The Dog and the Sparrow

A shepherd’s dog had a master who took no care of him, but often let him suffer the greatest hunger. At last he could bear it no longer; so he took to his heels, and off he ran in a very sad and sorrowful mood. On the road he met a sparrow that said to him, ‘Why are you so sad, my friend?’ ‘Because,’ said the dog, ‘I am very very hungry, and have nothing to eat.’ ‘If that be all,’ answered the sparrow, ‘come with me into the next town, and I will soon find you plenty of food.’ So on they went together into the town: and as they passed by a butcher’s shop, the sparrow said to the dog, ‘Stand there a little while till I peck you down a piece of meat.’ So the sparrow perched upon the shelf: and having first looked carefully about her to see if anyone was watching her, she pecked and scratched at a steak that lay upon the edge of the shelf, till at last down it fell. Then the dog snapped it up, and scrambled away with it into a corner, where he soon ate it all up. ‘Well,’ said the sparrow, ‘you shall have some more if you will; so come with me to the next shop, and I will peck you down another steak.’ When the dog had eaten this too, the sparrow said to him, ‘Well, my good friend, have you had enough now?’ ‘I have had plenty of meat,’ answered he, ‘but I should like to have a piece of bread to eat after it.’ ‘Come with me then,’ said the sparrow, ‘and you shall soon have that too.’ So she took him to a baker’s shop, and pecked at two rolls that lay in the window, till they fell down: and as the dog still wished for more, she took him to another shop and pecked down some more for him. When that was eaten, the sparrow asked him whether he had had enough now. ‘Yes,’ said he; ‘and now let us take a walk a little way out of the town.’ So they both went out upon the high road; but as the weather was warm, they had not gone far before the dog said, ‘I am very much tired--I should like to take a nap.’ ‘Very well,’ answered the sparrow, ‘do so, and in the meantime I will perch upon that bush.’ So the dog stretched himself out on the road, and fell fast asleep. Whilst he slept, there came by a carter with a cart drawn by three horses, and loaded with two casks of wine. The sparrow, seeing that the carter did not turn out of the way, but would go on in the track in which the dog lay, so as to drive over him, called out, ‘Stop! stop! Mr Carter, or it shall be the worse for you.’ But the carter, grumbling to himself, ‘You make it the worse for me, indeed! what can you do?’ cracked his whip, and drove his cart over the poor dog, so that the wheels crushed him to death. ‘There,’ cried the sparrow, ‘thou cruel villain, thou hast killed my friend the dog. Now mind what I say. This deed of thine shall cost thee all thou art worth.’ ‘Do your worst, and welcome,’ said the brute, ‘what harm can you do me?’ and passed on. But the sparrow crept under the tilt of the cart, and pecked at the bung of one of the casks till she loosened it; and then all the wine ran out, without the carter seeing it. At last he looked round, and saw that the cart was dripping, and the cask quite empty. ‘What an unlucky wretch I am!’ cried he. ‘Not wretch enough yet!’ said the sparrow, as she alighted upon the head of one of the horses, and pecked at him till he reared up and kicked. When the carter saw this, he drew out his hatchet and aimed a blow at the sparrow, meaning to kill her; but she flew away, and the blow fell upon the poor horse’s head with such force, that he fell down dead. ‘Unlucky wretch that I am!’ cried he. ‘Not wretch enough yet!’ said the sparrow. And as the carter went on with the other two horses, she again crept under the tilt of the cart, and pecked out the bung of the second cask, so that all the wine ran out. When the carter saw this, he again cried out, ‘Miserable wretch that I am!’ But the sparrow answered, ‘Not wretch enough yet!’ and perched on the head of the second horse, and pecked at him too. The carter ran up and struck at her again with his hatchet; but away she flew, and the blow fell upon the second horse and killed him on the spot. ‘Unlucky wretch that I am!’ said he. ‘Not wretch enough yet!’ said the sparrow; and perching upon the third horse, she began to peck him too. The carter was mad with fury; and without looking about him, or caring what he was about, struck again at the sparrow; but killed his third horse as he done the other two. ‘Alas! miserable wretch that I am!’ cried he. ‘Not wretch enough yet!’ answered the sparrow as she flew away; ‘now will I plague and punish thee at thy own house.’ The carter was forced at last to leave his cart behind him, and to go home overflowing with rage and vexation. ‘Alas!’ said he to his wife, ‘what ill luck has befallen me!--my wine is all spilt, and my horses all three dead.’ ‘Alas! husband,’ replied she, ‘and a wicked bird has come into the house, and has brought with her all the birds in the world, I am sure, and they have fallen upon our corn in the loft, and are eating it up at such a rate!’ Away ran the husband upstairs, and saw thousands of birds sitting upon the floor eating up his corn, with the sparrow in the midst of them. ‘Unlucky wretch that I am!’ cried the carter; for he saw that the corn was almost all gone. ‘Not wretch enough yet!’ said the sparrow; ‘thy cruelty shall cost thee thy life yet!’ and away she flew.

