The Golden-haired Children

Once upon a time, in days long gone by, when my father was my father, and I was my fathers son, when my father was my son, and I was my father’s mother, once upon a time, I say, at the uttermost ends of the world, hard by the realm of demons, stood a great city.

むかしむかし、ずっと遠い日々のこと、わたしの父がわたしの父で、わたしが父の息子だったころ、わたしの父がわたしの息子で、わたしが父の母だったころ、むかしむかし、いいかね、世界のいちばん果て、魔物の国のすぐそばに、大きな都があった。

In this same city there dwelt three poor damsels, the daughters of a poor wood-cutter. From morn to eve, from evening to morning, they did nothing but sew and stitch, and when the embroideries were finished, one of them would go to the market-place and sell them, and so purchase wherewithal to live upon.

この同じ都に、貧しい木こりの娘である貧しい娘が三人住んでいた。朝から晩まで、晩から朝まで、三人は縫い物や刺繍ばかりしていて、刺繍ができあがると、そのうちの一人が市場へ行ってそれを売り、それで暮らしに要るものを買っていた。

Now it fell out, one day, that the Padishah of that city was wroth with the people, and in his rage he commanded that for three days and three nights nobody should light a candle in that city. What were these three poor sisters to do? They could not work in the dark. So they covered their window with a large thick curtain, lit a tiny rushlight, and sat them down to earn their daily bread.

さて、ある日、その都の王(パーディシャー)が民に腹を立てて、怒りのあまり、三日三晩、都の誰もろうそくをともしてはならぬと命じた。この貧しい三人の姉妹はどうすればよかっただろう。暗闇では仕事ができない。そこで三人は窓を大きな厚いカーテンで覆い、小さな灯芯草のろうそくをともして、日々のパンを稼ごうと座った。

On the third night of the prohibition, the Padishah took it into his head to go round the city himself to see whether every one was keeping his commandment. He chanced to step in front of the house of the three poor damsels, and as the folds of the curtain did not quite cover the bottom of the window he caught sight of the light within. The damsels, however, little suspecting their danger, went on sewing and stitching and talking amongst themselves about their poor affairs.

禁令の三日目の夜、王は、みなが言いつけを守っているかどうか自分で都をめぐって見ようと思い立った。王はたまたま三人の貧しい娘の家の前に来て、カーテンのひだが窓の下のほうまで覆いきれていなかったので、なかの明かりが目に入った。けれども娘たちは身に迫る危険など思いもよらず、縫い物や刺繍を続けながら、自分たちのささやかな暮らしのことを話し合っていた。

“Oh,” said the eldest, “if only the Padishah would wed me to his chief cook, what delicious dishes I should have every day. Yes, and I would embroider him for it a carpet so long that all his horses and all his men could find room upon it.”

「ああ」といちばん上の娘が言った。「王さまがわたしを料理長と結婚させてくださったら、毎日どんなにおいしい料理が食べられるかしら。そうしたら、そのお礼に、王さまの馬と家来がみんな乗れるほど長い絨毯を刺繍してさしあげるわ。」

“As for me,” said the middling damsel, “I should like to be wedded to the keeper of his wardrobe. What lovely splendid raiment I should then have to put on. And then I would make the Padishah a tent so large, that all his horses and all his men should find shelter beneath it.”

「わたしはね」と二番目の娘が言った。「衣装係と結婚したいわ。そうしたら、なんて美しい豪華な衣装が着られるでしょう。それから王さまに、王さまの馬と家来がみんな入れるほど大きな天幕をこしらえてさしあげるわ。」

“Well,” cried the youngest damsel, “I’ll look at nobody but the Padishah himself, and if he would only take me to wife I would bear him two little children with golden hair. One should be a boy and the other a girl, and a half-moon should shine on the forehead of the boy, and a bright star should sparkle on the temples of the girl.”

「そうね」といちばん下の娘が叫んだ。「わたしは王さまのほかには誰も見ないわ。もし王さまがわたしを妻にしてくださったら、金の髪をした小さな子どもを二人産んでさしあげるの。一人は男の子で一人は女の子、男の子の額には半月が輝き、女の子のこめかみには明るい星がきらめくのよ。」

The Padishah heard the discourse of the three damsels, and no sooner did the red dawn shine in the morning sky than he sent for all three to the palace. The eldest he gave to his head pantler, the second to his head chamberlain, but the youngest he took for himself.

王は三人の娘の話を聞いて、朝の空に赤い夜明けが輝くやいなや、三人とも宮殿に呼び寄せた。いちばん上の娘は料理長に、二番目は侍従長に与えたが、いちばん下の娘は自分の妻にした。

And in truth it fared excellently well with the three damsels. The eldest got so many rich dishes to eat, that when it came to sewing the promised carpet she could scarce move her needle for the sleep of surfeit. So they sent her back again to the wood-cutters hut. The second damsel, too, when they dressed her up in gold and silver raiment, would not deign to dirty her fingers by making tents, so they sent her back too, to keep her elder sister company.

そして実際、三人の娘はすばらしい暮らしをした。いちばん上の娘はあまりにたくさんのごちそうを食べさせてもらったので、約束の絨毯を縫う段になると、食べすぎの眠気で針もろくに動かせなかった。そこで人々は娘を木こりの小屋へ送り返した。二番目の娘も、金銀の衣装を着せてもらうと、天幕をこしらえて指を汚すのを潔しとしなかったので、人々はその娘も送り返して、姉と一緒にいさせた。

And how about the youngest? Well, after nine months and ten days the two elder sisters came sidling up to the palace to see if the poor thing would really be as good as her word, and bring forth the two wondrous children. In the gates of the palace they met an old woman, and they persuaded her with gifts and promises to meddle in the matter. Now this old woman was the devil’s own daughter, so that mischief and malice were her meat and drink. She now went and picked up two pups and took them with her to the sick woman’s bed.

