溺れかけた兄妹有島武郎Part 2 of 5 · JLPT N3
溺れかけた兄妹 Obore Kaketa Kyōdai, part 2: The Big Wave Carries Them Out
In this part
The three children happily jump the waves until an unusually large wave rolls toward them. Unable to escape it through the strong undertow, they swim over its crest just before it breaks. When they try to stand again, they find they have been swept into deep water and must swim for shore with very little skill or strength.
AI translation · independently checked
ふわりと浮上ると私たちは大変高い所に来たように思いました。As we floated gently upward, we felt as though we had been lifted to a very high place.
波が行ってしまうので地面に足をつけると海岸の方を見ても海岸は見えずに波の脊中だけが見えるのでした。When the wave had passed and we put our feet back down on the bottom, we could no longer see the beach when we looked toward it. All we could see was the back of the wave.
その中にその波がざぶんとくだけます。Then, a moment later, that wave would break with a great splash.
波打際が一面に白くなって、いきなり砂山や妹の帽子などが手に取るように見えます。The water's edge turned white all along, and suddenly the sand hills, my sister's hat and everything else stood out so clearly that we felt we could have reached out and picked them up.
それがまたこの上なく面白かったのです。And that, too, was the greatest fun imaginable.
私たち三人は土用波があぶないということも何も忘れてしまって波越しの遊びを続けさまにやっていました。The three of us forgot all about the danger of the late-summer waves, and everything else besides, and went on jumping the waves one after another.
「あら大きな波が来てよ」"Oh, look, a big wave's coming!"
と沖の方を見ていた妹が少し怖そうな声でこういきなりいいましたので、私たちも思わずその方を見ると、妹の言葉通りに、これまでのとはかけはなれて大きな波が、両手をひろげるような恰好で押寄せて来るのでした。My sister, who had been looking out to sea, said this suddenly in a rather frightened voice. When we too turned without thinking to look, there, just as she had said, was a wave far bigger than any before it, surging toward us as if it were spreading out its arms.
泳ぎの上手なＭも少し気味悪そうに陸の方を向いていくらかでも浅い所まで遁げようとした位でした。Even M, who was a good swimmer, looked a little uneasy. He went so far as to turn toward land and try to get away to where the water was at least a little shallower.
私たちはいうまでもありません。As for my sister and me, that goes without saying.
腰から上をのめるように前に出して、両手をまたその前に突出して泳ぐような恰好をしながら歩こうとしたのですが、何しろひきがひどいので、足を上げることも前にやることも思うようには出来ません。We leaned forward from the waist as if we were about to topple over, thrust both arms out in front of us as though we were swimming, and tried to walk. But the pull of the water was so strong that we could not lift our feet or move them forward the way we wanted.
私たちはまるで夢の中で怖い奴に追いかけられている時のような気がしました。It felt just like being chased by something frightening in a dream.
後から押寄せて来る波は私たちが浅い所まで行くのを待っていてはくれません。The wave rushing up behind us was not going to wait for us to reach the shallows.
見る見る大きく近くなって来て、そのてっぺんにはちらりちらりと白い泡がくだけ始めました。Before our very eyes it grew bigger and closer, and white foam began to break here and there along its crest.
Ｍは後から大声をあげて、M shouted from behind us,
「そんなにそっちへ行くと駄目だよ、波がくだけると捲きこまれるよ。今の中に波を越す方がいいよ」"It's no good going that way! When the wave breaks you'll get dragged under. Better get over it now, while you still can!"
といいました。he said.
そういわれればそうです。Now that he said so, he was right.
私と妹とは立止って仕方なく波の来るのを待っていました。My sister and I stopped, and since there was nothing else for it, we waited for the wave to come.
高い波が屏風を立てつらねたように押寄せて来ました。The tall wave came surging toward us like a row of folding screens standing side by side.
私たち三人は丁度具合よくくだけない中に波の脊を越すことが出来ました。The three of us were just in time to get over the back of the wave before it broke.
私たちは体をもまれるように感じながらもうまくその大波をやりすごすことだけは出来たのでした。We felt our bodies being tossed and squeezed, but at least we managed to let that great wave go by safely.
三人はようやく安心して泳ぎながら顔を見合せてにこにこしました。At last the three of us felt safe, and as we swam we looked at one another and smiled.
そして波が行ってしまうと三人ながら泳ぎをやめてもとのように底の砂の上に立とうとしました。Then, once the wave had passed, all three of us stopped swimming and tried to stand on the sandy bottom as before.
ところがどうでしょう、私たちは泳ぎをやめると一しょに、三人ながらずぼりと水の中に潜ってしまいました。But what do you think happened? The moment we stopped swimming, all three of us sank straight down under the water.
水の中に潜っても足は砂にはつかないのです。Even when we went under, our feet did not touch the sand.
私たちは驚きました。We were startled.
慌てました。We panicked.
そして一生懸命にめんかきをして、ようやく水の上に顔だけ出すことが出来ました。Then, dog-paddling with all our might, we at last managed to get just our faces above the water.
その時私たち三人が互に見合せた眼といったら、顔といったらありません。Oh, the look in our eyes, the look on our faces, as the three of us stared at one another then!
