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Sep. 16th, 2005 11:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
which_chickTomorrow I'm paying the property taxes in Everett. I would have done this during the work week, but the property tax bills came with the following on them: Office hours 7-9 Mon and Tues, 9-noon Sat. There was no AM or PM on the things. I'm up at 7:00 AM. I'm at work before 8:00 AM every day, damn it. It turns out that the tax collector is not, though. She meant 7-9 PM. I don't know why she didn't put PM on the bills. It was an honest mistake. Anyway, that is why I will be paying the property taxes in Everett on a Saturday morning.
In the afternoon, I've made plans with the intrepid La to ride over to Odie's and back. Odie's, so that we're all on the same page, is some eleven miles distant (round trip, some paved road and some dirt road and some trail-like nontraffic-y bits) from the primary horse location, where the maternity-leave horse (Meatly) currently resides. I will be taking the IRH because she needs mileage and exposure. I was really hoping that the magical horse booties would have gotten here in the post, but they haven't yet. Damn. They wode haven been fun to play with, I think. (Warning: runs with verbs.) La will be starting out on Mezcal and swapping her for Ceres at Odie's. Ceres is entirely unbroke, has never been sat on (I'm vaguely concerned about those verbs, there. Do they look happy to you? In real life, I'd probably say "never been set on" but I know the verb we want here is some form of sit and sat is the best I can do. I know full well that set is not any conjugation of sit. I keep wanting there to be an alternative, sort of germanic construction like has never been setten on or something, but I don't think one exists.) by a person before. Oh, well, it'll be educational for us all, I feel certain. If Mezcal is a vaguely reassuring sort of broke horse to ride with, Ceres is... not exactly. It's time for Nick to be the broke horse.
And now, for your continued edification, I present Urashima-tarou (original stolen from here), a Japanese fairy tale. (This was the one mentioned a ways back with the turtle on the beach and so forth. I'm lazy and slow and just now got around to reading it.)
むかしむかし、あるところに、うらしまたろうという、りょうしがおました。
Long, long ago, in a certain place, there was a fisherman called Urashima-Tarou.
たろうは、年おいたおとうさんとおかあさんをとても大切にする、おやこうこうで、やさしいわかものでした。
For Tarou, his aged parents were very important and he honored them because he was a kind young man.
ある日のことです。
Then came the day of our story. (This isn't literal but it's the best I could do.)
たろうがはまべを歩いていると、こどもたちがあつまってさわいでいます。
Tarou was walking along the beach, where a group of kids were grouped up and making some noise.
なにをしているんだろう、と近づいてみると、子どもたちは、カメをいじめてあそんでいました。
To see what they were doing, Tarou approached the kids and saw that they were picking on a turtle. (The turtle is in italics because it is no ordinary turtle. If it were an ORDINARY turtle, it would be written as 亀 or かめ, using the kanji or the hirigana. Because it is written in katakana, as カメ, we know that something's up with the turtle, nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more.)
「こらこら、生き物をいじめてはいけないよ」
"Here, here, don't be picking on living things!"
たろうは、いじめられているカメをかわいそうに思って、子どもたちをとめました。
Tarou thought that the turtle being picked on looked pitiful, and he stopped the children.
子どもたちは、たろうに注意されると、さあっとにげていきました。
Tarou gave the children a warning and they ran away. (Or not. The children are not the focus of the story anyway.)
カメは、たろうに言いました。
The turtle spoke to Tarou. (See? No ordinary turtle, I tell you.)
「たすけてくださって、本当にありがとうございました。
"For rescuing me, I sincerely thank you very much.
おれいにすばらしいところに、ごあんないいたします。
As an expression of my gratitude, allow me to guide you to a splendid place.
さあわたしの背中に乗ってください」
Well, climb upon my back, please."
たろうが背中に乗ると、カメはゆっくりと海の中に入っていきました。
Tarou climbed on the turtle's back and the turtle gently went into the ocean.
ふしぎなことに、海の中でもふつうに息をすることができます。
It was mysterious, but in the ocean, Tarou was able to just stop breathing. (I'm not real sure on the job I did parsing, but that's the gist. Tarou does not drown in the ocean because he doesn't NEED to breathe anymore. The picture has him riding a sea turtle down under the water to a magnificent castle, in no apparent distress. If he were drowning, this would be a much shorter story.)