では、いちばん下の娘はどうなっただろう。さて、九か月と十日たつと、二人の姉は、かわいそうな妹がほんとうに約束どおり二人の不思議な子どもを産むのかどうか見ようと、こっそり宮殿へやって来た。宮殿の門で二人は一人の年とった女に会い、贈り物や約束で、この件に口出しするよう説き伏せた。さて、この年とった女は悪魔の娘そのもので、いたずらと悪意が食べ物で飲み物だった。女は子犬を二匹拾ってきて、お産をする女の寝床へ連れていった。

And oh, my soul! the wife of the Padishah brought forth two little children like shining stars. One was a boy, the other a girl; on the boys forehead was a half-moon and on the girl’s a star, so that darkness was turned to light when they were by. Then the wicked old woman exchanged the children for the pups, and told it in the ears of the Padishah that his wife had brought forth two pups. The Padishah was like to have had a fit in the furiousness of his rage. He took his poor wife, buried her up to the waist in the ground, and commanded throughout the city that every passer-by should strike her on the head with a stone. But no sooner had the evil witch got hold of the two children, than she took them a long way outside the town, exposed them on the bank of a flowing stream, and returned to the palace right glad that she had done her work so well.

するとまあ、なんということ! 王の妃は輝く星のような小さな子どもを二人産んだ。一人は男の子、一人は女の子で、男の子の額には半月、女の子の額には星があって、二人がそばにいると暗闇が光に変わるほどだった。すると邪悪な年とった女は子どもたちを子犬とすり替えて、お妃さまは子犬を二匹産みましたと王の耳にささやいた。王は激しい怒りのあまり発作を起こしそうになった。王はかわいそうな妻を捕らえて腰まで地面に埋め、通りかかる者はみな妃の頭に石を投げつけよと都じゅうに命じた。けれども邪悪な魔女は二人の子どもを手に入れるやいなや、町からずっと遠くへ連れていき、流れる川の岸に捨てて、うまく仕事を片づけたのを大喜びしながら宮殿へ戻っていった。

Now close to the water where the two children lay stood a hut where lived an aged couple. The old man had a she-goat which used to go out in the morning to graze, and come back in the evening to be milked, and that was how the poor people kept body and soul together. One day, however, the old woman was

さて、二人の子どもが寝ている水辺の近くに小屋があって、年とった夫婦が住んでいた。年とった男は雌山羊を一頭飼っていて、山羊は朝になると草を食べに出かけ、夕方になると乳を搾ってもらいに帰ってきた。そうしてこの貧しい夫婦はなんとか暮らしを立てていた。ところがある日、年とった女は

surprised to find that the goat did not give one drop of milk. She complained about it to the old man her husband, and told him to follow the goat to see if perchance there was any one who stole the milk.

山羊がひとしずくも乳を出さないのに驚いた。女は夫の年とった男にそれをこぼして、もしかすると誰かが乳を盗んでいるのかもしれないから、山羊のあとをつけてみてくれと言った。

So the next day the old man went after the goat, which went right up to the water’s edge, and then disappeared behind a tree. And what do you think he saw? He saw a sight which would have delighted your eyes also--two golden-haired children were lying in the grass, and the goat went right up to them and gave them to suck. Then she bleated to them a little, and so left them and went off to graze. And the old man was so delighted at the sight of the little starry things, that he was like to have lost his head for joy. So he took the little ones (Allah had not blessed him with children of his own) and carried them to his hut and gave them to his wife. The woman was filled with a still greater joy at the children which Allah had given her, and took care of them, and brought them up. But now the little goat came bleating in as if in sore distress, but the moment she saw the children, she went to them and suckled them, and then went out to graze again.

そこで次の日、年とった男が山羊のあとをつけていくと、山羊は水ぎわまでまっすぐ行って、木のうしろに消えた。そして男が何を見たと思う? あなたの目も喜ばせたであろう光景を見たのである——金の髪をした二人の子どもが草の上に寝ていて、山羊がまっすぐそのそばへ行って乳を飲ませていたのだ。それから山羊は子どもたちに少しめえめえ鳴いてやって、子どもたちを置いて草を食べに行った。年とった男は小さな星のような子どもたちを見てあまりにうれしくて、喜びのあまり気が変になりそうだった。そこで男は小さな子どもたちを抱き上げて(アッラーは男に自分の子を授けてくださらなかったのである)、小屋へ運んでいき、妻に渡した。妻はアッラーが授けてくださった子どもたちにもっと大きな喜びでいっぱいになり、子どもたちの世話をして育てた。ところがそのとき、小さな山羊がひどく困ったようにめえめえ鳴きながら入ってきたが、子どもたちを見るやいなや、そばへ行って乳を飲ませ、それからまた草を食べに出ていった。

But time comes and goes. The two wondrous children grew up and scampered up hill and down dale, and the dark woods were bright with the radiance of their golden hair. They hunted the wild beasts, tended sheep, and helped the old people by word and deed. Time came and went till the children had grown up, and the old people had become very old indeed. The golden-haired ones grew in strength while the silver-haired ones grew in feebleness, till, at last, one morning they lay dead there, and the brother and sister were left all alone. Sorely did the poor little things weep and wail, but was ever woe mended by weeping? So they buried their old parents, and the girl stayed at home with the little she-goat, while the lad went a-hunting, for how to find food was now their great care and their little care too.

けれども時は来ては過ぎていく。二人の不思議な子どもは大きくなって丘を駆け上がり谷を駆け下り、暗い森はその金の髪の輝きで明るくなった。二人は野の獣を狩り、羊の番をし、言葉でも行いでも年寄りたちを助けた。時は来ては過ぎ、子どもたちはすっかり大きくなり、年寄りたちはほんとうにすっかり年老いた。金の髪の子らが力を増すにつれ、銀の髪の二人は弱っていき、とうとうある朝、二人はそこに死んで横たわっていて、兄と妹はひとりぼっちで残された。かわいそうな小さな二人はひどく泣き嘆いたが、泣いて悲しみが癒えたためしがあっただろうか。そこで二人は年とった両親を葬り、妹は小さな雌山羊と家に残り、兄は狩りに出かけた。どうやって食べ物を手に入れるかが、今や二人の大きな心配でも小さな心配でもあったからである。

One day, while he was hunting wild beasts in the forest, he met his father, the Padishah, but he did not know it was his father, neither did the father recognize his son. Yet the moment the Padishah beheld the wondrously beautiful child, he longed to clasp him to his breast, and commanded those about him to inquire of the child from whence he came.

