Once upon a time two poor Woodcutters were making their way home through a great pine-forest. It was winter, and a night of bitter cold. The snow lay thick upon the ground, and upon the branches of the trees: the frost kept snapping the little twigs on either side of them, as they passed: and when they came to the Mountain- Torrent she was hanging motionless in air, for the Ice-King had kissed her.
once upon a time：昔々。woodcutters：樵。pine-forest：松の森。kept snapping：パキンと鳴らしていた。twigs：細枝。mountain- torrent：山の急流。hanging motionless：じっと止まる（動きなく纏われる）。
So cold was it that even the animals and the birds did not know what to make of it.
make of：～を理解する。
'Ugh!' snarled the Wolf, as he limped through the brushwood with his tail between his legs, 'this is perfectly monstrous weather. Why doesn't the Government look to it?'
ugh：うわっ。snarled：（歯を剥き出して）唸った。limped：足を引き摺って歩いた。brushwood：（低木の）茂み。monstrous：怪物のような。look to：注意する。
'Weet! weet! weet!' twittered the green Linnets, 'the old Earth is dead and they have laid her out in her white shroud.'
weet：知る（古い表現）。twittered：囀った。green：若い（青い）。linnets：胸赤鶸（鳥の一種）。have laid her out：それに埋葬準備を行った。white shroud：白布（死装束）。
'The Earth is going to be married, and this is her bridal dress,' whispered the Turtle-doves to each other. Their little pink feet were quite frost-bitten, but they felt that it was their duty to take a romantic view of the situation.
turtle-doves：小雉鳩（鳥の一種）。frost-bitten：霜焼けの。take a romantic view of：～を恋愛向きに見渡す。
'Nonsense!' growled the Wolf. 'I tell you that it is all the fault of the Government, and if you don't believe me I shall eat you.' The Wolf had a thoroughly practical mind, and was never at a loss for a good argument.
growled：（怒って）唸った。practical mind：実際的な精神。at a loss：困って。for a good argument：説得できる理由。
'Well, for my own part,' said the Woodpecker, who was a born philosopher, 'I don't care an atomic theory for explanations. If a thing is so, it is so, and at present it is terribly cold.'
woodpecker：啄木鳥。born：生来の。philosopher：哲学者。atomic theory：原子論。terribly：恐ろしく。
Terribly cold it certainly was. The little Squirrels, who lived inside the tall fir-tree, kept rubbing each other's noses to keep themselves warm, and the Rabbits curled themselves up in their holes, and did not venture even to look out of doors. The only people who seemed to enjoy it were the great horned Owls. Their feathers were quite stiff with rime, but they did not mind, and they rolled their large yellow eyes, and called out to each other across the forest, 'Tu-whit! Tu-whoo! Tu-whit! Tu-whoo! what delightful weather we are having!'
squirrels：栗鼠。fir-tree：樅の木。kept rubbing each other's noses：互いの鼻を擦り合わせていた。curled themselves up：（それらが）丸まった。venture even to look：思い切って見さえもする。horned：角のある。owls：梟。rime：霜。tu-whit! tu-whoo!：ホーホー！（梟の鳴き声）。
On and on went the two Woodcutters, blowing lustily upon their fingers, and stamping with their huge iron-shod boots upon the caked snow. Once they sank into a deep drift, and came out as white as millers are, when the stones are grinding; and once they slipped on the hard smooth ice where the marsh-water was frozen, and their faggots fell out of their bundles, and they had to pick them up and bind them together again; and once they thought that they had lost their way, and a great terror seized on them, for they knew that the Snow is cruel to those who sleep in her arms. But they put their trust in the good Saint Martin, who watches over all travellers, and retraced their steps, and went warily, and at last they reached the outskirts of the forest, and saw, far down in the valley beneath them, the lights of the village in which they dwelt.
lustily：威勢良く。iron-shod：鉄打ちの。caked snow：固まった雪。deep drift：深い吹き溜まり。millers：粉屋。stones：臼石。grinding：（臼で）挽く。faggots：（鍛造や延圧用の）鉄棒の束（faggotの綴りは主にイギリス）。bundles：束。terror：恐怖。Saint Martin：聖マルティヌス（キリスト教の聖人の一人）。watches over：～を見守る。retraced：（彼らが）引き返した（辿り直した）。warily：油断なく。outskirts：（町などの）外れ。dwelt：住んだ。
So overjoyed were they at their deliverance that they laughed aloud, and the Earth seemed to them like a flower of silver, and the Moon like a flower of gold.
overjoyed：大喜びした。deliverance：解放（救済）。
Yet, after that they had laughed they became sad, for they remembered their poverty, and one of them said to the other, 'Why did we make merry, seeing that life is for the rich, and not for such as we are? Better that we had died of cold in the forest, or that some wild beast had fallen upon us and slain us.'
poverty：貧困。make merry：浮かれ騒ぐ。the rich：金持ち。had fallen upon：襲った。slain：屠った。
'Truly,' answered his companion, 'much is given to some, and little is given to others. Injustice has parcelled out the world, nor is there equal division of aught save of sorrow.'
injustice：不公平。has parcelled out：分割した。equal division：平分（平等に分けること）。aught：何でも（古い表現）。
But as they were bewailing their misery to each other this strange thing happened. There fell from heaven a very bright and beautiful star. It slipped down the side of the sky, passing by the other stars in its course, and, as they watched it wondering, it seemed to them to sink behind a clump of willow-trees that stood hard by a little sheepfold no more than a stone's-throw away.
