The Adventures of Two Thieves and of their Sons

PART I

第一部

Once on a time there lived two thieves in a village who earned their livelihood by stealing. As they were well-known thieves, every act of theft in the village was ascribed to them whether they committed it or not; they therefore left the village, and, being resolved to support themselves by honest labour, went to a neighbouring town for service. Both of them were engaged by a householder; the one had to tend a cow, and the other to water a champaka plant. The elder thief began watering the plant early in the morning, and as he had been told to go on pouring water till some of it collected itself round the foot of the plant he went on pouring bucketful after bucketful: but to no purpose. No sooner was the water poured on the foot of the plant than it was forthwith sucked up by the thirsty earth; and it was late in the afternoon when the thief, tired with drawing water, laid himself down on the ground, and fell asleep. The younger thief fared no better. The cow which he had to tend was the most vicious in the whole country. When taken out of the village for pasturage it galloped away to a great distance with its tail erect; it ran from one paddy-field to another, and ate the corn and trod upon it; it entered into sugar-cane plantations and destroyed the sweet cane;--for all which damage and acts of trespass the neat-herd was soundly rated by the owners of the fields. What with running after the cow from field to field, from pool to pool; what with the abusive language poured not only upon him, but upon his forefathers up to the fourteenth generation, by the owners of the fields in which the corn had been destroyed,--the younger thief had a miserable day of it. After a world of trouble he succeeded about sunset in catching hold of the cow, which he brought back to the house of his master. The elder thief had just roused himself from sleep when he saw the younger one bringing in the cow. Then the elder said to the younger--"Brother, why are you so late in coming from the fields?"

むかしむかし、ある村に二人の盗人が住んでいて、盗みで暮らしを立てていた。二人は名の知れた盗人だったから、村で起こる盗みはすべて、やったやらぬにかかわらず二人のしわざにされた。そこで二人は村を出て、これからは真っ当な働きで身を立てようと決め、隣町へ奉公に行った。二人ともある家の主人に雇われ、一人は牛の世話を、もう一人はチャンパカの木に水をやる役についた。兄貴分の盗人は朝早くから木に水をやりはじめた。木の根もとに水がいくらか溜まるまで注ぎつづけよと言われていたので、桶に何杯も何杯も注ぎつづけたが、いっこうに甲斐がない。根もとに注いだそばから、渇いた土がたちまち吸い込んでしまうのである。水を汲むのに疲れ果てた盗人が地べたに横になって眠り込んだころには、もう昼下がりだった。弟分の盗人も似たようなものだった。世話を言いつけられた牛は、国じゅうでいちばん性の悪い牛だった。草を食ませに村の外へ連れ出すと、尻尾を立ててはるか遠くまで駆け去る。田から田へと走りまわっては稲を食い、踏み荒らす。砂糖黍の畑に入り込んでは甘い茎を台なしにする——その損害と不法侵入のかどで、牛飼いは畑の持ち主たちにさんざん怒鳴られた。畑から畑、池から池へと牛を追いかけまわし、そのうえ稲を荒らされた持ち主たちから、自分だけでなく十四代前の先祖にまで罵りを浴びせられて、弟分の盗人はさんざんな一日を過ごした。さんざん苦労したすえ、日の沈むころにようやく牛をつかまえ、主人の家へ連れて帰った。兄貴分の盗人は眠りから覚めたばかりのところへ、弟分が牛を引いて入ってくるのを見た。そこで兄貴分が弟分に言った。「おい、なぜこんなに遅く野から帰ってきたんだ」

Younger. What shall I say, brother? I took the cow to that part of the meadow where there is a tank, near which there is a large tree. I let the cow loose, and it began to graze about without giving the least trouble. I spread my gamchha [25] upon the grass under the tree; and there was such a delicious breeze that I soon fell asleep, and I did not wake till after sunset; and when I awoke I saw my good cow grazing contentedly at the distance of a few paces. But how did you fare, brother?

弟分——何と言おうな、兄貴。おれは牛を、池のある野の一角へ連れていったのさ。そばに大きな木がある。牛を放してやると、これっぽっちも手を焼かせずに草を食みはじめた。おれは木の下の草の上にガムチャ [25] を敷いた。実に心地よい風が吹いていて、じきに眠り込み、日が沈むまで目が覚めなかった。目を覚ますと、うちのいい牛が二、三歩先で満足そうに草を食んでいたよ。で、兄貴のほうはどうだった。

Elder. Oh, as for me, I had a jolly time of it. I had poured only one bucketful of water on the plant, when a large quantity rested round it. So my work was done, and I had the whole day to myself. I laid myself down on the ground; I meditated on the joys of this new mode of life; I whistled; I sang; and at last fell asleep. And I am up only this moment.

兄貴分——おお、おれのほうは愉快なものだったぞ。桶に一杯水を注いだだけで、もう根もとにたっぷり溜まった。それで仕事はおしまい、まる一日が自分のものよ。地べたに横になって、この新しい暮らしの楽しさに思いをめぐらせ、口笛を吹き、歌をうたい、しまいには眠り込んだ。たったいま起きたばかりだ。

When this talk was ended, the elder thief, believing that what the younger thief had said was true, thought that tending the cow was more comfortable than watering the plant; and the younger thief, for the same reason, thought that watering the plant was more comfortable than tending the cow: each therefore resolved to exchange his own work for that of the other.

この話が終わると、兄貴分の盗人は、弟分の言ったことを本当だと信じて、牛の世話のほうが水やりより楽だと思った。弟分の盗人も同じわけで、水やりのほうが牛の世話より楽だと思った。そこでどちらも、自分の仕事を相手のと取り換えようと心を決めた。

Elder. Well, brother, I have a wish to tend the cow. Suppose to-morrow you take my work, and I yours. Have you any objection?

兄貴分——なあ、おれは牛の世話をしてみたいんだ。明日はおまえがおれの仕事をやって、おれがおまえのをやるというのはどうだ。不服はないか。

Younger. Not the slightest, brother. I shall be glad to take up your work, and you are quite welcome to take up mine. Only let me give you a bit of advice. I felt it rather uncomfortable to sleep nearly the whole of the day on the bare ground. If you take a charpoy [26] with you, you will have a merry time of it.

