The Priest with the Envious Eyes

There was once a priest who lived in the parish of St. Nicholas. He served St. Nicholas for some years, and all his earnings were that he had neither house nor home, nor a roof over his head. So our good priest got together all his keys, and seeing the icon of St. Nicholas, struck it down, and left his parish to go whithersoever his eyes should guide him. And he went roaming on his way.

むかし聖ニコライの教区に一人の司祭がいた。何年も聖ニコライに仕えたが、その稼ぎたるや、家も住まいも、頭の上の屋根さえないというありさまだった。そこでこの善良な司祭は鍵をひとまとめに集め、聖ニコライのイコンを見つけると、それを叩き落として、目の向くほうへ行こうと教区を出た。そしてさまよい歩いた。

Suddenly an unknown man met him. “How do you do, good man?” he said to the pope.[18] “Whither are you going? and whence do you come?” “Take me with you as a companion.” So they went off together. They went on some versts, and became tired. It was time to rest.

突然、見知らぬ男が彼に出会った。「ご機嫌いかがです、善き人よ」とその男はポープ [18] に言った。「どちらへ行かれます。どちらから来られました」。「連れとしていっしょに行かせてください」。そこで二人はともに出かけた。何ヴェルスタか行って疲れた。休む時分である。

Now the pope had two biscuits, and his new friend had two wafers. The pope said to him: “We will first of all eat up your wafers, and we will then go on with the biscuits.”

さて、ポープはビスケットを二枚持っており、新しい友は聖餅を二枚持っていた。ポープは言った。「まずあなたの聖餅を食べてしまって、それからわたしのビスケットにかかりましょう」

“All right!” the unknown man said to him. “Let us first eat up my wafers, and leave your biscuits for a dessert.”

「よろしい!」と見知らぬ男は言った。「まずわたしの聖餅を食べて、あなたのビスケットは後の楽しみに取っておきましょう」

So they ate the wafers, ate them all up, and they were fully sated, and there were still wafers over.

そこで二人は聖餅を食べ、すっかり食べ尽くして、十分に満ち足りた。それでもまだ聖餅は残っていた。

So the pope became envious. “Why,” he thought, “I will steal them.” The old man lay down to sleep after dinner, and the pope was all agog to see how he could steal those wafers. The old man went to sleep; so the pope abstracted the wafers from his pocket and silently began eating them.

そこでポープは欲を出した。「よし」と彼は思った。「盗んでやろう」。老人は食後に横になって眠った。ポープはどうすればあの聖餅を盗めるかとそわそわしていた。老人が眠り込むと、ポープは隠しから聖餅を抜き取り、そっと食べはじめた。

The old man woke up and felt for his wafers, and could not find them anywhere. “Where are my wafers? Who has eaten them up? Have you, pope?”

老人は目を覚まして聖餅を探ったが、どこにも見つからなかった。「わたしの聖餅はどこだ。誰が食べてしまった。あんたか、ポープよ」

“No, I did not,” answered the pope.

「いいえ、わたしではありません」とポープは答えた。

“Well, all right; I don’t mind.”

「まあよかろう。気にはせぬ」

So they shook themselves up, and they went on their way and journey, went on and on, and the roads suddenly divided and they came to a carfax. So they both went on a single road and arrived at a kingdom. Now, in this kingdom the Tsar’s daughter was near her death, and the Tsar had promised any one who should cure her half of his reign and rule and realm; but any one who failed was to have his head cut off and placed on a pole.

そこで二人は身を起こし、道を、旅路を進んでいった。行きに行くと、突然、道が分かれて四つ辻に着いた。二人は同じ道を行き、ある王国に着いた。ところでこの王国では、ツァーリの娘が死にかけていて、ツァーリはこれを癒やす者があれば治世と支配と国土の半ばを与えると約束していた。だが果たせぬ者は首を刎ねられ、杭に据えられることになっていた。

When they arrived in front of the Tsar’s courtyard, they got themselves up finely, and they called themselves doctors. The henchmen sallied out of the Tsar’s courtyard, and asked them: “What sort of people are you? What is your race? What is your city? What do you require?”

二人はツァーリの庭の前に着くと、身なりを整え、医師と名乗った。ツァーリの庭から家来たちが出てきて尋ねた。「おまえたちはどういう者だ。どこの生まれだ。どこの町の者だ。何を求める」

“We,” they answered, “are doctors, and we can cure the Tsarévna.”

「わたしたちは」と二人は答えた。「医師で、ツァレーヴナを癒やすことができます」

“Well, if you are doctors, come into the palace.”

