I drank a lot of water. Because I was thirsty.
と書くのは、文法的に間違いです。なぜなら、becauseという接続詞は、従属節を導く働きがあり、かならず主節と合わせて完全な一文となるからです。上の例では、2つめの文は、従属節の部分だけがあたかも完全な文であるかのように書いてしまっているので、間違いなのです。中学生の英作文でよくみる語法の間違いのひとつです。
正しく書くなら、
I drank a lot of water, because I was thirsty.
または、
Because I was thirsty, I drank a lot of water.
となります。
下の会話では、BECAUSEで従属節を導いた例および、単独で用いた例が出てきます。Because節の内部にWhen節も入り込んでいるのでちょっと構造が複雑ですが、主節が「That would have been my guess」で、because以下は、カンマもまたいで全て従属節の部分です。
FYE: One thing I have to ask you, I could guess the answer, but again I would be stereotyping. Did you smoke cigarettes?
LENFANT: I did at one time.
FYE: That would have been my guess because when you were growing up in France, I would think cigarette smoking was quite prevalent.
LENFANT: Yes, I smoked until 1962.
FYE: Why did you stop?
LENFANT: Because I could not afford it anymore!
(引用元:Dr. Claude Lenfant Oral History Transcript Conducted by: Dr. W. Bruce Fye May 16, 2000 history.nih.gov)
訪英中のトランプ米大統領が、エリザベス女王と面会して閲兵式に臨んだ際、女王の前を歩いたり突然立ち止まったりする動きを見せたことに対し、英市民らがネット上で批判の声を上げた。(英エリザベス女王の「前を歩いた」、トランプ米大統領に批判の声 CNN.co.jp 2018.07.15 Sun posted at 12:08 JST)
トランプ米大統領が面会中にエリザベス女王の前を行き進路を妨害したことに、SNS上で批判の声が多く上がっている。動画はYouTubeの「The Royal Family Channel」チャンネルに13日、投稿された。(トランプ氏に外交儀礼違反で批判 エリザベス女王との面会でトランプ氏に外交儀礼違反で批判 エリザベス女王との面会で【動画】Sputnik日本 2018年07月15日 18:00(アップデート 2018年07月15日 19:38)
In a viral clip, the monarch appears to make a hand gesture as they turn the corner. She then attempts to pass behind the president, who stops walking and completely eclipses Queen Elizabeth from view for a moment. She returns to his right side and continues their walk.
【例文】One day a very strange thinghappened.
【解説】One dayは、「ある日」という意味の副詞。
S+V+C
【例文】Each of usisdifferent.
【解説】主語(名詞)+動詞(Be動詞)+補語(形容詞)の形になっています。
【例文】Freddie, the leaf, had grownlarge.
【解説】largeは形容詞で、補語です。主語+grow(動詞)+補語 で、「主語」が「補語」の状態に成長するという意味になります。(参照:英ナビ)
【例文】Alfredhad turneda deep yellow.
【和訳】アルフレッドは深い黄色になった。
【解説】ここでのturnは自動詞で、補語を伴って、「~になる」という意味。同様の用法の例として、The maple leaves turned red.(カエデの葉が紅葉した。)この文に続く文ではturnの変わりにbecomeという動詞が同じ意味を表す目的で使われているので、turn=becomeと考えて間違いないでしょう。
【例文】Benhad becomea bright orange.
S+V+O
【例文】Soon hediscoveredthat no two leaves were alike, even though they were on the same tree.
【解説】接続詞thatが名詞節をつくっており、この名詞節全体が「目的語」になっています。
S+V+O+O
S+V+O+C
【例文】Freddiefoundhimselflosing his color, becoming brittle.
【解説】動名詞が補語になっています。losingという動名詞はhis colorという目的語をとっています。becomingという動名詞はbrittle(もろい、こわれやすい)という形容詞を補語としてとっています。このように全体でみたときにはSVOCですが、さらにCが動名詞なので内部でVO,VCのような構造をとっているといえます。
【例文】Hehad never feltitso cold.
