The man who stabbed his wife in the leg

There was once a man whose name was Neruvkâq, and his wife was named Navaránâ, and she was of the tunerssuit, the inland-dwellers. She had many brothers, and was herself their only sister. And they lived at Natsivilik, the place where there is a great stone on which men lay out meat.

むかし、ネルヴカークという名の男がいて、その妻はナヴァラナーといい、トゥネルスイト、つまり内陸に住む者の一人だった。女には大勢の兄弟がいて、女自身はそのたった一人の姉妹だった。そして二人はナツィヴィリクに住んでいた。そこは人が肉を並べる大きな石のある場所である。

But Neruvkâq was cruel to his wife; he would stab her in the leg with an awl, and when the point reached her shinbone, she would snivel with pain.

けれどもネルヴカークは妻にむごく当たった。錐で妻の脚を刺し、その先が脛の骨に届くと、妻は痛さにすすり泣くのだった。

"Do not touch me; I have many brothers," she said to her husband.

「わたしにさわらないで。わたしには兄弟が大勢いるのよ」と妻は夫に言った。

And as he did not cease from ill-treating her, she ran away to those brothers at last. And they were of the tunerssuit, the inland-dwellers.

それでも夫がひどい仕打ちをやめなかったので、妻はとうとう兄弟たちのところへ逃げていった。そして兄弟たちはトゥネルスイト、つまり内陸に住む者だった。

Now all these many brothers moved down to Natsivilik, and when they reached the place, they sprang upon the roof of Neruvkâq's house and began to trample on it. One of them thrust his foot through the roof, and Neruvkâq's brother cut it off at the joint.

さて、この大勢の兄弟たちはみなナツィヴィリクへ下ってきて、その地に着くと、ネルヴカークの家の屋根に飛び乗って踏み鳴らしはじめた。一人が足で屋根を踏み抜いたので、ネルヴカークの兄弟がその足を関節のところで切り落とした。

"He has cut off my leg," they heard him say. And then he hopped about on one leg until all the blood was gone from him and he died.

「あいつにおれの脚を切られた」とその者が言うのが聞こえた。それからその者は片足で跳ねまわり、とうとう体の血がすっかりなくなって死んだ。

But Neruvkâq hastened to put on his tunic, and this was a tunic he had worn as a little child, and it had been made larger from time to time. Also it was covered with pieces of walrus tusk, sewn all about. None could kill him as long as he wore that.

けれどもネルヴカークは急いで上着を着た。それは小さな子どものころから着ていた上着で、ときどき大きく仕立て直してあった。しかもセイウチの牙のかけらがびっしり縫いつけてあった。それを着ているかぎり、誰にも男を殺すことはできなかった。

And now he wanted to get out of the house. He put the sealskin coat on his dog, and thrust it out. Those outside thought it was Neruvkâq himself, and stabbed the dog to death.

さて、男は家の外へ出たかった。男はアザラシの毛皮の上着を犬に着せて押し出した。外の者たちはそれをネルヴカーク本人だと思って、犬を刺し殺した。

Neruvkâq came close on the heels of the dog, and jumped up to the great stone that is used to set out meat on. So strongly did he jump that his footmarks are seen on the stone to this day. Then he took his arrows all barbed with walrus tusk, and began shooting his enemies down.

ネルヴカークは犬のすぐあとについて出て、肉を並べるのに使う大きな石に飛び乗った。あまりに強く跳んだので、その足跡は今日でも石の上に見える。それから男はセイウチの牙の返しがついた矢を取って、敵を射倒しはじめた。

His mother gave him strength by magic means.

男の母親は魔法で男に力を与えた。

Soon there were but few of his enemies left, and these fled away. They fled away to the southward, and fled and fled without stopping until they had gone a great way.

まもなく敵はわずかしか残らなくなり、残った者たちは逃げていった。南へ逃げて、止まらずに逃げに逃げて、ずっと遠くまで行ってしまった。

But Navaránâ, who was now afraid of her husband, crept in under the bench and hid herself there. And as she would not come out again, her husband thrust in a great piece of walrus meat, and she chewed and gnawed at it to her heart's content.

けれども、今では夫が恐ろしくなったナヴァラナーは、寝台の下に這い込んでそこに隠れた。そして妻がどうしても出てこないので、夫はセイウチの肉の大きなかたまりを押し込んでやった。妻は心ゆくまでそれを噛みかじった。

"Come out, come out, for I will never hurt you any more," he said. But she had grown so afraid of him that she never came out any more, and so she died where she was at last--the old sneak!

「出ておいで、出ておいで。もう二度と痛い目にはあわせないから」と夫は言った。けれども妻は夫があまりに恐ろしくなっていたので、二度と出てこず、とうとうそこで死んでしまった——こそこそ者め!