1 THE QUARREL OF THE MONKEY AND THE CRAB
1 猿蟹合戦
2 Long, long ago, one bright autumn day in Japan, it happened, that a pink-faced monkey and a yellow crab were playing together along the bank of a river. As they were running about, the crab found a rice-dumpling and the monkey a persimmon-seed.
2 むかし、むかしむかし、ある秋の晴れた日、川のほとりでピンク色のサルと黄色いカニが一緒に遊んでいた。走り回っていると、カニは団子、サルは柿の種を見つけました。
3 The crab picked up the rice-dumpling and showed it to the monkey, saying:
3 カニは団子を手に取り、猿に見せて言った。
4 “Look what a nice thing I have found!”
4 「いいもの見つけたね！」
5 Then the monkey held up his persimmon-seed and said:
5 猿は柿の種を持ち上げて言った。
6 “I also have found something good! Look!”
6 「私もいいもの見つけた！見て！\”
7 Now though the monkey is always very fond of persimmon fruit, he had no use for the seed he had just found. The persimmon-seed is as hard and uneatable as a stone. He, therefore, in his greedy nature, felt very envious of the crab’s nice dumpling, and he proposed an exchange. The crab naturally did not see why he should give up his prize for a hard stone-like seed, and would not consent to the monkey’s proposition.
7 さて、猿はいつも柿の実がとても好きですが、見つけたばかりの種は使い道がありませんでした。柿の種は石のように固くて食べられません。したがって、彼は貪欲な性格で、カニのおいしい餃子を非常にうらやましく感じ、交換を提案しました。カニは、当然のことながら、硬い石のような種のためになぜ賞品をあきらめる必要があるのか わからず、サルの提案に同意しませんでした.
8 Then the cunning monkey began to persuade the crab, saying:
8 狡猾な猿は、こう言って蟹を説得し始めました。
9 “How unwise you are not to think of the future! Your rice-dumpling can be eaten now, and is certainly much bigger than my seed; but if you sow this seed in the ground it will soon grow and become a great tree in a few years, and bear an abundance of fine ripe persimmons year after year. If only I could show it to you then with the yellow fruit hanging on its branches! Of course, if you don’t believe me I shall sow it myself; though I am sure, later on, you will be very sorry that you did not take my advice.”
9 「将来のことを考えないなんて、何と愚かなことでしょう。あなたの団子は今食べられます。確かに私の種よりもずっと大きいです。しかし、この種を地面にまくと、すぐに成長して数年で大きな木になり、毎年素晴らしい熟した柿がたくさん実ります.黄色い実が枝にぶら下がっている姿をお見せできればいいのに！もちろん、あなたが私を信じないなら、私は自分で種をまきます。とはいえ、私の忠告に従わなかったことを後で後悔することになると思います。」
10 The simple-minded crab could not resist the monkey’s clever persuasion. He at last gave in and consented to the monkey’s proposal, and the exchange was made. The greedy monkey soon gobbled up the dumpling, and with great reluctance gave up the persimmon-seed to the crab. He would have liked to keep that too, but he was afraid of making the crab angry and of being pinched by his sharp scissor-like claws. They then separated, the monkey going home to his forest trees and the crab to his stones along the river-side. As soon as the crab reached home he put the persimmon-seed in the ground as the monkey had told him.
10 単純なカニは、猿の巧妙な説得に抵抗できませんでした。彼はついに譲歩し、猿の提案に同意し、交換が行われました.食いしん坊の猿はすぐに団子をむさぼり食うと、とてもしぶしぶカニに柿の種をあげました。彼もそれを維持したかったのですが、カニを怒らせたり、鋭いはさみのような爪で挟まれたりするのが怖かったのです。それから彼らは別れ、サルは森の木に帰り、カニは川沿いの石に帰りました。カニが家に着くとすぐに、サルが彼に言ったように、彼は柿の種を地面に置きました.