【解説】主語がhe、動詞がfeel、目的語がit、補語がcoldです。OCの部分it so coldは、文に展開すると、It is so cold.となります。このitは天気などを現すときに使う形式的な主語であり、代名詞のように何かを指しているわけではありません。
【例文】Freddie and his friendshad madetheir treea rainbow.
平叙文
肯定文
【例文】Everythingdies. 【和訳】全てのものは死ぬ。
否定文
be動詞の否定形
【例文】Yet, you were not afraid when Summer became Fall.
【例文】Spring had passed. So had Summer. Freddie, the leaf, had grown large. His mid section was wide and strong, and his five extensions were firm and pointed. He had first appeared in Spring as a small sprout on a rather large branch near the top of a tall tree.
過去完了形:継続
過去完了形:経験
過去完了形:完了
【例文】Freddie, the leaf, had grown large. 【和訳】葉っぱのフレディーは大きく成長していた。【解説】物語の語り手が語っている、「過去のある時点」(それは次の文で過去形が登場するので、その時点ということ)までに完了したということ。
過去完了形:結果
過去完了形:過去の過去
【例文】He had first appeared in Spring as a small sprout on a rather large branch near the top of a tall tree.
【解説】物語は夏が過ぎたところから始まっているので、その時点(すでに過去)からみて、さらに過去なので「過去の過去」を示すために過去完了が用いられている。
過去完了進行形
未来完了系
助動詞
should
否定形のときのnotの位置
【例文】Why should we not have different colors?
受動態
【例文】Freddie was surrounded by hundreds of other leaves just like himself, or so it seemed.
不定詞
不定詞の名詞的用法
不定詞の形容詞的用法
不定詞の副詞的用法
動名詞
分詞
分詞構文
比較
原級
比較級
【例文】In this new position he was more comfortablethan he had ever been.
【解説】このthanは接続詞としての働きを持ち、than以下の部分を「節」にまとめて、比較の対象となる「副詞節」をつくっています。節の中身は完全な「文」があるはずなので、He had been comfortable.という「文」を想定して、comfortableが節の中では省略されたと考えれば理解しやすいでしょう。
最上級
関係詞
関係代名詞
関係副詞
関係形容詞
仮定法(と直説法)
as if の中で用いられる仮定法
「まるで~であるか(あったか)のように」という意味を表すときにas if を用いた節を使うことがあります。節の中の文は、非現実なことであれば仮定法を用いることになりますが、現実に生じていることであれば、直説法が使われます。『総合英語フォレスト』から例文を拝借して説明しますと、You talk as if you are angry.(あなたは怒っているみたいな口調で話すね。)は、話者が実際に相手が怒っていると考えている場合です。You talk as if you were angry.(あなたはまるで怒っているかのような口調で話すね。)といえば、話者は相手が本当に怒っているとは考えていないということです。『葉っぱのフレディー』の中でも一箇所、as ifを用いた文が出てきますが、これは仮定法でしょうか?それとも直説法でしょうか?
【例文】The same breezes that, in the past, had made them dance began to push and pull at their stems, almost as if they were angry.
【解説】この文は主節の動詞beginは、過去形beganです。
疑問詞
話法
直接話法
【例文】He thought, “It must be their time.”
間接話法
修辞法
強調
倒置
挿入
省略
同格
【例文】The Fall of Freddie the Leaf 【解説】2つの名詞、Freddie およびthe Leafが並べられていますが、これらは同格の関係になっています。
品詞
名詞
冠詞
代名詞
形容詞
形容詞は、a white dog や The dog is white. のwhiteのように、名詞(今の例では、dog)の性質や状態を説明する語句のことです。
形容詞・形容語句の位置
名詞の後ろに置かれる形容詞・形容語句
【例文】Alfred was the leaf next to him. Ben was the leaf on his right side, and Clare was the lovely leaf overhead.
