One time a knook became tired of his beautiful life and longed for something new to do. The knooks have more wonderful powers than any other immortal folk—except, perhaps, the fairies and ryls. So one would suppose that a knook who might gain anything he desired by a simple wish could not be otherwise than happy and contented. But such was not the case with Popopo, the knook we are speaking of. He had lived thousands of years, and had enjoyed all the wonders he could think of. Yet life had become as tedious to him now as it might be to one who was unable to gratify a single wish.
one time：以前。knook：ヌーク（幻獣の一種）。immortal folk：死なない者たち。ryls：リル（幻獣の一種）。otherwise than：～以外に。Popopo：ポポポ（呼び名）。wonders：素晴らしいもの。tedious：退屈な。gratify：（欲望を）満たす。
Finally, by chance, Popopo thought of the earth people who dwell in cities, and so he resolved to visit them and see how they lived. This would surely be fine amusement, and serve to pass away many wearisome hours.
by chance：偶然に。earth people：地球人。dwell：暮らす。resolved：決めた。amusement：娯楽。serve to：～するのに役立つ。pass away：過ごす。wearisome：飽き飽きさせる。
Therefore one morning, after a breakfast so dainty that you could scarcely imagine it, Popopo set out for the earth and at once was in the midst of a big city.
dainty：美味しい。set out for：出向いた。
His own dwelling was so quiet and peaceful that the roaring noise of the town startled him. His nerves were so shocked that before he had looked around three minutes he decided to give up the adventure, and instantly returned home.
roaring noise：喧騒。startled：びっくりさせる。nerves：神経。give up：断念する。adventure：冒険。instantly：瞬時に。
This satisfied for a time his desire to visit the earth cities, but soon the monotony of his existence again made him restless and gave him another thought. At night the people slept and the cities would be quiet. He would visit them at night.
for a time：一時。monotony of his existence：彼の生活の単調さ。restless：落ち着かない。
So at the proper time Popopo transported himself in a jiffy to a great city, where he began wandering about the streets. Everyone was in bed. No wagons rattled along the pavements; no throngs of busy men shouted and halloaed. Even the policemen slumbered slyly and there happened to be no prowling thieves abroad.
transported himself：（彼が）移動した。in a jiffy：直ぐに。wandering about：徘徊する。wagons：荷馬車。rattled along pavements：舗道をガタガタ通った。throngs：集まり。halloaed：（おーいと）呼んだ。slumbered：微睡んだ。slyly：狡賢く。happened to：偶々～した。prowling：彷徨く。abroad：あちこち。
His nerves being soothed by the stillness, Popopo began to enjoy himself. He entered many of the houses and examined their rooms with much curiosity. Locks and bolts made no difference to a knook, and he saw as well in darkness as in daylight.
soothed：宥められる。stillness：静寂。with much curiosity：好奇心に満ちて。locks and bolts：錠や掛け金。made no difference to：～には気にならなかった。daylight：日中。
After a time he strolled into the business portion of the city. Stores are unknown among the immortals, who have no need of money or of barter and exchange; so Popopo was greatly interested by the novel sight of so many collections of goods and merchandise.
after a time：暫くして。strolled：ぶら付いた。business portion：商売の部分（businessを商売とするのはアメリカ英語）。the immortals：死なない者たち。barter and exchange：交換や取引。novel sight：新奇な光景。collections：収集。goods and merchandise：品物や商品。
During his wanderings he entered a millinery shop, and was surprised to see within a large glass case a great number of women's hats, each bearing in one position or another a stuffed bird. Indeed, some of the most elaborate hats had two or three birds upon them.
wanderings：徘徊。millinery shop：婦人用帽子店。bearing：付ける。stuffed bird：鳥の剥製。elaborate：手の込んだ。
Now knooks are the especial guardians of birds, and love them dearly. To see so many of his little friends shut up in a glass case annoyed and grieved Popopo, who had no idea they had purposely been placed upon the hats by the milliner. So he slid back one of the doors of the case, gave the little chirruping whistle of the knooks that all birds know well, and called:
especial guardians：格別の守護者。annoyed and grieved：悩ませて深く悲しませた。purposely：わざわざ（意図的に）。milliner：婦人用帽子職人。slid back：するりと戻した（引き開けた）。gave the little chirruping whistle：小さくチュッチュッと口笛を吹いた。
"Come, friends; the door is open—fly out!"
