Gooloo the Magpie, and the Wahroogah

Gooloo was a very old woman, and a very wicked old woman too, as this story will tell. During all the past season, when the grass was thick with seed, she had gathered much doonburr, which she crushed into meal as she wanted it for food. She used to crush it on a big flat stone with small flat stones--the big stone was called a dayoorl. Gooloo ground a great deal of the doonburr seed to put away for immediate use, the rest she kept whole, to be ground as required.

グールーはたいそう年老いた女で、しかもたいそう邪な老女だった。この話がそれを語る。前の季節じゅう、草が種をびっしりつけていたころ、グールーはドゥンバー(草の種)をたくさん集め、食べ物として要るたびにそれを挽いて粉にしていた。挽くときは大きな平たい石の上で小さな平たい石を使った。この大きな石はダユールと呼ばれた。グールーはすぐ使う分としてドゥンバーの種をどっさり挽き、残りは必要に応じて挽くために粒のまま取っておいた。

Soon after she had finished her first grinding, a neighbouring tribe came along and camped near where she was. One day the men all went out hunting, leaving the women and the children in the camp. After the men had been gone a little while, Gooloo the magpie came to their camp to talk to the women. She said, "Why do you not go hunting too? Many are the nests of the wurranunnahs round here, and thick is the honey in them. Many and ripe are the bumbles hanging now on the humble trees; red is the fruit of the grooees, and opening with ripeness the fruit of the guiebets. Yet you sit in the camp and hunger, until your husbands return with the dinewan and bowrah they have gone forth to slay. Go, women, and gather of the plenty that surrounds you. I will take care of your children, the little Wahroogabs."

最初の挽きを終えてまもなく、隣の一族が通りかかって、グールーのいる場所の近くに野営した。ある日、男たちがみな狩りに出て、女たちと子どもたちを野営地に残した。男たちが出て少しすると、カササギのグールーが女たちに話しかけに来た。グールーは言った。「あんたたちも狩りに行かないのかね? このあたりにはウラヌナー(野蜂)の巣がたんとあって、蜜がたっぷり詰まっている。バンブルの木にはいま熟したバンブルの実がいくつもぶら下がり、グルーイーの実は赤く、グイベットの実は熟れて割れかけている。それなのにあんたたちは野営地に座って腹を空かせ、亭主たちがディネワンやボウラーを仕留めて帰るのを待つばかり。行きなさいよ、女たち、まわりにあふれている恵みを集めておいで。子どもたちは、あの小さなワルーガーたちは、わたしが見ていてあげよう。」

"Your words are wise," the women said. "It is foolish to sit here and hunger, when near at hand yams are thick in the ground, and many fruits wait but the plucking. We will go and fill quickly our comebees and goolays, but our children we will take with us."

「もっともな言い分だね」と女たちは言った。「すぐそばの地面にヤムイモがぎっしりあって、実もたくさん摘まれるのを待っているのに、ここに座って腹を空かせているのは愚かなことだ。行ってコンビーとグーレイを早く満たしてこよう。でも子どもたちは連れて行く。」

"Not so," said Gooloo, "foolish indeed were you to do that. You would tire the little feet of those that run, and tire yourselves with the burden of those that have to be carried. No, take forth your comebees and goolays empty, that ye may bring back the more. Many are the spoils that wait only the hand of the gatherer. Look ye, I have a durrie made of fresh doonburr seed, cooking just now on that bark between two fires; that shall your children eat, and swiftly shall I make them another. They shall eat and be full ere their mothers are out of sight. See, they come to me now, they hunger for durrie, and well will I feed them. Haste ye then, that ye may return in time to make ready the fires for cooking the meat your husbands will bring. Glad will your husbands be when they see that ye have filled your goolays and comebees with fruits, and your wirrees with honey. Haste ye, I say, and do well."

「それはいけないね」とグールーは言った。「そんなことをするのは本当に愚かだ。歩ける子は足を疲れさせるし、あんたたち自身も負ぶう子の重みで疲れてしまう。いいや、コンビーもグーレイも空のまま持ってお行き。そのぶん多く持ち帰れる。集める手だけを待っている獲物がどっさりあるんだから。ごらん、わたしは新しいドゥンバーの種で作ったダリー(草の種のパン)を、ちょうどそこの二つの火のあいだの樹皮の上で焼いている。子どもたちにはこれを食べさせて、すぐにもう一枚こしらえてやろう。母親たちが見えなくなる前に、腹いっぱいになるよ。ほら、いまもこちらへ来ている、ダリーがほしいのさ。しっかり食べさせてあげよう。だから急いでお行き。亭主たちが持ち帰る肉を焼く火の支度に間に合うように帰れるようにね。グーレイとコンビーに実をいっぱい、ウィリー(樹皮の小舟形の器)に蜜をいっぱい詰めて帰ったら、亭主たちも喜ぶだろうよ。さあ急いで、しっかりおやり。」

Having listened to the words of Gooloo, the women decided to do as she said, and, leaving their children with her, they started forth with empty comebees, and armed with combos, with which to chop out the bees' nests and opossums, and with yam sticks to dig up yams.

グールーの言葉を聞いて、女たちは言われたとおりにすることに決め、子どもたちをグールーに預けて、空のコンビーを持ち、蜂の巣やフクロネズミを叩き出すためのコンボと、ヤムイモを掘る棒を手にして出かけた。

When the women had gone, Gooloo gathered the children round her and fed them with durrie, hot from the coals. Honey, too, she gave them, and bumbles which she had buried to ripen. When they had eaten, she hurried them off to her real home, built in a hollow tree, a little distance away from where she had been cooking her durrie. Into her house she hurriedly thrust them, followed quickly herself, and made all secure. Here she fed them again, but the children had already satisfied their hunger, and now they missed their mothers and began to cry. Their crying reached the ears of the women as they were returning to their camp. Quickly they came at the sound which is not good in a mother's ears. As they quickened their steps they thought how soon the spoils that lay heavy in their comebees would comfort their children. And happy they, the mothers, would feel when they fed the Wahroogahs with the dainties they had gathered for them. Soon they reached the camp, but, alas! where were their children? And where was Gooloo the magpie?

