The Story of a Hiraman

There was a fowler who had a wife. The fowler's wife said to her husband one day, "My dear, I'll tell you the reason why we are always in want. It is because you sell every bird you catch by your rods, whereas if we sometimes eat some of the birds you catch, we are sure to have better luck. I propose therefore that whatever bird or birds you bag to-day we do not sell, but dress and eat." The fowler agreed to his wife's proposal, and went out a-bird-catching. He went about from wood to wood with his limed rods, accompanied by his wife, but in vain. Somehow or other they did not succeed in catching any bird till near sundown. But just as they were returning homewards they caught a beautiful hiraman. The fowler's wife, taking the bird in her hand and feeling it all over, said, "What a small bird this is! how much meat can it have? There is no use in killing it." The hiraman said, "Mother, do not kill me, but take me to the king, and you will get a large sum of money by selling me." The fowler and his wife were greatly taken aback on hearing the bird speak, and they asked the bird what price they should set upon it. The hiraman answered, "Leave that to me; take me to the king and offer me for sale; and when the king asks my price, say, 'The bird will tell its own price,' and then I'll mention a large sum." The fowler accordingly went the next day to the king's palace, and offered the bird for sale. The king, delighted with the beauty of the bird, asked the fowler what he would take for it. The fowler said, "O great king, the bird will tell its own price." "What! can the bird speak?" asked the king. "Yes, my lord; be pleased to ask the bird its price," replied the fowler. The king, half in jest and half in seriousness, said, "Well, hiraman, what is your price?" The hiraman answered, "Please your majesty, my price is ten thousand rupees. Do not think that the price is too high. Count out the money for the fowler, for I'll be of the greatest service to your majesty." "What service can you be of to me, hiraman?" asked the king. "Your majesty will see that in due time," replied the hiraman. The king, surprised beyond measure at hearing the hiraman talk, and talk so sensibly, took the bird, and ordered his treasurer to tell down the sum of ten thousand rupees to the fowler.

あるところに、妻を持つ鳥刺しがいた。ある日、鳥刺しの妻が夫に言った。「あなた、わたしたちがいつも不自由しているわけをお話ししましょう。それは、あなたが竿で捕らえた鳥をみな売ってしまうからです。もしときどき捕らえた鳥を自分たちで食べれば、きっと運が向いてきます。ですから、きょう捕らえた鳥は売らずに、料理して食べることにしましょう。」鳥刺しは妻の申し出に承知して、鳥を捕りに出かけた。鳥もちを塗った竿を持ち、妻を連れて森から森へ歩き回ったが、むだであった。どういうわけか、日暮れ近くまで一羽も捕まえられなかった。けれどもちょうど家路につこうとしたとき、美しいヒラマン(緑の鸚鵡)を一羽捕らえた。鳥刺しの妻はその鳥を手に取り、あちこち触ってみて言った。「なんて小さな鳥でしょう! 肉がどれほどあるというの。殺してもしかたがないわ。」するとヒラマンが言った。「母さん、わたしを殺さないで、王さまのところへ連れていってください。売れば大金が手に入りますよ。」鳥刺しと妻は、鳥がものを言うのを聞いてたいそう驚き、いくらの値をつけたものかと鳥に尋ねた。ヒラマンは答えた。「それはわたしに任せてください。王さまのところへ連れていって売りに出し、王さまが値をお尋ねになったら、『この鳥が自分で値を申します』と言ってください。そうしたらわたしが大きな額を申し上げます。」そこで鳥刺しは翌日、王の宮殿へ行って鳥を売りに出した。王はこの鳥の美しさに喜んで、いくらで売るのかと鳥刺しに尋ねた。鳥刺しは言った。「おお偉大な王よ、この鳥が自分で値を申します。」「何だと。この鳥は口をきくのか」と王は尋ねた。「はい、殿さま。どうかこの鳥にお値段をお尋ねください」と鳥刺しは答えた。王は半ば戯れ、半ば真剣に言った。「では、ヒラマンよ、お前の値はいくらか。」ヒラマンは答えた。「恐れながら、わたしの値は一万ルピーでございます。高すぎるとお思いになりませぬよう。鳥刺しにその金をお数えください。わたしは陛下のこのうえないお役に立ちますから。」「どんな役に立つというのだ、ヒラマンよ」と王は尋ねた。「そのうちお分かりになります」とヒラマンは答えた。王はヒラマンが口をきき、それもこれほど道理にかなった話をするのに、このうえなく驚いて鳥を受け取り、金庫番に一万ルピーを鳥刺しに数えて渡すよう命じた。

