Since that time, every Elf and Troll, Goblin and Brownie, Djinn and Ruskalki, Shape-shifter and even the Dragon, have been hiding invisibly beside us, above us, below us, watching us, teasing us, helping us, in the proud Fairy tradition of playful torture and occasional benevolence toward Man. For, even in their invisibility, the temptation to make mischief amongst those who had come to the New World-the stern Pilgrims, the rigid British, the fops and fools questing fortune in the West-was irresist- ible to the Fair People. From the safety of the wilderness, they would venture forth into civilization for their own amusement. It was the best of both worlds. Over the years, with each new wave of immi- grants from the Old World to the New, came a new host of Fair People. Like their human counterparts, many remained fiercely dedicated to their Old World ways; others intermingled. Pixie married Elf; Sylph married Duende; Falletti courted Troll … with fascinating results. But all remained true to the pact of the emigres of the First Passage. Although some chose to live closer to Man, all remained invisible. Sadly, however, the New World was changing. Yo-Rib’s native brethren were slaughtered; rivers they had once forged were dammed by concrete walls; and the sky was befouled by machines. The Fair People knew that civilization was making this New World unfit for them, even in their hidden form, just as it had done before.· And the Fair Peo- ple, with their love for nature, knew that something had to be done. Thus, longing for the day when
汚され、空は機械が吐きだす煙りで汚染された。
妖精たちは、たとえ姿が見えなくても、文明
によってこの新世界が自分たちには不向きな
ものになっていくことを悟っていた。
だからこそ、 自然への愛ゆえに妖精たちは
なにかをしなければと思いたったのだ。 いつ
か、人間が自分たちと平和に共存できる日が
くることを願ったのだ。
こうして、 妖精たちは人間にむかってかん
たんな休戦協定を提案することになった。
もし、 人間が妖精たちの財宝を見つけるこ
とができたら、それを与えようというのだ。
そのかわり、旧大陸からきた妖精たちや新世
界で生まれた妖精たちの奇妙ですばらしい子
孫たちが、 以降、 人間の世界に姿を現わして
平和に共存していくという。
しかし、最初の妖精たちはいぜんとして姿
を消したままになるだろう、という。
妖精たちは····････
「……その古くからの場所を守る
ただの石をひっくり返し、 翼を揺らす!
56
それはあなた、あなたのよそよそしい顔、
それは多くの華麗なものを見のがす」
わたしたちの国、 わたしたちの時代に、 妖
精たちとその財宝はまだ発見されるのを待っ
ているのだ。 もしあなたが善良で心やさしく、
陽気な人間であるなら、きっと見つけられる
はずなのだ。
新世界のエルフ、 ゴブラン
ケンタウロス、 トロール、 フェイ……
輝くものがしゃべってから5世紀
人間の船が陸に着いた
彼らは人間から逃れた
浅黒い者は宝石を隠し
煙りのように消えた
霊は財宝を捨てて逃げた
最初の時代は終わり
新しい時代がはじまる
風はいまだミツバチの羽音を運んでくる
さあ、そのミツを
できるなら見つけるがいい
57
…polluted, and the sky contaminated by the smoke of machines. The fairies, even in their invisibility, understood that civilization was making this New World unsuitable for them.
And so, out of their love for nature, the fairies felt they had to do something. They longed for the day when humans might be able to coexist with them in peace.
And so the fairies decided to propose a simple truce to humankind.
If humans could find the fairies’ treasures, they would give them up. In exchange, the strange and wonderful descendants of the fairies who came from the Old World and those born in the New World would henceforth appear in the human world and live in peace alongside them.
But the first fairies — the original immigrants — would remain invisible forever.
The fairies…
“…keep their ancient places
Turn but a stone, and stir a wing!
‘Tis ye, ’tis your estranged faces,
That miss the many-splendored thing.”
In our land and in our time, the fairies and their treasures are still waiting to be discovered. If you are good and kind and playful, you will surely find them.
New World Elf, Goblin
Centaur, Troll, Fey —
Five centuries since the shining ones spoke
Man’s ship made land
They fled from Man
The dark ones hid the jewels
And disappeared like smoke
The spirits laid down their treasure and fled
The first age ended
The new age began
The wind still carries the sound of bees
Now — find their honey
If you can
56-57