bewailing：泣き叫ぶ。misery：悲惨。a clump of willow-trees：柳の木立ち。hard by：～の直ぐ近くに。sheepfold：羊囲い。a stone's-throw away：とても近い（投石の向こう）。
'Why! there is a crook of gold for whoever finds it,' they cried, and they set to and ran, so eager were they for the gold.
why：おや。crook of gold：金の曲がり（羊飼いの杖の片端の鉤状部）。set to：～へ向かう。
And one of them ran faster than his mate, and outstripped him, and forced his way through the willows, and came out on the other side, and lo! there was indeed a thing of gold lying on the white snow. So he hastened towards it, and stooping down placed his hands upon it, and it was a cloak of golden tissue, curiously wrought with stars, and wrapped in many folds. And he cried out to his comrade that he had found the treasure that had fallen from the sky, and when his comrade had come up, they sat them down in the snow, and loosened the folds of the cloak that they might divide the pieces of gold. But, alas! no gold was in it, nor silver, nor, indeed, treasure of any kind, but only a little child who was asleep.
outstripped：追い越した。forced his way：分け行った。willows：柳。lo：見よ。hastened：急行した。stooping down：屈み込んで。cloak：クローク（袖なし外套）。golden tissue：金の（薄い）織物。wrought：装飾された。in many folds：何重にも。comrade：同胞。loosened：解いた。folds：折り重ね。divide：分け合う。alas：嗚呼。
And one of them said to the other: 'This is a bitter ending to our hope, nor have we any good fortune, for what doth a child profit to a man? Let us leave it here, and go our way, seeing that we are poor men, and have children of our own whose bread we may not give to another.'
good fortune：幸運。doth：する（doの古い表現、三人称単数現在形）。profit to：～に利益を与える。
But his companion answered him: 'Nay, but it were an evil thing to leave the child to perish here in the snow, and though I am as poor as thou art, and have many mouths to feed, and but little in the pot, yet will I bring it home with me, and my wife shall have care of it.'
nay：否（古い表現）。evil thing：邪なこと。perish：（災害や事件で）死ぬ。thou：汝は（人称代名詞の古い表現、二人称単数の主格）。art：である（beの古い表現、二人称単数現在形）。have care of：～の面倒を見る。
So very tenderly he took up the child, and wrapped the cloak around it to shield it from the harsh cold, and made his way down the hill to the village, his comrade marvelling much at his foolishness and softness of heart.
shield：防ぐ。harsh cold：厳しい寒さ。marvelling：驚嘆する。
And when they came to the village, his comrade said to him, 'Thou hast the child, therefore give me the cloak, for it is meet that we should share.'
hast：持つ（haveの古い表現、二人称単数現在形）。meet：適切な（古い表現）。
But he answered him: 'Nay, for the cloak is neither mine nor thine, but the child's only,' and he bade him Godspeed, and went to his own house and knocked.
thine：汝のもの（古い表現、二人称単数の所有代名詞）。bade him Godspeed：彼に繁栄を祈る（Godspeed／繁栄は古い表現）。
And when his wife opened the door and saw that her husband had returned safe to her, she put her arms round his neck and kissed him, and took from his back the bundle of faggots, and brushed the snow off his boots, and bade him come in.
bade him come in：彼に中に入るように告げた。
But he said to her, 'I have found something in the forest, and I have brought it to thee to have care of it,' and he stirred not from the threshold.
thee：汝を（人称代名詞の古い表現、二人称単数の目的格）。stirred：動いた。threshold：戸口。
'What is it?' she cried. 'Show it to me, for the house is bare, and we have need of many things.' And he drew the cloak back, and showed her the sleeping child.
bare：物がない（裸の状態）。
'Alack, goodman!' she murmured, 'have we not children of our own, that thou must needs bring a changeling to sit by the hearth? And who knows if it will not bring us bad fortune? And how shall we tend it?' And she was wroth against him.
alack：残念（古い表現）。goodman：良い人。murmured：（低い声で）不平をいった。must needs：どうしても～しなくてはならない（古い表現）。changeling：取り替え子（ヨーロッパの伝承で子供を連れ去られたときに代わりに残される妖精などの子供）。hearth：暖炉。bad fortune：悪運。tend：世話する。wroth：激怒した。
'Nay, but it is a Star-Child,' he answered; and he told her the strange manner of the finding of it.
But she would not be appeased, but mocked at him, and spoke angrily, and cried: 'Our children lack bread, and shall we feed the child of another? Who is there who careth for us? And who giveth us food?'
appeased：宥められた。mocked：嘲った。careth：面倒を見る（careの古い表現、三人称単数現在形）。giveth：与える（giveの古い表現、三人称単数現在形）。
'Nay, but God careth for the sparrows even, and feedeth them,' he answered.
feedeth：食べさせる（feedの古い表現、三人称単数現在形）。
'Do not the sparrows die of hunger in the winter?' she asked. 'And is it not winter now?'
sparrows：雀。
And the man answered nothing, but stirred not from the threshold.