The king had six queens, but he was so taken up with the bird that he almost forgot that they lived; at any rate, his days and nights were spent in the company, not of the queens, but of the bird. The hiraman not only replied intelligently to every question the king put, but it recited to him the names of the three hundred and thirty millions of the gods of the Hindu pantheon, the hearing of which is always regarded as an act of piety. The queens felt that they were neglected by the king, became jealous of the bird, and determined to kill it. It was long before they got an opportunity, as the bird was the king's inseparable companion. One day the king went out a-hunting, and he was to be away from the palace for two days. The six queens determined to avail themselves of the opportunity and put an end to the life of the bird. They said to one another, "Let us go and ask the bird which of us is the ugliest in his estimation, and she whom he pronounces the ugliest shall strangle the bird." Thus resolved, they all went into the room where the bird was; but before the queens could put any questions the bird so sweetly and so piously recited the names of the gods and goddesses, that the hearts of them all were melted into tenderness, and they came away without accomplishing their purpose. The following day, however, their evil genius returned, and they called themselves a thousand fools for having been diverted from their purpose. They therefore determined to steel their hearts against all pity, and to kill the bird without delay. They all went into the room, and said to the bird, "O hiraman, you are a very wise bird, we hear, and your judgments are all right; will you please tell us which of us is the handsomest and which the ugliest?" The bird, knowing the evil design of the queens, said to them, "How can I answer your questions remaining in this cage? In order to pronounce a correct judgment I must look minutely on every limb of you all, both in front and behind. If you wish to know my opinion you must set me free." The women were at first afraid of setting the bird free lest it should fly away; but on second thoughts they set it free after shutting all the doors and windows of the room. The bird, on examining the room, saw that it had a water-passage through which it was possible to escape. When the question was repeated several times by the queens, the bird said, "The beauty of not one of you can be compared to the beauty of the little toe of the lady that lives beyond the seven oceans and the thirteen rivers." The queens, on hearing their beauty spoken of in such slighting terms, became exceedingly furious, and rushed towards the bird to tear it in pieces; but before they could get at it, it escaped through the water-passage, and took shelter in a wood-cutter's hut which was hard by.

王には六人の妃がいたが、この鳥に夢中になって、妃たちが生きていることさえほとんど忘れてしまった。少なくとも、昼も夜も妃たちとではなく、鳥とともに過ごした。ヒラマンは王のどんな問いにも賢く答えるばかりか、ヒンドゥーの神々三億三千万の名を唱えてみせた。それを聞くことはつねに信心の行いと見なされている。妃たちは王に顧みられなくなったと感じて鳥を妬み、殺そうと心を決めた。けれども鳥は王と片時も離れなかったので、機会はなかなか訪れなかった。ある日、王が狩りに出かけ、二日のあいだ宮殿を留守にすることになった。六人の妃はこの機会を使って鳥の命を絶とうと決めた。妃たちは互いに言い合った。「あの鳥のところへ行って、わたしたちのうち誰がいちばん醜いと思うかを尋ねましょう。そして、いちばん醜いと言われた者が鳥を絞め殺すのです。」そう決めて、みなで鳥のいる部屋へ入っていった。けれども妃たちが問いを発する前に、鳥があまりに甘く敬虔に神々と女神たちの名を唱えたので、妃たちの心はみな和らいで、目的を果たさずに出てきてしまった。けれども翌日、その悪しき心がよみがえり、目的を逸らされたことで自分たちを千の愚か者と呼んだ。そこで、あらゆる憐れみに心を鋼のように固くして、ためらわずに鳥を殺そうと決めた。一同は部屋に入り、鳥に言った。「おおヒラマンよ、お前はたいそう賢い鳥で、その判じることはみな正しいと聞いています。どうか教えておくれ、わたしたちのうち誰がいちばん美しく、誰がいちばん醜いのか。」鳥は妃たちの邪な企てを知っていたので、こう言った。「この籠のなかにいて、どうしてお尋ねにお答えできましょう。正しい判じ方をするには、お一人お一人の手足を、前も後ろも細かく見なければなりません。わたしの考えをお知りになりたければ、わたしを放してくださらねば。」妃たちは初め、放せば飛び去ってしまうのではないかと恐れたが、考え直して、部屋の戸と窓をみな閉めてから放した。鳥は部屋を調べて、逃げられそうな水の通り道があるのを見つけた。妃たちが何度も問いを繰り返すと、鳥は言った。「あなたがたのどなたの美しさも、七つの大洋と十三の川の彼方に住むご婦人の、小指の美しさにさえ比べられません。」妃たちは自分たちの美しさをこれほど軽んじて言われて、激しく怒り、鳥を引き裂こうと駆け寄った。けれども捕らえる前に、鳥は水の通り道から逃げ出して、すぐ近くの木こりの小屋に身を寄せた。

