Little Wild-rose

Once upon a time something extraordinary happened. If it had not happened it would not be told. It was when the wolves lay down to rest with the sheep, and the shepherds feasted in the green fields with emperors and kings, when one sun rose and another set.

むかしむかし、たいそう不思議なことが起こった。それが起こらなかったなら、こうして語られることもなかっただろう。それは狼が羊と並んで横になって休み、羊飼いが皇帝や王たちと緑の野で宴を開き、ひとつの太陽が昇ってもうひとつの太陽が沈んでいたころのことである。

There was once a man, my dear good friends. This man would now--I am telling no lie--this man would now be a hundred years old, if not twenty more to boot; his wife, too, was older than any body I know; she was like the Friday-goddess (Venus), and from youth to age had never had a single child. Only those who know what children are in a house can understand the uncontrollable grief in the empty home of the old man and his wife. The poor old man had done every thing in his power to have his house brightened and filled with joy by what he himself so greatly desired. He had given alms to the convents and churches, he had had liturgies read in seven churches, had sent for priests with white beards, because they are the holiest men and have more earnestness in prayer, and had had masses read for all the saints and prayers for the last unction. But every thing was useless. The old wife had clung to the witches and magicians. There was not an enchanter to whom she had not gone for advice, even if he lived a week's journey off. As I said before, what wouldn't she have done! But it was vain, all was useless.

むかし、一人の男がいた、みなさん。この男は今なら——嘘は申しません——百歳になっていただろう。いや、それに二十は足りないかもしれない。妻もまた、わたしの知るかぎり誰よりも年寄りだった。妻は金曜の女神(ウェヌス)のようで、若いころから年老いるまで一人も子を持たなかった。家に子どもがいるとはどういうことかを知っている者だけが、年とった夫婦の空っぽの家にある、抑えようのない嘆きを理解できる。かわいそうな爺さんは、自分がこれほど望んでいるものによって家を明るくし、喜びで満たそうと、力のかぎりのことをしてきた。修道院や教会に施しをし、七つの教会で聖体礼儀を唱えてもらい、白いひげの司祭は誰よりも聖なる人で祈りにいっそう真剣だというので呼び寄せ、すべての聖人にミサを、終油の祈りを唱えてもらった。けれども何もかもむだだった。年とった妻は魔女や魔法使いにすがった。一週間の道のりのところに住んでいようと、助言を求めに行かなかった呪い師はいなかった。先ほども言ったとおり、二人がしなかったことがあるだろうか。けれどもむなしく、すべてむだだった。

One day the old man said sadly and thoughtfully:

ある日、爺さんは悲しげに、考え深げに言った。

"Old wife!"

「婆さんや!」

"What do you want?"

「何ですか。」

"Give me some provisions to take with me on my journey, for I intend to travel through the wide world, looking wherever I go to try and find a child, for my heart aches and burns when I think that the end of my life is drawing near, and no heir will have my house after me, but all my property fall into the hands of strangers. I have tried all ways, now I will take this one. And I'll tell you one thing: If I find no child, I won't come home any more."

「旅に持っていく食糧をこしらえてくれ。広い世界を旅して、行く先々で子を見つけられないか探してみるつもりだ。人生の終わりが近づいてきたのに、わしのあとにこの家を継ぐ者がなく、財産がみな他人の手に落ちると思うと、胸が痛んで焼けるようだ。あらゆる手を尽くしてきたが、今度はこの手を試そう。それに、ひとつ言っておく。もし子が見つからなければ、もう二度と帰ってこない。」

With these words the old man took his knapsack on his back, went out of the house, and began his journey. He walked on and on and on through the kingdom and the world, as God willed. Listen, good friends, I am telling the truth. He walked on till he came to a thick forest, so dense that it seemed like a wall. Tree was intwined with tree, bush with bush, so that the sun could not even send so much as a ray of light through the foliage. When the old man saw these vast woods he thrice made the sign of the cross toward the east, prostrated himself three times, also toward the east, and then entered with great sorrow. How long a time he spent in groping about the forest I don't know, but I do know that one day he reached the entrance of a cave. This cave was hundreds and thousands of times darker than the deep forest, as dark as it is when we shut our eyes, as dark as it usually is in endless caverns. The old man crossed himself three times, fell on his knees several times, and then, with God's assistance, turned around a projection of a rock. He went about the distance of a gun-shot and saw a light in a cranny. Approaching nearer and nearer he could not believe his eyes when he saw what was standing beside it. An old hermit! He was very old, as ancient as the world. He had a white beard that reached to his knees, and when he raised his eyebrows and then lowered them again they shaded the whole cave.

