The Match-making Jackal

Once on a time there lived a weaver, whose ancestors were very rich, but whose father had wasted the property which he had inherited in riotous living. He was born in a palace-like house, but he now lived in a miserable hut. He had no one in the world, his parents and all his relatives having died. Hard by the hut was the lair of a jackal. The jackal, remembering the wealth and grandeur of the weaver's forefathers, had compassion on him, and one day coming to him, said, "Friend weaver, I see what a wretched life you are leading. I have a good mind to improve your condition. I'll try and marry you to the daughter of the king of this country." "I become the king's son-in-law!" replied the weaver; "that will take place only when the sun rises in the west." "You doubt my power?" rejoined the jackal; "you will see, I'll bring it about."

むかしむかし、一人の機織りがいた。その先祖はたいそう富んでいたが、父が受け継いだ財産を放蕩で使い果たしてしまった。彼は宮殿のような家に生まれたが、今はみすぼらしい小屋に住んでいた。両親も親族もみな死んで、この世に身寄りはなかった。小屋のすぐそばにジャッカルのすみかがあった。ジャッカルは、この機織りの先祖の富と栄華を覚えていて彼を憐れみ、ある日やって来てこう言った。「機織りの友よ、おまえがどれほどみじめな暮らしをしているかを見ている。おまえの身の上をよくしてやりたくてたまらぬ。ひとつ、この国の王の娘と娶わせてやろう。」「わたしが王の婿になるだと!」と機織りは答えた。「そんなことが起こるのは、日が西から昇るときだけだ。」「わたしの力を疑うのか」とジャッカルは言い返した。「見ているがいい、きっとやってのけてやる。」

The next morning the jackal started for the king's city, which was many miles off. On the way he entered a plantation of the Piper betel plant, and plucked a large quantity of its leaves. He reached the capital, and contrived to get inside the palace. On the premises of the palace was a tank in which the ladies of the king's household performed their morning and afternoon ablutions. At the entrance of that tank the jackal laid himself down. The daughter of the king happened to come just at the time to bathe, accompanied by her maids. The princess was not a little struck at seeing the jackal lying down at the entrance. She told her maids to drive the jackal away. The jackal rose as if from sleep, and instead of running away, opened his bundle of betel-leaves, put some into his mouth, and began chewing them. The princess and her maids were not a little astonished at the sight. They said among themselves, "What an uncommon jackal is this! From what country can he have come? A jackal chewing betel-leaves! why thousands of men and women of this city cannot indulge in that luxury. He must have come from a wealthy land." The princess asked the jackal, "Sivalu! [38] from what country do you come? It must be a very prosperous country where the jackals chew betel-leaves. Do other animals in your country chew betel-leaves?" "Dearest princess," replied the jackal, "I come from a land flowing with milk and honey. Betel-leaves are as plentiful in my country as the grass in your fields. All animals in my country--cows, sheep, dogs--chew betel-leaves. We want no good thing." "Happy is the country," said the princess, "where there is such plenty, and thrice happy the king who rules in it!" "As for our king," said the jackal, "he is the richest king in the world. His palace is like the heaven of Indra. I have seen your palace here; it is a miserable hut compared to the palace of our king." The princess, whose curiosity was excited to the utmost pitch, hastily went through her bath, and going to the apartments of the queen-mother, told her of the wonderful jackal lying at the entrance of the tank. Her curiosity being excited, the jackal was sent for. When the jackal stood in the presence of the queen, he began munching the betel-leaves. "You come," said the queen, "from a very rich country. Is your king married?" "Please your majesty, our king is not married. Princesses from distant parts of the world tried to get married to him, but he rejected them all. Happy will that princess be whom our king condescends to marry!" "Don't you think, Sivalu," asked the queen, "that my daughter is as beautiful as a Peri, and that she is fit to be the wife of the proudest king in the world?" "I quite think," said the jackal, "that the princess is exceedingly handsome; indeed, she is the handsomest princess I have ever seen; but I don't know whether our king will have a liking for her." "Liking for my daughter!" said the queen, "you have only to paint her to him as she is, and he is sure to turn mad with love. To be serious, Sivalu, I am anxious to get my daughter married. Many princes have sought her hand, but I am unwilling to give her to any of them, as they are not the sons of great kings. But your king seems to be a great king. I can have no objection to making him my son-in-law." The queen sent word to the king, requesting him to come and see the jackal. The king came and saw the jackal, heard him describe the wealth and pomp of the king of his country, and expressed himself not unwilling to give away his daughter in marriage to him.

