原文
"'My rock people live at the shore. I used to visit them almost every
evening before the winter came. Now I can't go till spring, but they
will be there, for people like that never change . . . that is the
splendid thing about them. Nora was the first one of them I got
acquainted with and so I think I love her the best. She lives in
Andrews' Cove and she has black hair and black eyes, and she knows all
about the mermaids and the water kelpies. You ought to hear the stories
she can tell. Then there are the Twin Sailors. They don't live anywhere,
they sail all the time, but they often come ashore to talk to me. They
are a pair of jolly tars and they have seen everything in the world. . .
and more than what is in the world. Do you know what happened to the
youngest Twin Sailor once? He was sailing and he sailed right into a
moonglade. A moonglade is the track the full moon makes on the water
when it is rising from the sea, you know, teacher. Well, the youngest
Twin Sailor sailed along the moonglade till he came right up to the
moon, and there was a little golden door in the moon and he opened it
and sailed right through. He had some wonderful adventures in the moon
but it would make this letter too long to tell them.'
語彙など
- shore:海岸,沿岸
- used to:よく〜したものだ
- splendid:素晴らしい
- get acquainted with:〜と知り合いになる
- cove:入り江,洞窟,谷間
- mermaid:人魚
- kelpy:水魔(馬の姿で出現し, 人を水死に誘いまた水死を予報する)
- twin:双子の
- all the time:しょっちゅう
- come ashore:上陸する,下船する
- jolly:陽気な
- tar:水夫,船乗り
- moonglade:=The bright reflection of moonlight on a body of water,月夜に海辺に出ると、水面に反射する月光は自分だけを照らし,どちらに進んでも、どんなに速く走っても、月の光は、自分だけを追いかけてくるという現象をムーングレードという
- adventure:冒険