The Enchanted Hog

Once upon a time, a long long time ago, when fleas were shod with ninety and nine pieces of iron, and flew up into the blue sky to fetch us down fairy-tales, there lived an Emperor who had three daughters. One day, when he was going to battle, he called these daughters to him and said to them:

むかしむかし、ずっとずっとむかし、蚤が九十九枚の鉄の蹄鉄をはいて、わたしたちにおとぎ話を取ってこようと青い空へ飛んでいったころ、三人の娘を持つ皇帝がいた。ある日、戦に出かけるとき、皇帝は娘たちを呼び寄せて言った。

“Look now, my darlings! Needs must that I go to the wars. My foe is advancing against me with a huge host. ’Tis with great bitterness of heart that I part from you. In my absence, take care that you have your wits about you, behave well, and look after the affairs of the household. You have my leave to walk in the garden and enter all the rooms of my house, only in the chamber at the bottom of the corridor on the right-hand side you must not enter, or it will not be well with you.”

「よいか、いとしい娘たち! わしはどうしても戦に行かねばならぬ。敵が大軍を率いて攻めてくるのだ。おまえたちと別れるのは身を切られるようにつらい。わしの留守のあいだ、よく気をつけて、行儀よくして、家のことに目を配っておくれ。庭を歩いても、わしの家のどの部屋に入ってもかまわない。ただ廊下のつきあたりの右側の部屋にだけは入ってはならぬ。さもないとおまえたちの身によくないことが起こるぞ。」

“Depart in peace, papa!” cried they. “Never yet have we disobeyed the words of thy commands. Go without any fear of us, and God give thee victory over all thine enemies!”

「安心して行ってらっしゃい、お父さま!」と娘たちは叫んだ。「わたしたちはこれまで一度もお父さまの言いつけにそむいたことはありません。わたしたちのことは心配なさらずにお出かけください。神さまがあらゆる敵に打ち勝たせてくださいますように!」

So when he was quite ready to depart, the Emperor gave them the keys of all his chambers; but once more he put them in mind of his command, and then he bade them good-bye and departed.

そこで出発の支度がすっかり整うと、皇帝は娘たちにすべての部屋の鍵を渡した。けれどももう一度言いつけを思い出させてから、別れを告げて出発した。

The daughters of the Emperor kissed his hand with tears in their eyes, and wished him victory once more, and then the eldest of the three daughters received the keys from the hands of the Emperor.

皇帝の娘たちは目に涙を浮かべて父の手に口づけし、もう一度勝利を祈った。それから三人のうちいちばん上の娘が皇帝の手から鍵を受け取った。

When the daughters of the Emperor found themselves all alone they knew not what to do with themselves, the time hung so heavily. At last they agreed to work a part of the day, and to read another part of the day, and spend the rest of the day walking in the garden. This they did, and things went well with them.

皇帝の娘たちは自分たちだけになると、時間がたつのがあまりに遅くて、どうしていいかわからなかった。とうとう三人は、一日のうち一部は仕事をし、一部は本を読み、残りは庭を散歩して過ごそうと取り決めた。三人はそうして、暮らしはうまくいった。

But the Deceiver of mankind was vexed at the tranquillity of the maidens, so he must needs twist his tail in their affairs.

けれども人類をたぶらかす者は娘たちの平穏が気に入らなかったので、娘たちのことにしっぽを突っ込まずにはいられなかった。

“My sisters,” said the eldest of the three damsels one day, “why do we spend the live-long day in sewing and knitting and reading? I am sick and tired of it all. It is ever so many days now since we were left to ourselves, and there’s not a corner of the garden that we have not walked in over and over again. We have also been through all the rooms of our father’s palace, and looked at all the ornaments there till we know them by heart. Let us now enter into that chamber which our father told us not to enter.”

「妹たち」と、ある日三人の娘のいちばん上が言った。「どうしてわたしたちは一日じゅう縫い物や編み物や読み物ばかりしているのかしら。もうすっかりうんざりしたわ。わたしたちだけになってから、もうずいぶん日がたったし、庭で何度も何度も歩かなかった隅はひとつもないわ。お父さまの宮殿の部屋もみな見てまわって、飾り物もそらで覚えるほど眺めてしまった。今度はお父さまが入ってはいけないとおっしゃったあの部屋に入ってみましょうよ。」

“Woe is me, dear sister!” said the youngest damsel. “I wonder that thou shouldst persuade us to tread underfoot the precepts of our father. When our father told us not to enter there, he must needs have known what he was saying, and why he told us so to do.”

「まあ、なんてこと、お姉さま!」といちばん下の娘が言った。「お父さまの言いつけを足で踏みにじるようにわたしたちをそそのかすなんて、あきれたわ。お父さまが入ってはいけないとおっしゃったのなら、お父さまは自分が何を言っているのか、なぜそう言うのか、ちゃんとわかっていらしたはずよ。」

“Dost thou fancy, silly, that there’s some evil serpent there that will eat us, or some other foul beast perhaps?” cried the middle sister. “Besides, how is papa to know whether we were there or not?”

「おばかさん、あそこにわたしたちを食べてしまう悪い蛇か、何かほかのいやらしい獣でもいると思っているの?」と二番目の姉が叫んだ。「それに、わたしたちがあそこに入ったかどうか、お父さまにわかるはずがないじゃない。」

Talking and arguing thus, they had reached the door of the chamber, and the eldest sister, who was the guardian of the keys, popped the key into the key-hole, and turning it round--crack-rack!--the door flew wide open.

こうして話したり言い争ったりしているうちに、三人は部屋の戸口に着いていた。鍵の番人であるいちばん上の姉が鍵穴に鍵を差し込んで回すと——がちゃり!——戸がさっと大きく開いた。

The damsels entered.

娘たちは中に入った。

What do you think they saw there? The room was bare of furniture, but in the middle of it stood a large table covered with a beautiful cloth, and on the top of it was a wide-open book.

そこで何を見たと思う? 部屋には家具がなかったが、まんなかに美しい布をかけた大きなテーブルがあって、その上に一冊の本が大きく開いてあった。

The girls, all full of impatience, wanted to find out what was written in this book, and the eldest went up to it and read these words: “The eldest daughter of the Emperor will marry a son of the Emperor of the East.”

