『ドリトル先生航海記』　英文/和訳　6-7-1　博士の決断

WELL, you can guess how glad we were when next morning the Doctor, after his all‐night conversation with the snail,

さて、翌朝、Doctorがカタツムリと一晩中語り合った後、休暇を取る決心をしたと告げてくれたとき、ぼくたちがどれほど喜んだか、想像できるよね.

told us that he had made up his mind to take the holiday.

彼が休暇を取ると決心したと伝えてくれたんだ.

A proclamation was published right away by the Town Crier that His Majesty was going into the country for a seven‐day rest,

町の鐘持ちがすぐに宣言を発表して、His Majestyが田舎へ行き、七日間休むことになったと知らせたんだ.

but that during his absence the palace and the government offices would be kept open as usual.

しかし、その間も宮殿と官庁はいつも通り開かれたままだったんだ.

Polynesia was immensely pleased.

Polynesiaはものすごく喜んでいた.

She at once set quietly to work making arrangements for our departure

彼女はすぐに、静かにぼくたちの出発の手配を始めた.

taking good care that no one should get an inkling of where we were going,

どこへ行くのか、誰にも気づかれないよう、十分に注意を払って.

what we were taking with us, the hour of our leaving or which of the palace‐gates we would go out by.

何を持って行くのか、出発の時刻、そしてどの宮殿の門から出るのか、ということも隠していたんだ.

Cunning old schemer that she was, she forgot nothing.

抜け目のない彼女らしいと、何一つ忘れることはなかったんだ.

And not even we, who were of the Doctor’s party, could imagine what reasons she had for some of her preparations.

さらに、Doctor側のぼくたちでさえ、彼女がその準備にどんな理由を持っていたのか、想像すらできなかったんだ.

She took me inside and told me that the one thing I must remember to bring with me was all of the Doctor’s note‐books.

彼女はぼくを中に呼び入れて、Doctorのノートブック一式を必ず持って行くべきだと告げたんだ.

Long Arrow, who was the only Indian let into the secret of our destination,

Long Arrowは、目的地の秘密を聞かされた唯一のIndianで,

said he would like to come[351] with us as far as the beach to see the Great Snail;

Great Snailを見るために、海岸まで一緒に来たいと言ったんだ[351]。

and him Polynesia told to be sure and bring his collection of plants.

そして、Polynesiaは彼に、植物のコレクションを必ず持ってくるように言ったんだ.

Bumpo she ordered to carry the Doctor’s high hat—carefully hidden under his coat.

PolynesiaはBumpoに、Doctorの高帽子を、コートの下にしっかり隠したまま運ぶよう命じたんだ.

She sent off nearly all the footmen who were on night duty to do errands in the town,

彼女は、夜勤中のfootmenを町へ用事を頼むために送り出したんだ、そして用事を頼むために派遣したんだ.

so that there should be as few servants as possible to see us leave.

そのため、ぼくたちの出発を見られないように、できるだけ召使いが少なくなるようにしたんだ.

And midnight, the hour when most of the townspeople would be asleep, she finally chose for our departure.

そして、町民の大半が眠る真夜中に、彼女はついに出発の時刻を決めたんだ.

We had to take a week’s food‐supply with us for the royal holiday.

ぼくたちは王室の休暇のために、一週間分の食糧を持って行かねばならなかったんだ.

So, with our other packages, we were heavy laden when on the stroke of twelve we opened the west door of the palace

そして、他の荷物とともに、正午の刻に宮殿の西の扉を開けたとき、ぼくたちは重荷を背負っていたんだ.

and stepped cautiously and quietly into the moonlit garden.

そして、月明かりの庭にそっと、注意深く足を踏み入れたんだ.

“Tiptoe incognito,” whispered Bumpo as we gently closed the heavy doors behind us.

「こそこそと、ひそかに」って、バンポ王子は囁いたんじゃ.

No one had seen us leave.

誰もぼくたちの出発を見ていなかったんだ.

At the foot of the stone steps leading from the Peacock Terrace to the Sunken Rosary,

Peacock TerraceからSunken Rosaryへ続く石段の麓で,

something made me pause and look back at the magnificent palace which we had built in this strange, far‐off land where no white men but ourselves had ever come.

何かに心をとられ、ぼくは足を止め、これまで白人が来たことのないこの奇妙で遠い国にぼくたちが築いた壮大な宮殿を振り返ったんだ.