ある日、若者が森で野の獣を狩っていると、父の王に出会った。けれども若者はそれが父だとは知らず、父も息子だとはわからなかった。それでも王はこの不思議なほど美しい子を見たとたん、胸に抱きしめたくてたまらなくなり、まわりの者たちに、どこから来た子か尋ねるよう命じた。

Then one of the courtiers went up to the youth, and said: “Thou hast shot much game there, my Bey!”--“Allah also has created much,” replied the youth, “and there is enough for thee and for me also,” and with that he left him like a blockhead.

そこで廷臣の一人が若者のところへ行って言った。「ずいぶんたくさん獲物を射止めましたね、ベイさま!」——「アッラーもたくさんお造りになった」と若者は答えた。「あなたにもわたしにも十分なくらい。」そう言うと若者は、その男をでくのぼうのように置き去りにした。

But the Padishah went back to his palace, and was sick at heart because of the boy; and when they asked what ailed him, he said that he had seen such a wondrously beautiful child in the forest, and that he loved him so that he could rest no more. The boy had the very golden hair and the same radiant forehead that his wife had promised him.

けれども王は宮殿に帰ると、その少年のことで胸を病み、どうしたのかと尋ねられると、森でこんなに不思議なほど美しい子を見て、あまり愛しくてもう休むこともできないのだと言った。その少年は、妃が約束したのとまさに同じ金の髪と、同じ輝く額をしていたのである。

The old woman was sore afraid at these words. She hastened to the stream, saw the house, peeped in, and there sat a lovely girl, like a moon fourteen days old. The girl entreated the old woman courteously, and asked her what she sought. The old woman did not wait to be asked twice; indeed, her foot was scarce across the threshold when she began to ask the girl with honey-sweet words whether she lived all alone.

年とった女はこの言葉を聞いてひどくおびえた。女は川へ急いで家を見つけ、のぞき込むと、そこには十四夜の月のように美しい娘が座っていた。娘は年とった女を丁重に迎えて、何のご用ですかと尋ねた。年とった女は二度尋ねられるのを待たなかった。いや、敷居をまたぐかまたがないうちに、蜜のように甘い言葉で、ひとりで住んでいるのかと娘に尋ねはじめた。

“Nay, my mother,” replied the girl; “I have a young brother. In the day-time he goes hunting, and in the evening he comes home.”

「いいえ、おばあさん」と娘は答えた。「弟がいます。昼間は狩りに出かけて、夕方に帰ってくるのです。」

“Dost thou not grow weary of being all alone here by thyself?” inquired the witch.--“If even I did,” said the girl, “what can I do? I must fill up my time as best I may.”

「ここにたったひとりでいて、退屈じゃないのかい」と魔女は尋ねた。——「退屈だとしても」と娘は言った。「どうしようもありません。できるだけうまく時間をつぶすしかないのです。」

“Tell me now, my little diamond! dost thou dearly love this brother of thine?”

「言っておくれ、わたしの小さなダイヤモンドちゃん! その弟をとても愛しているのかい。」

“Of course I do.”

「もちろんです。」

“Well, then, my girl,” said the witch, “I’ll tell thee something, but don’t let it go any further! When thy brother comes home this evening, fall to weeping and wailing, and keep it up with all thy might. When then he asks what ails thee, answer him not, and when he asks thee again, again give him never a word. When, however, he asks thee a third time, say that thou art tired to death with staying at home here all by thyself, and that if he loves thee, he will go to the garden of the Queen of the Peris, and bring thee from thence a branch. A lovelier branch thou hast never seen all thy life long.”--The girl promised she would do this, and the old woman went away.

「それじゃ、お嬢ちゃん」と魔女は言った。「いいことを教えてあげよう。でも誰にも言うんじゃないよ! 今晩弟が帰ってきたら、泣きわめきはじめて、力いっぱいそれを続けるんだ。弟がどうしたのかと聞いても答えるんじゃない。また聞かれても、またひと言も言うんじゃない。けれども三度目に聞かれたら、ここにひとりで家にいるのが死ぬほど退屈だ、もし自分を愛しているならペリの女王の庭へ行って、そこから枝を一本持ってきてくれ、と言うんだよ。一生のうちで見たこともないほど美しい枝だよ。」——娘はそうすると約束し、年とった女は去っていった。

Towards evening the damsel burst forth a-weeping and wailing till both her eyes were as red as blood. The brother came home in the evening, and was amazed to see his sister in such dire distress, yet could he not prevail upon her to tell him the cause of it. He promised her all the grass of the field and all the trees of the forest if she would only tell him what was the matter, and, to satisfy the desire of his sister’s heart, the golden-haired youth set off next morning for the garden of the fairy queen. He went on and on, smoking his chibook and drinking coffee, till he reached the boundaries of the fairy realm. He came to deserts where no caravan had ever gone; he came to mountains where no bird could ever fly; he came to valleys where no serpent can ever crawl. But his trust was in Allah, so he went on and on till he came to an immense desert which the eye of man had never seen nor the foot of man trodden. In the midst of it was a beautiful palace, and by the roadside sat the Mother of Devils, and the smell of her was as the pestilence in the air all round about her.

夕方近くになると、娘は両方の目が血のように赤くなるまで泣きわめきはじめた。夕方、弟が帰ってきて、姉がこんなにひどく悲しんでいるのを見て驚いたが、どうしてもそのわけを話させることができなかった。弟は、どうしたのか話してくれさえすれば、野の草をみな、森の木をみなあげると約束した。そして姉の心の望みをかなえるために、金の髪の若者は次の朝、妖精の女王の庭へ向けて出発した。若者はチブクをふかし、コーヒーを飲みながらどんどん進んでいき、妖精の国の境に着いた。隊商が一度も通ったことのない砂漠に来た。鳥が一度も飛べなかった山々に来た。蛇がけっして這えない谷に来た。けれども若者はアッラーを頼みにしていたので、どんどん進んでいき、人の目が一度も見たことも人の足が一度も踏んだこともない広大な砂漠に着いた。そのまんなかに美しい宮殿があって、道ばたには悪魔の母が座っていた。そのにおいは、あたり一帯の空気に満ちた疫病のようだった。

The youth went straight up to the Mother of Devils, hugged her to his breast, kissed her all over, and said: “Good-day, little mother mine! I am thine own true lad till death!” and he kissed her hand.