弟分——これっぽっちもないよ、兄貴。喜んで兄貴の仕事を引き受けるし、おれのは遠慮なくやってくれ。ただ一つだけ忠告しておこう。裸の地べたで一日近く眠るのは、いささか寝心地がよくなかった。チャルパーイ [26] を持っていけば、楽しくやれるぜ。

Early the following morning the elder thief went out with the cow to the fields, not forgetting to take with him a charpoy for his ease and comfort; and the younger thief began watering the plant. The latter had thought that one bucketful, or at the outside two bucketfuls, of water would be enough. But what was his surprise when he found that even a hundred bucketfuls were not sufficient to saturate the ground around the roots of the plant. He was dead tired with drawing water. The sun was almost going down, and yet his work was not over. At last he gave it up through sheer weariness.

翌朝早く、兄貴分の盗人は牛を連れて野へ出かけた。楽をしようと寝台を担いでゆくのも忘れなかった。弟分の盗人は木に水をやりはじめた。桶に一杯、せいぜい二杯もあれば足りるだろうと思っていたのに、百杯注いでも根のまわりの土が湿りきらないのを見て、どれほど驚いたことか。水を汲んで疲れ果てた。日はもう沈みかけているのに、仕事は終わらない。とうとう疲れきって投げ出してしまった。

The elder thief in the fields was in no better case. He took the cow beside the tank which the younger thief had spoken of, put his charpoy under the large tree hard by, and then let the cow loose. As soon as the cow was let loose it went scampering about in the meadow, jumping over hedges and ditches, running through paddy-fields, and injuring sugar-cane plantations. The elder thief was not a little put about. He had to run about the whole day, and to be insulted by the people whose fields had been trespassed upon. But the worst of it was, that our thief had to run about the meadow with the charpoy on his head, for he could not put it anywhere for fear it should be taken away. When the other neat-herds who were in the meadow saw the elder thief running about in breathless haste after the cow with the charpoy on his head, they clapped their hands and raised shouts of derision. The poor fellow, hungry and angry, bitterly repented of the exchange he had made. After infinite trouble, and with the help of the other neat-herds, he at last caught hold of the precious cow, and brought it home long after the village lamps had been lit.

野にいる兄貴分の盗人も、似たような始末だった。弟分の言っていた池のそばへ牛を連れてゆき、すぐそばの大きな木の下に寝台を置いて、牛を放した。放されたとたん、牛は野を跳ねまわり、生垣や溝を飛び越え、田を駆け抜け、砂糖黍の畑を荒らした。兄貴分の盗人は少なからず困り果てた。一日じゅう走りまわり、畑を荒らされた人々に罵られるはめになった。だがいちばんまずかったのは、われらが盗人が寝台を頭に載せたまま野を走りまわらねばならなかったことだ。どこかに置けば持っていかれそうで、置くに置けなかったのである。野にいたほかの牛飼いたちは、兄貴分の盗人が寝台を頭に載せて息せき切って牛を追いかけまわすのを見て、手を打ってはやし立てた。あわれな男は腹をすかせ腹を立て、取り換えたことを苦々しく悔やんだ。さんざん苦労し、ほかの牛飼いたちの手も借りて、ようやくあの大事な牛をつかまえ、村の灯がともってから久しくたって帰ってきた。

When the two thieves met in the house of their master, they merely laughed at each other without speaking a word. Their dinner over, they laid themselves to rest, when there took place the following conversation:--

二人の盗人は主人の家で顔を合わせたが、ひとことも言わずにただ笑い合っただけだった。夕食を終えて横になると、こんな話になった——

Younger. Well, how did you fare, brother?

弟分——さて、兄貴のほうはどうだった。

Elder. Just as you fared, and perhaps some degrees better.

兄貴分——おまえと同じよ。いや、いくらかましだったかもしれん。

Younger. I am of opinion that our former trade of thieving was infinitely preferable to this sort of honest labour, as people call it.

弟分——おれの見るところ、昔ながらの盗みのほうが、人の言うこの真っ当な働きとやらより、はるかにましだな。

Elder. What doubt is there of that? But, by the gods, I have never seen a cow which can be compared to this. It has no second in the world in point of viciousness.

兄貴分——そんなことに何の疑いがある。だが神々にかけて、あんな牛は見たことがない。性の悪さにかけては世に二つとない。

Younger. A vicious cow is not a rare thing. I have seen some cows as vicious. But have you ever seen a plant like this champaka plant which you were told to water? I wonder what becomes of all the water that is poured round about it. Is there a tank below its roots?

弟分——性の悪い牛なんて珍しくもないさ。あのくらい性の悪い牛は見たことがある。だが、兄貴が水をやれと言いつけられた、あのチャンパカの木みたいなのを見たことがあるかい。まわりに注いだ水はいったいどこへ行くんだろう。根の下に池でもあるのかね。

Elder. I have a good mind to dig round it and see what is beneath it.

兄貴分——おれはあのまわりを掘って、下に何があるか見てやりたいと思っているんだ。

Younger. We had better do so this night when the good man of the house and his wife are asleep.

弟分——それなら今夜、この家の主人と女房が寝入ってからやるほうがいい。

At about midnight the two thieves took spades and shovels and began digging round the plant. After digging a good deal the younger thief lighted upon some hard thing against which the shovel struck. The curiosity of both was excited. The younger thief saw that it was a large jar; he thrust his hand into it and found that it was full of gold mohurs. But he said to the elder thief--"Oh, it is nothing; it is only a large stone." The elder thief, however, suspected that it was something else; but he took care not to give vent to his suspicion. Both agreed to give up digging as they had found nothing; and they went to sleep. An hour or two after, when the elder thief saw that the younger thief was asleep, he quietly got up and went to the spot which had been digged. He saw the jar filled with gold mohurs. Digging a little near it, he found another jar also filled with gold mohurs. Overjoyed to find the treasure, he resolved to secure it. He took up both the jars, went to the tank which was near, and from which water used to be drawn for the plant, and buried them in the mud of its bank. He then returned to the house, and quietly laid himself down beside the younger thief, who was then fast asleep. The younger thief, who had first found the jar of gold mohurs, now woke, and softly stealing out of bed, went to secure the treasure he had seen. On going to the spot he did not see any jar; he therefore naturally thought that his companion the elder thief had secreted it somewhere. He went to his sleeping partner, with a view to discover if possible by any marks on his body the place where the treasure had been hidden. He examined the person of his friend with the eye of a detective, and saw mud on his feet and near the ankles. He immediately concluded the treasure must have been concealed somewhere in the tank. But in what part of the tank? on which bank? His ingenuity did not forsake him here. He walked round all the four banks of the tank. When he walked round three sides, the frogs on them jumped into the water; but no frogs jumped from the fourth bank. He therefore concluded that the treasure must have been buried on the fourth bank. In a little he found the two jars filled with gold mohurs; he took them up, and going into the cow-house brought out the vicious cow he had tended, and put the two jars on its back. He left the house and started for his native village.

