた。 「ほら、みんな、このお金で好きなものを何でも買えるよ。あの可哀想な亀よりも、このお金でできることの方がはるかに多いのです。私に耳を傾けるあなたがどんなに良い子であるかを見てください。
13 The boys were not bad boys at all, they were only mischievous, and as Urashima spoke they were won by his kind smile and gentle words and began �gto be of his spirit,�h as they say in Japan. Gradually they all came up to him, the ringleader of the little band holding out the tortoise to him.
13 少年たちはまったく悪い少年ではなく、ただいたずら好きで、浦島が話していると、彼の優しい笑顔と優しい言葉に魅了され、日本で言うように「彼の精神を持っている」ようになりました.徐々に彼らは皆彼に近づき、小さなバンドの首謀者が亀を彼に差し出しました.
14 �gVery well, Ojisan, we will give you the tortoise if you will give us the money!�h And Urashima took the tortoise and gave the money to the boys, who, calling to each other, scampered away and were soon out of sight.
14 「よし、おじさん、お金をくれれば亀をあげるよ！」 浦島が亀を取り、男の子たちにお金を渡すと、男の子たちは声を掛け合い、走り去ってすぐに家を出た。視力。
15 Then Urashima stroked the tortoise�fs back, saying as he did so:
15 すると、浦島は亀の背中を撫でながら言った。
16 �gOh, you poor thing! Poor thing!?there, there! you are safe now! They say that a stork lives for a thousand years, but the tortoise for ten thousand years. You have the longest life of any creature in this world, and you were in great danger of having that precious life cut short by those cruel boys. Luckily I was passing by and saved you, and so life is still yours. Now I am going to take you back to your home, the sea, at once. Do not let yourself be caught again, for there might be no one to save you next time!�h
16 ああ、かわいそうに！かわいそう!?そこ、そこ！あなたは今安全です！コウノトリは千年生きるが、カメは万年生きると言われている。あなたはこの世界で最も長い寿命を持っていますが、あなたはその貴重な命を残酷な少年たちによって切り詰められる大きな危険にさらされていました.幸いなことに、私は通りかかってあなたを救ったので、人生はまだあなたのものです.さぁ、すぐにあなたの故郷である海に連れて帰ります。今度は誰も助けてくれなくなるかもしれないから、二度と捕まらないように！
17 All the time that the kind fisherman was speaking he was walking quickly to the shore and out upon the rocks; then putting the tortoise into the water he watched the animal disappear, and turned homewards himself, for he was tired and the sun had set.
17 親切な漁師が話している間ずっと、彼は岸辺へと岩の上を歩いていた。それから亀を水の中に入れると、カメが消えていくのを見て、疲れて太陽が沈んでしまったので、自分で家に帰りました。
18 The next morning Urashima went out as usual in his boat. The weather was fine and the sea and sky were both blue and soft in the tender haze of the summer morning. Urashima got into his boat and dreamily pushed out to sea, throwing his line as he did so. He soon passed the other fishing boats and left them behind him till they were lost to sight in the distance, and his boat drifted further and further out upon the blue waters. Somehow, he knew not why, he felt unusually happy that morning; and he could not help wishing that, like the tortoise he set free the day before, he had thousands of years to live instead of his own short span of human life.
18 翌朝、浦島はいつものように船で出かけた。天気も良く、海も空も青く柔らかな夏の朝の柔らかなもや。浦島は船に乗り込み、夢のように海に出て、釣り糸を投げた。彼はすぐに他の漁船を追い越して、遠くに見えなくなるまで後ろに置き去りにしました。どういうわけか、彼はその朝、異常に幸せを感じた理由がわかりませんでした。そして彼は、前日に放したカメのように、自分自身の短い人生の代わりに何千年も生きることを願わずにはいられませんでした。
19 He was suddenly startled from his reverie by hearing his own name called:
19 彼は自分の名前が次のように呼ばれているのを聞いて、空想から突然驚いた。
20 �gUrashima, Urashima!�h
20「うらしま、うらしま！」
