Part 3 of 5 · JLPT N3
一房の葡萄（二（つづき）） Hitofusa no Budō, part 3: Caught, and Taken to the Teacher
In this part
The boy denies taking the paints, but his classmates search his pocket and find Jim's two colours. Crushed and weeping, he is dragged upstairs to the room of the teacher he loves. When she gently asks if the accusation is true, he cannot answer and only cries, so she quietly sends the other children away.
AI translation · independently checked
そういってその生徒は僕の前に大きく拡げた手をつき出しました。Saying this, the boy thrust his wide-open hand out in front of me.
そういわれると僕はかえって心が落着いて、Being spoken to like that, I oddly grew calmer instead,
「そんなもの、僕持ってやしない。」と、ついでたらめをいってしまいました。and before I knew it I had told a lie: "I haven't got anything like that."
そうすると三四人の友達と一緒に僕の側に来ていたジムが、Then Jim, who had come over beside me with three or four friends,
「僕は昼休みの前にちゃんと絵具箱を調べておいたんだよ。一つも失くなってはいなかったんだよ。そして昼休みが済んだら二つ失くなっていたんだよ。そして休みの時間に教場にいたのは君だけじゃないか。」と少し言葉を震わしながら言いかえしました。answered back, his voice trembling a little: "I checked my paint box properly before lunch break, you know. Not one was missing. And when lunch break was over, two were gone. And the only one in the classroom during the break was you, wasn't it?"
僕はもう駄目だと思うと急に頭の中に血が流れこんで来て顔が真赤になったようでした。The moment I thought, "It's no use now," the blood suddenly rushed into my head, and my face seemed to turn bright red.
すると誰だったかそこに立っていた一人がいきなり僕のポッケットに手をさし込もうとしました。Then one of the boys standing there, I don't remember who, suddenly tried to push his hand into my pocket.
僕は一生懸命にそうはさせまいとしましたけれども、多勢に無勢で迚も叶いません。I tried with all my might not to let him, but I was one against many and did not stand a chance.
僕のポッケットの中からは、見る見るマーブル球（今のビー球のことです）や鉛のメンコなどと一緒に二つの絵具のかたまりが掴み出されてしまいました。In no time at all, out of my pocket they pulled my marbles (what we now call glass marbles) and my lead menko cards, and along with them the two lumps of paint.
「それ見ろ」といわんばかりの顔をして子供達は憎らしそうに僕の顔を睨みつけました。The children glared hatefully into my face, with looks that all but said, "There, see?"
僕の体はひとりでにぶるぶる震えて、眼の前が真暗になるようでした。My body began to shake and shake all by itself, and everything before my eyes seemed to go black.
いいお天気なのに、みんな休時間を面白そうに遊び廻っているのに、僕だけは本当に心からしおれてしまいました。It was a lovely day, and everyone was running about happily playing through the break, yet I alone had truly wilted, deep in my heart.
あんなことをなぜしてしまったんだろう。Why had I gone and done such a thing?
取りかえしのつかないことになってしまった。It had become something that could never be undone.
もう僕は駄目だ。I was finished.
そんなに思うと弱虫だった僕は淋しく悲しくなって来て、しくしくと泣き出してしまいました。When I thought this way, I, who was a crybaby, grew lonely and sad, and began to sob quietly.
「泣いておどかしたって駄目だよ。」とよく出来る大きな子が馬鹿にするような憎みきったような声で言って、動くまいとする僕をみんなで寄ってたかって二階に引張って行こうとしました。"Crying to scare us won't work!" said the big clever boy, in a voice full of scorn and utter hatred, and all of them crowded round and tried to drag me, though I was trying not to budge, up to the second floor.
僕は出来るだけ行くまいとしたけれどもとうとう力まかせに引きずられて階子段を登らせられてしまいました。I did my best not to go, but in the end I was hauled along by sheer force and made to climb the stairs.
そこに僕の好きな受持ちの先生の部屋があるのです。Up there was the room of my class teacher, whom I loved.
やがてその部屋の戸をジムがノックしました。Soon Jim knocked on the door of that room.
ノックするとは這入ってもいいかと戸をたたくことなのです。To "knock" means to tap on a door to ask whether you may come in.
中からはやさしく「お這入り」という先生の声が聞えました。From inside came the teacher's voice, saying gently, "Come in."
僕はその部屋に這入る時ほどいやだと思ったことはまたとありません。Never before or since have I dreaded anything as much as going into that room then.
何か書きものをしていた先生はどやどやと這入って来た僕達を見ると、少し驚いたようでした。The teacher, who had been writing something, seemed a little surprised when she saw us come crowding noisily in.
が、女の癖に男のように頸の所でぶつりと切った髪の毛を右の手で撫であげながら、いつものとおりのやさしい顔をこちらに向けて、一寸首をかしげただけで何の御用という風をしなさいました。But, smoothing back with her right hand her hair, which, though she was a woman, was cut off short at the neck like a man's, she turned her usual gentle face towards us, and with only a slight tilt of her head, gave us a look that asked what we wanted.
