Brandonの週末ストーリー

Bento-box Highway Trauma

日曜日の先生、Brandonが週末に起きた体験を書いてくれました！段落ごとに日本語の要約を付けたので、是非読んでみて下さいね！

We went camping during the 4-day weekend. It was great but also had some strange moments. On our way there, I had a funny experience. I was filling my car with gas at a rest-station on the Shin-Tomei Highway. While I was at the pump, an employee approached me. He was an older man, probably in his late 60s or early 70s. He asked if I had any children and then handed me an empty bento-box.

週末に、家族でキャンプに行った時の事。ガソリンスタンドに立ち寄った際、60-70代位の男性が、話しかけてきて、お弁当箱を手渡してきました。

At first, I was surprised. Why is he handing me garbage? Is this some form of discrimination? Is it a joke? Then he asked if I had kids, and said that they would definitely like what's inside. I looked inside his used bento-box to discover not only the remains of his food but a big beetle! It had giant pincers on its head in the shape of a ‘U’. Later I found out that these are called Kuwagata or hoe-shaped helmet crest stag beetles. (I prefer the Japanese name.)

このお弁当箱の中身は、子供は好きだと思うよと言われたのですが、中に入っていたのは、なんとカブトムシ。

I showed my wife, and she jumped in her seat. Neither of us likes bugs. The kids were asleep, so we kept the beetle on the floor of the car. I asked her if it's normal for Japanese employees to give customers beetles wrapped in garbage. She didn’t appreciate my sarcasm but insisted that countryside people are often very generous and think a little differently than city folk. Anyway, I was impressed by this old man’s kindness, despite it being a little strange.

妻に見せると、飛び上がるほどびっくり。僕も妻も虫が好きではないし、子供は寝ているので、一旦車の床にカブトムシを置きました。田舎の人々は、都会の人々と少し違うみたいですね。

We continued on our drive towards Yamanashi. About 20 minutes later, my wife screamed. The beetle had escaped and was clinging to the ceiling of the car. It was right between our heads. I was driving at highway speeds and could not help her. (Although I was able to snap a photo!) She found a paper cup and held it under the beetle for about 20 minutes until we could safely pull the car over. We were both quite nervous.

私達は、そのまま山梨に向けて車を走らせました。その20分後、妻が悲鳴をあげました。カブトムシが天井を登っていたのです。僕は、高速道路を運転中だったので、手助けをする事ができませんでした。

Surprisingly, when we pulled over, we found another beetle. This one was even bigger and had a fork-like prong on top of its head. (A rhinoceros beetle, in English). We both do not like bugs, and we are admittedly cruel people, so we put the beetles next to each other to see what would happen.

驚いた事に、車を停めた時に、別のカブトムシを見つけました。2匹のカブトムシを隣において、何が起きるか観察する事にしました。

The smaller beetle touched the bigger one and startled it. It then flew up towards my wife and me—just like a cicada that you thought was dead but wasn’t. My wife nearly had a heart attack. I would have been nervous as well if I wasn’t so brave. I didn’t know these things could fly! I guess this is what we deserved for trying to make the bugs fight. Carma got us!

小さいカブトムシが、大きいカブトムシに触れると。。。。？？？？？？

Anyways, it was a strange thing for the gas-station attendant to do, but he gave us a very memorable experience. Thank you, random Shell-station employee!

そんな訳で、ガソリンスタンドの見知らぬ人のおかげで、忘れられない経験をする事ができました。

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