The next day the king returned home from hunting, and not finding the hiraman on its perch became mad with grief. He asked the queens, and they told him that they knew nothing about it. The king wept day and night for the bird, as he loved it much. His ministers became afraid lest his reason should give way, for he used every hour of the day to weep, saying, "O my hiraman! O my hiraman! where art thou gone?" Proclamation was made by beat of drum throughout the kingdom to the effect that if any person could produce before the king his pet hiraman he would be rewarded with ten thousand rupees. The wood-cutter, rejoiced at the idea of becoming independent for life, produced the precious bird and obtained the reward. The king, on hearing from the parrot that the queens had attempted to kill it, became mad with rage. He ordered them to be driven away from the palace and put in a desert place without food. The king's order was obeyed, and it was rumoured after a few days that the poor queens were all devoured by wild beasts.

翌日、王は狩りから帰ってきたが、止まり木にヒラマンがいないのを見て悲しみに狂った。妃たちに尋ねると、何も知らないと答えた。王はこの鳥をたいそう愛していたので、昼も夜も泣いた。大臣たちは、王の正気が失われるのではないかと恐れた。王は一日じゅう一時ごとに「おおわがヒラマンよ! おおわがヒラマンよ! どこへ行ってしまったのだ」と言って泣いていたからである。王国じゅうに太鼓を打って触れが出された。もし誰かが王の愛鳥ヒラマンを王の前に差し出せば、一万ルピーの褒美を与えるというのである。木こりは一生食うに困らなくなると喜んで、この貴い鳥を差し出し、褒美を得た。王は鸚鵡から、妃たちが自分を殺そうとしたと聞いて、怒りに狂った。そして妃たちを宮殿から追い出し、食べ物も与えずに荒れ野に置き去りにせよと命じた。王の命は守られ、幾日かののちには、哀れな妃たちはみな野の獣に食われたという噂が立った。

After some time the king said to the parrot, "Hiraman, you said to the queens that the beauty of none of them could be compared to the beauty of even the little toe of the lady who lives on the other side of the seven oceans and thirteen rivers. Do you know of any means by which I can get at that lady?"

しばらくして王は鸚鵡に言った。「ヒラマンよ、お前は妃たちに、彼女たちの誰の美しさも、七つの大洋と十三の川の向こう側に住む婦人の小指の美しさにさえ比べられぬと言ったそうだな。その婦人のもとへ行ける手立てを何か知っているか。」

Hiraman. Of course I do. I can take your majesty to the door of the palace in which that lady of peerless beauty lives; and if your majesty will abide by my counsel, I will undertake to put that lady into your arms.

ヒラマン——もちろん存じております。並ぶもののない美しさのその婦人が住む宮殿の戸口まで、陛下をお連れできます。そして陛下がわたしの言うとおりになさるなら、あの婦人を陛下の腕のなかに収めてごらんに入れましょう。

King. I will do whatever you tell me. What do you wish me to do?

王——お前の言うとおりにしよう。わたしに何をせよというのだ。

Hiraman. What is required is a pakshiraj. [36] If you can procure a horse of that species, you can ride upon it, and in no time we shall cross the seven oceans and thirteen rivers, and stand at the door of the lady's palace.

ヒラマン——入り用なのはパクシラージ[36](鳥の王たる馬)でございます。その種の馬を手に入れられれば、それに乗って、たちまち七つの大洋と十三の川を越え、あの婦人の宮殿の戸口に立てましょう。

King. I have, as you know, a large stud of horses; we can now go and see if there are any pakshirajes amongst them.

