第27話 THE SPENDTHRIFT AND THE SWALLOW. 難易度:★

本文
A PRODIGAL young fellow, who had run through all his money, and even sold all his outer clothes except his cloak, seeing a Swallow skimming over the meadows one fine day in the early spring, believed that summer was really come, and sold his cloak too. The next morning there happened to be a severe frost, and, shivering and nearly frozen himself, he found the Swallow lying stiff and dead upon the ground. He thereupon upbraided the poor bird as the cause of all his misfortunes. Stupid thing," said he, "had you not come before your time, I should not now be so wretched as I am."

・A PRODIGAL young fellow, who had run through all his money, and even sold all his outer clothes except his cloak, seeing a Swallow skimming over the meadows one fine day in the early spring, believed that summer was really come, and sold his cloak too.
かなり長い一文の割に文頭に主語があり文末でやっと述語がある形で主述が離れています。
adj. prodigal散財してしまう…
a spendthrift浪費家
run through 《金》を一瞬で使う
skim Oすれすれに飛ぶ
summer was really comeはbe+自動詞の過去分詞形で完了を表す用法
・ The next morning there happened to be a severe frost, and, shivering and nearly frozen himself, he found the Swallow lying stiff and dead upon the ground.
there happend to beはthere is の変化形
a frost氷点下の寒さ
frozenはfreeze O「Oを凍らせる,動けなくする」の過去分詞形
sticf and deadは準主格補語
・He thereupon upbraided the poor bird as the cause of all his misfortunes.
upbraid Oを責める
stiff硬直した
a causeは「原因」の意味で、hisは男性のこと。服を失ったあとに寒さで凍えている状況がmisfortuneなのであり、そのcauseがそのswallowだと述べている状況です。
・Stupid thing," said he, "had you not come before your time, I should not now be so wretched as I am."
a stupid thingは「ムカつく奴め」 の意味で、呼びかけのために無冠詞になっているのだと思います。呼びかけは相手の名前を代用する固有名詞と考えられるため基本的に無冠詞になります。
wretched哀れな