On the fifth day the squirrels brought a present of wild honey; it was so sweet and sticky that they licked their fingers as they put it down upon the stone.
The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin by Beatrix Potter
いつかめに、リスたちは はちみつを もっていった。
- modifier:
- 五日目に
They had stolen it out of a bumble bees’ nest on the tippitty top of the hill.
かれらは それを バンブルビーのすから ぬすんできた。
- predicate:
- 盗む
But Nutkin skipped up and down, singing—
“Hum-a-bum! buzz! buzz! Hum-a-bum buzz!
As I went over Tipple-tine
I met a flock of bonny swine;
Some yellow-nacked, some yellow backed!
They were the very bonniest swine
That e’er went over Tipple-tine.”
ナトキンは はねて、うたった。
- predicate:
- 跳ねる
- 歌う
Old Mr. Brown turned up his eyes in disgust at the impertinence of Nutkin.
オールド・ミスター・ブラウンは ナトキンに うんざりした。
- predicate:
- うんざりする
But he ate up the honey!
かれは ハチミツを たべきった。
The squirrels filled their little sacks with nuts.
リスたちは きのみで ふくろを いっぱいにした。
- modifier:
- 木の実で袋を
But Nutkin sat upon a big flat rock, and played ninepins with a crab apple and green fir-cones.
しかし、ナトキンは あそんでいた。
- predicate:
- 遊ぶ
On the sixth day, which was Saturday, the squirrels came again for the last time; they brought a new-laid egg in a little rush basket as a last parting present for Old Brown.
むいかめに、リスたちは たまごを もってきた。
- modifier:
- 六日目に
But Nutkin ran in front laughing, and shouting—
“Humpty Dumpty lies in the beck,
With a white counterpane round his neck,
Forty doctors and forty wrights,
Cannot put Humpty Dumpty to rights!”
しかし、ナトキンは わらいながら まえにでて、さけんだ。
Now old Mr. Brown took an interest in eggs; he opened one eye and shut it again. But still he did not speak.
それでも かれは はなさなかった。
Nutkin became more and more impertinent—
“Old Mr. B! Old Mr. B!
Hickamore, Hackamore, on the King’s kitchen door;
All the King’s horses, and all the King’s men,
Couldn’t drive Hickamore, Hackamore,
Off the King’s kitchen door.”
ナトキンは どんどん なまいきになった。
- predicate:
- 生意気になった
Nutkin danced up and down like a sunbeam; but still Old Brown said nothing at all.
それでも、オールドブラウンは まったく なにも いわなかった。
Nutkin began again—
“Arthur O’Bower has broken his band,
He comes roaring up the land!
The King of Scots with all his power,
Cannot turn Arthur of the Bower!”
ナトキンは また さけびはじめた。
Nutkin made a whirring noise to sound like the wind, and he took a running jump right onto the head of Old Brown!…
ナトキンは オールドブラウンの あたまのうえに とんだ！
- modifier:
- 頭の上に
Then all at once there was a flutterment and a scufflement and a loud “Squeak!”
そのとき だいそうどうがおこった。
- subject:
- 大騒動が
The other squirrels scuttered away into the bushes.
ほかのリスたちは にげた。
- 堪忍袋の緒が切れる（かんにんぶくろのおがきれる, lose one’s temper）
The phrase “kanninbukuro no o ga kireru” means that someone has reached the limit of their patience and finally loses their temper. It is used when a person has endured repeated irritation, frustration, or unfair treatment, and the final small trigger causes them to explode emotionally. It often appears in daily conversation, workplace situations, or comedic scenes where someone can no longer tolerate something.
When they came back very cautiously, peeping round the tree—there was Old Brown sitting on his door-step, quite still, with his eyes closed, as if nothing had happened.
リスたちが もどってくると、
オールドブラウンは げんかんに すわっていた。
- modifier:
- 玄関に
But Nutkin was in his waistcoat pocket!
ナトキンは かれに つかまった。
- predicate:
- 捕まる
This looks like the end of the story; but it isn’t.
このものがたりは まだ つづく。
- subject:
- この物語は
Old Brown carried Nutkin into his house, and held him up by the tail, intending to skin him; but Nutkin pulled so very hard that his tail broke in two, and he dashed up the staircase and escaped out of the attic window.
オールドブラウンは ナトキンの しっぽを つかんだ。
ナトキンは しっぽを つよく ひっぱった。
しっぽが さけて、ナトキンは にげだした。
- predicate:
- つかむ
ひっぱる
裂ける
逃げ出す
And to this day, if you meet Nutkin up a tree and ask him a riddle, he will throw sticks at you, and stamp his feet and scold, and shout—
“Cuck-cuck-cuck-cur-r-r-cuck-k-k!”
いまでも、ナトキンは ナゾナゾをきくと おこる。
- predicate:
- 怒る