若者はまっすぐ悪魔の母のところへ行って胸に抱きしめ、体じゅうに口づけして言った。「こんにちは、わたしのお母さん! わたしは死ぬまであなたのほんとうの息子です!」そして若者は母の手に口づけした。

“A good-day to thee also, my little son!” replied the Mother of Devils. “If thou hadst not called me thy dear little mother, if thou hadst not embraced me, and if thy innocent mother had not been under the earth, I would have devoured thee at once. But tell me now, my little son, whither away?”

「おまえにもこんにちは、坊や!」と悪魔の母は答えた。「おまえがわたしをいとしいお母さんと呼ばなかったら、わたしを抱きしめなかったら、そしておまえの罪のない母親が地の下にいなかったら、すぐさまおまえを食ってしまうところだったよ。でも、さあ言ってごらん、坊や、どこへ行くんだい。」

The poor youth said that he wanted a branch from the garden of the Queen of the Peris.

かわいそうな若者は、ペリの女王の庭の枝がほしいのだと言った。

“Who put that word in thy mouth, my little son?” asked the woman in amazement. “Hundreds and hundreds of talismans guard that garden, and hundreds of souls have perished there by reason thereof.”

「誰がおまえの口にそんな言葉を吹き込んだんだい、坊や」と女は驚いて尋ねた。「何百何千という護符がその庭を守っていて、そのために何百という魂がそこで滅んでいるんだよ。」

Yet the youth did not hold back. “I can but die once,” thought he.--“Thou dost but go to salute thy innocent, buried mother,” said the old woman; and then she made the youth sit down beside her and taught him the way: “Set out on thy quest at daybreak, and never stop till thou dost see right in front of thee a well and a forest. Draw forth thine arrows in this forest and catch five to ten birds, but catch them alive. Take these birds to the well, and when thou hast recited a prayer twice over, plunge the birds into the well and cry aloud for a key. A key will straightway be cast out of the well, take it to thee, and go on thy way. Thou wilt come presently to a large cavern; open the door thereof with thy key, and, as soon as thy foot is inside, stretch forth thy right hand into the blank darkness, grip fast hold of whatever thy hand shall touch, drag the thing quickly forth, and cast the key back into the well again. But look not behind thee all the time, or Allah have mercy on thy soul!”

それでも若者はひるまなかった。「死ぬのは一度きりだ」と若者は思った。——「おまえは地に埋められた罪のない母親に挨拶しに行くようなものだよ」と年とった女は言った。それから女は若者をそばに座らせて、道を教えた。「夜明けに探求に出発して、目の前に井戸と森が見えるまで、けっして止まってはいけない。その森で矢を取り出して、鳥を五羽から十羽つかまえるんだ。ただし生きたままつかまえるんだよ。その鳥を井戸へ持っていって、祈りを二度唱えたら、鳥を井戸に放り込んで、鍵をくれと大声で叫ぶんだ。するとすぐに井戸から鍵が投げ出されるから、それを持って道を進みなさい。まもなく大きなほら穴に着く。その鍵でほら穴の戸を開けて、足をなかに入れたらすぐに、まっ暗闇のなかへ右手を伸ばして、手に触れたものを何でもしっかりつかみ、すばやく引っぱり出して、鍵をまた井戸に投げ戻すんだ。でもそのあいだずっと、うしろを振り向いてはいけないよ。さもないと、アッラーよ、おまえの魂を憐れみたまえ!」

Next day, when the red dawn was in the sky, the youth went forth on his quest, caught the five to ten birds in the forest, got hold of the key, opened therewith the door of the cavern, and--oh, Allah!--stretched forth his right hand, gripped hold of something, and, without once looking behind him, dragged it all the way to his sister’s hut, and never stopped till he got there. Only then did he cast his eyes upon what he had in his hand, and it was neither more nor less than a branch from the garden of the Queen of the Peris. But what a branch it was! It was full of little twigs, and the twigs were full of little leaves, and there was a little bird on every little leaf, and every little bird had a song of its own. Such music, such melody was there as would have brought even a dead man to life again. The whole hut was filled with joy.

次の日、空に赤い夜明けが来ると、若者は探求に出かけ、森で五羽から十羽の鳥をつかまえ、鍵を手に入れて、それでほら穴の戸を開け、そして——おおアッラーよ!——右手を伸ばして何かをつかみ、一度もうしろを振り向かずに、姉の小屋までずっと引きずっていき、そこに着くまで一度も止まらなかった。そこに着いてはじめて手に持っているものに目をやると、それはまさしくペリの女王の庭の枝だった。けれども、なんという枝だっただろう! 小さな小枝がいっぱいについていて、小枝には小さな葉がいっぱいついていて、小さな葉の一枚一枚に小鳥がとまっていて、小鳥の一羽一羽がそれぞれの歌を持っていた。死人でさえ生き返らせるような音楽、調べがそこにはあった。小屋じゅうが喜びに満たされた。

Next day the youth again went forth to hunt, and, as he was pursuing the beast of the forest, the Padishah saw him again. He exchanged a word or two with the youth, and then returned to his palace, but he was now sicker than ever, by reason of his love for his son.

次の日、若者はまた狩りに出かけ、森の獣を追っていると、また王が若者を見かけた。王は若者とひと言ふた言言葉を交わしてから宮殿に帰ったが、息子への愛のために、前よりもっとひどく病んでしまった。

Then the old woman strolled off to the hut again, and there she saw the damsel sitting with the magic branch in her hand.