ある羊飼いの犬の主人は、犬の世話をせず、たびたびひどい飢えに苦しませていた。とうとう犬は我慢できなくなり、逃げ出して、たいそう悲しく沈んだ気持ちで走っていった。道で一羽の雀に出会い、雀は言った。「どうしてそんなに悲しそうなの、お友だち」「それは」と犬は言った。「ひどく腹が減っているのに、食べるものが何もないからさ」「それだけなら」と雀は答えた。「わたしと隣の町へおいで。すぐにたっぷり食べものを見つけてあげる」そこで二匹は連れ立って町へ入り、肉屋の店のそばを通ると、雀は犬に言った。「そこで少し待っていて。肉をひと切れつついて落としてあげるから」そう言って雀は棚にとまり、まず誰も見ていないか注意深く見まわしてから、棚の端に置いてある一枚の肉をつつき引っ掻いて、とうとう落とした。そこで犬はそれをくわえて隅へ駆け込み、たちまち食べつくした。「さて」と雀は言った。「まだほしければもっとあげる。次の店へおいで。もう一枚つついて落としてあげる」犬がそれも食べると、雀は言った。「お友だち、もう十分かしら」「肉はたっぷり食べた」と犬は答えた。「でも、そのあとにパンをひと切れ食べたいな」「では一緒においで」と雀は言った。「それもすぐ手に入るわ」そこで雀は犬をパン屋の店へ連れていき、窓に置いてあった丸パン二つを落ちるまでつついた。そして犬がまだほしがるので、別の店へ連れていってもっと落としてやった。それも食べ終えると、雀はもう十分かと尋ねた。「ああ」と犬は言った。「では少し町の外を歩こう」そこで二匹は街道へ出た。だが暖かい日だったので、いくらも行かないうちに犬が言った。「すっかり疲れた。ひと眠りしたい」「いいわ」と雀は答えた。「そうなさい。そのあいだわたしはあの茂みにとまっているから」そこで犬は道に体を伸ばしてぐっすり眠り込んだ。犬が眠っているあいだに、馬を三頭立てた荷車が通りかかった。葡萄酒の樽を二つ積んでいた。雀は、馬方がよけようとせず、犬の寝ている轍をそのまま進んで轢き殺そうとしているのを見て、叫んだ。「止まって、止まって、馬方さん。さもないとあなたのためになりませんよ」だが馬方は「おまえがおれのためにならん、だと。何ができる」とぶつぶつ言いながら鞭を鳴らし、哀れな犬の上に荷車を走らせたので、車輪は犬を轢き殺してしまった。「さあ」と雀は叫んだ。「この残酷な悪党め、おまえはわたしの友の犬を殺した。よく聞きなさい。このおこないは、おまえの持ち物すべてを代価にすることになる」「好きにやれ、どうぞご勝手に」とこの畜生は言った。「おまえにどんな害が加えられる」そして先へ進んだ。だが雀は荷車の覆いの下に潜り込み、樽の一つの栓を、緩むまでつついた。すると葡萄酒がすっかり流れ出したが、馬方は気づかなかった。とうとう彼は振り返って、荷車から滴っていて樽がすっかり空になっているのを見た。「おれはなんて不運なみじめ者だ」と彼は叫んだ。「まだ十分みじめじゃない」と雀は言い、一頭の馬の頭にとまってつつきはじめたので、馬は棹立ちになって蹴った。馬方はそれを見て手斧を抜き、雀を殺そうと打ちかかったが、雀は飛び去り、一撃は哀れな馬の頭に激しく当たって、馬は倒れて死んだ。「おれはなんて不運なみじめ者だ」と彼は叫んだ。「まだ十分みじめじゃない」と雀は言った。そして馬方が残り二頭で進みはじめると、雀はまた荷車の覆いの下に潜り込み、二つ目の樽の栓をつついて外したので、葡萄酒がすっかり流れ出した。馬方はそれを見てまた叫んだ。「おれはなんてみじめな者だ」だが雀は答えた。「まだ十分みじめじゃない」そして二頭目の馬の頭にとまって、それもつつきはじめた。馬方は駆け寄ってまた手斧で打ちかかったが、雀は飛び去り、一撃は二頭目の馬に当たってその場で殺してしまった。「おれはなんて不運なみじめ者だ」と彼は言った。「まだ十分みじめじゃない」と雀は言い、三頭目の馬にとまって、それもつつきはじめた。馬方は怒り狂って、あたりも見ず、何をしているかも構わずまた雀に打ちかかったが、ほかの二頭と同じように三頭目の馬を殺してしまった。「ああ、おれはなんてみじめな者だ」と彼は叫んだ。「まだ十分みじめじゃない」と雀は飛び去りながら答えた。「これからおまえの家で、おまえを苦しめて罰してやる」馬方はとうとう荷車を置いていくほかなく、怒りと苛立ちに満ちて家へ帰った。「ああ」と彼は妻に言った。「なんという不運がおれに降りかかったことか。葡萄酒はすっかりこぼれ、馬は三頭とも死んだ」「ああ、あなた」と妻は答えた。「悪い鳥が家に入ってきて、世界じゅうの鳥をみんな連れてきたにちがいありません。屋根裏のわたしたちの麦に襲いかかって、すごい勢いで食べているのです」夫は駆け上がって、何千もの鳥が床にとまって麦を食べつくしていて、そのまんなかに雀がいるのを見た。「おれはなんて不運なみじめ者だ」と馬方は叫んだ。麦がほとんどなくなっているのを見たからである。「まだ十分みじめじゃない」と雀は言った。「おまえの残酷さは、まだおまえの命を代価にする」そして飛び去った。

