The Cookooburrahs and the Goolahgool

Googarh, the iguana, was married to Moodai, the opossum and Cookooburrah, the laughing jackass. Cookooburrah was the mother of three sons, one grown up and living away from her, the other two only little boys. They had their camps near a goolahgool, whence they obtained water. A goolahgool is a water-holding tree, of the iron bark or box species. It is a tree with a split in the fork of it, and hollow below the fork. After heavy rain, this hollow trunk would be full of water, which water would have run into it through the split in the fork. A goolahgool would hold water for a long time. The blacks knew a goolahgool, amongst other trees, by the mark which the overflow of water made down the trunk of the tree, discolouring the bark.

イグアナのグーガーは、フクロネズミのムーダイと、ワライカワセミのクッカバラを妻にしていた。クッカバラには息子が三人いて、一人は大きくなって離れて暮らし、あとの二人はまだ小さな男の子だった。一家はグーラグールの近くに野営していて、そこから水を得ていた。グーラグールとは水を溜める木で、アイアンバークやボックスの類である。又のところに割れ目があり、その下がうろになっている木で、大雨のあと、このうろになった幹が水でいっぱいになる。水は又の割れ目から流れ込むのである。グーラグールは長いあいだ水を保つ。人々は、あふれた水が幹を伝って樹皮を変色させた跡で、ほかの木の中からグーラグールを見分けた。

One day, Googarh, the iguana, and his two wives went out hunting, leaving the two little Cookooburrahs at the camp. They had taken out water for themselves in their opossum skin water bags, but they had left none for the children, who were too small to get any from the goolahgool for themselves, so nearly perished from thirst. Their tongues were swollen in their mouths, and they were quite speechless, when they saw a man coming towards them. When he came near, they saw it was Cookooburrah, their big brother. They could not speak to him and answer, when he asked where his mother was. Then he asked them what was the matter. All they could do was to point towards the tree. He looked at it, and saw it was a goolahgool, so he said: "Did your mother leave you no water?" They shook their heads. He said: "Then you are perishing for want of a drink, my brothers?" They nodded. "Go," he said "a little way off, and you shall see how I will punish them for leaving my little brothers to perish of thirst." He went towards the tree, climbed up it, and split it right down. As he did so, out gushed the water in a swiftly running stream. Soon the little fellows quenched their thirst and then, in their joy, bathed in the water, which grew in volume every moment.

ある日、イグアナのグーガーと二人の妻は狩りに出かけ、二人の小さなクッカバラを野営地に残した。自分たちのためにはフクロネズミの皮の水袋に水を入れて持って行ったが、子どもたちには水を残さなかった。子どもたちは小さすぎて自分ではグーラグールから水を取れず、喉の渇きで死にかけた。舌は口の中で腫れ上がり、まるで口がきけなくなったころ、一人の男がこちらへ来るのが見えた。近づいて来ると、それは兄のクッカバラだった。母はどこだと聞かれても、二人は答えることができなかった。それからどうしたのかと聞かれた。二人にできたのは、あの木を指さすことだけだった。兄は木を見て、それがグーラグールだと分かり、こう言った。「母さんは水を残していかなかったのか?」二人は首を振った。兄は言った。「では弟たちよ、おまえたちは一杯の水が無くて死にかけているのか?」二人はうなずいた。「行け」と兄は言った。「少し離れていろ。おれの弟たちを渇きで死なせようとした者たちを、どう罰するか見せてやる。」兄は木に近づき、登って、まっすぐに割り開いた。するとそこから水がほとばしり出て、勢いよく流れる川になった。まもなく小さな二人は渇きを癒し、それから喜んで水を浴びた。水は刻々とかさを増していった。

In the meantime, those who had gone forth to hunt were returning, and as they came towards their camp they met a running stream of water. "What is this?" they said, "our goolahgool must have burst," and they tried to dam the water, but it was running too strongly for them. They gave up the effort and hurried on towards their camp. But they found a deep stream divided them from their camp. The three Cookooburrahs saw them, and the eldest one said to the little fellows: "You call out and tell them to cross down there, where it is not deep." The little ones called out as they were told, and where they pointed Googarh and his wives waded into the stream. Finding she was getting out of her depth, Cookooburrah the laughing jackass cried out: "Goug gour gah gah. Goug gour gah gah. Give me a stick. Give me a stick."

そのころ、狩りに出ていた者たちが帰る途中で、流れて来る水に出くわした。「これは何だ」と彼らは言った。「わたしたちのグーラグールが裂けたに違いない。」そして水をせき止めようとしたが、流れが強すぎてかなわなかった。あきらめて野営地の方へ急いだ。けれども深い流れが自分たちと野営地を隔てているのが分かった。三人のクッカバラがそれを見て、兄が小さな二人に言った。「あそこの、深くないところを渡れと呼んでやれ。」小さな二人は言われたとおりに呼びかけ、指さした場所からグーガーと二人の妻が流れへ踏み込んだ。足が立たなくなると知って、ワライカワセミのクッカバラは叫んだ。「グーグ、グール、ガー、ガー。グーグ、グール、ガー、ガー。棒をおくれ。棒をおくれ。」

But from the bank her sons only answered in derision: "Goug gour gah gah. Goug gour gah gah." And the three hunters were soon engulfed in the rushing stream, drawn down by the current and drowned.

けれども岸から息子たちは、あざけって返すばかりだった。「グーグ、グール、ガー、ガー。グーグ、グール、ガー、ガー。」そして三人の狩人はまもなく激しい流れに呑まれ、流れに引き込まれて溺れ死んだ。