そう言うと爺さんは背嚢を背負い、家を出て旅立った。爺さんは神の御心のままに、王国と世界をどこまでも歩いていった。お聞きください、みなさん、わたしは本当のことを話しているのです。爺さんは歩きに歩いて、とうとう壁のように見えるほど深い森に着いた。木は木にからみ、茂みは茂みにからんで、太陽さえ葉のあいだから光をひと筋も送れないほどだった。爺さんはこの広大な森を見ると、東に向かって三度十字を切り、やはり東に向かって三度ひれ伏し、それから大きな悲しみを抱いて中に入った。爺さんが森のなかを手さぐりでどれだけの時を過ごしたかはわからないが、ある日、洞穴の入口にたどり着いたことは知っている。この洞穴は、深い森より何百倍も何千倍も暗く、目を閉じたときのように暗く、果てしない洞窟がふつうそうであるように暗かった。爺さんは三度十字を切り、何度もひざまずいて、それから神の助けを得て岩の出っ張りをまわり込んだ。銃声ひとつ分ほど行くと、岩の裂け目に明かりが見えた。だんだん近づいていって、そのそばに立っているものを見たとき、爺さんは自分の目が信じられなかった。年老いた隠者だった! 世界と同じくらい古い、たいそう年老いた隠者だった。ひざまで届く白いひげをたくわえ、眉を上げてまた下ろすと、洞穴じゅうが陰になるほどだった。

The hermit stood like a pillar of stone, his eyes fixed on a psalm-book on which his elbow rested, and which was sprinkled with big red characters; it was very, very old, so old that God alone knew to what period it belonged; and on a broad stone a yellow wax-candle blazed with a red flame and a blue smoke that was as dense as a cloud. The old man approached the praying saint and, again falling on his knees, said:

隠者は石の柱のように立って、目を詩篇の書に落としていた。ひじをその上にのせていて、書は大きな赤い文字が散らしてあった。それはたいそう古く、いつの時代のものか神だけがご存じというほど古かった。そして広い石の上では黄色い蝋燭が、赤い炎と雲のように濃い青い煙をあげて燃えていた。爺さんは祈る聖者に近づいて、またひざまずいて言った。

"Good-evening, holy father!"

「こんばんは、聖なる父よ!」

The hermit was so absorbed in his litany that he heard nothing. So our old man spoke louder. The hermit did not stir, but made him a sign with his crutch to move aside. The old man stood aloof till the hermit had finished his prayer. When it was over, he raised his eyebrows and began:

隠者は連禱に没頭していて何も聞こえなかった。そこで爺さんはもっと大きな声で言った。隠者は身じろぎもせず、松葉杖でわきへ寄れと合図した。爺さんは隠者が祈りを終えるまで離れて立っていた。祈りが終わると、隠者は眉を上げてこう切り出した。

"My son, what do you seek from me in this dark, cheerless abode? For many centuries my eyes have seen no human face, and now I wonder what has led your footsteps hither."

「わが子よ、この暗い寂しい住まいに、わしに何を求めに来たのか。わしの目は何世紀ものあいだ人の顔を見ていない。何がおまえの足をここへ導いたのか不思議でならぬ。」

The old man answered:

爺さんは答えた。

"I kiss your right hand. My unhappiness has brought me here. I have lived with my wife many years, but we have no children, and I should like to have an heir when I behold our Lord's glorious face."

「御手に口づけいたします。わたしをここへ導いたのは不幸でございます。妻と長年連れ添ってまいりましたが、子がありません。主の栄光の御顔を仰ぐときには、跡継ぎを持っていたいのです。」

The hermit took an apple, and, after having blessed it, cut it in two, and said:

隠者はりんごをひとつ取り、それを祝福してから二つに切って言った。

"Take these two halves of the apple; give this one to your wife, eat the other yourself, and in God's name do not wander over the world so."