Somehow I felt it in my bones that we were leaving it to‐night never to return again.

どういうわけか、骨の髄まで感じたんだ、今夜ぼくたちは二度と戻らぬものとしてこれを去るということを.

And I wondered what other kings and ministers would dwell in its splendid halls when we were gone.

そして、ぼくは思わず、ぼくたちが去った後、どんな王や大臣がその壮麗なホールに住むのだろうと疑問に思ったんだ.

The air was hot; and everything was deadly still but for the gentle splashing of the tame flamingoes paddling[352] in the lily‐pond.

空気は熱く、すべてが死のように静まり返っていた、ただ、[352]飼い慣らされたフラミンゴが睡蓮池で穏やかに水しぶきを上げる音だけがあったんだ.

Suddenly the twinkling lantern of a night watchman appeared round the corner of a cypress hedge.

突然、糸杉の生垣の角を曲がったところに、夜警の煌めく提灯が姿を現したんだ.

Polynesia plucked at my stocking and, in an impatient whisper, bade me hurry before our flight be discovered.

Polynesiaはぼくのストッキングを引っ張り、苛立ったような低い声で「早くしなさい、逃亡がばれぬうちに」と命じたんだ.

On our arrival at the beach we found the snail already feeling much better and now able to move his tail without pain.

海岸に着くと、カタツムリはすでにずいぶん良くなっていて、痛みなく尻尾を動かせるようになっていたんだ.

The porpoises (who are by nature inquisitive creatures) were still hanging about in the offing to see if anything of interest was going to happen.

好奇心旺盛な性質のporpoisesは、何か面白いことが起こるかどうかを見守るように、まだ沖に浮かんでいたんだ.

Polynesia, the plotter, while the Doctor was occupied with his new patient, signaled to them and drew them aside for a little private chat.

計略家のPolynesiaは、Doctorが新たな患者に夢中になっている間に、彼らに合図を送り、内密の話のために別に引き離したんだ.

“Now see here, my friends,” said she speaking low: “you know how much John Dolittle has done for the animals—given his whole life up to them, one might say.

「ほら、みんな、聞いてくれ」と低い声で彼女は言った。「あなたたち、John Dolittle先生が動物たちのためにどれほど尽くしてきたか、すなわちその生涯を彼らに捧げたと言っても過言ではないことを知っているでしょう.

“Well, here is your chance to do something for him.

さて、これこそが、彼に何かしてあげる絶好の機会なのよ.

“Listen: he got made king of this island against his will, see?

聞いて、彼は自分の意思に反してこの島の王に任命されたのよ、分かる?

And now that he has taken the job on, he feels that he can’t leave it—

そして、いざその職務に就いた今、彼は離れることができないと感じているの—

thinks the Indians won’t be able to get along without him and all that—which is nonsense, as you and I very well know.

インディアンたちは彼なしではやっていけないと思っていると、そんなくだらない考えだと、あなたも私もよく知っているでしょう.

“All right.

「はい、分かったわ.

Then here’s the point: if this snail were only willing to take him and us—and a little baggage—not very much, thirty or forty pieces, say—inside his shell and carry us to England,

それで要点はこうよ。もしこのカタツムリが、彼と私たち、そして少しの荷物、たとえば三、四十個分程度をも容れて、殻の中に入れてイングランドまで運んでくれるならば,

we feel sure that the Doctor would go; because he’s just crazy to mess about on the floor of the ocean.

私たちは、Doctor先生が進んで行くと確信するの、なぜなら彼は海の底をふらふら歩くのが大好きだから、というわけよ.

“What’s more this would be his one and only chance of escape from the island.

さらに、これこそが彼にとって唯一の、島からの脱出の機会となるのよ.

Now it is highly important that the Doctor return to his own country to carry on his proper work which means such a lot to the animals of the world.

今こそ、Doctor先生が自国に帰り、動物たちにとって非常に大切な本来の仕事を続けることが極めて重要なのよ.

So what we want you to do is to tell the sea-urchin to tell the starfish to tell the snail to take us in his shell and carry us to Puddleby River.

だから、あなたたちにお願いしたいのは、ウニに、ヒトデに、そしてカタツムリに、我々をその殻に入れてPuddleby Riverまで運ぶように伝えることなの.

Is that plain?”

これで分かったかしら?”