The Eagle and the Whale

In a certain village there lived many brothers. And they had two sisters, both of an age to marry, and often urged them to take husbands, but they would not. At last one of the men said:

ある村に大勢の兄弟が住んでいた。兄弟たちには二人の姉妹がいて、二人とも年ごろだったので、兄弟たちはしばしば夫を持てとせかしたが、二人は聞き入れなかった。とうとう男たちの一人が言った。

"What sort of a husband do you want, then? An eagle, perhaps? Very well, an eagle you shall have."

「いったいどんな夫が欲しいんだ。鷲かい。いいとも、鷲をくれてやろう。」

This he said to the one. And to the other he said:

兄弟は一人にこう言った。そしてもう一人にはこう言った。

"And you perhaps would like a whale? Well, a whale you shall have."

「それでお前はクジラがいいのかい。いいとも、クジラをくれてやろう。」

And then suddenly a great eagle came in sight, and it swooped down on the young girl and flew off with her to a high ledge of rock. And a whale also came in sight, and carried off the other sister, carrying her likewise to a ledge of rock.

すると突然、大きな鷲が現れて、若い娘に襲いかかり、高い岩棚へ娘をさらっていった。そしてクジラも現れて、もう一人の姉妹をさらい、やはり岩棚へ運んでいった。

After that the eagle and the girl lived together on a ledge of rock far up a high steep cliff. The eagle flew out over the sea to hunt, and while he was away, his wife would busy herself plaiting sinews for a line wherewith to lower herself down the rock. And while she was busied with that work, the eagle would sometimes appear, with a walrus in one claw and a narwhal in the other.

それからというもの、鷲と娘は高く切り立った崖のずっと上の岩棚で一緒に暮らした。鷲は海の上へ狩りに飛んでいき、鷲が留守のあいだ、妻は岩を伝って下りるための綱を腱で編むのに精を出した。そして妻がその仕事にかかっていると、鷲がときどき、片方の爪にセイウチを、もう片方にイッカクをつかんで現れた。

One day she tried the line, with which she was to lower herself down; it was too short. And so she plaited more.

ある日、妻は下りるための綱を試してみた。短すぎた。そこで妻はさらに編み足した。

But as time went on, the brothers began to long for their sister. And they all set to work making crossbows.

けれども時がたつにつれて、兄弟たちは姉妹が恋しくなった。そしてみなで弩をこしらえにかかった。

And there was in that village a little homeless boy, who was so small that he had not strength to draw a bow, but must get one of the others to draw it for him every time he wanted to shoot. When they had made all things ready, they went out to the place where their sister was, and called to her from the foot of the cliff, telling her to lower herself down. And this she did. As soon as her husband had gone out hunting, she lowered herself down and reached her brothers.

そしてその村に、家のない小さな男の子が一人いた。その子はあまりに小さくて弓を引く力もなく、射たいときはいつもほかの誰かに引いてもらわなければならなかった。支度がすっかり整うと、兄弟たちは姉妹のいる場所へ出かけ、崖のふもとから呼びかけて、下りてこいと言った。そして姉妹はそうした。夫が狩りに出るやいなや、姉妹は綱を伝って下りて兄弟たちのもとに着いた。

Towards evening, the eagle appeared out at sea, with a walrus in each claw, and as he passed the house of his wife's brothers, he dropped one down to them. But when he came home, his wife was gone. Then he simply threw his catch away, and flew, gliding on widespread wings, down to where those brothers were. But whenever the eagle tried to fly down to the house, they shot at it with their bows. And as none of them could hit, the little homeless boy cried:

夕方近くになると、鷲が両方の爪にセイウチを一頭ずつつかんで沖に現れ、妻の兄弟たちの家の上を通りかかるとき、一頭を兄弟たちに落としてやった。ところが家に帰ると妻がいなかった。すると鷲は獲物をただ投げ捨てて、大きく翼を広げて滑るように、兄弟たちのいるところへ舞い下りてきた。けれども鷲が家へ舞い下りようとするたびに、兄弟たちは弓で射かけた。そして誰も当てられないので、家のない小さな男の子が叫んだ。

"Let me try too!"

「ぼくにもやらせて!」

And then one of the others had to bend his bow for him. But when he shot off his arrow, it struck. And when then the eagle came fluttering down to earth, the others shot so many arrows at it that it could not quite touch the ground.

そこでほかの誰かがその子のために弓を引いてやらなければならなかった。ところがその子が矢を放つと、矢は当たった。そして鷲がばたばたと地面へ落ちてくると、ほかの者たちがあまりにたくさんの矢を射込んだので、鷲は地面にすっかりは届かなかった。

Thus they killed their sister's husband, who was a mighty hunter.

こうして兄弟たちは、偉大な狩人であった姉妹の夫を殺した。

But the other sister and the whale lived together likewise. And the whale was very fond of her, and would hardly let her out of his sight for a moment.

