NOW this is the next tale, and it tells how the Camel got his big hump.
tale:話。hump:瘤。
In the beginning of years, when the world was so new and all, and the Animals were just beginning to work for Man, there was a Camel, and he lived in the middle of a Howling Desert because he did not want to work; and besides, he was a Howler himself. So he ate sticks and thorns and tamarisks and milkweed and prickles, most 'scruciating idle; and when anybody spoke to him he said 'Humph!' Just 'Humph!' and no more.
years:月日。and all:丸ごと。howling desert:荒涼とした砂漠。howler:荒涼とした者(howling desertとかけ合わせた独自の意味と思われる)。sticks:枝。thorns:刺。tamarisks:ギョリュウ(木の一種)。milkweed:トウワタ(花の一種)。prickles:針(刺)。'scruciating:極度の(excruciatingの短縮形)。idle:怠けた。humph:ふん。
Presently the Horse came to him on Monday morning, with a saddle on his back and a bit in his mouth, and said, 'Camel, O Camel, come out and trot like the rest of us.
presently:間もなく。saddle:鞍。bit:轡。camel:駱駝(動物の一種)。trot:(速足で)駆けろ。
'Humph!' said the Camel; and the Horse went away and told the Man.
Presently the Dog came to him, with a stick in his mouth, and said, 'Camel, O Camel, come and fetch and carry like the rest of us.'
'Humph!' said the Camel; and the Dog went away and told the Man.
Presently the Ox came to him, with the yoke on his neck and said, 'Camel, O Camel, come and plough like the rest of us.'
ox:去勢牛。yoke:軛。plough:耕せ(ploughの綴りは主にイギリス)。
'Humph!' said the Camel; and the Ox went away and told the Man.
At the end of the day the Man called the Horse and the Dog and the Ox together, and said, 'Three, O Three, I'm very sorry for you (with the world so new-and-all); but that Humph-thing in the Desert can't work, or he would have been here by now, so I am going to leave him alone, and you must work double-time to make up for it.
make up for:〜を補う。
That made the Three very angry (with the world so new-and-all), and they held a palaver, and an indaba, and a punchayet, and a pow-wow on the edge of the Desert; and the Camel came chewing milkweed most 'scruciating idle, and laughed at them. Then he said 'Humph!' and went away again.
palaver:協議(古い表現)。indaba:インダバ(南アフリカのズールー族とコサ族のインドゥーナ/induna:指導者などによって開かれる重要な会議)。punchayet:パンチャイエット(インドや南パキスタンの村議会)。pow-wow:パウワウ(アメリカの原住民の踊りの集会や祭りや部族間の会議)。
Presently there came along the Djinn in charge of All Deserts, rolling in a cloud of dust (Djinns always travel that way because it is Magic), and he stopped to palaver and pow-pow with the Three.
Djinn:ジン(イスラム神話の精霊)。in charge of:受け持つ(預かる)。palaver:喋る(協議する)。pow-pow:話し合う(pow-wowの変形と思われる)。
'Djinn of All Deserts,' said the Horse, 'is it right for any one to be idle, with the world so new-and-all?'
'Certainly not,' said the Djinn. 'Well,' said the Horse, 'there's a thing in the middle of your Howling Desert (and he's a Howler himself) with a long neck and long legs, and he hasn't done a stroke of work since Monday morning. He won't trot.'
hasn't done a stroke of work:正面に働かなかった。
'Whew!' said the Djinn, whistling, 'that's my Camel, for all the gold in Arabia! What does he say about it?'
whew:ひゃー。whistling:口笛を吹く。all the gold in Arabia:アラビア(アジアの南西部)の金全て(あって欲しいもの/確かにもという意味合いか)。
'He says "Humph!"' said the Dog; 'and he won't fetch and carry.'
'Does he say anything else?'
'Only "Humph!"; and he won't plough,' said the Ox.
'Very good,' said the Djinn. I'll humph him if you will kindly wait a minute.'
humph:ふんという。
The Djinn rolled himself up in his dust-cloak, and took a bearing across the desert, and found the Camel most 'scruciatingly idle, looking at his own reflection in a pool of water.
took a bearing:方角を見た。reflection:(水などに映った)影(姿)。
'My long and bubbling friend,' said the Djinn, 'what's this I hear of your doing no work, with the world so new-and-all?'
long:(手脚が)長い。
'Humph!' said the Camel.
The Djinn sat down, with his chin in his hand, and began to think a Great Magic, while the Camel looked at his own reflection in the pool of water.