海の中は、日の光がきらきらして、とてもきれいでした。
In the ocean, the rays of sunlight glistened. It was very beautiful.
しばらく行くとサンゴの間から、うつくしいごてんが見えてきました。
After a short time travelling, a beautiful castle nestled in a coral reef came into view. (Passive voice is the bane of Japanese-to-English translations.)
「あれがりゅうぐうじょうです」
"That is Ryuguujou" (It's also written 竜宮城, it's just the name of the castle.)
カメがりゅうぐうじょうの前までくると、中からとてもきれいな女の人が出てきしまた。
As the turtle arrived in front of Ryuguujou, a beautiful girl came out from inside the castle.
「わたしは、おとひめともうします。
"I am called yungest princess."
このたびは、わたしのけらいのカメをたすけていただいて、ありがとうございました。
"On this occasion, I would like to thank you very much for saving my servant, the turtle."
どうぞ、ごゆっくりしていってください」
"Please, come in at your own pace."
たろうがりゅうくうじょうの中に入ると、見たこともないようなごちそうが用意されていました。
Tarou went into Ryuguujou, but he couldn't see everything because preparations for a feast were underway.
あとひめさまがとなりにあわって、とろけるような、おいしいおさけをついでくれます。
Youngest princess sat down next to Tarou, enchanted with him, and then offered him delicious sake.
色とりどりの魚たちがたろうのまわりにあつまって、ひらひらとまいをおどります。
Many fish of assorted colors gathered around Tarou, their fins fluttering as each danced.
たろうはうっとりと、ゆめごこちな気分で毎日をすごしまひた。
Tarou was in a trance, a dreamlike state where days slipped by.
ところが、りゅうぐうじょうで楽しい日々をすごしているうち、たろうは、だんだんのとうさんとおかあさんのことが、しんぱいになってきました。
In this place, Ryuguushou, where enjoyable days, one after another, passed, Tarou gradually started to become worried about his father and mother.
「おとひめさま、おら、村にのこしてきた、おっとうとおっかあのことが気になってしょうがないんです」
"Youngest Princess, I am concerned about my father and mother in the village that I left behind," (Not sure this is on the ball, but it's close.)
たろうは、ある日とうとう、おとひめさまに自分の気持ちを話まひた。
Youngest Princess, sensing that this day things had come to a head for Tarou, began to speak of her own mood.
「そうですか。あなたは村にもどりたくなってしまったのですね。
"Is that so? You want to return to your own village, then?"
お別れするのはさみしいですが、しょうがありません」
"That parting will make me lonely, but I won't stop you."
おとひめさまはそう言って、玉手箱をたろうに手わしたました。
After youngest princess said that, she handed a treasure chest to Tarou.
「この玉手箱には、わたしたちのしあわせがつまっています。
"This treasure chest holds our happness, packed inside."
なにがあっても、けっしてあけないでくださいね」
"Inside is also hope, so please never open the chest, okay?"
たろうは、おとひめさまからもらった玉手箱を持って、ふたたびカメの背中に乗りました。
Tarou took the treasure chest from Youngest Princess, to take away with him, and once again climbed onto the back of the turtle.
たろうが元のはまべにもどってみると、なんだかようすがちがいます。
Tarou returned to the beach where he started but somehow things were different.
家に帰ってみると、やねもかべもぼろぼろで、おとうさんもおかあさんもいません。
When he returned to his house and saw it, the roof and walls were crumbing and his father and mother were not there.
たろうは、とおりすがりの人に聞きました。
Tarou grabbed on to a man in the street and asked him.
「この家にうらしまたろうと、おっとうとおっかあが住んでいたんだが、どこに行ったか知らないか」
"Urashima Tarou and his father and mother used to live in this house, don't you know where they went?"
「うらしまたろうという人なら、わしのひいおじいさんのころに、海につりへ出たきりもどらなかったということだ。
"There was a man called Urashima Tarou in my great-grandfather's time, who, it is said, went to the ocean to fish and never returned."
ちちおやとははおやのことは、ようわからん」
"As for his father and mother, I don't know what happened to them."