翌朝、ジャッカルは何マイルも離れた王の都へ向けて出発した。途中でキンマ(ピペル・ベテル)の畑に入り、その葉をたっぷりと摘み取った。そして都に着き、うまく宮殿のなかへ入り込んだ。宮殿の敷地には池があって、王家の女たちが朝夕そこで身を清めていた。ジャッカルはその池の入口に横になった。ちょうどそのとき、王の娘が侍女たちを連れて水浴びに来た。姫は入口に横たわるジャッカルを見て少なからず驚いた。そして侍女たちにジャッカルを追い払えと言った。ジャッカルは眠りから覚めたかのように起き上がり、逃げるどころか、キンマの葉の包みを開けていくらか口に入れ、噛みはじめた。姫と侍女たちはその光景に少なからず驚いた。そして互いに言い合った。「なんと珍しいジャッカルだろう! どこの国から来たのかしら。キンマの葉を噛むジャッカルだなんて! この都の男も女も、何千人とそんな贅沢はできないのに。きっと豊かな国から来たにちがいないわ。」姫はジャッカルに尋ねた。「シワル[38] よ、どこの国から来たのです。ジャッカルがキンマの葉を噛むとは、たいそう栄えた国にちがいありません。あなたの国では、ほかの獣もキンマの葉を噛むのですか。」「いとしい姫君」とジャッカルは答えた。「わたしは乳と蜜の流れる国から参りました。わが国ではキンマの葉は、あなたの野の草と同じくらいたくさんございます。わが国の獣はみな——牛も羊も犬も——キンマの葉を噛みます。よいものに不足はございません。」「幸いな国ですこと」と姫は言った。「それほど豊かだなんて。そしてそこを治める王は三倍も幸いですね!」「わが王はと申せば」とジャッカルは言った。「世界でいちばん富める王でございます。その宮殿はインドラの天のようです。ここであなたの宮殿を拝見しましたが、わが王の宮殿に比べれば、みすぼらしい小屋のようなものです。」好奇心をこのうえなくかき立てられた姫は、急いで水浴びを済ませ、母である妃の部屋へ行って、池の入口に横たわる不思議なジャッカルのことを話した。妃も好奇心をそそられ、ジャッカルが呼ばれた。ジャッカルは妃の前に立つと、キンマの葉をむしゃむしゃ噛みはじめた。「おまえは」と妃は言った。「たいそう富める国から来たのですね。おまえの王は妻を娶っていますか。」「恐れながら、わが王はまだ妻を娶っておりません。世界の遠い国々の姫君が嫁ごうとなさいましたが、王はみなお断りになりました。わが王が娶ろうとお思いになる姫君は、幸いなお方でございます!」「どう思います、シワル」と妃は尋ねた。「わたしの娘はペリのように美しく、世界でいちばん誇り高い王の妻にふさわしいと思いませんか。」「まったくそう存じます」とジャッカルは言った。「姫君はこのうえなくお美しい。まことに、これまで見たどの姫君よりもお美しい。けれどもわが王がお気に召すかどうかは分かりません。」「娘を気に入るかどうかですって!」と妃は言った。「ありのままに娘の姿を伝えさえすれば、王はきっと恋に狂うでしょう。まじめな話、シワル、わたしは娘を嫁がせたくてたまらないのです。多くの王子が娘の手を求めてきましたが、大王の子ではないので、誰にも与える気になれませんでした。けれどもおまえの王は偉大な王らしい。あの方を婿にするのに、異存はありません。」妃は王に言づけを送り、来てジャッカルに会ってくださいと願った。王は来てジャッカルに会い、その国の王の富と栄華の話を聞いて、娘をその王に嫁がせるのに否やはないと言った。