娘たちはみな待ちきれずに、この本に何が書いてあるのか知りたくなった。いちばん上の娘が本のところへ行って、こういう言葉を読んだ。「皇帝のいちばん上の娘は、東の皇帝の息子と結婚するであろう。」

Then the second daughter went up to the book, and turning over the leaf, read these words: “The second daughter of the Emperor will marry a son of the Emperor of the West.”

それから二番目の娘が本のところへ行って、ページをめくって、こういう言葉を読んだ。「皇帝の二番目の娘は、西の皇帝の息子と結婚するであろう。」

The girls laughed and made merry at these words, and giggled and joked among themselves. But the youngest daughter would not go up to the book.

娘たちはこの言葉に笑って浮かれ、くすくす笑い合ってふざけた。けれどもいちばん下の娘は本のところへ行こうとしなかった。

But the elder ones would not leave her in peace, but dragged her up to the long table, and then, though very unwillingly, she turned over the leaf and read these words--

けれども姉たちは妹を放っておかず、長いテーブルのところまで引っぱっていった。そこで妹はしぶしぶページをめくって、こういう言葉を読んだ——

“The youngest daughter of the Emperor will have a pig for her spouse.”

「皇帝のいちばん下の娘は、豚を夫とするであろう。」

A thunderbolt falling from the sky could not have hurt her more than the reading of these words. She was like to have died of horror, and if her sisters had not held her she would have dashed her head to pieces against the ground.

空から雷が落ちてきても、この言葉を読んだことほど妹を傷つけはしなかっただろう。妹は恐ろしさのあまり死にそうになり、姉たちが抱きとめなかったら、地面に頭を打ちつけて割ってしまうところだった。

When she had come to herself again, her sisters began to try to comfort her. “How canst thou believe all that nonsense?” said they. “When didst thou ever hear of the daughter of an Emperor marrying a pig?”

妹がまた我に返ると、姉たちは慰めようとしはじめた。「どうしてそんなたわごとを信じられるの?」と姉たちは言った。「皇帝の娘が豚と結婚したなんて、いったいいつ聞いたことがあるの。」

“What a baby thou art!” added the eldest, “as if papa hadn’t armies enough to save thee, even if so loathsome a monster as that did come and try and make thee his wife!”

「なんて赤ちゃんなんでしょう!」といちばん上の姉が付け加えた。「たとえそんないやらしい怪物がほんとうに来て、あなたを妻にしようとしたって、お父さまにあなたを救えるだけの軍隊がないとでもいうの!」

The youngest daughter of the Emperor would very much have liked to believe what her sisters said, but her heart would not allow it. She thought continually of the book which promised her sisters such handsome bridegrooms, while it foretold that that should happen to her which had never yet happened since the world began. Then she reflected how she had transgressed the commands of her father, and her heart smote her. She began to grow thin, and ere a few days had passed she had so changed that none could recognize her. She became sad and sallow, instead of rosy and rollicking, and could take part in nothing at all. She ceased to play with her sisters in the garden; she ceased to cull posies and make garlands of them for her head, and when her sisters sang over their distaffs and embroideries her voice was dumb.

皇帝のいちばん下の娘は姉たちの言うことを信じたくてたまらなかったが、心がそれを許さなかった。娘は、姉たちにはあんなにりっぱな花婿を約束し、自分には世界が始まって以来まだ一度も起こったことのないことが起こると予言したあの本のことを、たえず考えた。それから、自分が父の言いつけにそむいたことを思って、心がとがめた。娘はやせはじめ、数日もたたないうちに、誰にも見分けがつかないほど変わってしまった。ばら色の頬で陽気だったのが、悲しげで顔色の悪い娘になり、何ひとつ楽しめなくなった。庭で姉たちと遊ぶのもやめ、花を摘んで頭にのせる花輪をこしらえるのもやめ、姉たちが糸巻き棒や刺繍を手に歌っても、その声は聞こえなかった。

Meanwhile the Emperor, the father of these girls, succeeded beyond even the wishes of his dearest friends, and vanquished and dispersed his enemies. As his thoughts were continually with his daughters, he did what he had to do quickly and returned home. Crowds and crowds of people turned out to meet him with fifes and drums and trumpets, and great was their joy at the sight of their victorious Emperor.

そのあいだに、娘たちの父の皇帝は、いちばん親しい友の願いさえ上回るほどの成功をおさめ、敵を打ち負かして追い散らした。皇帝の思いはいつも娘たちのもとにあったので、なすべきことを手早く片づけて家に帰った。大勢の人々が笛や太鼓やラッパで皇帝を迎えに出て、勝利をおさめた皇帝の姿に大いに喜んだ。

When he reached his capital, before going home, he gave thanks to God for aiding him against the enemies who had tried to do him evil. Then he went to his own house, and his daughters came out to meet him. His joy was great when he saw how well they were, for his youngest daughter did her best to appear as gay and happy as the others.

都に着くと、皇帝は家に帰る前に、自分に害をなそうとした敵に打ち勝たせてくださったことを神に感謝した。それから自分の家に帰ると、娘たちが迎えに出てきた。皇帝は娘たちがみな元気なのを見て大喜びした。いちばん下の娘がほかの娘たちと同じように陽気で幸せそうに見せようと精いっぱいがんばったからである。

But it was not very long before the Emperor observed that, little by little, his youngest daughter was growing sadder and thinner. “What if she has broken my commands?” thought he, and as it were a red-hot iron pierced his soul. Then he called his daughters to him, and bade them speak the truth. They confessed, but they did not say which of them had first persuaded them.

けれどもまもなく皇帝は、いちばん下の娘が少しずつ悲しげにやせていくのに気づいた。「もしやあの子はわしの言いつけを破ったのではあるまいか」と皇帝は思った。するとまるで真っ赤に焼けた鉄が魂を突き刺したようだった。そこで皇帝は娘たちを呼んで、ほんとうのことを言えと命じた。娘たちは白状したが、誰が最初にそそのかしたのかは言わなかった。

When the Emperor heard this he was filled with bitterness, and from henceforth sadness took possession of him. But he held his tongue, and did but make all the more of his youngest daughter because he was about to lose her. What’s done is done, and he knew that thousands and thousands of words can’t make one farthing.