そこで年とった女はまたぶらぶらと小屋へ出かけていき、娘が魔法の枝を手に持って座っているのを見た。

“Well, my girl!” said the old woman, “what did I tell thee? But that’s nothing at all. If thy brother would only fetch thee the mirror of the Queen of the Peris, Allah knows that thou wouldst cast that branch right away. Give him no peace till he get it for thee.”

「さて、お嬢ちゃん!」と年とった女は言った。「わたしの言ったとおりだろう。でも、そんなものはまだ何でもないよ。もしおまえの弟がペリの女王の鏡を持ってきてくれたら、アッラーもご存じのとおり、おまえはそんな枝なんかすぐに投げ捨ててしまうだろうよ。弟がそれを持ってくるまで、弟に休ませちゃいけないよ。」

The witch had no sooner departed than the damsel began screaming and wailing so that her brother was at his wit’s end how to comfort her. He said he would take the whole world on his shoulders to please her, went straight off to the Mother of Devils, and besought her so earnestly that she had not the heart to say him nay.

魔女が立ち去るやいなや、娘は金切り声をあげて泣きわめきはじめたので、弟はどうやって慰めたらいいのか途方に暮れた。弟は姉を喜ばせるためなら世界をまるごと肩に担ぐと言って、まっすぐ悪魔の母のところへ行き、あまりに熱心に頼んだので、母は断る気になれなかった。

“Thou hast made up thy mind to go under the sod to thy innocent, buried mother, I see,” cried she, “for not by hundreds but by thousands have human souls perished in this quest of thine.” Then she instructed the youth whither he should go and what he should do, and he set off on his way. He took an iron staff in his hand and tied iron sandals to his feet, and he went on and on till he came to two doors, as the Mother of Devils told him he would beforehand. One of these doors was open, the other was closed. He closed the open door and opened the closed door, and there, straight before him, was another door. In front of this door was a lion and a sheep, and there was grass before the lion and flesh before the sheep. He took up the flesh and laid it before the lion, then he took up the grass and laid it before the sheep, and they let him enter unharmed. But now he came to a third door, and in front of it were two furnaces, and fire burned in the one and ashes smouldered in the other. He put out the flaming furnace, stirred up the cinders in the smouldering furnace till they blazed again, and then through the door he went into the garden of the Peris, and from the garden into the Peri palace. He snatched up the enchanted mirror, and was hastening away with it when a mighty voice cried out against him so that the earth and the heavens trembled. “Burning furnace, seize him, seize him!” cried the voice, just as he came up to the furnace.

「おまえは地に埋められた罪のない母親のもとへ、土の下へ行こうと決めたんだね」と母は叫んだ。「おまえのその探求で滅んだ人間の魂は、何百どころか何千もいるんだよ。」それから母は若者に、どこへ行って何をすればいいかを教え、若者は出発した。若者は鉄の杖を手に持ち、鉄のサンダルを足に結びつけて、どんどん進んでいき、悪魔の母が前もって言ったとおり、二つの扉のところに来た。扉の一方は開いていて、もう一方は閉まっていた。若者は開いている扉を閉め、閉まっている扉を開けた。するとすぐ目の前に、もうひとつ扉があった。この扉の前には獅子と羊がいて、獅子の前には草が、羊の前には肉が置いてあった。若者は肉を取って獅子の前に置き、それから草を取って羊の前に置いた。すると獅子と羊は若者を無事に通してくれた。けれども今度は三つ目の扉に来て、その前には炉が二つあって、一方には火が燃え、もう一方には灰がくすぶっていた。若者は燃えている炉の火を消し、くすぶっている炉の燃えさしをかきたててまた燃え上がらせ、それから扉を通ってペリの庭に入り、庭からペリの宮殿に入った。若者は魔法の鏡をひっつかんで急いで逃げようとしたが、そのとき大地と天が震えるほどの力強い声が若者に向かって叫んだ。「燃える炉よ、そいつを捕らえよ、捕らえよ!」と声は叫んだ。ちょうど若者が炉のところまで来たときだった。

“I can’t,” answered the first furnace, “for he has put me out!” But the other furnace was grateful to him for kindling it into a blaze again, so it let him pass by too.

「できません」と一つ目の炉は答えた。「その人はわたしの火を消したのですから!」けれどももう一方の炉は、また燃え上がらせてもらったことを感謝していたので、やはり若者を通してやった。

“Lion, lion, tear him to pieces!” cried the mighty voice from the depths of the palace, when the youth came up to the two beasts.

「獅子よ、獅子よ、そいつをずたずたに引き裂け!」と、若者が二頭の獣のところまで来ると、宮殿の奥から力強い声が叫んだ。

“Not I,” answered the lion, “for he helped me to a good meal of flesh!”--Nor would the sheep hurt him either, because he had given it the grass.--“Open door! let him not out!” cried the voice from within the palace.--“Nay, but I will!” replied the door; “for had he not opened me I should be closed still!”--and so the golden-haired youth was not very long in getting home, to the great joy of his sister. She snatched at the mirror and instantly looked into it, and--Allah be praised!--she saw the whole world in it. Then the damsel thought no more of the Peribranch, for her eyes were glued to the mirror.

「いやです」と獅子は答えた。「その人はわたしにおいしい肉をくれたのですから!」——羊も、草をもらったので若者を傷つけようとしなかった。——「開いた扉よ! そいつを外へ出すな!」と宮殿のなかから声が叫んだ。——「いいえ、出します!」と扉は答えた。「その人が開けてくれなかったら、わたしはまだ閉まったままだったのですから!」——こうして金の髪の若者はまもなく家に帰り着き、姉は大喜びした。姉は鏡をひったくってすぐにのぞき込み、そして——アッラーをたたえよ!——そのなかに世界じゅうが見えた。それから娘はもうペリの枝のことなど考えなくなった。目が鏡に釘づけになったからである。

Again the youth went a-hunting, and again he caught the eye of the Padishah. But the sight of the youth this third time so touched the fatherly heart of the Padishah that they carried him back to his palace half fainting. Then the witch guessed only too well how matters stood.

