The man who took a Vixen to wife

There was once a man who wished to have a wife unlike all other wives, and so he caught a little fox, a vixen, and took it home to his tent.

むかし、ほかのどんな妻とも違う妻を欲しがる男がいた。そこで男は小さな狐、雌狐をつかまえて、自分の天幕へ連れて帰った。

One day when he had been out hunting, he was surprised to find on his return that his little fox-wife had become a real woman. She had a lovely top-knot, made of that which had been her tail. And she had taken off the furry skin. And when he saw her thus, he thought her very beautiful indeed.

ある日、狩りに出て帰ってくると、男は小さな狐の妻がほんとうの女になっているのを見て驚いた。女は、もとは尻尾だったもので、きれいな髷を結っていた。そして毛皮を脱いでいた。そんな姿を見ると、男は女をほんとうにたいそう美しいと思った。

Now she began to talk about journeyings, and how greatly she desired to see other people. And so they went off, and came to a place and settled down there.

さて、女は旅のことを話しはじめ、ほかの人たちに会いたくてたまらないと言った。そこで二人は出かけていって、ある土地に来て、そこに住みついた。

One of the men there had taken a little hare to wife. And now these two men thought it would be a pleasant thing to change wives. And so they did.

そこの男の一人は小さな野ウサギを妻にしていた。そしてこの二人の男は、妻を取り替えたら楽しかろうと考えた。そしてそのとおりにした。

But the man who had borrowed the little vixen wife began to feel scorn of her after he had lived with her a little while. She had a foxy smell, and did not taste nice.

ところが小さな雌狐の妻を借りた男は、しばらく一緒に暮らすと女をさげすむようになった。女は狐くさいにおいがして、味もよくなかったのである。

But when the little vixen noticed this she was very angry, for it was her great desire to be well thought of by the men. So she knocked out the lamp with her tail, dashed out of the house, and fled away far up into the hills.

けれども小さな雌狐はこれに気づくとたいそう怒った。男たちによく思われたいというのが女のいちばんの望みだったからである。そこで女は尻尾でランプを叩き消し、家から飛び出して、ずっと丘の奥へ逃げていった。

Up in the hills she met a worm, and stayed with him.

丘の奥で女は一匹の虫に出会い、その虫のもとにとどまった。

But her husband, who was very fond of her, went out in search of her. And at last, after a long time, he found her living with the worm, who had taken human form.

けれども女をたいそう好いていた夫は、女を探しに出かけた。そして長いことたってとうとう、人間の姿になった虫と暮らしている女を見つけた。

But now it was revealed that this worm was the man's old enemy. For he had once, long before, burned a worm, and it was the soul of that worm which had now taken human form. He could even see the marks of burning in its face.

ところがここで、この虫が男の昔の敵だということがわかった。男はずっと前に一匹の虫を焼いたことがあって、今人間の姿になっているのはその虫の魂だったのである。男にはその顔に焼けた跡まで見えた。

Now the worm challenged the man to pull arms, and they wrestled. But the man found the worm very easy to master, and soon he won. After that he went out, no longer caring for his wife at all. And he wandered far, and came to the shore-dwellers. They had their houses on the shore, just by high-water mark.

さて、虫は男に腕の引き合いを挑み、二人は取っ組み合った。けれども男には虫はたいそうたやすく負かせる相手で、まもなく男が勝った。そのあと男は、もう妻のことなど少しもかまわずに出ていった。そして遠くまでさまよって、浜に住む者たちのところへ来た。彼らは浜の、満ち潮の届くすぐそばに家を建てていた。

Their houses were quite small, and the people themselves were dwarfs, who called the eider duck walrus. But they looked just like men, and were not in the least dangerous. We never see such folk nowadays, but our forefathers have told us about them, for they knew them.

彼らの家はたいそう小さく、住む人々自身も小人で、ケワタガモのことをセイウチと呼んでいた。けれども見た目はまったく人間と同じで、少しも危なくはなかった。今ではそんな人々を見ることはないが、わたしたちの祖先はその人々を知っていたので、わたしたちに語り伝えてくれたのである。

And now when the man saw their house, which was roofed with stones, he went inside. But first he had to make himself quite small, though this of course was an easy matter for him, great wizard as he was.

さて、男は石で屋根を葺いた彼らの家を見ると、なかへ入った。けれどもその前に、自分の体をうんと小さくしなければならなかった。もっとも、偉大な魔法使いである男にとって、それはもちろんたやすいことだった。

As soon as he came in, they brought out meat to set before him. There was the whole fore-flipper of a mighty walrus. That is to say, it was really nothing more than the wing of an eider duck. And they fell to upon this and ate. But they did not eat it all up.

男がなかに入るやいなや、人々は男の前に肉を出してきた。それは巨大なセイウチの前ひれまるごとだった。つまり、ほんとうはケワタガモの翼にすぎなかったのである。そして人々はそれに取りかかって食べた。けれども食べ尽くしはしなかった。

After he had stayed with these people some time he went back to his house. And I have no more to tell of him.

男はこの人々のもとにしばらくとどまったあと、自分の家へ帰った。そしてわたしには、男についてこれ以上話すことはない。