Moowis

In a large village there lived a noted belle, or Ma-mon-dá-go-Kwa, who was the admiration of all the young hunters and warriors. She was particularly admired by a young man who, from his good figure and the care he took in his dress, was called the Beau-Man, or Ma-mon-dá-gin-in-e. This young man had a friend and companion whom he made his confidant.

ある大きな村に、名高い美人、つまりマモンダーゴクワが住んでいて、若い狩人や戦士みなのあこがれの的だった。とりわけ一人の若者が娘にあこがれていた。この若者は姿がよく、身なりに気をつかっていたので、伊達男、つまりマモンダーギニネと呼ばれていた。この若者には友であり連れでもある者がいて、何でも打ち明けていた。

"Come," said he one day, in a sportive mood, "let us go a-courting to her who is so handsome, perhaps she may fancy one of us."

「さあ」とある日、若者はふざけた気分で言った。「あんなにきれいなあの娘に求婚しに行こうじゃないか。ひょっとしたら、おれたちのどちらかを気に入るかもしれない。」

She would, however, listen to neither of them; and when the handsome young man rallied her on the coldness of her air, and made an effort to overcome her indifference, she repulsed him with the greatest contempt, and the young man retired confused and abashed. His sense of pride was deeply wounded, and he was the more piqued because he had been thus treated in the presence of others, and this affair had been noised about in the village, and became the talk of every lodge circle. He was, besides, a very sensitive man, and the incident so preyed upon him that he became moody and at last took to his bed. For days he would lie without uttering a word, with his eyes fixed on vacancy, and taking little or no food. From this state no efforts could rouse him. He felt abashed and dishonoured even in the presence of his own relatives, and no persuasions could induce him to rise, so that when the family prepared to take down the lodge to remove he still kept his bed, and they were compelled to lift it from above his head and leave him upon his skin couch. It was a time of general removal and breaking up of the camp, for it was only a winter hunting-camp, and as the season of the hunt was now over, and spring began to appear, his friends all moved off as by one impulse to the place of their summer village, and in a short time all were gone, and he was left alone. The last person to leave him was his boon companion and cousin, who had been, like him, an admirer of the forest belle. The hunter disregarded even his voice, and as soon as his steps died away on the creaking snow the stillness and solitude of the wilderness reigned around.

けれども娘はどちらにも耳を貸そうとしなかった。そして美しい若者が娘の冷たいそぶりをからかい、その無関心を打ち破ろうとすると、娘はこの上なくさげすんで若者をはねつけ、若者はうろたえ恥じ入って引き下がった。若者の誇りはひどく傷つき、人前でこんな扱いを受けたのでいっそう腹が立った。しかもこのことは村じゅうに言いふらされ、どの小屋の集まりでも噂の種になった。そのうえ若者はたいそう感じやすい男だったので、この出来事がひどくこたえてふさぎこみ、とうとう寝込んでしまった。何日もひと言も口をきかず、宙をじっと見つめて、ほとんど何も食べずに横になっていた。どんなに手を尽くしてもこの状態から起こせなかった。身内の前でさえ恥じ入って面目を失ったように感じ、どう説き伏せても起き上がろうとしなかった。家族が小屋をたたんで移る支度をしても若者は寝たままだったので、家族はやむなく小屋を若者の頭の上から持ち上げて、若者を皮の寝床の上に残していった。それは野営地をたたんでみなが移る時期だった。そこは冬の狩りの野営地にすぎず、狩りの季節も終わって春が見えはじめたので、友人たちはみな、ひとつの衝動に動かされたかのように夏の村の場所へ移っていき、まもなくみないなくなって若者は一人残された。最後に若者のもとを去ったのは、若者と同じくあの森の美人にあこがれていた、仲のよい連れでいとこの者だった。狩人はその声にさえ耳を貸さず、きしむ雪の上のその足音が消えるやいなや、荒野の静けさと寂しさがあたりを支配した。

As soon as all were gone, and he could no longer, by listening, hear the remotest sound of the departing camp, the Beau-Man arose.

みながいなくなり、耳を澄ましても去っていく一行のかすかな音さえ聞こえなくなるやいなや、伊達男は起き上がった。

Now this young man had for a friend a powerful guardian spirit or personal manito, and he resolved, with this spirit's aid, to use his utmost power to punish and humble the girl, for she was noted in her tribe for her coquetry, and had treated many young men, who were every way her equals, as she had treated this lover. He resolved on a singular stratagem by way of revenge.

