The Acorns & Wildcat Kenji MIYAZAWA Translated by SoRaJune Part I 宮沢賢治 どんぐりと山猫 英語版 パート１

One Saturday evening, Ichiro received a
strange card.

“September 19th

Dear Ichiro Kaneta,
I’m pleesed that you’re doing well.
Tomoro we have a dificult trial, pleese
come over. No wepons are allowed.

Yours sinserely,
Wildcat”

The handwriting was terrible and the ink
was cheap and sticky on his fingers.
Ichiro, however, was overjoyed with that
card and carefully put it in his schoolbag,
then leaped around in his house.
Even after going to bed, he could not sleep
well thinking of the grin of Wildcat and the
details of difficult trial next day.

When he woke up, it was already bright.
He got out outside. The mountains surrounded
him and stood up as if just being created
under the blue skies.
Ichiro hurriedly finished his breakfast and
alone he went up the road by the brook.

When fresh breeze went through, a chestnut
tree scattered its nuts on the ground. Ichiro
looked up the tree and asked, “Hey, Chestnut
tree, did you see Wildcat was passing by?”
The tree became silent for a moment and said,
“Wildcat? He headed east early this morning
in his wagon.”
“East is the direction that I'm heading to.
That sounds strange. But I'll go up a
little further. Thank you, Chestnut tree.”
The tree did not answer but scattered its nuts
again.

After walking for a while, Ichiro saw a whistling
waterfall. There was a small hole in the middle of
a huge white rock and all the water streams came
out from the hole while making whistling sounds.
All the water fell down towards the valley.
Ichiro asked the waterfall,
“Hey Whistling, did you see Wildcat was passing
by?”
“Wildcat headed west in his wagon not long ago”
“That sounds strange. The west means the direction
towards my house. But it’s OK, I'll walk a
littler further. Thank you, Whistling.”
The waterfall continued blowing its whistle.

After going up a little further, he saw many
white mushrooms were forming an odd music band
playing rub-a-dub-dub, rub-a-dub-dub under a
beech tree. Ichiro bent forward and asked,
“Hey, Mushroom, did you see Wildcat was
passing by?”
“Wildcat? We saw him head south in his
wagon early this morning. “
Ichiro slowly shake his head. “South means the
direction towards those mountains. That’s
strange. I'll go up further anyway. Thank
you, Mushroom!”
All mushrooms hurriedly came back to their odd
music playing rub-a-dub-dub, rub-a-dub-dub.

Ichiro went up further. He saw a squirrel leaping
about branches of a walnut tree. Ichiro raised
his hand to say stop and said, “Hey, Squirrel,
did you see Wildcat was passing by?”
The squirrel put his hand on his brow to look
down Ichiro and said, “Wildcat? Early this morning
when it was still dark, he went south in his wagon. “
“It’s strange you’re the second person to say
that. Anyway I’ll go up a little further.
Thank you, Squirrel!”
The squirrel has already disappeared. Ichiro saw
the high branch of the chestnut tree was waving
and a beech tree next to it reflected the sun.

Ichiro went up further. The road by the brook
became narrower and finished. There was a new
path toward the Sothern valley surrounded by black
nutmeg tree forest. Ichiro took the path. The nutmeg
tree’s branches were so black and thick that no
part of the blue skies were visible. The path turns
hilly and steep. Ichiro became very red and dropped
beads of sweat but continued going up the slope.
Then suddenly the forest was open up and bright
light hurt his eyes. (to be continued)