How a Hunter obtained Money from his Friends the Leopard, Goat, Bush Cat, and Cock, and how he got out of repaying them

Many years ago there was a Calabar hunter called Effiong, who lived in the bush, killed plenty of animals, and made much money. Every one in the country knew him, and one of his best friends was a man called Okun, who lived near him. But Effiong was very extravagant, and spent much money in eating and drinking with every one, until at last he became quite poor, so he had to go out hunting again; but now his good luck seemed to have deserted him, for although he worked hard, and hunted day and night, he could not succeed in killing anything. One day, as he was very hungry, he went to his friend Okun and borrowed two hundred rods from him, and told him to come to his house on a certain day to get his money, and he told him to bring his gun, loaded, with him.

何年も昔、エフィオンという名のカラバルの狩人がいて、藪に住み、獣をたくさん仕留めて、たいそう金を稼いでいた。国じゅうの誰もがエフィオンを知っていて、いちばんの友だちの一人はオクンという名の男で、近くに住んでいた。けれどもエフィオンはたいそう浪費家で、誰彼かまわず飲み食いにたくさんの金を使ったので、とうとうすっかり貧乏になり、また狩りに出なければならなくなった。ところが今度は運に見放されたようで、懸命に働いて昼も夜も狩りをしても、何一つ仕留められなかった。ある日、たいそう腹をすかせていたので、エフィオンは友だちのオクンのところへ行って二百ロッドを借り、ある日にうちへ金を取りに来てくれと言った。そしてそのときは、鉄砲に弾をこめて持ってくるようにと言った。

Now, some time before this Effiong had made friends with a leopard and a bush cat, whom he had met in the forest whilst on one of his hunting expeditions; and he had also made friends with a goat and a cock at a farm where he had stayed for the night. But though Effiong had borrowed the money from Okun, he could not think how he was to repay it on the day he had promised. At last, however, he thought of a plan, and on the next day he went to his friend the leopard, and asked him to lend him two hundred rods, promising to return the amount to him on the same day as he had promised to pay Okun; and he also told the leopard, that if he were absent when he came for his money, he could kill anything he saw in the house and eat it. The leopard was then to wait until the hunter arrived, when he would pay him the money; and to this the leopard agreed. The hunter then went to his friend the goat, and borrowed two hundred rods from him in the same way. Effiong also went to his friends the bush cat and the cock, and borrowed two hundred rods from each of them on the same conditions, and told each one of them that if he were absent when they arrived, they could kill and eat anything they found about the place.

さて、これより少し前に、エフィオンは狩りの遠出の途中、森で出会った豹と藪猫と友だちになっていた。また、ひと晩泊まった農場で、山羊と雄鶏とも友だちになっていた。けれどもエフィオンは、オクンから金を借りたものの、約束の日にどうやって返せばよいか思いつかなかった。けれどもとうとう一つの手を思いついて、次の日、友だちの豹のところへ行き、二百ロッド貸してくれと頼んで、オクンに払うと約束したのと同じ日に返すと約束した。そしてエフィオンは豹に、金を取りに来たときに自分が留守だったら、家で見つけたものは何でも殺して食べてよいと言った。そうして豹は狩人が来るまで待ち、狩人が着いたら金を払う、というのである。豹はこれに承知した。それから狩人は友だちの山羊のところへ行って、同じように二百ロッドを借りた。エフィオンはまた友だちの藪猫と雄鶏のところへも行って、同じ条件でそれぞれから二百ロッドを借り、自分が留守だったら、そのあたりで見つけたものは何でも殺して食べてよいと、みなに言った。

