How the Brazilian Beetles Got Their Gorgeous Coats

Their Gorgeous Coats

美しい上着

In Brazil the beetles have such beautifully coloured, hard-shelled coats upon their backs that they are often set in pins and necklaces like precious stones. Once upon a time, years and years ago, they had ordinary plain brown coats. This is how it happened that the Brazilian beetle earned a new coat.

ブラジルの甲虫は背中にあまりに美しい色の硬い殻の上着を着ているので、しばしば宝石のようにブローチや首飾りにはめ込まれる。むかしむかし、何年も何年も前には、甲虫たちはありふれた地味な茶色の上着を着ていた。これは、ブラジルの甲虫が新しい上着を手に入れたいきさつである。

One day a little brown beetle was crawling along a wall when a big grey rat ran out of a hole in the wall and looked down scornfully at the little beetle. "O ho!" he said to the beetle, "how slowly you crawl along. You'll never get anywhere in the world. Just look at me and see how fast I can run."

ある日、小さな茶色の甲虫が塀の上を這っていると、大きな灰色の鼠が塀の穴から駆け出してきて、小さな甲虫をさげすむように見下ろした。「おやおや」と鼠は甲虫に言った。「なんてのろのろ這うんだ。それじゃあこの世でどこへも行けやしない。わしを見て、どれほど速く走れるか見てごらん」

The big grey rat ran to the end of the wall, wheeled around, and came back to the place where the little beetle was slowly crawling along at only a tiny distance from where the rat had left her.

大きな灰色の鼠は塀の端まで走っていってくるりと向きを変え、小さな甲虫がのろのろ這っているところへ戻ってきた。甲虫は、鼠が離れていったところからほんのわずかしか進んでいなかった。

"Don't you wish that you could run like that?" said the big grey rat to the little brown beetle.

「あんなふうに走れたらいいのにと思わないかい」と大きな灰色の鼠は小さな茶色の甲虫に言った。

"You are surely a fast runner," replied the little brown beetle politely. Her mother had taught her always to be polite and had often said to her that a really polite beetle never boasts about her own accomplishments. The little brown beetle never boasted a single boast about the things she could do. She just went on slowly crawling along the wall.

「あなたは本当に足が速いですね」と小さな茶色の甲虫はていねいに答えた。母親がいつもていねいにするよう教え、本当にていねいな甲虫は自分のできることを決して自慢しないものだと、たびたび言い聞かせていたのである。小さな茶色の甲虫は、自分にできることを一つとして自慢しなかった。ただのろのろと塀の上を這い続けた。

A bright green and gold parrot in the mango tree over the wall had heard the conversation. "How would you like to race with the beetle?" he asked the big grey rat. "I live next door to the tailor bird," he added, "and just to make the race exciting I'll offer a bright coloured coat as a prize to the one who wins the race. You may choose for it any colour you like and I'll have it made to order."

塀の向こうのマンゴーの木にいた、明るい緑と金色のオウムがこの話を聞いていた。「甲虫と競走してみてはどうだい」とオウムは大きな灰色の鼠に尋ねた。「わしは仕立て屋鳥の隣に住んでいるから」とオウムは付け加えた。「競走を面白くするために、勝ったほうに明るい色の上着をほうびにあげよう。好きな色を選んでいい。注文して仕立てさせよう」

"I'd like a yellow coat with stripes like the tiger's," said the big grey rat, looking over his shoulder at his gaunt grey sides as if he were already admiring his new coat.

「わしは虎のような縞のある黄色い上着がいいな」と大きな灰色の鼠は言い、もう新しい上着を眺めて悦に入っているかのように、肩越しに自分のやせた灰色の脇腹を見やった。

"I'd like a beautiful, bright coloured new coat, too," said the little brown beetle.

「わたしも美しい、明るい色の新しい上着がほしいです」と小さな茶色の甲虫は言った。

The big grey rat laughed long and loud until his gaunt grey sides were shaking. "Why, you talk just as if you thought you had a chance to win the race," he said, when he could speak.

