King Grisly-beard

A great king of a land far away in the East had a daughter who was very beautiful, but so proud, and haughty, and conceited, that none of the princes who came to ask her in marriage was good enough for her, and she only made sport of them.

はるか東方の国の大きな王に娘があった。たいそう美しかったが、あまりに高慢で、横柄で、うぬぼれが強かったので、求婚に来た王子は誰一人として娘に釣り合わず、娘はただ彼らをからかうばかりだった。

Once upon a time the king held a great feast, and asked thither all her suitors; and they all sat in a row, ranged according to their rank--kings, and princes, and dukes, and earls, and counts, and barons, and knights. Then the princess came in, and as she passed by them she had something spiteful to say to every one. The first was too fat: ‘He’s as round as a tub,’ said she. The next was too tall: ‘What a maypole!’ said she. The next was too short: ‘What a dumpling!’ said she. The fourth was too pale, and she called him ‘Wallface.’ The fifth was too red, so she called him ‘Coxcomb.’ The sixth was not straight enough; so she said he was like a green stick, that had been laid to dry over a baker’s oven. And thus she had some joke to crack upon every one: but she laughed more than all at a good king who was there. ‘Look at him,’ said she; ‘his beard is like an old mop; he shall be called Grisly-beard.’ So the king got the nickname of Grisly-beard.

あるとき王は大きな祝宴を催し、娘の求婚者をみな招いた。彼らはみな身分の順に一列に並んで座った——王たち、王子たち、公爵、伯爵、伯、男爵、騎士である。そこへ姫が入って来て、前を通り過ぎながら、一人ひとりに何か意地の悪いことを言った。最初の男は太りすぎだった。「樽のように丸い」と姫は言った。次の男は背が高すぎた。「なんて五月柱!」と姫は言った。次の男は背が低すぎた。「なんて団子!」と姫は言った。四人めは青白すぎたので、姫は「壁っ面」と呼んだ。五人めは赤すぎたので、「とさか」と呼んだ。六人めはまっすぐでなさすぎたので、パン屋の竈の上に置いて乾かした生木のようだと言った。こうして姫は誰に対しても冗談の種を見つけたが、その場にいた一人の善良な王のことをいちばん笑った。「あの人をごらん」と姫は言った。「あの髭は古いモップのよう。もじゃ髭王とお呼びしましょう。」こうしてこの王はもじゃ髭王というあだ名になった。

But the old king was very angry when he saw how his daughter behaved, and how she ill-treated all his guests; and he vowed that, willing or unwilling, she should marry the first man, be he prince or beggar, that came to the door.

けれども年老いた王は、娘の振る舞いと客みなへの仕打ちを見てたいそう怒り、好むと好まざるとにかかわらず、王子であれ物乞いであれ、最初に戸口に来た男と娘を結婚させると誓った。

Two days after there came by a travelling fiddler, who began to play under the window and beg alms; and when the king heard him, he said, ‘Let him come in.’ So they brought in a dirty-looking fellow; and when he had sung before the king and the princess, he begged a boon. Then the king said, ‘You have sung so well, that I will give you my daughter for your wife.’ The princess begged and prayed; but the king said, ‘I have sworn to give you to the first comer, and I will keep my word.’ So words and tears were of no avail; the parson was sent for, and she was married to the fiddler. When this was over the king said, ‘Now get ready to go--you must not stay here--you must travel on with your husband.’

二日後、旅の辻楽師が通りかかって、窓の下で弾き始め、施しを乞うた。王はそれを聞くと言った。「中へ入れよ。」そこで汚らしい身なりの男が連れて来られた。そして王と姫の前で歌うと、男は褒美を乞うた。すると王は言った。「そちはたいそうよく歌った。褒美に娘を妻としてやろう。」姫は泣いて懇願したが、王は言った。「最初に来た者におまえをやると誓ったのだ。約束は守る。」だから言葉も涙も役に立たなかった。牧師が呼ばれ、姫は辻楽師と結婚させられた。それが済むと王は言った。「さあ出かける支度をせよ——ここにいてはならぬ——夫とともに旅立つのだ。」

Then the fiddler went his way, and took her with him, and they soon came to a great wood. ‘Pray,’ said she, ‘whose is this wood?’ ‘It belongs to King Grisly-beard,’ answered he; ‘hadst thou taken him, all had been thine.’ ‘Ah! unlucky wretch that I am!’ sighed she; ‘would that I had married King Grisly-beard!’ Next they came to some fine meadows. ‘Whose are these beautiful green meadows?’ said she. ‘They belong to King Grisly-beard, hadst thou taken him, they had all been thine.’ ‘Ah! unlucky wretch that I am!’ said she; ‘would that I had married King Grisly-beard!’