The jackal after this returned to the weaver and said to him, "O lord of the loom, you are the luckiest man in the world; it is all settled; you are to become the son-in-law of a great king. I have told them that you are yourself a great king, and you must behave yourself as one. You must do just as I instruct you, otherwise your fortune will not only not be made, but both you and I will be put to death." "I'll do just as you bid me," said the weaver. The shrewd jackal drew in his own mind a plan of the method of procedure he should adopt, and after a few days went back to the palace of the king in the same manner in which he had gone before, that is to say, chewing betel-leaves and lying down at the entrance of the tank on the premises of the palace. The king and queen were glad to see him, and eagerly asked him as to the success of his mission. The jackal said, "In order to relieve your minds I may tell you at once that my mission has been so far successful. If you only knew the infinite trouble I have had in persuading his Majesty, my sovereign, to make up his mind to marry your daughter, you would give me no end of thanks. For a long time he would not hear of it, but gradually I brought him round. You have now only to fix an auspicious day for the celebration of the solemn rite. There is one bit of advice, however, which I, as your friend, would give you. It is this. My master is so great a king that if he were to come to you in state, attended by all his followers, his horses and his elephants, you would find it impossible to accommodate them all in your palace or in your city. I would therefore propose that our king should come to your city, not in state, but in a private manner; and that you send to the outskirts of your city your own elephants, horses, and conveyances, to bring him and only a few of his followers to your palace." "Many thanks, wise Sivalu, for this advice. I could not possibly make accommodation in my city for the followers of so great a king as your master is. I should be very glad if he did not come in state; and trust you will use your influence to persuade him to come in a private manner; for I should be ruined if he came in state." The jackal then gravely said, "I will do my best in the matter," and then returned to his own village, after the royal astrologer had fixed an auspicious day for the wedding.

このあとジャッカルは機織りのもとへ戻って言った。「おお機の主よ、おまえは世界でいちばん運のよい男だ。すべて決まった。おまえは偉大な王の婿になるのだ。わたしは向こうに、おまえ自身が偉大な王だと言ってあるから、おまえもそのようにふるまわねばならぬ。わたしの言うとおりにするのだ。さもないと、おまえの運が開けないばかりか、おまえもわたしも殺されることになる。」「言われたとおりにしよう」と機織りは言った。抜け目のないジャッカルは、自分の取るべき手順を心のなかで練り上げ、幾日かののち、前と同じやり方で——すなわちキンマの葉を噛みながら、宮殿の敷地の池の入口に横になって——王の宮殿へ戻った。王と妃はジャッカルを見て喜び、その務めの首尾を熱心に尋ねた。ジャッカルは言った。「お心を安んじるために、すぐに申し上げましょう。わたしの務めはこれまでのところ首尾よく運びました。わが主上を、あなたのお嬢さまと結ばれる気にさせるのに、わたしがどれほど限りない苦労をしたかをご存じなら、感謝してもしきれないでしょう。長いあいだ王は耳を貸そうともなさいませんでしたが、少しずつ心を動かしたのです。あとはただ、めでたい儀式の吉日をお決めくださればよいのです。けれどもひとつ、友としてご忠告申し上げたいことがございます。それはこうです。わが主はあまりに偉大な王ですから、もし行列を整え、家来をみな、馬も象も引き連れておいでになれば、あなたの宮殿にも都にも、とても収まりきりますまい。ですからわが王には、行列を整えてではなく、お忍びでおいでいただき、あなたは都のはずれに象と馬と乗り物をお遣わしになって、王とごくわずかな供の者だけを宮殿へお運びになるのがよろしいかと存じます。」「賢いシワルよ、その忠告に深く感謝する。おまえの主のような偉大な王の供の者をみな収める場所など、この都には到底作れぬ。行列を整えずにおいでくださるならたいそうありがたい。お忍びでおいでくださるよう、おまえの力添えで説き伏せてくれ。行列を整えておいでになれば、わしは破滅する。」ジャッカルはおごそかに言った。「この件では全力を尽くしましょう。」そして王の占星師が婚礼の吉日を定めてから、自分の村へ戻った。

