The 'Nsasak Bird and the Odudu Bird

A long time ago, in the days of King Adam of Calabar, the king wanted to know if there was any animal or bird which was capable of enduring hunger for a long period. When he found one the king said he would make him a chief of his tribe.

ずっと昔、カラバルのアダム王の時代に、王は、長いあいだ飢えに耐えられる獣か鳥がいるかどうかを知りたがった。見つかったら、その者をその種族の首長にしてやると王は言った。

The 'Nsasak bird is very small, having a shining breast of green and red; he also has blue and yellow feathers and red round the neck, and his chief food consists of ripe palm nuts. The Odudu bird, on the other hand, is much larger, about the size of a magpie, with plenty of feathers, but a very thin body; he has a long tail, and his colouring is black and brown with a cream-coloured breast. He lives chiefly on grasshoppers, and is also very fond of crickets, which make a noise at night.

ンササク鳥はたいそう小さく、緑と赤に輝く胸をしている。青と黄色の羽もあり、首のまわりは赤い。その主な食べ物は熟した椰子の実である。一方、オドゥドゥ鳥はずっと大きく、カササギほどの大きさで、羽はたっぷりあるが体はたいそう細い。尾が長く、その色は黒と茶色で、胸はクリーム色である。オドゥドゥ鳥は主にバッタを食べて暮らし、夜に鳴くコオロギも大好きである。

Both the 'Nsasak bird and the Odudu were great friends, and used to live together. They both made up their minds that they would go before the king and try to be made chiefs, but the Odudu bird was quite confident that he would win, as he was so much bigger than the 'Nsasak bird. He therefore offered to starve for seven days.

ンササク鳥とオドゥドゥ鳥は仲のよい友だちで、一緒に住んでいた。二羽は王の前に出て首長にしてもらおうと決めたが、オドゥドゥ鳥は、自分のほうがンササク鳥よりずっと大きいのだから勝つに決まっていると自信満々だった。そこでオドゥドゥ鳥は七日間飢えてみせると申し出た。

The king then told them both to build houses which he would inspect, and then he would have them fastened up, and the one who could remain the longest without eating would be made the chief.

そこで王は二羽に、自分が調べる家を建てるよう言った。それから家を閉ざして、いちばん長く何も食べずにいられたほうを首長にするというのである。

They both then built their houses, but the 'Nsasak bird, who was very cunning, thought that he could not possibly live for seven days without eating anything. He therefore made a tiny hole in the wall (being very small himself), which he covered up so that the king would not notice it on his inspection. The king then came and looked carefully over both houses, but failed to detect the little hole in the 'Nsasak bird's house, as it had been hidden so carefully. He therefore declared that both houses were safe, and then ordered the two birds to go inside their respective houses, and the doors were carefully fastened on the outside.

二羽はそれぞれ家を建てたが、たいそうずる賢いンササク鳥は、七日も何も食べずに生きていられるはずがないと思った。そこで(自分が小さいので)壁に小さな穴をあけ、王が調べに来ても気づかないように覆い隠しておいた。それから王が来て両方の家を念入りに調べたが、ンササク鳥の家の小さな穴は、あまりに念入りに隠されていたので見つけられなかった。そこで王は両方の家とも大丈夫だと言い渡し、二羽にそれぞれの家に入るよう命じ、戸は外から念入りに閉ざされた。

Every morning at dawn the 'Nsasak bird used to escape through the small opening he had left high up in the wall, and fly away a long distance and enjoy himself all day, taking care, however, that none of the people on the farms should see him. Then when the sun went down he would fly back to his little house and creep through the hole in the wall, closing it carefully after him. When he was safely inside he would call out to his friend the Odudu and ask him if he felt hungry, and told him that he must bear it well if he wanted to win, as he, the 'Nsasak bird, was very fit, and could go on for a long time.

毎朝夜明けに、ンササク鳥は壁の高いところに残しておいた小さな穴から抜け出して、遠くまで飛んでいき、一日じゅう楽しく過ごした。けれども畑の人々に見られないよう気をつけていた。そして日が沈むと、小さな自分の家へ飛んで帰り、壁の穴から忍び込んで、念入りに穴をふさいだ。無事になかに入ると、ンササク鳥は友だちのオドゥドゥ鳥に呼びかけて、腹がすいたかと尋ね、勝ちたければよく耐えるのだぞ、自分はたいそう元気で、まだまだ長く続けられると告げた。

For several days this went on, the voice of the Odudu bird growing weaker and weaker every night, until at last he could no longer reply. Then the little bird knew that his friend must be dead. He was very sorry, but could not report the matter, as he was supposed to be confined inside his house.

何日もこれが続き、オドゥドゥ鳥の声は夜ごとに弱くなっていき、とうとう返事もできなくなった。そこで小さな鳥は、友だちが死んだにちがいないと知った。ンササク鳥はたいそう気の毒に思ったが、自分は家に閉じこもっていることになっているので、そのことを知らせるわけにはいかなかった。

When the seven days had expired the king came and had both the doors of the houses opened. The 'Nsasak bird at once flew out, and, perching on a branch of a tree which grew near, sang most merrily; but the Odudu bird was found to be quite dead, and there was very little left of him, as the ants had eaten most of his body, leaving only the feathers and bones on the floor.

七日が過ぎると、王がやって来て両方の家の戸を開けさせた。ンササク鳥はたちまち飛び出して、近くに生えていた木の枝にとまり、このうえなく楽しげに歌った。けれどもオドゥドゥ鳥はすっかり死んでいて、ほとんど何も残っていなかった。アリが体のほとんどを食べてしまい、床には羽と骨だけが残っていたのである。

The king therefore at once appointed the 'Nsasak bird to be the head chief of all the small birds, and in the Ibibio country even to the present time the small boys who have bows and arrows are presented with a prize, which sometimes takes the shape of a female goat, if they manage to shoot a 'Nsasak bird, as the 'Nsasak bird is the king of the small birds, and most difficult to shoot on account of his wiliness and his small size.

そこで王はただちにンササク鳥をすべての小さな鳥の頭領の首長に任じた。そしてイビビオの国では今日でも、弓矢を持った小さな男の子たちが、うまくンササク鳥を射止めると褒美をもらう。褒美はときには雌の山羊だったりする。ンササク鳥は小さな鳥の王であり、そのずる賢さと小ささのために射止めるのがこのうえなく難しいからである。