真夜中ごろ、二人の盗人は鋤と鍬を持って、木のまわりを掘りはじめた。だいぶ掘ったところで、弟分の盗人の鍬が何か固いものに当たった。二人とも好奇心をそそられた。弟分の盗人はそれが大きな甕だと見て取り、手を突っ込んでみると、金貨がいっぱい詰まっていた。だが兄貴分の盗人にはこう言った——「なに、何でもない。ただの大きな石だ」。ところが兄貴分の盗人は、何かほかのものだと疑った。だがその疑いはおくびにも出さなかった。二人は、何も出なかったのだから掘るのはやめようと言い合って、眠りについた。一、二時間して、兄貴分の盗人は弟分が寝入ったのを見て取ると、そっと起き出して掘った場所へ行った。金貨のいっぱい詰まった甕があった。そのそばを少し掘ってみると、やはり金貨のいっぱい詰まった甕がもう一つ出てきた。宝を見つけた喜びのあまり、これを自分のものにしようと決めた。二つの甕を持ち上げ、近くにある、木に水をやるのに汲んでいたあの池へ行き、その岸の泥に埋めた。それから家へ戻り、そのときぐっすり寝入っていた弟分の盗人のそばに、そっと横になった。はじめに金貨の甕を見つけた弟分の盗人は、ここで目を覚まし、そっと床を抜け出して、見つけた宝をわがものにしようと出かけた。ところが現場へ行ってみると甕がない。そこで当然、連れの兄貴分の盗人がどこかへ隠したのだと思った。そこで眠っている相棒のところへ行き、体についた痕跡から宝の隠し場所がわからぬものかと探った。探偵の目で相棒の体を調べると、足と足首のあたりに泥がついている。すぐに、宝は池のどこかに隠されたにちがいないと結論した。だが池のどこだ。どの岸だ。ここでも機転は彼を見捨てなかった。池の四つの岸をぐるりと歩いてみた。三つの岸を歩いたときは、蛙が水へ飛び込んだ。ところが四つめの岸からは蛙が飛び込まなかった。そこで、宝はその四つめの岸に埋められたにちがいないと結論した。まもなく金貨の詰まった二つの甕を見つけ、それを取り上げて、牛小屋へ行き、自分が世話をしたあの性の悪い牛を引き出して、その背に二つの甕を載せた。そして家を出て、故郷の村へ向かった。

When the elder thief at crow-cawing got up from sleep, he was surprised not to find his companion beside him. He hastened to the tank and found that the jars were not there. He went to the cow-house, and did not see the vicious cow. He immediately concluded the younger thief must have run away with the treasure on the back of the cow. And where could he think of going? He must be going to his native village. No sooner did this process of reasoning pass through his mind than he resolved forthwith to set out and overtake the younger thief. As he passed through the town, he invested all the money he had in a costly pair of shoes covered with gold lace. He walked very fast, avoiding the public road and making short cuts. He descried the younger thief trudging on slowly with his cow. He went before him in the highway about a distance of 200 yards, and threw down on the road one shoe. He walked on another 200 yards and threw the other shoe at a place near which was a large tree; amid the thick leaves of that tree he hid himself. The younger thief coming along the public road saw the first shoe and said to himself--"What a beautiful shoe that is! It is of gold lace. It would have suited me in my present circumstances now that I have got rich. But what shall I do with one shoe?" So he passed on. In a short time he came to the place where the other shoe was lying. The younger thief said within himself--"Ah, here is the other shoe! What a fool I was, that I did not pick up the one I first saw! However it is not too late. I'll tie the cow to yonder tree and go for the other shoe." He tied the cow to the tree, and taking up the second shoe went for the first, lying at a distance of about 200 yards. In the meantime the elder thief got down from the tree, loosened the cow, and drove it towards his native village, avoiding the king's highway. The younger thief on returning to the tree found that the cow was gone. He of course concluded that it could have been done only by the elder thief. He walked as fast as his legs could carry him, and reached his native village long before the elder thief with the cow. He hid himself near the door of the elder thief's house. The moment the elder thief arrived with the cow, the younger thief accosted him, saying--"So you are come safe, brother. Let us go in and divide the money." To this proposal the elder thief readily agreed. In the inner yard of the house the two jars were taken down from the back of the cow; they went to a room, bolted the door, and began dividing. Two mohurs were taken up by the hand, one was put in one place, and the other in another; and they went on doing that till the jars became empty. But last of all one gold mohur remained. The question was--Who was to take it? Both agreed that it should be changed the next morning, and the silver cash equally divided. But with whom was the single mohur to remain? There was not a little wrangling about the matter. After a great deal of yea and nay, it was settled that it should remain with the elder thief, and that next morning it should be changed and equally divided.

兄貴分の盗人が烏の鳴くころ眠りから覚めると、そばに連れがいないので驚いた。急いで池へ行ってみると、甕がない。牛小屋へ行くと、あの性の悪い牛がいない。すぐに、弟分の盗人が牛の背に宝を載せて逃げたにちがいないと結論した。そしてどこへ行くつもりだろう。故郷の村へ向かっているにちがいない。こう考えが運ぶやいなや、すぐさま出発して弟分の盗人に追いつこうと決めた。町を通り抜けるとき、持っていた金をすっかりはたいて、金糸の縁取りをした高価な靴を一足買った。そして街道を避けて近道をしながら、たいそう速く歩いた。やがて、牛を連れてのろのろ歩いてゆく弟分の盗人が見えた。兄貴分はその先の街道を 200 ヤードほど行ったところで、片方の靴を道に落とした。さらに 200 ヤード歩き、大きな木のそばに、もう片方の靴を落とした。そしてその木の茂った葉のなかに身を隠した。街道をやってきた弟分の盗人は、最初の靴を見て、ひとりごちた——「なんと美しい靴だろう! 金糸の縁取りだ。金持ちになったいまのおれには似合いだろうに。だが片方だけあってどうしよう」。そしてそのまま通り過ぎた。まもなくもう片方の靴の落ちているところへ来た。弟分の盗人は心のうちで言った——「ああ、ここにもう片方があるぞ! 最初に見た靴を拾わなかったとは、おれは何と馬鹿だったろう。だがまだ遅くはない。牛をあの木につないで、もう片方を取りに行こう」。そこで牛を木につなぎ、二つめの靴を拾って、200 ヤードほど先に落ちている最初の靴を取りに行った。そのあいだに兄貴分の盗人は木から下りて牛をほどき、王の街道を避けて故郷の村のほうへ追い立てていった。弟分の盗人が木に戻ると、牛がいない。むろん、兄貴分のしわざにちがいないと結論した。そこで足の続くかぎり速く歩き、牛を連れた兄貴分よりずっと早く故郷の村に着いた。そして兄貴分の家の戸口の近くに身を隠した。兄貴分が牛を連れて着いたとたん、弟分の盗人は声をかけた——「無事にお着きだな、兄貴。さあ入って金を分けよう」。兄貴分の盗人はこの申し出にすぐ応じた。家の奥の庭で二つの甕が牛の背から下ろされ、二人は部屋に入って戸を閂で締め、分けはじめた。金貨を二枚ずつ手に取り、一枚をこちらへ、もう一枚をあちらへ置く。それを続けてゆき、ついに甕は空になった。だが最後に一枚、金貨が残った。問題はこれを誰が取るかである。二人は、明朝これを両替して銀の小銭を等分しようということで意見が合った。だがその一枚は誰の手もとに置いておくのか。これについてはひと悶着あった。さんざん言い合ったすえ、兄貴分の盗人が預かり、翌朝両替して等分するということに落ち着いた。