Popopo did not know the birds were stuffed; but, stuffed or not, every bird is bound to obey a knook's whistle and a knook's call. So they left the hats, flew out of the case and began fluttering about the room.
stuffed：剥製である。bound to：～すると決まっている。obey：従う。fluttering about：羽搏き回った。
"Poor dears!" said the kind-hearted knook, "you long to be in the fields and forests again."
poor dears：可哀想に（哀れな者たちよ）。kind-hearted：優しい心の。
Then he opened the outer door for them and cried: "Off with you! Fly away, my beauties, and be happy again."
off with you：出て行け。fly away：飛び去れ。my beauties：美しいから（美しい者たちよ）。
The astonished birds at once obeyed, and when they had soared away into the night air the knook closed the door and continued his wandering through the streets.
astonished：仰天した。had soared away：舞い去った。night air：夜気。
By dawn he saw many interesting sights, but day broke before he had finished the city, and he resolved to come the next evening a few hours earlier.
by dawn：明け方まで。day broke：夜が明けた。
As soon as it was dark the following day he came again to the city and on passing the millinery shop noticed a light within. Entering he found two women, one of whom leaned her head upon the table and sobbed bitterly, while the other strove to comfort her.
sobbed：泣きじゃくった。strove to：～に励んだ。comfort：慰める。
Of course Popopo was invisible to mortal eyes, so he stood by and listened to their conversation.
mortal：人（神と比べて死ぬ者）の。
"Cheer up, sister," said one. "Even though your pretty birds have all been stolen the hats themselves remain."
cheer up：元気を出して。
"Alas!" cried the other, who was the milliner, "no one will buy my hats partly trimmed, for the fashion is to wear birds upon them. And if I cannot sell my goods I shall be utterly ruined."
alas：嗚呼。trimmed：飾られた。fashion：流行（ファッション）。utterly：完全に。ruined：破産する。
Then she renewed her sobbing and the knook stole away, feeling a little ashamed to realized that in his love for the birds he had unconsciously wronged one of the earth people and made her unhappy.
renewed：繰り返した。sobbing：泣きじゃくり。stole away：こっそり抜け出した。unconsciously：無意識に。wronged：悪いことをした。
This thought brought him back to the millinery shop later in the night, when the two women had gone home. He wanted, in some way, to replace the birds upon the hats, that the poor woman might be happy again. So he searched until he came upon a nearby cellar full of little gray mice, who lived quite undisturbed and gained a livelihood by gnawing through the walls into neighboring houses and stealing food from the pantries.
in some way：どうにか（何かの方法で）。replace：取り換える。came upon：見付けた。nearby：近所の 。cellar：地下室。undisturbed：邪魔されない。gained a livelihood：生計を立てた。gnawing through：齧り通す。pantries：食料貯蔵室。
"Here are just the creatures," thought Popopo, "to place upon the woman's hats. Their fur is almost as soft as the plumage of the birds, and it strikes me the mice are remarkably pretty and graceful animals. Moreover, they now pass their lives in stealing, and were they obliged to remain always upon women's hats their morals would be much improved."
fur：毛皮。plumage：羽毛。it strikes me (that)：私は～と思い浮かぶ。remarkably：際立って。pretty and graceful：綺麗で優美な。pass their lives in：（彼らが）～の生活を送る。obliged to：～せざるを得ない。remain：留まる。
So he exercised a charm that drew all the mice from the cellar and placed them upon the hats in the glass case, where they occupied the places the birds had vacated and looked very becoming—at least, in the eyes of the unworldly knook. To prevent their running about and leaving the hats Popopo rendered them motionless, and then he was so pleased with his work that he decided to remain in the shop and witness the delight of the milliner when she saw how daintily her hats were now trimmed.
exercised a charm：魔力を振るった。placed them upon：（彼らが）～に身を置いた。occupied the places：場所を占めた。had vacated：空けた。becoming：相応しい。unworldly：この世のものではない。rendered them motionless：彼らを動かなくした。witness：見る（目撃する）。daintily：上品に。
She came in the early morning, accompanied by her sister, and her face wore a sad and resigned expression. After sweeping and dusting the shop and drawing the blinds she opened the glass case and took out a hat.
accompanied：付き添われて。wore：（表情を）示した。sad and resigned expression：悲しい諦めの表情。 sweeping and dusting：掃いて埃を払った。blinds：日除け（ブラインド）。
But when she saw a tiny gray mouse nestling among the ribbons and laces she gave a loud shriek, and, dropping the hat, sprang with one bound to the top of the table. The sister, knowing the shriek to be one of fear, leaped upon a chair and exclaimed:
nestling：気持ち良く横たわる。gave a loud shriek：大きな悲鳴を上げた。leaped upon：～に跳んだ。exclaimed：声を上げた。
"What is it? Oh! what is it?"
