How the Monkey Escaped Being Eaten

Being Eaten

食べられずにすんだわけ

Once upon a time, ages and ages ago, people ate fruits and nuts. Then there came a time when the fruits and nuts became scarce. People had to eat meat. So they began killing the various beasts to see which ones were the best to eat. They skinned them and cut them in pieces and cooked them over the fire. Some of the beasts were good to eat and others were not good at all.

むかしむかし、遥かな遥かなむかし、人々は果物や木の実を食べていた。そのうち果物や木の実が乏しくなる時が来た。人々は肉を食べねばならなくなった。そこでいろいろな獣を殺して、どれがいちばん食べるによいか試しはじめた。皮をはぎ、切り分けて、火で煮た。食べるによい獣もいれば、少しもよくない獣もいた。

The ox was found to be very good, and so was the sheep, and the armadillo. Then one day a man thought that he would try to eat the monkey.

牛はたいそうよいとわかり、羊もアルマジロもそうだった。それからある日、ある男が猿を食べてみようと思った。

The monkey was playing his guitar. "Lee, lee, lee, lee, lee lay, lee lay, lee ray, lee ray." The man came close to him and said, "Come here, little monkey, and let me hear your music. I enjoy it very much." All the time the man was coming closer and closer to the monkey. Just as he was about to stretch out his hand and seize the monkey, the monkey gave a sudden leap to the tree and hurried away to the tree top.

猿はギターを弾いていた。「リー、リー、リー、リー、リー・レイ、リー・レイ、リー・ライ、リー・ライ」男は猿のすぐそばまで来て言った。「こっちへおいで、お猿さん、音楽を聞かせておくれ。とても好きなんだよ」そのあいだずっと、男は猿にどんどん近づいていた。ちょうど手を伸ばして猿をつかもうとしたとき、猿はさっと木へ跳び移り、急いで梢へ逃げていった。

After that every time the man heard the monkey play the guitar he would come near and try to catch him. The monkey grew afraid of the man, so afraid that he gave up playing his guitar at all. For a long, long time he did not play upon it. One day he felt that he just must have some music. He hid in a hole in the ground and there he played upon his guitar. He did not think that the man would hear him, but the man had very sharp ears. When he got through playing he started to come out of the hole in the ground. There was the man waiting for him! He crawled quickly back,--so far back that the man could not catch him. The monkey waited and waited for the man to go away, but the man did not go away.

それからは、男は猿がギターを弾くのを聞くたびに近寄ってきて、捕まえようとした。猿は男が怖くなり、あまりに怖くてギターを弾くのをすっかりやめてしまった。長い長いあいだ、猿はギターを弾かなかった。ある日、猿はどうしても音楽を聞かずにはいられなくなった。地面の穴に隠れて、そこでギターを弾いた。男に聞こえるとは思わなかったが、男はたいそう耳がよかった。弾き終えて穴から出ようとすると、そこに男が待っていた。猿は急いで奥へ這い戻った——男が捕まえられないほど奥へ。猿は男が去るのを待ちに待ったが、男は去らなかった。

After a while the man became thirsty and went to get a drink. He left his little boy in his place to watch for the monkey. After the man had gone away the monkey called out to the little boy, "O, little boy, O, little boy, don't you wish that you could see the monkey dance?"

しばらくすると男はのどが渇いて、水を飲みに行った。男は自分の代わりに幼い息子を置いて、猿を見張らせた。男が行ってしまうと、猿は男の子に呼びかけた。「おうい、坊や、おうい、坊や、猿の踊りを見たくないかい」

The little boy replied that he wished he could.

男の子は、見たいと答えた。

"Just put your eyes down to the door of my little cave, and I'll let you see the monkey dance, little boy," said the monkey.

「わしの小さな洞穴の入口に目を近づけてごらん、坊や。猿の踊りを見せてあげるよ」と猿は言った。

The little boy put his eyes down close to the hole in the ground. No sooner had he done so than the monkey threw dirt into the little boy's eyes. When the little boy was rubbing his eyes to get the dirt out of them the monkey made a sudden dash out of the cave and escaped to the tree tops. When the man returned the little boy did not dare to tell him that the monkey had escaped. The man waited and waited and waited there by the hole in the ground. At last he became tired of waiting and went away.

男の子は地面の穴に目をぴったり近づけた。そうするやいなや、猿は男の子の目に土を投げつけた。男の子が目の土を取ろうとこすっているあいだに、猿はさっと洞穴から飛び出して、梢へ逃げていった。男が戻ってきても、男の子は猿が逃げたとは言えなかった。男は地面の穴のそばで待って、待って、待ち続けた。とうとう待ちくたびれて去っていった。

After that the man tried harder than ever to catch the monkey. If he had not had the good luck to catch the monkey napping one day there is no knowing when he would have got his hands upon him. One day, however, he caught the monkey napping. He shut him up in a box and carried him home to the children for supper.