「このりんごの半分を持っていきなさい。こちらの半分を妻に与え、もう半分は自分で食べなさい。そして神の名において、そのように世をさまようのはおやめなさい。」

The old man took the gift, kissed the hermit's right hand and feet, and left the cave. Entering the dense forest, he walked a long time before he came to the meadows. There a terrible thirst and burning sensation in the throat seized upon him. What should he do, for he found no water? He did precisely what he was destined to do. He took the half apple and ate it. But instead of the half intended for him, he ate his wife's. He had scarcely swallowed it when he felt as if he could go no further. So he sank down on the grass where a quantity of yellow cheese-wort was growing, and fell sound asleep. And the angel of the Lord came down from Heaven, and watched beside him. When he awoke, what did his eyes behold? The wonder of wonders! The most marvelous of marvels! By his side, among the herbs, a little child was crying and moving its tiny hands. The angel brought some basil and some water that had been consecrated nine years, sprinkled the child, and christened it, giving it the name of "Little Wild-Rose." The old man, happier than he had ever been at the sight of the pretty little girl, took her in his arms, kissed her, and set off with her to his wife. When he reached the house he took a kneading-trough, put the little thing in it, set it on the roof, and then crawled into the cottage, saying:

爺さんは贈り物を受け取り、隠者の右手と足に口づけして洞穴を出た。深い森に入り、牧草地に出るまで長いこと歩いた。そこでひどいのどの渇きと、のどの焼けるような感じに襲われた。どうすればよかっただろう、水が見つからないのだから。爺さんは、まさに定められていたとおりのことをした。つまりりんごの半分を取って食べたのである。ところが自分のための半分ではなく、妻のための半分を食べてしまった。呑み込むやいなや、もう一歩も歩けないような気がした。そこで黄色いキバナカラスノエンドウの生い茂る草の上に倒れ込んで、ぐっすり眠り込んだ。すると主の天使が天から降りてきて、そのそばで見守った。爺さんが目を覚ますと、その目は何を見ただろう。不思議のなかの不思議! 驚きのなかの驚き! そのわきの草のなかで、小さな子が泣いて小さな手を動かしていたのである。天使はバジルの草と、九年のあいだ聖別された水を持ってきて、子にふりかけて洗礼を授け、「小さな野ばら」という名を与えた。爺さんはこのかわいい女の子を見て、これまでにないほど幸せになり、子を腕に抱いて口づけし、妻のもとへ連れていった。家に着くと、爺さんはこね鉢を取ってきて小さな子をそのなかに入れ、屋根の上に置いて、それから小屋に這い込んで言った。

"Come quick, wife, come quick, and see what a treasure of a daughter, with golden hair and eyes like stars, our Lord has given me."

「早く来い、婆さん、早く来て見てくれ。主さまが、金の髪と星のような目をした、宝のような娘をわしにくださったぞ。」

When they hurried out, to see the treasure of a girl and take the trough down from the roof, they saw nothing, no trace of the child anywhere. The old man crossed himself and sighed deeply. He searched hither and thither, right and left, but the little girl was nowhere to be found. He hunted through the straw in the hut and on the ground behind it to see if she had fallen down; but if she wasn't there she wasn't, and that ended the matter, for they couldn't stamp her out of the earth.

二人が宝のような娘を見て、こね鉢を屋根から下ろそうと急いで出てみると、何も見えず、子の跡はどこにもなかった。爺さんは十字を切って深くため息をついた。あちらこちら、右も左も探したが、小さな女の子はどこにも見つからなかった。小屋のなかのわらも、落ちたのではないかと小屋のうしろの地面も探したが、いないものはいないのであって、それでおしまいだった。地面から踏み出させるわけにもいかないのだから。

Oh, heavens, how the old man grieved and wrung his hands in despair. How could he help being startled by such a thing! He had put the child in the trough and seen her after he had laid her in it, and knew exactly where he had left her, and now to be unable to find her just a moment after was quite too bad.

ああ、爺さんはどんなに嘆き、絶望して手をもみしぼったことか。こんなことに驚かずにいられようか! 子をこね鉢に入れ、入れたあとで確かに見て、どこに置いたかもはっきりわかっているのに、ほんのひとときあとにそれが見つからないとは、あまりにひどいことだった。

"What could have happened to the little girl? Has the angel of the Lord taken her? Have the elves and wicked gnomes stolen her away? What in the world could have occurred!" said the man, sighing. Somebody had taken her, that was plain. But neither angels nor elves nor wicked gnomes frequented the neighborhood. Now, my good friends, just listen to the amazing event. A vulture or a griffin, whichever it was, but we'll say a griffin, was passing by, and, hearing the child's cries, swooped swiftly down, seized the little one, tucked her under its right wing, soared up into the sky with her, and took her to its eyry to feed its young. After putting her in its nest, the griffin flew off again. But the young birds, instead of eating the little girl, looked kindly at her, gave her some soft bread-crumbs, made a bed for her, and covered her with their wings to protect her from the chill of the morning air.