「では医師なら宮殿へ入れ」

So they went into the palace, looked at the Tsarévna, asked for special huts from the Tsar, for a can of water, for a curved sabre, and a large table. The Tsar gave them all they required.

そこで二人は宮殿に入り、ツァレーヴナを見て、ツァーリに特別な小屋と、水を入れた桶と、曲刀と、大きな卓を求めた。ツァーリは求めるものをすべて与えた。

They then locked themselves up in the huts, tied the princess down on the big table, cut her up with the curved sabre into little bits, put them all into the cauldron, washed them, and rinsed them out. Then they began to put them together—bit by bit, fragment by fragment. And the old man breathed on them. Piece clove to piece, and made one. Then he took all the pieces, breathed on them for the last time, and the princess trembled all over, and woke alive and well.

二人は小屋に閉じこもり、姫を大きな卓に縛りつけ、曲刀で細かく切り刻み、それをすべて釜に入れて洗い、すすいだ。それから一片ずつ、かけら一つずつ組み合わせはじめた。そして老人がそれに息を吹きかけた。片は片にくっついて一つになった。そして老人はすべての片を取り、最後にもういちど息を吹きかけると、姫は全身を震わせ、生きて健やかに目を覚ました。

The Tsar himself came into their hut. “In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost!”

ツァーリ自身が二人の小屋に入ってきた。「父と子と聖霊の御名において!」

“Amen!” they answered.

「アーメン!」と二人は答えた。

“Have you cured the Tsarévna?” asked the Tsar.

「ツァレーヴナを癒やしたか」とツァーリは尋ねた。

“Yes,” the doctors answered—“there she is!” The Tsarévna came out with the Tsar alive and well.

「はい」と医師たちは答えた。「そこにおられます!」。ツァレーヴナは生きて健やかに、ツァーリとともに出てきた。

The Tsar said to the doctors: “What good thing do you desire—gold or silver? Ask and you shall have.” So they began to bring gold and silver. And the old man took as much as he could take with his thumb and two fingers, but the pope took it by handfuls, and he rammed it all into his wallet and hid it away, concealed it, lifted it up as much as ever his power could.

ツァーリは医師たちに言った。「何がほしい——金か銀か。求めよ、与えよう」。そこで人々が金と銀を運んできた。老人は親指と二本の指でつまめるだけを取ったが、ポープは両手でつかみ取り、それを残らず自分の袋に詰め込んで隠し、覆い隠し、力のかぎり持ち上げた。

The old man then said to the pope: “Let us bury all the money in the earth and again go a-healing.”

そこで老人はポープに言った。「この金をみな土に埋めて、また癒やしに行こうではないか」

So they went on and went on, and they arrived at another kingdom in which there also was a princess on the verge of death, and the Tsar promised any one who should cure her half of his realm and rule and reign; but any one who failed was to have his head cut off.

そこで二人は歩きに歩いて、別の王国に着いた。そこでもまた姫が死の淵にあり、ツァーリはこれを癒やす者があれば国土と支配と治世の半ばを与えると約束していた。だが果たせぬ者は首を刎ねられることになっていた。

But the Evil One was tempting the envious pope—how he should manage to tell nothing to the old man, but to cure her by himself, and so get all the gold and silver for himself. So he dubbed himself a doctor, arrayed himself finely, and arrived at the Tsar’s courtyard, just as they had done before. In the same way he asked for the same implements from the Tsar, shut himself up in the special hut, tied the princess down on the table, took out the curved sabre; and however much the Tsarévna might cry out and wriggle, the pope disregarded all her shrieks, and all her yelpings, poor girl, and cut her to bits like mincemeat. He then cut it all up fine, threw it into the cauldron, washed it and rinsed it, took it out, put piece to piece exactly the same as the old man had done. And he then wanted to put them altogether, breathed on them—and nothing happened! He pumped his lungs out, but nothing happened. It was all to no purpose. So he put all the fragments back into the water, rinsed and scoured them through, fitting the pieces together, and breathed on them. It was all of no good.

ところが邪な者が欲深いポープを誘惑した——どうすれば老人に何も告げずに自分ひとりで癒やし、金も銀もすべて自分のものにできるか、と。そこでポープは自分を医師と称し、身なりを整えて、前と同じようにツァーリの庭に着いた。同じようにツァーリに同じ道具を求め、特別な小屋に閉じこもり、姫を卓に縛りつけ、曲刀を取り出した。そしてツァレーヴナがどれほど叫び、身をよじろうと、ポープはその悲鳴も、哀れな娘の泣き声もいっさい構わず、挽肉のように切り刻んだ。そして細かく切って釜に投げ込み、洗い、すすぎ、取り出して、老人がしたのとそっくり同じように片と片を合わせた。そしてそれを一つに合わせようと息を吹きかけた——だが何も起こらなかった! 肺を絞り尽くしても何も起こらない。まるで無駄だった。そこですべてのかけらをまた水に戻し、すすいで洗い直し、片を組み合わせて息を吹きかけた。それもまるで無駄だった。

“Oh, whatever shall I do?” the pope thought. “This is simply horrible!”

