Jose the Beast Slayer

The Story of a Boy Who Grew Up in the Forest

森で育った男の子の話

There was once a king who had a little daughter. He went to the Wise Man of the Forest to learn how best to bring her up, and this is what he was told:

むかし、小さな娘を持つ王がいた。王は娘をどう育てるのがいちばんよいかを知ろうと森の賢者のところへ行った。そして、こう告げられた。

"For twelve years you must keep your daughter in a tower in the forest. It should have no door, only a little window through which you may pass food to her. You must give her meat which has no bones in it."

「十二年のあいだ、娘を森の塔に閉じ込めておかねばならない。塔には戸をつけず、食べ物を差し入れるための小さな窓だけをつけよ。娘には骨のない肉を与えねばならない」

The king ordered a tower constructed in the deep forest. It had no door, and only a little window. Here the princess was placed. Every day food was passed to her through the little window. The king himself took charge of this, so that he might be sure that there was no meat given her which had bones in it.

王は深い森に塔を建てさせた。塔には戸がなく、小さな窓が一つだけあった。王女はここに入れられた。毎日、小さな窓から食べ物が差し入れられた。王は、骨のある肉が決して娘に与えられないよう確かめるために、自らこれを取り仕切った。

The years flew by, and at last the twelve year period was nearly up. Then the king went away one day and left the servants to carry food to the princess. They were careless, and gave her meat which had a bone in it.

年月は飛ぶように過ぎ、とうとう十二年の期限がもうすぐ終わるころになった。そのころ、王はある日旅に出かけ、王女に食べ物を運ぶのを召使いたちに任せた。召使いたちは不注意で、骨のついた肉を王女に与えてしまった。

The little princess had grown very tired of being shut up in the tower of the forest.

小さな王女は森の塔に閉じ込められているのに、すっかりうんざりしていた。

"Ah," said she when she discovered the bone in her meat. "At last I have something with which to make this little window larger. I've tried in vain to make it bigger with my fingers."

「まあ」と王女は肉のなかに骨を見つけて言った。「やっとこの小さな窓を広げる道具が手に入ったわ。指で広げようとしたけれど、だめだったのよ」

She used the bone to dig away the wall each side of the window and soon the little opening had grown so large that the princess could lean her head out of it and look up at lofty trees. That very day a duke passed that way on a hunting expedition and saw the beautiful princess in the tower. He fell in love with her immediately.

王女は骨を使って窓の両側の壁を掘り崩し、じきに小さな穴はずいぶん大きくなって、王女は頭を外に出して高い木々を見上げられるようになった。まさにその日、一人の公爵が狩りの途中でそこを通りかかり、塔のなかの美しい王女を見た。公爵はたちまち王女に恋をした。

Now that the princess had some one to help her make the hole larger it was an easy matter to make it big enough to escape. That very night she ran away with the duke.

穴を広げるのを手伝ってくれる人ができたので、逃げ出せるほど大きくするのはたやすいことだった。まさにその夜、王女は公爵と駆け落ちした。

When the king returned from his journey he found the tower in the forest entirely empty. There was nothing but the yawning hole to tell him of his daughter's escape. He tried in vain to find out what had become of her, but there was no person who could tell him anything about her.

王が旅から帰ってみると、森の塔はすっかり空だった。娘が逃げたことを告げるものは、ぽっかり開いた穴のほか何もなかった。王は娘がどうなったかを突き止めようとしたが、無駄だった。娘のことを何か教えられる者は誰もいなかった。

The princess had gone with the duke across a great river which no one else knew how to cross. She lived in a big cave in the rocks, and after all the years in the tower it seemed a wonderful home indeed. She was never tired of admiring the trees and flowers of the forest and listening to the songs of the birds. When at last her baby son was born she thought that she was the very happiest person in the whole world.

王女は公爵と一緒に、ほかの誰も渡り方を知らない大きな川を渡っていった。王女は岩の大きな洞穴に住んだが、何年も塔にいたあとでは、それはほんとうにすばらしい住まいに思えた。王女は森の木々や花に見とれ、鳥の歌に耳を傾けて、少しも飽きなかった。とうとう男の赤ん坊が生まれると、王女は自分こそ世界じゅうでいちばん幸せな人間だと思った。

Now when the baby was two years old, the duke decided that they must take him to a hermitage to be baptized. They went down to the great river and he carried his little son across it in safety. Then he returned for the princess, but on the way his foot slipped and he fell into the river. The strong current bore him swiftly away, leaving the princess on one side of the river and her little son on the other.