11 In the following spring the crab was delighted to see the shoot of a young tree push its way up through the ground. Each year it grew bigger, till at last it blossomed one spring, and in the following autumn bore some fine large persimmons. Among the broad smooth green leaves the fruit hung like golden balls, and as they ripened they mellowed to a deep orange. It was the little crab’s pleasure to go out day by day and sit in the sun and put out his long eyes in the same way as a snail puts out its horn, and watch the persimmons ripening to perfection.
11 次の春、カニは若い木の芽が地面を突き破るのを見て喜んだ。年々大きくなり、ついにある春に花を咲かせ、次の秋には立派な大きな柿を実らせました。広く滑らかな緑の葉の間で、果物は金色のボールのようにぶら下がっていて、熟すと濃いオレンジ色にまろやかになります。カタツムリが角を出すように、毎日外に出て太陽の下に座って長い目を伸ばし、柿が完全に熟すのを見るのが小さなカニの楽しみでした。
12 “How delicious they will be to eat!” he said to himself.
12「食べたら美味しい！」彼は自分自身に言いました。
13 At last, one day, he knew the persimmons must be quite ripe and he wanted very much to taste one. He made several attempts to climb the tree, in the vain hope of reaching one of the beautiful persimmons hanging above him; but he failed each time, for a crab’s legs are not made for climbing trees but only for running along the ground and over stones, both of which he can do most cleverly. In his dilemma he thought of his old playmate the monkey, who, he knew, could climb trees better than any one else in the world. He determined to ask the monkey to help him, and set out to find him.
13 とうとう、ある日、彼は柿がかなり熟したにちがいないことを知り、それを味わってみたいと強く思いました。彼は、頭上にぶら下がっている美しい柿の1つに到達するという無駄な希望で、木に登ろうと何度か試みました。しかし、彼は毎回失敗しました。なぜなら、カニの脚は木登り用ではなく、地面に沿って走ったり、石の上を走ったりするためだけに作られているからです。彼のジレンマの中で、彼は昔の遊び仲間であるサルのことを考えました。サルは、世界の誰よりも木登りが上手だと彼は知っていました。彼はサルに助けを求めることに決め、サルを探し始めました。
14 Running crab-fashion up the stony river bank, over the pathways into the shadowy forest, the crab at last found the monkey taking an afternoon nap in his favorite pine-tree, with his tail curled tight around a branch to prevent him from falling off in his dreams. He was soon wide awake, however, when he heard himself called, and eagerly listening to what the crab told him. When he heard that the seed which he had long ago exchanged for a rice-dumpling had grown into a tree and was now bearing good fruit, he was delighted, for he at once devised a cunning plan which would give him all the persimmons for himself.
14 石の多い川岸をカニのように走って、小道を越えて影の森へと入っていくと、カニはついにサルがお気に入りの松の木で午後の昼寝をしているのを見つけました。彼の夢の中で。しかし、彼はすぐに目を覚まし、自分が呼ばれているのを聞いて、カニが彼に言ったことを熱心に聞いていました.ずいぶん前に団子と交換した種が木に成長し、今では良い実を結んでいると聞いたとき、彼は喜んだ。 .
15 He consented to go with the crab to pick the fruit for him. When they both reached the spot, the monkey was astonished to see what a fine tree had sprung from the seed, and with what a number of ripe persimmons the branches were loaded.
15 彼はカニと一緒に果物を取りに行くことに同意した。二人がその場所に着くと、サルは種から立派な木が生えていて、枝にたくさんの熟した柿が積まれているのを見て驚きました。
16 He quickly climbed the tree and began to pluck and eat, as fast as he could, one persimmon after another. Each time he chose the best and ripest he could find, and went on eating till he could eat no more. Not one would he give to the poor hungry crab waiting below, and when he had finished there was little but the hard, unripe fruit left.
