ＷＥＢ絵本「電報（黒島伝治）」

第３回配信

"I heard you let your son go to the entrance exam of a junior high school. What will you make him in the future?", her uncle said sitting on the porch with a worn smooth surface.
「そちな、子供を中学校へやったと云うじゃないかいや．一体、何にする積りどいや」と叔父は、磨りちびてつるつるした縁側に腰を下ろして、おきのに訊ねた．

"Even if he stops going to school now and gets a job, his wages will not be high. And, within his life, he also can't get ahead and must live a poor life. Even if we spend pretty money, we only want him to have an education. We don't intend to make him a somebody," Okino said.
"Um, anyway, even if he graduates from junior high school, he will not be able to become a richman."
"My husband intends to send our son to advanced school."
"Um," her uncle sighed tilting his head for a while.
"The village headman hates it when the poor send their children to school of the city. Keep it a secret!", he said in a low tone emphatically.
"I see."
"When someone asks you, you had better answer he is working in the city as a live-in worker."
"Well."
"Be carefull about this ... ", her uncle added.

「あれを今、学校をやめさして、働きに出しても、そんなに銭はとれず、そうすりゃ、あれの代になっても、また一生頭が上がらずに、貧乏たれで暮さにゃならんせに、今、ちいと物入れて学校へでもやっといてやったら、また何ぞになろうと思うていない．」と、おきのは答えた．

「ふむ．そりゃ、まあえいが、中学校を上がったって、えらい者になれやせんぜ．」

「うちの源さん、まだ上へやる云いよらあの．」

「ふむ．」と、叔父は、しばらく頭を傾けていた．

「庄屋の旦那が、貧乏人が子供を市の学校へやるんをどえらい嫌うとるんじゃせにやっても内所にしとかにゃならんぜ．」と、彼は、声を低めて、しかも力を入れて云った．

「そうかいな．」

「誰ぞに問われたら、市へ奉公にやったと云うとくがえいぜ．」

「はあ．」

「よおく、気をつけにゃならんぜ・・・」と叔父は念をおした．

He stood up and went to the pigpen.
そして、立って豚小屋を見に行った．

"This female is very fat!"
Its parent pigs had been sold about a month before and only a pair of their young had been kept.
Pointing the female mate, her uncle said so.

「この牝はずかずか肥えるじゃないかいや．」

親豚は、一ヵ月程前に売って、仔豚のつがいだけ飼っている．その牝の方を指して叔父はそう云った．

"Well," said Okino, who also went to the pigpen.
「はあ．」と、おきのは云って、彼女も豚小屋の方へ行った．

"If you keep ten pigs or so, the sales of them could cover the school fees ... Anyway, it is the practice of this village that the poor do not send their children to advanced school. You had better say to others that he is working," her uncle repeated.
「豚を十匹ほど飼うたら、子供の学費くらい取られんこともないんじゃがな、・・・なにせ、ここじゃ、貧乏人は上の学校へやれんことにしとるせに、奉公にやったと云うとかにゃいかんて．」と、叔父は繰り返した．

Okino followed her uncle's advice.
When people asked about her son, she said that he was working at an umbrella shop. But, the village people didin't believe what she said.
"No! No! We can't send our son to school in the city. We don't have enough money. We live humbly. He is really working as a live-in worker," she insisted stubbornly.

おきのは、叔父の注意に従って、息子のことを訊ねられると、傘屋へ奉公に出したと云った．

しかし、村の人々は、彼女の言葉を本当にしなかった．

でも、頑固に、「いいえいな、家に、市の学校へやったりするかいしょうがあるもんかいな．食うや食わずじゃのに、奉公に出したんにきまっとら．」と、彼女は云い張った．

But the people sarcastically remarked, "You have much this (making the gesture of money with a thumb and an index finger). Why is your only son working as a live-in worker? You send him to school! You are kidding! Your son gets good grades. He will become a richman. Tee-hee ... "
が、人々は却って皮肉に、「お前んとこにゃ、なんぼかこれが（と親指と示指とで丸ものをこしらえて、）あるやら分らんのに、何で、一人息子を奉公やかいに出したりすらあ！学校へやったんじゃが、うまいこと嘘をつかあ、・・・まあ、お前んとこの子供はえらいせに、旦那さんにでもなるわいの、ひひひ・・・．」

When Okino ran into people, they made sacrastic remarks. That was paintful for her.
So, she said to Gensaku, "I wonder if we should make him give up and make him work as a live-in worker."
"Live-in?", said Gensaku, slightly giving a sneer in gloomy tone; "Our life is almost over. But his life has only just begun. We should give him a good education rather than save a bit of money for him. It will be very helpful to him. I don't care what people are saying! We don't ask the village headman for money. I pay fees and send my son to school. We don't have to worry about what people say."

おきのは、出くわした人々から、嫌味を浴びせかけられるのがつらさに、「もういっそ、やめさして、奉公にでも出すかいの．」と源作に云ったりした．

「奉公やかい．」と、源作は、一寸冷笑を浮かべて、むしむしした調子で、「おれ等一代はもうすんだようなもんじゃが、あれは、まだこれからじゃ．少々の銭を残してやるよりや、教育をつけてやっとく方が、どんだけ為になるやら分からせん．村の奴等が、どう云おうがかもうたこっちゃない．庄屋の旦那に銭を出して貰うんじゃなし、俺が、銭を出して、俺の子供を学校へやるのに、誰に気兼ねすることがあるかい．」

Her uncle's advice and the village people's sarcastic remark made Okino feel it bad to send her son to school.
But she listened to Gensaku and tought that his opinion was reasonable and quite plain.
She felt the people's remark to be unreasonable.
おきのは、叔父の話をきいたり、村の人々の皮肉をきいたりすると、息子を学校へやるのが良くないような気がするのだったが、源作の云うことをきくと、源作に十二分の理由があって、簡単、明瞭で、他から文句を云う余地はないように思われた．
（つづく）