At night the elder thief said to his wife and the other women of the house, "Look here, ladies, the younger thief will come to-morrow morning to demand the share of the remaining gold mohur; but I don't mean to give it to him. You do one thing to-morrow. Spread a cloth on the ground in the yard. I will lay myself on the cloth pretending to be dead; and to convince people that I am dead, put a tulasi [27] plant near my head. And when you see the younger thief coming to the door, you set up a loud cry and lamentation. Then he will of course go away, and I shall not have to pay his share of the gold mohur." To this proposal the women readily agreed. Accordingly the next day, about noon, the elder thief laid himself down in the yard like a corpse with the sacred basil near his head. When the younger thief was seen coming near the house, the women set up a loud cry, and when he came nearer and nearer, wondering what it all meant, they said, "Oh, where did you both go? What did you bring? What did you do to him? Look, he is dead!" So saying they rent the air with their cries. The younger thief, seeing through the whole, said, "Well, I am sorry my friend and brother is gone. I must now attend to his funeral. You all go away from this place, you are but women. I'll see to it that the remains are well burnt." He brought a quantity of straw and twisted it into a rope, which he fastened to the legs of the deceased man, and began tugging him, saying that he was going to take him to the place of burning. While the elder thief was being dragged through the streets, his body was getting dreadfully scratched and bruised, but he held his peace, being resolved to act his part out, and thus escape giving the share of the gold mohur. The sun had gone down when the younger thief with the corpse reached the place of burning. But as he was making preparations for a funeral pile, he remembered that he had not brought fire with him. If he went for fire leaving the elder thief behind, he would undoubtedly run away. What then was to be done? At last he tied the straw rope to the branch of a tree, and kept the pretended corpse hanging in the air, and he himself climbed into the tree and sat on that branch, keeping tight hold of the rope lest it should break, and the elder thief run away. While they were in this state, a gang of robbers passed by. On seeing the corpse hanging, the head of the gang said, "This raid of ours has begun very auspiciously. Brahmans and Pandits say that if on starting on a journey one sees a corpse, it is a good omen. Well, we have seen a corpse, it is therefore likely that we shall meet with success this night. If we do, I propose one thing: on our return let us first burn this dead body and then return home." All the robbers agreed to this proposal. The robbers then entered into the house of a rich man in the village, put its inmates to the sword, robbed it of all its treasures, and withal managed it so cleverly that not a mouse stirred in the village. As they were successful beyond measure, they resolved on their return to burn the dead body they had seen. When they came to the place of burning they found the corpse hanging as before, for the elder thief had not yet opened his mouth lest he should be obliged to give half of the gold mohur. The thieves dug a hollow in the ground, brought fuel, and laid it upon the hollow. They took down the corpse from the tree, and laid it upon the pile; and as they were going to set it on fire, the corpse gave out an unearthly scream and jumped up. That very moment the younger thief jumped down from the tree with a similar scream. The robbers were frightened beyond measure. They thought that a Dana (evil spirit) had possessed the corpse, and that a ghost jumped down from the tree. They ran away in great fear, leaving behind them the money and the jewels which they had obtained by robbery. The two thieves laughed heartily, took up all the riches of the robbers, went home, and lived merrily for a long time.

その夜、兄貴分の盗人は女房と家の女たちに言った。「いいか、おまえたち。明日の朝、弟分の盗人が残りの金貨の分け前をよこせと来る。だがおれはやるつもりはない。おまえたちは明日こうしてくれ。庭の地面に布を敷け。おれはその布の上に横になって、死んだふりをする。死んだと人に思わせるため、頭のそばにトゥラシ [27] の草を置け。そして弟分の盗人が戸口へ来るのを見たら、大声で泣きわめくのだ。そうすればあいつは帰るしかない。おれは金貨の分け前を払わずにすむ」。女たちはこの申し出にすぐ応じた。そこで翌日の昼ごろ、兄貴分の盗人は頭のそばに聖なるバジルを置いて、死人のように庭に横たわった。弟分の盗人が家に近づいてくるのが見えると、女たちは大声で泣きはじめ、彼がだんだん近づいて、いったい何ごとかと訝っていると、こう言った。「ああ、おまえさんたちはどこへ行ったのだね。何を持って帰ったのだね。この人に何をしたのだ。ごらん、死んでしまった!」。そう言って泣き声で空を裂かんばかりだった。弟分の盗人はすっかり見抜いて言った。「そうか、友であり兄弟であるこの人が逝ったのは残念だ。これから葬いをしなくてはならん。あんたたちはみなここを離れなさい、女の身ではどうにもならん。亡骸はおれがちゃんと焼いてやる」。そして藁をたくさん持ってきて縄によじり、死んだ男の脚に結びつけ、火葬場へ連れてゆくのだと言って引きずりはじめた。兄貴分の盗人は通りを引きずられるあいだ、体をひどく擦りむき打ち身だらけにされたが、最後まで芝居を通して金貨の分け前を払わずにすまそうと心を決めていたので、じっと黙っていた。弟分の盗人が亡骸を連れて火葬場に着いたころには、日は沈んでいた。ところが火葬の薪を用意しかけて、火を持ってこなかったことに気づいた。兄貴分を置いて火を取りに行けば、まちがいなく逃げ出すだろう。ではどうするか。とうとう藁縄を木の枝に結びつけ、死人のふりをした男を宙吊りにしたまま、自分もその木に登ってその枝に腰かけ、縄が切れて兄貴分が逃げ出さぬよう、しっかり握りしめていた。二人がそうしているところへ、盗賊の一団が通りかかった。宙吊りの死体を見て、一味の頭が言った。「今度の押し込みは幸先がよいぞ。バラモンや学者の言うには、旅に出るとき死体を見るのは吉兆だそうだ。さて、われらは死体を見たのだから、今夜はうまくゆくにちがいない。もしうまくいったら、一つ提案がある。帰りにまずこの死体を焼いてやってから家に帰ろうではないか」。盗賊はみなこの申し出に賛成した。それから盗賊たちは村の金持ちの家に押し入り、住む者を剣にかけ、宝をすっかり奪い、しかも実に巧みにやってのけたので、村では鼠一匹身じろぎもしなかった。このうえもなくうまくいったので、盗賊たちは帰りにあの死体を焼いてやろうと決めた。火葬場へ来てみると、死体は前と同じく吊るされていた。兄貴分の盗人はまだ、金貨の半分を渡すはめになるのを恐れて口を開かずにいたのである。盗賊たちは地面に穴を掘り、薪を運んできて穴の上に積んだ。そして死体を木から下ろして薪の上に横たえ、いままさに火をつけようとしたとき、死体がこの世のものならぬ叫び声をあげて跳ね起きた。そのとたん、弟分の盗人も同じような叫び声をあげて木から飛び下りた。盗賊たちは肝をつぶした。ダーナ(悪しき霊)が死体に取りついたのだ、木からは幽霊が飛び下りたのだと思った。そして奪ってきた金や宝石を残したまま、ひどく怯えて逃げ去った。二人の盗人は腹の底から笑い、盗賊たちの財宝をすっかり持ち帰って家へ戻り、長いこと愉快に暮らした。

