King Robin

There was once a little boy called Sigli, who, I am sorry to say, took great pleasure in catching and killing little birds. His father was a notorious robber, so it was not surprising that Sigli gave way to acts of cruelty. His mother died when he was little more than a year old, and he did not know any other relation. In the north of Portugal, bands of robbers used to frequent the roads, and some of them lived in strong castles, and had a large retinue of followers. In time of war these robber-chiefs would side with the king’s party, because after the war was over they received large grants of land for the assistance they had rendered the sovereign. Sometimes when the neighbouring kings of Spain invaded Portugal, these robbers proved of great advantage in repelling the invaders; but in following up their victories they would despoil all the churches in the enemy’s country of the gold and silver idols, which the priests had caused to be made in order to get the ignorant peasantry to make offerings of money, corn, and oil, in exchange for which the priests, in the name of the idols, offered all those who gave, pardon of their sins.

むかし、シグリという名の小さな男の子がいた。残念なことに、この子は小鳥を捕まえては殺すのをたいそう楽しみにしていた。父親は名うての盗賊だったから、シグリが残酷な振る舞いに走ったのも不思議ではなかった。母親はシグリがまだ一歳を少し過ぎたころに死に、ほかに身寄りがあることも知らなかった。ポルトガルの北部では盗賊の一団が街道に出没し、そのうちのある者たちは堅固な城に住んで、大勢の手下を従えていた。戦のときには、こうした盗賊の頭たちは王の側についた。戦が終われば、君主を助けた褒美として広い土地を与えられたからである。隣国スペインの王たちがポルトガルに攻め入ったときには、この盗賊たちは侵略者を撃退するのに大いに役立った。ところが勝ちに乗じて追撃すると、彼らは敵国の教会という教会から、金や銀の偶像を奪い去った。その偶像は、無知な農民に金や穀物や油を供えさせるために司祭たちが作らせたもので、司祭たちはその見返りに、偶像の名において、供えた者すべてに罪の赦しを与えていたのである。

Now, Sigli’s father had on many occasions robbed gold and silver idols, and had murdered a few brethren of the Holy Inquisition, who, in their turn, were well known for the wicked deeds they had committed, such as burning Christian men and women who did not, and could not, profess the popish faith. But in course of time the Jesuits, for so they were called, made common cause against these robbers, and either put them to death, or obliged them to leave off robbing churches and take to cheating the peasantry.

さて、シグリの父親は幾度も金や銀の偶像を盗み、異端審問の修道士を幾人か殺したこともあった。その修道士たちもまた、教皇の信仰を奉じない、また奉じることのできないキリスト教徒の男女を火あぶりにするなど、悪行で名を知られた者たちであった。しかしやがて、イエズス会士と呼ばれた者たちがこれらの盗賊に対して手を組み、盗賊を死に至らしめるか、教会荒らしをやめさせて、代わりに農民を騙すほうへ転じさせた。

Sigli, as I said before, was a very cruel boy, and he was the terror of all the birds and beasts. He would lay traps for them, and when he had caught them he would take pleasure in tormenting them, which clearly proved that he was not a Christian, nor possessed of any refinement. But he took more pleasure in catching Robin-redbreasts than in anything else, and for this purpose he used bird-lime. He had caught and killed so many that at last King Robin of Birdland issued invitations to all his feathered subjects and to the beasts of the field, asking them to a meeting at which they might discuss the best means of putting Sigli to death, or punishing him in some other way, for the cruelty of which he was guilty towards them.

シグリは、前にも言ったように、たいそう残酷な子で、鳥という鳥、獣という獣に恐れられていた。罠を仕掛けては、捕らえたものを苛むのを楽しみにしていた。それは、この子がキリスト教徒でもなく、何の嗜みも持たないことをはっきり示していた。しかし何よりも楽しみにしていたのはコマドリを捕まえることで、そのために鳥もちを使った。あまりにたくさん捕まえて殺したので、とうとう鳥の国のコマドリ王は、羽根ある臣民すべてと野の獣たちに招待状を出し、会議を開くことにした。シグリが彼らに対して犯した残虐の報いとして、シグリを死に至らしめるか、何か別の方法で罰する最善の手立てを話し合おうというのである。

Among the many who accepted the invitation was an old fox, the first of the Reynards, and when it came to his turn to speak, he said that as Sigli was so fond of catching redbreasts with bird-lime, he (Mr. Reynard) would propose catching Sigli in the same manner; and when caught they might discuss how they should punish him, either by pecking and biting him, or by getting the wolves to eat him. In order to carry out this idea, he suggested that the monkeys should be asked to prepare the bird-lime, which they might use with safety by oiling their hands, and then gradually make a man of bird-lime close to the robber chief’s castle. Sigli would probably take it for some poor man, and hit it, and then he would not be able to get away.