さて、この若者には味方として力ある守護の霊、つまり自分のマニトウがいた。若者はこの霊の助けを借りて、ありったけの力を使って娘を罰し、へこませてやろうと決めた。娘は部族のなかで男をもてあそぶことで知られ、あらゆる点で娘に劣らない若者たちを、この恋人にしたのと同じように何人も扱ってきたからである。若者は仕返しにひとつ奇妙な策略を思いついた。

He walked over the deserted camp and gathered up all the cast-off bits of soiled cloth, clippings of finery, and old clothing and ornaments, which had either been left there as not worth carrying away, or forgotten. These he carefully picked out of the snow, into which some of them had been trodden, and collected in one place. These gaudy and soiled stuffs he restored to their original beauty, and made of them a coat and leggings, which he trimmed with beads, and finished and decorated after the best fashion of his tribe. He then made a pair of moccasins and garnished them with beads, a bow and arrows, and a frontlet and feathers for the head. Having done this he searched about for cast-out bones of animals, pieces of skin, clippings of dried meat, and even dirt. Having cemented all this together he filled the clothes with it, pressed the mass firmly in, and fashioned it, externally, in all respects like a tall and well-shaped man. He put a bow and arrows in its hands, and the frontlet on its head. Having finished it he brought it to life, and the image stood forth in the most favoured lineaments of his fellows. Such was the origin of Moowis, or the Dirt-and-Rag Man.

若者は見捨てられた野営地を歩きまわって、持っていく値打ちもないと置いていかれたか、忘れられていった、汚れた布の切れ端やきらびやかな飾りの切りくずや古い着物や飾り物をみな拾い集めた。雪に踏み込まれたものも注意深く雪から拾い上げて、一か所に集めた。若者はこの派手で汚れた布をもとの美しさに戻して、上着と脚絆をこしらえ、玉で縁取り、部族のいちばんの流儀で仕上げて飾った。それから一足のモカシンをこしらえて玉で飾り、弓矢と、頭につける額飾りと羽根をこしらえた。これがすむと、捨てられた獣の骨や皮のかけらや干し肉の切りくずや、泥までも探しまわった。これをみな練り合わせて着物に詰め、しっかり押し込んで、外から見るとあらゆる点で背の高い姿のよい男のように形づくった。その手に弓矢を持たせ、頭に額飾りをつけた。仕上がると若者はそれに命を吹き込み、像は仲間たちのいちばん恵まれた顔立ちをして立ち上がった。これがムーウィス、つまり泥とぼろの男の生まれたいきさつである。

"Follow me," said the Beau-Man, "and I will direct you how you shall act."

「ついてこい」と伊達男は言った。「どうふるまうか教えてやる。」

Moowis was, indeed, a very sightly person, and as the Beau-Man led him into the new encampment where the girl dwelt, the many colours of his clothes, the profusion of his ornaments, his manly deportment, his animated countenance, drew all eyes to him. He was hospitably received, both old and young showing him great attention. The chief invited him to his lodge, and he was there treated to the moose's hump and the finest venison.

ムーウィスはほんとうにたいそう見栄えのする者で、伊達男が娘の住む新しい野営地へ連れていくと、その着物の色とりどりのさま、ふんだんな飾り、男らしい物腰、生き生きとした顔つきが、みなの目を引きつけた。ムーウィスは手厚く迎えられ、老いも若きもたいそう気を配った。首長はムーウィスを自分の小屋に招き、そこでヘラジカのこぶといちばん上等の鹿肉をふるまった。

No one was better pleased with the handsome stranger than Ma-mon-dá-go-Kwa. She fell in love with him at first sight, and he was an invited guest at the lodge of her mother the very first evening of his arrival. The Beau-Man went with him, for it was under his patronage that he had been introduced, and, in truth, he had another motive in accompanying him, for he had not yet wholly subdued his feelings of admiration for the object against whom he had, nevertheless, exerted all his necromantic power, and he held himself ready to take advantage of any favourable turn which he secretly hoped the visit might take in relation to himself. No such opportunity, however, arose. Moowis attracted the chief attention, every eye and heart was alert to entertain him. In this effort on the part of his entertainers they had well-nigh brought about his destruction by dissolving him into his original elements of rags, snow, and dirt, for he was assigned the most prominent place near the fire, where he was exposed to a heat that he could by no means endure. However, he warded this calamity off by placing a boy between him and the fire; he shifted his position frequently, and evaded, by dexterous manoeuvres and timely remarks, the pressing invitation of his host to sit and enjoy the warmth. He so managed these excuses as not only to conceal his dread of immediate dissolution, but to secure the further approbation of the fair forest girl, who was filled with admiration of one who had so brave a spirit to endure the paralysing effects of cold.

