Buying a Dream

A certain thickly populated village was governed by six chiefs, the oldest of whom lorded it over the other five. One day he made a feast, brewed some rice-beer, and invited the other five chiefs, and feasted them. When they were departing, he said: "To-morrow each of you must tell me the dream which he shall have dreamt over-night; and if it is a good dream I will buy it."

人の多いある村を、六人の首長が治めていて、そのうちいちばん年長の首長がほかの五人の上に立って威張っていた。ある日その首長は宴を催し、酒を醸して、ほかの五人の首長を招いてもてなした。五人が帰るとき、首長は言った。「明日、めいめい今夜見た夢をわしに話せ。よい夢なら買ってやろう」

So next day four of the chiefs came and told their dreams. But they were all bad dreams, not worth buying. The fifth, however, did not come, though he was waited for at first, and then sent for several times. At last, when brought by force, he would not open his lips. So the senior chief flew into a rage, and caused a hole to be dug in front of the door of his own house, and had the man buried in it up to his chin, and left there all that day and night.

そこで翌日、四人の首長が来て夢を話した。けれどもどれも悪い夢で、買う値打ちはなかった。けれども五人目は、はじめは待たれ、それから何度も呼びにやられたのに、来なかった。とうとう力ずくで連れてこられても、口を開こうとしなかった。そこで年長の首長は激怒して、自分の家の戸口の前に穴を掘らせ、その男を顎まで埋めさせて、その日も夜もずっとそのままにしておいた。

Now the truth was that the senior chief was a bad man, that the junior chief was a good man, and that this junior chief had forgotten his dream, but did not dare to say so. After dark, a kind god,--the God of the Privy,--came and said: "You are a good man. I am sorry for you, and will take you out of the hole." This he did; and, at that very moment, the chief remembered how he had dreamt of having been led up the bank of a stream through the woods to the house of a goddess who smiled beautifully, and whose room was carpeted with skins; how she had comforted him, fed him plenteously, and sent him home in gorgeous array, and with instructions for deceiving and killing his enemy, the senior chief. "I suppose you remember it all now," said the God of the Privy; "it was I who caused you to forget it, and thus saved you from having it bought by the wicked senior chief, because I am pleased with the way in which you keep the privy clean, not even letting grass grow near it. And now I will show you the reality of that of which before you saw only the dream-image."

さて本当は、年長の首長は悪い男で、年下の首長は善い男だった。そしてこの年下の首長は夢を忘れてしまっていたのに、そうとは言えなかったのである。暗くなってから、優しい神——便所の神——がやって来て言った。「お前は善い男だ。気の毒に思うから、穴から出してやろう」神はそうした。そしてまさにその瞬間、首長は夢を思い出した。森のなかの流れの岸を上っていって、美しく微笑む女神の家へ導かれたこと。その部屋には毛皮が敷きつめられていたこと。女神が自分を慰め、たっぷり食べさせ、きらびやかな装いで家へ送り返し、敵である年長の首長をだまして殺す手立てを教えてくれたこと。「もうすっかり思い出しただろう」と便所の神は言った。「お前に忘れさせたのはわしだ。そうして、悪い年長の首長にそれを買われないようにしてやったのだ。お前が便所をきれいにして、そばに草も生やさないでいるやり方が気に入っているからな。さて今度は、前にはただ夢の姿でしか見なかったものの本物を見せてやろう」

So the man was led up the bank of a stream through the woods to the house of the goddess, who smiled beautifully, and whose room was carpeted with skins. She was the badger-goddess. She comforted him, fed him plenteously, and said: "You must deceive the senior chief, saying that the god of door-posts, pleased at your being buried near him, took you out, and gave you these beautiful clothes. He will then wish to have the same thing happen to him." So the man went back to the village, and appeared in all his splendid raiment before the senior chief, who had fancied him to be still in the hole,--a punishment which would be successful if it made him confess his dream, and also if it killed him.

そこで男は森のなかの流れの岸を上って、美しく微笑み、部屋に毛皮を敷きつめた女神の家へ導かれた。女神は狢の女神だった。女神は男を慰め、たっぷり食べさせて言った。「年長の首長をだまして、こう言いなさい。戸口の柱の神が、自分のそばに埋められたのを喜んで、あなたを出して、この美しい着物をくれたのだ、と。そうすれば年長の首長は、同じことが自分にも起こってほしいと思うでしょう」そこで男は村へ戻り、きらびやかな装いのまま年長の首長の前に姿を現した。年長の首長は、男がまだ穴のなかにいると思っていた——夢を白状させられればよし、死なせられればなおよしという罰だったのである。

Then the good junior chief told him the lies in which the badger-goddess had instructed him. Thereupon the senior chief caused himself to be buried in like fashion up to the neck, but soon died of the effects. Afterwards the badger-goddess came down to the village, and married the good man, who became the senior of all the chiefs.--(Written down from memory. Told by Ishanashte, 16th November, 1886.)

それから善い年下の首長は、狢の女神に教えられた嘘を年長の首長に話した。すると年長の首長は同じように首まで自分を埋めさせたが、まもなくそのせいで死んでしまった。そのあと狢の女神が村へ下りてきて善い男と結婚し、男はすべての首長の筆頭になった。——(記憶から書き留めた。語り手イシャナシテ、1886年11月16日)