1 THE BAMBOO-CUTTER AND THE MOON-CHILD
1 かぐや姫
2 Long, long ago, there lived an old bamboo wood-cutter. He was very poor and sad also, for no child had Heaven sent to cheer his old age, and in his heart there was no hope of rest from work till he died and was laid in the quiet grave. Every morning he went forth into the woods and hills wherever the bamboo reared its lithe green plumes against the sky. When he had made his choice, he would cut down these feathers of the forest, and splitting them lengthwise, or cutting them into joints, would carry the bamboo wood home and make it into various articles for the household, and he and his old wife gained a small livelihood by selling them.
2 むかしむかし、年老いた竹こりが住んでいました。彼の老後を元気づけるために天国から送られた子供はいなかったので、彼はまた非常に貧しく、悲しかった.毎朝、彼は森や丘に出かけ、竹がしなやかな緑の羽毛を空に向けて育てていました。選択が終わると、彼は森のこれらの羽を切り倒し、縦に裂いたり、関節に切ったりして、竹材を家に持ち帰り、家庭用のさまざまな物品にしました。彼と彼の老妻はそれらを売ることでわずかな生計を立てました。
3 One morning as usual he had gone out to his work, and having found a nice clump of bamboos, had set to work to cut some of them down. Suddenly the green grove of bamboos was flooded with a bright soft light, as if the full moon had risen over the spot. Looking round in astonishment, he saw that the brilliance was streaming from one bamboo. The old man, full of wonder, dropped his ax and went towards the light. On nearer approach he saw that this soft splendor came from a hollow in the green bamboo stem, and still more wonderful to behold, in the midst of the brilliance stood a tiny human being, only three inches in height, and exquisitely beautiful in appearance.
3 ある朝、彼はいつものように仕事に出かけ、すてきな竹の塊を見つけたので、それらのいくつかを切り倒す作業に取り掛かりました。突然、満月がその場に昇ったかのように、緑の竹林が明るく柔らかな光であふれました。驚いて辺りを見回すと、一本の竹から光り輝いていた。老人は驚きに満ち、斧を落として光の方へ向かった。近づいてみると、この柔らかな輝きは緑の竹の幹のくぼみから出ているのが見えました。さらに驚くべきことに、その輝きの真ん中に、高さわずか 3 インチの小さな人間が立っていて、その姿は非常に美しいものでした。
4 “You must be sent to be my child, for I find you here among the bamboos where lies my daily work,” said the old man, and taking the little creature in his hand he took it home to his wife to bring up. The tiny girl was so exceedingly beautiful and so small, that the old woman put her into a basket to safeguard her from the least possibility of being hurt in any way.
4 「あなたは私の子供になるために送られなければなりません。私の毎日の仕事がある竹の中にあなたを見つけるからです」と老人は言い、小さな生き物を手に取り、育てるために妻に持ち帰りました。小さな女の子はとても美しく、とても小さかったので、老婆は彼女をかごに入れて、どんな形であれ怪我をする可能性を最小限に抑えました.
5 The old couple were now very happy, for it had been a lifelong regret that they had no children of their own, and with joy they now expended all the love of their old age on the little child who had come to them in so marvelous a manner.
5 老夫婦は今、とても幸せでした。なぜなら、自分たちには子供がいないことを生涯後悔していたからです。マナー。
6 From this time on, the old man often found gold in the notches of the bamboos when he hewed them down and cut them up; not only gold, but precious stones also, so that by degrees he became rich. He built himself a fine house, and was no longer known as the poor bamboo woodcutter, but as a wealthy man.
6 この時から、老人は竹を切り倒したり、切り刻んだりすると、竹の切り込みから金を見つけることがよくありました。金だけでなく宝石も使って、次第に金持ちになった。彼は立派な家を建て、貧しい竹こりではなく、裕福な男として知られるようになりました。
7 Three months passed quickly away, and in that time the bamboo child had, wonderful to say, become a full-grown girl, so her foster-parents did up her hair and dressed her in beautiful kimonos. She was of such wondrous beauty that they placed her behind the screens like a princess, and allowed no one to see her, waiting upon her themselves. It seemed as if she were made of light, for the house was filled with a soft shining, so that even in the dark of night it was like daytime. Her presence seemed to have a benign influence on those there. Whenever the old man felt sad, he had only to look upon his foster-daughter and his sorrow vanished, and he became as happy as when he was a youth.