And a bitter wind from the forest came in through the open door, and made her tremble, and she shivered, and said to him: 'Wilt thou not close the door? There cometh a bitter wind into the house, and I am cold.'
tremble：震える。shivered：戦いた。wilt：だろう（willの古い表現、二人称単数現在形）。cometh：来る（comeの古い表現、三人称単数現在形）。
'Into a house where a heart is hard cometh there not always a bitter wind?' he asked. And the woman answered him nothing, but crept closer to the fire.
crept：よろよろ歩いた。
And after a time she turned round and looked at him, and her eyes were full of tears. And he came in swiftly, and placed the child in her arms, and she kissed it, and laid it in a little bed where the youngest of their own children was lying. And on the morrow the Woodcutter took the curious cloak of gold and placed it in a great chest, and a chain of amber that was round the child's neck his wife took and set it in the chest also.
after a time：暫くして。turned round：振り向いた。swiftly：素早く。on the morrow：翌日に。chest：箪笥。amber：琥珀。
So the Star-Child was brought up with the children of the Woodcutter, and sat at the same board with them, and was their playmate. And every year he became more beautiful to look at, so that all those who dwelt in the village were filled with wonder, for, while they were swarthy and black-haired, he was white and delicate as sawn ivory, and his curls were like the rings of the daffodil. His lips, also, were like the petals of a red flower, and his eyes were like violets by a river of pure water, and his body like the narcissus of a field where the mower comes not.
brought up：育てられた。sat at the same board with them：彼らと同じ（下宿などの）食卓に着いた。playmate：遊び仲間。swarthy：浅黒い。delicate as sawn ivory：切られた象牙のように淡い。curls：巻き毛。daffodil：喇叭水仙。petals：花弁。violets：菫。narcissus：水仙。mower：草刈り機。
Yet did his beauty work him evil. For he grew proud, and cruel, and selfish. The children of the Woodcutter, and the other children of the village, he despised, saying that they were of mean parentage, while he was noble, being sprang from a Star, and he made himself master over them, and called them his servants. No pity had he for the poor, or for those who were blind or maimed or in any way afflicted, but would cast stones at them and drive them forth on to the highway, and bid them beg their bread elsewhere, so that none save the outlaws came twice to that village to ask for alms. Indeed, he was as one enamoured of beauty, and would mock at the weakly and ill-favoured, and make jest of them; and himself he loved, and in summer, when the winds were still, he would lie by the well in the priest's orchard and look down at the marvel of his own face, and laugh for the pleasure he had in his fairness.
proud：高慢な。cruel：酷薄な。selfish：我儘な。despised：蔑んだ。mean parentage：卑しい生まれ。sprang from：（人が）～から現れ出た。made himself master over them：彼らを支配した。servants：召し使い。pity：憐れみ。the poor：貧しい者。blind：盲目の。maimed：不具の。in any way afflicted：どうにも苦しめられた。drive them forth：彼らを追い立てた。bid them beg：彼らに頼むように命じた。save：～を除いて。outlaws：無法者。ask for alms：施しを請いに。enamoured：引き付けられた。mock：嘲る。the weakly and ill-favoured：弱い者や不細工な者（ill-favouredの綴りは主にイギリス英語）。make jest of them：彼らを笑い者にする。well：井戸。priest's orchard：司祭（キリスト教のカトリック派と英国国教会とギリシャ正教会）の果樹園。marvel：驚異。in his fairness：彼の綺麗さに。
Often did the Woodcutter and his wife chide him, and say: 'We did not deal with thee as thou dealest with those who are left desolate, and have none to succour them. Wherefore art thou so cruel to all who need pity?'
chide：叱る。dealest：扱う（dealの古い表現、二人称単数現在形）。desolate：侘しい。succour：援助する。wherefore：どんな理由で（古い表現）。
Often did the old priest send for him, and seek to teach him the love of living things, saying to him: 'The fly is thy brother. Do it no harm. The wild birds that roam through the forest have their freedom. Snare them not for thy pleasure. God made the blind-worm and the mole, and each has its place. Who art thou to bring pain into God's world? Even the cattle of the field praise Him.'
thy：汝の（人称代名詞の古い表現、二人称単数の所有格）。roam：ぶら付く。snare：罠にかける。blind-worm：足無蜥蜴（蜥蜴の一種）。mole：土竜。cattle：牛。praise：（神を）賛美する。
But the Star-Child heeded not their words, but would frown and flout, and go back to his companions, and lead them. And his companions followed him, for he was fair, and fleet of foot, and could dance, and pipe, and make music. And wherever the Star-Child led them they followed, and whatever the Star-Child bade them do, that did they. And when he pierced with a sharp reed the dim eyes of the mole, they laughed, and when he cast stones at the leper they laughed also. And in all things he ruled them, and they became hard of heart even as he was.
heeded：気に留めた。frown：眉を顰める。flout：馬鹿にする。fair：綺麗。fleet of foot：足が速い。pipe：笛を吹く。make music：歌う。pierced：突き刺した。reed：葦（草の一種）。dim eyes：霞んだ目。leper：癩者（ハンセン病者）。ruled：指図した。hard of heart：非情な心。
Now there passed one day through the village a poor beggar-woman. Her garments were torn and ragged, and her feet were bleeding from the rough road on which she had travelled, and she was in very evil plight. And being weary she sat her down under a chestnut-tree to rest.