若者はまた狩りに出かけ、また王の目にとまった。けれども三度目に若者を見たことで王の父親の心がひどく揺さぶられたので、王は半ば気を失ったまま宮殿へ運ばれた。すると魔女は、事の次第をいやというほど察した。

So she arose and went to the damsel, and so filled her foolish little head with her tales that she persuaded her not to give her brother rest day and night till he had brought her the Queen of the Peris herself. “That’ll make him break his hatchet anyhow!” thought the old woman. But the damsel rejoiced beforehand at the thought of having the Queen of the Peris also, and in her impatience could scarce wait for her brother to come home.

そこで魔女は起き上がって娘のところへ行き、その愚かな小さな頭を自分の話でいっぱいにして、ペリの女王その人を連れてくるまで、昼も夜も弟を休ませないよう娘を説き伏せた。「これであの子もさすがに音を上げるだろう!」と年とった女は思った。けれども娘は、ペリの女王までもわがものにできると思って前もって喜び、待ちきれずに弟が帰ってくるのを今か今かと待っていた。

When her brother came home she shed as many tears as if she were a cloud dripping rain. In vain her brother tried to prove to her how distant and how dangerous was the way she would fain have him go. “I want the Queen of the Peris, and have her I must,” cried the damsel.

弟が帰ってくると、娘は雨を降らす雲のように涙を流した。自分に行かせようとしている道がどんなに遠く危険かを弟は姉にわからせようとしたが、むだだった。「ペリの女王がほしいの。どうしても手に入れなくちゃいやなの」と娘は叫んだ。

So again the youth set out on his journey, went straight to the Mother of Devils, pressed her hand, kissed her lips, pressed her lips and kissed her hand, and said: “Oh, my mother! help me in this my sore need!” The Mother of Devils was amazed at the valour of the man, and never ceased dissuading him from his purpose, for every human soul that goes on such a quest must needs perish.--“Die I may, little mother!” cried the youth, “but I will not come back without her.”

そこで若者はまた旅に出て、まっすぐ悪魔の母のところへ行き、その手を握ってくちびるに口づけし、くちびるを押しつけて手に口づけして言った。「おお、お母さん! このひどい苦境からわたしを助けてください!」悪魔の母はこの男の勇気に驚き、そんな探求に出る人間の魂はみな滅びるに決まっているのだから、思いとどまるよう説き伏せつづけた。——「死ぬかもしれません、お母さん!」と若者は叫んだ。「でも、あの人を連れずには帰りません。」

So what could the Mother of Devils do but show him the way? “Go the same road,” said she, “that led thee to the branch, and then go on to where thou didst find the mirror. Thou wilt come at last to a large desert, and beyond the desert thou wilt see two roads, but look neither to the right hand nor yet to the left, but go right on through the sooty darkness betwixt them. When now it begins to grow a little lighter, thou wilt see a large cypress wood, and in this cypress wood a large tomb. In this tomb, turned to stone, are all those who ever desired the Queen of the Peris. Stop not there, but go right on to the palace of the Queen of the Peris and call out her name with the full strength of thy lungs. What will happen to thee after that not even I can tell thee.”

そこで悪魔の母は、道を教えるほかにどうしようもなかった。「枝のところへおまえを導いたのと同じ道を行って」と母は言った。「それから鏡を見つけたところまで行きなさい。とうとう大きな砂漠に着いて、砂漠の向こうに二本の道が見える。けれども右も左も見ないで、そのあいだのすすのような暗闇のなかをまっすぐ進むんだ。少し明るくなってきたら、大きな糸杉の森が見えて、その糸杉の森に大きな墓がある。その墓には、これまでにペリの女王を望んだ者たちがみな石になって眠っている。そこで止まらずに、まっすぐペリの女王の宮殿まで行って、胸いっぱいの力で女王の名を呼ぶんだ。そのあとおまえの身に何が起こるかは、わたしにだってわからない。」

Next day the youth set out on his journey. He prayed by the wayside well, opened all the gates he came to, and, looking neither to the right hand nor to the left, went on straight before him through the sooty darkness. All at once it began to grow a little lighter, and a large cypress wood appeared right in front of him. The leaves of the trees were of a burning green, and their drooping crowns hid snow-white tombs. Nay, but they were not tombs, but stones as big as men. Nay, but they were not stones at all, but men who had turned, who had stiffened, into stone. There was neither man, nor spirit, nor noise, nor breath of wind, and the youth froze with horror to his very marrow. Nevertheless he plucked up his courage and went on his way. He looked straight before him all the time, and his eyes were almost blinded by a dazzling light. Was it the sun he saw? No, it was the palace of the Queen of the Peris! Then he rallied all the strength that was left in him and shouted the name of the Queen of the Peris with all his might, and the words had not yet died away upon his lips when his whole body up to his knee-cap stiffened into stone. Again he shouted with all his might, and he turned to stone up to his navel. Then he shouted for the last time with all his might, and stiffened up to his throat first and then up to his head, till he became a tombstone like the rest.

次の日、若者は旅に出た。道ばたの井戸で祈り、行き当たった門をみな開け、右も左も見ずに、すすのような暗闇のなかをまっすぐ進んでいった。突然少し明るくなってきて、すぐ目の前に大きな糸杉の森が現れた。木々の葉は燃えるような緑で、垂れ下がった梢が雪のように白い墓を隠していた。いや、それは墓ではなく、人ほどの大きさの石だった。いや、それはまったく石ではなく、石に変わって、石にこわばってしまった人間だった。人も精霊もおらず、物音も風のそよぎもなく、若者は恐ろしさに骨の髄まで凍りついた。それでも若者は勇気をふるって道を進んだ。若者はずっとまっすぐ前を見ていたが、その目はまばゆい光にくらみそうだった。見えたのは太陽だったのだろうか。いや、それはペリの女王の宮殿だった! そこで若者は残った力をふりしぼって、力いっぱいペリの女王の名を叫んだ。するとその言葉がまだくちびるから消えないうちに、体がひざ頭まで石にこわばってしまった。若者がもう一度力いっぱい叫ぶと、へそまで石になった。それから若者が最後にもう一度力いっぱい叫ぶと、まずのどまで、それから頭までこわばって、とうとうほかの者たちと同じ墓石になってしまった。

But now the Queen of the Peris came into her garden, and she had silver sandals on her feet and a golden saucer in her hand, and she drew water from a diamond fountain, and when she watered the stone youth, life and motion came back to him.