7 あっという間に 3 か月が過ぎ、その間に竹の子は立派に成長し、養父母は髪を結い、美しい着物を着せました。彼女はとても美しいので、彼らは彼女をスクリーンの後ろにお姫様のように置き、誰にも彼女を見ることを許しませんでした。まるで彼女が光でできているかのように見えたのは、家が柔らかな輝きで満たされていたため、夜の暗闇でもまるで昼間のようでした.彼女の存在は、そこにいる人々に良い影響を与えているようだった。おじいさんは、悲しいときはいつでも養女を見るだけで、その悲しみは消え去り、幼い頃のように幸せになりました。
8 At last the day came for the naming of their new-found child, so the old couple called in a celebrated name-giver, and he gave her the name of Princess Moonlight, because her body gave forth so much soft bright light that she might have been a daughter of the Moon God.
8 ついに彼らの新しく見つけた子供の命名の日が来たので、老夫婦は有名な命名者を呼び、彼は彼女に月光姫の名前を付けました.月神の娘かもしれない。
9 For three days the festival was kept up with song and dance and music. All the friends and relations of the old couple were present, and great was their enjoyment of the festivities held to celebrate the naming of Princess Moonlight. Everyone who saw her declared that there never had been seen any one so lovely; all the beauties throughout the length and breadth of the land would grow pale beside her, so they said. The fame of the Princess’s loveliness spread far and wide, and many were the suitors who desired to win her hand, or even so much as to see her.
9 3 日間、歌と踊りと音楽でお祭りが行われました。老夫婦のすべての友人と親戚が出席し、月光姫の命名を祝うために開催された祝祭を大いに楽しんだ.彼女を見た誰もが、これほど美しい人は見たことがないと言った。土地の縦横のすべての美しさが彼女のそばで青ざめるだろう、と彼らは言った。王女の可愛らしさは広く知られ、多くの人が彼女の手を取りたい、あるいは彼女に会いたいと願う求婚者でした。
10 Suitors from far and near posted themselves outside the house, and made little holes in the fence, in the hope of catching a glimpse of the Princess as she went from one room to the other along the veranda. They stayed there day and night, sacrificing even their sleep for a chance of seeing her, but all in vain. Then they approached the house, and tried to speak to the old man and his wife or some of the servants, but not even this was granted them.
遠くからも近くからも10人の求婚者が家の外に出て、フェンスに小さな穴を開け、ベランダに沿ってある部屋から別の部屋に移動する王女を垣間見ることを望んでいました.彼らは昼夜を問わずそこにとどまり、彼女に会うチャンスのために睡眠さえも犠牲にしましたが、すべて無駄でした.それから彼らは家に近づき、老人とその妻、または何人かの使用人に話しかけようとしましたが、これさえ許可されませんでした。
11 Still, in spite of all this disappointment they stayed on day after day, and night after night, and counted it as nothing, so great was their desire to see the Princess.
11 それでも、この失望にもかかわらず、彼らは毎日、毎晩滞在し、それを何でもないと考えていました。
12 At last, however, most of the men, seeing how hopeless their quest was, lost heart and hope both, and returned to their homes. All except five Knights, whose ardor and determination, instead of waning, seemed to wax greater with obstacles. These five men even went without their meals, and took snatches of whatever they could get brought to them, so that they might always stand outside the dwelling. They stood there in all weathers, in sunshine and in rain.
12 しかし、ついに、彼らの探求がいかに絶望的であるかを見て、男性のほとんどは、心と希望の両方を失い、彼らの家に戻った. 5 人の騎士を除くすべての騎士の熱意と決意は弱まるどころか、障害によってますます大きくなったように見えました。これらの 5 人の男性は食事もせずに行き、常に家の外に立つことができるように、持ってきたものは何でもひったくりました。彼らは、晴れの日も雨の日も、どんな天候でもそこに立っていました。
13 Sometimes they wrote letters to the Princess, but no answer was vouchsafed to them. Then when letters failed to draw any reply, they wrote poems to her telling her of the hopeless love which kept them from sleep, from food, from rest, and even from their homes. Still Princes Moonlight gave no sign of having received their verses.