Illustration
This is the picture of the Djinn making the beginnings of the Magic that brought the Humph to the Camel. First he drew a line in the air with his finger, and it became solid; and then he made a cloud, and then he made an egg—you can see them both at the bottom of the picture—and then there was a magic pumpkin that turned into a big white flame.
making the beginnings of:〜の糸口を開く(始める)。solid:固い。pumpkin:カボチャ。
Then the Djinn took his magic fan and fanned that flame till the flame turned into a magic by itself. It was a good Magic and a very kind Magic really, though it had to give the Camel a Humph because the Camel was lazy. The Djinn in charge of All Deserts was one of the nicest of the Djinns, so he would never do anything really unkind.
fan:扇。fanned:扇いだ。lazy:怠け者の。
'You've given the Three extra work ever since Monday morning, all on account of your 'scruciating idleness,' said the Djinn; and he went on thinking Magics, with his chin in his hand.
ever since:〜からずっと。on account of:〜のために。idleness:怠け。went on thinking:考え続けた。
'Humph!' said the Camel.
'I shouldn't say that again if I were you,' said the Djinn; 'you might say it once too often. Bubbles, I want you to work.'
once too often:余りに度々。
And the Camel said 'Humph!' again; but no sooner had he said it than he saw his back, that he was so proud of, puffing up and puffing up into a great big lolloping humph.
puffing up:膨れ上がる。lolloping:だらりとする(古い表現)。
Illustration
Here is the picture of the Djinn in charge of All Deserts guiding the Magic with his magic fan. The Camel is eating a twig of acacia, and he has just finished saying "humph" once too often (the Djinn told him he would), and so the Humph is coming.
guiding:先導する。twig:小枝。acacia:アカシア(木の一種)。
The long towelly-thing growing out of the thing like an onion is the Magic, and you can see the Humph on its shoulder. The Humph fits on the flat part of the Camel's back. The Camel is too busy looking at his own beautiful self in the pool of water to know what is going to happen to him.
towelly-thing:タオルのようなもの。onion:タマネギ。fits:合う(適する)。
Underneath the truly picture is a picture of the World-so-new-and-all. There are two smoky volcanoes in it, some other mountains and some stones and a lake and a black island and a twisty river and a lot of other things, as well as a Noah's Ark. I couldn't draw all the deserts that the Djinn was in charge of, so I only drew one, but it is a most deserty desert.
volcanoes:火山。twisty:曲がりくねった。Noah's Ark:ノアの方舟(旧約聖書の『創世記』の物語に出て来る)。deserty:砂漠らしい。
'Do you see that?' said the Djinn. That's your very own humph that you've brought upon your very own self by not working. To-day is Thursday, and you've done no work since Monday, when the work began. Now you are going to work.'
(have) brought upon:〜に齎した。
'How can I,' said the Camel, 'with this humph on my back?'
'That's made a-purpose,' said the Djinn, 'all because you missed those three days. You will be able to work now for three days without eating, because you can live on your humph; and don't you ever say I never did anything for you. Come out of the Desert and go to the Three, and behave. Humph yourself!'
live on:(特定の食べ物だけで)生きて行ける。don't you ever say:〜といわなかったか(〜するな)。behave:行儀良くしろ。
And the Camel humphed himself, humph and all, and went away to join the Three. And from that day to this the Camel always wears a humph (we call it 'hump' now, not to hurt his feelings); but he has never yet caught up with the three days that he missed at the beginning of the world, and he has never yet learned how to behave.
humphed:ふんといった。hasnever yet caught up with:まだ追い付くことはなかった。
THE Camel's hump is an ugly lump
Which well you may see at the Zoo;
But uglier yet is the hump we get
From having too little to do.
lump:塊。
Kiddies and grown-ups too-oo-oo,
If we haven't enough to do-oo-oo,
We get the hump—
Cameelious hump—
The hump that is black and blue!
kiddies:子供。grown-ups:大人。cameelious:駱駝らしい(造語)。
We climb out of bed with a frouzly head
And a snarly-yarly voice.
We shiver and scowl and we grunt and we growl
At our bath and our boots and our toys;
climb out of:〜から降りる。frouzly head:乱れた頭(精神)。snarly-yarly:がなり立てる。shiver:震える。scowl:嫌な顔をする。grunt:ぶつぶついう(唸る)。growl:がみがみいう(唸る)。
And there ought to be a corner for me
(And I know there is one for you)
When we get the hump—
Cameelious hump—
The hump that is black and blue!
The cure for this ill is not to sit still,
Or frowst with a book by the fire;
But to take a large hoe and a shovel also,
And dig till you gently perspire;
frowst:むっとする空気の中にいる。hoe:鍬。gently:徐々に。perspire:汗をかく。
And then you will find that the sun and the wind,
And the Djinn of the Garden too,
Have lifted the hump—
The horrible hump—
The hump that is black and blue!
horrible:恐ろしい。
I get it as well as you-oo-oo—
If I haven't enough to do-oo-oo—
We all get hump—
Cameelious hump—
Kiddies and grown-ups too!
原文の出典:How the Camel Got His Hump
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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