PART II

第二部

The elder thief and the younger thief had one son each. As they had been so far successful in life by practising the art of thieving, they resolved to train up their sons to the same profession. There was in the village a Professor of the Science of Roguery, who took pupils, and gave them lessons in that difficult science. The two thieves put their sons under this renowned Professor. The son of the elder thief distinguished himself very much, and bade fair to surpass his father in the art of stealing. The lad's cleverness was tested in the following manner. Not far from the Professor's house there lived a poor man in a hut, upon the thatch of which climbed a creeper of the gourd kind. In the middle of the thatch, which was also its topmost part, there was a splendid gourd, which the man and his wife watched day and night. They certainly slept at night, but then the thatch was so old and rickety that if even a mouse went up to it bits of straw and particles of earth used to fall inside the hut, and the man and his wife slept right below the spot where the gourd was; so that it was next to impossible to steal the gourd without the knowledge of its owners. The Professor said to his pupils--for he had many--that any one who stole the gourd without being caught would be pronounced the dux of the school. Our elder thief's son at once accepted the offer. He said he would steal away the gourd if he were allowed the use of three things, namely, a string, a cat, and a knife. The Professor allowed him the use of these three things. Two or three hours after nightfall, the lad, furnished with the three things mentioned above, sat behind the thatch under the eaves, listening to the conversation carried on by the man and his wife lying in bed inside the hut. In a short time the conversation ceased. The lad then concluded that they must both have fallen asleep. He waited half an hour longer, and hearing no sound inside, gently climbed up on the thatch. Chips of straw and particles of earth fell upon the couple sleeping inside. The woman woke up, and rousing her husband said, "Look there, some one is stealing the gourd!" That moment the lad squeezed the throat of the cat, and puss immediately gave out her usual "Mew! mew! mew!" The husband said, "Don't you hear the cat mewing? There is no thief; it is only a cat." The lad in the meantime cut the gourd from the plant with his knife, and tied the string which he had with him to its stalk. But how was he to get down without being discovered and caught, especially as the man and the woman were now awake? The woman was not convinced that it was only a cat; the shaking of the thatch, and the constant falling of bits of straw and particles of dust, made her think that it was a human being that was upon the thatch. She was telling her husband to go out and see whether a man was not there; but he maintained that it was only a cat. While the man and woman were thus disputing with each other, the lad with great force threw down the cat upon the ground, on which the poor animal purred most vociferously; and the man said aloud to his wife, "There it is; you are now convinced that it was only a cat." In the meantime, during the confusion created by the clamour of the cat and the loud talk of the man, the lad quietly came down from the thatch with the gourd tied to the string. Next morning the lad produced the gourd before his teacher, and described to him and to his admiring comrades the manner in which he had committed the theft. The Professor was in ecstasy, and remarked, "The worthy son of a worthy father." But the elder thief, the father of our hopeful genius, was by no means satisfied that his son was as yet fit to enter the world. He wanted to prove him still further. Addressing his son he said, "My son, if you can do what I tell you, I'll think you fit to enter the world. If you can steal the gold chain of the queen of this country from her neck, and bring it to me, I'll think you fit to enter the world." The gifted son readily agreed to do the daring deed.