たろうは、びっくりしてしまいました。
Tarou became frightened.
りゅうぐうじょうで、数日すごしていただけだと思っていたら、村ではたいへんな月日がながれていたのです。
In Ryuguushou, he thought it was only a few days that had passed but in this village, a great many days had gone by.
たろうは、とほうにくれて、玉手箱の中には、おとひめとのしあわせがつまっているといいます。
Tarou was puzzled about the contents of the treasure chest, since Youngest Princess had said that their happness was sealed inside.
たろうは、玉手箱をあけてみました
Tarou opened the treaure chest and looked inside.
すると中から、もくもくもくと白いけむりがわき出して、たろうは、白いおひげのおじいさんになってしまいましたとさ。
When he opened it, lots of white smoke billowed out from inside, turned Tarou's beard white, and made him into an old man.
昔こっぼり、てんぼろりん。
(I have no clue what this says. Just deal.)
In the afternoon, I've made plans with the intrepid La to ride over to Odie's and back. Odie's, so that we're all on the same page, is some eleven miles distant (round trip, some paved road and some dirt road and some trail-like nontraffic-y bits) from the primary horse location, where the maternity-leave horse (Meatly) currently resides. I will be taking the IRH because she needs mileage and exposure. I was really hoping that the magical horse booties would have gotten here in the post, but they haven't yet. Damn. They wode haven been fun to play with, I think. (Warning: runs with verbs.) La will be starting out on Mezcal and swapping her for Ceres at Odie's. Ceres is entirely unbroke, has never been sat on (I'm vaguely concerned about those verbs, there. Do they look happy to you? In real life, I'd probably say "never been set on" but I know the verb we want here is some form of sit and sat is the best I can do. I know full well that set is not any conjugation of sit. I keep wanting there to be an alternative, sort of germanic construction like has never been setten on or something, but I don't think one exists.) by a person before. Oh, well, it'll be educational for us all, I feel certain. If Mezcal is a vaguely reassuring sort of broke horse to ride with, Ceres is... not exactly. It's time for Nick to be the broke horse.
And now, for your continued edification, I present Urashima-tarou (original stolen from here), a Japanese fairy tale. (This was the one mentioned a ways back with the turtle on the beach and so forth. I'm lazy and slow and just now got around to reading it.)
むかしむかし、あるところに、うらしまたろうという、りょうしがおました。
Long, long ago, in a certain place, there was a fisherman called Urashima-Tarou.
たろうは、年おいたおとうさんとおかあさんをとても大切にする、おやこうこうで、やさしいわかものでした。
For Tarou, his aged parents were very important and he honored them because he was a kind young man.
ある日のことです。
Then came the day of our story. (This isn't literal but it's the best I could do.)
たろうがはまべを歩いていると、こどもたちがあつまってさわいでいます。
Tarou was walking along the beach, where a group of kids were grouped up and making some noise.
なにをしているんだろう、と近づいてみると、子どもたちは、カメをいじめてあそんでいました。
To see what they were doing, Tarou approached the kids and saw that they were picking on a turtle. (The turtle is in italics because it is no ordinary turtle. If it were an ORDINARY turtle, it would be written as 亀 or かめ, using the kanji or the hirigana. Because it is written in katakana, as カメ, we know that something's up with the turtle, nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more.)
「こらこら、生き物をいじめてはいけないよ」
"Here, here, don't be picking on living things!"
たろうは、いじめられているカメをかわいそうに思って、子どもたちをとめました。
Tarou thought that the turtle being picked on looked pitiful, and he stopped the children.
子どもたちは、たろうに注意されると、さあっとにげていきました。
Tarou gave the children a warning and they ran away. (Or not. The children are not the focus of the story anyway.)
カメは、たろうに言いました。
The turtle spoke to Tarou. (See? No ordinary turtle, I tell you.)
「たすけてくださって、本当にありがとうございました。
"For rescuing me, I sincerely thank you very much.
おれいにすばらしいところに、ごあんないいたします。
As an expression of my gratitude, allow me to guide you to a splendid place.
さあわたしの背中に乗ってください」
Well, climb upon my back, please."