けれどもそのとき、ペリの女王が庭に出てきた。足には銀のサンダルをはき、手には金の小皿を持っていた。女王がダイヤモンドの噴水から水を汲んで石の若者に注ぐと、若者に命と動きが戻った。

“Well, thou youth thou,” said the Queen of the Peris, “‘tis not enough, then, that thou hast taken away my Peri branch and my magic mirror, but thou must needs, forsooth, venture hither a third time! Thou shalt share the fate of thy innocent buried mother, stone thou shalt become and stone shalt thou remain. What brought thee hither?--speak!”

「さて、若者よ」とペリの女王は言った。「わたしのペリの枝と魔法の鏡を持っていっただけでは足りずに、まったく、三度目までもここへ来るとは! おまえは地に埋められた罪のない母親と同じ運命をたどるがいい。石になって、いつまでも石のままでいるのだ。何のためにここへ来た?——言いなさい!」

“I came for thee,” replied the youth very courageously.

「あなたのために来たのです」と若者はとても勇ましく答えた。

“Well, as thou hast loved me so exceedingly, no harm shall befall thee, and we will go away together.”

「そう、それほどまでにわたしを愛してくれたのなら、おまえの身に害はふりかからないでしょう。二人で一緒にここを去りましょう。」

Then the youth begged her to have compassion on all the men she had turned to stone and give them back their lives again. So the Peri returned to her palace, packed up her baggage, which was small in weight but priceless in value, filled the little golden saucer with water, and sprinkled therewith all the stones and the whole multitude of the stones became men. They all took horse, and as they quitted the Peri realm, the earth trembled beneath them and the sky was shaken as if the seven worlds and the seven heavens were mingled together, so that the youth would have died of fright if the Queen of the Peris had not been by his side. Never once did they look behind them, but galloped on and on till they came to the house of the youth’s sister, and such was their joy and gladness at seeing each other again that place could scarce be found for the Queen of the Peris. But now the youth was in no great hurry to go hunting as before, for he had changed hearts with the lovely Queen of the Peris, and she was his and he was hers.

すると若者は、石に変えた男たちみなを憐れんで、命を返してやってくれと女王に頼んだ。そこでペリは宮殿に戻って、重さは軽いが値のつけられない荷物をまとめ、小さな金の小皿に水を満たして、それで石をみなふりかけた。すると石の群れがすっかり人間になった。みなは馬に乗り、ペリの国を去るとき、足もとで大地が震え、七つの世界と七つの天が入りまじったかのように空が揺れたので、ペリの女王がそばにいなかったら、若者は恐ろしさのあまり死んでしまっただろう。一行は一度もうしろを振り返らず、どこまでも駆けていって若者の姉の家に着いた。そしてまた会えた喜びとうれしさはあまりに大きくて、ペリの女王の居場所がほとんど見つからないほどだった。けれども今では若者は、前のように急いで狩りに出かけようとはしなかった。愛らしいペリの女王と心を取り替えたからで、女王は若者のもの、若者は女王のものだった。

Now when the Queen of the Peris had heard the history of the children and their parents, and the fate of their innocent mother, she said one morning to the youth: “Go a-hunting in the forest, and thou wilt meet the Padishah. The first thing he will do will be to invite thee to the palace, but beware lest thou accept his invitation.” And so indeed it turned out. Scarcely had he taken a turn in the wood than the Padishah stood before him, and, one word leading to another, he invited the youth to his palace, but the youth would not go.

さて、ペリの女王は子どもたちとその両親の身の上と、罪のない母親の運命を聞くと、ある朝若者に言った。「森へ狩りに行きなさい。王に会うでしょう。王はまず何よりも先にあなたを宮殿に招くでしょうが、その招きを受けないよう気をつけなさい。」そしてほんとうにそのとおりになった。若者が森をひとまわりするかしないうちに、王が目の前に立ち、言葉を交わすうちに若者を宮殿に招いたが、若者は行こうとしなかった。

Early next morning the Peri awoke the children, clapped her hands together and called her Lala,[9] and immediately a huge negro sprang up before them. So big was he that one of his lips touched the sky while the other swept the earth. “What dost thou command me, my Sultana?” cried the Lala.

次の朝早く、ペリは子どもたちを起こし、手を打ち合わせてララ[9] を呼んだ。すると、たちまち巨大な黒人が一同の前に跳び出してきた。あまりに大きくて、片方のくちびるは空に触れ、もう片方は地をかすめていた。「何をお命じですか、わが姫さま」とララは叫んだ。

“Fetch me hither my father’s steed!” commanded the Peri.

「わたしの父の馬をここへ連れてきなさい!」とペリは命じた。

The negro vanished like a hurricane, and, a moment afterwards, the steed stood before them, and the like of it was not to be found in the wide world.

黒人は大あらしのように消え、次の瞬間、一同の前に馬が立っていた。広い世界にこれに並ぶ馬は見つからなかった。

The youth leaped upon the horse, and the splendid suite of the Padishah was already waiting for him at the roadside.

若者が馬に跳び乗ると、王のきらびやかな供回りがもう道ばたで若者を待っていた。

But--O Allah, forgive me!--I have forgotten the best of the story. The Peri charged the youth as he quitted her to take heed, while he was in the palace of the Padishah, to the neighing of his horse. At the first neighing he was to hasten back.

けれども——おおアッラーよ、許したまえ!——話のいちばん大事なところを忘れていた。ペリは若者が出かけるとき、王の宮殿にいるあいだは馬のいななきに気をつけるよう言いつけた。一度目のいななきで急いで戻ってくるように、と。

So the youth went to meet the Padishah on his diamond-bridled charger, and behind him came a gay and gallant retinue. He saluted the people on the right hand and on the left all the way to the palace, and there they welcomed him with a pomp the like of which was never known before. They ate and drank and made merry till the Padishah could scarce contain himself for joy, but then the steed neighed, the youth arose, and all their entreaties to him to stay could not turn him from his set purpose. He mounted his horse, invited the Padishah to be his guest on the following day, and returned home to the Peri and his own sister.