13 時々、彼らは王女に手紙を書きましたが、返事はありませんでした。それから手紙が返事を引き出せなかったとき、彼らは彼女に詩を書き、彼らを睡眠、食物、休息、さらには家から遠ざけた絶望的な愛について彼女に伝えました.それでもプリンセス・ムーンライトは詩を受け取った気配を見せなかった。
14 In this hopeless state the winter passed. The snow and frost and the cold winds gradually gave place to the gentle warmth of spring. Then the summer came, and the sun burned white and scorching in the heavens above and on the earth beneath, and still these faithful Knights kept watch and waited. At the end of these long months they called out to the old bamboo-cutter and entreated him to have some mercy upon them and to show them the Princess, but he answered only that as he was not her real father he could not insist on her obeying him against her wishes.
14 この絶望的な状態で冬が過ぎました。雪と霜と冷たい風が徐々に春の穏やかな暖かさに取って代わりました.それから夏が来て、太陽は上空と下の地で白く燃え、それでもこれらの忠実な騎士たちは見張り、待っていました。この長い月日の終わりに、彼らは年老いた竹取に声をかけ、彼らを憐れみ、王女を見せてくれるよう懇願しましたが、彼は、本当の父親ではないので、彼女に主張することはできないとだけ答えました.彼女の意向に反して彼に従う.
15 The five Knights on receiving this stern answer returned to their several homes, and pondered over the best means of touching the proud Princess’s heart, even so much as to grant them a hearing. They took their rosaries in hand and knelt before their household shrines, and burned precious incense, praying to Buddha to give them their heart’s desire. Thus several days passed, but even so they could not rest in their homes.
15 この厳しい答えを受け取った五人の騎士たちはそれぞれの家に帰り、誇り高き王女の心に触れる最善の方法を考え、話を聞いてもらいました。彼らは数珠を手に取り、家庭の神社の前にひざまずき、貴重な香を焚き、仏に心の願いを与えてくれるように祈りました。このようにして数日が経過しましたが、それでも彼らは家で休むことができませんでした。
16 So again they set out for the bamboo-cutter’s house. This time the old man came out to see them, and they asked him to let them know if it was the Princess’s resolution never to see any man whatsoever, and they implored him to speak for them and to tell her the greatness of their love, and how long they had waited through the cold of winter and the heat of summer, sleepless and roofless through all weathers, without food and without rest, in the ardent hope of winning her, and they were willing to consider this long vigil as pleasure if she would but give them one chance of pleading their cause with her.
16 彼らは再び竹取の家に向かった。今度は老人が彼らに会いに来て、彼らは彼に、誰にも会わないというのが王女の決意であるかどうかを知らせるように頼みました.冬の寒さと夏の暑さの中、どのような天候でも眠れず、屋根もなく、食べ物も休息もなく、彼女を勝ち取るという熱烈な希望の中でどれだけ長い間待っていたのか。彼女は、彼らの主張を彼女に弁護する機会を一度だけ与えるつもりでした。
17 The old man lent a willing ear to their tale of love, for in his inmost heart he felt sorry for these faithful suitors and would have liked to see his lovely foster-daughter married to one of them. So he went in to Princess Moonlight and said reverently:
17 老人は彼らの愛の物語に喜んで耳を貸した。彼の心の奥底では、これらの忠実な求婚者たちを気の毒に思い、彼の素敵な養女が彼らの一人と結婚するのを見たかったからである.そこで彼は月光姫のところへ行き、敬虔に言った。
18 “Although you have always seemed to me to be a heavenly being, yet I have had the trouble of bringing you up as my own child and you have been glad of the protection of my roof. Will you refuse to do as I wish?”
18 「あなたはいつも私には天国の存在のように見えましたが、それでも私はあなたを自分の子供として育てるのに苦労しました。あなたは私の屋根の保護を喜んでくれました.私が望むようにすることを拒否しますか？」
19 Then Princess Moonlight replied that there was nothing she would not do for him, that she honored and loved him as her own father, and that as for herself she could not remember the time before she came to earth.
19 それからムーンライト王女は、彼のためにしないことは何もない、彼を自分の父親として尊敬し、愛している、そして自分自身については、地球に来る前の時間を思い出すことができないと答えた.
20 The old man listened with great joy as she spoke these dutiful words. Then he told her how anxious he was to see her safely and happily married before he died.
20 老人は彼女がこれらの忠実な言葉を話すのをとても喜んで聞いていた.それから彼は、死ぬ前に彼女が安全で幸せに結婚しているのを見るのがどれほど切望されているかを彼女に話しました.