たろうが背中に乗ると、カメはゆっくりと海の中に入っていきました。
Tarou climbed on the turtle's back and the turtle gently went into the ocean.
ふしぎなことに、海の中でもふつうに息をすることができます。
It was mysterious, but in the ocean, Tarou was able to just stop breathing. (I'm not real sure on the job I did parsing, but that's the gist. Tarou does not drown in the ocean because he doesn't NEED to breathe anymore. The picture has him riding a sea turtle down under the water to a magnificent castle, in no apparent distress. If he were drowning, this would be a much shorter story.)
海の中は、日の光がきらきらして、とてもきれいでした。
In the ocean, the rays of sunlight glistened. It was very beautiful.
しばらく行くとサンゴの間から、うつくしいごてんが見えてきました。
After a short time travelling, a beautiful castle nestled in a coral reef came into view. (Passive voice is the bane of Japanese-to-English translations.)
「あれがりゅうぐうじょうです」
"That is Ryuguujou" (It's also written 竜宮城, it's just the name of the castle.)
カメがりゅうぐうじょうの前までくると、中からとてもきれいな女の人が出てきしまた。
As the turtle arrived in front of Ryuguujou, a beautiful girl came out from inside the castle.
「わたしは、おとひめともうします。
"I am called yungest princess."
このたびは、わたしのけらいのカメをたすけていただいて、ありがとうございました。
"On this occasion, I would like to thank you very much for saving my servant, the turtle."
どうぞ、ごゆっくりしていってください」
"Please, come in at your own pace."
たろうがりゅうくうじょうの中に入ると、見たこともないようなごちそうが用意されていました。
Tarou went into Ryuguujou, but he couldn't see everything because preparations for a feast were underway.
あとひめさまがとなりにあわって、とろけるような、おいしいおさけをついでくれます。
Youngest princess sat down next to Tarou, enchanted with him, and then offered him delicious sake.
色とりどりの魚たちがたろうのまわりにあつまって、ひらひらとまいをおどります。
Many fish of assorted colors gathered around Tarou, their fins fluttering as each danced.
たろうはうっとりと、ゆめごこちな気分で毎日をすごしまひた。
Tarou was in a trance, a dreamlike state where days slipped by.
ところが、りゅうぐうじょうで楽しい日々をすごしているうち、たろうは、だんだんのとうさんとおかあさんのことが、しんぱいになってきました。
In this place, Ryuguushou, where enjoyable days, one after another, passed, Tarou gradually started to become worried about his father and mother.
「おとひめさま、おら、村にのこしてきた、おっとうとおっかあのことが気になってしょうがないんです」
"Youngest Princess, I am concerned about my father and mother in the village that I left behind," (Not sure this is on the ball, but it's close.)
たろうは、ある日とうとう、おとひめさまに自分の気持ちを話まひた。
Youngest Princess, sensing that this day things had come to a head for Tarou, began to speak of her own mood.
「そうですか。あなたは村にもどりたくなってしまったのですね。
"Is that so? You want to return to your own village, then?"
お別れするのはさみしいですが、しょうがありません」
"That parting will make me lonely, but I won't stop you."
おとひめさまはそう言って、玉手箱をたろうに手わしたました。
After youngest princess said that, she handed a treasure chest to Tarou.
「この玉手箱には、わたしたちのしあわせがつまっています。
"This treasure chest holds our happness, packed inside."
なにがあっても、けっしてあけないでくださいね」
"Inside is also hope, so please never open the chest, okay?"
たろうは、おとひめさまからもらった玉手箱を持って、ふたたびカメの背中に乗りました。
Tarou took the treasure chest from Youngest Princess, to take away with him, and once again climbed onto the back of the turtle.
たろうが元のはまべにもどってみると、なんだかようすがちがいます。
Tarou returned to the beach where he started but somehow things were different.
家に帰ってみると、やねもかべもぼろぼろで、おとうさんもおかあさんもいません。
When he returned to his house and saw it, the roof and walls were crumbing and his father and mother were not there.
たろうは、とおりすがりの人に聞きました。
Tarou grabbed on to a man in the street and asked him.
「この家にうらしまたろうと、おっとうとおっかあが住んでいたんだが、どこに行ったか知らないか」
"Urashima Tarou and his father and mother used to live in this house, don't you know where they went?"