女たちが行ってしまうと、グールーは子どもたちを自分のまわりに集め、熾火から取り出したばかりの熱いダリーを食べさせた。蜜も与え、熟すように埋めておいたバンブルの実も与えた。子どもたちが食べ終わると、グールーは急いで本当の住まいへ連れて行った。それはダリーを焼いていた場所から少し離れた、うろの木の中に作られていた。子どもたちを急いで押し込み、自分も素早く続いて入り、すっかり戸締まりをした。ここでもまた食べさせたが、子どもたちはもう空腹を満たしていて、いまは母親がいないのを寂しがって泣き出した。その泣き声は、野営地へ戻りかけていた女たちの耳に届いた。母親の耳には辛いその音に、女たちは急いで駆けつけた。足を速めながら、コンビーに重く詰まった獲物が、じきに子どもたちを喜ばせるだろうと思った。そして集めてきたご馳走をワルーガーたちに食べさせるとき、母親である自分たちはどんなに幸せだろうと思った。まもなく野営地に着いた。ところが、ああ、子どもたちはどこだろう? そしてカササギのグールーはどこだろう?

"They are playing wahgoo," they said, "and have hidden themselves."

「ワゴー(かくれんぼ)をして、隠れているのだろう」と女たちは言った。

The mothers hunted all round for them, and called aloud the names of their children and Gooloo. But no answer could they hear and no trace could they find. And yet every now and then they heard the sound of children wailing. But seek as they would they found them not. Then loudly wailed the mothers themselves for their lost Wahroogahs, and, wailing, returned to the camp to wait the coming of the black fellows. Heavy were their hearts, and sad were their faces when their husbands returned. They hastened to tell the black fellows when they came, how Gooloo had persuaded them to go hunting, promising if they did so that she would feed the hungry Wahroogahs, and care for them while they were away, but--and here they wailed again for their poor Wahroogahs. They told how they had listened to her words and gone; truth had she told of the plenty round, their comebees and goolays were full of fruits and spoils they had gathered, but, alas! they came home with them laden only to find their children gone and Gooloo gone too. And no trace could they find of either, though at times they heard a sound as of children wailing.

母親たちはあたりじゅうを探し回り、子どもたちとグールーの名を声高に呼んだ。けれども答えは聞こえず、跡も見つからなかった。それでもときおり、子どもの泣き声のような音が聞こえた。けれどもいくら探しても見つからない。そこで母親たちは、失われたワルーガーたちのために声を上げて嘆き、嘆きながら野営地へ戻って、男たちの帰りを待った。男たちが帰ったとき、女たちの胸は重く、顔は悲しみに沈んでいた。女たちは急いで話した。グールーが狩りに行けと勧め、そうすれば腹を空かせたワルーガーたちに食べさせ、留守のあいだ世話をすると約束したこと——そしてここでまた、哀れなワルーガーたちのために嘆いた。言葉を聞いて出かけたこと、まわりの恵みについては本当のことを言っていたこと、コンビーもグーレイも集めた実と獲物でいっぱいだったこと、けれども、ああ、それを担いで帰ってみると子どもたちは消え、グールーも消えていたこと。そしてときおり子どもの泣き声のような音が聞こえるほかは、どちらの跡も見つからないことを。

Then wroth were the men, saying: "What mothers are ye to leave your young to a stranger, and that stranger a Gooloo, ever a treacherous race? Did we not go forth to gain food for you and our children? Saw ye ever your husbands return from the chase empty handed? Then why, when ye knew we were gone hunting, must ye too go forth and leave our helpless ones to a stranger? Oh, evil, evil indeed is the time that has come when a mother forgets her child. Stay ye in the camp while we go forth to hunt for our lost Wahroogahs. Heavy will be our hands on the women if we return without them."

すると男たちは怒って言った。「見知らぬ者に、それもグールーに——昔から裏切りの一族に——子を預けるとは、おまえたちは何という母親だ? おれたちはおまえたちと子どものために食べ物を得ようと出かけたのではないか? 亭主が狩りから手ぶらで帰るのを見たことがあるか? それならなぜ、おれたちが狩りに出ていると知りながら、おまえたちまで出かけて、頼りない者たちを見知らぬ者に預けたのだ? ああ、母が我が子を忘れる時代が来たとは、なんと悪い、なんと悪い時代だ。おれたちが失われたワルーガーたちを探しに行くあいだ、おまえたちは野営地にいろ。連れずに帰ったら、女たちへの手は重いぞ。」

The men hunted the bush round for miles, but found no trace of the lost Wahroogahs, though they too heard at times a noise as of children's voices wailing.

男たちは何マイルも藪を狩り回ったが、失われたワルーガーたちの跡は見つからなかった。ただ、ときおり子どもの声が嘆くような音を、男たちもやはり聞いた。

But beyond the wailing which echoed in the mothers' ears for ever, no trace was found of the children. For many days the women sat in the camp mourning for their lost Wahroogahs, and beating their heads because they had listened to the voice of Gooloo.

けれども母親たちの耳にいつまでも響くその嘆きのほかには、子どもたちの跡は何ひとつ見つからなかった。女たちは幾日ものあいだ野営地に座って、失われたワルーガーたちを悼み、グールーの言葉に耳を貸したことを悔いて自分の頭を打った。