真の友

「イソップ寓話集」　中務哲郎 訳　岩波文庫

六五　旅人と熊　p６８〜

　「二人の友だちが一緒に旅をしていた。熊が現れたので、一人はさっさと木によじ登り、そこに隠れていたが、もう一人は捕まりそうになって、地面に伏して死んだふりをしていた。

　熊はこの男に鼻面を近づけて嗅ぎまわっていたが、男は、この動物は死体には触れないと聞いていたので、じっと息を殺していた。熊が去り、木から下りてきた男が、熊は耳もとでで何とささやいたのか、と尋ねるので、男が言うには、
「危難に際して側にいてくれない友人とは、今後一緒に旅をするな、だって」

災が真の友人を試す、ということをこの話は説き明かしている。」

（英文）
The Travelers and the Bear
「Two friends, traveling together on a lonely path through the woods, were suddenly confronted by a ferocious bear. One of them scrambled up a nearby tree and hid among the branches and leaves.
The other, who was less nimble, knew he would be able to climb to safety in time. He remembered having heard that bears will not touch a dead body, however, so he dropped to the ground and lay still. The bear came up and began sniffing at him, but the man lay as rigid as a corpse, not even daring to breathe. Finally, after putting his snout in the man's ear and snuffling noisily, the bear seemed convinced that the man really was dead, and walked away.

When the bear was gone,the man's friend climbed down from the tree and ran to him.
" Thanks goodness you're right!" he said. "You know, it looked for all the world as if that bear was whispering in your ear."
"He was."
"Really? What did he tell you?"
"He said I'm a fool to trust in a friend who runs away at the first sign of danger."

In times of trouble we learn who our real friends are.

（Aesop's Fables「講談社　英語文庫(Kodansha English Library)）

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ハムスターを飼いたい

「ももこの　いきもの図鑑」さくらももこ　集英社文庫　１９９８年

ハムスター*　p１２５〜

　「小学校三年生のある日、近所のペットショップにハムスターが売られており、私はしばらく眺めていた。ハムスターの体は丸くて小さくて、非常に可愛らしい。
　馴染みのペットショップのおじさんが「このハムスター、このまえ生まれたばっかりだから今が可愛い盛りだよ。家の人に買ってもらいなよ」と言って巧みに私の心に　”ハムスター欲”　の火をつけたのである。この欲情の炎はまたたくまに燃えさかり、おじさんの思惑通り私は家に走った。

　一目散に家に帰り、「ハムスターを今すぐ買ってほしい」と母に告げたが、母は全く相手にしてくれず、「ダメ」と一言で私の訴えをはねつけた。
　私は非常にしつこく「欲しい欲しい」と騒ぎ続けた。母はだんだん怒りだし、「うるさい子だね、ダメだって言ったらダメだよっ。しつこくするとぶつよっ」と言って私を睨んだが、それでも私は騒ぎ続けた。

　母はついに本気で怒り、「バカだねっ、この子はっ、げんこつだよっ」と掌（てのひら）をグーにして振り上げたので私はうろたえ、「なにさ、ブタブタ、ブタかあさんめっ」と呪詛（じゅそ）の言葉を吐きながらトイレに逃げ込みカギをかけて立てこもった。…」

（英訳：「Illustrated Book of Living Things」Translated by James M.Vardaman,Jr)

Hamsters P123〜
「One day while I was in third grade, the neighborhood pet shop was selling hamsters, and I watched them for a while. Hamsters have small, round bodies, and they are really cute.

The man at the pet shop said to me, "This hamster was born just a little while ago, and It's at its cutest right now. Why don't you get your parents to buy it for you?" , skillfully touching off "hamster desire" within my mind. In an instant, this flame of desire flared up, and just as the shopkeeper had hoped, I ran homeward.

Racing home at top speed, I announced to my mother,"I want to buy a hamster right away " My mother wouldn't take me at all seriously, but simply rebuffed my appeal with "No."

I was quite persistent. "I want one! I want one!" Mother gradually grew angry and said,"You're being a real nuisance. I said no and that's that. If you keep this up, you're going to get it," She glared at me, but I continued to make a fuss.

Finally, Mother grew really angry, and raising her fist, she threatened, "You little fool! I'm going to punch you!" I lost my head and cursing at her, "So what! Pig, pig, mother pig!" escaped to the toilet, where I shut the door and locked it from inside. …」

ハムスター*　哺乳類綱・齧歯目・ネズミ科
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