【解説】「彼の隣の」という形容詞句。「彼の右隣の」という形容詞句、「頭上の」という形容詞は、いづれも名詞に後置されています。ちなみにlovely(愛らしい)は前置された形容詞。
【例文】Spring had passed. So had Summer. 【和訳】春が過ぎた。夏も過ぎた。
【例文】Freddie was surrounded by hundreds of other leaves just like himself, or so it seemed.【和訳】フレディーは自分と同じ、もしくはそう見える何百もの他の葉っぱに囲まれていた。
前置詞
接続詞
等位接続詞
従属接続詞
従属接続詞のthat
他動詞の目的語としてthat節をとれる動詞かどうかという観点で動詞を整理しておくことも重要です。言う、知覚する、わかるという意味あいの動詞がthat節をとることができることが多いようです。appear, discover, explain, know, notice, see, tellがthat節とともに使われている例文を見ておきましょう。
【例文】It appeared to Freddie that Daniel was also the wisest among them.
【例文】Soon he discoveredthat no two leaves were alike, even though they were on the same tree.
【解説】接続詞のthatは名詞節をつくっており、この名詞節がdiscoverの目的語(O)になっています。S+V+Oの形です。
【例文】It was Daniel who explained that they were growing in a public park.
【例文】He was sure that it would live for a long time and he knew that he had been part of its life and made him proud.
【例文】Freddie noticed that the other leaves continued to fall.
【例文】He saw that some of the leaves lashed back at the wind before they fell, others simply let go and dropped quietly.
【例文】It was Daniel who told them that they were part of a tree.
The Art of Lovingは古今東西を問わず読まれているベストセラーであり、人間が生きる目的が何なのかを説いています。高校生にとっては若干、チャレンジングだとは思いますが、どうせ英語の勉強をするのなら中身の濃い題材に取り組んでみるのも悪くないと思います。以下に、英文法速習のためのまとめを作ってみます。(適宜付け足す予定)。
エーリッヒ・フロム『愛するということ』(The Art of Loving)のオーディオブック
Erich Fromm – The Art of Love (1989)
エーリッヒ・フロム『愛するということ』(The Art of Loving)の原文(英文のフルテキスト)
【例文】Care, responsibility, respect and knowledgeare mutually interdependent. 気遣うこと、責任、尊敬、知識、これらは互いに関係しあっている。
S+V+O
S+V+O+O
S+V+O+C
肯定文
否定文
否定的な意味を持つ副詞
hardly
【例文】Honey symbolizes the sweetness of life, the love for it and the happiness in being alive. Most mothers are capable of giving “milk,” but only a minority of giving “honey” too. In order to be able to give honey, a mother must not only be a “good mother,” but a happy person — and this aim is not achieved by many. The effect on the child can hardly be exaggerated. Mother’s love for life is as infectious as her anxiety is. 強調されすぎることはない
疑問文
疑問詞を用いた疑問文
【例文】What is giving? 【和訳】与えるということはどういうことか?
【例文】What is the outcome?【和訳】結果は何ですか?
命令文
命令文は、主語を置かずに、いきなり動詞の原形から文を始めます。
否定の命令文
否定の命令文をつくるときには、Do not + 動詞の原形、または、Never + 動詞の原形の形をとります。
【例文】Never put off till tomorrow the fun you can have today. 【和訳】今日楽しめることを、決して明日に延ばすな。
【例文】Freud has been criticized for his overevaluation of sex.
現在完了形:経験
現在完了形:結果
現在完了形:完了
【例文】In "love" one has found, at last, a haven from aloneness.
【和訳】「愛」の中に、人は、ようやく、一人ぼっちの状態から逃れる場所を見つけたのです。
【解説】日本語に訳すと、過去なのか現在完了なのかがわかりにくくなりますが、意味で考えれば、孤独からの避難所を見つけたのは過去の時点に起きたことで、その状態が今でも続いているので、現在完了を用いるわけです。
現在完了進行形
過去完了系
過去完了進行形
未来完了系
助動詞
受動態
不定詞
不定詞の名詞的用法
【例文】The child, while now living outside of the womb, is still completely dependent on mother. But daily he becomes more independent : he learns to walk, to talk, to explore the world on his own; the relationship to
mother loses some of its vital significance, and instead the relationship to father becomes more and more important.
