The Merchant of Venice (1)

The Merchant of Venice (1)

  There was once a very rich man who lived in Venice.
  His name was Antonio. He became rich by buying and selling things.

  Venice is a city near the sea, in Italy, and a lot of ships arrive there.

  Antonio owned some ships.

  The ships went to other parts of the world, and the captains of these ships bought athings in other countries.
  They did not paymuch money for these things.

  When the ships were full, the captains went to Venice and sold the goods to the people who lived there.
  They sold them for a lot more money than they had paid.   

  People who made money like this were called ’Merchants’

  Antonio was one of the richest merchants in Venice.

(1/45)
１日遅れまして申し訳ありません。以後、毎日続く予定です(午前5時アップ)。

シェークスピアの「ベニスの商人」物語版ですが、
(全部易しく言い換えるほど能力がないため)、
易しくリトールドしてありますが完全版ではなく、かなりのシーン＆エピソードを飛ばした簡略版となる見込みです。

しかし、それでも相当に長いので、途中で、わりと短い易しい童話を挟みたいと思います。

The Merchant of Venice (2)

The Merchant of Venice (2)

  To become rich like this, the merchants had to take some big risks.

  It cost a lot of money to buy the ships and to pay the people who worked on the ships.

  The merchants also had to pay for the things they bought.

  Sometimes the ships sank ina storm, and everything was lost.

  Sometimes the ships were attacked. Pitates stole the cargo or the ships.

  There were many dangers.

  Antonio was a good man who often helped his friends when they needed money.

  However, he was not always happy.
  When he was sad, he wondered why he was sad. It made him tired to think about it. he did not know why he was sad.

  His friends thought he was sad because he was worried about his ships and his cargoes every day and night.

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The Merchant of Venice (3)

The Merchant of Venice (3)

  They tried to imagine what it would be like if they had that much money and took such big risks.
  They thought about storms and pirates. They thought about losing all that money.

  One of his friends, Salerio, said, " You are sad because you are rich. You have too much to worry about with all your ships on the oceans around the world. "

  Another friend, Solanio, agreed, " If they were my ships, and my money, " he said, " I would always be thinking about what could go wrong. That would make me sad. "

  " Yes, " agreed Salerio, " if I blew on my tea to mak e it cool, I would think of the wind at sea and the storms that could sink my ships. If I looked at the sand in the hour glass, I would think of all the sand that my ships could run into. Even my house would make me worried because it is made of big stones.THis would make me think about the rocks my ships could hit. Everything I saw would make me worry about my ships and my cargoes. I am certain that this is what makes you sad, Antonio. "

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The Merchant of Venice (4)

The Merchant of Venice (4)

  Antonio didin't agree.
  " I have a lot of ships and a lot of cargoes. If I lose on eor two, it does not matter, " hesaid.
  " I am not worried. I'm certain that you are wrong. That is not why I am sad. "

  Solanio toried to think of another reason.
  " You must be in love, Antonio ! "

  Antonio didn't agreed again.
  " No, I'm not in love, " he answered.

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誤字を訂正しました。すみません。

The Merchant of Venice (5)

The Merchant of Venice (5)

  " Well. " said Solanio, " if you are not worried about your ships and cargoes, and you arenot in love, we don't know what is making you sad. All we can say is that you are sad because you are not happy. You might as well be happy because you are not sad. Then you could sing and laugh again. "

  " I think, " said Antonio, " that the world is a stage. Everybody has a part of to play, and my part is a sad part. "

  Another friend, Graziano, tried to make Antonio happier by telling him jokes and silly stories. He talked all the time, and people thought he was a fool.
  " If you say nothing and look sad, " he advised, " People will think you are wise ! "

  Antonio's best friend was Bassanio.

  Bassanio though that Graziano talked a lot but said nothing.
  " Yrying to find ameaning in his words is like trying to find a needle in a haystack, " he said, " if you do find it, you soon discover that it is not sharp. "

  Antonio's friends were very kind, and he liked them a lot, but they did not succeed in making him happier.

