I Saw a Ship a Sailing

I saw a ship a-sailing, 一そうの船が航海してるのを見た
A-sailing on the sea;
海を航海している
And oh, it was all laden
その積み荷は
With pretty things for thee!
素敵なものばっかり

There were comfits in the cabin, 船室には砂糖衣のお菓子

And apples in the hold;
船倉にはりんご
The sails were made of silk,
帆は絹で
And the masts were made of gold.
帆柱はすべて金

The four and twenty sailors, ２４人の水夫が

That stood between the decks,
甲板に整列
Were four and twenty white mice,
それは２４匹のハツカネズミ
With chains about their necks.
首に鎖を巻かれてる

The captain was a duck, 船長はアヒル
With a packet on his back;
背中に小包みを背負い
And when the ship began to move,
船が動き始める時には
The captain said, "Quack, Quack!"
クワッ　クワッ　と鳴いた

This old Nursery Rhyme, I saw a ship a-sailing
, celebrates the fascination of ships coming home from long voyages. A
child's imagination would have been fired with tales of treasure ships
and this rhyme is no doubt the type of treasure ship I child might
dream of! A comfit, from Middle English word confit meaning a
confection of any kind of fruit, root, or seed preserved with sugar and
dried "There were comfits in the cabin" an old equivalent of candy or
sweets.
　コンフィッツは果物の細片やクルミなどを芯にした球状の砂糖菓子で、今では古語になっちゃってます。絹の帆と黄金のマストは、魔法の船のお決まりのようなもので、おとぎの船を夢見ているような感じだね。文献初出はハリウェルの童謡集の1846年版。