「うらしまたろうという人なら、わしのひいおじいさんのころに、海につりへ出たきりもどらなかったということだ。
"There was a man called Urashima Tarou in my great-grandfather's time, who, it is said, went to the ocean to fish and never returned."
ちちおやとははおやのことは、ようわからん」
"As for his father and mother, I don't know what happened to them."
たろうは、びっくりしてしまいました。
Tarou became frightened.
りゅうぐうじょうで、数日すごしていただけだと思っていたら、村ではたいへんな月日がながれていたのです。
In Ryuguushou, he thought it was only a few days that had passed but in this village, a great many days had gone by.
たろうは、とほうにくれて、玉手箱の中には、おとひめとのしあわせがつまっているといいます。
Tarou was puzzled about the contents of the treasure chest, since Youngest Princess had said that their happness was sealed inside.
たろうは、玉手箱をあけてみました
Tarou opened the treaure chest and looked inside.
すると中から、もくもくもくと白いけむりがわき出して、たろうは、白いおひげのおじいさんになってしまいましたとさ。
When he opened it, lots of white smoke billowed out from inside, turned Tarou's beard white, and made him into an old man.
昔こっぼり、てんぼろりん。
(I have no clue what this says. Just deal.)
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-09-17 05:25 am (UTC)Ceres is entirely unbroken; no one has sat on her.
I'm assuming here that the verb "to break" as applied to horses has the same etymology as the standard "to break." Break is a strong verb, and those don't tend to come into existence twice through separate etymological descents.
The problem with the second half of the sentence is that there was no immediate object or subject, which made it look strange. Adding an object ("her") to the sentence makes it look complete to American readers. We could also put a subject on the phrase, making "she has never been sat on." Or we could use a conjunction, giving us "and has never been sat on;" that would link us back to the subject, Ceres. I dislike the sentences that end in "on," however, which is a leftover from grade school training.
I know full well that you're better at English than me. I'm basically showing off for Ivy, as I presume she'll read this.
no subject
Date: 2005-09-17 10:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-17 02:13 pm (UTC)I think the problem is that the words "broke" and "unbroke" are both verbs (past tense of "to break") and, as used in the horse community, adjectives describing a horse. Maybe at one time they were more -en, like "the broken cup" would describe the cup that has the glued-back-together handle. Maybe one time horse people said stuff like "the broken horse" and "the unbroken colt" but now it's "the broke horse" or "the unbroke colt". (Note, too, that this system also differentiates between the horse that can be ridden from the one limping around the field on three legs. One is "broke" and the other is "broken".) The peculiarity of use could be due to the fact that most of the horse people I know are, er, not particularly college-educated urban folk or it could be due to the fact that the horse world uses the word in its own little way. Judging from the breadth and spread of the usage, I'm voting for 'own little way'...
no subject
Date: 2005-09-17 01:29 pm (UTC)Good luck with your Saturday hi jinks.
no subject
Date: 2005-09-18 04:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-18 11:44 am (UTC)Afterwards we watched The Young Black Stallion which is a short iMAX horse-related movie. La picked it up for cheap and we watched it, not because we were desperately interested in the plot, but because we watch horse movies for the horses in them. All horse movies, from stuff like Seabiscuit to stuff like Spirit, Stallion of the Cimmaron. We like horse movies.
The Young Black Stallion got points on several fronts...
-- pretty horses. The horses (excepting the extra special bonus story thing which I will get to in a minute) were arabians. They were *cute* arabs. They were *real* arabs. They were good examples of the breed type and yes, we know real from fake.
-- humane tack, mostly D-ring snaffles. Yay!
-- primary actor actually rode the horse in the race scenes (Unlike Seabiscuit and National Velvet. We can tell real from fake and it irritates us a lot when there's fake.)
-- less than the usual amount of extraneous neighing.
-- mostly decent body language on the horses and a generally happier expression on them while they were acting.
We deducted points for excessive rearing (I know it looks impressive, but horses generally aren't that light on the front end, people. Honest.) and for not letting the absolutely gorgeous chestnut and the similarly lovely grey run like we felt they could. (It's not the movie's fault -- the black horse (our hero) was supposed to win the race. Just we thought that the grey and the chestnut knew damn well that they were being held back to lose and they did not *WANT* to lose.)
