The Boy whom Seven Mothers suckled

Once on a time there reigned a king who had seven queens. He was very sad, for the seven queens were all barren. A holy mendicant, however, one day told the king that in a certain forest there grew a tree, on a branch of which hung seven mangoes; if the king himself plucked those mangoes and gave one to each of the queens they would all become mothers. So the king went to the forest, plucked the seven mangoes that grew upon one branch, and gave a mango to each of the queens to eat. In a short time the king's heart was filled with joy, as he heard that the seven queens were all with child.

むかしむかし、七人の妃を持つ王が治めていた。王はたいそう悲しんでいた。七人の妃がみな子を産まなかったからである。けれどもある日、聖なる行者が王に告げた。とある森に一本の木が生えていて、その一本の枝に七つのマンゴーが下がっている。王が自らその実をもいで、妃たちに一つずつ与えれば、みな母になるであろう、と。そこで王は森へ行き、一本の枝に実る七つのマンゴーをもいで、妃たちにひとつずつ食べさせた。まもなく王の心は喜びに満たされた。七人の妃がみな身ごもったと聞いたからである。

One day the king was out hunting, when he saw a young lady of peerless beauty cross his path. He fell in love with her, brought her to his palace, and married her. This lady was, however, not a human being, but a Rakshasi; but the king of course did not know it. The king became dotingly fond of her; he did whatever she told him. She said one day to the king, "You say that you love me more than any one else. Let me see whether you really love me so. If you love me, make your seven other queens blind, and let them be killed." The king became very sad at the request of his best-beloved queen, the more so as the seven queens were all with child. But there was nothing for it but to comply with the Rakshasi-queen's request. The eyes of the seven queens were plucked out of their sockets, and the queens themselves were delivered up to the chief minister to be destroyed. But the chief minister was a merciful man. Instead of killing the seven queens he hid them in a cave which was on the side of a hill. In course of time the eldest of the seven queens gave birth to a child. "What shall I do with the child," said she, "now that we are blind and are dying for want of food? Let me kill the child, and let us all eat of its flesh." So saying she killed the infant, and gave to each of her sister-queens a part of the child to eat. The six ate their portion, but the seventh or youngest queen did not eat her share, but laid it beside her. In a few days the second queen also was delivered of a child, and she did with it as her eldest sister had done with hers. So did the third, the fourth, the fifth, and the sixth queen. At last the seventh queen gave birth to a son; but she, instead of following the example of her sister-queens, resolved to nurse the child. The other queens demanded their portions of the newly-born babe. She gave each of them the portion she had got of the six children which had been killed, and which she had not eaten but laid aside. The other queens at once perceived that their portions were dry, and could not therefore be the parts of the child just born. The seventh queen told them that she had made up her mind not to kill the child but to nurse it. The others were glad to hear this, and they all said that they would help her in nursing the child. So the child was suckled by seven mothers, and it became after some years the hardiest and strongest boy that ever lived.

ある日、王が狩りに出ていると、並ぶもののない美しさの若い女が行く手を横切るのを見た。王はその女に恋をして宮殿へ連れ帰り、妻に迎えた。けれどもこの女は人間ではなく、ラークシャシー(女の鬼)であった。もちろん王はそれを知らなかった。王はその女を溺愛し、言われることは何でもした。ある日、女は王に言った。「あなたは誰よりもわたしを愛しているとおっしゃる。本当にそれほど愛しておられるか、確かめさせてくださいませ。もし愛しておられるなら、ほかの七人の妃の目をつぶして、殺させてください。」王は最愛の妃のこの願いにたいそう悲しんだ。七人の妃はみな身ごもっていたので、なおさらであった。けれどもラークシャシーの妃の願いに従うよりほかはなかった。七人の妃の目は眼窩から抉り出され、妃たちは殺されるために大臣の長に引き渡された。けれども大臣の長は情け深い人であった。七人の妃を殺す代わりに、丘の中腹にある洞穴に隠した。やがて七人のうちいちばん年上の妃が子を産んだ。「この子をどうしよう」と妃は言った。「わたしたちは目が見えず、食べるものがなくて死にかけているというのに。この子を殺して、その肉をみなで食べよう。」そう言って妃は赤子を殺し、姉妹の妃たちにその一部ずつを与えて食べさせた。六人は自分の分を食べたが、七番目のいちばん若い妃は自分の分を食べず、かたわらに置いておいた。幾日かののち、二番目の妃もまた子を産み、姉がしたのと同じようにした。三番目も、四番目も、五番目も、六番目の妃もそうした。とうとう七番目の妃が男の子を産んだ。けれども彼女は姉妹の妃たちの例に倣わず、この子を育てようと心を決めた。ほかの妃たちは、生まれたばかりの赤子の分け前を求めた。彼女は、殺された六人の子から受け取り、食べずに取っておいた分を一人ずつに渡した。ほかの妃たちはすぐに、自分の受け取ったものが乾いていて、生まれたばかりの子の一部ではありえないと気づいた。七番目の妃は、自分はこの子を殺さずに育てる決心をしたのだと告げた。ほかの妃たちはこれを聞いて喜び、みなで子を育てるのを手伝おうと言った。こうしてこの子は七人の母に乳を飲まされ、何年かののち、かつてないほど頑健で力強い少年になった。