そこで辻楽師は道を行き、姫を連れて行った。そしてまもなく大きな森に来た。「ねえ」と姫は言った。「この森は誰のものですか?」「もじゃ髭王のものだ」と男は答えた。「あの人と結婚していたら、みなおまえのものだった。」「ああ! なんて不運なわたし!」と姫はため息をついた。「もじゃ髭王と結婚していたらよかった!」次に二人は見事な草原に来た。「この美しい緑の草原は誰のもの?」と姫は言った。「もじゃ髭王のものだ。あの人と結婚していたら、みなおまえのものだった。」「ああ! なんて不運なわたし!」と姫は言った。「もじゃ髭王と結婚していたらよかった!」

Then they came to a great city. ‘Whose is this noble city?’ said she. ‘It belongs to King Grisly-beard; hadst thou taken him, it had all been thine.’ ‘Ah! wretch that I am!’ sighed she; ‘why did I not marry King Grisly-beard?’ ‘That is no business of mine,’ said the fiddler: ‘why should you wish for another husband? Am not I good enough for you?’

それから二人は大きな町に来た。「この立派な町は誰のもの?」と姫は言った。「もじゃ髭王のものだ。あの人と結婚していたら、みなおまえのものだった。」「ああ! なんてわたしは!」と姫はため息をついた。「なぜもじゃ髭王と結婚しなかったのだろう?」「それはおれの知ったことではない」と辻楽師は言った。「なぜほかの夫をほしがる? おれではおまえに釣り合わんのか?」

At last they came to a small cottage. ‘What a paltry place!’ said she; ‘to whom does that little dirty hole belong?’ Then the fiddler said, ‘That is your and my house, where we are to live.’ ‘Where are your servants?’ cried she. ‘What do we want with servants?’ said he; ‘you must do for yourself whatever is to be done. Now make the fire, and put on water and cook my supper, for I am very tired.’ But the princess knew nothing of making fires and cooking, and the fiddler was forced to help her. When they had eaten a very scanty meal they went to bed; but the fiddler called her up very early in the morning to clean the house. Thus they lived for two days: and when they had eaten up all there was in the cottage, the man said, ‘Wife, we can’t go on thus, spending money and earning nothing. You must learn to weave baskets.’ Then he went out and cut willows, and brought them home, and she began to weave; but it made her fingers very sore. ‘I see this work won’t do,’ said he: ‘try and spin; perhaps you will do that better.’ So she sat down and tried to spin; but the threads cut her tender fingers till the blood ran. ‘See now,’ said the fiddler, ‘you are good for nothing; you can do no work: what a bargain I have got! However, I’ll try and set up a trade in pots and pans, and you shall stand in the market and sell them.’ ‘Alas!’ sighed she, ‘if any of my father’s court should pass by and see me standing in the market, how they will laugh at me!’

とうとう二人は小さな小屋に着いた。「なんてみすぼらしい所!」と姫は言った。「あの小さな汚い穴は誰のもの?」すると辻楽師は言った。「あれがおまえとおれの家だ。あそこで暮らすのだ。」「あなたの召使いはどこ?」と姫は叫んだ。「召使いが何の役に立つ?」と男は言った。「やるべきことは何でも自分でやるのだ。さあ火を起こして、水をかけて、おれの夕食をこしらえろ。ひどく疲れているのだ。」けれども姫は火を起こすことも料理することも何も知らず、辻楽師が手伝わねばならなかった。二人はごく乏しい食事をとってから寝床に入ったが、辻楽師は朝たいそう早く姫を起こして家の掃除をさせた。こうして二人は二日暮らした。そして小屋にあるものをみな食べ尽くすと、男は言った。「女房よ、こうしてはいられん。金を使うばかりで何も稼がないのだからな。籠を編むことを覚えねばならん。」そう言って外へ出て柳を刈り、家へ持ち帰り、姫は編み始めた。けれどもそれで指がひどく痛んだ。「この仕事は向かんようだな」と男は言った。「糸紡ぎをやってみろ。そちらの方がうまくいくかもしれん。」そこで姫は座って紡いでみたが、糸が柔らかい指を切って血が流れた。「それ見ろ」と辻楽師は言った。「おまえは何の役にも立たん。何の仕事もできん。とんだ買い物をしたものだ! それでも、鍋釜の商いを始めてみよう。おまえは市に立ってそれを売るのだ。」「ああ!」と姫はため息をついた。「もし父の宮廷の誰かが通りかかって、わたしが市に立っているのを見たら、どんなに笑われることでしょう!」

But her husband did not care for that, and said she must work, if she did not wish to die of hunger. At first the trade went well; for many people, seeing such a beautiful woman, went to buy her wares, and paid their money without thinking of taking away the goods. They lived on this as long as it lasted; and then her husband bought a fresh lot of ware, and she sat herself down with it in the corner of the market; but a drunken soldier soon came by, and rode his horse against her stall, and broke all her goods into a thousand pieces. Then she began to cry, and knew not what to do. ‘Ah! what will become of me?’ said she; ‘what will my husband say?’ So she ran home and told him all. ‘Who would have thought you would have been so silly,’ said he, ‘as to put an earthenware stall in the corner of the market, where everybody passes? but let us have no more crying; I see you are not fit for this sort of work, so I have been to the king’s palace, and asked if they did not want a kitchen-maid; and they say they will take you, and there you will have plenty to eat.’

