The Origin of the Hare

Suddenly there was a large house on the top of a mountain, wherein were six people beautifully arrayed, but constantly quarrelling. Whence they came was unknown. Thereupon Okikurumi came and said: "Oh! you bad hares! you wicked hares! who does not know your origin? The children in the sky were pelting each other with snowballs, and the snowballs fell into the world of men. As it would be a pity to waste anything that falls from the sky, the snowballs were turned into hares, and those hares are you. You, who dwell in this world, which belongs to me, should not quarrel. What is it that you are making such a noise about?"

突然、山の頂に大きな家が現れ、その中に美しく着飾った六人がいたが、ひっきりなしに言い争っていた。どこから来たのかは誰にもわからなかった。そこへオキクルミがやって来て言った。「おお、悪い兎どもめ!よこしまな兎どもめ!おまえたちの素性を知らぬ者があろうか。天の子どもたちが雪玉をぶつけ合って遊んでいて、その雪玉が人間の世界へ落ちてきたのだ。天から落ちてきたものを無駄にするのは惜しいので、雪玉は兎に変えられた。その兎がおまえたちだ。わしのものであるこの世界に住むおまえたちが、言い争ってはならぬ。いったい何を騒いでいるのだ」

With these words, Okikurumi seized a fire-brand, and beat each of the six with it in turn. Thereupon all the hares ran away. This is the origin of the hare[-god]; and for this reason the body of the hare is white because made of snow, while its ears--which are the place where it was charred by the fire-brand,--are black.--(Translated literally. Told by Penri, 10th July, 1886.)

そう言うとオキクルミは燃えさしをつかみ、六人を一人ずつ順に打ちすえた。すると兎たちはみな逃げ去った。これが兎[の神]の起こりである。そういうわけで、兎の体は雪でできているので白く、耳——燃えさしで焦がされたところ——は黒いのである。——(逐語訳。語り手ペンリ、1886年7月10日)