昔々、ある雪深い山里に、貧しくも心優しき老夫婦が住んでおった。ある冬の日のこと、翁が山へ柴刈りに赴いた折、雪の中に罠にかかりて苦しむ一羽の鶴を見つけたり。「あな可哀や」と翁は哀れに思い、その罠を解きて鶴を大空へと逃してやりけり。鶴は嬉しげに空を舞い、何度か翁の頭上を巡りて後、西の山へと飛び去って行った。
Long ago, in a deep-snow mountain village, lived an old couple who were poor but kind-hearted. One winter day, when the old man went to the mountains to gather firewood, he found a single crane suffering in a trap in the snow. "Oh, how pitiful," the old man thought with compassion, and he released the trap and let the crane escape into the vast sky. The crane danced gleefully in the sky, circled several times over the old man's head, and then flew away toward the western mountains.
その日の夕暮れ、激しき吹雪が家々を打ち据える中、トントンと戸を叩く音が響いた。老婆が戸を開くれば、そこには雪にまみれた見目麗しき若い娘が立っていた。「道に迷いて難儀しております。何卒、今宵一晩泊めてはいただけませぬか」と頼む娘を、老夫婦は不憫に思い、囲炉裏のそばへと招き入れた。
At dusk that day, while a fierce blizzard battered the houses, the sound of a "tap-tap" on the door echoed. When the old woman opened the door, a beautiful young girl covered in snow was standing there. "I have lost my way and am in distress. Could you please let me stay for one night?" The old couple took pity on the girl and invited her in by the fireplace.
翌日もその翌日も猛吹雪は止むべくもなく、娘はしばらくその家に留まることとなった。娘はたいそう働き者であり、老夫婦の世話を甲斐甲斐しく焼いた。やがて、身寄りのないその娘は老夫婦の養女となり、家には久方ぶりの笑い声が絶えなくなったのである。
The next day and the day after that, the fierce blizzard showed no sign of stopping, and the girl ended up staying at that house for a while. The girl was a very hard worker and devotedly took care of the old couple. Before long, the girl, who had no relatives, became the old couple's adopted daughter, and for the first time in a long while, laughter never ceased in the house.
ある日、娘は「布を織りとうございます。ただ、私が機を織る様は決して覗かれませぬよう」と固く約束を交わし、機屋へと籠もった。三日三晩、休むことなく機を織り続け、ようやく出てきた娘はひどくやつれていた。しかし、その手には雪のように白く、光輝く見事な反物が抱えられていた。翁がその布を町へ売りに行くと、類いまれなる美しさゆえに、目玉も飛び出るほどの高値で売れたのである。
One day, the girl made a firm promise, saying, "I wish to weave cloth. However, please do not ever look at me while I am weaving," and confined herself to the weaving room. For three days and three nights, she continued to weave cloth without rest, and when the girl finally came out, she was terribly haggard. However, in her hands, she held a magnificent piece of fabric that was as white as snow and brilliantly shining. When the old man went to the town to sell the cloth, because of its extraordinary beauty, it sold for a high price that made his eyes pop out.
その後も娘は幾度か布を織ったが、老夫婦の心に「あれほど美しい布を、一体どのようにして織っているのやら」という疑念が生じた。してはならぬと知りつつも、好奇心に抗いえず、老婆はつい機屋の戸の隙間から中を覗き見てしまった。そこには娘の姿はなく、一羽の鶴が自らの羽を抜き取り、血を滲ませながら糸に織り込んでいる痛ましい光景があった。
After that, the girl wove cloth several times, but a doubt arose in the hearts of the old couple: "How on earth is such beautiful cloth being woven?" Even though they knew they must not, unable to resist their curiosity, the old woman finally peeked inside through a crack in the weaving room door. There was no sign of the girl; instead, there was the painful sight of a single crane plucking its own feathers and weaving them into the thread while bleeding.
自身の正体を知られた鶴は、「私はいつぞや翁に助けられた鶴にございます。ご恩を報わんがために娘の姿となりてまいりましたが、これでお別れでございます」と涙ながらに告げた。制止する老夫婦の声を背に、鶴は空へと舞い上がり、二度と戻ってくることはなかったのである。
The crane, having had its true identity known, said in tears, "I am the crane that was once saved by the old man. I came in the form of a girl to repay the kindness, but now we must part." Leaving the voices of the old couple trying to stop it behind, the crane soared into the sky and never returned.