Oscar Wilde “The Fisherman and His Soul”

一人の若い漁師が人魚を網に捕らえる。人魚は彼に命乞いをする。彼は、お前が歌えば沢山の魚が網にかかる、必ず僕が呼んだら来て歌を歌うなら放してやろうと言い、誓った人魚は海へと帰ってゆく。

それから毎夜、若い漁師は海へ出ては、人魚を呼び、彼女は歌を歌った。

And she sang a marvellous song. For she sang of the Sea-folk who drive their flocks from cave to cave, and carry the little calves on their shoulders; of the Tritons who have long green beards, and hairy breasts, and blow through twisted conchs when the King passes by; of the palace of the King which is all of amber, with a roof of clear emerald, and a pavement of bright pearl; and of the gardens of the sea where the great filigrane fans of coral wave all day long, and the fish dart about like silver birds, and the anemones cling to the rocks, and the pinks bourgeon in the ribbed yellow sand. She sang of the big whales that come down from the north seas and have sharp icicles hanging to their fins; of the Sirens who tell of such wonderful things that the merchants have to stop their ears with wax lest they should hear them, and leap into the water and be drowned; of the sunken galleys with their tall masts, and the frozen sailors clinging to the rigging, and the mackerel swimming in and out of the open portholes; of the little barnacles who are great travellers, and cling to the keels of the ships and go round and round the world; and of the cuttlefish who live in the sides of the cliffs and stretch out their long black arms, and can make night come when they will it. She sang of the nautilus who has a boat of her own that is carved out of an opal and steered with a silken sail; of the happy Mermen who play upon harps and can charm the great Kraken to sleep; of the little children who catch hold of the slippery porpoises and ride laughing upon their backs; of the Mermaids who lie in the white foam and hold out their arms to the mariners; and of the sea-lions with their curved tusks, and the sea-horses with their floating manes.

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Oscar Fingal O’Flaherty Wills Wilde“The Fisherman and His Soul”の冒頭部の梗概と、原文の一部である。
この英文部分を、僕は今、無性に訳して注をつけたい誘惑に駈られている。お読みになれば、お分かり頂けるだろう。