兄貴分の盗人と弟分の盗人には、それぞれ息子が一人ずつあった。これまで盗みの術を使ってうまく世を渡ってきたので、二人は息子たちにも同じ稼業を仕込もうと決めた。村には盗術学の先生がいて、弟子を取り、あの難しい学問を教えていた。二人の盗人は、この名高い先生のもとに息子たちを預けた。兄貴分の盗人の息子はめざましく抜きん出て、盗みの術では父を超えそうな見込みだった。この少年の腕前は、こんなふうに試された。先生の家からほど遠からぬところに、貧しい男が小屋に住んでいて、その屋根の茅に瓢箪の類の蔓が這い上がっていた。茅屋根の真ん中、つまりいちばん高いところに、見事な瓢箪が一つなっていて、男と女房が昼も夜も見張っていた。むろん夜は眠るのだが、屋根の茅は古くてがたがただったから、鼠が一匹上がっただけでも藁くずや土くれが小屋のなかへ落ちてくる。しかも男と女房は瓢箪のちょうど真下で寝ていた。だから持ち主に気づかれずに瓢箪を盗むことなど、まず不可能だった。先生は弟子たち——弟子は大勢いた——に、つかまらずにあの瓢箪を盗んだ者を、この学校の首席と認めようと言った。われらが兄貴分の盗人の息子は、ただちにこの申し出を受けた。三つのもの、すなわち紐と猫と小刀を使わせてもらえるなら、瓢箪を盗んでみせると言った。先生はこの三つを使うことを許した。日が暮れて二、三時間したころ、少年はこの三つを携えて、茅屋根の裏の軒下に坐り、小屋のなかで床についた男と女房の話に耳を澄ませていた。まもなく話し声がやんだ。そこで少年は、二人とも寝入ったにちがいないと結論した。さらに半時間待ち、なかから物音がしないので、そっと屋根に登った。藁くずと土くれが、なかで眠る夫婦の上に落ちた。女房が目を覚まし、夫を揺り起こして言った。「ごらんよ、誰かが瓢箪を盗んでいるよ!」。そのとたん少年が猫の喉を締めると、猫はいつもの「ニャー! ニャー! ニャー!」という声をあげた。夫が言った。「猫が鳴いているのが聞こえないのか。盗人なんぞいるものか、猫だよ」。そのあいだに少年は小刀で瓢箪を蔓から切り離し、持ってきた紐をその蔕に結びつけた。だが、見つかってつかまらずにどうやって下りるか、しかも男も女もいまや目を覚ましているのである。女房は猫だけだとは納得していなかった。屋根が揺れ、藁くずと埃がしきりに落ちてくるので、屋根の上にいるのは人間だと思ったのである。出ていって男がいないか見てきてくれと夫に言ったが、夫は猫にすぎないと言い張った。男と女房がそうやって言い合っているあいだに、少年は力まかせに猫を地面へ投げ落とした。あわれな猫は大声でわめき立て、夫は女房に高らかに言った。「そら、あのとおりだ。猫だけだったとこれで納得しただろう」。そのあいだ、猫の騒ぎと男の大声とで生じた混乱に紛れて、少年は紐に結んだ瓢箪を持って、そっと屋根から下りた。翌朝、少年は瓢箪を先生の前に差し出し、どうやって盗んだかを先生と感嘆する仲間たちに語って聞かせた。先生は狂喜して、「立派な父の立派な息子だ」と評した。だが兄貴分の盗人は、このわが期待の天才が世に出るにはまだ足りぬと、少しも満足しなかった。もっと試してみたかったのである。そこで息子に向かって言った。「息子よ、わしの言うことができたら、世に出てよいと思おう。この国の后の首から金の鎖を盗んで、わしのところへ持ってこられたら、世に出てよいと思おう」。才ある息子は、この大胆な仕事をすぐさま引き受けた。

The young thief--for so we shall now call the son of the elder thief--made a reconnaissance of the palace in which the king and queen lived. He reconnoitred all the four gates, and all the outer and inner walls as far as he could; and gathered incidentally a good deal of information, from people living in the neighbourhood, regarding the habits of the king and queen, in what part of the palace they slept, what guards there were near the bedchamber, and who, if any, slept in the antechamber. Armed with all this knowledge the young thief fixed upon one dark night for doing the daring deed. He took with him a sword, a hammer and some large nails, and put on very dark clothes. Thus accoutred he went prowling about the Lion gate of the palace. Before the zenana [28] could be got at, four doors, including the Lion gate, had to be passed; and each of these doors had a guard of sixteen stalwart men. The same men, however, did not remain all night at their post. As the king had an infinite number of soldiers at his command, the guards at the doors were relieved every hour; so that once every hour at each door there were thirty-two men present, consisting of the relieving party and of the relieved. The young thief chose that particular moment of time for entering each of the four doors. At the time of relief when he saw the Lion gate crowded with thirty-two men, he joined the crowd without being taken notice of; he then spent the hour preceding the next relief in the large open space and garden between two doors; and he could not be taken notice of, as the night as well as his clothes was pitch dark. In a similar manner he passed the second door, the third door, and the fourth door. And now the queen's bedchamber stared him in the face. It was in the third loft; there was a bright light in it; and a low voice was heard as that of a woman saying something in a humdrum manner. The young thief thought that the voice must be the voice of a maid-servant reciting a story, as he had learnt was the custom in the palace every night, for composing the king and queen to sleep. But how to get up into the third loft? The inner doors were all closed, and there were guards everywhere. But the young thief had with him nails and a hammer: why not drive the nails into the wall and climb up by them? True; but the driving of nails into the wall would make a great noise which would rouse the guards, and possibly the king and queen,--at any rate the maid-servant reciting stories would give the alarm. Our erratic genius had considered that matter well before engaging in the work. There is a water-clock in the palace which shows the hours; and at the end of every hour a very large Chinese gong is struck, the sound of which is so loud that it is not only heard all over the palace, but over most part of the city; and the peculiarity of the gong, as of every Chinese gong, was that nearly one minute must elapse after the first stroke before the second stroke could be made, to allow the gong to give out the whole of its sound. The thief fixed upon the minutes when the gong was struck at the end of every hour for driving nails into the wall. At ten o'clock when the gong was struck ten times, the thief found it easy to drive ten nails into the wall. When the gong stopped, the thief also stopped, and either sat or stood quiet on the ninth nail catching hold of the tenth which was above the other. At eleven o'clock he drove into the wall in a similar manner eleven nails, and got a little higher than the second story; and by twelve o'clock he was in the loft where the royal bedchamber was. Peeping in he saw a drowsy maid-servant drowsily reciting a story, and the king and queen apparently asleep. He went stealthily behind the story-telling maid-servant and took his seat. The queen was lying down on a richly furnished bedstead of gold beside the king. The massive chain of gold round the neck of the queen was gleaming in candle-light. The thief quietly listened to the story of the drowsy maid-servant. She was becoming more and more sleepy. She stopped for a second, nodded her head, and again resumed the story. It was plain she was under the influence of sleep. In a moment the thief cut off the head of the maid-servant with his sword, and himself went on reciting for some minutes the story which the woman was telling. The king and queen were unconscious of any change as to the person of the story-teller, for they were both in deep sleep. He stripped the murdered woman of her clothes, put them on himself, tied up his own clothes in a bundle, and walking softly, gently took off the chain from the neck of the queen. He then went through the rooms down stairs, ordered the inner guard to open the door, as she was obliged to go out of the palace for purposes of necessity. The guards, seeing that it was the queen's maid-servant, readily allowed her to go out. In the same manner, and with the same pretext, he got through the other doors, and at last out into the street. That very night, or rather morning, the young thief put into his father's hand the gold chain of the queen. The elder thief could scarcely believe his own eyes. It was so like a dream. His joy knew no bounds. Addressing his son he said--"Well done, my son; you are not only as clever as your father, but you have beaten me hollow. The gods give you long life, my son."