「あの子に何が起こったのだろう。主の天使が連れていかれたのか。妖精や悪い小鬼がさらったのか。いったい何が起こったのだ!」と爺さんはため息をついて言った。誰かが連れ去ったのは明らかだった。けれども天使も妖精も悪い小鬼も、このあたりには出なかった。さて、みなさん、この驚くべき出来事をお聞きください。禿鷹だったのかグリフィンだったのか、まあグリフィンとしておこう、それが通りかかって子の泣き声を聞くと、さっと舞い降りて小さな子をつかみ、右の翼の下にはさんで空へ舞い上がり、雛に食べさせようと巣へ運んでいったのである。けれども雛たちは、小さな女の子を巣に置いていった親鳥が飛び去ったあと、女の子を食べる代わりにやさしく見つめ、やわらかいパンくずを与え、寝床をこしらえて、朝の冷たい空気から守ろうと翼で覆ってやった。

I must now tell you that in this terrible forest, at the bottom of a well of pure poison, lived a dragon with twelve heads, and this well was not far from the tree in whose top rested the griffin's nest. This horrible dragon never let the little griffins grow up, but as soon as they were ready to fly stretched out two of its fiery heads and put an end to their lives, so that the poor old griffin had never yet, in all its life, been able to see even one of its children fly off.

ここで言っておかなければならないが、この恐ろしい森には、純粋な毒の井戸の底に十二の頭を持つ竜が住んでいて、この井戸はグリフィンの巣のある木のてっぺんからそう遠くなかった。この恐ろしい竜は、けっして小さなグリフィンたちを大きくさせなかった。雛が飛べるようになるやいなや、火を吐く頭を二つ伸ばしてその命を絶ってしまうので、かわいそうな年とったグリフィンは、生涯一度も自分の子が飛び立つのを見たことがなかった。

The present brood were now full-grown, and were waiting for daylight to fly through the woods and mountains, when lo, just at midnight the water of the well made a splashing noise, and what appeared in the moonlight that flickered through the trees? Two fiery heads, which approached the nest, setting up such a howling and wailing that the mountains shook to their foundations and the valleys rocked to and fro like cradles. Suddenly, in the twinkling of an eye, the joints of the earth and sky trembled and quaked, and the archangel, grasping a sword in his hand, appeared on a golden cloud, darting downward like a thunderbolt. Just as the dragon was going to seize the young griffins, the angel flashed his sword from east to west, and again from west to east, cutting off both heads as easily as one drinks a spoonful of water. Then two still more terrible ones came, but they were also hacked into pieces. Two others next appeared; they, too, were destroyed, and so fared all the twelve. Blood and poison flowed till the whole forest and valley were turned into a marsh, and the heads dashed against the tree which held the nest, so that the leaves fell from the boughs for ten miles around. The angel took some basil plant, and sprinkled the four quarters of the earth with water that had been consecrated in Paradise nine years before. The pools of blood all gathered into one spot, the heads lost their vitality, and the ground opened, swallowing them up with all the blood, so that the wood once more became pure and bright as God meant it to be.

今度の雛たちはもうすっかり育っていて、森や山を飛びまわろうと夜明けを待っていた。ところがなんと、ちょうど真夜中に井戸の水がざぶんと音を立てて、木々のあいだにちらつく月明かりに何が現れたと思う? 二つの火の頭で、それが巣に近づいてきて、山々がその土台まで揺れ、谷がゆりかごのように揺れるほど、うなり嘆く声をあげた。突然、またたくまに地と空の継ぎ目が震えて揺れ、大天使が手に剣を握って金の雲の上に現れ、雷のように舞い降りた。竜が小さなグリフィンたちをつかもうとしたまさにそのとき、天使は剣を東から西へ、また西から東へ閃かせて、匙一杯の水を飲むほどたやすく両方の頭を切り落とした。それからもっと恐ろしい頭が二つ来たが、それも切り刻まれた。次に別の二つが現れ、それも滅ぼされ、こうして十二の頭がみな同じ目にあった。血と毒が流れて、森も谷もすっかり沼になり、頭は巣のある木に打ちつけられて、十マイル四方の枝から葉が落ちた。天使はバジルの草を取って、九年前に楽園で聖別された水を大地の四方にふりかけた。血の池はみな一か所に集まり、頭は生気を失い、地が開いてそれを血もろとも呑み込んだので、森はまた神の望まれたとおり清らかで明るくなった。

When the griffin came back at dawn, found its children safe in the nest, and saw that the accursed well had disappeared, it uttered such a cry of delight that the earth for nine miles round trembled and shook.

夜明けにグリフィンが帰ってきて、子どもたちが巣で無事なのを見つけ、あののろわしい井戸が消えているのを見ると、九マイル四方の地が震えるほどの喜びの叫びをあげた。

Then it waked the young birds and said:

それからグリフィンは雛たちを起こして言った。

"Tell me quickly, my darlings, who has done me this great favor?"