【例文】To love somebody is not just a strong feeling — it is a decision, it is a judgment, it is a promise. 誰かを愛するということは、単なる強い感情というものではない。それは決心であり、判断であり、約束なのだ。
不定詞の形容詞的用法
不定詞の副詞的用法
動名詞
分詞
分詞構文
分詞構文の主語のおき方
【例文】In essence, all human beings are identical. We are all part of One; we are One. This being so, it should not make any difference whom we love. 意味は、「そういうわけなので、」くらいでしょうか。
【例文】The God of Abraham can be loved, or feared, as a father, sometimes his forgiveness, sometimes his anger being the dominant aspect.
エイブラハムの神は、父として愛されまたは恐れられます。時として彼の慈悲が、時として彼の怒りが支配的な様相を帯びることによって。
この文ではhis forgivenessとhis angerは分詞構文の主語になっています。
分詞構文の慣用的な表現
【例文】Granted that love for oneself and for others in principle is conjunctive, how do we explain selfishness, which obviously excludes any genuine concern for others?
【和訳】自分自身を愛することと他人を愛することがつながっているのだとしたら、身勝手さというものをどのように説明すればいいのだろうか?身勝手さは明らかに心から他人を気遣う気持ちを含まないのだが。
【解説】上の分詞構文は、かりに通常の文にするとすれば、If it was granted that ... と考えればよいでしょう。grant の意味は、ここでは、「仮に~だと認める」ということです。
もし通常の分詞構文の形に書くとすれば、It being granted that ... あるいは、It being taken granted that ... になります。それをさらに省略した形と理解すればよいでしょう。
比較
原級
比較級
the more …, the more …
【例文】The more I know what God is not, the more knowledge I have of God.
【例文】But the more the human race emerges from these primary bonds, the more it separates itself from the natural world, the more intense becomes the need to find new ways of escaping separateness.
最上級
関係詞
関係代名詞
関係代名詞のwhich
関係代名詞のwhich に前置詞などの語句がくっつく例
【例文】If the social structure is one of submission to authority — overt authority or the anonymous authority of the market and public opinion,
his concept of God must be infantile and far from the mature concept, the seeds of which are to be found in the history of monotheistic religion.
【解説】whichが単独で関係代名詞として使われる文には慣れている人でも、of whichとなった途端に苦手意識が湧いてしまう人もいるかもしれません。ましてや、この例文はさらに名詞までくっついて、
the seeds of whichとなっています。しかし、おそるるに足りません。関係代名詞を理解する基本原則、すなわち、もともとあった2つの文から出発して、それを関係代名詞を用いてひとつの文にする、
というやり方で理解する限り、全てが統一的に説明できてしまうからです。例文の後半部分だけに絞って、まず2つの文に分けて考えます。
文1: His concept of God must be infantile and far from the mature concept.
文2: The seeds of the mature concept are to be found in the history of monotheistic religion.
次に、文1と文2で同じものを指している名詞を探すとthe mature conceptなので、第2文のほうはそれを関係代名詞whichに変えて、2つの文をドッキングさせるだけです。
His concept of God must be infantile and far from the mature concept, the seeds of which are to be found in the history of monotheistic religion.
【例文】God becomes to him a symbol in which man, at an earlier stage of his evolution,
has expressed the totality of that which man is striving for, the realm of the spiritual world, of love, truth and justice.
関係副詞
関係副詞としてのwhere
【例文】In contrast to brotherly love and erotic love which are love between equals, the relationship of mother and child is by its very nature one of inequality,
where one needs all the help, and the other gives it.
The relationship of mother and child is inequality, where one needs all the help, and the other gives it. となるわけです。
関係形容詞
仮定法
仮定法過去
【例文】Whosoever saves a single life is as if he had saved the whole world;
whosoever destroys a single life is as if he had destroyed the whole world.
【例文】If it is there, it is like a blessing; if it is not there,
it is as if all beauty had gone out of life — and there is nothing I can do to create it.
【例文】Freud holds that the selfish person is narcissistic,
as if he had withdrawn his love from others and turned it toward his own person.