けれどももう一人の姉妹とクジラも、同じように一緒に暮らしていた。そしてクジラは姉妹をたいそう好いていて、ほとんど片時も目を離そうとしなかった。

But the girl here likewise began to feel homesick, and she also began plaiting a line of sinew threads, and her brothers, who were likewise beginning to long for their sister, set about making a swift-sailing umiak. And when they had finished it, and got it into the water, they said:

けれどもこちらの娘もやはり家が恋しくなりはじめ、やはり腱の糸で綱を編みはじめた。そしてやはり姉妹が恋しくなりはじめていた兄弟たちは、速く走るウミアクをこしらえにかかった。そしてこしらえ終えて水に浮かべると、兄弟たちは言った。

"Now let us see how fast it can go."

「さあ、どれほど速く走るか見てみよう。」

And then they got a guillemot which had its nest close by to fly beside them, while they tried to outdistance it by rowing. But when it flew past them, they cried:

そして兄弟たちは近くに巣のあるウミガラスを一羽、舟と並んで飛ばせ、漕いでそれを追い越そうとした。ところが鳥が追い越していったので、兄弟たちは叫んだ。

"This will not do; the whale would overtake us at once. We must take this boat to pieces and build a new one." And so they took that boat to pieces and built a new one.

「これじゃだめだ。クジラにすぐ追いつかれてしまう。この舟をばらして新しいのをこしらえなければ。」そこで兄弟たちはその舟をばらして、新しい舟をこしらえた。

Then they put it in the water again and once more let the bird fly a race with them. And now the two kept side by side all the way, but when they neared the land, the bird was left behind.

それからまた舟を水に浮かべ、もう一度鳥と競走させた。今度は両者ずっと並んで進んだが、陸に近づくと鳥が置いていかれた。

One day the girl said as usual to the whale: "I must go outside a little."

ある日、娘はいつものようにクジラに言った。「ちょっと外へ出なくちゃ。」

"Stay here," said her husband, that great one.

「ここにいろ」と夫、あの大きな者は言った。

"But I must go outside," said the girl.

「でも外へ出なくちゃならないの」と娘は言った。

Now he had a string tied to her, and this he would pull when he wanted her to come in again. And hardly had she got outside when he began pulling at the string.

さて、クジラは娘に紐を結びつけていて、娘をまたなかへ戻したいときにはそれを引くのだった。そして娘が外へ出るか出ないうちに、クジラは紐を引きはじめた。

"I am only just outside the passage," she cried. And then she tied the string by which she was held, to a stone, and ran away as fast as she could down hill, and the whale hauled at the stone, thinking it was his wife, and pulled it in. The brothers' house was just below the hillside where she was, and as soon as she came home, they fled away with her. But at the same moment, the whale came out from the passage way of its house, and rolled down into the sea. The umiak dashed off, but it seemed as if it were standing still, so swiftly did the whale overhaul it. And when the whale had nearly reached them, the brothers said to their sister:

「通路のすぐ外にいるだけよ」と娘は叫んだ。それから娘は自分をつないでいる紐を石に結びつけ、全速力で坂を駆け下りた。クジラはそれを妻だと思って石を手繰り、引き込んだ。兄弟たちの家は娘のいた丘の斜面のすぐ下にあったので、娘が帰り着くやいなや、兄弟たちは娘を連れて逃げ出した。けれども同じときに、クジラが自分の家の通路から出てきて、海へ転がり落ちた。ウミアクは飛ぶように進んだが、クジラがあまりにすばやく追い上げてくるので、まるで止まっているかのように見えた。そしてクジラがもう少しで追いつきそうになると、兄弟たちは姉妹に言った。

"Throw out your hairband."

「鉢巻きを投げろ。」

And hardly had she thrown it out when the sea foamed up, and the whale stopped. Then it went on after them again, and when it came up just behind the boat, the brothers said: "Throw out one of your mittens."

そして娘がそれを投げるか投げないうちに、海が泡立ち、クジラは止まった。それからクジラはまたあとを追ってきて、舟のすぐうしろまで来ると、兄弟たちは言った。「手袋を片方投げろ。」

And she threw it out, and the sea foamed up, and the whale pounced down on it. And then she threw out the inner lining of one of her mittens, and then her outer frock and then her inner coat, and now they were close to land, but the whale was almost upon them. Then the brothers cried:

そこで娘がそれを投げると、海が泡立ち、クジラはそれに飛びかかった。それから娘は手袋の裏地を片方投げ、それから外側の上っ張りを、それから内側の上着を投げた。もう陸はすぐそこだったが、クジラはほとんど追いついていた。すると兄弟たちが叫んだ。

"Throw out your breeches!"

「股引を投げろ!」

And at the same moment the sea was lashed into foam, but the umiak had reached the land. And the whale tried to follow, but was cast up on the shore as a white and sun-bleached bone of a whale.

そしてその瞬間、海は打たれて泡立ったが、ウミアクは陸に着いていた。そしてクジラはあとを追おうとしたが、日にさらされた白いクジラの骨になって浜に打ち上げられた。