We also deducted points for the color enhancement on the grey mare (played sometimes by a gelding, not that we look for that sort of... okay, yeah, we do look at that sort of thing.) who was allegedly the mother of the young black stallion. She was a right pretty grey to start with and they didn't have to paint her mane and tail black. They did not need to make her look distinctive so that we could tell her from the other grey horses. (Outstanding in the field, I have Coquette, Bacardi, Eikon, Chelsea, Chenille, and Whimsy. I can tell grey horses apart. I've got practice.)
no subject
Date: 2005-09-18 11:45 am (UTC)I'm okay with mystical. I'm okay with legends about horses made of stars who live in the night sky and descend to earth to breed the very finest mares. I can work with that. But... but... HE WAS A FRIESIAN (http://www.fhana.com/)!!! Big, furry feet. Big, ugly head. Moved sort of lumberingly like the freaking cart horse that he was. NOT AT ALL PROPER!! Look, we did not expect a Friesian. We didn't. We were, well, the rest of the horses in the movie had been so pretty and they were all proper arabs and we figured there would be another proper arab, possibly one with glitter all on him. And we got a Friesian. That's not a nice thing to do to people without any warning.
Okay, so we got a Friesian. And then the mare chases after the Friesian. Er. No. That's not AT ALL how it works. Mares do not chase after stud horses. Stud horses dance around mares and chat 'em up. Mares kind of stand there being more-or-less disdainful of the stud's advances. Hrm. For the non-horse-people, think of the bugs bunny cartoon with the bulldog and the terrier. (More information on Spike and Chester here (http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=2he5uj0twqsmr?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Spike+the+Bulldog+and+Chester+the+Terrier&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc01a) if you're still drawing a blank.) Generally, the mare gets to be the bulldog and the stud gets to be the terrier. That's the mental image you should be having of how horse sex works, okay? That. Not the mare chasing after the stud horse. Quite the opposite.
Also, I don't know what for clueless land these people are living in, but actual horse romance (if you can call it that) does not take place with longing glances and romantic soundtracks. It's a lot more squealy than you probably think. On the plus side, it does provide you with LOTS of horse vocalizations that you don't much ever hear anywhere else. For people dying to make horses talk, this would have been a fine opportunity to trot out (sorry!) a slew of vocal sounds that don't get used anywhere else... but instead we got longing glances and romantic soundtracks. Points off for that, too.
For reasons that both La and I had a fair amount of difficulty understanding, the movie had the grey mare lie down in the middle of all of this longing and romance and then cut to 'the next day' where the horses were running joyfully through the scenery. We were confused. It was not dark out, so we didn't figure she was going to sleep. She wasn't giving birth. She didn't roll immediately after. After a certain amount of confusion, we decided that the movie showed us the grey mare lying down so that we would know they had sex. Look. Horses do not have sex lying down. They don't. There is no lying down involved. You're only confusing people with that.
Honestly, I don't want to see actual horse sex, which is squealy and messy and loud and not-entirely-elegant. I've seen actual horse sex, in person. It's not all that... but I don't like it when the movies totally do unhorselike things with horses. They could have done a more realistic job and still kept it tasteful.
The bonus material was such that after we finished watching it, we wished we had not... so we went back and watched the race scenes again to get the Frieian taste out of our mouths.
no subject
Date: 2005-09-18 01:10 pm (UTC)I get horse aesthetics enough to know that Arabs are pretty horses, but they look kind of, y'know, spindly to me. Flimsy. Shires and Clydes and Friesians are solid *horses* that look like they could put in a day's work pulling a plow and then still have the energy to go out pulling a wagon or something later in the day. Arabs look like they'd break an ankle running across a fresly plowed field, let alone plowing it.
The best horse I ever rode (and I've ridden a lot-it was just a long time ago) was half-Clydesdale/half-Thoroughbred. Heathrow. Very, very good horse--plenty of personality so he was fun to ride, but it was a nice personality so he was easy to get along with.
no subject
Date: 2005-09-18 11:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-18 01:00 pm (UTC)