beggar-woman：乞食女。garments：衣服。torn：破れた。ragged：ボロボロの。bleeding：血を流す。rough road：凸凹道。in very evil plight：大変な窮状で。chestnut-tree：栗の木。
But when the Star-Child saw her, he said to his companions, 'See! There sitteth a foul beggar-woman under that fair and green-leaved tree. Come, let us drive her hence, for she is ugly and ill- favoured.'
sitteth：座る（sitの古い表現、三人称単数現在形）。foul：汚い。green-leaved：緑の葉の。drive her hence：彼女をここから追い出そう（henceをここからとするのは古い表現）。
So he came near and threw stones at her, and mocked her, and she looked at him with terror in her eyes, nor did she move her gaze from him. And when the Woodcutter, who was cleaving logs in a haggard hard by, saw what the Star-Child was doing, he ran up and rebuked him, and said to him: 'Surely thou art hard of heart and knowest not mercy, for what evil has this poor woman done to thee that thou shouldst treat her in this wise?'
gaze：凝視。cleaving logs：薪を割る。haggard：農家の庭（穀物や干し草などが囲まれている）。rebuked：詰った。knowest：知る（knowの古い表現、二人称単数現在形）。mercy：慈悲。evil：悪。shouldst：～しなければならない（shallの古い表現、二人称単数過去形）。in this wise：このように。
And the Star-Child grew red with anger, and stamped his foot upon the ground, and said, 'Who art thou to question me what I do? I am no son of thine to do thy bidding.'
question：問い質す。
'Thou speakest truly,' answered the Woodcutter, 'yet did I show thee pity when I found thee in the forest.'
speakest：いう（speakの古い表現、二人称単数現在形）。
And when the woman heard these words she gave a loud cry, and fell into a swoon. And the Woodcutter carried her to his own house, and his wife had care of her, and when she rose up from the swoon into which she had fallen, they set meat and drink before her, and bade her have comfort.
swoon：気絶。meat and drink：食べ物と飲み物。have comfort：寛ぐ。
But she would neither eat nor drink, but said to the Woodcutter, 'Didst thou not say that the child was found in the forest? And was it not ten years from this day?'
didst：した（doの古い表現、二人称単数過去形）。
And the Woodcutter answered, 'Yea, it was in the forest that I found him, and it is ten years from this day.'
'And what signs didst thou find with him?' she cried. 'Bare he not upon his neck a chain of amber? Was not round him a cloak of gold tissue broidered with stars?'
signs：目印。bare：身に着けた（bearの古い表現、過去形）。broidered：刺繍された。
'Truly,' answered the Woodcutter, 'it was even as thou sayest.' And he took the cloak and the amber chain from the chest where they lay, and showed them to her.
sayest：いう（sayの古い表現、二人称単数現在形）。
And when she saw them she wept for joy, and said, 'He is my little son whom I lost in the forest. I pray thee send for him quickly, for in search of him have I wandered over the whole world.'
wept：泣いた。pray：懇願する。wandered：歩き回った。
So the Woodcutter and his wife went out and called to the Star- Child, and said to him, 'Go into the house, and there shalt thou find thy mother, who is waiting for thee.'
shalt：～に違いない（shallの古い表現、二人称単数現在形）。
So he ran in, filled with wonder and great gladness. But when he saw her who was waiting there, he laughed scornfully and said, 'Why, where is my mother? For I see none here but this vile beggar-woman.'
scornfully：軽蔑して。vile：不快な。
And the woman answered him, 'I am thy mother.'
'Thou art mad to say so,' cried the Star-Child angrily. 'I am no son of thine, for thou art a beggar, and ugly, and in rags. Therefore get thee hence, and let me see thy foul face no more.'
mad：狂った。in rags：襤褸を着た。get thee hence：失せよ（ここから出ろ；henceをここからとするのは古い表現）。
'Nay, but thou art indeed my little son, whom I bare in the forest,' she cried, and she fell on her knees, and held out her arms to him. 'The robbers stole thee from me, and left thee to die,' she murmured, 'but I recognised thee when I saw thee, and the signs also have I recognised, the cloak of golden tissue and the amber chain. Therefore I pray thee come with me, for over the whole world have I wandered in search of thee. Come with me, my son, for I have need of thy love.'
bare：生んだ（bearの古い表現、過去形）。fell on her knees：（彼女が）跪いた。robbers：盗賊。recognised：認識した（recogniseの綴りは主にイギリス）。have need of：～を必要とする。
But the Star-Child stirred not from his place, but shut the doors of his heart against her, nor was there any sound heard save the sound of the woman weeping for pain.
weeping：泣く。
And at last he spoke to her, and his voice was hard and bitter. 'If in very truth thou art my mother,' he said, 'it had been better hadst thou stayed away, and not come here to bring me to shame, seeing that I thought I was the child of some Star, and not a beggar's child, as thou tellest me that I am. Therefore get thee hence, and let me see thee no more.'
hadst：～した（haveの古い表現、二人称単数の過去形）。stayed away：離れた。bring me to shame：私を恥ずかしがらす。tellest：話す（tellの古い表現、二人称単数現在形）。
'Alas! my son,' she cried, 'wilt thou not kiss me before I go? For I have suffered much to find thee.'
have suffered much：大いに苦しんだ。
'Nay,' said the Star-Child, 'but thou art too foul to look at, and rather would I kiss the adder or the toad than thee.'
adder：ヨーロッパ鎖蛇（蛇の一種）。toad：蟇（蛙の一種）。
So the woman rose up, and went away into the forest weeping bitterly, and when the Star-Child saw that she had gone, he was glad, and ran back to his playmates that he might play with them.
