Why the Moon Waxes and Wanes

In a certain village on the Yukon River there once lived four brothers and a sister. The sister's companion was the youngest boy, of whom she was very fond. This boy was lazy and could never be made to work. The other brothers were great hunters and in the fall they hunted at sea, for they lived near the shore. As soon as the Bladder feast in December was over, they went to the mountains and hunted reindeer. The boy never went with them, but remained at home with his sister, and they amused each other.

ユーコン川のほとりのある村に、昔、四人の兄弟と一人の妹が住んでいた。妹の遊び相手はいちばん下の弟で、妹はこの弟をたいそうかわいがっていた。この弟は怠け者で、どうしても働かせることができなかった。ほかの兄たちは腕のいい狩人で、海辺に住んでいたので秋には海で猟をした。十二月の膀胱祭りが終わるとすぐに、兄たちは山へ行ってトナカイを狩った。弟は一度も兄たちについて行かず、家に残って妹と遊んでいた。

One time, however, she became angry at him, and that night when she carried food to the other brothers in the kashim or assembly house where the men slept, she gave none to the youngest brother. When she went out of the assembly house she saw a ladder[3] leading up into the sky, with a line hanging down by the side of it. Taking hold of the line, she ascended the ladder, going up into the sky. As she was going up, the younger brother came out and, seeing her, at once ran back and called to his brothers:

ところがあるとき、妹は弟に腹を立て、その夜、男たちが寝泊まりするカシム、つまり集会所へ兄たちの食べ物を運んだとき、いちばん下の弟には何もやらなかった。集会所を出ると、妹は空へ続く梯子[3]があって、そのわきに一本の綱が垂れているのを見た。妹は綱をつかんで梯子を登り、空へ昇っていった。妹が昇っていくところへ、弟が出てきてそれを見ると、すぐに駆け戻って兄たちに叫んだ。

"Our sister is climbing the sky! Our sister is climbing the sky!"

「妹が空を登っていくよ!妹が空を登っていくよ!」

"Oh, you lazy youngster, why do you tell us that? She is doing no such thing," said they.

「この怠け者め、なんでそんなことを言うんだ。あいつがそんなことをするものか」と兄たちは言った。

"Come and see for yourselves! Come, quick!" he cried, very much excited.

「自分で見に来てよ!早く来て!」と弟はひどく興奮して叫んだ。

Sure enough! Up she was going at a rapid rate.

ほんとうだ!妹はぐんぐん昇っていく。

The boy caught up his sealskin breeches and, being in a hurry, thrust one leg into them and then drew a deerskin sock on the other foot as he ran outside. There he saw the girl far away up in the sky and began at once to go up the ladder toward her; but she floated away, he following in turn.

弟はアザラシ皮のズボンをつかむと、慌てていたので片脚だけを突っ込み、もう片方の足にはトナカイ皮の靴下を履いて外へ駆け出した。見ると妹ははるか空の上にいたので、すぐに梯子を登って追いかけはじめた。けれども妹は漂うように遠ざかり、弟はそのあとを追っていった。

The girl became the sun and the boy became the moon, and ever since that time he pursues but never overtakes her. At night the sun sinks in the west, and the moon is seen coming up in the east to go circling after, but always too late. The moon, being without food, wanes slowly away from starvation until it is quite lost to sight; then the sun reaches out and feeds it from the dish in which she carried food to the kashim. After the moon is fed and gradually brought to the full, it is permitted to starve again, thus producing the waxing and waning which we see every month.

妹は太陽になり、弟は月になった。それからというもの、弟は妹を追いかけるが、決して追いつけない。夜になると太陽は西に沈み、月は東から昇ってそのあとを巡っていくが、いつも遅すぎる。月は食べ物がないので、飢えてだんだんやせ細り、とうとうすっかり見えなくなる。すると太陽が手を伸ばし、カシムへ食べ物を運んだ器から月に食べさせる。月は食べさせてもらってしだいに満ちていくが、また飢えるにまかされる。こうして、毎月見られる月の満ち欠けが起こるのである。

FOOTNOTES:

脚注

[3] Probably the Milky Way.

[3] おそらく天の川のこと。