それからは男はいっそう懸命に猿を捕まえようとした。ある日運よく猿が昼寝をしているところを捕まえられなかったら、いつ猿に手をかけられたかわからない。けれどもある日、男は猿が昼寝をしているところを捕まえた。男は猿を箱に閉じ込めて、子どもたちの夕飯にしようと家へ持ち帰った。

The man put a big dish full of water over the fire ready to cook the monkey. Then he went away to collect more fuel for the fire. The monkey and his guitar were shut up in the box, and there, inside the box, the monkey played on his guitar. "Lee, lee, lee, lee, lee lay, lee lay, lee ray, lee ray." The children came crowding close to the box.

男は猿を煮る支度に、水をいっぱい入れた大鍋を火にかけた。それから火にくべる薪をもっと集めに出かけた。猿とギターは箱に閉じ込められていた。そして箱のなかで、猿はギターを弾いた。「リー、リー、リー、リー、リー・レイ、リー・レイ、リー・ライ、リー・ライ」子どもたちは箱のまわりに寄り集まった。

"O, children, O, children," said the monkey, "don't you wish that you could see the monkey dance?"

「おうい、子どもたち、おうい、子どもたち」と猿は言った。「猿の踊りを見たくないかい」

The children replied that they wished they could.

子どもたちは、見たいと答えた。

"This box is so small that there is not room enough for me to dance here," said the monkey. "Just let me out and I'll show you how well I can dance."

「この箱は狭すぎて、ここでは踊る場所がないよ」と猿は言った。「ちょっと出しておくれ。そうしたら上手に踊ってみせるよ」

The children opened the box and let the monkey out into the room. The monkey played on his guitar, "Lee, lee, lee, lee, lee lay, lee lay, lee ray, lee ray," and he danced about the room. Then he said, "O, children! O, children! You have nothing at all cooking in that pot over the fire. Let us put something into the pot to cook."

子どもたちは箱を開けて猿を部屋に出してやった。猿はギターを弾き、「リー、リー、リー、リー、リー・レイ、リー・レイ、リー・ライ、リー・ライ」、部屋じゅうを踊りまわった。それから言った。「おうい、子どもたち、おうい、子どもたち。火にかけたあの鍋では、何も煮えていないじゃないか。何か入れて煮ようよ」

The children thought that it would not be polite to tell the monkey what the pot of water was waiting for, so they let the monkey fill the pot as he liked. He put into it some little dry sticks and an empty cocoanut shell. Then he said, "O, children, O, children, I cannot dance any more. It is so hot here in this room."

子どもたちは、鍋の湯が何を待っているのか猿に言うのは失礼だろうと思ったので、猿の好きなように鍋に入れさせた。猿は小さな枯れ枝と、からっぽのココナツの殻を入れた。それから言った。「おうい、子どもたち、おうい、子どもたち、もう踊れないよ。この部屋はとても暑いんだもの」

The children begged him to dance some more.

子どもたちは、もっと踊ってくれとせがんだ。

"If you will open the door a little bit so that I can have more air to breathe I'll show you a new dance," said the monkey.

「戸を少し開けて、もっと息ができるようにしてくれたら、新しい踊りを見せてあげるよ」と猿は言った。

The children opened the door. The monkey danced over to the door and out of the door away to the tree top. That was the last they ever saw of him. He moved to another part of the country after that experience.

子どもたちは戸を開けた。猿は踊りながら戸口へ行き、戸口から出て梢へ行ってしまった。子どもたちが猿を見たのはそれが最後だった。そんな目にあってから、猿は国の別の土地へ移っていった。

When the man came home with fuel for the fire the children did not dare to tell him that the monkey had escaped. They let him think that the sticks and the cocoanut shell in the pot was the monkey. He built a big roaring fire under the pot and soon it was boiling merrily. After the pot had boiled a while he called the children to come to supper with him. The children let him taste first. He fished a hard stick out of the pot and bit into it. "This is not the monkey's leg. It is just a dry stick," he said, as he made a wry face. Then he fished the empty cocoanut shell out of the pot. "That is not the monkey's head," he said as he tasted it, "That is just an empty cocoanut shell." He couldn't find a single trace of the monkey in that monkey stew. He never wished to make a monkey stew again.

男が薪を持って帰ってきても、子どもたちは猿が逃げたとは言えなかった。鍋のなかの枝とココナツの殻が猿だと、男に思わせておいた。男は鍋の下に大きなごうごうと燃える火をたき、まもなく鍋はぐつぐつ煮えたった。しばらく煮えてから、男は子どもたちを夕飯に呼んだ。子どもたちは男に先に味見させた。男は鍋から硬い枝を釣り上げてかじった。「これは猿の脚じゃない。ただの枯れ枝だ」と男は顔をしかめて言った。それからからっぽのココナツの殻を釣り上げた。「これは猿の頭じゃない」と男は味見しながら言った。「ただのからっぽのココナツの殻だ」猿の煮込みのなかに、猿のかけらは一つも見つからなかった。男は二度と猿の煮込みを作りたいとは思わなかった。