But when they beheld him coming, they mocked him and said, 'Why, thou art as foul as the toad, and as loathsome as the adder. Get thee hence, for we will not suffer thee to play with us,' and they drave him out of the garden.
beheld：見た。loathsome：酷く嫌な。drave him out of：彼を～から追い出した（draveはdriveの古い表現、過去形）。
And the Star-Child frowned and said to himself, 'What is this that they say to me? I will go to the well of water and look into it, and it shall tell me of my beauty.'
So he went to the well of water and looked into it, and lo! his face was as the face of a toad, and his body was sealed like an adder. And he flung himself down on the grass and wept, and said to himself, 'Surely this has come upon me by reason of my sin. For I have denied my mother, and driven her away, and been proud, and cruel to her. Wherefore I will go and seek her through the whole world, nor will I rest till I have found her.'
sealed：封印された。flung himself down：（彼が）倒れ込んだ（身を投げ出した）。has come upon：～を不意に襲った。sin：罪。wherefore：その故に（古い表現）。
And there came to him the little daughter of the Woodcutter, and she put her hand upon his shoulder and said, 'What doth it matter if thou hast lost thy comeliness? Stay with us, and I will not mock at thee.'
comeliness：見目好さ。
And he said to her, 'Nay, but I have been cruel to my mother, and as a punishment has this evil been sent to me. Wherefore I must go hence, and wander through the world till I find her, and she give me her forgiveness.'
evil：不幸。forgiveness：許し。
So he ran away into the forest and called out to his mother to come to him, but there was no answer. All day long he called to her, and, when the sun set he lay down to sleep on a bed of leaves, and the birds and the animals fled from him, for they remembered his cruelty, and he was alone save for the toad that watched him, and the slow adder that crawled past.
fled：逃げた。cruelty：酷薄さ。
And in the morning he rose up, and plucked some bitter berries from the trees and ate them, and took his way through the great wood, weeping sorely. And of everything that he met he made inquiry if perchance they had seen his mother.
plucked：引き抜いた。sorely：痛ましく。made inquiry：尋ねた。perchance：もしかして（古い表現）。
He said to the Mole, 'Thou canst go beneath the earth. Tell me, is my mother there?'
canst：できる（canの古い表現、二人称単数現在形）。
And the Mole answered, 'Thou hast blinded mine eyes. How should I know?'
mine：私の（人称代名詞の古い表現、一人称単数の所有格／母音かhで始まる言葉の前に置かれる）。
He said to the Linnet, 'Thou canst fly over the tops of the tall trees, and canst see the whole world. Tell me, canst thou see my mother?'
And the Linnet answered, 'Thou hast clipt my wings for thy pleasure. How should I fly?'
hast clipt：切った（cliptはclipの古い表現、過去形／過去分詞）。
And to the little Squirrel who lived in the fir-tree, and was lonely, he said, 'Where is my mother?'
lonely：孤独な。
And the Squirrel answered, 'Thou hast slain mine. Dost thou seek to slay thine also?'
slay：屠る。
And the Star-Child wept and bowed his head, and prayed forgiveness of God's things, and went on through the forest, seeking for the beggar-woman. And on the third day he came to the other side of the forest and went down into the plain.
God's things：神の物（神の崇高な特性、または神に造られた物）。
And when he passed through the villages the children mocked him, and threw stones at him, and the carlots would not suffer him even to sleep in the byres lest he might bring mildew on the stored corn, so foul was he to look at, and their hired men drave him away, and there was none who had pity on him. Nor could he hear anywhere of the beggar-woman who was his mother, though for the space of three years he wandered over the world, and often seemed to see her on the road in front of him, and would call to her, and run after her till the sharp flints made his feet to bleed. But overtake her he could not, and those who dwelt by the way did ever deny that they had seen her, or any like to her, and they made sport of his sorrow.
carlots：百姓（古い表現）。byres：牛舎（イギリス英語）。lest：～しないように。mildew：白黴。drave him away：彼を追い払った（draveはdriveの古い表現、過去形）。flints：燧石（石の一種）。overtake：追い付く。made sport of：～を揶揄った。
For the space of three years he wandered over the world, and in the world there was neither love nor loving-kindness nor charity for him, but it was even such a world as he had made for himself in the days of his great pride.
loving-kindness：思い遣り（愛のある優しさ）。charity：慈しみ。
And one evening he came to the gate of a strong-walled city that stood by a river, and, weary and footsore though he was, he made to enter in. But the soldiers who stood on guard dropped their halberts across the entrance, and said roughly to him, 'What is thy business in the city?'
strong-walled city：強固な城壁の町。footsore：足を痛めた。made to enter in：中に入ることにした。on guard：守衛で。halberts：矛槍。roughly：無造作に。business：用事。
'I am seeking for my mother,' he answered, 'and I pray ye to suffer me to pass, for it may be that she is in this city.'
ye：汝らを（人称代名詞の古い表現、二人称複数の目的格）。suffer me to pass：私が通るのを許す（sufferを許すとするのは古い表現）。
But they mocked at him, and one of them wagged a black beard, and set down his shield and cried, 'Of a truth, thy mother will not be merry when she sees thee, for thou art more ill-favoured than the toad of the marsh, or the adder that crawls in the fen. Get thee gone. Get thee gone. Thy mother dwells not in this city.'
