1 THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW
1 舌切り雀
2 Long, long ago in Japan there lived an old man and his wife. The old man was a good, kind-hearted, hard-working old fellow, but his wife was a regular cross-patch, who spoiled the happiness of her home by her scolding tongue. She was always grumbling about something from morning to night. The old man had for a long time ceased to take any notice of her crossness. He was out most of the day at work in the fields, and as he had no child, for his amusement when he came home, he kept a tame sparrow. He loved the little bird just as much as if she had been his child.
2 昔々、日本に老人とその妻が住んでいました。老人は善良で心優しい勤勉な老人だったが、彼の妻はいつものクロスパッチで、彼女の叱責で家の幸せを台無しにした.彼女は朝から晩までいつも何かについて不平を言っていました。老人は長い間、彼女の不機嫌に気が付かなくなっていた。彼は一日のほとんどを畑仕事に出かけており、子供がいなかったので、家に帰ったときの楽しみのために飼いならされたスズメを飼っていました。彼は小鳥を自分の子供のように愛していました。
3 When he came back at night after his hard day�fs work in the open air it was his only pleasure to pet the sparrow, to talk to her and to teach her little tricks, which she learned very quickly. The old man would open her cage and let her fly about the room, and they would play together. Then when supper-time came, he always saved some tit-bits from his meal with which to feed his little bird.
3 戸外での厳しい一日の仕事を終えて夜に彼が戻ってきたとき、彼の唯一の楽しみは、スズメをかわいがって、彼女と話し、彼女がすぐに覚えたちょっとしたトリックを教えることでした。おじいさんはケージを開けて部屋の中を飛び回らせ、一緒に遊んでいました。それから夕食の時間が来ると、彼はいつも食事からいくつかの乳首を取っておき、それを小鳥に食べさせました。
4 Now one day the old man went out to chop wood in the forest, and the old woman stopped at home to wash clothes. The day before, she had made some starch, and now when she came to look for it, it was all gone; the bowl which she had filled full yesterday was quite empty.
4 ある日、おじいさんは森にたきぎを切りに出かけ、おばあさんは家に帰って洗濯をしていました。前日、彼女はでんぷんを作っていましたが、今それを探しに来たとき、それはすべてなくなっていました。彼女が昨日いっぱいに満たしたボウルは、まったく空っぽでした。
5 While she was wondering who could have used or stolen the starch, down flew the pet sparrow, and bowing her little feathered head?a trick which she had been taught by her master?the pretty bird chirped and said:
5 でんぷんを盗んだり盗んだりしたのは誰だろうと思っていると、ペットのスズメが飛んできて、羽毛の生えた小さな頭を下げました。
6 �gIt is I who have taken the starch. I thought it was some food put out for me in that basin, and I ate it all. If I have made a mistake I beg you to forgive me! tweet, tweet, tweet!�h
6 でんぷんを取ったのは私です。その盆地で出された食べ物だと思って、全部食べました。私が間違いを犯した場合は、私を許してください！ツイート、ツイート、ツイート！
7 You see from this that the sparrow was a truthful bird, and the old woman ought to have been willing to forgive her at once when she asked her pardon so nicely. But not so.
7 このことから、すずめは誠実な鳥であり、おばあさんはとてもうまく許しを求めたとき、すぐに喜んで許したはずであることがわかります。しかし、そうではありません。
8 The old woman had never loved the sparrow, and had often quarreled with her husband for keeping what she called a dirty bird about the house, saying that it only made extra work for her. Now she was only too delighted to have some cause of complaint against the pet. She scolded and even cursed the poor little bird for her bad behavior, and not content with using these harsh, unfeeling words, in a fit of rage she seized the sparrow?who all this time had spread out her wings and bowed her head before the old woman, to show how sorry she was?and fetched the scissors and cut off the poor little bird�fs tongue.
8 おばあさんはスズメを愛したことがなく、家の周りに汚い鳥と呼んでいるものを飼っていることで夫とよく喧嘩をしていました。今では、彼女はペットに対してなんらかの不満を抱くことができず、とても喜んでいました。彼女はかわいそうな小鳥の悪い行いを叱り、ののしりさえし、これらの辛辣で無感情な言葉を使うことに満足せず、激怒してスズメを捕まえました。そして、はさみを持ってきてかわいそうな小鳥の舌を切り落としました。
9 �gI suppose you took my starch with that tongue! Now you may see what it is like to go without it!�h And with these dreadful words she drove the bird away, not caring in the least what might happen to it and without the smallest pity for its suffering, so unkind was she!
