「アマガエルのヒミツ」 (全国に点在)

民話「アマガエルのヒミツ」を英訳してみました： Yoshy tried to translate an old folk-tale, “Tree-frog’s Secret”.

 

LL菜園に実がなり始めの梅雨時は、雨蛙がたくさんLLシホヤ新井教室にまで遊びにきます。

When many plants begin growing in LL-garden, many Japanese tree-frogs visit even LL Shihoya Arai School.

 

全国各地に伝承されているらしい、この民話を英訳してみました。

Yoshy tried to translate this old folk-tale which is famous to many places in Japan into English.

 

<出典：秋山 幸也　山と溪谷社 2004年3月より>

<The source: “Tree-frog’s Secret” from “Yama-to-Keikoku Co.Lted.” by Mr. K. Akiyama>

 

むかしむかしある所にアマガエルの親子がすんでいた。

Once upon a time, there lived two tree-frogs who were Father-frog and his Son in a certain place.

 

しかし子ガエルは大変なヘソ曲がりで、親ガエルの言いつけと反対のことばかりやっていた。

The son-frog was so perverse that he was always doing the opposite against his father’s orders.

 

いよいよ死ぬという時に、親ガエルは墓が流されないように、山の上に墓を作ってもらいたいと望んだ。

Just before Father’s death, he wanted his son to build his tomb on the top of a hill not to be flown away by a flood.

 

しかしこいつは言いつけと反対のことをするから…と考え、

However, he thought that because his son had done his opposite ways, so…

 

「墓は川のそばに建ててくれ。」と言い残し死んだ。

Father said to his son, “I ask you to build my tomb beside a stream” and he died.

 

ところが子ガエルはこの時になって反省し、「遺言は守らなければならん」と、本当に川のそばに墓を建ててしまった。

Unexpectedly, this son reflected himself about his bad behavior, deciding “I had better obey Father’s last words.”, finally built his tomb at the side of a river.

 

そのため雨が降りそうになると「親の墓が流される」と泣くのだという。」

So the son has been crying saying, “My father’s tomb would be flown away,” they say.