そうするとよく出来る大きな子が前に出て、僕がジムの絵具を取ったことを委しく先生に言いつけました。Then the big clever boy stepped forward and told the teacher in detail how I had taken Jim's paints.
先生は少し曇った顔付きをして真面目にみんなの顔や、半分泣きかかっている僕の顔を見くらべていなさいましたが、僕に「それは本当ですか。」と聞かれました。With a slightly clouded expression, the teacher looked gravely from the others' faces to mine, as I was on the verge of tears, and then she asked me, "Is that true?"
本当なんだけれども、僕がそんないやな奴だということをどうしても僕の好きな先生に知られるのがつらかったのです。It was true, but I simply could not bear for the teacher I loved to find out that I was such a nasty boy.
だから僕は答える代りに本当に泣き出してしまいました。So instead of answering, I burst into real tears.
先生は暫く僕を見つめていましたが、やがて生徒達に向って静かに「もういってもようございます。」といって、みんなをかえしてしまわれました。The teacher gazed at me for a while, but presently she turned to the pupils and said quietly, "You may go now," and sent them all away.
生徒達は少し物足らなそうにどやどやと下に降りていってしまいました。The pupils, looking a little disappointed, went clattering off downstairs.
Vocabulary
| Word | Meaning | JLPT |
|---|---|---|
| 落着いておちつく | to calm down, to settledictionary form: 落ち着くOld spelling without the okurigana ち; modern 落ち着く. | N2 |
| でたらめでたらめ | a made-up story, nonsense, a lieでたらめをいう = to say something untrue off the top of one's head. | N2 |
| 多勢に無勢たぜいにぶぜい | hopelessly outnumberedSet idiom: many against few, so resistance is useless. | — |
| 見る見るみるみる | in an instant, before one's very eyesDescribes something happening very quickly while one watches. | — |
| 睨みつけましたにらみつける | to glare atdictionary form: 睨みつける〜つける adds force: to stare fiercely. | — |
| しおれてしおれる | to wilt, to droop; to be downcastdictionary form: しおれるLiterally used of plants; here of a crushed spirit. | — |
| 取りかえしのつかないとりかえしがつかない | irreparable, beyond undoingdictionary form: 取り返しがつかないIn a noun-modifying clause が often becomes の. | — |
| 弱虫よわむし | crybaby, coward, weakling | — |
| 寄ってたかってよってたかる | (of many people) ganging up on someonedictionary form: 寄ってたかるAlmost always used in the て-form as an adverb. | — |
| 力まかせちからまかせ | with all one's strength, by brute forcedictionary form: 力任せ | — |
| 階子段はしごだん | staircaseOld-fashioned; modern Japanese says 階段. | — |
| 言いつけましたいいつける | to tell on, to report (to someone in authority)dictionary form: 言いつけるAlso means 'to order'; here it means tattling to the teacher. | N2 |
| 物足らなそうものたらない | unsatisfied, feeling something is lackingdictionary form: 物足らないModern standard form is 物足りない. | — |
Grammar
〜てやしない N2 certainly not ~ (emphatic negative)
〜てやしない is an emphatic negative meaning 'certainly not ~'. It is formed from the verb's て-form plus やしない, a colloquial emphatic form of 〜はしない in which は has become や. It functions as a strong version of 〜てはいない and gives the denial a forceful, defensive tone, as in 持ってやしない ('I haven't got it at all!').
そんなもの、僕持ってやしない。
I haven't got anything like that.
〜まいとする N2 to try not to ~
まい is a literary negative volitional ('will not'). With とする, it means making an effort not to do something. Here it describes the boy resisting being moved.
動くまいとする僕をみんなで寄ってたかって二階に引張って行こうとしました
all of them crowded round and tried to drag me, though I was trying not to budge, up to the second floor
〜といわんばかり N1 as if to say ~
〜といわんばかり means 'as if to say ~' or 'all but saying ~'. いわん is the classical-style negative of 言う: the negative stem 言わ plus ん, equivalent to 言わない. ばかり here means 'almost'. The pattern describes a look or attitude that plainly conveys a message without any words being spoken.
「それ見ろ」といわんばかりの顔をして
with looks that all but said, "There, see?"
〜ておく N4 to do something in advance
Shows that Jim checked his paint box beforehand, so he can prove the paints went missing during the break.
昼休みの前にちゃんと絵具箱を調べておいたんだよ
I checked my paint box properly before lunch break, you know
〜ほど〜ことはない N3 never anything as ~ as ...
This pattern means that nothing else ever matched a particular experience. またとありません adds 'never again'.
僕はその部屋に這入る時ほどいやだと思ったことはまたとありません。
Never before or since have I dreaded anything as much as going into that room then.
〜の癖に N3 even though ~ (with a sense of contrast)
くせに usually contrasts something with what would be expected, often with a note of criticism. Here it simply points out that her short hair was unusual for a woman at that time.
女の癖に男のように頸の所でぶつりと切った髪の毛
her hair, which, though she was a woman, was cut off short at the neck like a man's