When the appointed day arrived the hunter spread some corn on the ground, and then went away and left the house deserted. Very early in the morning, soon after he had begun to crow, the cock remembered what the hunter had told him, and walked over to the hunter's house, but found no one there. On looking round, however, he saw some corn on the ground, and, being hungry, he commenced to eat. About this time the bush cat also arrived, and not finding the hunter at home, he, too, looked about, and very soon he espied the cock, who was busy picking up the grains of corn. So the bush cat went up very softly behind and pounced on the cock and killed him at once, and began to eat him. By this time the goat had come for his money; but not finding his friend, he walked about until he came upon the bush cat, who was so intent upon his meal off the cock, that he did not notice the goat approaching; and the goat, being in rather a bad temper at not getting his money, at once charged at the bush cat and knocked him over, butting him with his horns. This the bush cat did not like at all, so, as he was not big enough to fight the goat, he picked up the remains of the cock and ran off with it to the bush, and so lost his money, as he did not await the arrival of the hunter. The goat was thus left master of the situation and started bleating, and this noise attracted the attention of the leopard, who was on his way to receive payment from the hunter. As he got nearer the smell of goat became very strong, and being hungry, for he had not eaten anything for some time, he approached the goat very carefully. Not seeing any one about he stalked the goat and got nearer and nearer, until he was within springing distance. The goat, in the meantime, was grazing quietly, quite unsuspicious of any danger, as he was in his friend the hunter's compound. Now and then he would say Ba!! But most of the time he was busy eating the young grass, and picking up the leaves which had fallen from a tree of which he was very fond. Suddenly the leopard sprang at the goat, and with one crunch at the neck brought him down. The goat was dead almost at once, and the leopard started on his meal.

約束の日が来ると、狩人は地面にトウモロコシをまいて、それから出かけて家を空っぽにしておいた。朝たいそう早く、鳴きはじめてまもなく、雄鶏は狩人に言われたことを思い出して、狩人の家へ歩いていったが、誰もいなかった。けれども見まわすと地面にトウモロコシがあったので、腹をすかせていた雄鶏は食べはじめた。そのころ藪猫も着いて、狩人が家にいないので、これもあたりを見まわし、まもなくトウモロコシの粒を拾うのに夢中の雄鶏を見つけた。そこで藪猫はたいそうそっと後ろから忍び寄って雄鶏に飛びかかり、たちまち殺して食べはじめた。そのころ山羊も金を取りに来たが、友だちが見当たらないのであたりを歩きまわり、とうとう藪猫に出くわした。藪猫は雄鶏の食事に夢中で山羊が近づくのに気づかなかった。山羊は金がもらえないのでかなり機嫌が悪く、すぐに藪猫に突進して角で突き、ひっくり返した。藪猫はこれがまったく気に入らなかったが、山羊と戦えるほど大きくなかったので、雄鶏の残りをくわえて藪へ逃げていき、狩人の到着を待たなかったので金を取り損ねた。こうして山羊がその場の主になってメエメエ鳴きはじめ、この声が、狩人から支払いを受けに来る途中の豹の注意を引いた。近づくにつれて山羊のにおいがたいそう強くなり、しばらく何も食べていなかった豹は腹をすかせていたので、たいそう用心深く山羊に近寄った。誰もいないのを見て取ると、豹は山羊に忍び寄り、だんだん近づいて、とうとう飛びかかれるところまで来た。そのあいだ山羊は静かに草を食んでいて、友だちの狩人の屋敷にいるのだから、危険など少しも疑っていなかった。ときどきメエ!と鳴いたが、たいていは若草を食べたり、大好きな木から落ちた葉を拾ったりするのに忙しかった。突然、豹が山羊に飛びかかり、首をひと噛みして倒した。山羊はほとんどたちまち死に、豹は食事を始めた。