  Of course, the real problem was that Antonio was bored.
  However, all that would soon change.

 (5)

The Merchant of Venice (6)

 The Merchant of Venice (6)

  One day, Bassanio came to visit Antonio.
  This was not unusual because they were good friends.

  But this visit was more important than usual for Bassanio.
  He already owed Antonio a lot of money, but now he wanted to borrow some more.
  Of course, Antonio wanted to know why Bassanio needed the money.

  " I have been spending more money than I earn, " began  Bassanio.
  " I already owe you a lot of money. I will tell you how I am going to get enough money to pay back all the money I owe. "

  " Yes, tell me, " said Antonio.
  " If I can help you, I will. "

  " When I was a boy at school, " began Bassanio, " Isometimes lost a ball when I was playing. When that happened, I would throw another ball in exactly the same way and watch it carefully.
  I would often find the two balls together. You might like to think of your money that way. The money you gave me is the first ball. It is lost, and I know it is my fault.
  But if you give me some more money, it could be like that second ball and help you get all your money back.  I will give back the money you give me now as well as the money that I have already lost. " 

  Antonio invited him to continue.

  Bassanio told him about a rich young lady in Belmont.
  Her name was Portia.
  Her father died and feft her a lot of money. She was beautiful as well as rich, and she was not married.
  Many men cam efrom all over the world to court her, but nobody had succeeded.
  Bassanio had met Portia before, and he knew that she liked him.
  He told ANtonio that if he had enough money, he would soon make her his wife.

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The Merchant of Venice (7)

The Merchant of Venice (7)

  " She is rich and young and beautiful. Her hair is like gold, and her face is always sunny and happy. She is always smiling. Antonio! She is beautifuk. She likes me. I am certain she would marry me, " he explained.

  Antonio laughed.
  "  You are my friend, Bassanio, " he comforted, " and I will help you. You know that all my ships are at sea just now, so I do not have much money to give you. However, you can go into town and try to borrow the money. Tell the moneylenders that ANtonio will guarantee the maneypaid back to them. Don't worry !  I will help you to go to Belmont and court Portia. "

  Bassanio, of course, was very pleased. He immediately started to make his plans.

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The Merchant of Venice (8)

The Merchant of Venice (8)

  Bassanio was right about Portia.

  She was young, beautiful, and she was not married.

  However, like Antonio, she was unhappy and tired. She had a maid called Nerissa, and Narissa told her that people can get sick from having too much as easily as they get sick from not having enough.

  " Those are wise words, Narissa, " Portia told her.

  " Wise words are not much good if nobody takes any notice, " replied Nerissa.

  " That's true, " agreed Portia, " but if it were as easy to do something as it is to say it, then poor people would live in palaces.
 I can easily teach twenty people what to do, but it is much more difficult to be one of the twenty people  that  follow my own teaching ! " 

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The Merchant of Venice (9)

The Merchant of Venice (9)

  Portia was unhappy because she wanted  a husband, but her father's will stopped her from choosing one that she liked.
  At the same time, it stopped her from refusing one that she didnot like.

  her father had arranged a kind of guessing game for men who came to court his daughter.

  There were three boxes. Each one had something written on it. Every suitor had to chose a box. Portia's father thought the right man would understand the meaning of the three boxes and choose the right one.

  The man who chose the right box could marry Portia, but if a man chose the wrong box, he would never marryanyone at all.

  Her first suitor was a prince from Naples.
  Portia did not like him because he talked about cats all the time. He didn't seem to know about anything except cats, and nothing else interested him.
  Portia did not like cats.

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The Merchant of Venice (10)

The Merchant of Venice (10)

  Her second suitor was a count.
  Portia did not like him because he always looked sad or angry ー or both. He never looked happy, and she was afraid that when he got old, he would be a very unhappy husband for her.