皇帝はこれを聞くと苦い思いでいっぱいになり、それからというもの悲しみにとりつかれた。けれども皇帝は口をつぐみ、いちばん下の娘を失おうとしているので、なおさらその娘をかわいがった。してしまったことはしてしまったことで、何千何万の言葉を並べてもファージング銅貨一枚にもならないことを、皇帝は知っていたのである。

Time went on, and he had almost come to forget the circumstance, when one day there appeared at the Emperor’s court the son of the Emperor of the East, who sought the hand of his eldest daughter. The Emperor gave her to him with joy. They had a splendid wedding, and after three days he conducted them with great pomp to the frontier. A little while afterwards the same thing happened to the second daughter, for the son of the Emperor of the West came and sought her in marriage likewise.

時が過ぎ、皇帝がそのことをほとんど忘れかけていたころ、ある日皇帝の宮廷に東の皇帝の息子が現れて、いちばん上の娘を妻にくださいと願った。皇帝は喜んで娘を与えた。二人はすばらしい婚礼をあげ、三日たつと皇帝は盛大な行列で二人を国境まで送っていった。それから少しして、二番目の娘にも同じことが起こった。西の皇帝の息子がやって来て、同じように妻にくださいと願ったのである。

Accordingly as she saw what had been written in the book gradually fulfilled, the youngest daughter of the Emperor grew sadder and sadder. She no longer enjoyed her food; she would not go out walking; she even lost all pleasure in raiment; she preferred to die rather than become the laughing-stock of the whole world. But the Emperor did not give her the opportunity of doing anything foolish, but took care to divert her with all manner of pleasant stories.

本に書いてあったことがしだいにかなっていくのを見て、皇帝のいちばん下の娘はますます悲しくなった。食べ物もおいしくなくなり、散歩にも行こうとせず、着物にさえ何の楽しみも感じなくなった。世界じゅうの笑いものになるくらいなら死んだほうがましだと思った。けれども皇帝は娘にばかなことをする隙を与えず、ありとあらゆる楽しい話で娘の気を紛らわせるよう気をつけていた。

Time went on, and lo!--oh, wonderful!--one day a large hog entered the royal palace and said: “Hail, O Emperor! May thy days be as rosy and as joyous as sunrise on a cloudless day!”

時が過ぎ、なんと!——おお、不思議!——ある日、大きな豚が皇帝の宮殿に入ってきて言った。「ごきげんうるわしゅう、おお皇帝陛下! あなたの日々が、雲ひとつない日の日の出のように、ばら色で喜ばしいものでありますように!」

“Good and fair is thy greeting, my son!” replied the Emperor; “but what ill wind hath blown thee hither, I should like to know?”

「よい、りっぱな挨拶だ、わが子よ!」と皇帝は答えた。「だが、どんな悪い風がおまえをここへ吹き寄せたのか、知りたいものだ。」

“I have come as a wooer,” replied the hog.

「求婚しに参りました」と豚は答えた。

The Emperor marvelled greatly at hearing such a pretty speech in the mouth of a hog, and immediately felt within himself that all was not right here. He would have put the hog off with some excuse if he could, to save his daughter, but when he heard the court and all the ways leading to it full of the grunts of the hogs who had accompanied the wooer, he had nothing to say for himself, and promised the hog that he would do what it asked. But the hog was not content with his bare promise, but insisted that the wedding should take place within a week. Only when it had obtained the Emperor’s word that it should be so did it go away.

皇帝は豚の口からこんなにみごとな言葉を聞いてたいそう驚き、すぐに、ここには何か普通でないことがあると心のなかで感じた。娘を救うために、できることなら何か口実をつけて豚を追い返したかったが、宮廷とそこへ通じる道がみな、求婚者について来た豚たちのぶうぶういう声でいっぱいなのを聞くと、何も言えなくなって、豚の望みどおりにすると約束した。けれども豚はただの約束では満足せず、一週間以内に婚礼をあげるよう言い張った。そうなると皇帝の言質を取ってはじめて、豚は立ち去った。

The Emperor told his daughter that she must submit to her fate, as it was clearly the will of God. Then he added: “My daughter, the speech and sensible bearing of this hog belong to no brute beast with which I am acquainted. I’ll wager my head upon it that he was never born a hog. There must be a touch of sorcery here, or some other devilry. If thou art obedient, thou wilt not depart from thy given word, for God will not allow thee to be tormented for long.”

皇帝は娘に、これは明らかに神の御心なのだから、運命に従わなければならないと言った。それから皇帝は付け加えた。「娘よ、あの豚の話しぶりと分別あるふるまいは、わしの知っているどんな畜生のものでもない。首を賭けてもいいが、あれは豚に生まれたのではない。ここには魔法か、何かほかの悪魔のしわざがあるにちがいない。おまえが言いつけに従って、約束した言葉からそれなければ、神はおまえを長く苦しめはなさらないだろう。」

“If thou dost think it good, dear father,” replied the girl, “I will obey thee, and put my trust in God. Let Him do what He will with me. It must be so, I have no other way to turn.”

「お父さまがそれがよいとお思いなら」と娘は答えた。「お言いつけに従って、神さまにおすがりします。神さまのお望みのままになさってください。そうするほかありません。ほかに道はないのですから。」

In the meantime the wedding-day arrived. The marriage was celebrated in secret. Then the hog got into one of the imperial carriages with his bride, and so they set off homewards.

そうするうちに婚礼の日が来た。結婚はひそかに行われた。それから豚は花嫁と一緒に皇帝の馬車の一台に乗り込み、二人は家へ向けて出発した。

On the journey they had to pass by a large marsh. The hog ordered the carriage to stop, got down, and wallowed about in the mire till he was pretty nearly one with it. Then he got into the carriage again, and told his bride to kiss him. Poor girl, what could she do? She took out her cambric pocket-handkerchief, wiped his snout a little, and then kissed him. “I am but obeying my father’s commands,” thought she.

