今回もクリスマス特集の朗読です。今回選んだのは Oscar Wilde の児童向け短編集 The Happy Prince and Other Tales（初版は1888年）の中の “The Happy Prince” の一節です。日本では「幸福な王子」というタイトルでとてもよく知られていますね。
前回と同様に、まず passage に出てくるいくつかの単語の発音を確認してみましょう（発音は RP です）：
swallow /ˈswɒləʊ/、longer /ˈlɒngə/、Egypt /ˈiːdʒɪpt/、
palm-trees /ˈpɑːmtriːz/、crocodiles /ˈkrɒkədaɪ(ə)lz/、
companions /kəmˈpæniənz/、temple /ˈtempl/、
Baalbec /ˈbɑːlbek/、doves /dʌvz/、jewels /ˈdʒuːəlz/、
ruby /ˈruːbi/、sapphire /ˈsæfaɪə/、
Happy Prince /ˌhæpi ˈprɪn(t)s/、pluck /plʌk/、
blind /blaɪnd/、command /kəˈmɑːnd/、swooped /swuːpt/
では、朗読してみます。このブログで以前に特集した側面開放（lateral release）を “little” /ˈlɪtl/ の発音でぜひ実践してみてください。
‘I am come to bid you good-bye,’ he cried.
‘Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,’ said the Prince, ‘will you not stay with me one night longer?’
‘It is winter,’ answered the Swallow, ‘and the chill snow will soon be here. In Egypt the sun is warm on the green palm-trees, and the crocodiles lie in the mud and look lazily about them. My companions are building a nest in the Temple of Baalbec, and the pink and white doves are watching them, and cooing to each other. Dear Prince, I must leave you, but I will never forget you, and next spring I will bring you back two beautiful jewels in place of those you have given away. The ruby shall be redder than a red rose, and the sapphire shall be as blue as the great sea.’
‘In the square below,’ said the Happy Prince, ‘there stands a little match-girl. She has let her matches fall in the gutter, and they are all spoiled. Her father will beat her if she does not bring home some money, and she is crying. She has no shoes or stockings, and her little head is bare. Pluck out my other eye, and give it to her, and her father will not beat her.‘
‘I will stay with you one night longer,’ said the Swallow, ‘but I cannot pluck out your eye. You would be quite blind then.’
‘Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,’ said the Prince, ‘do as I command you.’
So he plucked out the Prince’s other eye, and darted down with it. He swooped past the match-girl, and slipped the jewel into the palm of her hand. ‘What a lovely bit of glass,’ cried the little girl; and she ran home, laughing.
Then the Swallow came back to the Prince. ‘You are blind now,’ he said, ‘so I will stay with you always.’
‘No, little Swallow,’ said the poor Prince, ‘you must go away to Egypt.’
‘I will stay with you always,’ said the Swallow, and he slept at the Prince’s feet.
Today’s My Singing
今回私が歌って録音した曲は “If Every Day Was Like Christmas”（邦題「毎日がクリスマスなら」）という大変美しいクリスマスソングで、Elvis のクリスマスソングの中で私が一番好きなナンバーです。最近ではクリスマスソングといえば恋愛絡みのものが主流になっていますが、この曲は、クリスマスに抱くような豊かで優しい気持ちをいつでも持つことができればこの世界はどんなに素晴らしいだろう、という内容の歌です。今回は特に心をこめて歌ってみました。歌詞の美しさを味わいながら聴いていただけたら大変嬉しいです。
I hear the bells
Saying Christmas is near
They ring out to tell the world
That this is the season of cheer
I hear a choir
Singing sweetly somewhere
And a glow fills my heart
I’m at peace with the world
As the sound of their singing fills the air
Oh why can’t every day be like Christmas
Why can’t that feeling go on endlessly
For if everyday could be just like Christmas
What a wonderful world this would be
I hear a child
Telling Santa what to bring
And the smile upon his tiny face
Is worth more to me than anything
みなさんに素敵なクリスマスが訪れますように ♪♪
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