顔は真青でした。Our faces were deathly pale.
眼は飛び出しそうに見開いていました。Our eyes were opened so wide they looked ready to pop out.
今の波一つでどこか深い所に流されたのだということを私たちはいい合わさないでも知ることが出来たのです。Without a word between us, we knew that that one wave had carried us out somewhere deep.
いい合わさないでも私たちは陸の方を眼がけて泳げるだけ泳がなければならないということがわかったのです。Without a word between us, we understood that we had to swim toward the land with every bit of strength we had.
三人は黙ったままで体を横にして泳ぎはじめました。Without speaking, the three of us turned on our sides and began to swim.
けれども私たちにどれほどの力があったかを考えて見て下さい。But just think how little strength we really had.
Ｍは十四でした。M was fourteen.
私は十三でした。I was thirteen.
妹は十一でした。My sister was eleven.
Ｍは毎年学校の水泳部に行っていたので、とにかくあたり前に泳ぐことを知っていましたが、私は横のし泳ぎを少しと、水の上に仰向けに浮くことを覚えたばかりですし、妹はようやく板を離れて二、三間泳ぐことが出来るだけなのです。M had gone to the school swimming club every year, so he at least knew how to swim properly. But I had only just learned a little sidestroke and how to float on my back, and my sister could barely let go of her board and swim a few yards.
Vocabulary
| Word | Meaning | JLPT |
|---|---|---|
| 波打際なみうちぎわ | the water's edge, where the waves break on the shoredictionary form: 波打ち際際 means 'edge' or 'border', as in 窓際 (by the window). | — |
| 土用波どようなみ | the high, rough swells of late summerNamed after 土用, the hottest part of summer. These waves were known to be dangerous for swimmers. | — |
| 沖おき | the open sea, offshore沖の方 means 'out toward the open sea'. | N3 |
| 押寄せておしよせる | to surge toward, to rush indictionary form: 押し寄せるUsed for waves, crowds or armies that press forward in force. | N1 |
| 気味悪きみわるい | uneasy, creepy, unsettlingdictionary form: 気味悪いHere it is followed by 〜そう: 'looking uneasy'. | — |
| ひきひき | the pull of the water back out to sea; undertowdictionary form: 引きA noun formed from 引く (to pull). It is the key danger in this story. | — |
| 捲きこまれるまきこむ | to be caught up and dragged indictionary form: 巻き込むPassive form. 捲 is an older kanji for 巻. The word is also used for being dragged into trouble. | — |
| 屏風びょうぶ | folding screenA tall, free-standing panelled screen. Here it is an image for a high wall of water. | — |
| やりすごすやりすごす | to let something pass by, to wait something outdictionary form: やり過ごす | — |
| めんかきめんかき | dog paddleAn old word for a simple stroke in which the hands paddle in front of the face. | — |
| 真青まっさお | deathly pale (of a face); deep bluedictionary form: 真っ青真っ intensifies colour words: 真っ白, 真っ赤. | N2 |
| 見開いてみひらく | to open (one's eyes) widedictionary form: 見開く | — |
| 眼がけてめがける | to aim at, to head straight fordictionary form: 目掛けるUsually used as 〜をめがけて, 'heading for ~'. | — |
| 仰向けあおむけ | lying face up, on one's backIts opposite is うつ伏せ (face down). | — |
Grammar
〜ような気がする N3 to feel as if ~
ような compares the situation to something else, and 気がする expresses a feeling or impression. Together they say the experience felt like the scene described.
私たちはまるで夢の中で怖い奴に追いかけられている時のような気がしました。
It felt just like being chased by something frightening in a dream.
〜はいうまでもない N2 it goes without saying; needless to say
The pattern says that something is too obvious to need stating. Here it means that if even M was afraid, the two weaker swimmers obviously were too.
私たちはいうまでもありません。
As for my sister and me, that goes without saying.
〜うち（中）に N3 while ~ still; before ~ happens
うちに marks a window of time in which an action must be done before the situation changes. 今のうちに means 'now, while you still can', and くだけないうちに means 'before it breaks'.
今の中に波を越す方がいいよ
Better get over it now, while you still can!
〜といったらない N1 indescribably ~; nothing could match ~
Literally 'if you speak of ~, there is nothing (like it)'. The pattern expresses an extreme degree, here of the terror on the children's faces.
その時私たち三人が互に見合せた眼といったら、顔といったらありません。
Oh, the look in our eyes, the look on our faces, as the three of us stared at one another then!
〜ないでも N2 even without ~ing
〜ないでも — even without ~ing. A variant of 〜なくても attached to the negative (ない) form of a verb. It sounds somewhat literary or old-fashioned but is still used, as in 言わないでもわかる. Here いい合わさないでも means 'even without telling one another', so the children understood the danger without saying a word.
いい合わさないでも私たちは陸の方を眼がけて泳げるだけ泳がなければならないということがわかったのです。
Without a word between us, we understood that we had to swim toward the land with every bit of strength we had.
〜たばかり N4 to have only just done ~
ばかり after a past-tense verb stresses that the action happened very recently. Here it shows how new and limited the narrator's swimming skills were.
水の上に仰向けに浮くことを覚えたばかりですし
and I had only just learned how to float on my back