道中、二人は大きな沼のそばを通らなければならなかった。豚は馬車を止めさせて降り、泥のなかを転げまわって、すっかり泥と見分けがつかないほどになった。それからまた馬車に乗り込んで、花嫁に口づけしろと言った。かわいそうな娘に何ができただろう。娘は亜麻布のハンカチを取り出して、豚の鼻面を少しぬぐってから口づけした。「わたしはただお父さまの言いつけに従っているだけ」と娘は思った。

At last they reached the hog’s house, which was in the midst of a dense forest. It was now evening, and when they had rested a little from the fatigues of the road they supped together and lay down to rest. In the night the daughter of the Emperor perceived that her husband was a man and not a hog, and she marvelled greatly. Then she called to mind the words of her father, and hope once more arose in her breast.

とうとう二人は、深い森のまんなかにある豚の家に着いた。もう夕方で、旅の疲れを少し休めてから、二人は一緒に夕食をとって横になった。夜中に皇帝の娘は、夫が豚ではなく人間だと気づいて、たいそう驚いた。それから娘は父の言葉を思い出し、胸にまた望みがわいてきた。

Every evening the hog shook off his hog-skin, and every morning before she awoke he put it on again.

毎晩、豚は豚の皮を脱ぎ捨て、毎朝、娘が目を覚ます前にまたそれを身につけた。

One night passed, two nights passed, a great many nights passed, and the damsel could not make out how it was that her husband was a man at night and a hog in the daytime. For he was under a spell; an enchanter had done him this mischief.

ひと晩が過ぎ、ふた晩が過ぎ、たくさんの夜が過ぎたが、娘には、夫が夜は人間で昼は豚だというのがどういうわけなのかわからなかった。夫は魔法にかけられていたのである。ある魔法使いが夫にこの災いをかけたのだった。

Gradually she began to love him, especially when she felt that she was about to become a mother, but what grieved her most was that she was all alone, with none at hand to aid her in her hour of need.

しだいに娘は夫を愛するようになった。とりわけ自分が母になろうとしていると感じてからはそうだった。けれども何より娘を悲しませたのは、自分がまったくのひとりぼっちで、いざというときに手を貸してくれる者が誰もそばにいないことだった。

One day, however, she saw an old long-nosed witch pass by that way. Now as she had seen no human creature for a long time, she was full of joy, and called to her, and they had a long talk together.

ところがある日、娘は鼻の長い年とった魔女がそこを通りかかるのを見た。さて、娘は長いあいだ人間を一人も見ていなかったので、喜びでいっぱいになって魔女を呼び止め、二人は長いこと話をした。

“Tell me now, old woman,” cried she, “the meaning of this marvel. In the daytime my husband is a hog, but when he sleeps beside me at night he is a man. Explain this marvel to me!”

「さあ、教えておくれ、おばあさん」と娘は叫んだ。「この不思議はどういうわけなの。昼間は夫は豚なのに、夜わたしのそばで眠るときは人間なの。この不思議のわけを教えて!」

“I’ll tell thee that later on, but in the meanwhile shall I give thee some medicines that will put an end to the spell that holds him?”

「それはあとで教えてあげるよ。でもそのあいだに、あの人をしばっている魔法を終わらせる薬をあげようか。」

“Oh, do, little mother, and I’ll pay thee for them whatever thou wilt, for I hate to see him as he is now.”

「ええ、ぜひ、おばあさん。何でもお望みのものを払うわ。今のあの人の姿を見るのはいやなの。」

“Very well, then. Take this bit of rope, my little chicken, but let him not know anything about it, or it will lose its effect. Now when he is asleep, rise up, and going to him very very softly, tie his left leg as hard as thou canst, and thou wilt see, dear heart, that on the morrow he’ll remain a man. Money I do not want. I shall be more than repaid if I release him from this scourge. My very heart-strings are bursting with compassion for thy lord, my rose-bud, and I grieve, oh how bitterly I grieve, that I did not come this way before, so as to help thee sooner.”

「よしよし、それじゃ。この縄のきれを持っておいき、ひよこちゃん。でもあの人には何も知られちゃいけないよ。さもないと効き目がなくなるからね。あの人が眠ったら起き上がって、そうっとそうっとあの人のところへ行って、あの人の左足をできるだけきつく縛るんだ。そうすればね、いとしい子、明日にはあの人は人間のままでいるよ。お金はいらないよ。あの人をこの苦しみから解き放てたら、それで十分すぎるくらいさ。あんたの旦那さまがかわいそうで胸の糸が張り裂けそうなんだよ、わたしのばらのつぼみちゃん。もっと早くここを通って、もっと早くあんたを助けてあげられなかったのが、ああ、なんとつらく悲しいことだろう。」

When the old hag had departed, the daughter of the Emperor took care to carefully conceal the piece of rope, but in the middle of the night she softly arose so that he shouldn’t hear her, and holding her very breath, tied the string round her husband’s left leg, but when she tied the knot--r-rch!--the string broke, for it was rotten, and instantly her husband started up.

年とった鬼婆が立ち去ると、皇帝の娘は縄のきれを注意深く隠しておいた。そして真夜中に、夫に聞こえないようにそっと起き上がって、息をひそめて夫の左足にひもを巻きつけた。ところが結び目をこしらえたとき——ぷつっ!——ひもが切れてしまった。ひもは腐っていたのである。するとたちまち夫が跳ね起きた。

“Unhappy woman!” cried he, “what hast thou done? But three days more and I should have been free of this vile spell, but now who knows how long I may have to carry this vile bestial skin! And know, moreover, that thy hand can never touch me again till thou hast worn out three pairs of iron sandals, and worn down three staves of steel, seeking me all over the wide world, for now I must depart.”

「不幸な女よ!」と夫は叫んだ。「何ということをしてくれたのだ。あと三日で、このいまわしい魔法から自由になれたのに、今ではこのいやしい獣の皮をあとどれだけ背負っていなければならないかわからない! それにいいか、おまえが三足の鉄のサンダルをはきつぶし、三本の鋼の杖をすり減らして、広い世界じゅうわたしを探しまわるまでは、おまえの手は二度とわたしに触れることはできない。わたしは今、去らなければならないのだから。」

And with these words he disappeared.