In the meantime the Rakshasi-wife of the king was doing infinite mischief to the royal household and to the capital. What she ate at the royal table did not fill her capacious stomach. She therefore, in the darkness of night, gradually ate up all the members of the royal family, all the king's servants and attendants, all his horses, elephants, and cattle; till none remained in the palace except she herself and her royal consort. After that she used to go out in the evenings into the city and eat up a stray human being here and there. The king was left unattended by servants; there was no person left to cook for him, for no one would take his service. At last the boy who had been suckled by seven mothers, and who had now grown up to a stalwart youth, volunteered his services. He attended on the king, and took every care to prevent the queen from swallowing him up, for he went away home long before nightfall; and the Rakshasi-queen never seized her victims except at night. Hence the queen determined in some other way to get rid of the boy. As the boy always boasted that he was equal to any work, however hard, the queen told him that she was suffering from some disease which could be cured only by eating a certain species of melon, which was twelve cubits long, but the stone of which was thirteen cubits long, and that that fruit could be had only from her mother, who lived on the other side of the ocean. She gave him a letter of introduction to her mother, in which she requested her to devour the boy the moment he put the letter into her hands. The boy, suspecting foul play, tore up the letter and proceeded on his journey. The dauntless youth passed through many lands, and at last stood on the shore of the ocean, on the other side of which was the country of the Rakshasis. He then bawled as loud as he could, and said, "Granny! granny! come and save your daughter; she is dangerously ill." An old Rakshasi on the other side of the ocean heard the words, crossed the ocean, came to the boy, and on hearing the message took the boy on her back and re-crossed the ocean. So the boy was in the country of the Rakshasis. The twelve-cubit melon with its thirteen-cubit stone was given to the boy at once, and he was told to perform the journey back. But the boy pleaded fatigue, and begged to be allowed to rest one day. To this the old Rakshasi consented. Observing a stout club and a rope hanging in the Rakshasi's room, the boy inquired what they were there for. She replied, "Child, by that club and rope I cross the ocean. If any one takes the club and the rope in his hands, and addresses them in the following magical words--

そのあいだに、王のラークシャシーの妻は、王家にも都にも限りない害をなしていた。王の食卓で食べるものでは、その底なしの腹は満たされなかった。そこで夜の闇にまぎれて、王家の者を次々に食い尽くし、王の召使いも従者も、馬も象も家畜もみな食べてしまい、とうとう宮殿には彼女自身と王たる連れ合いのほかは誰も残らなかった。そのあとは、夕方になると町へ出て、そこここで通りすがりの人を食べるようになった。王には仕える者がいなくなった。料理をする者も残らず、誰も王に仕えようとしなかったからである。とうとう、七人の母に乳を飲まされ、今や屈強な若者に育ったあの少年が、自ら仕えたいと申し出た。少年は王に仕え、妃に呑み込まれないよう用心を重ねた。日が暮れるずっと前に家へ帰ったのである。ラークシャシーの妃が獲物を捕らえるのは夜だけだったからだ。そこで妃は、別のやり方でこの少年を始末しようと心に決めた。少年はいつも、どんな難しい仕事でもやってのけられると豪語していたので、妃は少年にこう言った。自分はある病にかかっていて、それはある種の瓜を食べることでしか治らない。その瓜は長さ十二キュビトあるが、その種は十三キュビトある。そしてその実は、海の向こうに住む自分の母のところからしか手に入らない、と。妃は母への添え状を少年に渡した。そこには、この少年が手紙を手渡した瞬間に食い殺してくれと書かれていた。少年は謀られていると疑って手紙を破り捨て、旅を続けた。この恐れを知らぬ若者は多くの国を通り、とうとう海の岸に立った。その向こう側がラークシャサたちの国である。そして声を限りに叫んだ。「婆さま! 婆さま! 来てお嬢さまをお助けください。ひどく患っておられます。」海の向こうの老いたラークシャシーがこの言葉を聞き、海を渡って少年のところへ来た。そしてその言づけを聞くと、少年を背に負って海を渡り返した。こうして少年はラークシャサの国にいた。十二キュビトの瓜と十三キュビトの種はただちに少年に与えられ、帰りの旅に発つようにと言われた。けれども少年は疲れたと訴え、一日だけ休ませてくださいと乞うた。老いたラークシャシーはこれに承知した。ラークシャシーの部屋に太い棍棒と綱が掛かっているのを見て、少年はそれは何のためにあるのかと尋ねた。老婆は答えた。「坊や、わたしはあの棍棒と綱で海を渡るのだよ。誰でもあの棍棒と綱を手に取って、次のまじないの言葉で呼びかければ——