wagged：振った。shield：盾。merry：嬉しい。marsh：沼地。fen：湿地。
And another, who held a yellow banner in his hand, said to him, 'Who is thy mother, and wherefore art thou seeking for her?'
banner：幟。
And he answered, 'My mother is a beggar even as I am, and I have treated her evilly, and I pray ye to suffer me to pass that she may give me her forgiveness, if it be that she tarrieth in this city.' But they would not, and pricked him with their spears.
evilly：邪険に。if it be that：もしも～ならば。tarrieth：滞在する（tarryの古い表現、三人称単数現在形）。pricked：突いた。spears：槍。
And, as he turned away weeping, one whose armour was inlaid with gilt flowers, and on whose helmet couched a lion that had wings, came up and made inquiry of the soldiers who it was who had sought entrance. And they said to him, 'It is a beggar and the child of a beggar, and we have driven him away.'
turned away：顔を背けた。armour：鎧。inlaid：象眼された。gilt：金箔。helmet：兜。couched：横たわった。sought entrance：入ることを求めた。have driven him away：彼を追い払った。
'Nay,' he cried, laughing, 'but we will sell the foul thing for a slave, and his price shall be the price of a bowl of sweet wine.'
foul thing：汚い子。slave：奴隷。sweet wine：スイート（甘口）ワイン。
And an old and evil-visaged man who was passing by called out, and said, 'I will buy him for that price,' and, when he had paid the price, he took the Star-Child by the hand and led him into the city.
evil-visaged：悪どい顔の。passing by：通りかかる。
And after that they had gone through many streets they came to a little door that was set in a wall that was covered with a pomegranate tree. And the old man touched the door with a ring of graved jasper and it opened, and they went down five steps of brass into a garden filled with black poppies and green jars of burnt clay. And the old man took then from his turban a scarf of figured silk, and bound with it the eyes of the Star-Child, and drave him in front of him. And when the scarf was taken off his eyes, the Star-Child found himself in a dungeon, that was lit by a lantern of horn.
pomegranate：柘榴。graved jasper：彫刻された（gravedを彫刻されたとするのは古い表現）碧玉（石の一種）。brass：真鍮。poppies：雛罌粟（花の一種）。jars：壷。burnt clay：土焼き。turban：ターバン（頭に巻き付ける布）。scarf：スカーフ。figured silk：綾絹。bound：縛った。dungeon：地下牢。lantern of horn：角製の手提げランプ。
And the old man set before him some mouldy bread on a trencher and said, 'Eat,' and some brackish water in a cup and said, 'Drink,' and when he had eaten and drunk, the old man went out, locking the door behind him and fastening it with an iron chain.
mouldy：黴の生えた。trencher：木皿（古い表現）。brackish：塩辛い。
And on the morrow the old man, who was indeed the subtlest of the magicians of Libya and had learned his art from one who dwelt in the tombs of the Nile, came in to him and frowned at him, and said, 'In a wood that is nigh to the gate of this city of Giaours there are three pieces of gold. One is of white gold, and another is of yellow gold, and the gold of the third one is red. To-day thou shalt bring me the piece of white gold, and if thou bringest it not back, I will beat thee with a hundred stripes. Get thee away quickly, and at sunset I will be waiting for thee at the door of the garden. See that thou bringest the white gold, or it shall go ill with thee, for thou art my slave, and I have bought thee for the price of a bowl of sweet wine.' And he bound the eyes of the Star-Child with the scarf of figured silk, and led him through the house, and through the garden of poppies, and up the five steps of brass. And having opened the little door with his ring he set him in the street.
the subtlest of：最も巧妙な～。Libya：リビア（アフリカの国）。art：術。the Nile：ナイル川（アフリカの川）。nigh：近い（古い表現）。giaours：邪宗徒。shalt：～しなくてはならない（shallの古い表現、二人称単数現在形）。bringest：持って来る（bringの古い表現、二人称単数現在形）。stripes：鞭打ち。see that：～と取り計らえ。go ill with：～に都合が悪くなる。
And the Star-Child went out of the gate of the city, and came to the wood of which the Magician had spoken to him.
Now this wood was very fair to look at from without, and seemed full of singing birds and of sweet-scented flowers, and the Star- Child entered it gladly. Yet did its beauty profit him little, for wherever he went harsh briars and thorns shot up from the ground and encompassed him, and evil nettles stung him, and the thistle pierced him with her daggers, so that he was in sore distress. Nor could he anywhere find the piece of white gold of which the Magician had spoken, though he sought for it from morn to noon, and from noon to sunset. And at sunset he set his face towards home, weeping bitterly, for he knew what fate was in store for him.
from without：外側から。sweet-scented：良い香の。harsh briars and thorns：厳しい茨の刺。shot up：（刺が）出た。encompassed：取り囲んだ。evil nettles：酷い刺草。thistle：薊。daggers：短剣。in sore distress：痛ましい災難に。morn：朝。fate：（悪い）運命。in store：待ち構える。
But when he had reached the outskirts of the wood, he heard from a thicket a cry as of some one in pain. And forgetting his own sorrow he ran back to the place, and saw there a little Hare caught in a trap that some hunter had set for it.
thicket：藪。hare：野兎。
And the Star-Child had pity on it, and released it, and said to it, 'I am myself but a slave, yet may I give thee thy freedom.'