  Her third suitor was a French lord.
  Portia did not like him either because he did not have his own way of thinking. He tried to be just like every person he met. She thought it would be like having twenty husbands, and she couldn't love him at all.

  Her next suitor was a baron from England.
  She did not like him because he had never studied anything. She could not speak with him because he did not understand latin, French, or Italian. She wanted a husband who could talk to her. 

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The Merchant of Venice (11)

The Merchant of Venice (11)

  The Scottish lord was no better.
  he began to agree with the English baron, and Portia told them both to leave.

  The german duke was worst of all because he was drunk all the time. Portia thought that at his best, he was worse than a man, and at his worst, he was little better than an animal.
  She hopeed that he would not ask to choose one of the boxes, for if he chose the right one, she would have to marry him.

  However , none of these men were brave enough to choose on eof the boxes.
  They thought the risk were too big.

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The Merchant of Venice (12)

The Merchant of Venice (12)

  Portia remembered that while her father was still alive, a young man called Bassanio came to visit them from Venice.

  She liked him a lot. She thought he was brave and interesting and handsome. She hoped he would court her and be brave enough to choose a box.

  Perhaps he would choose the right box and make her his wife.
  Instead of this, however, she recieved news that Prince of Morocco was on his way to court her.

  " Not another one ! " she exclaimed.
  She wa stired of suitor.
  She thought her father had given her a very difficult problem. If one of the suitor was brave enough to choose a box and chose the right one, she would have to marry him whether she liked him or not. If he chose the wrong box, she couldn't marry him even if she liked him.

  It was more than annoying.

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The Merchant of Venice (13)

Shylock and Antonio

  There was another rich man in Venice. 
  His name was Shylock.
  He earnede his money by lending money to other people and making them pay interest.

  A lot of people borrowed money from him.
  Of course, Shylock's  business had risks, too.
  Sometimes people were not able to pay back the money they had borrowed. Sometimes thy would not pay it back even ef they could.

  When people borrowed money from Antonio, he did not make them pay interest. He thought it was wrong to make peoplepay interest. He said rich people should help poor people.

  Shylock was very angry about this because people went to borrow money from Antonio instead of borroeing from him This meant Shtlock earned less money.

  Another reason that Antonio and Shylock didn't like each other was that Antonio was a Christian and Shylock was a Jew. They disagreed about a lot of things and did not talk to each other.

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The Merchant of Venice (14)

The Merchant of Venice (14)

  When Antonio told Bassanio to go to twon and borrow money, Bassanio visited Shylock, He asked shylock to lend him thirty thousand ducatoes and said he would pay it back in three months.

  " How do I know ou can pay it back ? " asked Shylock.

   Bassani smiled, " My friend Antonio will help me. If I do not pay you in three months, He will do it for me. "

  Now it was Dhylock's turn to smile. Perhaps this wouldbe a chance for him to hurt his enemy in some way.
  " I understand that Antonio has some ships in different parts of the world," he said, " and that when they come back, he will have plenty of money. However, there are many risks in his business. There are pirates, and there are storms, and everything could be lost. But I am not worried about him because I know That Antonio is a good man.Thirty thousand ducatoes is a lot of money, but I believe he will help you. "

Shylock went to visit Antonio.

(14/45)
昨日はダウンしまして、申し訳ありません。以後、続きます。 

The Merchant of Venice (15)

The Merchant of Venice (15)

  When he saw him, he remembered how much he hated him.
  However, he did not show his hatred.
  He tried to be friendly.
  "It's thirty thousand ducatoes for three months, isn't it ? " he asked.

   Antonio and Bassanio agreed.

  " What interest willl you pay ? " he asked.

  Before long, Antonio and Shylock were arguing about interest.

  Antonio called Shylock some bad names.
  " He looks like a good apple, " he told Bassanio, " but inside he is rotten. "

  Bassanio was worries. Perhaps Shylock would not lend him the money, so he spoke to Antonio. Antonio was sorry.

