ＷＥＢ絵本『貉と猿と獺』

Long long ago a Badger, a Monkey and an Otter went together to the Yahiko shrine.
昔々、貉と猿と獺の3人が連れ立って弥彦参りに出かけたことがあるそうです．

On the way, the three found things on the road.
The things were a mat of rush, a bag of salt and a pound of beans.
How should they divide the things? Their talk didn't reach a conclusion easily.
After a while, the Badger shrewdly said like this:
Mr. Monkey! I recommend that you take this mat and spread it at the top of a tree in a hill. You will be able to view in all directions.
Mr. Otter! I recommend that you take this salt and scatter it in a pond where fish live. You will be able to float the fish on the water surface and catch them.
And then, I'll take these beans and eat them.
The remaining two agreed thoughtlessly.

その途中で3人は拾い物をしました．

その拾い物はゴザが1枚と塩が1袋と豆が1升でした．

これをどういう風に分配したらよいか．なかなか相談は、まとまりませんでした．

そのうちに貉は賢いから、こう言いました．

猿さんは、このゴザを持って山の木の上に登って広げて方々を眺めたらいいじゃないか．

獺さんは、この塩をどこか魚のいそうな池へ持って行って撒いて、魚を浮かせて捕ったらいいじゃないか．

私は残りの豆をもらって食べようと言いました．

他の２人はウッカリと賛成してしまいました．

The Monkey joyfully climbed a tree and tried to view on the mat.
But soon, he slipped and fell down from the tree. And, he twisted his ankle.
The Otter went to a pond and threw the salt into the pond. And, he dived into it.
But, the salt water stung his eyes. And the eyes became sore and red.
They had terrible experiences. Entirely, the Badger was dishonest. So, the two went to the Badger's house to complain.

猿は喜んで木の上へゴザを持って行って、それを敷いて見物をしようとしますと、直ぐに滑ってしまって、猿も木から落ちました．

そうして足を挫いてしまいました．

獺は池を見つけて１袋の塩を打ち込み、そして水の中へ入って見ますと塩水が眼に沁みて真っ赤に爛れてしまいました．

これは飛んだ物を背負い込んだ．

全体、貉がズルイからいけないと２人で苦情を言いに貉の家へ行きました．

Meanwhile, the Badger and his wife finished eating all the beans.
その間に貉は1升の豆をチャント食べてしまって・・・

The Badger and his wife put shells of the beans among their fur.
・・・女房の貉と2人で豆の皮を毛の間に挟んで・・・

They were pretending to groan.
The Badger said, "We ate the beans and have got a lot of boils. Ow! Ow!"

・・・うなる真似をしていました．

私達も豆を食べたらオデキがたくさん出来て苦しい苦しいと言いました．

The Monkey and the Otter were cheated again.
They said, "It's a mutual misfortune for all of us. So, we have no choice but to give up."
And they went back.
(Echigo Province)

猿と獺は又だまされて、それじゃ御互い様だから仕方がない、と言って帰って行ったそうです．
（越後）

――　奥付　――
ＷＥＢ絵本『貉と猿と獺』
絵・訳：茜町春彦
原作：柳田国男

A Picture Book : "A Badger, a Monkey and an Otter"
Illustrated and translated by : Akanemachi Haruhiko
Original author : Yanagida Kunio

参考文献：
日本の昔話（2005年10月25日36刷　柳田国男著　新潮文庫）