さて、赤ん坊が二つになると、公爵は、この子を庵へ連れていって洗礼を受けさせねばならないと決めた。二人は大きな川のところまで降りていき、公爵は小さな息子を無事に向こう岸へ運んだ。それから王女を迎えに戻ったが、途中で足を滑らせて川に落ちてしまった。強い流れが公爵をたちまち運び去り、王女は川のこちら側に、小さな息子は向こう側に取り残された。

"How shall I get across?" cried the princess when she saw what had happened.

「どうやって渡ったらいいの」と、起こったことを見て王女は叫んだ。

"Don't worry, mother," replied the child. "I'll come and get you."

「心配しないで、母さん」と子どもは答えた。「ぼくが迎えに行くよ」

To her amazement he crossed the great river in safety and bravely escorted his mother to the other bank in spite of her tears and cries of fear.

驚いたことに、子どもは無事に大きな川を渡り、泣いたりおびえて叫んだりする母親を、勇ましく向こう岸へ連れていった。

"Well done, my son!" she said when on the other bank. "You are indeed a son to be proud of!"

「よくやったわ、わたしの息子!」と、向こう岸に着くと王女は言った。「あなたはほんとうに自慢の息子よ!」

They went to a church and the boy was baptized. Jose the Beast Slayer was the name he chose. Then they wandered on until at last they came to a house with a door in which a little window had been cut. The boy thrust in his arm and opened the door as if it had been his own.

二人は教会へ行き、男の子は洗礼を受けた。男の子が選んだ名は、獣殺しのジョゼだった。それから二人はさまよい歩き、とうとう、小さな窓の切ってある戸のついた家にやって来た。男の子はその窓から腕を差し入れて、まるで自分の家のように戸を開けた。

"Walk in, mother dear," were his words.

「お入り、母さん」と男の子は言った。

Together they entered the house and together they explored the various rooms. There was nobody there and there was nothing to eat. Accordingly, Jose went out begging. He asked alms at the royal palace and there he was given money to buy food. There was even enough left over to pay for a gun.

二人は一緒に家に入り、一緒にあちこちの部屋を見てまわった。家には誰もおらず、食べるものもなかった。そこでジョゼは物乞いに出かけた。王宮で施しを求めると、食べ物を買う金をもらえた。鉄砲を買う代金まで残ったほどだった。

Now that he owned a gun there was no need of begging any more. He shot plenty of game for his mother and what was left he carried to the royal palace to give to the king.

鉄砲を持ったので、もう物乞いをする必要はなかった。ジョゼは母親のために獲物をたっぷり撃ち、残りは王宮へ運んで王に献上した。

One day in the deep forest he entered a cave where the giant of the forest lived.

ある日、深い森で、ジョゼは森の巨人の住む洞穴に入った。

"What are you doing here, little penny chicken?" asked the huge giant as he frowned down at Jose.

「ここで何をしている、一文のひよっこめ」と、大きな巨人がジョゼを見下ろして顔をしかめて尋ねた。

"I may be a little penny chicken, but I'm not in the least afraid of giants," replied the boy boldly.

「一文のひよっこかもしれないけど、巨人なんかちっとも怖くないよ」と男の子は大胆に答えた。

"What, a little penny chicken like you not afraid of me!" cried the giant as he picked him up roughly and set him on his neck.

「なんだと、お前みたいな一文のひよっこが、わしを怖くないだと!」と巨人は叫んで、ジョゼを乱暴につまみ上げて自分の首に乗せた。

Jose seized the giant's long beard and drew it around his neck so tightly that the giant fell to the floor dead. Then Jose seized one of the money-bags and ran home with it to his mother.

ジョゼは巨人の長いひげをつかんで、巨人の首にきつく巻きつけたので、巨人は床に倒れて死んでしまった。それからジョゼは金袋を一つつかんで、母親のところへ走って帰った。

"You must carry some of this to the king," said his mother when she saw it and had heard his story.

「これを少し王さまに持っていかなければいけないわ」と、それを見て話を聞いた母親は言った。

Accordingly, Jose carried the money as a gift to the king.

そこで、ジョゼは金を王への贈り物として持っていった。

"Who is bringing me all this?" asked the king when he saw it.