The carter seeing that he had thus lost all that he had, went down into his kitchen; and was still not sorry for what he had done, but sat himself angrily and sulkily in the chimney corner. But the sparrow sat on the outside of the window, and cried ‘Carter! thy cruelty shall cost thee thy life!’ With that he jumped up in a rage, seized his hatchet, and threw it at the sparrow; but it missed her, and only broke the window. The sparrow now hopped in, perched upon the window-seat, and cried, ‘Carter! it shall cost thee thy life!’ Then he became mad and blind with rage, and struck the window-seat with such force that he cleft it in two: and as the sparrow flew from place to place, the carter and his wife were so furious, that they broke all their furniture, glasses, chairs, benches, the table, and at last the walls, without touching the bird at all. In the end, however, they caught her: and the wife said, ‘Shall I kill her at once?’ ‘No,’ cried he, ‘that is letting her off too easily: she shall die a much more cruel death; I will eat her.’ But the sparrow began to flutter about, and stretch out her neck and cried, ‘Carter! it shall cost thee thy life yet!’ With that he could wait no longer: so he gave his wife the hatchet, and cried, ‘Wife, strike at the bird and kill her in my hand.’ And the wife struck; but she missed her aim, and hit her husband on the head so that he fell down dead, and the sparrow flew quietly home to her nest.

馬方は持っていたものをすべて失ったのを見て、台所へ下りていった。それでも自分のしたことを悔いず、腹を立てて不機嫌に煙突の隅に座り込んだ。だが雀は窓の外にとまって叫んだ。「馬方、おまえの残酷さはおまえの命を代価にする」そこで彼は怒って跳び上がり、手斧をつかんで雀に投げつけたが外れ、窓を割っただけだった。すると雀は跳び込んできて窓台にとまり、叫んだ。「馬方、おまえの命を代価にする」そこで彼は怒りに狂い目もくらんで、窓台をあまりに強く打ったので二つに割れてしまった。そして雀が場所から場所へ飛び移ると、馬方と妻は怒り狂って、家具も硝子も椅子も腰掛けも机も、とうとう壁まで壊してしまったが、鳥にはまるで触れられなかった。だがしまいに二人は雀を捕まえた。そして妻が言った。「すぐ殺しましょうか」「いや」と彼は叫んだ。「それでは易々と逃がしてやることになる。もっとむごい死に方をさせてやる。食ってやる」だが雀はばたばたと羽ばたき、首を伸ばして叫んだ。「馬方、やっぱりおまえの命を代価にする」そこで彼はもう待てなくなり、妻に手斧を渡して叫んだ。「おい、この鳥を叩け、おれの手のなかで殺せ」そして妻は打ち下ろしたが、狙いを外して夫の頭に当ててしまい、夫は倒れて死んだ。そして雀は静かに自分の巣へ飛んで帰った。