「ああ、どうすればよいのだ」とポープは思った。「これはまったく恐ろしいことだ!」

In the morning the Tsar went to him and saw that the doctor had had no luck. He had mixed up the whole body on the floor. So the Tsar ordered the doctor to the gallows.

朝になってツァーリが来てみると、医師はしくじっていた。床の上で体じゅうをごちゃまぜにしていたのである。そこでツァーリは医師を絞首台へ送れと命じた。

The pope then began to beg. “Tsar! Tsar! I am a free man. Give me a short space of time. I will go and look out for another old man who can really cure the Tsarévna.” So the pope went to look for the old man, found him, and said: “Old man, I am a depraved sinner. The fiends tempted me. I wanted to cure the Tsar’s daughter all by myself, and I was not able, and they are now going to hang me. Do come and help me!”

そこでポープは命乞いをはじめた。「ツァーリよ! ツァーリよ! わたしは自由の身です。しばらく時をください。ツァレーヴナをまことに癒やせる、もう一人の老人を探してまいります」。そこでポープは老人を探しに行き、見つけて言った。「ご老人、わたしは堕落した罪人です。悪鬼に誘惑されました。ツァーリの娘を自分ひとりで癒やそうとして、できなかったのです。そしていま吊るされようとしています。どうか来て助けてください!」

So the old man went with the pope, and the noose was put round the pope’s neck. Then the old man said to the pope: “Pope, who ate up my wafers?”

そこで老人はポープとともに行き、ポープの首には縄が掛けられた。すると老人はポープに言った。「ポープよ、わたしの聖餅を食べたのは誰だ」

“I really didn’t; I swear I didn’t!”

「まことにわたしではありません。誓ってわたしではありません!」

So they made him mount one rung higher, and again the old man said to him: “Pope, who ate my wafers up?”

そこで一段高い踏み段へ上らせ、老人はまた言った。「ポープよ、わたしの聖餅を食べたのは誰だ」

“I really didn’t; I swear I didn’t!”

「まことにわたしではありません。誓ってわたしではありません!」

So he went up the third rung, and again said he didn’t. This time he had his head in the noose tight, and still he said: “I did nothing of the sort!”

そこで三段めに上り、また違うと言った。今度は首がぴたりと縄に嵌まっていたが、それでも言った。「そんなことはしていません!」

So the old man said to the Tsar: “I am a free man. Will you let me cure the Tsarévna, and if I do not succeed, have a second noose got ready for my neck: one for me and one for the pope.”

そこで老人はツァーリに言った。「わたしは自由の身です。わたしにツァレーヴナを癒やさせてください。もし果たせなければ、わたしの首にも二つめの縄を用意させてください。一つはわたしに、一つはポープに」

Then the old man took the morsels of the Tsarévna’s body, bit by bit, breathed on them, and she arose alive and well.

そして老人はツァレーヴナの体の片を一つずつ取って息を吹きかけた。すると姫は生きて健やかに起き上がった。

Then the Tsar rewarded them both with gold and silver.

そこでツァーリは二人に金と銀を与えて報いた。

“Now let us go and divide the money,” said the old man.

「さあ、行って金を分けよう」と老人は言った。

So they started. They put all the money into three little piles, and the pope looked on, and said: “What do you mean? There are only two of us. Who is to have the third?”

そこで二人は取りかかった。金をすべて三つの小さな山に分けると、ポープはそれを見て言った。「どういうことです。わたしたちは二人しかいない。三つめは誰のものですか」

Said the old man: “That is for the thief who ate up my wafers.”

老人は言った。「あれはわたしの聖餅を食べた盗人のものだ」

“Oh, it was I who ate them up!” the pope cried out. “I really did! I swear it!”

「ああ、食べたのはわたしです!」とポープは叫んだ。「まことにわたしが食べました! 誓います!」

“Then you may have all the money, and my own share as well. Henceforth serve your parish faithfully. Do not be a miser, and do not beat St. Nicholas on the shoulders with the keys!” the old man said, and vanished.

「では金はみなおまえのものだ。わたしの分もやろう。これからは教区に忠実に仕えよ。けちであるな。そして鍵で聖ニコライの肩を叩くな!」。老人はそう言って消えた。