「早く言っておくれ、いとしい子らよ、誰がわたしにこんな大きな恵みをくださったのだ。」

The young birds shook their heads and replied: "We don't know any thing about it, we have been asleep all night."

雛たちは首を振って答えた。「何も知らないよ。ひと晩じゅう眠っていたんだから。」

As the griffin looked about, its glance fell upon the little girl, whose golden hair and starry eyes were glittering in the morning sunlight like the torches of Paradise, and the thought instantly darted through its mind that this beautiful light must have rendered the unspeakable benefit.

グリフィンがあたりを見まわすと、その目は小さな女の子にとまった。その金の髪と星のような目が朝日に楽園のたいまつのように輝いていて、グリフィンの頭にはたちまち、この美しい光こそがあの言いようもない恵みをもたらしたにちがいないという思いがひらめいた。

"Children," said the griffin, angrily, "you haven't eaten the little girl, what does this mean?" The young birds kept as still as mice, but the griffin straightway swallowed lovely little Wild-Rose, yet when she appeared again she was seven times as beautiful as before.

「子どもたち」とグリフィンは腹立たしげに言った。「おまえたちはこの女の子を食べなかったのだね。これはどういうことだ。」雛たちはねずみのようにじっとしていたが、グリフィンはただちに愛らしい小さな野ばらを呑み込んだ。ところが女の子がまた現れると、前の七倍も美しくなっていた。

The griffin now set about a great task; all day long it brought flowers and soft green moss from the woodland meadows to make the little girl a room like a fairy's nest, and this tiny chamber, whenever the wind blew, rocked to and fro like a cradle. From this time little Wild-Rose was as dear to it as its own children, nay, she was the very apple of the griffin's eye, and it took care of her and fed her with the very best things a griffin could find.

グリフィンはそれから大仕事に取りかかった。一日じゅう、森の牧草地から花とやわらかい緑の苔を運んできて、女の子のために妖精の巣のような部屋をこしらえたのである。そしてこの小さな部屋は、風が吹くたびにゆりかごのように揺れた。この時から、小さな野ばらはグリフィンにとって自分の子と同じくらいいとしく、いや、まさに目の中に入れても痛くないほどで、グリフィンは女の子の世話をして、グリフィンに見つけられるかぎりいちばんよいものを食べさせた。

So the little Wild-Rose with the golden hair began to grow and flourish like a stately lily. In the morning the merry dawn kissed and woke her, at noon the shadows of the leafy boughs fanned her, and in the evening she was lulled to rest by the gentle breezes and the tunes that echoed through the forest from the shepherds' pipes.

こうして金の髪の小さな野ばらは、堂々とした百合のように育って花開きはじめた。朝には陽気な曙が口づけして目覚めさせ、昼には葉の茂った枝の影があおぎ、夕方にはやさしいそよ風と、羊飼いの笛が森にこだまさせる調べに眠りへと誘われた。

So the little girl grew in beauty till she was able to stand alone, and one day, just as the evening-star was bathing in the rosy light left by the sun when it sank behind the mountains, the Lord permitted what had been predestined to happen, though it was something that had never occurred before, since this world was created and the sun began its course through the sky. So it happened that little Wild-Rose stood up, came out of her little room, and for the first time gazed into the world. But when she looked at the evening-sky the air quivered, the rising stars trembled, and on the eastern horizon a second sun, more beautiful and a hundred times brighter than the one which had set behind the mountains, rose upward in majesty and splendor as if mounting from a sea of fire. The forests, chasms and valleys quaked, the flowers whispered sweetly to each other and turned their little heads toward the vivifying waves of light. And now behold--the fairest flowers tried to drink in the little maid's glances, and the trees around bowed their tops to rejoice in little Wild-Rose's beauty. In short, the whole of God's creation, the birds in the sky as well as the beasts in the forest, exulted and jumped for joy over the divine miracle.