On his return the jackal busied himself with making preparations for the great ceremony. As the weaver was clad in tatters, he told him to go to the washermen of the village and borrow from them a suit of clothes. As for himself, he went to the king of his race, and told him that on a certain day he would like one thousand jackals to accompany him to a certain place. He went to the king of crows, and begged that his corvine majesty would be pleased to allow one thousand of his black subjects to accompany him on a certain day to a certain place. He preferred a similar petition to the king of paddy-birds.

戻るとジャッカルは、この大きな儀式の支度に忙しく立ち働いた。機織りはぼろをまとっていたので、村の洗濯屋のところへ行って一揃いの衣を借りてこいと言いつけた。自分はといえば、同族の王のところへ行き、ある日にある場所まで千匹のジャッカルに付き添ってもらいたいと告げた。それから烏の王のところへ行き、烏の陛下には、ある日ある場所まで千羽の黒い臣下に付き添わせていただきたいと願い出た。同じような願いを、サギの王にも申し出た。

At last the great day arrived. The weaver arrayed himself in the clothes which he had borrowed from the village washermen. The jackal made his appearance, accompanied by a train of a thousand jackals, a thousand crows, and a thousand paddy-birds. The nuptial procession started on their journey, and towards sundown arrived within two miles of the king's palace. There the jackal told his friends, the thousand jackals, to set up a loud howl; at his bidding the thousand crows cawed their loudest; while the hoarse screechings of the thousand paddy-birds furnished a suitable accompaniment. The effect may be imagined. They all together made a noise the like of which had never been heard since the world began. While this unearthly noise was going on, the jackal himself hastened to the palace, and asked the king whether he thought he would be able to accommodate the wedding-party, which was about two miles distant, and whose noise was at that moment sounding in his ears. The king said "Impossible, Sivalu; from the sound of the procession I infer there must be at least one hundred thousand souls. How is it possible to accommodate so many guests? Please, so arrange that the bridegroom only will come to my house." "Very well," said the jackal; "I told you at the beginning that you would not be able to accommodate all the attendants of my august master. I'll do as you wish. My master will alone come in undress. Send a horse for the purpose." The jackal, accompanied by a horse and groom, came to the place where his friend the weaver was, thanked the thousand jackals, the thousand crows, and the thousand paddy-birds, for their valuable services, and told them all to go away, while he himself, and the weaver on horseback, wended their way to the king's palace. The bridal party, waiting in the palace, were greatly disappointed at the personal appearance of the weaver; but the jackal told them that his master had purposely put on a mean dress, as his would-be father-in-law declared himself unable to accommodate the bridegroom and his attendants coming in state. The royal priests now began the interesting ceremony, and the nuptial knot was tied for ever. The bridegroom seldom opened his lips, agreeably to the instructions of the jackal, who was afraid lest his speech should betray him. At night when he was lying in bed he began to count the beams and rafters of the room, and said audibly, "This beam will make a first-rate loom, that other a capital beam, and that yonder an excellent sley." The princess, his bride, was not a little astonished. She began to think in her mind, "Is the man, to whom they have tied me, a king or a weaver? I am afraid he is the latter; otherwise why should he be talking of weaver's loom, beam, and sley? Ah, me! is this what the fates keep in store for me?" In the morning the princess related to the queen-mother the weaver's soliloquy. The king and queen, not a little surprised at this recital, took the jackal to task about it. The ready-witted jackal at once said, "Your Majesty need not be surprised at my august master's soliloquy. His palace is surrounded by a population of seven hundred families of the best weavers in the world, to whom he has given rent-free lands, and whose welfare he continually seeks. It must have been in one of his philanthropic moods that he uttered the soliloquy which has taken your Majesty by surprise." The jackal, however, now felt that it was high time for himself and the weaver to decamp with the princess, since the proverbial simplicity of his friend of the loom might any moment involve him in danger. The jackal therefore represented to the king, that weighty affairs of state would not permit his august master to spend another day in the palace; that he should start for his kingdom that very day with his bride; and his master was resolved to travel incognito on foot, only the princess, now the queen, should leave the city in a palki. After a great deal of yea and nay, the king and queen at last consented to the proposal. The party came to the outskirts of the weaver's village; the palki bearers were sent away; and the princess, who asked where her husband's palace was, was made to walk on foot. The weaver's hut was soon reached, and the jackal, addressing the princess, said, "This, madam, is your husband's palace." The princess began to beat her forehead with the palms of her hands in sheer despair. "Ah, me! is this the husband whom Prajapati [39] intended for me? Death would have been a thousand times better."

