Old Sultan

A shepherd had a faithful dog, called Sultan, who was grown very old, and had lost all his teeth. And one day when the shepherd and his wife were standing together before the house the shepherd said, ‘I will shoot old Sultan tomorrow morning, for he is of no use now.’ But his wife said, ‘Pray let the poor faithful creature live; he has served us well a great many years, and we ought to give him a livelihood for the rest of his days.’ ‘But what can we do with him?’ said the shepherd, ‘he has not a tooth in his head, and the thieves don’t care for him at all; to be sure he has served us, but then he did it to earn his livelihood; tomorrow shall be his last day, depend upon it.’

ある羊飼いに、ズルタンという名の忠実な犬がいた。犬はたいそう年を取って、歯がすっかり抜け落ちていた。そしてある日、羊飼いと妻が家の前に並んで立っているとき、羊飼いは言った。「明日の朝、年寄りのズルタンを撃ち殺そう。もう役に立たないからな」だが妻は言った。「どうかあの忠実な生きものを生かしておいてやってください。長年よく仕えてくれたのだから、残りの日々の暮らしを与えてやるべきです」「だが、あれをどうしろというんだ」と羊飼いは言った。「口に歯が一本もないし、泥棒だってあれなど気にもかけない。たしかによく仕えてくれたが、それは自分の暮らしを稼ぐためだ。明日があれの最後の日だ、そう決めた」

Poor Sultan, who was lying close by them, heard all that the shepherd and his wife said to one another, and was very much frightened to think tomorrow would be his last day; so in the evening he went to his good friend the wolf, who lived in the wood, and told him all his sorrows, and how his master meant to kill him in the morning. ‘Make yourself easy,’ said the wolf, ‘I will give you some good advice. Your master, you know, goes out every morning very early with his wife into the field; and they take their little child with them, and lay it down behind the hedge in the shade while they are at work. Now do you lie down close by the child, and pretend to be watching it, and I will come out of the wood and run away with it; you must run after me as fast as you can, and I will let it drop; then you may carry it back, and they will think you have saved their child, and will be so thankful to you that they will take care of you as long as you live.’ The dog liked this plan very well; and accordingly so it was managed. The wolf ran with the child a little way; the shepherd and his wife screamed out; but Sultan soon overtook him, and carried the poor little thing back to his master and mistress. Then the shepherd patted him on the head, and said, ‘Old Sultan has saved our child from the wolf, and therefore he shall live and be well taken care of, and have plenty to eat. Wife, go home, and give him a good dinner, and let him have my old cushion to sleep on as long as he lives.’ So from this time forward Sultan had all that he could wish for.

そのすぐそばに寝ていた哀れなズルタンは、羊飼いと妻が話すのをすべて聞いて、明日が自分の最後の日だと思ってひどく怯えた。そこで夕方、森に住む善良な友の狼のところへ行き、嘆きをすべて話して、主人が朝に自分を殺すつもりだと語った。「安心しろ」と狼は言った。「よい知恵を授けよう。おまえの主人は、知ってのとおり、毎朝たいそう早く妻と畑へ出かける。そして小さな子を連れていって、仕事のあいだ垣根の陰の日かげに寝かせておく。そこでおまえはその子のすぐそばに寝て、見張っているふりをしろ。わたしが森から出ていって子をさらって走る。おまえはできるだけ速く追いかけてこい。わたしは子を落とす。そうしたらおまえが連れ帰れば、主人夫婦はおまえが子を救ったと思って、たいそう感謝して、生きているかぎり面倒を見てくれるだろう」犬はこの計画がたいそう気に入り、そのとおりに運ばれた。狼は子を抱えて少し走り、羊飼いと妻は悲鳴をあげたが、ズルタンはすぐに追いついて、この哀れな幼子を主人と女主人のところへ連れ帰った。そこで羊飼いは犬の頭をなでて言った。「年寄りのズルタンが狼からわたしたちの子を救ってくれた。だからこいつは生かして、よく面倒を見て、たっぷり食べさせてやろう。おまえ、家に帰ってよいごちそうをやり、生きているかぎりわたしの古い座布団で寝かせてやれ」こうしてこの時から、ズルタンは望みうるものをすべて得た。

Soon afterwards the wolf came and wished him joy, and said, ‘Now, my good fellow, you must tell no tales, but turn your head the other way when I want to taste one of the old shepherd’s fine fat sheep.’ ‘No,’ said the Sultan; ‘I will be true to my master.’ However, the wolf thought he was in joke, and came one night to get a dainty morsel. But Sultan had told his master what the wolf meant to do; so he laid wait for him behind the barn door, and when the wolf was busy looking out for a good fat sheep, he had a stout cudgel laid about his back, that combed his locks for him finely.

