今日の「お気に入り」。
「 He promises that on Christmas Eve he will take us
to church in the sleigh behind the splendid horse
that until his coming we are all afraid to handle .
And on the afternoon of Christmas Eve he shoes
the horse , lifting each hoof and rasping it fine
and hammering the cherry-red horseshoes into
shape upon the anvil . Later he drops them
hissingly into the steaming tub of water . My
father sits beside him on an overturned pail
and tells him what to do . Sometimes we argue
with our father , our brother does everything
he says .
That night , bundled in hay and voluminous coats ,
and with heated stones at our feet , we start upon
our journey . Our parents and Kenneth remain at
home , but all the rest of us go . Before we leave we
feed the cattle and sheep and even the pig all that
they can possibly eat , so that they will be contented
on Christmas Eve . Our parents wave to us from the
doorway . We go four miles across the mountain road .
It is a primitive logging trail and there will be no cars
or other vehicles upon it . 」
（ 中 略 ）
「 When we descend to the country church we tie the
horse in a grove of trees where he will be sheltered
and not frightened by the many cars . We put a
blanket over him and give him oats .
At the church door the neighbours shake hands with
my brother . " Hello , Neil , " they say . " How is your
father ? "
"Oh," he says, just "Oh."
The church is very beautiful at night with its festooned
branches and glowing candles and the booming , joyous
sounds that come from the choir loft . We go through
the service as if we are mesmerized .
On the way home , although the stones have cooled ,
we remain happy and warm . We listen to the creak
of the leather harness and the hiss of runners on the
snow and begin to think of the potentiality of presents .
When we are about a mile from home the horse senses
his destination and breaks into a trot and then into a
confident lope. My brother lets him go and we move
across the winter landscape like figures freed from a
Christmas card . The snow from the horse's hooves
falls about our heads like the whiteness of the stars . 」
上に引用したのは アリステア・マクラウドさん ( 1936 - 2014 ) の
短編小説 ” To Every Thing There Is a Season ” （ 1977 ）の一節 。
文中に出てくる英語の「 三単現 」 " he " が指す者が 目まぐるしく
変わります 。
兄であったり 、父であったり 、そりを引く馬であったり 。
それでいて 、文脈から分かるところが面白い 。
#アリステア・マクラウド # 中野恵津子訳 #冬の犬 #新潮社
#AlistairMacLeod #ToEveryThingThereIsaSeason