とうとうその大事な日が来た。機織りは村の洗濯屋から借りた衣を身につけた。ジャッカルは千匹のジャッカル、千羽の烏、千羽のサギの行列を従えて現れた。婚礼の行列は旅立ち、日暮れどきに王の宮殿から二マイルほどのところに着いた。そこでジャッカルは友である千匹のジャッカルに、大声で吠えるように言いつけた。その命に応じて千羽の烏が精いっぱい鳴き、千羽のサギのしわがれた金切り声がそれにふさわしい伴奏をつけた。その効き目は想像がつくだろう。一同そろって、世の初めからこのかた聞かれたことのないような騒ぎを立てたのである。この世のものならぬ物音が続くあいだに、ジャッカル自身は急いで宮殿へ行き、王に、二マイルほど先にいて今その物音が耳に届いている婚礼の一行を、収められるとお思いですかと尋ねた。王は言った。「無理だ、シワル。あの行列の音からすると、少なくとも十万の人がいるにちがいない。そんなに多くの客をどうして収められよう。どうか、花婿だけがわが家へ来るように取り計らってくれ。」「かしこまりました」とジャッカルは言った。「初めに申し上げましたとおり、わが尊い主の供の者をみな収めることはおできになりますまい。仰せのとおりにいたしましょう。わが主だけが平服でおいでになります。そのために馬を一頭お遣わしください。」ジャッカルは馬と馬丁を連れて友の機織りのいる場所へ行き、千匹のジャッカル、千羽の烏、千羽のサギに、その貴い働きへの礼を述べて、みな帰ってよいと告げた。そして自分と、馬に乗った機織りは、王の宮殿へと道をたどった。宮殿で待っていた花嫁方の一行は、機織りの見かけにたいそう落胆した。けれどもジャッカルは、義父となる方が、行列を整えておいでになる花婿とその供を収めることはできぬと言われたので、わが主はわざと粗末な衣をお召しになったのだと告げた。王家の祭司たちが今や興味深い儀式を始め、婚礼の絆は永久に結ばれた。花婿はほとんど口を開かなかった。ジャッカルの言いつけどおりである。その言葉が正体を明かしてしまうのをジャッカルは恐れたのだ。夜、寝床に横になると、花婿は部屋の梁と垂木を数えはじめ、声に出してこう言った。「この梁は一等の機になる、あちらのは上等の桁になる、あの向こうのは見事な筬になる。」花嫁である姫は少なからず驚いた。そして心のなかで考えはじめた。「わたしが娶わされたこの人は、王なのでしょうか、それとも機織りなのでしょうか。後者ではないかと恐ろしい。でなければ、なぜ機織りの機だの桁だの筬だのを口にするのでしょう。ああ、これがわたしのために定めが用意していたものなの。」朝になって姫は、機織りの独りごとを母である妃に話した。王と妃はこの話に少なからず驚いて、ジャッカルを問いただした。機転の利くジャッカルはすかさず言った。「陛下、わが尊き主の独りごとに驚かれることはございません。主の宮殿のまわりには、世界一の機織り七百家族が住んでおり、主はその者たちに年貢のかからぬ土地を与え、その暮らしをたえず気にかけておられるのです。あなたさまを驚かせた独りごとは、その慈しみの気持ちの折に口から出たものにちがいありません。」けれどもジャッカルはこのとき、自分と機織りが姫を連れて逃げ出すべき頃合いだと感じた。機の友の名うての単純さが、いつ自分を危うくするか知れなかったからである。そこでジャッカルは王に、国の重い政務のためにわが尊き主はもう一日も宮殿に滞在できない、その日のうちに花嫁を連れて自分の国へ発たねばならぬ、そして主は身分を隠して徒歩で旅する決心なので、今や妃となった姫君だけがパルキ(駕籠)で都を出るのがよい、と申し立てた。あれこれ言い合った末、王と妃はとうとうこの申し出に承知した。一行は機織りの村のはずれに着き、駕籠の担ぎ手は帰された。そして夫の宮殿はどこかと尋ねる姫は、徒歩で歩かされた。まもなく機織りの小屋に着き、ジャッカルは姫に向かって言った。「奥方さま、これがご夫君の宮殿でございます。」姫はまったくの絶望のあまり、両の手のひらで額を打ちはじめた。「ああ、わたし! これがプラジャーパティ[39] がわたしに定められた夫なの。死んだほうが千倍もましだったわ。」