若い盗人——これから兄貴分の盗人の息子をこう呼ぶことにする——は、王と后の住む宮殿の下見をした。四つの門を、そして外と内の壁を見られるかぎり見てまわり、ついでに近所の人々から、王と后の暮らしぶり、宮殿のどのあたりで眠るか、寝室のそばにどんな衛士がいるか、控えの間に誰か寝ているか、といったことをずいぶん聞き出した。この知識を武器に、若い盗人はある闇夜を、この大胆な仕事の日と定めた。剣と鎚と大きな釘をいくつか携え、ごく黒い衣を身につけた。こう身支度して、宮殿の獅子門のあたりをうろついた。後宮 [28] にたどり着くには、獅子門を含めて四つの戸を通らねばならず、そのどの戸にも屈強な男が十六人、番についていた。ただし同じ男が一晩じゅう持ち場にいるわけではない。王は数えきれぬほどの兵を抱えていたから、戸の番は一時間ごとに交替した。それゆえ一時間に一度、どの戸にも交替に来た組と交替される組とで、三十二人の男がそろうのである。若い盗人は、四つの戸を通るのに、ちょうどこの時を選んだ。交替の時刻、獅子門に三十二人がひしめいているのを見て取ると、気づかれずにその群れに紛れ込んだ。そして次の交替までの一時間を、二つの戸のあいだの広い空き地と庭で過ごした。夜も衣も漆黒だったから、気づかれる気遣いはなかった。同じやり方で二つめの戸、三つめの戸、四つめの戸を通った。そしていまや后の寝室が目の前にあった。それは三階にあり、明るい灯がともり、女が単調に何かを語る低い声が聞こえていた。若い盗人は、これは侍女が物語を語っている声にちがいないと思った。王と后を寝かしつけるため、宮殿では毎晩そうするのが習わしだと聞き知っていたのである。だがどうやって三階へ上がるか。内側の戸はみな閉ざされ、どこにも衛士がいる。だが若い盗人は釘と鎚を持っていた。壁に釘を打ち込んで、それを伝って登ればよいではないか。なるほど。だが壁に釘を打てば大きな音が立ち、衛士が、ことによると王と后までが目を覚ます——少なくとも物語を語る侍女が騒ぎ立てるだろう。われらが型破りの天才は、この仕事にかかる前にそこをよく考えてあった。宮殿には時を示す水時計があり、一時間の終わりごとに、たいそう大きな唐銅の鑼が打たれる。その音はあまりに大きく、宮殿じゅうはおろか都の大半にまで響きわたる。そしてどの唐鑼もそうであるように、この鑼も、音を鳴らしきらせるため、一つめの打音のあと二つめを打つまでに一分近く置かねばならないという癖があった。盗人は、一時間の終わりごとに鑼が打たれるその数分を、壁に釘を打ち込む時と定めた。十時に鑼が十回打たれると、盗人はたやすく十本の釘を壁に打ち込めた。鑼がやむと盗人もやめ、九本めの釘の上に坐るか立つかして、その上の十本めをつかんでじっとしていた。十一時には同じようにして十一本の釘を打ち込み、二階より少し高いところまで達した。そして十二時には、王の寝室のある階にいた。覗いてみると、眠たげな侍女が眠たげに物語を語り、王と后は寝入っているらしい。盗人は物語を語る侍女の背後へ忍び寄り、腰を下ろした。后は王のかたわら、豪奢な金の寝台に横たわっていた。后の首にかかる重々しい金の鎖が、燭の光に輝いていた。盗人は眠たげな侍女の物語をじっと聞いていた。侍女はいよいよ眠たくなってゆく。ふと止まり、こくりと頭を垂れ、また語りはじめる。眠気に負けているのは明らかだった。次の瞬間、盗人は剣で侍女の首を斬り落とし、自分がその女の語っていた物語を数分のあいだ語りつづけた。王と后は語り手が入れ替わったことに気づかなかった。二人とも深く寝入っていたからである。盗人は殺した女の着物を剥いで自分が着込み、自分の衣は包みにまとめ、そっと歩み寄って、后の首から静かに鎖を外した。それから階下の部屋々を抜け、用を足しに宮殿の外へ出なければならないと言って、内側の番人に戸を開けさせた。衛士たちは后の侍女だと見て、すんなり外へ出してやった。同じやり方、同じ口実でほかの戸も抜け、ついに通りへ出た。まさにその夜、いや明け方、若い盗人は后の金の鎖を父の手に握らせた。兄貴分の盗人はわが目を疑った。まるで夢のようだった。その喜びは際限がなかった。息子に向かってこう言った——「でかしたぞ、息子よ。おまえは父と同じだけ賢いどころか、わしを遠く追い越した。神々がおまえに長い命をくださるように」

Next morning when the king and queen got up from bed, they were shocked to see the maid-servant lying in a pool of blood. The queen also found that her gold chain was not round her neck. They could not make out how all this could have taken place. How could any thief manage to elude the vigilance of so many guards? How could he get into the queen's bedchamber? And how could he again escape? The king found from the reports of the guards that a person calling herself the royal maid-servant had gone out of the palace some hours before dawn. All sorts of inquiries were made, but in vain. Proclamation was made in the city; a large reward was offered to any one who would give information tending to the apprehension of the thief and murderer. But no one responded to the call. At last the king ordered a camel to be brought to him. On the back of the animal was placed two large bags filled with gold mohurs. The man taking charge of the bags upon the camel was ordered to go through every part of the city making the following challenge:--"As the thief was daring enough to steal away a gold chain from the neck of the queen, let him further show his daring by stealing the gold mohurs from the back of this camel." Two days and nights the camel paraded through the city, but nothing happened. On the third night as the camel-driver was going his rounds he was accosted by a sannyasi, [29] who sat on a tiger's skin before a fire, and near whom was a monstrous pair of tongs. This sannyasi was no other than the young thief in disguise. The sannyasi said to the camel-driver--"Brother, why are you going through the city in this manner? Who is there so daring as to steal from the back of the king's camel? Come down, friend, and smoke with me." The camel-driver alighted, tied the camel to a tree on the spot, and began smoking. The mendicant supplied him not only with tobacco, but with ganja and other intoxicating drugs, so that in a short time the camel-driver became quite intoxicated and fell asleep. The young thief led away the camel with the treasure on its back in the dead of night, through narrow lanes and bye-paths to his own house. That very night the camel was killed, and its carcase buried in deep pits in the earth, and the thing was so managed that no one could discover any trace of it.