そこで若者はダイヤモンドの手綱の軍馬に乗って王に会いに行き、そのうしろには華やかな勇ましい供の者たちが続いた。若者は宮殿までずっと右や左の人々に挨拶し、宮殿ではかつてなかったほどの盛大な儀式で迎えられた。一同は食べて飲んで楽しみ、王は喜びを抑えきれないほどだったが、そのとき馬がいなないた。若者は立ち上がり、とどまってくれとみなが頼んでも、その決心を変えさせることはできなかった。若者は馬に乗り、次の日に客として来てくれと王を招いて、ペリと姉のもとへ帰った。

Meanwhile the Peri dug up the mother of the children, and so put her to rights again by her Peri arts that she became just as she was in the days of her first youth. But she spake not a word about the mother to the children, nor a word about the children to the mother. On the morning of the reception of guests she rose up early and commanded that on the spot where the little hut stood a palace should rise, the like of which eye hath never seen nor ear heard of, and there were as many precious stones heaped up there as were to be found in the whole kingdom. And then the garden that surrounded that palace! There were multitudes of flowers, each one lovelier than the other, and on every flower there was a singing bird, and every bird had feathers aglow with light, so that one could only look at it all open-mouthed and cry: “Oh! oh!” And the palace itself was full of domestics, there were black harem slaves, and white captive youths, and dancers and singers, and players of stringed instruments--more than thou canst count, count thou never so much, and words cannot tell of the splendour of the retinue which went forth to greet the Padishah as a guest.

そのあいだにペリは子どもたちの母を掘り出して、ペリの術ですっかりもとどおりにし、母は若いころの初々しいころそのままの姿になった。けれどもペリは子どもたちに母のことをひと言も話さず、母に子どもたちのことをひと言も話さなかった。客を迎える日の朝、ペリは早く起きて、小さな小屋の立っていたところに、目が一度も見たことも耳が一度も聞いたこともない宮殿を建てるよう命じ、そこには国じゅうにあるのと同じくらいたくさんの宝石が積み上げられた。それから、その宮殿を囲む庭ときたら! 花がたくさんあって、どの花もほかの花より美しく、どの花にも歌う鳥がとまっていて、どの鳥も羽根が光に輝いていたので、ただ口をあんぐり開けて「おお! おお!」と叫びながら眺めるほかなかった。そして宮殿そのものは召し使いでいっぱいで、後宮の黒人の奴隷たちや白人の捕虜の若者たちや、踊り手や歌い手や弦楽器を弾く者たちが——いくら数えても数えきれないほどいて、客の王を迎えに出ていった供回りの華やかさは言葉では言い表せなかった。

“These children are not of mortal birth!” thought the Padishah to himself, when he beheld all these marvels, “or if they are of mortal birth a Peri must have had a hand in the matter.”

「この子どもたちは人間の生まれではない!」と王は、これらの不思議をみな見て心のなかで思った。「あるいは、人間の生まれだとしても、きっとペリがこのことに手を貸しているにちがいない。」

They led the Padishah into the most splendid room of the palace, they brought him coffee and sherbet, and then the music spoke to him, and the singing birds--oh! a man could have listened to them for ever and ever! Then rich meats on rare and precious dishes were set before him, and then the dancers and the jugglers diverted him till the evening.

人々は王を宮殿でいちばん豪華な部屋に案内し、コーヒーとシャーベットを運んできた。それから音楽が王に語りかけ、歌う鳥たちが歌った——おお! いつまでも永遠に聞いていたいほどだった! それから珍しい貴重な皿にのったごちそうが王の前に並べられ、それから踊り手や手品師たちが夕方まで王を楽しませた。

At eventide the servants came and bowed before the Padishah and said: “My lord! peace be with thee! They await thee in the harem!” So he entered the harem, and there he saw before him the golden-haired youth, with a beautiful half-moon shining on his forehead, and his bride, the Peri-Queen, and his own consort, the Sultana, who had been buried in the earth, and by her side a golden-haired maiden with a star sparkling on her forehead. There stood the Padishah as if turned to stone, but his consort ran up to him and kissed the edge of his garment, and the Peri-Queen began to tell him the whole of her life and how everything had happened.

夕暮れになると、召し使いたちがやって来て王の前にお辞儀をして言った。「わが君! 平安がありますように! 後宮でお待ちでございます!」そこで王が後宮に入ると、目の前には、額に美しい半月の輝く金の髪の若者と、その花嫁のペリの女王と、地に埋められていた王自身の妃と、そのそばに額に星のきらめく金の髪の乙女がいた。王は石になったようにそこに立ちつくしたが、妃が駆け寄って王の衣の裾に口づけし、ペリの女王が王にその身の上と、何もかもがどのように起こったかをすっかり話しはじめた。

The Padishah was nigh to dying in the fulness of his joy. He could scarce believe his eyes, but he pressed his consort to his breast and embraced the two beauteous children, and the Queen of the Peris likewise. He forgave the sisters of the Sultana their offences, but the old witch was mercilessly destroyed by lingering tortures. But he and his consort and her son and the Queen of the Peris, and his daughter, and his daughter’s bridegroom sat down to a great banquet and made merry. Forty days and forty nights they feasted, and the blessing of Allah was upon them.

王は喜びにあふれて死にそうになった。王は自分の目がほとんど信じられなかったが、妃を胸に抱きしめ、二人の美しい子どもたちと、ペリの女王をも抱きしめた。王は妃の姉たちの罪を許したが、年とった魔女は長引く責め苦で容赦なく滅ぼされた。そして王と妃とその息子とペリの女王と王の娘と、娘の花婿は盛大な宴の席に着いて楽しんだ。四十日四十夜、一同は宴を続け、アッラーの祝福が一同の上にあった。