It was now about eight o'clock in the morning, and Okun, the hunter's friend, having had his early morning meal, went out with his gun to receive payment of the two hundred rods he had lent to the hunter. When he got close to the house he heard a crunching sound, and, being a hunter himself, he approached very cautiously, and looking over the fence saw the leopard only a few yards off busily engaged eating the goat. He took careful aim at the leopard and fired, whereupon the leopard rolled over dead. The death of the leopard meant that four of the hunter's creditors were now disposed of, as the bush cat had killed the cock, the goat had driven the bush cat away (who thus forfeited his claim), and in his turn the goat had been killed by the leopard, who had just been slain by Okun. This meant a saving of eight hundred rods to Effiong; but he was not content with this, and directly he heard the report of the gun he ran out from where he had been hiding all the time, and found the leopard lying dead with Okun standing over it. Then in very strong language Effiong began to upbraid his friend, and asked him why he had killed his old friend the leopard, that nothing would satisfy him but that he should report the whole matter to the king, who would no doubt deal with him as he thought fit. When Effiong said this Okun was frightened, and begged him not to say anything more about the matter, as the king would be angry; but the hunter was obdurate, and refused to listen to him; and at last Okun said, "If you will allow the whole thing to drop and will say no more about it, I will make you a present of the two hundred rods you borrowed from me." This was just what Effiong wanted, but still he did not give in at once; eventually, however, he agreed, and told Okun he might go, and that he would bury the body of his friend the leopard.

そのころは朝の八時ごろで、狩人の友だちオクンは朝の食事をすませると、貸した二百ロッドを受け取りに鉄砲を持って出かけた。家の近くまで来ると、何かを噛み砕く音が聞こえた。オクン自身も狩人なので、たいそう用心深く近づいて垣根ごしに見ると、ほんの数ヤード先で、豹が山羊を食べるのに夢中になっていた。オクンは念入りに豹に狙いをつけて撃ち、豹は転がって死んだ。豹が死んだということは、狩人の貸し主四人がこれで片づいたということだった。藪猫が雄鶏を殺し、山羊が藪猫を追い払い(藪猫はそれで取り分を失い)、その山羊は豹に殺され、その豹は今オクンに撃たれたのである。これはエフィオンにとって八百ロッドの得だった。けれどもエフィオンはそれで満足せず、鉄砲の音が聞こえるとすぐに、ずっと隠れていた場所から駆け出してきて、豹が死んで横たわり、オクンがそのそばに立っているのを見つけた。するとエフィオンはたいそうきつい言葉で友だちを責めはじめ、どうして古い友だちの豹を殺したのかと問い詰めた。そして、事のすべてを王に報告するほかに気のすむ道はない、王はきっと思うとおりに処分なさるだろう、と言った。エフィオンがこう言うと、オクンは怖くなって、王が怒るだろうからこの件はもう何も言わないでくれと頼んだ。けれども狩人はかたくなで、聞き入れようとしなかった。とうとうオクンは言った。「この件をすっかり水に流して、もう何も言わないでくれるなら、お前が借りた二百ロッドはくれてやる」これこそエフィオンの望んでいたことだったが、それでもすぐには承知しなかった。けれどもとうとう折れて、オクンに帰ってよい、友だちの豹のなきがらは自分が埋めると言った。

Directly Okun had gone, instead of burying the body Effiong dragged it inside the house and skinned it very carefully. The skin he put out to dry in the sun, and covered it with wood ash, and the body he ate. When the skin was well cured the hunter took it to a distant market, where he sold it for much money. And now, whenever a bush cat sees a cock he always kills it, and does so by right, as he takes the cock in part payment of the two hundred rods which the hunter never paid him.

オクンが行ってしまうとすぐ、エフィオンはなきがらを埋める代わりに家のなかへ引きずり込んで、たいそう念入りに皮をはいだ。皮は日に干して木灰をかけ、肉は自分で食べた。皮がよくなめし上がると、狩人はそれを遠くの市場へ持っていき、たいそうな金で売った。そして今では、藪猫は雄鶏を見るといつも殺すが、それは当然の権利なのである。狩人が決して返さなかった二百ロッドの一部として、雄鶏を取っているのだから。

MORAL.--Never lend money to people, because if they cannot pay they will try to kill you or get rid of you in some way, either by poison or by setting bad Ju Ju's for you.

教訓——決して人に金を貸してはならない。返せなければ、その人は毒か悪いジュジュで、あなたを殺すか、何らかのやり方で厄介払いしようとするのだから。