こうして女の子は美しく育ち、一人で立てるようになった。そしてある日、宵の明星が、太陽が山の向こうに沈んだあとに残したばら色の光のなかで水浴びしているとき、主は、この世界が造られ太陽が空を巡りはじめてから一度も起こったことのない、けれども定められていたことを起こらせた。つまり小さな野ばらが立ち上がり、小さな部屋から出てきて、はじめて世界を見渡したのである。けれども女の子が夕暮れの空を見たとき、空気が震え、昇りはじめた星が揺れ、東の地平線に、山の向こうに沈んだあの太陽より美しく百倍も明るい第二の太陽が、火の海から昇るように威厳と輝きをもって昇った。森も谷間も渓谷も震え、花々は互いに甘くささやき合って、命を与える光の波のほうへ小さな頭を向けた。すると見よ——いちばん美しい花々が少女のまなざしを飲み干そうとし、まわりの木々は小さな野ばらの美しさを喜ぼうと梢をたれた。ひと言でいえば、神の造られたものすべてが、空の鳥も森の獣も、この神の奇跡に歓喜して跳びはねたのである。

After that evening's festival, twice three days passed, then three times three, finally still more until little Wild-Rose was fourteen years old.

その夕べの祝いのあと、二たびの三日が過ぎ、それから三たびの三日が過ぎ、とうとうそれ以上の日が過ぎて、小さな野ばらは十四歳になった。

At fourteen little Wild-Rose was beautiful--so beautiful that I am afraid to praise her and describe her perfections, lest you should afterward say that you had seen some one equally handsome. But there was no one like her under the sun. Lovely as she was, no human being had seen her, and she had no idea of empires and cities; she lived on sisterly terms with the flowers, danced with the butterflies, was lulled by the murmur of the brook, vied with the birds in singing. Now, my dear readers, forgive me for first telling you I would say nothing, and afterward adding a few words in praise of little Wild-Rose. Who that has ever seen her can help talking about her?

十四歳の小さな野ばらは美しかった——あまりに美しいので、その美しさをほめ、その完璧さを描くのが怖いほどである。あとであなたが、同じくらい美しい人を見たことがあると言い出すといけないから。けれども日の下に、あの娘のような者はいなかった。これほど美しくても、人間は誰一人その姿を見たことがなく、娘のほうも帝国や都市というものを知らなかった。娘は花々と姉妹のように暮らし、蝶と踊り、小川のせせらぎに眠りへ誘われ、鳥と歌を競った。さて、読者のみなさん、はじめに何も言わないと申しておきながら、あとで小さな野ばらをほめる言葉を少し添えたことをお許しください。あの娘を一度でも見た者で、それを語らずにいられる者がありましょうか。

So the days passed like hours and the hours like minutes, until one day a great hunt took place in the beautiful woods.

こうして日は時のように、時は分のように過ぎていき、とうとうある日、この美しい森で大がかりな狩りが行われた。

The emperor's son went to the chase too.

皇帝の息子も狩りに出た。

Well, evidently this ought to have been. The prince, in a good or evil hour--I don't know which I ought to say--saw a deer bound into the thicket, and hurried after the animal faster and faster and faster, till the young hero found himself where he had never been even in his dreams--in the very depths of the dense forest, which was still untrodden by any human foot.

さて、どうやらこうなるべきだったのだろう。王子は、よい時だったのか悪い時だったのか——どちらと言うべきかわからないが——一頭の鹿が茂みへ跳び込むのを見て、ますます速くその獣を追いかけていき、とうとう、夢のなかでさえ来たことのないところ——まだ人の足に踏まれたことのない深い森のいちばん奥に来てしまった。

When the prince discovered his situation, he stood still and listened, to try to hear some sound in this solitude; the barking of a dog, the blast of a horn, the report of a gun, any thing of the sort would have pleased the youth. But he listened in vain, utter silence and solitude surrounded him. After gazing around him for some time a dazzling light gleamed through the foliage. He glanced that way again, and felt that he must know what was there. One, two, three, and he reached the spot to see what it was. And he found--found the tree with the dainty little swinging chamber, and the young griffins staring at him. Whatever he may have thought, he drew his bow and would have instantly shot off the heads of the whole brood, when, like a thunderbolt, a blaze of light flashed into his face, dazzling him so that he dropped the bow and covered his eyes with his hands. When he looked that way again, he saw for half a minute the face and figure of little Wild-Rose, felt as if he were in the other world, and could not help falling on the grass in a fainting-fit. When he recovered his senses he called to the young girl to come down. But how was Wild-Rose to do such a thing? She did not go to a young man, but staid quietly at home with her mamma.