大きな灰色の鼠は、やせた灰色の脇腹が揺れるほど、長いこと大声で笑った。「おや、まるで競走に勝つ見込みがあると思っているような口ぶりだな」と、口がきけるようになると鼠は言った。

The bright green and gold parrot set the royal palm tree at the top of the cliff as the goal of the race. He gave the signal to start and then he flew away to the royal palm tree to watch for the end of the race.

明るい緑と金色のオウムは、崖のてっぺんのダイオウヤシの木を競走のゴールに決めた。スタートの合図をすると、競走の結末を見届けにダイオウヤシの木へ飛んでいった。

The big grey rat ran as fast as he could. Then he thought how very tired he was getting. "What's the use of hurrying?" he said to himself. "The little brown beetle can not possibly win. If I were racing with somebody who could really run it would be very different." Then he started to run more slowly but every time his heart beat it said, "Hurry up! Hurry up!" The big grey rat decided that it was best to obey the little voice in his heart so he hurried just as fast as he could.

大きな灰色の鼠は力のかぎり速く走った。それから、自分がたいそう疲れてきたと思った。「急いで何になる」と鼠は独りごちた。「小さな茶色の甲虫が勝てるはずがない。本当に走れる相手と競走しているのなら話は別だが」そこで鼠はもっとゆっくり走りはじめたが、心臓が打つたびに「急げ、急げ」と言うのだった。大きな灰色の鼠は胸の小さな声に従うのがいちばんだと決めて、力のかぎり急いだ。

When he reached the royal palm tree at the top of the cliff he could hardly believe his eyes. He thought he must be having a bad dream. There was the little brown beetle sitting quietly beside the bright green and gold parrot. The big grey rat had never been so surprised in all his life. "How did you ever manage to run fast enough to get here so soon?" he asked the little brown beetle as soon as he could catch his breath.

崖のてっぺんのダイオウヤシの木に着いたとき、鼠は自分の目が信じられなかった。悪い夢を見ているにちがいないと思った。小さな茶色の甲虫が、明るい緑と金色のオウムのそばに静かに座っていたのである。大きな灰色の鼠は生まれてこのかた、これほど驚いたことはなかった。「いったいどうやってこんなに早くここまで走ってこられたんだ」と、息がつけるようになるとすぐに鼠は小さな茶色の甲虫に尋ねた。

The little brown beetle drew out the tiny wings from her sides. "Nobody said anything about having to run to win the race," she replied, "so I flew instead."

小さな茶色の甲虫は脇から小さな羽を広げてみせた。「競走に勝つのに走らなければならないとは、だれも言いませんでした」と甲虫は答えた。「だから飛んできたのです」

"I did not know that you could fly," said the big grey rat in a subdued little voice.

「お前が飛べるとは知らなかった」と大きな灰色の鼠は、しゅんとした小さな声で言った。

"After this," said the bright green and gold parrot, "never judge any one by his looks alone. You never can tell how often or where you may find concealed wings. You have lost the prize."

「これからは」と明るい緑と金色のオウムは言った。「決して見かけだけで人を判断しないことだ。隠れた羽がどれほどたびたび、どこに見つかるか、わかったものではないのだから。お前はほうびを逃したよ」

Until this day, even in Brazil where the flowers and birds and beasts and insects have such gorgeous colouring, the rat wears a plain dull grey coat.

今日に至るまで、花も鳥も獣も虫もあれほど華やかな色をしているブラジルでさえ、鼠は地味なくすんだ灰色の上着を着ているのである。

Then the parrot turned to the little brown beetle who was waiting quietly at his side. "What colour do you want your new coat to be?" he asked.

それからオウムは、そばで静かに待っている小さな茶色の甲虫のほうを向いた。「新しい上着は何色がいいかね」とオウムは尋ねた。

The little brown beetle looked up at the bright green and gold parrot, at the green and gold palm trees above their heads, at the green mangoes with golden flushes on their cheeks lying on the ground under the mango trees, at the golden sunshine upon the distant green hills. "I choose a coat of green and gold," she said.