16 彼は急いで木に登り、柿を次々と摘み取り、できるだけ速く食べ始めた。そのたびに、彼は見つけることができる最高で最も熟したものを選び、それ以上食べられなくなるまで食べ続けました。下で待っているお腹をすかせてかわいそうなカニに一匹もあげようとはしませんでした。
17 You can imagine the feelings of the poor crab after waiting patiently, for so long as he had done, for the tree to grow and the fruit to ripen, when he saw the monkey devouring all the good persimmons. He was so disappointed that he ran round and round the tree calling to the monkey to remember his promise. The monkey at first took no notice of the crab’s complaints, but at last he picked out the hardest, greenest persimmon he could find and aimed it at the crab’s head. The persimmon is as hard as stone when it is unripe. The monkey’s missile struck home and the crab was sorely hurt by the blow. Again and again, as fast as he could pick them, the monkey pulled off the hard persimmons and threw them at the defenseless crab till he dropped dead, covered with wounds all over his body. There he lay a pitiful sight at the foot of the tree he had himself planted.
17 木が成長して実が熟すのを辛抱強く待った後、猿が良い柿をすべてむさぼり食っているのを見た可哀想なカニの気持ちを想像することができます。彼はとてもがっかりしたので、猿に約束を思い出すように呼びかけて、木の周りをぐるぐる走り回りました。サルは最初、カニの不満に気づきませんでした。熟していない柿は石のように固い。サルのミサイルが家に着弾し、カニはその打撃でひどく傷つきました.何度も何度も、猿は柿を摘むのと同じくらい速く、硬い柿を引き抜き、無防備なカニに投げつけました。そこで彼は、自分で植えた木のふもとに哀れな光景を横たえました。
18 When the wicked monkey saw that he had killed the crab he ran away from the spot as fast as he could, in fear and trembling, like a coward as he was.
18 邪悪な猿は、自分がカニを殺したのを見ると、臆病者のように恐れおののきながら、その場からできるだけ速く逃げ出した。
19 Now the crab had a son who had been playing with a friend not far from the spot where this sad work had taken place. On the way home he came across his father dead, in a most dreadful condition—his head was smashed and his shell broken in several places, and around his body lay the unripe persimmons which had done their deadly work. At this dreadful sight the poor young crab sat down and wept.
19 さて、カニには、この悲しい仕事が行われた場所からそう遠くない場所で友達と遊んでいた息子がいました。家に帰る途中、彼は父親が死んでいるのに出くわしました。彼は非常に恐ろしい状態で死んでいました.彼の頭は砕かれ、殻はいくつかの場所で壊れていました.彼の体の周りには致命的な仕事をした熟していない柿がありました.この恐ろしい光景を見て、可哀そうなカニの子はすわって泣きました。
20 But when he had wept for some time he told himself that this crying would do no good; it was his duty to avenge his father’s murder, and this he determined to do. He looked about for some clue which would lead him to discover the murderer. Looking up at the tree he noticed that the best fruit had gone, and that all around lay bits of peel and numerous seeds strewn on the ground as well as the unripe persimmons which had evidently been thrown at his father. Then he understood that the monkey was the murderer, for he now remembered that his father had once told him the story of the rice-dumpling and the persimmon-seed. The young crab knew that monkeys liked persimmons above all other fruit, and he felt sure that his greed for the coveted fruit had been the cause of the old crab’s death. Alas!
20 しかし、しばらく泣いた後、この泣き声は何の役にも立たないと自分に言い聞かせた。父親の殺害の仇を討つことが彼の義務であり、彼はそうすることにした。彼は殺人者を発見する手がかりを求めてあたりを見回した.木を見上げると、最高の果物がなくなっていて、周りには皮の切れ端や無数の種が地面に散らばっていて、熟していない柿が父親に投げつけられたことに気づきました。それから彼はサルが殺人者であると理解しました.なぜなら彼は父親がかつて彼に団子と柿の種の話をしたことを思い出したからです.若いカニは、サルが他の果物よりも柿が好きであることを知っていました。ああ！
