■親指トム(TOM THUMB)
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［英文の出典］http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2591/2591-h/2591-h.htm
グリム童話集：親指トム(TOM THUMB) 一部引用
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A poor woodman sat in his cottage one night, smoking his pipe by the fireside, while his wife sat by his side spinning.
woodman［名詞］きこり,cottage［名詞］小屋,fireside［名詞］暖炉,
while［接続詞］一方, spin［自動詞］糸を紡ぐ
How lonely it is, wife,' said he, as he puffed out a long curl of smoke, 'for you and me to sit here by ourselves, without any children to play about and amuse us while other people seem so happy and merry with their children!'
puf［自動詞］たばこを吹かす, amuse［他動詞］楽しませる
What you say is very true,' said the wife, sighing, and turning round her wheel; 'how happy should I be if I had but one child! If it were ever so small--nay, if it were no bigger than my thumb--I should be very happy, and love it dearly.'
sign［自動詞］ため息をつく, but［副詞］ただ〜だけ, nay［副詞］というよりもむしろ, thumb［名詞］親指
Now--odd as you may think it--it came to pass that this good woman's wish was fulfilled, just in the very way she had wished it; for, not long afterwards, she had a little boy, who was quite healthy and strong, but was not much bigger than my thumb.
odd［形容詞］奇妙な, come to pass:起こる､実現する
So they said, 'Well, we cannot say we have not got what we wished for, and, little as he is, we will love him dearly.'
And they called him Thomas Thumb.
夫婦は子供を親指トムと呼んだ。
夫婦は子供がいないので寂しいと思っていた。
妻は、親指ほどしかない子供でもいたら幸せになれるのにと願った。
きこりの夫婦が小さな小屋の暖炉のそばにいた。
願いが叶わなかったのではないので、小さい子供だが可愛がろうと言った。
親指ほどしかないが元気な男の子が生まれた。
They gave him plenty of food, yet for all they could do he never grew bigger, but kept just the same size as he had been when he was born.
plenty of 〜:たくさんの〜, for all〜:〜にもかかわらず
Still, his eyes were sharp and sparkling, and he soon showed himself to be a clever little fellow, who always knew well what he was about.
sparkling［形容詞］きらめく,
One day, as the woodman was getting ready to go into the wood to cut fuel, he said, 'I wish I had someone to bring the cart after me, for I want to make haste.'
wood［名詞］森, fuel［名詞］燃料, cart［名詞］荷馬車, make haste:急ぐ
'Oh, father,' cried Tom, 'I will take care of that; the cart shall be in the wood by the time you want it.'
take care of 〜：〜を引き受ける
Then the woodman laughed, and said, 'How can that be? you cannot reach up to the horse's bridle.'
bridle［名詞］手綱などの馬具
Never mind that, father,' said Tom; 'if my mother will only harness the horse, I will get into his ear and tell him which way to go.'
harness［他動詞］装具を付ける
'Well,' said the father, 'we will try for once.'
for onece：今回に限り、一度くらい
トムは、自分が引き受けて間に合うようにすると言った。
子供にどんなに食べさせても大きくならなかった。
父は、一度試してみようと言った。
きこりは森に木を切りに行く準備をしながら、誰か馬車を持ってきてくれたらいいのにと言った。
トムは、母が馬具を付けてくれたら自分が馬を連れていくと言った。
きこりは、馬のたずなにも届かないトムがどうやってできるのかと尋ねた。
子供は利口だった。
When the time came the mother harnessed the horse to the cart, and put Tom into his ear; and as he sat there the little man told the beast how to go, crying out, 'Go on!' and 'Stop!' as he wanted: and thus the horse went on just as well as if the woodman had driven it himself into the wood.
as well as：〜と同様に
It happened that as the horse was going a little too fast, and Tom was calling out, 'Gently! gently!' two strangers came up.
it happened that：たまたま, gently:そっと, stranger［名詞］よそ者, come up：やって来る
What an odd thing that is!' said one: 'there is a cart going along, and I hear a carter talking to the horse, but yet I can see no one.'
carter［名詞］（馬車の）御者
'That is queer, indeed,' said the other; 'let us follow the cart, and see where it goes.'
queer［形容詞］奇妙な
So they went on into the wood, till at last they came to the place where the woodman was.
Then Tom Thumb, seeing his father, cried out, 'See, father, here I am with the cart, all right and safe! now take me down!'
So his father took hold of the horse with one hand, and with the other took his son out of the horse's ear, and put him down upon a straw, where he sat as merry as you please.
straw［名詞］麦わら
馬が速過ぎてトムが「ゆっくり」と叫んでいたとき、2人のよそ者が来た。
彼らは森に入っていき、きこりの所まで来た。
馬車が勝手に進んでいて誰も乗っていないのは奇妙だと一人が言った。
トムは馬の耳に入れてもらって指図した。
父は馬を押さえてトムを馬の耳から降ろした。
トムは「見てよ、お父さん。着いたよ。馬から下ろして。」と叫んだ。
もう一人が馬車について行こうと言った。
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