  " Will you still lend us the money ? " Antonio asked Shylock.

  " Why should I ? " asked Shylock. 
  " You often say bad things about me for the way Ilend money. I never argue with you about it because I am a man who does not get angry quickly. YOu call me names. You call me a dog You spit on my clothes. "

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The Merchant of Venice(16)

The Merchant of Venice (16)

  " Now, you need myhelp, and you come to me and ask for money. I should tell you that a dog has no money. How can a dog lend you thirty thousand decatoes ? Or should I say thank you for spitting on my clothes ? Should I say that because of the these kind acts I will be pleased to lend you thirty  thousand decatoes ? 

  " If you lend us this money , " pleaded Antonio, " I will not call you names or spit on your clothes again. I am not asking you to lend us the money as if we were your friends. Lend it to us  as if we were enemies. Then, if we cannnot pay it back in time, you will feel better about making us pay the penalty. "

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The Merchant of Venice (17)

The Merchant of Venice (17)

  Shylock pretended to be surprised.
  " Antonio, I want to be your friend. I want to forget all the bad things you said to me. I won't make you pay interest for the money I lend you. "

  Bassanio thought this was kind.

  " Come with me to the judge, " said Shylock, " so  that he can write the contract. I will lend you thirty thousand decatoes for three months. You will pay no interest. just for fun, however, let's agree that if you do not pay me on time, you will give me one pound of your fresh from wherever I choose to take it. "

  Antonio agreed.
  He even told Bassanio that he thought Shylock was kind because he was not making them pay interest, but Bassanio didi not agree.
  " I won't let you do that for me, " he insisted.
  " The risk is too big. I would rather stay poor and in dept. "

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The Merchant of Venice (18)

The Merchant of Venice (18)

  Antonio was certain that he would be able topay the money on time.
  " My ships come back a whole month before we have to pay the money, " he replied.
  " I expect thirty times thirty thousand decatoes when they arrive. Don't worry, my friend. "

  Shylock agreed.
  " What use to me is a pound of a man's flesh ?  I cannot sell it. It would be better to have a pound of a cow's flesh or sheep's flesh. Then you could eat it. It's just for fun. I want to be your friend. If you don't want to be friends, we we will not make a contact. "

  Antonio agreed to the penalty, and they arranged to meet at the judge's house.

(18/45)

昨日はダウンして申し訳ありません。

The Merchant of Venice (19)

The Merchant of Venice (19)

  Portia 

  The Prince of Morocco arrived in Belmont to court the Lady Portia.
  He was a very rich man and very strong.
  He was brave in war.
  He came to Belmont with some servants.
  People always knew when the Prince of Morocco was coming because his servants blew their trumpets. it was all very wonderful.

  the prince told Portia about his famous battles. He bragged about how many victories he had won and how he won them. He told her how brave and strong he was.  He told her many good things about himself.
  " All the women in my country love me, " he boasted.
  " They always tell me I am strong and brave. "

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The Merchant of Venice (20)

The Merchant of Venice (20)

  However , he knew he might not win Portia for his wife. Strength and bravery were not needed in a game of chance. If a strong man and a weak man play a game of chance, the weak man has as much chance of wining as a strong one.

  " If I do not choose a box, the prize might go to someone who is not worthy of winning it, " he said.

  " That is true, " agreed Portia, " and there is nothing I can do about it. It is a rule that my father made before he died. "

  The prince was certsain that he would die of sadness if someoneelse chose the right box and won Portia as his wife.

  He had to win her himself, so he really wanted to try.
  He asked Portia to take him to the boxes and allow him to choose.

  " Remember, " said Portia, " that if you choose the wrong box, you cannot marry anyone. "

  " I know, " answered the prince, looking at the beautiful Portia, " and I will take my chance. Where are the boxes ? I want to choose one. "

  " After dinner, you may choose, " she said.
 
  " Then I will be either the happiest or the saddest man in the world, " said the Prince of Morocco.

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