王子は自分の置かれた状況に気づくと、立ち止まってこの静けさのなかに何か音が聞こえないかと耳をすました。犬の吠える声、角笛の響き、銃の音、そういうものなら何でも若者をうれしがらせただろう。けれども耳をすましてもむだで、まったくの静けさと寂しさに取り巻かれていた。しばらくあたりを見まわしていると、葉のあいだからまばゆい光がきらめいた。もう一度そちらを見て、王子はそこに何があるのか知らずにはいられないと思った。一、二、三で王子はその場所に着いて、それが何かを見た。そして見つけたのは——見つけたのは、あの愛らしい揺れる小部屋のある木と、王子を見つめる若いグリフィンたちだった。王子は何を思ったのか、弓を引いて、この雛の群れの首をみな射落とそうとした。そのとき雷のように光がきらめいて顔に射し込み、目がくらんで弓を落とし、両手で目を覆った。そちらをまた見たとき、王子は半分ほどのあいだ小さな野ばらの顔と姿を見て、自分があの世にいるように感じ、思わず草の上に倒れて気を失った。正気に返ると、王子は若い娘に下りてきてくれと呼びかけた。けれども野ばらがそんなことをするだろうか。娘は若い男のところへは行かず、静かに母さんのもとにとどまっていた。

When the prince saw this he went away as he had come. Yet no, not exactly as he had come, for when he arrived his heart had not been full of love and longing. Neither had he come through the bushes without any trace of path or opening. But now he tumbled about wherever he went, as though he had no eyes. Yet, however he returned, he did return, arriving just as the shepherds were driving their cattle from the pasture into the village, and there he luckily met two of his hunting companions.

王子はそれを見ると、来たときと同じように去っていった。いや、正確には来たときと同じではなかった。来たときには胸は恋と憧れでいっぱいではなかったからである。それに、来るときは道も切れ目もない茂みを抜けてきたのでもなかった。けれども今の王子は、目がないかのようにどこへ行ってもよろめいた。それでもどうにかして、王子は帰ったのである。ちょうど羊飼いたちが家畜を牧草地から村へ追い込んでいるところに着いて、そこで運よく狩りの仲間二人に出会った。

Early the next morning heralds from the imperial court went through the whole country, proclaiming that whoever would promise to bring a wonder of a girl from the forest of the well with two trees, would be received by the emperor as his councilor so long as he lived and the whole court would do him honor. Lo, and behold! there came an old, lame woman, with a hump on her back and as much hair on her head as there is on the palm of the hand. "I am the person who can bring the girl from the forest of the well with the two trees," she said. The heralds looked at the old woman and burst out laughing.

次の朝早く、皇帝の宮廷から触れ役が国じゅうをめぐって、二本の木のある井戸の森から不思議な娘を連れてくると約束する者があれば、皇帝はその者を一生顧問として迎え、宮廷じゅうがその者に敬意を払うと布告した。すると、なんと! 腰の曲がった足の悪い年とった女がやって来た。背中にこぶがあり、頭の毛は手のひらほどしかなかった。「二本の木のある井戸の森から娘を連れてこられるのはわたしですよ」と女は言った。触れ役たちは年とった女を見て、どっと笑いだした。

"Are you from Satan's kingdom, you scare-crow?" said a herald. "Who, in the Wood Witch's name, brought you in our way, for now we shall have no luck. Begone from our sight."

「おまえはサタンの国から来たのか、この案山子め」と触れ役の一人は言った。「森の魔女の名にかけて、誰がおまえをわしらの前に連れてきたのだ。これでは運が逃げてしまう。目の前から消えうせろ。」

But the old woman insisted that she could bring the girl from the forest. And she stuck to the heralds like a bur to a sheep.

けれども年とった女は、森から娘を連れてこられると言い張った。そして羊にくっついたいがのように触れ役たちにつきまとった。

Then the oldest herald said: "Comrades, take her with us, for the emperor said plainly that we were to bring to the court any person, no matter who, that boasted of being able to execute his command; take the old woman and put her in the carriage."

すると最年長の触れ役が言った。「仲間たちよ、この女を連れていこう。皇帝陛下は、ご命令を果たせると豪語する者なら誰であれ宮廷に連れてこいとはっきり仰せられた。この年とった女を馬車に乗せよう。」

So they took the old woman and carried her to court.

そこで一同は年とった女を宮廷へ連れていった。

"You have boasted that you could bring the girl from the forest?" asked the emperor, seated on his throne.

「おまえは森から娘を連れてこられると豪語したそうだな」と王座に座った皇帝は尋ねた。

"Long life to your majesty. Yes, I promised to do so."

「陛下、ご長寿を。はい、そう約束いたしました。」

"Then set to work."

「では取りかかれ。」

"Let that be the old woman's care, but give me a kettle and a tripod." She quickly received them and set off behind the emperor's huntsmen, her mouth chattering and the kettle rattling, as the gipsies do when they bring a bride to her wedding. The prince had not remained at home either. How could he have staid behind and not known the why and wherefore! When the party reached the forest, the hunters and the prince halted and the old woman went on, like the Wood Witch, alone.