And the Hare answered him, and said: 'Surely thou hast given me freedom, and what shall I give thee in return?'
in return：お返しに。
And the Star-Child said to it, 'I am seeking for a piece of white gold, nor can I anywhere find it, and if I bring it not to my master he will beat me.'
master：主人。
'Come thou with me,' said the Hare, 'and I will lead thee to it, for I know where it is hidden, and for what purpose.'
(know) for what purpose：何の目的か（分かる）。
So the Star-Child went with the Hare, and lo! in the cleft of a great oak-tree he saw the piece of white gold that he was seeking. And he was filled with joy, and seized it, and said to the Hare, 'The service that I did to thee thou hast rendered back again many times over, and the kindness that I showed thee thou hast repaid a hundred-fold.'
cleft：裂け目。oak-tree：楢の木。service：奉仕。hast rendered back：返した。many times over：何倍も。hast repaid：報いた。a hundred-fold：百重。
'Nay,' answered the Hare, 'but as thou dealt with me, so I did deal with thee,' and it ran away swiftly, and the Star-Child went towards the city.
Now at the gate of the city there was seated one who was a leper. Over his face hung a cowl of grey linen, and through the eyelets his eyes gleamed like red coals. And when he saw the Star-Child coming, he struck upon a wooden bowl, and clattered his bell, and called out to him, and said, 'Give me a piece of money, or I must die of hunger. For they have thrust me out of the city, and there is no one who has pity on me.'
seated：腰を下ろした。cowl：カウル（頭巾）。linen：亜麻。eyelets：小穴。gleamed：（目が）輝いた。coals：石炭。struck upon：思い浮かんだ。clattered：チャリチャリ鳴らした。have thrust me out of：私を～から突き放した。
'Alas!' cried the Star-Child, 'I have but one piece of money in my wallet, and if I bring it not to my master he will beat me, for I am his slave.'
But the leper entreated him, and prayed of him, till the Star-Child had pity, and gave him the piece of white gold.
entreated：懇願した。
And when he came to the Magician's house, the Magician opened to him, and brought him in, and said to him, 'Hast thou the piece of white gold?' And the Star-Child answered, 'I have it not.' So the Magician fell upon him, and beat him, and set before him an empty trencher, and said, 'Eat,' and an empty cup, and said, 'Drink,' and flung him again into the dungeon.
fell upon：向かって行った。flung him again into：彼を～へ再び投げ込んだ。
And on the morrow the Magician came to him, and said, 'If to-day thou bringest me not the piece of yellow gold, I will surely keep thee as my slave, and give thee three hundred stripes.'
to-day：今日。keep thee as：汝を～のままにする。
So the Star-Child went to the wood, and all day long he searched for the piece of yellow gold, but nowhere could he find it. And at sunset he sat him down and began to weep, and as he was weeping there came to him the little Hare that he had rescued from the trap,
weep：泣く。
And the Hare said to him, 'Why art thou weeping? And what dost thou seek in the wood?'
And the Star-Child answered, 'I am seeking for a piece of yellow gold that is hidden here, and if I find it not my master will beat me, and keep me as a slave.'
'Follow me,' cried the Hare, and it ran through the wood till it came to a pool of water. And at the bottom of the pool the piece of yellow gold was lying.
'How shall I thank thee?' said the Star-Child, 'for lo! this is the second time that you have succoured me.'
have succoured：援助した。
'Nay, but thou hadst pity on me first,' said the Hare, and it ran away swiftly.
And the Star-Child took the piece of yellow gold, and put it in his wallet, and hurried to the city. But the leper saw him coming, and ran to meet him, and knelt down and cried, 'Give me a piece of money or I shall die of hunger.'
And the Star-Child said to him, 'I have in my wallet but one piece of yellow gold, and if I bring it not to my master he will beat me and keep me as his slave.'
But the leper entreated him sore, so that the Star-Child had pity on him, and gave him the piece of yellow gold.
sore：差し迫った。
And when he came to the Magician's house, the Magician opened to him, and brought him in, and said to him, 'Hast thou the piece of yellow gold?' And the Star-Child said to him, 'I have it not.' So the Magician fell upon him, and beat him, and loaded him with chains, and cast him again into the dungeon.
loaded him with chains：彼に足枷を負わせた。
And on the morrow the Magician came to him, and said, 'If to-day thou bringest me the piece of red gold I will set thee free, but if thou bringest it not I will surely slay thee.'
So the Star-Child went to the wood, and all day long he searched for the piece of red gold, but nowhere could he find it. And at evening he sat him down and wept, and as he was weeping there came to him the little Hare.
And the Hare said to him, 'The piece of red gold that thou seekest is in the cavern that is behind thee. Therefore weep no more but be glad.'
seekest：探す（seekの古い表現、二人称単数現在形）。cavern：洞窟。
'How shall I reward thee?' cried the Star-Child, 'for lo! this is the third time thou hast succoured me.'
reward：謝礼する。
'Nay, but thou hadst pity on me first,' said the Hare, and it ran away swiftly.