小さな茶色の甲虫は、明るい緑と金色のオウムを見上げ、頭上の緑と金色のヤシの木を見上げ、マンゴーの木の下の地面に転がる、頬に金色の赤みがさした緑のマンゴーを見、遠い緑の丘に照る金色の陽の光を見た。「緑と金色の上着にします」と甲虫は言った。

From that day to this the Brazilian beetle has worn a coat of green with golden lights upon it.

その日から今日まで、ブラジルの甲虫は金色の光のさす緑の上着を着ている。

For years and years the Brazilian beetles were all very proud to wear green and gold coats like that of the beetle who raced with the rat.

何年も何年も、ブラジルの甲虫はみな、鼠と競走したあの甲虫のような緑と金色の上着を着ていることをたいそう誇りにしていた。

Then, once upon a time, it happened that there was a little beetle who grew discontented with her coat of green and gold. She looked up at the blue sky and out at the blue sea and wished that she had a blue coat instead. She talked about it so much that finally her mother took her to the parrot who lived next to the tailor bird.

それからむかしむかし、緑と金色の上着に不満を持つようになった小さな甲虫がいた。甲虫は青い空を見上げ、青い海を眺めて、かわりに青い上着がほしいと思った。あまりにそのことばかり言うので、とうとう母親がその子を、仕立て屋鳥の隣に住むオウムのところへ連れていった。

"You may change your coat for a blue one," said the parrot, "but if you change you'll have to give up something."

「上着を青いのに替えてもいい」とオウムは言った。「だが替えるなら、何かをあきらめなければならないよ」

"Oh, I'll gladly give up anything if only I may have a blue coat instead of a green and gold one," said the discontented little beetle.

「ええ、緑と金色のかわりに青い上着をもらえるなら、何でも喜んであきらめます」と不満な小さな甲虫は言った。

When she received her new coat she thought it was very beautiful. It was a lovely shade of blue and it had silvery white lights upon it like the light of the stars. When she put it on, however, she discovered that it was not hard like the green and gold one. From that day to this the blue beetles' coats have not been hard and firm. That is the reason why the jewellers have difficulty in using them in pins and necklaces like other beetles.

新しい上着を受け取ると、甲虫はそれをたいそう美しいと思った。すてきな青い色合いで、星の光のような銀色がかった白い光がさしていた。けれども着てみると、緑と金色のもののように硬くないことがわかった。その日から今日まで、青い甲虫の上着は硬くしっかりしていない。宝石屋がほかの甲虫のようにブローチや首飾りに使うのに苦労するのは、そのためである。

From the moment that the little beetle put on her new blue coat she never grew again. From that day to this the blue beetles have been much smaller than the green and gold ones.

小さな甲虫は新しい青い上着を着たその瞬間から、二度と大きくならなかった。その日から今日まで、青い甲虫は緑と金色の甲虫よりずっと小さいのである。

When the Brazilians made their flag they took for it a square of green the colour of the green beetle's coat. Within this square they placed a diamond of gold like the golden lights which play upon the green beetle's back. Then, within the diamond, they drew a circle to represent the round earth and they coloured it blue like the coat of the blue beetle. Upon the blue circle they placed stars of silvery white like the silvery white lights on the back of the blue beetle. About the blue circle of the earth which they thus pictured they drew a band of white, and upon this band they wrote the motto of their country, "Ordem e Progresso, order and progress."

ブラジル人が国旗をこしらえたとき、緑の甲虫の上着の色をした緑の四角を旗の地にした。この四角のなかに、緑の甲虫の背中に揺らめく金色の光のような金の菱形を置いた。それから菱形のなかに丸い地球を表す円を描き、青い甲虫の上着のように青く塗った。青い円の上には、青い甲虫の背中の銀色がかった白い光のような、銀白色の星を置いた。こうして描いた地球の青い円のまわりに白い帯を描き、その帯に国の標語「オルデン・イ・プログレッソ、秩序と進歩」と書いたのである。