「それはこの婆の仕事でございます。ですが、大鍋と五徳をください。」女はすぐにそれを受け取ると、皇帝の狩人たちのうしろについて出発した。口はぺちゃくちゃしゃべり、鍋はがたがた鳴って、まるでジプシーが花嫁を婚礼に連れていくときのようだった。王子も家に残ってはいなかった。どうして留守番をして、事の次第を知らずにいられただろう。一行が森に着くと、狩人たちと王子は止まり、年とった女は森の魔女のように一人で進んでいった。

The shrewd, cunning old woman lighted a fire under the tree where the girl was, placed the tripod over the flames, and hung the kettle on it. But the kettle stood awry and upset as fast as she put it on. Little Wild-Rose, who was looking down from her room and saw the old woman's stupidity, lost her patience and called:

抜け目のないずる賢い年とった女は、娘のいる木の下で火をおこし、炎の上に五徳を置いて、その上に大鍋をかけた。ところが鍋は傾いて、かけるそばからひっくり返った。小さな野ばらは自分の部屋から見下ろしていて、年とった女の不器用さを見ると、じれったくなって呼びかけた。

"Not that way, old woman, set the tripod the other way."

「そうじゃないわ、おばあさん、五徳は反対向きに置くのよ。」

"But suppose I don't know how, my darling?"

「でも、やり方がわからなかったら、どうするのだね、かわい子ちゃん。」

And she vainly set it up, turned it round, and straightened it, the kettle would not stand. Wild-Rose grew more and more impatient and angry.

そして女はむだに五徳を立て直し、回し、まっすぐにしたが、鍋は立たなかった。野ばらはますますじれて腹を立てた。

"Haven't I already told you once that it won't stand so? Turn the handle of the kettle toward the trunk of the tree."

「そうしても立たないって、もう一度言ったでしょう。鍋の取っ手を木の幹のほうへ向けるのよ。」

The old woman did exactly the opposite, and then said:

年とった女はまったく反対のことをして、それから言った。

"Come down and show me, dear child."

「下りてきて教えておくれ、いとしい子や。」

And Wild-Rose, absorbed by that one idea, climbed quickly down the tree to teach the crone. But the old woman taught her so that she needed no second lesson. Seizing her by the arm, she lifted her on her shoulder and ran off with her to the enamored prince. When the prince saw Wild-Rose, he came to meet her, begged for her hand, and, trembling, kissed her. Then she was clothed in magnificent garments, which had been embroidered with gold and pearls by nine princesses.

すると野ばらは、そのことばかりに気を取られて、老婆に教えてやろうと急いで木を下りてきた。けれども年とった女は、二度目の授業が要らないほどしっかり娘に教えてやった。女は娘の腕をつかんで肩に担ぎ上げ、恋する王子のところへ走っていったのである。王子は野ばらを見ると迎えに出て、その手を求め、震えながら口づけした。それから娘は、九人の王女が金と真珠で刺繍した壮麗な衣装を着せられた。

She was placed in the imperial carriage, and the horses stopped only once on the way home to take breath, for they had no equals except among the steeds of the sun. When they reached the palace, the prince lifted her out, led her in, and seated her at the table as if she were a real princess. The young hero's parents gazed at her with delight, and remembered their own youth. At the end of a week a magnificent wedding was celebrated, which lasted for three days and three nights, then, after twenty-four hours' intermission, three days and three nights more were spent in splendid festivities.

娘は皇帝の馬車に乗せられ、馬は帰り道でただ一度、息を整えるためにだけ止まった。その馬に並ぶものは太陽の馬たちのほかになかったからである。宮殿に着くと、王子は娘を抱き下ろして中へ導き、ほんとうの王女ででもあるかのように食卓に着かせた。若い勇士の両親は娘を見て喜び、自分たちの若いころを思い出した。一週間の終わりには壮麗な婚礼が催され、それは三日三晩続き、それから二十四時間の間をおいて、さらに三日三晩、華やかな祝いが続いた。

I was there, too, but as I am lame in one foot, I did not arrive until the wedding was over and had great trouble in finding some clear broth, which I searched in vain for a crumb of meat and then sipped from a sieve, so you can imagine how much I had and how I spent the time.

わたしもその場にいたのだが、片足が不自由なので、婚礼が終わるまで着けなかった。そして澄んだスープをやっと見つけて、肉のかけらを探したがむだで、ふるいですすったのだから、わたしがどれだけありつけて、どんなふうに過ごしたかはご想像がつくだろう。