Why the Moon Waxes and Wanes

There was once an old woman who was very poor, and lived in a small mud hut thatched with mats made from the leaves of the tombo palm in the bush. She was often very hungry, as there was no one to look after her.

むかし、たいそう貧しい年寄りの女がいて、藪のなかの、トンボ椰子の葉でこしらえた筵で屋根をふいた小さな土の小屋に住んでいた。世話をしてくれる者が誰もいなかったので、女はたびたびひどく腹をすかせていた。

In the olden days the moon used often to come down to the earth, although she lived most of the time in the sky. The moon was a fat woman with a skin of hide, and she was full of fat meat. She was quite round, and in the night used to give plenty of light. The moon was sorry for the poor starving old woman, so she came to her and said, "You may cut some of my meat away for your food." This the old woman did every evening, and the moon got smaller and smaller until you could scarcely see her at all. Of course this made her give very little light, and all the people began to grumble in consequence, and to ask why it was that the moon was getting so thin.

昔は、月はたいていは空に住んでいたけれど、たびたび地上に降りてきたものだった。月は皮をまとった太った女で、脂の乗った肉でいっぱいだった。まんまるで、夜にはたっぷり光を与えてくれた。月は、飢えたかわいそうな年寄りの女を気の毒に思って、女のところへ来て言った。「わたしの肉を少し切り取って食べ物にしてもいいよ」年寄りの女は毎晩そうして、月はどんどん小さくなって、とうとうほとんど見えないほどになった。もちろん、そのために月はほとんど光を与えられなくなり、人々はみなそのせいで不平を言いはじめ、どうして月はこんなに痩せてしまったのかと尋ねるようになった。

At last the people went to the old woman's house where there happened to be a little girl sleeping. She had been there for some little time, and had seen the moon come down every evening, and the old woman go out with her knife and carve her daily supply of meat out of the moon. As she was very frightened, she told the people all about it, so they determined to set a watch on the movements of the old woman.

とうとう人々は年寄りの女の家へ行った。そこにはたまたま小さな女の子が眠っていた。女の子はしばらく前からそこにいて、月が毎晩降りてくるのと、年寄りの女がナイフを持って出ていって、月からその日の分の肉を切り取るのを見ていた。女の子はたいそう怖がっていたので、人々にすっかり話した。そこで人々は、年寄りの女の動きを見張ることに決めた。

That very night the moon came down as usual, and the old woman went out with her knife and basket to get her food; but before she could carve any meat all the people rushed out shouting, and the moon was so frightened that she went back again into the sky, and never came down again to the earth. The old woman was left to starve in the bush.

まさにその夜、月はいつものように降りてきて、年寄りの女はナイフと籠を持って食べ物を取りに出ていった。けれども女が肉を切り取る前に、人々がみな叫びながら駆け出してきたので、月はたいそうおびえて空へ帰っていき、二度と地上に降りてこなかった。年寄りの女は藪のなかで飢えるままに取り残された。

Ever since that time the moon has hidden herself most of the day, as she was so frightened, and she still gets very thin once a month, but later on she gets fat again, and when she is quite fat she gives plenty of light all the night; but this does not last very long, and she begins to get thinner and thinner, in the same way as she did when the old woman was carving her meat from her.

そのとき以来、月はたいそうおびえたので、一日の大半は身を隠している。そして今でも月に一度はたいそう痩せてしまうが、そのあとでまた太っていく。そしてすっかり太ると、ひと晩じゅうたっぷり光を与えてくれる。けれどもそれは長くは続かず、また少しずつ痩せていく。ちょうど、年寄りの女が月から肉を切り取っていたころと同じように。