And the Star-Child entered the cavern, and in its farthest corner he found the piece of red gold. So he put it in his wallet, and hurried to the city. And the leper seeing him coming, stood in the centre of the road, and cried out, and said to him, 'Give me the piece of red money, or I must die,' and the Star-Child had pity on him again, and gave him the piece of red gold, saying, 'Thy need is greater than mine.' Yet was his heart heavy, for he knew what evil fate awaited him.
farthest：最も遠い。in the centre of the road：道の真ん中に（centreの綴りは主にイギリス）。evil fate：不吉な運命。
But lo! as he passed through the gate of the city, the guards bowed down and made obeisance to him, saying, 'How beautiful is our lord!' and a crowd of citizens followed him, and cried out, 'Surely there is none so beautiful in the whole world!' so that the Star- Child wept, and said to himself, 'They are mocking me, and making light of my misery.' And so large was the concourse of the people, that he lost the threads of his way, and found himself at last in a great square, in which there was a palace of a King.
guards：守衛。made obeisance to：～に敬意を表した。lord：君主。making light of：～を軽視した。concourse：集まり。lost the threads of his way：（彼が）道筋が分からなくなった。square：広場。palace：宮殿。
And the gate of the palace opened, and the priests and the high officers of the city ran forth to meet him, and they abased themselves before him, and said, 'Thou art our lord for whom we have been waiting, and the son of our King.'
high officers：高官。ran forth：走り出た。abased themselves：（彼らが）謙って。
And the Star-Child answered them and said, 'I am no king's son, but the child of a poor beggar-woman. And how say ye that I am beautiful, for I know that I am evil to look at?'
ye：汝らは（人称代名詞の古い表現、二人称複数の主格）。
Then he, whose armour was inlaid with gilt flowers, and on whose helmet crouched a lion that had wings, held up a shield, and cried, 'How saith my lord that he is not beautiful?'
saith：いう（sayの古い表現、三人称単数現在形）。
And the Star-Child looked, and lo! his face was even as it had been, and his comeliness had come back to him, and he saw that in his eyes which he had not seen there before.
And the priests and the high officers knelt down and said to him, 'It was prophesied of old that on this day should come he who was to rule over us. Therefore, let our lord take this crown and this sceptre, and be in his justice and mercy our King over us.'
prophesied：予言された。of old：古くから。rule：統治する。crown：王冠。sceptre：王笏（sceptreの綴りは主にイギリス）。justice：公平。
But he said to them, 'I am not worthy, for I have denied the mother who bare me, nor may I rest till I have found her, and known her forgiveness. Therefore, let me go, for I must wander again over the world, and may not tarry here, though ye bring me the crown and the sceptre.' And as he spake he turned his face from them towards the street that led to the gate of the city, and lo! amongst the crowd that pressed round the soldiers, he saw the beggar-woman who was his mother, and at her side stood the leper, who had sat by the road.
have denied：否認した。tarry：滞在する。spake：いった（speakの古い表現、過去形）。amongst：～の中に。pressed round：押し寄せた。by the road：道脇に。
And a cry of joy broke from his lips, and he ran over, and kneeling down he kissed the wounds on his mother's feet, and wet them with his tears. He bowed his head in the dust, and sobbing, as one whose heart might break, he said to her: 'Mother, I denied thee in the hour of my pride. Accept me in the hour of my humility. Mother, I gave thee hatred. Do thou give me love. Mother, I rejected thee. Receive thy child now.' But the beggar-woman answered him not a word.
broke from：～から破り出た。in the dust：地面に（埃塗れに）。sobbing：咽び泣く。as one whose heart might break：傷心した者のように。in the hour of：～の際に。humility：謙虚。hatred：憎しみ。rejected：拒絶した。
And he reached out his hands, and clasped the white feet of the leper, and said to him: 'Thrice did I give thee of my mercy. Bid my mother speak to me once.' But the leper answered him not a word.
clasped：握り締めた。
And he sobbed again and said: 'Mother, my suffering is greater than I can bear. Give me thy forgiveness, and let me go back to the forest.' And the beggar-woman put her hand on his head, and said to him, 'Rise,' and the leper put his hand on his head, and said to him, 'Rise,' also.
sobbed：咽び泣いた。suffering：苦しみ。
And he rose up from his feet, and looked at them, and lo! they were a King and a Queen.
And the Queen said to him, 'This is thy father whom thou hast succoured.'
And the King said, 'This is thy mother whose feet thou hast washed with thy tears.' And they fell on his neck and kissed him, and brought him into the palace and clothed him in fair raiment, and set the crown upon his head, and the sceptre in his hand, and over the city that stood by the river he ruled, and was its lord. Much justice and mercy did he show to all, and the evil Magician he banished, and to the Woodcutter and his wife he sent many rich gifts, and to their children he gave high honour. Nor would he suffer any to be cruel to bird or beast, but taught love and loving-kindness and charity, and to the poor he gave bread, and to the naked he gave raiment, and there was peace and plenty in the land.
fell on his neck：彼に飛び付いた。raiment：衣服（古い表現）。banished：追放した。rich gifts：高価な贈り物 。high honours：大きな名誉（honourの綴りは主にイギリス）。peace and plenty：平和と充足。
Yet ruled he not long, so great had been his suffering, and so bitter the fire of his testing, for after the space of three years he died. And he who came after him ruled evilly.
the fire of his testing：彼の試練の火（情熱）。
原文の出典：The Star-Child
単語や熟語の意味は文意に相応しいものを一つだけ選んだ。作品の趣向に合うかどうか、つまり訳語として充分かどうかはさほど考慮しない。英語で理解するための最低限の意味が分かるように努めた。
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