9 その舌で私のでんぷんを取ったのね！これで、それなしで過ごすのがどんなものかわかるかもしれません.hそして、彼女はこれらの恐ろしい言葉で鳥を追い払いました。
10 The old woman, after she had driven the sparrow away, made some more rice-paste, grumbling all the time at the trouble, and after starching all her clothes, spread the things on boards to dry in the sun, instead of ironing them as they do in England.
10 おばあさんはすずめを追い払った後、いつも困ったことに不平を言いながら、さらに米粉を作り、すべての服に糊をつけた後、アイロンをかける代わりに、それらを板の上に広げて太陽の下で乾かしました。彼らがイギリスでそうするように。
11 In the evening the old man came home. As usual, on the way back he looked forward to the time when he should reach his gate and see his pet come flying and chirping to meet him, ruffling out her feathers to show her joy, and at last coming to rest on his shoulder. But to-night the old man was very disappointed, for not even the shadow of his dear sparrow was to be seen.
11 夕方、老人が帰ってきた。いつものように、帰り道、彼は門に着くと、ペットが飛んで鳴き声を上げて彼に会いに来て、喜びを示すために羽を波立たせ、最後に肩に乗るのを見るのを楽しみにしていました。しかし今夜、おじいさんはとてもがっかりしました。愛するスズメの影さえ見えなかったからです。
12 He quickened his steps, hastily drew off his straw sandals, and stepped on to the veranda. Still no sparrow was to be seen. He now felt sure that his wife, in one of her cross tempers, had shut the sparrow up in its cage. So he called her and said anxiously:
12 彼は足を速め、あわてて草履を脱ぎ、ベランダに出た。それでもスズメは見られませんでした。彼は今、彼の妻が怒り狂ってスズメを檻の中に閉じ込めたのだと確信した。そこで彼は彼女に電話をかけ、心配そうに言った：
13 �gWhere is Suzume San (Miss Sparrow) today?�h
13 「すずめさん（ミス・スパロウ）は今日どこ？」
14 The old woman pretended not to know at first, and answered:
14 おばあさんは最初は知らないふりをして、こう答えました。
15 �gYour sparrow? I am sure I don�ft know. Now I come to think of it, I haven�ft seen her all the afternoon. I shouldn�ft wonder if the ungrateful bird had flown away and left you after all your petting!�h
15 �gあなたのスズメ？きっとわからない。そういえば、午後ずっと彼女に会っていなかった。恩知らずの鳥は、あなたの愛撫の後にあなたを置き去りにして飛んでしまったのだろうか!?
16 But at last, when the old man gave her no peace, but asked her again and again, insisting that she must know what had happened to his pet, she confessed all. She told him crossly how the sparrow had eaten the rice-paste she had specially made for starching her clothes, and how when the sparrow had confessed to what she had done, in great anger she had taken her scissors and cut out her tongue, and how finally she had driven the bird away and forbidden her to return to the house again.
16 しかし最後に、老人が彼女に安らぎを与えず、彼のペットに何が起こったのかを彼女に知らなければならないと主張して何度も何度も尋ねたとき、彼女はすべてを告白した.彼女は、スズメが自分の服を糊付けするために特別に作った米粉をどのように食べたか、スズメが自分のしたことを自白したとき、非常に怒ってハサミを取り、舌を切り落としたことを彼に辛辣に話しました。とうとう彼女は鳥を追い払い、家に戻ることを禁じたのです。
17 Then the old woman showed her husband the sparrow�fs tongue, saying:
17 すると、おばあさんは夫にすずめの舌を見せて言った。
18 �gHere is the tongue I cut off! Horrid little bird, why did it eat all my starch?�h
18 「これが俺の切り落とした舌だ！恐ろしい小鳥、なんで私のでんぷんを全部食べてしまったの？
19 �gHow could you be so cruel? Oh! how could you so cruel?�h was all that the old man could answer. He was too kind-hearted to punish his be shrew of a wife, but he was terribly distressed at what had happened to his poor little sparrow.
19 どうしてそんなに残酷なの？おー！どうしてそんなに残酷なことができるの? 老人が答えることができたのはそれだけでした。彼はあまりにも親切だったので、じゃじゃ馬の妻を罰することはできませんでしたが、かわいそうな小さなスズメに起こったことにひどく心を痛めていました。
20 �gWhat a dreadful misfortune for my poor Suzume San to lose her tongue!�h he said to himself. �gShe won�ft be able to chirp any more, and surely the pain of the cutting of it out in that rough way must have made her ill! Is there nothing to be done?�h
20 「かわいそうなすずめさんが舌を失うとは、何と恐ろしい不幸でしょう！」と彼は独り言を言いました。 「彼女はもうさえずることができません。きっと、あの荒々しい方法でそれを切り取った痛みが、彼女を病気にしたに違いありません!」何もすることはありませんか?.h