"O stout club! O strong rope! Take me at once to the other side,"

「おお太き棍棒よ! おお強き綱よ! ただちにわたしを向こう岸へ連れていけ」

then immediately the club and rope will take him to the other side of the ocean." Observing a bird in a cage hanging in one corner of the room, the boy inquired what it was. The old Rakshasi replied, "It contains a secret, child, which must not be disclosed to mortals, and yet how can I hide it from my own grandchild? That bird, child, contains the life of your mother. If the bird is killed, your mother will at once die." Armed with these secrets, the boy went to bed that night. Next morning the old Rakshasi, together with all the other Rakshasis, went to distant countries for forage. The boy took down the cage from the ceiling, as well as the club and rope. Having well secured the bird, he addressed the club and rope thus--

すぐさま棍棒と綱がその者を海の向こう岸へ連れていくのだ。」部屋の隅に鳥籠が掛かっているのを見て、少年はそれは何かと尋ねた。老いたラークシャシーは答えた。「坊や、それには秘密が入っていて、人間に明かしてはならぬものだ。けれども自分の孫に隠しておけようか。坊や、あの鳥にはお前の母の命が入っている。あの鳥が殺されれば、お前の母もたちまち死ぬのだ。」この秘密を手に入れて、少年はその夜床についた。翌朝、老いたラークシャシーはほかのラークシャサたちとともに、餌を求めて遠い国へ出かけていった。少年は天井から鳥籠を下ろし、棍棒と綱も取った。鳥をしっかりと押さえてから、棍棒と綱にこう呼びかけた——

"O stout club! O strong rope! Take me at once to the other side."

「おお太き棍棒よ! おお強き綱よ! ただちにわたしを向こう岸へ連れていけ」

In the twinkling of an eye the boy was put on this side of the ocean. He then retraced his steps, came to the queen, and gave her, to her astonishment, the twelve-cubit melon with its thirteen-cubit stone; but the cage with the bird in it he kept carefully concealed.

またたく間に少年は海のこちら側に置かれていた。それから来た道を引き返して妃のところへ行き、驚く妃に十二キュビトの瓜とその十三キュビトの種を渡した。けれども鳥の入った籠は、念入りに隠しておいた。

In the course of time the people of the city came to the king and said, "A monstrous bird comes out apparently from the palace every evening, and seizes the passengers in the streets and swallows them up. This has been going on for so long a time that the city has become almost desolate." The king could not make out what this monstrous bird was. The king's servant, the boy, replied that he knew the monstrous bird, and that he would kill it provided the queen stood beside the king. By royal command the queen was made to stand beside the king. The boy then took the bird from the cage which he had brought from the other side of the ocean, on seeing which she fell into a fainting fit. Turning to the king the boy said, "Sire, you will soon perceive who the monstrous bird is that devours your subjects every evening. As I tear off each limb of this bird, the corresponding limb of the man-devourer will fall off." The boy then tore off one leg of the bird in his hand; immediately, to the astonishment of the whole assembly, for the citizens were all present, one of the legs of the queen fell off. And when the boy squeezed the throat of the bird, the queen gave up the ghost. The boy then related his own history and that of his mother and his stepmothers. The seven queens, whose eyesight was miraculously restored, were brought back to the palace; and the boy that was suckled by seven mothers was recognised by the king as his rightful heir. So they lived together happily.

やがて都の人々が王のもとへ来て言った。「途方もなく大きな鳥が、どうやら宮殿から毎晩出てきて、通りの人を捕らえては呑み込んでしまいます。それがあまりに長く続いたので、都はほとんど人影がなくなりました。」王には、この途方もない鳥が何なのか見当もつかなかった。王の召使いである少年は、自分はその途方もない鳥を知っている、妃が王のかたわらに立たれるなら、それを殺してみせようと答えた。王の命により、妃は王のかたわらに立たされた。それから少年は、海の向こうから持ち帰った籠から鳥を取り出した。それを見て妃は気を失って倒れた。少年は王のほうを向いて言った。「陛下、毎晩あなたの民を食らう途方もない鳥が何者であるか、まもなくお分かりになりましょう。わたしがこの鳥の手足をひとつずつ引きちぎるたびに、あの人食いの同じ手足が落ちるのです。」それから少年は手にした鳥の脚を一本引きちぎった。するとたちまち、居並ぶ一同が——町の人々もみな集まっていた——驚いたことに、妃の脚の一本が落ちた。そして少年が鳥の喉を締めると、妃は息絶えた。それから少年は、自分と母と継母たちの身の上を語った。七人の妃は不思議にも目が見えるようになって宮殿へ連れ戻され、七人の母に乳を飲まされた少年は、王に正当な世継ぎと認められた。こうして一同はともに幸せに暮らした。

Thus my story endeth, The Natiya-thorn withereth, &c.

ここでわたしの話はおしまい。ナティヤの棘は枯れゆく、云々。