そう言うと夫は消えてしまった。

The poor daughter of the Emperor, when she found herself all alone, began to cry and sob as if her heart would break. She cursed the vile witch with fire and sword, but all in vain, and when at last she saw that all her cursing and moaning did no good, she got up and went whithersoever the mercy of God and the desire of her husband might lead her.

かわいそうな皇帝の娘は、ひとりぼっちになったことがわかると、胸が張り裂けんばかりに泣きじゃくりはじめた。娘はあのいまわしい魔女を火と剣でのろったが、まったくむだだった。そしてとうとう、いくらのろってうめいても何にもならないとわかると、起き上がって、神のお慈悲と夫への思いの導くままに出かけていった。

At the first city she arrived at she bade them make her three pairs of iron sandals and three staves of steel, made provision for her journey, and set off to seek her husband.

最初に着いた町で、娘は鉄のサンダルを三足と鋼の杖を三本こしらえさせ、旅の支度をして、夫を探しに出発した。

She went on and on, past nine kingdoms and nine seas, she passed through vast forests where the treestumps were like barrels, she got black and blue from stumbling over the trunks of fallen trees, yet often as she fell, she always got up again and resumed her way; the branches of the trees struck her in the face, the briars tore her hands, yet on and on she went without so much as looking back once. At last, weary with her journey and her burden, bowed down with grief and yet with hope in her heart, she came to a little house. And who should be living there but the Holy Moon.

娘はどんどん進んでいき、九つの国と九つの海を越え、木の切り株が樽ほどもある広大な森を抜け、倒れた木の幹につまずいて青あざだらけになった。それでも、いくど転んでもそのたびに起き上がって道を続けた。木の枝が顔を打ち、いばらが手を裂いたが、娘は一度もうしろを振り返らずにどこまでも進んでいった。とうとう、旅と身重の体に疲れ果て、悲しみに打ちひしがれながらも胸に望みを抱いて、娘は小さな家に着いた。そしてそこに住んでいたのは誰だったと思う? 聖なる月だったのである。

The damsel knocked at the door and begged them to let her come in and rest a little, especially as she was about to become a mother.

娘は戸を叩いて、とりわけもうすぐ母になるのだから、入って少し休ませてくださいと頼んだ。

The mother of the Holy Moon had compassion on her and her afflictions, so she let her come inside and took good care of her. Then she asked her: “How is it that thou, a creature of another race, hast managed to come so far as this?”

聖なる月の母は娘とその苦しみを憐れんで、なかに入れてよく面倒をみてくれた。それから母は娘に尋ねた。「別の種族の者であるおまえが、どうしてこんな遠くまで来られたのかね。」

Then the poor daughter of the Emperor told her everything that had happened to her, and wound up by saying: “I praise and thank God first of all for directing my footsteps even to this place, and I thank Him in the second place because He allows not my child to perish at the hour of its birth. And now I beg thee to tell me whether thy daughter, the Holy Moon, hath seen my husband anywhere?”

そこでかわいそうな皇帝の娘は、自分の身に起こったことをすっかり話し、最後にこう言った。「まず何よりも、わたしの足をここまで導いてくださった神さまをたたえて感謝いたします。そして次に、わたしの子をお産の時に死なせずにいてくださる神さまに感謝いたします。そこでお願いですが、あなたのお嬢さまの聖なる月が、どこかでわたしの夫を見かけなかったか教えてください。」

“That I cannot tell thee, my dear,” replied the mother of the Holy Moon; “but if thou dost go on thy way towards the east till thou comest to the house of the Holy Sun, maybe he will be able to tell thee somewhat.”

「それは教えてあげられないよ、おまえ」と聖なる月の母は答えた。「でも東のほうへ道を進んで聖なる太陽の家まで行けば、たぶん太陽が何か教えてくれるだろう。」

Then she gave her a roast fowl to eat, and told her to be very careful not to lose one of the bones, as they would be very useful to her.

それから母は娘に焼いた鶏を一羽食べさせて、骨を一本もなくさないようよく気をつけなさい、きっと役に立つからと言った。

The daughter of the Emperor thanked the mother of the Moon for her hospitality and kind words, and after throwing away the pair of iron sandals which she had worn out, she put on another pair, placed the fowl’s bones in her bosom, took her child on her arm, and a second staff of steel in her hand, and took to the road again.

皇帝の娘は月の母にもてなしとやさしい言葉の礼を言い、はきつぶした鉄のサンダルを投げ捨てて別の一足をはき、鶏の骨を胸もとに入れ、子を腕に抱き、二本目の鋼の杖を手に持って、また道に出た。

She went on and on through nothing but plains of sand, and the way was so bad that she glided one step backwards for every two steps she went forwards. On and on she struggled till at last she left these plains behind her; and now she got amongst high mountains, steep and rugged, and crawled from rock to rock and from crag to crag. Whenever she came to a little plot of level ground she stopped and rested a little, and reflected that now she was a little nearer her husband than she was before, and then she went on her way again. The sides of the mountains were of hard-pointed flints, which bruised and cut her feet, knees, and sides till they were covered with blood; for you must know that these mountains were so high that they reached beyond the clouds. There were precipices in the way too that she could only pass by going down on her hands and knees and guiding herself with her staff.

娘はどこまでも砂の平原ばかりを進んでいったが、道があまりに悪くて、二歩進むたびに一歩うしろへ滑った。娘はどこまでも苦労して進み、とうとうその平原をあとにした。すると今度は険しくごつごつした高い山々のなかに入り、岩から岩へ、崖から崖へと這っていった。少しでも平らな地面に来るたびに、娘は止まって少し休み、これで前より少し夫に近づいたと思って、また道を続けた。山の斜面は固いとがった火打ち石でできていて、娘の足やひざやわき腹を打ち傷つけ、血だらけにした。言っておかなければならないが、この山々は雲を突き抜けるほど高かったのである。道には、四つんばいになって杖を頼りに進むほかは通れない絶壁もあった。

At last, quite overcome by fatigue, she came to a palace.