けれども夫はそんなことは構わず、飢え死にしたくなければ働かねばならんと言った。初めのうち商いはうまくいった。これほど美しい女を見て、多くの人が品を買いに来て、品物を持って行くことも考えずに金を払ったからである。二人はそれが続くあいだそれで暮らした。それから夫は新しい品を仕入れ、姫はそれを持って市の角に座った。ところがまもなく酔った兵隊が通りかかって、馬を姫の店にぶつけ、品物をみな粉々に砕いてしまった。そこで姫は泣き出し、どうしてよいか分からなかった。「ああ! わたしはどうなるのでしょう?」と姫は言った。「夫は何と言うでしょう?」そこで家へ駆け帰って何もかも話した。「誰が思ったろう、おまえがそんなに愚かだとは」と夫は言った。「誰もが通る市の角に瀬戸物の店を出すとはな。だがもう泣くのはよせ。おまえがこの手の仕事に向かんのはよく分かった。そこで王の宮殿へ行って、台所女中が要らないかと聞いてきた。すると雇ってくれると言う。あそこなら食べるものもたっぷりある。」

Thus the princess became a kitchen-maid, and helped the cook to do all the dirtiest work; but she was allowed to carry home some of the meat that was left, and on this they lived.

こうして姫は台所女中になり、料理人を手伝ってどんな汚れ仕事もした。けれども残った肉をいくらか家へ持ち帰ることは許され、二人はそれで暮らした。

She had not been there long before she heard that the king’s eldest son was passing by, going to be married; and she went to one of the windows and looked out. Everything was ready, and all the pomp and brightness of the court was there. Then she bitterly grieved for the pride and folly which had brought her so low. And the servants gave her some of the rich meats, which she put into her basket to take home.

そこに来てまもなく、姫は王の長子が結婚するために通りかかると聞いた。そこで窓の一つへ行って外を眺めた。何もかも支度が整い、宮廷の華やかさと輝きがそこにあった。そのとき姫は、自分をこれほど落ちぶれさせた高慢と愚かさを、苦く嘆いた。そして召使いたちが上等の肉をいくらかくれたので、姫はそれを家へ持ち帰ろうと籠に入れた。

All on a sudden, as she was going out, in came the king’s son in golden clothes; and when he saw a beautiful woman at the door, he took her by the hand, and said she should be his partner in the dance; but she trembled for fear, for she saw that it was King Grisly-beard, who was making sport of her. However, he kept fast hold, and led her in; and the cover of the basket came off, so that the meats in it fell about. Then everybody laughed and jeered at her; and she was so abashed, that she wished herself a thousand feet deep in the earth. She sprang to the door to run away; but on the steps King Grisly-beard overtook her, and brought her back and said, ‘Fear me not! I am the fiddler who has lived with you in the hut. I brought you there because I really loved you. I am also the soldier that overset your stall. I have done all this only to cure you of your silly pride, and to show you the folly of your ill-treatment of me. Now all is over: you have learnt wisdom, and it is time to hold our marriage feast.’

ところが出て行こうとしたちょうどそのとき、黄金の衣をまとった王の息子が入って来た。そして戸口に美しい女を見ると、その手を取って、踊りの相手になってもらおうと言った。けれども姫は恐ろしさに震えた。それがもじゃ髭王で、自分をからかっているのだと分かったからである。それでも王はしっかり手を放さず、姫を中へ導き入れた。すると籠の蓋が外れて、中の肉があたりに落ちた。そこで誰もが姫を笑い、あざけった。姫はあまりの恥ずかしさに、地の底千尺の下へ沈みたいと思った。姫は逃げようと戸口へ跳んだが、階段でもじゃ髭王が追いつき、連れ戻してこう言った。「恐れることはない! わたしはおまえと小屋で暮らしたあの辻楽師だ。あそこへ連れて行ったのは、本当におまえを愛していたからだ。おまえの店をひっくり返した兵隊もわたしだ。これらはみな、おまえの愚かな高慢を治し、わたしへの仕打ちがどれほど愚かだったかを教えるためにしたことだ。さあもう終わりだ。おまえは知恵を学んだ。いまこそ婚礼の宴を開く時だ。」

Then the chamberlains came and brought her the most beautiful robes; and her father and his whole court were there already, and welcomed her home on her marriage. Joy was in every face and every heart. The feast was grand; they danced and sang; all were merry; and I only wish that you and I had been of the party.

そこで侍従たちが来て、この上なく美しい衣裳を運んで来た。そして姫の父と宮廷の者たちもすでにそこにいて、婚礼を迎えた姫を家に迎え入れた。どの顔にも、どの心にも喜びがあった。宴は盛大で、みなは踊り歌い、誰もが浮かれた。願わくは、あなたとわたしもその仲間にいたかったものだ。