翌朝、王と后が床から起きると、侍女が血の海に横たわっているのを見て仰天した。后は金の鎖が首にないことにも気づいた。どうしてこんなことが起こりえたのか、二人には見当もつかなかった。これほど大勢の衛士の目をかいくぐれる盗人がどこにいよう。どうやって后の寝室に入れよう。そしてどうやってまた逃げおおせたのか。王は衛士たちの報告から、王家の侍女だと名乗る者が夜明けの数時間前に宮殿を出ていったことを知った。ありとあらゆる詮索がなされたが無駄だった。都に触れが出され、盗人にして人殺しの捕縛につながる知らせをもたらす者には多額の褒美が出ると告げられた。だが応じる者はいなかった。ついに王は駱駝を一頭引いてこさせた。その背に金貨をいっぱい詰めた大きな袋を二つ載せた。駱駝の袋を預かる男は、都のすみずみを歩きながらこう挑めと命じられた——「后の首から金の鎖を盗むほど大胆な盗人なら、この駱駝の背から金貨を盗んで、さらにその大胆さを見せてみよ」。二日二晩、駱駝は都を練り歩いたが、何も起こらなかった。三日めの夜、駱駝引きが見まわっていると、一人のサンニャーシ [29] に声をかけられた。虎の皮を敷いて火の前に坐り、そばには途方もなく大きな火挟みが置いてある。このサンニャーシこそ、変装した若い盗人にほかならなかった。サンニャーシは駱駝引きに言った——「兄弟、なぜそんなふうに都を歩きまわっている。王の駱駝の背から盗むほど大胆な者がどこにいよう。下りてきて、わしといっしょに一服せぬか」。駱駝引きは下り、その場の木に駱駝をつなぎ、煙草を吸いはじめた。行者は煙草だけでなく、ガンジャやほかの酔わせる薬も勧めたので、まもなく駱駝引きはすっかり酔って眠り込んだ。若い盗人は真夜中に、宝を背に載せた駱駝を引いて、細い路地や裏道を通り、自分の家へ連れ帰った。その夜のうちに駱駝は殺され、その骸は地中深く掘った穴に埋められ、しかも実に巧みに始末されたので、誰にもその痕跡は見つけられなかった。

The next morning when the king heard that the camel-driver was lying drunk in the street, and that the camel had been made away with together with the treasure, he was almost beside himself with anger. Proclamation was made in the city to the effect that whoever caught the thief would get the reward of a lakh of rupees. The son of the younger thief--who, by the way, was in the same school of roguery with the son of the elder thief, though he did not distinguish himself so much--now came to the front and said that he would apprehend the thief. He of course suspected that the son of the elder thief must have done it--for who so daring and clever as he? In the evening of the following day the son of the younger thief disguised himself as a woman, and coming to that part of the town where the young thief lived, began to weep very much, and went from door to door saying--"O sirs, can any of you give me a bit of camel's flesh, for my son is dying, and the doctors say nothing but eating camel's meat can save his life. O for pity's sake, do give me a bit of camel's flesh." At last he went to the house of the young thief, and begged of the wife--for the young thief himself was out--to tell him where he could get hold of camel's flesh, as his son would assuredly perish if it could not be got. Saying this he rent the air with his cries, and fell down at the feet of the young thief's wife. Woman as she was, though the wife of a thief, she felt pity for the supposed woman, and said--"Wait, and I will try and get some camel's flesh for your son." So saying, she secretly went to the spot where the dead camel had been buried, brought a small quantity of flesh, and gave it to the party. The son of the younger thief was now entranced with joy. He went and told the king that he had succeeded in tracing the thief, and would be ready to deliver him up at night if the king would send some constables with him. At night the elder thief and his son were captured, the body of the camel dug out, and all the treasures in the house seized. The following morning the king sat in judgment. The son of the elder thief confessed that he had stolen the queen's gold chain, and killed the maid-servant, and had taken away the camel; but he added that the person who had detected him and his father--the younger thief--were also thieves and murderers, of which fact he gave undoubted proofs. As the king had promised to give a lakh of rupees to the detective, that sum was placed before the son of the younger thief. But soon after he ordered four pits to be dug in the earth in which were buried alive, with all sorts of thorns and thistles, the elder thief and the younger thief, and their two sons.

翌朝、駱駝引きが酔って通りに転がり、駱駝が宝もろとも持ち去られたと聞いて、王は怒りに我を忘れんばかりになった。盗人をつかまえた者には十万ルピーの褒美を与えるという触れが都に出された。そこへ弟分の盗人の息子——ついでに言えば、この男も兄貴分の盗人の息子と同じ盗術の学校にいたが、それほど抜きん出てはいなかった——が名乗り出て、盗人をつかまえてみせると言った。むろん彼は、これは兄貴分の盗人の息子のしわざにちがいないと疑っていた。あれほど大胆で賢い者がほかにいようか。翌日の夕方、弟分の盗人の息子は女に化けて、若い盗人の住む一角へ行き、さめざめと泣きながら戸口から戸口へまわって言った——「ああ皆さま、どなたか駱駝の肉を少しくださいませんか。息子が死にかけていて、医者は駱駝の肉を食べるほかに命を救う手はないと申します。ああ後生ですから、駱駝の肉を少しくださいまし」。ついに若い盗人の家へ行き、その女房に——若い盗人自身は出かけていた——駱駝の肉はどこで手に入るか教えてくれ、手に入らねば息子はきっと死んでしまうと頼み込んだ。そう言って泣き声で空を裂かんばかりにし、若い盗人の女房の足もとに身を投げた。女房は盗人の妻ではあっても女の身、この女と見えた者を哀れに思って言った——「お待ちなさい、息子さんのために駱駝の肉を少し手に入れてみましょう」。そう言って、こっそりと死んだ駱駝を埋めた場所へ行き、肉を少し持ってきて相手に渡した。弟分の盗人の息子は喜びに我を忘れた。そして王のもとへ行き、盗人の跡をつかんだ、捕り手を何人かつけてくださるなら今夜のうちに引き渡しますと告げた。その夜、兄貴分の盗人とその息子は捕らえられ、駱駝の骸は掘り出され、家じゅうの財宝は押収された。翌朝、王は裁きの座についた。兄貴分の盗人の息子は、后の金の鎖を盗み、侍女を殺し、駱駝を持ち去ったことを白状した。だがこう言い添えた——自分と父を突きとめたあの男とその父、すなわち弟分の盗人もまた盗人であり人殺しである、と。そしてそれを疑いようのない証拠をもって示した。王は密告者に十万ルピーを与えると約束していたので、その金は弟分の盗人の息子の前に置かれた。だがそのすぐあと、王は地に四つの穴を掘らせ、あらゆる棘や薊とともに、兄貴分の盗人と弟分の盗人、そしてその二人の息子を、生きたまま埋めさせた。

Here my story endeth, The Natiya-thorn withereth, etc.

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。