六月のある土曜日。マルコは朝から洗濯物を外に干した。A Saturday in June. Marco hung his washing out first thing in the morning.空は青く、今日は一日晴れそうだった。The sky was blue, and it looked like it would be sunny all day.ところが、昼ご飯を食べ終わったかと思うと、急に空が暗くなり、雨が降り始めた。But no sooner had he finished lunch than the sky suddenly went dark and it started to rain.マルコはあわてて洗濯物を取り込んだ。Marco rushed to bring the washing in.
三十分後、雨はやんだ。Thirty minutes later, the rain stopped.もう一度干そうとベランダに出ると、今度は強い風が吹いてきた。When he went out on the balcony to hang it out again, this time a strong wind started blowing.梅雨の天気は、一日の中でも時間によって変わる。In the rainy season, the weather changes by the hour, even within one day.日本人の同僚がそう言っていたのを思い出した。He remembered a Japanese colleague saying that.
夕方、マルコは駅前のスーパーに出かけた。In the early evening, Marco went to the supermarket in front of the station.念のため、玄関にあった青い傘を持っていった。Just in case, he took the blue umbrella that was in the entrance.スーパーを出ると、やはり雨が降っている。When he came out of the supermarket, sure enough, it was raining.よかった、と思って傘立てを見ると、青い傘が三本並んでいた。Good thing, he thought, and looked at the umbrella stand. There were three blue umbrellas in a row.どれが自分の傘か、全然分からない。He had no idea which one was his.
マルコが困っていると、隣にいた小学生が一本を取った。While Marco was wondering what to do, a primary school pupil next to him took one.取ったかと思うと、すぐに戻した。No sooner had he taken it than he put it straight back.「これ、ぼくのじゃない。」"This isn't mine."その子は持ち手を一本ずつ見て、名前のシールがはってあるものを持っていった。The boy looked at the handles one by one, and took the one with a name sticker on it.マルコは残った二本を見比べた。Marco compared the two that were left.一本の持ち手に、小さな字で「マルコ」と書いてあった。On one of the handles, "Marco" was written in small letters.去年、同僚に「日本では傘に名前を書いたほうがいい」と言われて、自分で書いたのだ。Last year, a colleague had told him, "In Japan, you'd better write your name on your umbrella," so he had written it himself.すっかり忘れていた。He had completely forgotten.
家に着いたかと思うと、雨はもうやんで、空には虹が出ていた。The moment he got home, the rain stopped, and there was a rainbow in the sky.