The Wicked Wizard punished

One day a wizard told a man whom he knew that, if any one were to climb a certain mountain-peak and jump off on to the belt of clouds below, he would be able to ride about on them as on a horse, and see the whole world. Trusting in this, the man did as the wizard had told him, and in very truth was enabled to ride about on the clouds. He visited the whole world in this fashion, and brought back a map which he had drawn of the whole world both of men and of gods. On arriving back at the mountain-peak in Aino-land, he stepped off the cloud on to the mountain, and, descending to the valley, told the wizard how successful and delightful the journey had been, and thanked him for the opportunity kindly granted him of seeing sights so numerous and so strange.

ある日、一人の魔法使いが知り合いの男に、ある山の頂に登って下の雲の帯へ跳び降りれば、馬に乗るように雲に乗って回り、世界じゅうを見ることができると言った。それを信じて、男は魔法使いの言うとおりにした。すると本当に雲に乗って回ることができた。男はこうして世界じゅうを訪ね、人間の世界と神々の世界をすっかり描いた地図を持ち帰った。アイヌの国の山の頂に戻ってくると、雲から山へ降り、谷へ下りていって、旅がどれほどうまくいき楽しかったかを魔法使いに話し、これほど多くのこれほど珍しいものを見る機会を親切に与えてくれたことに礼を言った。

The wizard was overcome with astonishment. For what he had told the other man was a lie, a wicked lie invented with the sole intention of causing his death; for he hated him. Nevertheless, seeing that what he had simply meant for an idle tale was apparently an actual fact, he decided to see the world himself in this easy fashion. So, ascending the mountain-peak, and seeing a belt of clouds a short way below, he jumped off on to it, but was instantly dashed to pieces in the valley below.

魔法使いは驚きに打たれた。相手の男に言ったことは嘘、男を死なせることだけを狙ってこしらえた悪い嘘だったからである。魔法使いはその男を憎んでいたのだ。けれども、ただの作り話のつもりだったことが本当のことだったらしいと見て、自分もこのたやすいやり方で世界を見てみようと決めた。そこで山の頂に登り、少し下に雲の帯があるのを見て、そこへ跳び降りたが、たちまち下の谷に叩きつけられて粉々になった。

That night the god of the mountain appeared to the good man in a dream, and said: "The wizard has met with the death which his fraud and folly deserve. You I kept from hurt, because you are a good man. So when, obedient to the wizard's advice, you leapt off on to the cloud, I bore you up, and showed you the world in order to make you a wiser man. Let all men learn from this how wickedness leads to condign punishment!"--(Written down from memory. Told by Ishanashte, 21st July, 1886.)

その夜、山の神が善い男の夢に現れて言った。「魔法使いは、そのたくらみと愚かさにふさわしい死を遂げた。お前は善い男だから、わしが傷つかないように守ってやった。魔法使いの勧めに従ってお前が雲に跳び降りたとき、わしがお前を支え、お前をもっと賢い男にするために世界を見せてやったのだ。悪事がどれほどふさわしい罰を招くか、すべての人はこれから学ぶがよい」——(記憶から書き留めた。語り手イシャナシテ、1886年7月21日)