"A mouse!" gasped the milliner, trembling with terror.
gasped：喘いだ。trembling with terror：怯えて震えながら。
Popopo, seeing this commotion, now realized that mice are especially disagreeable to human beings, and that he had made a grave mistake in placing them upon the hats; so he gave a low whistle of command that was heard only by the mice.
commotion：騒動。disagreeable：嫌な。had made a grave mistake in：～の重大な過ちを犯した 。command：号令。
Instantly they all jumped from the hats, dashed out the open door of the glass case and scampered away to their cellar. But this action so frightened the milliner and her sister that after giving several loud screams they fell upon their backs on the floor and fainted away.
dashed：急行した。scampered away：走り去った。frightened：恐がらせた。giving several loud screams：大きな叫び声を、数回、上げる 。fainted away：気を失った。
Popopo was a kind-hearted knook, but on witnessing all this misery, caused by his own ignorance of the ways of humans, he straightway wished himself at home, and so left the poor women to recover as best they could.
on witnessing：見届ける（目撃する）と。misery：悲惨（な状態）。ignorance of the ways of humans：人間の振る舞いへの無知。straightway：直ちに。and so：そのため。as best they could：彼女たちができるかぎり。
Yet he could not escape a sad feeling of responsibility, and after thinking upon the matter he decided that since he had caused the milliner's unhappiness by freeing the birds, he could set the matter right by restoring them to the glass case. He loved the birds, and disliked to condemn them to slavery again; but that seemed the only way to end the trouble.
sad feeling of responsibility：悲しい責任感。freeing：解き放つこと。set the matter right：後始末する。restoring：取り返すこと。condemn：追い遣る（運命付ける）。slavery：奴隷の身分。
So he set off to find the birds. They had flown a long distance, but it was nothing to Popopo to reach them in a second, and he discovered them sitting upon the branches of a big chestnut tree and singing gayly.
set off：出発した。it was nothing to Popopo to：ポポポに～は何でもなかった。chestnut：栗。gayly：陽気に。
When they saw the knook the birds cried:
"Thank you, Popopo. Thank you for setting us free."
setting us free：私たちを自由にすること。
"Do not thank me," returned the knook, "for I have come to send you back to the millinery shop."
"Why?" demanded a blue jay, angrily, while the others stopped their songs.
blue jay：青懸巣（鳥の一種）。
"Because I find the woman considers you her property, and your loss has caused her much unhappiness," answered Popopo.
property：財産。
"But remember how unhappy we were in her glass case," said a robin redbreast, gravely. "And as for being her property, you are a knook, and the natural guardian of all birds; so you know that Nature created us free. To be sure, wicked men shot and stuffed us, and sold us to the milliner; but the idea of our being her property is nonsense!"
robin redbreast：駒鶇（鳥の一種、アメリカ英語）。gravely：真面目に。as for：～に関して。Nature：自然。wicked men：悪どい人たち。shot and stuffed：撃ち殺して剥製にする。nonsense：無意味な。
Popopo was puzzled.
puzzled：戸惑った。
"If I leave you free," he said, "wicked men will shoot you again, and you will be no better off than before."
no better off：より良くない。
"Pooh!" exclaimed the blue jay, "we cannot be shot now, for we are stuffed. Indeed, two men fired several shots at us this morning, but the bullets only ruffled our feathers and buried themselves in our stuffing. We do not fear men now."
pooh：ふーん。fired several shots at：～に、数発、撃った。bullets：弾丸。ruffled：くしゃくしゃにした。stuffing：詰め物。
"Listen!" said Popopo, sternly, for he felt the birds were getting the best of the argument; "the poor milliner's business will be ruined if I do not return you to her shop. It seems you are necessary to trim the hats properly. It is the fashion for women to wear birds upon their headgear. So the poor milliner's wares, although beautified by lace and ribbons, are worthless unless you are perched upon them."
sternly：断固として。getting the best of the argument：議論に勝つ。headgear：被り物。wares：製品。beautified：美しくされる。perched：（高いか狭いなどの不安定な場所に）置かれる。
"Fashions," said a black bird, solemnly, "are made by men. What law is there, among birds or knooks, that requires us to be the slaves of fashion?"
black bird：椋鳥擬（鳥の一種、アメリカ英語）。solemnly：重々しく。requires：（法律が）命じる。
"What have we to do with fashions, anyway?" screamed a linnet. "If it were the fashion to wear knooks perched upon women's hats would you be contented to stay there? Answer me, Popopo!"