とうとう疲れ果てて、娘はある宮殿に着いた。

Here lived the Sun.

ここには太陽が住んでいた。

She knocked at the door and begged them to take her in.

娘は戸を叩いて、入れてくださいと頼んだ。

The mother of the Sun received her, and was amazed to see a creature of another race in those regions, and full of compassion when she heard what had befallen her. Then, when she had promised to ask her son about the damsel’s husband, she hid her in the cellar, that the Sun might not perceive her when he came home in the evening, for he always came back in a bad temper.

太陽の母は娘を迎え入れ、別の種族の者がこんなところにいるのを見て驚き、娘の身に起こったことを聞いて憐れみでいっぱいになった。それから、息子に娘の夫のことを尋ねてみると約束して、太陽が夕方帰ってきても気づかれないように、娘を地下室に隠した。太陽はいつも機嫌を悪くして帰ってくるからである。

Next day the daughter of the Emperor was afraid she would be found out, as the Sun said he smelt a creature from another world. But his mother soothed him with soft words, and told him that it was pears that he smelt. The daughter of the Emperor took courage when she saw how well she was treated, and said:

次の日、皇帝の娘は見つかってしまうのではないかと怖くなった。太陽が、別の世界の者のにおいがすると言ったからである。けれども母はやさしい言葉で息子をなだめ、おまえがかいでいるのは梨のにおいだと言った。皇帝の娘は、自分がとてもよくしてもらっているのを見て勇気を出し、こう言った。

“Tell me now, how can the Sun be ever vexed, seeing that he is so beauteous, and doeth so much good to mortals?”

「教えてください、太陽はあんなに美しくて、人間にあんなにたくさんのよいことをしてくださるのに、どうして機嫌を悪くなさることがあるのでしょう。」

“I’ll tell thee,” replied the mother of the Sun. “In the morning he stands in the gate of Heaven, and then he is merry, so merry, and smiles upon the whole world. But at mid-day he is full of disgust, inasmuch as he sees all the follies of men, and so his wrath burns and he gets hotter and hotter; while in the evening he is vexed and sorrowful because he stands in the gate of Hades, for that is the usual way by which he comes home.”

「教えてあげよう」と太陽の母は答えた。「朝、息子は天の門に立っていて、そのときは楽しくて、それはそれは楽しくて、世界じゅうにほほえみかける。けれども昼になると、人間の愚かなしわざをみな見るので、すっかりいやになって、怒りが燃えてどんどん熱くなる。そして夕方には冥府の門に立つので、腹を立てて悲しんでいるのさ。それがいつもの帰り道だからね。」

She told her besides that she had asked about her husband, and her son had replied that he knew not anything about him, as he was living in the midst of a vast and dense forest, so that his beams could not pierce through the thick foliage; the only thing to do was to go and ask the Wind about it. Then she also gave her a roast fowl, and told her to take great care of the bones.

母はそのうえ、娘の夫のことを尋ねてみたが、息子はそのことは何も知らないと答えた、と話した。夫は広大な深い森のまんなかに住んでいて、太陽の光がその茂った葉を貫けないからである。ただひとつできることは、風のところへ行って尋ねることだった。それから母もまた娘に焼いた鶏を一羽与えて、骨をよく気をつけてとっておくよう言った。

So the daughter of the Emperor pitched away the second pair of iron sandals that she had worn out, tied up the bones, took her child on her arm and a third staff in her hand, and went after the Wind.

そこで皇帝の娘は、はきつぶした二足目の鉄のサンダルを投げ捨て、骨を包み、子を腕に抱き、三本目の杖を手にして、風を探しに出かけた。

On this journey she met with hardships greater than any before, for she came upon mountains of flintstones, one after another, through which darted flames of fire, forests untrodden by man, and fields of ice dark with snow-storms. More than once the poor creature was on the point of falling, but with perseverance and the help of God she overcame even these great hardships, and at last she reached a ravine between two mountains, large enough to hold seven cities.

この旅で、娘はそれまでのどれよりも大きな苦難にあった。火の炎が噴き出す火打ち石の山が次々に現れ、人の足の踏み入れたことのない森や、吹雪で暗い氷原があったのである。かわいそうな娘は一度ならず倒れそうになったが、辛抱強さと神の助けで、この大きな苦難さえも乗り越え、とうとう二つの山のあいだの、町を七つ収められるほど大きな谷間に着いた。

This was the abode of the Wind.

ここが風の住まいだった。

There was a gate in the wall which surrounded it. She knocked and implored them to let her in. The mother of the Wind had compassion on her, and let her in and invited her to rest. “If she had hidden from the Sun,” she said, “surely the Wind would not find her out.”

それを囲む塀には門があった。娘は門を叩いて、入れてくださいと懇願した。風の母は娘を憐れんで中に入れ、休むよう勧めた。「太陽から隠れおおせたのなら」と母は言った。「風だってきっと見つけはしないだろう。」

The next day the mother of the Wind told her that her husband was living in a huge dense wood, which the axe of man had never yet reached, and there he had made him a sort of house by piling up the trunks of trees one on the top of another, and plaiting them together with withy bands, where he lived all alone for fear of wicked men. Then, after she had given her a roast fowl and told her to take good care of the bones, the mother of the Wind counselled her to follow the road that led straight to the sky, and let the stars of heaven be her guides. She said she would, and after thanking her with tears of joy for her hospitality and for her glad tidings, she went on her way.