この美しいよそ者にマモンダーゴクワほど心を奪われた者はいなかった。娘はひと目でムーウィスに恋をし、ムーウィスは着いたまさにその晩、娘の母の小屋に客として招かれた。伊達男も一緒に行った。ムーウィスは伊達男の後ろ盾で紹介されたからである。実のところ伊達男には一緒に行く別のわけもあった。あれほど魔術の力をふるって仕返しをしようとした相手なのに、まだその娘へのあこがれをすっかり抑えきれず、この訪問がひそかに願うように自分に都合のよい方向へ向かったら、それにつけこもうと身構えていたのである。けれどもそんな機会は訪れなかった。ムーウィスがいちばんの注目を集め、みなの目と心がムーウィスをもてなそうと張りつめていた。もてなす側のこの熱心さのせいで、ムーウィスはもう少しで、もとのぼろと雪と泥に溶けて滅びるところだった。火のそばのいちばん目立つ席を与えられ、とても耐えられない熱にさらされたのである。けれどもムーウィスは、自分と火のあいだに男の子を一人置いてこの災いを防ぎ、しばしば座る場所を変え、巧みな身のこなしと折よい言葉で、座って暖まれとしきりに勧める主人の誘いをかわした。ムーウィスはこうした言いわけをうまく操って、今にも溶けてしまう恐れを隠したばかりか、凍えるような寒さにもひるまない勇ましい心の持ち主だと、美しい森の娘にいっそう感心させた。

The visit proved that the rejected lover had well calculated the effects of his plan. He withdrew from the lodge, and Moowis triumphed. Before the Beau-Man left he saw him cross the lodge to the coveted abinos, or bridegroom's seat. The dart which Ma-mon-dá-go-Kwa had so often delighted in sending to the hearts of her admirers she was at length fated to receive. She had married an image.

この訪問で、はねつけられた恋人の計略がねらいどおりに運んだことがわかった。伊達男は小屋を去り、ムーウィスが勝った。伊達男は去る前に、ムーウィスが小屋を横切って、みなの望むアビノス、つまり花婿の席へ行くのを見た。マモンダーゴクワがあれほどたびたび崇拝者たちの心に放って楽しんだ矢を、とうとう娘自身が受ける定めになったのである。娘は像と結婚したのだった。

As the morning began to break the stranger arose, adjusted his warrior's plumes, and took his forest weapons to depart.

夜が明けはじめると、よそ者は起き上がり、戦士の羽根飾りを整え、森の武器を取って出発しようとした。

"I must go," said he, "for I have important work to do, and there are many hills and streams between me and the object of my journey."

「行かなければならない」とムーウィスは言った。「大事な仕事があって、目指すところまでにはたくさんの丘と流れがあるのだ。」

"I will go with you," said Ma-mon-dá-go-Kwa.

「わたしも一緒に行きます」とマモンダーゴクワは言った。

"The journey is too long," replied her husband, "and you are ill able to encounter the perils of the way."

「旅は長すぎる」と夫は答えた。「お前には道中の危険に立ち向かう力はあるまい。」

"It is not so long but that I will go," answered his wife, "and there are no dangers I will not share with you."

「わたしが行けないほど長くはありません」と妻は答えた。「あなたと分かち合えない危険などありません。」

Moowis returned to the lodge of his master, and told him what had occurred. For a moment pity took possession of the young man's heart. He regretted that she whom he so loved should thus have thrown herself away upon an image, a shadow, when she might have been the mistress of the best lodge in the camp.

ムーウィスは主人の小屋に戻って、起こったことを話した。一瞬、哀れみが若者の心をとらえた。自分があれほど愛した娘が、野営地でいちばんの小屋の女主人になれたのに、こうして像に、影に身を投げてしまったことを残念に思った。

"It is her own folly," he said; "she has turned a deaf ear to the counsels of prudence. She must submit to her fate."

