Готовый перевод Макс Фрай // Сказки и истории // Почему люди всегда спят(бушменская сказка): Первым человеком на земле был заяц. Вторым человеком на земле был другой заяц. А третим человеком была луна, но она жила не на земле, а в небе.

The first human on earth was a hare.

The second human on earth was another hare.

And the third human was Moon, though she lived not on earth but in the sky.

Some say though that the very first man on earth was Zagn.

He got very tired of his own being given birth to, that since then he spend all his time sleeping soundly in his own shack. So no one ever knew anything about him.

The hares married the Moon and went to the sky one after another to visit the wife.

But they had no idea of how one should treat a wife and had no one to seek counsel from.

The turtle was a good judge of such things, though never shared her wisdom with anybody.

Tsagn also knew, but he was asleep.

That's why hares and the Moon had no children.

Other humans also lived on earth, but nobody knew that they are humans.

Everybody believed them to be hairless and clawless beasts and didn't know how they should be called.

So they had no name.

However these humans knew what needs to be done between a husband and a wife, and they have been doing it all days long.

They gave birth to many children, who later turned into fishes, monkeys and other animals.

The elders say these humans gave birth to such number of children deliberately, for they to be hunted.

Once the Moon saw from sky how hairless and clawless beasts treat their wifes.

She decided the hares should manage to do the same and she brighten up considerably.

But in those times the sky was too high above the earth, and for this reason the Moon didn't see all in details.

So she calles her husbands-hares.

The Moon told them: "Come and see how hairless and clawless beasts treat their wifes."

For that, who manages to do the same I will give birth to many children and I will allow to turn them into anything you want.

The hare who was on earth, has become glad and ran to the humans.

He was in a hurry and wanted to be the first so much, that he even forgot why was he heading there.

That's why when he came to humans he got confused and said: "Take me as a wife!" The humans got happy and took the hare as their wife.

The hare gave birth to many children who later turned into fruit trees.

On his way he got hungry and began to eat grass.

He'd eaten so much grass, that he's forgotten his name.

A Turtle was passing by and the hare asked her: "Turtle, tell me what is my name?" Turtle decided to fool the hare and said: "Your name is Sun!" Then the hare returned to the sky but not to the Moon, he has become Sun.

Since then it's brightly not only at night, but in the day time either.

The Moon awaited hares for a long time, but they weren't coming back.

Then she went to Earth to animals without wool and nails and said: "Marry me"

By that time the humans had already have so much wives, that there was not enough food and shelter for them, so they refused.

And then the Moon began to cry and the humans began to calm her down.

They agreed to deal with her as with a wife, but said that Moon and her future children must live in the sky because earth was already too crowded.

For that moon allowed them to call themselves humans out loud, while earlier only hares and herself were allowed to.

Children wanted to go down to Earth to meet their fathers.

They have dreams about they live as before with their wives and their kids.

And if someone wakes up, he leaves the forest on his tiptoe not to wake Zagn.

Usually that kind of man goes to haven, where lives the hare, that became a sun.

But elders, who have seen more dreams, than we have, tell, that someone goes far.

Nobody knows where they come.

Переведено на Нотабеноиде
http://notabenoid.org/book/24971/83229

Переводчики: Ivan_89, kambala, Van_Garrett, aska0407