(have) to do with：～と関係がある。anyway：とにかく。screamed：叫んだ。linnet：胸赤鶸（鳥の一種）。contented to：～に満足する。
But Popopo was in despair. He could not wrong the birds by sending them back to the milliner, nor did he wish the milliner to suffer by their loss. So he went home to think what could be done.
in despair：絶望する。wrong：悪いことをする。
After much meditation he decided to consult the king of the knooks, and going at once to his majesty he told him the whole story.
meditation：熟慮。consult：相談する。his majesty：（王）陛下。
The king frowned.
frowned：眉を顰めた。
"This should teach you the folly of interfering with earth people," he said. "But since you have caused all this trouble, it is your duty to remedy it. Our birds cannot be enslaved, that is certain; therefore you must have the fashions changed, so it will no longer be stylish for women to wear birds upon their hats."
folly：愚かしさ。interfering with：～への干渉。duty：義務。remedy：救済する。enslaved：奴隷にされる。stylish：（今風に）お洒落な。
"How shall I do that?" asked Popopo.
"Easily enough. Fashions often change among the earth people, who tire quickly of any one thing. When they read in their newspapers and magazines that the style is so-and-so, they never question the matter, but at once obey the mandate of fashion. So you must visit the newspapers and magazines and enchant the types."
tire (of)：～に飽きる。so-and-so：何々。question the matter：事柄を疑う。mandate：要求（命令）。visit the newspapers and magazines：新聞社や雑誌社を訪れる。enchant：魔法をかける。types：活字。
"Enchant the types!" echoed Popopo, in wonder.
echoed：鸚鵡返しに（そっくり）繰り返した。in wonder：驚いて。
"Just so. Make them read that it is no longer the fashion to wear birds upon hats. That will afford relief to your poor milliner and at the same time set free thousands of our darling birds who have been so cruelly used."
just so：その通り。afford relief to：～に安堵を与える。darling：最愛の。cruelly：惨く。
Popopo thanked the wise king and followed his advice.
The office of every newspaper and magazine in the city was visited by the knook, and then he went to other cities, until there was not a publication in the land that had not a "new fashion note" in its pages. Sometimes Popopo enchanted the types, so that whoever read the print would see only what the knook wished them to. Sometimes he called upon the busy editors and befuddled their brains until they wrote exactly what he wanted them to. Mortals seldom know how greatly they are influenced by fairies, knooks and ryls, who often put thoughts into their heads that only the wise little immortals could have conceived.
publication：出版物。new fashion note：新しい流行の特徴。print：印刷された字体（活字）。called upon：～を訪ねた。befuddled：惑わせた。put thoughts into their heads：考えを彼ら（人々）に思い付かせる。only the wise little immortals：賢くて小さな死なない者たちだけ。have conceived：（考えを）抱いた。
The following morning when the poor milliner looked over her newspaper she was overjoyed to read that "no woman could now wear a bird upon her hat and be in style, for the newest fashion required only ribbons and laces."
looked over：目を通した。overjoyed：大喜びする。in style：（流行りの）お洒落で。
Popopo after this found much enjoyment in visiting every millinery shop he could find and giving new life to the stuffed birds which were carelessly tossed aside as useless. And they flew to the fields and forests with songs of thanks to the good knook who had rescued them.
carelessly：ぞんざいに。tossed aside：ポイと投げ捨てられる。had rescued：救出した。
Sometimes a hunter fires his gun at a bird and then wonders why he did not hit it. But, having read this story, you will understand that the bird must have been a stuffed one from some millinery shop, which cannot, of course, be killed by a gun.
fires his gun at：（彼が）～に銃を撃つ。wonders why：なぜ～かと思う。
原文の出典：THE ENCHANTED TYPES=/p>
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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