招きに応じた多くの者の中に、ルナール一族の祖である年老いた狐がいた。狐は自分の番が来るとこう言った。シグリが鳥もちでコマドリを捕まえるのがそれほど好きなのだから、自分(狐どの)としては、シグリを同じやり方で捕まえることを提案する。捕まえたら、つついたり噛んだりして罰するか、狼に食わせるか、それを話し合えばよい、と。この考えを実行するために、狐は、猿たちに鳥もちをこしらえてもらうことを提案した。猿なら手に油を塗れば安全に扱える。そうして盗賊の頭の城のすぐそばに、少しずつ鳥もちで人の形をこしらえる。シグリはきっとそれを貧しい男だと思って殴りかかり、そうなれば離れられなくなるだろう、と。

This idea was accepted by all in general, and by Mrs. Queen Bee in particular, who owed Sigli and his father a grudge for destroying her hive; and the monkeys cheerfully set to work, while King Robin watched the putting together of the figure, and was very useful in giving it most of the artistic merit it possessed when finished. The making took one whole night, and next morning, almost opposite the castle, stood the bird-lime figure about the size of a man.

この考えは一同に受け入れられ、とりわけ、シグリとその父に巣を壊されて恨みを抱いていた女王蜂どのに受け入れられた。猿たちは喜んで仕事にかかり、コマドリ王は人形の組み立てを見守って、出来上がったときに備えていた芸術的な値打ちの大半を与えるのにたいそう役立った。こしらえるのに一晩まるまるかかり、翌朝、城のほぼ真向かいに、人の大きさほどの鳥もちの人形が立っていた。

Sigli, seeing it from his dressing-room window, and taking it for a beggar, was so enraged that he ran out without his shoes and stockings, and, without waiting to look at the man, he struck at him with his right hand so that it stuck firmly to the figure.

シグリは化粧部屋の窓からそれを見て、乞食だと思い込み、あまりに腹を立てたので、靴も靴下もはかずに駆け出した。そして相手をよく見もせずに右手で殴りかかったので、その手は人形にしっかりくっついてしまった。

“Let go,” he cried, “or I will kick you!” And as the figure did not let go he kicked it, so that his foot was glued. “Let go my foot,” he cried out, “or I will kick you with the other;” and, doing so, both his legs were glued to it. Then he knocked up against the figure, and the more he did so the more firmly he was glued.

「放せ」とシグリは叫んだ。「さもないと蹴るぞ!」人形が放さないので蹴りつけると、足がくっついてしまった。「足を放せ」と彼は叫んだ。「さもないともう片方で蹴るぞ」そうして蹴ると、両足とも人形にくっついてしまった。それから人形に体ごとぶつかったが、ぶつかればぶつかるほど、ますますしっかりくっついた。

Then his father, hearing his cries, rushed out, and said—

すると、その叫び声を聞いた父親が駆け出してきて、言った——

“Oh, you bad man! I will squeeze you to death for hurting my dear Sigli!”

「この悪党め! 可愛いシグリを痛めつけるとは、締め殺してやる!」

No sooner said than done, and the robber chief was glued on to the bird-lime figure.

言うが早いか、盗賊の頭も鳥もちの人形にくっついてしまった。

The screams of the two attracted the attention of the servants, who, seeing their robber master, as they thought, murdering his little boy, ran away and never came back again.

二人の悲鳴に召使いたちが気づいたが、盗賊の主人が——と彼らは思った——小さな息子を殺そうとしているのを見て逃げ出し、二度と戻らなかった。

King Robin was now master of the situation, and he directed ten thousand bees under General Bumble, and another ten thousand wasps under Colonel Hornet, to fall on the robber and cruel Sigli and sting them to death. But this was hardly necessary, as the wriggling of their bodies so fixed them to the figure that they died of suffocation.

いまやコマドリ王はこの場の主であった。王は、マルハナバチ将軍の率いる一万の蜂と、スズメバチ大佐の率いるもう一万のジガバチに、盗賊と残酷なシグリに襲いかかって刺し殺すよう命じた。しかしそれにはほとんど及ばなかった。二人は身をよじるほど人形にくっついてしまい、息が詰まって死んでしまったからである。

Then King Robin ordered the wolves to dig a large grave, into which the monkeys rolled Sigli, his father, and the bird-lime figure; and after covering it up, they all took charge of the castle, and lived there for many years undisturbed, acknowledging King Robin as their king; and if the Jesuits did not turn them out, I am certain they are still there.

それからコマドリ王は狼たちに大きな墓穴を掘らせ、猿たちがシグリとその父と鳥もちの人形をそこへ転がし入れた。そして土をかぶせたのち、一同は城を預かって、コマドリ王を自分たちの王と仰ぎながら、幾年も邪魔されずにそこで暮らした。もしイエズス会士たちに追い出されていなければ、きっといまもそこにいることだろう。