【例文】The beginning of the practice of concentration will be difficult; it will appear as if one could never achieve the aim.
【例文】To love God, if he were going to use this word, would mean, then, to long for the attainment of the full capacity to love, for the realization of that which "God" stands for in oneself.
【例文】Love is an act of faith, and whoever is of little faith is also of little love. Can one say more about the practice of faith? Someone else might; if I were a poet or a preacher, I might try. But since I am not either of these, I cannot even try to say more about the practice of faith, but am sure that anyone who is really concerned can learn to have faith as a child learns to walk.
【例文】To respect a person is not possible without knowing him; If care and responsibility would be blind if they were not guided by knowledge. Knowledge would be empty if it were not motivated by concern.
【例文】Responsibility could easily deteriorate into domination and possessiveness, were it not for a third component of love, respect.
as if 節の中が仮定法ではなく、通常の直説法の例
as ifときたら必ず仮定法になるわけではありません。
【例文】It seems, though, as if the proportion between masters and dilettantes is more heavily weighted in favor of the dilettantes
in the art of loving than is the case with other arts.
疑問詞
否定
部分否定
二重否定
話法
直接話法
間接話法
修辞法
強調
倒置
【例文】Mother's love is bliss, is peace, it need not be acquired, it need not be deserved. But there is a negative side, too, to the unconditional quality of mother's love. Not only does it not need to
be deserved — it also cannot be acquired, produced, controlled.
【例文】Closely related to the development of the capacity of love is the development of the object of love. これは倒置で、C+S+Vの形になっている。Cが長いこと、および強調したいというのが倒置される理由。
挿入
【例文】What Freud, paradoxically enough, ignores, is the psycho-biological aspect of sexuality, the masculine-feminine polarity, and the desire to bridge this polarity by union.
省略
同格
【例文】In the nature of fatherly love lies the fact that obedience becomes the main virtue, that disobedience is the main sin — and its punishment the withdrawal of fatherly love.
【解説】この文では、the factと、接続詞 thatがつくる名詞節とが同格の関係になっている。
品詞
名詞
冠詞
代名詞
Itの用法
形式主語のIt
【例文】It is the attitude which instills in the child a love for living, which gives him the feeling: it is good to be alive, it is good to be a little boy or girl, it is good to be on this earth! 生きていること、男の子や女の子でいること、地球上に存在すること、というto不定詞の名詞的用法と、形式主語となっているITに注意しましょう。 文の冒頭のItは、強調構文(It is ~ that/which …)の構成要素のItです。
強調構文のIt
【例文】The mother must not only tolerate, she must wish and support the child's separation. It is only at this stage that motherly love becomes such a difficult task, that it requires unselfishness, the ability to give everything and to want nothing but the happiness of the loved one. It is also at this stage that many mothers fail in their task of motherly love.
強調構文かそれとも形式主語のItからなる構文かを見分けるのは簡単で、強調構文であれば、It is … that を取り払ったときに、完全な文が残ります。上の例文でためしに取り払って語順を戻してみると
Motherly love becomes such a difficult task only at this stage.
It requires unselfishness, the ability to give everything and to want nothing but the happiness of the loved one only at this stage.
Many mothers fail in their task of motherly love also at this stage.
となります。
形容詞
副詞
前置詞
from
覚えておきたい動詞との組み合わせ
prevent ~ from -ing ~がーするのを妨げる
【例文】In the ideal case, mother's love does not try to prevent the child from growing up, does not try to put a premium on helplessness.
【例文】Altogether, the effect of the "unselfish" mother is not too different from that of the selfish one; indeed, it is often worse,
because the mother's unselfishness prevents the children from criticizing her.
【例文】Fear of or hatred for the other sex are at the bottom of those difficulties which prevent a person from giving himself completely,
from acting spontaneously, from trusting the sexual partner in the immediacy and directness of physical closeness.