次の日、風の母は娘に、おまえの夫は人間の斧がまだ一度も届いたことのない巨大な深い森に住んでいて、そこで木の幹を積み重ね、柳の枝で編み合わせて家のようなものをこしらえ、悪い人間を恐れてひとりで暮らしている、と教えた。それから焼いた鶏を一羽与えて骨をよく気をつけてとっておくよう言うと、風の母は、まっすぐ空へ通じる道をたどり、天の星を道しるべにしなさいと勧めた。娘はそうしますと言い、もてなしとうれしい知らせに喜びの涙を流して礼を言うと、道を進んでいった。

The poor woman turned night into day. She stopped neither to eat nor to rest, so fiercely did the desire to find her husband burn within her. She went on and on till she quite wore out the third pair of sandals. She threw them away, and began to walk with bare feet. She cared not for the hard clumps of earth, she took no heed of the thorns that entered into her feet, nor of the pain she suffered when she stumbled over the hard stones. At last she came to a green and beauteous meadow on the margin of a forest, and her heart rejoiced within her when she felt the soft grass and saw the sweet flowers. She stopped and rested a little. But when she saw the birds in couples and couples on the branches of the trees, a burning desire for her own husband came upon her, and she began to weep bitterly, and with her child on her arm, and her bundle of bones in her girdle, she went on her way. She entered the forest. She did not once look at the soft green turf which soothed her feet, she listened not to the birds that chirped enough to deafen her, she regarded not the flowers that peeped out from among the bushes, but groped her way step by step into the depths of the forest. For from the tokens given her by the mother of the Wind she perceived that this must be the forest in which her husband was staying.

かわいそうな女は夜を昼に変えて歩いた。夫を見つけたいという思いがあまりに激しく燃えていたので、食べるためにも休むためにも止まらなかった。どこまでも進んでいくうちに、三足目のサンダルもすっかりはきつぶしてしまった。娘はそれを投げ捨てて、はだしで歩きはじめた。固い土くれも気にかけず、足に刺さるとげにも、固い石につまずいて味わう痛みにも気をとめなかった。とうとう娘は森のはずれの緑の美しい牧草地に着いた。やわらかな草を感じ、かわいい花を見ると、娘の胸は喜んだ。娘は止まって少し休んだ。けれども木の枝の上につがいの鳥たちがいるのを見ると、自分の夫への燃えるような思いがこみあげてきて、激しく泣きはじめた。そして子を腕に抱き、骨の包みを帯にはさんで、道を進んでいった。娘は森に入った。足をなぐさめるやわらかな緑の芝生には一度も目をやらず、耳が聞こえなくなるほどさえずる鳥にも耳を傾けず、茂みからのぞく花にも目をとめず、森の奥深くへ一歩一歩手さぐりで進んでいった。風の母が教えてくれたしるしから、ここが夫のいる森にちがいないとわかったからである。

Three days and three nights she roamed through the forest, and could see no one. So worn was she now with fatigue that she fell to the ground, and there she lay for a day and a night without moving, nor did she eat and drink.

三日三晩、娘は森をさまよったが、誰の姿も見えなかった。娘はもうあまりに疲れ果てていたので地面に倒れ、そこに一日と一晩身動きもせず横たわって、食べも飲みもしなかった。

At last she rallied all her remaining strength, rose up, and tottering along, tried to support herself on her staff; but it could help her no more, for that also was quite worn down so that it was now no good to her. Still trusting in God, she went on as best she could. She hadn’t taken ten steps forward when she saw in a cleft of the rock just such a sort of house as the mother of the Wind had told her of. She went towards it, and just managed to get up to it and no more. It was a house that had neither window nor door, but there was an opening in the roof. She looked around her, but there was no sign of a ladder.

とうとう娘は残った力をふりしぼって起き上がり、よろよろと杖にすがろうとした。けれども杖ももうすっかりすり減ってしまって、何の役にも立たなかった。それでも神を頼みにして、娘はできるかぎり進んでいった。十歩も進まないうちに、岩の裂け目に、風の母が話してくれたとおりの家のようなものが見えた。娘はそちらへ向かい、やっとのことでそこまでたどり着いた。それは窓も戸もない家だったが、屋根に口が開いていた。娘はあたりを見まわしたが、はしごのかげもなかった。

What was she to do to get inside it?

どうやってなかに入ればいいだろう。

She thought and thought again. She tried to climb up it, but in vain. Suddenly she thought of the bones which she had been carrying all this way. “If only I could find out,” said she, “how these bones are to assist me!” She took them out of the bundle, looked at them, reflected a little, and then put one atop the other, and--oh, wonderful!--they joined on to each other as if they had been glued. Then she joined another on to the first two and then another till she made out of them two long bars. Then she put a little bone across the two bars, and it stuck fast like the rung of a ladder. She mounted on it, and placed another little bone across a bit higher, and then she mounted on that also, and so she ascended from rung to rung, placing the small bones across as she went along, till she got quite near the top; but then she saw that there was a wide gap between the last rung of her ladder and the door in the roof of the house, and she now had no more bones to make the last rung. She must have lost it on the way. What was she to do now? She bethought her for a while, and then she cut off a finger and placed that between the bars. Sure enough it joined on to and formed the last rung, and mounting on it she entered the door of the house with her child in her arms. There she rested for awhile, gave her child to suck, and sat down herself on the threshold.

娘は考えに考えた。よじ登ろうとしたが、むだだった。突然、娘はここまでずっと持ってきた骨のことを思い出した。「この骨がどうやってわたしを助けてくれるのかわかりさえすれば!」と娘は言った。娘は包みから骨を取り出して眺め、少し考えてから、一本をもう一本の上に重ねた。すると——おお、不思議!——骨はにかわでくっつけたように互いにつながった。それから娘は最初の二本にもう一本、さらにもう一本とつないでいき、とうとう骨で長い棒を二本こしらえた。それから娘が二本の棒に小さな骨を横に渡すと、それははしごの横木のようにしっかりくっついた。娘はそれに乗って、少し上にもう一本小さな骨を渡し、それにも乗った。こうして小さな骨を横に渡しながら横木から横木へと登っていき、とうとう屋根のすぐ近くまで来た。ところがそこで、はしごの最後の横木と家の屋根の戸口とのあいだに大きなすきまがあるのに、最後の横木をこしらえる骨がもうないことに気づいた。道の途中でなくしてしまったにちがいない。さあ、どうしよう。娘はしばらく考えてから、自分の指を一本切り落として棒のあいだに置いた。するとはたしてそれはつながって最後の横木になり、娘はそれに乗って、子を腕に抱いて家の戸口から入った。そこで娘はしばらく休み、子に乳を飲ませて、自分は敷居に腰を下ろした。

When her husband came he was so amazed at what he saw that he could scarce believe his eyes, and there he stood looking at the ladder of bones, the last rung of which was a severed human finger. Fear came upon him lest there should be some evil enchantment about the thing, and he would have turned his back upon the house if God had not put it into his mind to enter. So turning himself into a dove, and flying up into the air without once touching the ladder, lest evil spells should lay hold of him, he entered the house in full flight, and there he beheld his wife nursing a child; and instantly he was full of tenderness and compassion towards her, for he bethought him of how much she must have suffered and endured before she could have found her way to him. Nay, he could scarce recognize her, so changed was she by her hardships and sufferings.