王——知ってのとおり、わたしには大きな馬の群れがある。今から行って、そのなかにパクシラージがいるかどうか見てみよう。

The king and the hiraman went to the royal stables and examined all the horses. The hiraman passed by all the fine-looking horses and those of high mettle, and alighted upon a wretched-looking lean pony, and said, "Here is the horse I want. It is a horse of the genuine pakshiraj breed, but it must be fed full six months with the finest grain before it can answer our purpose." The king accordingly put that pony in a stable by itself and himself saw every day that it was fed with the finest grain that could be got in the kingdom. The pony rapidly improved in appearance, and at the end of six months the hiraman pronounced it fit for service. The parrot then told the king to order the royal silversmith to make some khais [37] of silver. A large quantity of silver khais was made in a short time. When about to start on their aerial journey the hiraman said to the king, "I have one request to make. Please whip the horse only once at starting. If you whip him more than once, we shall not be able to reach the palace, but stick mid-way. And when we return homewards after capturing the lady, you are also to whip the horse only once; if you whip him more than once, we shall come only half the way and remain there." The king then got upon the pakshiraj with the hiraman and the silver khais and gently whipped the animal once. The horse shot through the air with the speed of lightning, passed over many countries, kingdoms, and empires, crossed the oceans and thirteen rivers, and alighted in the evening at the gate of a beautiful palace.

王とヒラマンは王家の厩へ行き、馬をみな調べた。ヒラマンは見た目のよい馬や気性の勇ましい馬をみな素通りして、みすぼらしい痩せた小馬にとまって言った。「これこそわたしの求める馬です。まことのパクシラージの血筋ですが、役に立つようになるには、たっぷり六か月のあいだ最上の穀物を食べさせねばなりません。」そこで王はその小馬を一頭だけの厩に入れ、王国じゅうで手に入るかぎり最上の穀物を毎日与えるのを自ら見届けた。小馬はみるみる姿がよくなり、六か月の終わりにヒラマンはこれで役に立つと言い渡した。それから鸚鵡は王に、王家の銀細工師に命じて銀のカイ[37](炒り米の菓子)をこしらえさせよと言った。まもなく大量の銀のカイが作られた。空の旅に出ようというとき、ヒラマンは王に言った。「ひとつお願いがございます。出発のときに、馬を一度だけ鞭でお打ちください。二度以上お打ちになれば、宮殿にたどり着けず、途中で立ち往生してしまいます。そして婦人を連れて帰る道でも、馬を一度だけお打ちください。二度以上打てば、道半ばまでしか来られず、そこに留まることになります。」それから王はヒラマンと銀のカイを携えてパクシラージにまたがり、そっと一度その馬を鞭で打った。馬は稲妻の速さで空を駆け、多くの国と王国と帝国の上を過ぎ、大洋と十三の川を越えて、夕方、美しい宮殿の門に降り立った。

Now, near the palace-gate there stood a lofty tree. The hiraman told the king to put the horse in the stable hard by, and then to climb into the tree and remain there concealed. The hiraman took the silver khais, and with its beak began dropping khai after khai from the foot of the tree, all through the corridors and passages, up to the door of the bedchamber of the lady of peerless beauty. After doing this, the hiraman perched upon the tree where the king was concealed. Some hours after midnight, the maid-servant of the lady, who slept in the same room with her, wishing to come out, opened the door and noticed the silver khais lying there. She took up a few of them, and not knowing what they were, showed them to her lady. The lady, admiring the little silver bullets, and wondering how they could have got there, came out of her room and began picking them up. She saw a regular stream of them apparently issuing from near the door of her room, and proceeding she knew not how far. She went on picking up in a basket the bright, shining khais all through the corridors and passages, till she came to the foot of the tree. No sooner did the lady of peerless beauty come to the foot of the tree than the king, agreeably to instructions previously given to him by the hiraman, alighted from the tree and caught hold of the lady. In a moment she was put upon the horse along with himself. At that moment the hiraman sat upon the shoulder of the king, the king gently whipped the horse once, and they all were whirled through the air with the speed of lightning. The king, wishing to reach home soon with the precious prize, and forgetful of the instructions of the hiraman, whipped the horse again; on which the horse at once alighted on the outskirts of what seemed a dense forest. "What have you done, O king?" shouted out the hiraman. "Did I not tell you not to whip the horse more than once? You have whipped him twice, and we are done for. We may meet with our death here." But the thing was done, and it could not be helped. The pakshiraj became powerless; and the party could not proceed homewards. They dismounted; but they could not see anywhere the habitations of men. They ate some fruits and roots, and slept that night there upon the ground.