接続詞
等位接続詞
等位接続詞というのは、結ばれる2つのもの(文、節、句、単語)が対等なものです。例えば、2つの文をANDで結ぶ場合、このANDは等位接続詞と呼ばれます。oranges and apples のように2つの単語を対等な関係でつないだ場合も同様です。
等位接続詞 and
【例文】He has little connection with the child in the first years of its life, and his importance for the child in this early period cannot be compared with that of mother.
等位接続詞 but
【例文】Love is not the result of adequate sexual satisfaction, butsexual happiness— even the knowledge of the so-called sexual technique — is the result of love.
【和訳】愛は性的に十分満足した結果として生じるのではない。性的な幸福のほうが、いわゆるセックスのテクニックの知識でさえ、愛の結果として生じるのである。
従属接続詞
if
条件を表す副詞節を導くIf
【例文】If a person loves only one other person and is indifferent to the rest of his fellow men, his love is not love but a symbiotic attachment, or an enlarged egotism.
【例文】If I perceive in another person mainly the surface, I perceive mainly the differences, that which separates us.
名詞節をつくる、従属接続詞that
【例文】But while the data of psychoanalytic therapy point to the fallacy of the idea that knowledge of the correct sexual technique leads to sexual happiness and love,
the underlying assumption that love is the concomitant of mutual sexual satisfaction was largely influenced by the theories of Freud.
【解説】ここでは、ideaとその直後のthat節(名詞節)とが同格の関係にあり、assumptionとその直後のthat節(名詞節)もやはり同格の関係にあります。
文が長いので、骨格部分だけを抜き出して訳を与えておきます。
But while the data point to the fallacy, the underlying assumption was largely influenced by the theories of Freud.
しかし、それらのデータからは誤った考えが導びかれてしまうが、そこでの前提はフロイトの理論から大きな影響を受けているのである。
Spring had passed. So had Summer. Freddie, the leaf, had grown large. His mid section was wide and strong, and his five extensions were firm and pointed. He had first appeared in Spring as a small sprout on a rather large branch near the top of a tall tree.
【解説】So had Summer. のSo は前の文を受けており、夏も過ぎた(つまり季節は秋になった) という意味になります。春が過ぎて、夏が来た というわけではないことに注意。
Freddie was surrounded by hundreds of other leaves just like himself, or so it seemed. Soon he discovered that no two leaves were alike, even though they were on the same tree. Alfred was the leaf next to him. Ben was the leaf on his right side, and Clare was the lovely leaf overhead. They had all grown up together. They had learned to dance in the Spring breezes, bask lazily in the Summer sun and wash off in the cooling rains.
But it was Daniel who was Freddie’s best friend. He was the largest leaf on the limb and seemed to have been there before anyone else. It appeared to Freddie that Daniel was also the wisest among them. It was Daniel who told them that they were part of a tree. It was Daniel who explained that they were growing in a public park. It was Daniel who told them that the tree had strong roots which were hidden in the ground below. He explained about the birds who came to sit on their branch and sing morning songs. He explained about the sun, the moon, the stars, and the seasons.
Freddie loved being a leaf. He loved his branch, his light leafy friends, his place high in the sky, the wind that jostled him about, the sun rays that warmed him, the moon that covered him with soft, white shadows. Summer had been especially nice. The long hot days felt good and the warm nights were peaceful and dreamy. There were many people in the park that Summer. They often came and sat under Freddie’s tree. Daniel told him that giving shade was part of his purpose.
“A reason for being,” Daniel had answered. “To make things more pleasant for others is a reason for being. To make shade for old people who come to escape the heat of their homes is a reason for being. To provide a cool place for children to come and play. To fan with our leaves the picnickers who come to eat on checkered tablecloths. These are all the reasons for being.”
Freddie especially liked the old people. They sat so quietly on the cool grass and hardly ever moved. They talked in whispers of times past. The children were fun, too, even though they sometimes tore holes in the bark of the tree or carved their names into it. Still, it was fun to watch them move so fast and to laugh so much.
But Freddie’s Summer soon passed. It vanished on an October night. He had never felt it so cold. All the leaves shivered with the cold. They were coated with a thin layer of white which quickly melted and left them dew drenched and sparkling in the morning sun. Again, it was Daniel who explained that they had experienced their first frost, the sign that it was Fall and that Winter would come soon.