「これをみな持ってくるのは誰だ」と、それを見た王は尋ねた。

"A little lad," replied the king's servants.

「小さな男の子でございます」と王の召使いたちは答えた。

"Lead him in to me," said the king. "I'd like to see him."

「わたしのところへ連れてまいれ」と王は言った。「会ってみたい」

Accordingly, the boy was led before the throne.

そこで、男の子は玉座の前に連れてこられた。

"What is your name, my lad?" asked the king kindly.

「坊や、名は何という」と王はやさしく尋ねた。

"I am called Jose the Beast Slayer, your majesty," replied the boy as he bowed low before the throne.

「獣殺しのジョゼと申します、陛下」と男の子は玉座の前で深くお辞儀をして答えた。

"Who are your parents?" asked the king.

「両親は誰だ」と王は尋ねた。

"My father is dead," replied Jose, "and my mother is a princess who ran away from a tower in the forest."

「父は死にました」とジョゼは答えた。「母は、森の塔から逃げ出した王女です」

Jose had often heard the story of his mother's life in the tower. It was the tale he liked best of all.

ジョゼは、塔にいたころの母親の暮らしの話をたびたび聞かされていた。それはジョゼのいちばん好きな話だった。

At the boy's words the king started and looked at him sharply.

男の子の言葉に、王ははっとして男の子を鋭く見つめた。

"Tell me about this tower," he said eagerly.

「その塔のことを話してくれ」と王は熱心に言った。

"It was a tower in the deep forest," replied Jose. "It had no door, only a little window through which food was passed to her. She could never have any meat with a bone. This was because the Wise Man of the Forest had told her father that it was the best way to bring her up. One day her father went away and the servants gave her meat with a bone in it and--"

「深い森のなかの塔でした」とジョゼは答えた。「戸がなくて、食べ物を差し入れる小さな窓があるだけでした。母は骨のついた肉を食べてはいけなかったのです。森の賢者が、それがいちばんよい育て方だと母の父親に言ったからです。ある日、母の父親が出かけて、召使いたちが骨のついた肉を母にやってしまって——」

"I always suspected something like that," interrupted the king.

「そんなことだろうと、ずっと思っていた」と王は話をさえぎった。

Jose looked at him in surprise.

ジョゼは驚いて王を見た。

"Were you there?" he asked.

「そこにいらしたのですか」とジョゼは尋ねた。

The king nodded. "Go on with your story, my boy," he said.

王はうなずいた。「話を続けておくれ、坊や」と王は言った。

Jose told all the circumstances of his mother's escape from the tower, just as she had so often described them to him. Tears were running down the king's cheeks when at last the story was ended.

ジョゼは、母親がたびたび話して聞かせてくれたとおりに、母親が塔から逃げ出したいきさつをすっかり話した。話がとうとう終わったとき、王の頬には涙が流れていた。

"My lad, you are my own grandson!" cried the king as he took him in his arms. "Proud am I, too, that I have a grandson like you! Where is your mother now?"

「坊や、お前はわたしの孫だ!」と王はジョゼを腕に抱きしめて叫んだ。「お前のような孫がいて、わたしも誇らしいぞ! お前の母さんは今どこにいる」

"My mother is in the house in the forest," replied Jose. "It is she who told me to carry the money to the king."

「母は森の家にいます」とジョゼは答えた。「王さまにお金を持っていくようにと言ったのは母なのです」

"Why did she never come to me?" asked the father.

「どうしてあの子は一度もわたしのところへ来なかったのだ」と父親は尋ねた。

"I think she was afraid she'd be punished for running away from the tower without any door," was Jose's reply.

「戸のない塔から逃げ出したので、罰せられるのが怖かったのだと思います」とジョゼは答えた。

When the princess was brought home to the royal palace there was a great feast held which lasted for three days and three nights. Then the king sent his men with Jose into the forest to the cave where the giant had lived. They brought home so many bags of gold that it required the entire royal army to transport it.

王女が王宮に連れ帰られると、三日三晩続く盛大な宴が催された。それから王は家来たちをジョゼにつけて、森の巨人が住んでいた洞穴へ行かせた。家来たちはあまりにたくさんの金の袋を持ち帰ったので、運ぶのに王国の軍隊をまるごと使わねばならなかった。

Years passed, and when the old king died it was Jose the Beast Slayer who was king of the land.

年月が過ぎ、年老いた王が死ぬと、その国の王になったのは獣殺しのジョゼだった。