さて、宮殿の門の近くに高い木が立っていた。ヒラマンは王に、馬をすぐそばの厩に入れ、それからこの木に登って隠れているようにと言った。ヒラマンは銀のカイを取り、そのくちばしで、木の根方から廊下や通路をずっと通って、並ぶもののない美しさの婦人の寝間の戸口まで、カイを一粒ずつ落としていった。それが済むと、ヒラマンは王の隠れている木にとまった。真夜中を幾時間か過ぎたころ、その婦人と同じ部屋で眠っていた侍女が、外へ出ようとして戸を開け、そこに銀のカイが落ちているのに気づいた。侍女はいくつか拾い上げ、それが何か分からぬまま女主人に見せた。婦人はこの小さな銀の玉に見とれ、どうしてここにあるのかといぶかって部屋を出、それを拾いはじめた。見ると、それは自分の部屋の戸口の近くから始まって、どこまで続くとも知れぬ列をなしていた。婦人は廊下や通路をずっと、明るく輝くカイを籠に拾い集めていき、とうとう木の根方まで来た。並ぶもののない美しさの婦人が木の根方に来るやいなや、王はヒラマンからあらかじめ教えられていたとおり、木から降りてその婦人を捕らえた。たちまち婦人は王とともに馬に乗せられた。その瞬間、ヒラマンは王の肩にとまり、王はそっと一度馬を鞭で打ち、一同は稲妻の速さで空を渦巻いていった。王は、この貴い獲物とともに早く家に着きたいと思い、ヒラマンの言いつけを忘れて、もう一度馬を打った。すると馬はたちまち、深い森らしきもののはずれに降りてしまった。「何をなさったのです、おお王よ!」とヒラマンは叫んだ。「馬を二度以上打ってはならぬと申し上げませんでしたか。二度お打ちになったので、われらはもう終わりです。ここで死ぬことになるかもしれません。」けれども起きてしまったことはどうにもならなかった。パクシラージは力を失い、一行は家路をたどれなくなった。三人は馬を降りたが、どこにも人の住まいは見えなかった。木の実と根をいくらか食べ、その夜は地面で眠った。

Next morning it so chanced that the king of that country came to that forest to hunt. As he was pursuing a stag, whom he had pierced with an arrow, he came across the king and the lady of peerless beauty. Struck with the matchless beauty of the lady, he wished to seize her. He whistled, and in a moment his attendants flocked around him. The lady was made a captive, and her lover, who had brought her from her house on the other side of the seven oceans and thirteen rivers, was not put to death, but his eyes were put out, and he was left alone in the forest--alone, and yet not alone, for the good hiraman was with him.

翌朝、たまたまその国の王がこの森へ狩りに来た。矢で射た牡鹿を追ううちに、彼はあの王と、並ぶもののない美しさの婦人に出くわした。この婦人の比類ない美しさに打たれて、彼は婦人を奪おうと思った。口笛を吹くと、たちまち家来たちが周りに集まった。婦人は捕虜にされ、七つの大洋と十三の川の彼方の家から婦人を連れてきたその恋人は、殺されこそしなかったが両の目をつぶされ、森に一人置き去りにされた——一人、いや一人ではない。よきヒラマンがともにいたからである。

The lady of peerless beauty was taken into the king's palace, as well as the pony of her lover. The lady said to the king that he must not come near her for six months, in consequence of a vow which she had taken, and which would be completed in that period of time. She mentioned six months, as that period would be necessary for recruiting the constitution of the pakshiraj. As the lady professed to engage every day in religious ceremonies, in consequence of her vow, a separate house was assigned to her, where she took the pakshiraj and fed him with the choicest grain. But everything would be fruitless if the lady did not meet the hiraman. But how is she to get a sight of that bird? She adopted the following expedient. She ordered her servants to scatter on the roof of her house heaps of paddy, grain, and all sorts of pulse for the refreshment of birds. The consequence was, that thousands of the feathery race came to the roof to partake of the abundant feast. The lady was every day on the look out for her hiraman. The hiraman, meanwhile, was in great distress in the forest. He had to take care not only of himself, but of the now blinded king. He plucked some ripe fruits in the forest, and gave them to the king to eat, and he ate of them himself. This was the manner of hiraman's life. The other birds of the forest spoke thus to the parrot--"O hiraman, you have a miserable life of it in this forest. Why don't you come with us to an abundant feast provided for us by a pious lady, who scatters many maunds of pulse on the roof of her house for the benefit of our race? We go there early in the morning and return in the evening, eating our fill along with thousands of other birds." The hiraman resolved to accompany them next morning, shrewdly suspecting more in the lady's charity to birds than the other birds thought there was in it. The hiraman saw the lady, and had a long chat with her about the health of the blinded king, the means of curing his blindness, and about her escape. The plan adopted was as follows: The pony would be ready for aerial flight in a short time--for a great part of the six months had already elapsed; and the king's blindness could be cured if the hiraman could procure from the chicks of the bihangama and bihangami birds, who had their nest on the tree at the gate of the lady's palace beyond the seven oceans and thirteen rivers, a quantity of their ordure, fresh and hot, and apply it to the eyeballs of the blinded king. The following morning the hiraman started on his errand of mercy, remained at night on the tree at the gate of the palace beyond the seven oceans and thirteen rivers, and early the next morning waited below the nest of the birds with a leaf on his beak, into which dropped the ordure of the chicks. That moment the hiraman flew across the oceans and rivers, came to the forest, and applied the precious balm to the sightless sockets of the king. The king opened his eyes and saw. In a few days the pakshiraj was in proper trim. The lady escaped to the forest and took the king up; and the lady, king, and hiraman all reached the king's capital safe and sound. The king and the lady were united together in wedlock. They lived many years together happily, and begat sons and daughters; and the beautiful hiraman was always with them reciting the names of the three hundred and thirty millions of gods.