Almost at once, the whole tree, in fact, the whole park was transformed into a blaze of color. There was hardly a green leaf left. Alfred had turned a deep yellow. Ben had become a bright orange. Clare had become a blazing red, Daniel a deep purple and Freddie was red and gold and blue. How beautiful they all looked. Freddie and his friends had made their tree a rainbow.
“Each of us is different. We have had different experiences. We have faced the sun differently. We have cast shade differently. Why should we not have different colors?” Daniel said matter-of-factly. Daniel told Freddie that this wonderful season was called Fall.
One day a very strange thing happened. The same breezes that, in the past, had made them dance began to push and pull at their stems, almost as if they were angry. This caused some of the leaves to be torn from their branches and swept up in the wind, tossed about and dropped softly to the ground. All the leaves became frightened.
“Yes,” Daniel answered. “Everything dies. No matter how big or small, how weak or strong. We first do our job. We experience the sun and the moon, the wind and the rain. We learn to dance and to laugh. Then we die.”
“I won’t die!” said Freddie with determination. “Will you, Daniel?”
「僕は死なないよ。」フレディはきっぱりと言いました。「ダニエルは?」
“Yes,” answered Daniel, “when it’s my time.”
「死ぬよ。」ダニエルは答えました。「自分にその時が来たらね。」
“When is that?” asked Freddie.
「それはいつなの?」フレディはたずねました。
“No one knows for sure,” Daniel responded.
「誰にもはっきりとはわからない。」ダニエルは答えた。
Freddie noticed that the other leaves continued to fall. He thought, “It must be their time.” He saw that some of the leaves lashed back at the wind before they fell, others simply let go and dropped quietly. Soon the tree was almost bare.
“I’m afraid to die,” Freddie told Daniel. “I don’t know what’s down there.”
「死ぬのが怖いよ。」フレディはダニエルに言いました。「下がどうなっているのかわからない。」
“We all fear what we don’t know, Freddie. It’s natural,” Daniel reassured him. “Yet, you were not afraid when Summer became Fall. They were natural changes. Why should you be afraid of the season of death?”
“No one knows for sure. That’s the great mystery!” 「誰にもはっきりとはわからない。それはとって不思議なことなんだ。」
“Will we return in the Spring?” 「春には戻って来るの?」
“We may not, but Life will.” 「僕らは戻らないかもしれない、けれどいのちは戻ってくる。」
“Then what has been the reason for all of this?” Freddie continued to question. “Why were we here at all if we only have to fall and die?” 「だったら今までの事全ては何のためだったの?」フレディは質問し続けました。「もしどうせ死ぬだけなんだとしたら、なぜ自分たちはここにいたの?」
Daniel answered in his matter-of-fact way, “It’s been about the sun and the moon. It’s been about happy times together. It’s been about the shade and the old people and the children. It’s been about colors in Fall. It’s been about seasons. Isn’t that enough?”
“That afternoon, in the golden light of dusk, Daniel let go. He fell effortlessly. He seemed to smile peacefully as he fell. “Goodbye for now, Freddie,” he said.
Then, Freddie was all alone, the only leaf on his branch. The first snow fell the following morning. It was soft, white, and gentle; but it was bitter cold. There was hardly any sun that day, and the day was very short. Freddie found himself losing his color, becoming brittle. It was constantly cold and the snow weighed heavily upon him.
At dawn the wind came that took Freddie from his branch. It didn’t hurt at all. He felt himself float quietly, gently and softly downward. As he fell, he saw the whole tree for the first time. How strong and firm it was! He was sure that it would live for a long time and he knew that he had been part of its life and made him proud.
Freddie landed on a clump of snow. It somehow felt soft and even warm. In this new position he was more comfortable than he had ever been. He closed his eyes and fell asleep. He did not know that Spring would follow Winter and that the snow would melt into water. He did not know that what appeared to be his useless dried self would join with the water and serve to make the tree stronger. Most of all, he did not know that there, asleep in the tree and the ground, were already plans for new leaves in the Spring.