The Children and the Witch

Emily Alexander, Mandeville.

語り手 エミリー・アレグザンダー(マンデヴィル)

There was a poor man and his wife and two children. He had nothing to give them but a slice of bread and cold water for the day. So one day he got up, took the children into the bush and pretended to be chopping the tree; then, as the children were playing, slipped away. When the wife asked for the children, he told her he had left them in the bush and she fretted and worried all day. Life became easier for them day by day, and the man became sorry that he had left them in the wood.

貧しい男と妻と二人の子がいた。男は一日にパンひと切れと冷たい水のほかに与えるものがなかった。それである日、起き出して子どもたちを藪へ連れていき、木を切るふりをして、子どもたちが遊んでいるあいだにそっと立ち去った。妻に子どもたちのことを尋ねられると、藪に置いてきたと答え、妻は一日じゅう嘆き悲しんだ。二人の暮らしは日ごとに楽になったが、男は子どもたちを森に置き去りにしたことを悔やむようになった。

The children, when they missed their father, started to travel through the wood to see if they could find their way home. A little black bird said to them, “Follow me and I will show you your way home!” but this little black bird was an Old Witch. It carried them to a house made out of nothing but cakes, sweets and all manner of nice things, and then the bird vanished away from them. But they were so glad to get the cakes and sweets that they began eating at once. Immediately as they touched the first cake, the door of the house opened and a very ugly-looking blind old woman came out to them and asked them what they were doing there; so they told her how they had been lost in the bush. She took them into the house, put one in a cage and had one to do all the work of the house. Every evening she went to feed the one in the cage, and asked him to stick out his hand to see if he was getting fat; so the one left in the house gave him a bone to stretch out instead, because the Old Witch was blind and could only feel. The one in the cage was getting very fat and rosy. One day she went to the cage and asked him to stretch out his hand and the child stretched out the bone; so she became very impatient, said she couldn’t wait any longer and would kill him that very day for dinner, and asked the one in the house to heat up the oven. Then the Witch told the one in the house to see if the oven was hot enough; the Witch was going to shut the door on her and let her stay in there and bake. But the girl was smart and said she did not know how to get into it, she must show her the way. As the Witch went into the oven, she pushed her in and shut the door, and the Witch stood in there squealing till she was burned to death. Then the girl ran and took the boy out of the cage, took some of the cakes and nice things off the house, and ran to their own home. The parents were so glad to see them that they kept a ball for them that night, and they told the story how they had killed the Witch.

子どもたちは父がいないことに気づくと、家への道が見つからないかと森を歩きはじめた。小さな黒い鳥が二人に言った。「ついておいで、家への道を教えてあげよう!」 だがこの小さな黒い鳥は妖術使いだった。鳥は二人を、菓子と砂糖菓子とありとあらゆるおいしいものだけでできた家へ連れていき、それから二人の前から消えてしまった。だが二人は菓子と砂糖菓子が手に入ったのが嬉しくて、すぐさま食べはじめた。最初の菓子に触れたとたん、家の戸が開いて、たいそう醜い盲目の老婆が出てきて、そこで何をしているのかと尋ねた。そこで二人は藪で迷ったことを話した。老婆は二人を家へ入れ、一人を籠に入れ、一人に家の仕事をすっかりさせた。毎晩、老婆は籠のなかの子に食べさせに行き、太ってきたか見るから手を出せと言った。そこで家に残った子が、代わりに骨を出させた。妖術使いは盲目で、触れることしかできなかったからである。籠のなかの子はたいそう太って血色がよくなっていた。ある日、老婆は籠へ行って手を出せと言い、子は骨を出した。そこで老婆はすっかり焦れて、もう待てない、今日の夕飯にこの子を殺すと言い、家にいる子に竈を熱しておけと言いつけた。それから妖術使いは、家にいる子に竈が十分に熱いか見てこいと言った。妖術使いはその子を竈に入れて戸を閉め、焼いてしまうつもりだった。だが娘は賢くて、どうやって入ったらいいかわからないから教えてくれと言った。妖術使いが竈に入ると、娘は突き飛ばして戸を閉め、妖術使いはなかで悲鳴をあげつづけ、焼け死んだ。それから娘は駆けていって弟を籠から出し、家から菓子とおいしいものをいくつか取って、自分たちの家へ駆け帰った。両親は二人に会えてたいそう喜び、その晩は二人のために舞踏会を開いた。そして二人は妖術使いを殺した話をした。