並ぶもののない美しさの婦人は、恋人の小馬ともども王の宮殿へ連れていかれた。婦人は王に、自分は誓いを立てていて、それが満ちるまでの六か月のあいだは近寄ってくださるなと告げた。六か月と言ったのは、パクシラージの体を立て直すのにその期間が要るからであった。婦人は誓いのために毎日宗教の儀式に励むと称したので、別棟の家が与えられた。そこへパクシラージを引き入れ、えりすぐりの穀物を食べさせた。けれども婦人がヒラマンに会えなければ、すべては水の泡である。だがどうすればあの鳥に会えるだろう。婦人は次のような手立てを取った。召使いたちに命じて、鳥たちのために籾や穀物やあらゆる豆を家の屋根に山と撒かせたのである。その結果、何千という羽ある者たちがこの豊かな宴にあずかろうと屋根へ来た。婦人は毎日、自分のヒラマンを探して目を凝らしていた。そのころヒラマンは森でたいそう難儀していた。自分のことばかりか、今や目の見えなくなった王の世話もせねばならなかったからである。彼は森で熟れた実をもいで王に食べさせ、自分も食べた。これがヒラマンの暮らしぶりであった。森のほかの鳥たちが鸚鵡にこう言った。「おおヒラマンよ、お前はこの森でみじめな暮らしをしているな。なぜ一緒に、信心深い婦人がわれらのために用意してくださる豊かな宴に来ないのだ。あの方はわれら鳥の種族のために、家の屋根に何マウンドもの豆を撒いてくださるのだぞ。われらは朝早く行って夕方に帰り、何千もの鳥とともに腹いっぱい食べているのだ。」ヒラマンは翌朝ついていくことに決めた。婦人の鳥への施しには、ほかの鳥が思っている以上のものがあるにちがいないと、抜け目なく察したのである。ヒラマンは婦人に会い、目をつぶされた王の具合、その盲いを治す手立て、そして婦人の脱出について長く語り合った。取り決めた策はこうである。小馬はまもなく空を飛べるようになる——六か月の大半はもう過ぎていたからである。そして王の盲いは、七つの大洋と十三の川の彼方にある婦人の宮殿の門の木に巣を持つビハンガマとビハンガミという鳥の雛の糞を、生温かいうちにヒラマンが手に入れて、目をつぶされた王の眼球に塗れば治せる、というのであった。翌朝ヒラマンはこの慈悲の使いに出発し、夜は七つの大洋と十三の川の彼方の宮殿の門の木にとどまり、翌朝早く、くちばしに葉を一枚くわえて鳥の巣の下で待ち、そこへ雛の糞が落ちた。その瞬間ヒラマンは大洋と川を越えて飛び、森へ来て、この貴い膏薬を王の光を失った眼窩に塗った。王は目を開けて、見えた。数日のうちにパクシラージはすっかり具合を整えた。婦人は森へ逃れて王を乗せ、婦人と王とヒラマンはみな無事に王の都へ着いた。王と婦人は婚礼で結ばれた。二人は長年ともに幸せに暮らして息子と娘をもうけ、美しいヒラマンはいつもそばにいて、三億三千万の神々の名を唱えていた。

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。