夫が帰ってきて、見たものにあまりに驚いて、自分の目がほとんど信じられなかった。夫はそこに立ったまま、最後の横木が切り落とされた人間の指になっている骨のはしごを眺めた。これには何か悪い魔法があるのではないかと恐れが夫をとらえ、もし神が入ろうという気にさせてくださらなかったら、夫は家に背を向けてしまっていただろう。そこで夫は鳩に姿を変えて空に舞い上がり、悪いまじないにとらえられないように一度もはしごに触れずに、全速力で家のなかへ飛び込んだ。するとそこで妻が子に乳を飲ませていた。夫はたちまち妻へのいとしさと憐れみでいっぱいになった。自分のもとへたどり着くまでに、妻がどれほど苦しみ耐えてきたにちがいないかを思ったからである。いや、苦難と苦しみですっかり変わってしまっていて、夫にはほとんど妻だとわからないほどだった。

But the daughter of the Emperor, when she saw him, sprang from her seat, and her heart failed her for fright, for she did not know him. Then he made himself known to her, and she regretted no longer all she had gone through to find him, nay, she forgot it altogether, for he was as tall and straight as a lordly pine.

けれども皇帝の娘は夫を見ると、座っていたところから跳び上がり、恐ろしさに心臓が止まりそうになった。夫だとわからなかったからである。そこで夫が名乗ると、娘は夫を見つけるまでに耐えてきたことをもう少しも悔やまなくなった。いや、すっかり忘れてしまった。夫は堂々とした松の木のように背が高くまっすぐだったからである。

Then they began talking together. She told him all that had befallen her, and he wept for pity. Then he also spoke, and told her his story.

それから二人は話しはじめた。娘は自分の身に起こったことをすっかり話し、夫は哀れに思って泣いた。それから夫も口を開いて、自分の身の上を話した。

“I am the son of an Emperor,” said he. “In the war which my father waged with the dragons, our neighbours (and evil neighbours they were, ever ravaging his domains), I slew the smallest of the dragons. Now his mother knew that thou wert my destined bride, so she laid the curse of her spells upon me, and constrained me to wear the skin of an unclean beast, with the design of preventing me from having thee. Yet God aided me, and I won thee nevertheless. That old woman who gave thee the cord to tie my legs with was the dragon’s mother, and when I had but three days more to bear the spell, I was forced, by thy folly, to go about in pigskin three years longer. But now since thou hast suffered for me and I have suffered for thee, let us praise God and return to our parents. Without thee I should have resigned myself to living the life of a hermit, and so I chose this desert for my habitation, and built me this house so that no child of man should get at me.”

「わたしは皇帝の息子なのだ」と夫は言った。「父が隣国の竜ども(それは悪い隣人で、いつも父の領地を荒らしていた)と戦った戦で、わたしはいちばん小さな竜を殺した。さて、その竜の母は、おまえがわたしの定められた花嫁だと知っていたので、わたしにまじないののろいをかけて、おまえを妻にできないようにしようと、けがれた獣の皮を着せたのだ。それでも神はわたしを助けてくださり、わたしはそれでもおまえを妻にした。わたしの足を縛る縄をおまえにくれたあの年とった女は竜の母で、わたしがあと三日まじないに耐えればよいというときに、おまえの愚かさのせいで、さらに三年も豚の皮を着て歩かなければならなくなったのだ。けれども、おまえがわたしのために苦しみ、わたしがおまえのために苦しんだのだから、神をたたえて両親のもとへ帰ろう。おまえがいなかったら、わたしは世捨て人として暮らすことに甘んじていただろう。それでこの荒れ野を住まいに選んで、人間の子が誰もわたしのところへ来られないようにこの家を建てたのだ。」

Then they embraced each other full of joy, and promised to forget all their past sorrows.

それから二人は喜びでいっぱいになって抱き合い、過去の悲しみはみな忘れようと誓い合った。

The next day they rose early and went back first of all to the Emperor his father. When it was known that he and his consort had arrived, all the world wept with joy; but his father and mother embraced them tightly, and the public rejoicings lasted three days and three nights.

次の日、二人は早く起きて、まず何よりも先に夫の父の皇帝のもとへ帰った。皇子と妃が着いたと知れると、世の人はみな喜んで泣いた。けれども父と母は二人をしっかり抱きしめ、国じゅうの祝いは三日三晩続いた。

Then he went on to the Emperor the father of his wife, and he was like to have gone out of his mind for joy when he saw them. When he had heard all their adventures he said to his daughter: “Did I not tell thee not to believe that he who sought thy hand was ever born a hog? Thou hast done well, my daughter, to listen to my words.”

それから夫は妻の父の皇帝のところへ行った。皇帝は二人を見ると喜びのあまり正気を失いそうになった。二人の冒険をすっかり聞くと、皇帝は娘に言った。「おまえの手を求めた者がけっして豚に生まれたのではないと信じよと言ったではないか。娘よ、わしの言葉に耳を傾けて、よくやったな。」

And being an old man, and having no heirs, he descended from his throne and put them upon it in his stead. Then they reigned in peace, and if they are not dead they are living still.

そして皇帝は年とっていて跡継ぎがいなかったので、王座を下りて、代わりに二人をその上に据えた。それから二人は平和に国を治め、死んでいなければ今も生きている。

And now I’ll mount my horse again and say an “Our Father” before I go.

さあ、わたしはまた馬にまたがって、行く前に「主の祈り」をひとつ唱えよう。