まもなく狼がやってきて祝いを言い、こう言った。「さあ相棒、おまえは何も言わずに、わたしがあの年寄り羊飼いの肥えたよい羊を一頭味わいたいときには、よそを向いていてくれよ」「いや」とズルタンは言った。「わたしは主人に忠実でいる」だが狼は冗談だと思って、ある晩、うまいひと口をいただこうとやってきた。ところがズルタンは主人に、狼のたくらみを話しておいた。そこで主人は納屋の戸の陰で待ち伏せし、狼が肥えたよい羊を物色するのに夢中になっているとき、頑丈な棍棒で背中をさんざん打ちすえ、その髪を見事に梳いてやった。

Then the wolf was very angry, and called Sultan ‘an old rogue,’ and swore he would have his revenge. So the next morning the wolf sent the boar to challenge Sultan to come into the wood to fight the matter. Now Sultan had nobody he could ask to be his second but the shepherd’s old three-legged cat; so he took her with him, and as the poor thing limped along with some trouble, she stuck up her tail straight in the air.

そこで狼はたいそう腹を立て、ズルタンを「年寄りの悪党」と罵り、仕返しをしてやると誓った。そこで翌朝、狼は猪を遣わして、決着をつけに森へ来いとズルタンに挑ませた。さてズルタンには介添えを頼める者が、羊飼いの年寄りの三本脚の猫しかいなかった。そこで彼は猫を連れていったが、この哀れな猫は苦労して跛を引いて歩きながら、尾をぴんと空に立てていた。

The wolf and the wild boar were first on the ground; and when they espied their enemies coming, and saw the cat’s long tail standing straight in the air, they thought she was carrying a sword for Sultan to fight with; and every time she limped, they thought she was picking up a stone to throw at them; so they said they should not like this way of fighting, and the boar lay down behind a bush, and the wolf jumped up into a tree. Sultan and the cat soon came up, and looked about and wondered that no one was there. The boar, however, had not quite hidden himself, for his ears stuck out of the bush; and when he shook one of them a little, the cat, seeing something move, and thinking it was a mouse, sprang upon it, and bit and scratched it, so that the boar jumped up and grunted, and ran away, roaring out, ‘Look up in the tree, there sits the one who is to blame.’ So they looked up, and espied the wolf sitting amongst the branches; and they called him a cowardly rascal, and would not suffer him to come down till he was heartily ashamed of himself, and had promised to be good friends again with old Sultan.

狼と猪が先に現場に着いた。そして敵が来るのを見つけ、猫の長い尾がぴんと空に立っているのを見ると、二匹は、猫がズルタンの戦う剣を運んでいるのだと思った。そして猫が跛を引くたびに、投げつける石を拾っているのだと思った。そこで二匹はこんな戦い方は嫌だと言い、猪は茂みの陰に伏せ、狼は木の上へ跳び上がった。ズルタンと猫はまもなくやってきて、あたりを見まわし、誰もいないのを不思議がった。だが猪はすっかり隠れきれておらず、耳が茂みから突き出ていた。そしてその片方を少し動かすと、猫は何かが動くのを見て鼠だと思い、跳びかかって噛みつき引っ掻いた。そこで猪は跳び上がってうなり、逃げ出しながらわめいた。「木の上を見ろ、悪いのはあそこに座っているやつだ」そこで二匹が見上げると、枝のあいだに狼が座っていた。そこで二匹は狼を臆病な悪党と呼び、狼が心から恥じ入って、年寄りのズルタンとまた仲よくすると約束するまで、下りてくることを許さなかった。