As there was nothing for it, the princess soon got reconciled to her fate. She, however, determined to make her husband rich, especially as she knew the secret of becoming rich. One day she told her husband to get for her a pice-worth of flour. She put a little water in the flour, and smeared her body with the paste. When the paste dried on her body, she began wiping the paste with her fingers; and as the paste fell in small balls from her body, it got turned into gold. She repeated this process every day for some time, and thus got an immense quantity of gold. She soon became mistress of more gold than is to be found in the coffers of any king. With this gold she employed a whole army of masons, carpenters and architects, who in no time built one of the finest palaces in the world. Seven hundred families of weavers were sought for and settled round about the palace. After this she wrote a letter to her father to say that she was sorry he had not favoured her with a visit since the day of her marriage, and that she would be delighted if he now came to see her and her husband. The king agreed to come, and a day was fixed. The princess made great preparations against the day of her father's arrival. Hospitals were established in several parts of the town for diseased, sick, and infirm animals. The beasts in thousands were made to chew betel-leaves on the wayside. The streets were covered with Cashmere shawls for her father and his attendants to walk on. There was no end of the display of wealth and grandeur. The king and queen arrived in state, and were infinitely delighted at the apparently boundless riches of their son-in-law. The jackal now appeared on the scene, and saluting the king and queen, said--"Did I not tell you?"

どうにもならぬことなので、姫はまもなくその定めを受け入れた。けれども夫を富ませようと心を決めた。とりわけ、富める者になる秘密を知っていたからである。ある日、姫は夫に、小銭一枚分の粉を買ってきてくれと言った。姫はその粉に少し水を入れ、その練り物を体に塗りつけた。練り物が体の上で乾くと、指でそれをこすり落としはじめた。すると練り物が小さな玉になって体から落ち、それが黄金に変わった。姫はこれをしばらくのあいだ毎日繰り返し、こうして途方もない量の黄金を手に入れた。まもなく、どの王の金蔵にもないほどの黄金の持ち主となった。この黄金で姫は、石工と大工と棟梁の一軍を雇い、彼らはたちまち世界で最も見事な宮殿のひとつを建て上げた。機織り七百家族が探し出され、宮殿のまわりに住まわされた。そののち姫は父に文を書き、婚礼の日以来一度も訪ねてくださらないのが寂しい、今わたしと夫に会いに来てくださればうれしい、と告げた。王は行くことに承知し、日が定められた。姫は父の来る日に備えて大がかりな支度をした。町のあちこちに、病んだ獣、弱った獣のための施療所が設けられた。何千もの獣が道ばたでキンマの葉を噛まされた。通りには、父とその供の者が歩くためにカシミヤの肩掛けが敷かれた。富と栄華の見せびらかしには際限がなかった。王と妃は行列を整えて到着し、婿の見たところ限りない富に、このうえなく喜んだ。そこへジャッカルが姿を現し、王と妃に挨拶して言った——「申し上げたとおりでございましょう。」

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。