「あれは自分の愚かさのせいだ」と若者は言った。「分別ある忠告に耳をふさいできたのだ。定めを受け入れるほかない。」

The same morning Moowis set forth, and his wife followed him at a distance. The way was rough and intricate, and she found that she could not keep up with him, he walked so quickly. She struggled hard and obstinately to overtake him, but Moowis had been for some time out of sight when the sun rose and commenced upon his snow-formed body the work of dissolution. He began to melt away and fall to pieces. As Ma-mon-dá-go-Kwa followed in his track she found piece after piece of his clothing in the path. She first found his mittens, then his moccasins, then his leggings, then his coat, and after that other parts of his garments. As the heat unbound them the clothes also returned to their filthy condition. Over rocks, through wind-falls, across marshes, Ma-mon-dá-go-Kwa pursued him she loved. The path turned aside in all directions. Rags, bones, leather, beads, feathers, and soiled ribbons she found, but caught no sight of Moowis. She spent the day in wandering, and when evening came she was still alone. The snow having now melted, she had completely lost her husband's track, and she wandered about uncertain which way to go and in a state of perfect despair. At length with bitter cries she lamented her fate.

その同じ朝、ムーウィスは出発し、妻は離れてあとを追った。道は険しく入り組んでいて、ムーウィスがあまりに速く歩くので、妻はついていけないと気づいた。妻は懸命に、意地になって追いつこうとしたが、日が昇って雪でできたその体を溶かす仕事をはじめたときには、ムーウィスはもうしばらく前から見えなくなっていた。ムーウィスは溶けはじめ、ばらばらに崩れはじめた。マモンダーゴクワがその跡をたどっていくと、道にムーウィスの着物がひとつまたひとつと落ちているのを見つけた。まず手袋を、それからモカシンを、それから脚絆を、それから上着を、そのあとほかの衣の部分を見つけた。熱がほどくにつれて、着物ももとの汚らしいありさまに戻っていった。岩を越え、倒木のあいだを抜け、沼地を渡って、マモンダーゴクワは愛する者を追った。道はあらゆる方向へ曲がりくねっていた。ぼろや骨や革や玉や羽根や汚れたリボンは見つかったが、ムーウィスの姿は見えなかった。娘はその日をさまよって過ごし、夕方になってもまだ一人だった。もう雪が溶けてしまったので、夫の跡をすっかり見失い、どちらへ行けばよいかわからずに、まったく絶望してさまよった。とうとう娘は悲痛な叫びをあげて自分の運命を嘆いた。

"Moowis, Moowis," she cried, "nin ge won e win ig, ne won e win ig!"--"Moowis, Moowis, you have led me astray, you are leading me astray!"

「ムーウィス、ムーウィス」と娘は叫んだ。「ニン・ゲ・ウォン・エ・ウィン・イグ、ネ・ウォン・エ・ウィン・イグ!」——「ムーウィス、ムーウィス、あなたはわたしを迷わせた、あなたはわたしを迷わせている!」

With this cry she wandered in the woods.

この叫びをあげながら、娘は森をさまよった。

The cry of the lost Ma-mon-dá-go-Kwa is sometimes repeated by the village girls who have made of it a song--

迷ったマモンダーゴクワのこの叫びを、村の娘たちはときどき繰り返し、歌にしている——

Moowis! Moowis! Forest rover, Where art thou? Ah! my bravest, gayest lover, Guide me now.

ムーウィス! ムーウィス! 森をさすらう人、どこにいるの? ああ! いちばん勇ましく華やかな恋人、今わたしを導いて。

Moowis! Moowis! Ah! believe me, List my moan: Do not, do not, brave heart, leave me All alone.

ムーウィス! ムーウィス! ああ! 信じて、わたしの嘆きを聞いて。どうか、どうか、勇ましい人、わたしを一人きりにしないで。

Moowis! Moowis! Footprints vanished! Whither wend I? Fated, lost, detested, banished Must I die!

ムーウィス! ムーウィス! 足跡は消えた! わたしはどこへ行けばいいの? 定められ、迷い、憎まれ、追われて、死ぬほかないの!

Moowis! Moowis! Whither goest thou, Eye-bright lover? Ah! thou ravenous bird that knowest, I see thee hover,

ムーウィス! ムーウィス! どこへ行くの、目の輝く恋人よ? ああ! 知っている飢えた鳥よ、お前が舞うのが見える、

Circling, circling As I wander, And at last When I fall thou then wilt come And feed upon my breast.

くるくる、くるくると、わたしがさまようあいだ、そしてとうとうわたしが倒れたら、お前はやって来てわたしの胸をついばむのでしょう。