よつばと! Vol 2 Discussion Thread (Yotsuba&! Reading Club)

I gave English translation a try for this chapter. I tried to explain some of the comedy too, since some of it (e.g., Yotsuba’s conjugation trouble, rudeness to the newspaper guy, and phone call etiqutte) might be lost in translation.

Chapter 11 Don't Mind!

Page 86
Yotsuba: rolling Good morning! Daddy isn’t here!?

Page 87
Yotsuba: (Is he in…) The television room!? The office (LIT: room for work)!?

Page 88
Dad: dancing strangely
Yotsuba: What’s that?! Daddy’s dancing has appeared! Hya! dances

Page 89
(dancing continues)
Dad: Yotsuba! One of my jobs has finished!
Yotsuba: O~!
Dad: There! Breakfast (LIT: Morning food)!
Yotsuba: O~!

Page 90
Yotsuba: Tasty! Today’s miso soup is a Nobel Prize thing!
Dad: laughs (modestly) Don’t say that!
Yotsuba: Ah. tips over glass, which spills Ah… Ah…
Dad: Don’t mind! Don’t mind!
Yotsuba: What? What’s that?
Dad: “Don’t worry about it” is what it is.

Page 91
Dad: Don’t mind!
Yotsuba: Don’t mind!
Dad: Wipe it yourself.
Yotsuba: wipes
Dad: Thanks for the meal!
Yotsuba: Thanks. (Yotsuba uses さん instead of さま here, which should be less polite.)
Dad: Well then, Yotsuba, I haven’t slept much here (his futon bed) for several days. Yesterday, I didn’t sleep at all. Therefore, I’m no longer any good.

Page 92
Dad: I’m already sleeping. I’ll leave the rest… (to you)
Yotsuba: O~! Understood! About Daddy, I’ll “sleeping let you”… “let be sleeping”… “sleeping letting”… “sleep…”
(I think the correct answer is 眠[ねむ]らせさせる “to let you sleep”/“will let you sleep”. Thanks @windupbird! This is quite a tongue-twister for poor Yotsuba. Who eventually gives up. ねむらせる might also be it. Thanks, @Belthazar)
Yotsuba: Go to sleep!
Dad: Be quiet (for me/please)…
Yotsuba: Understood!

Page 93
(Yotsuba looks through her Yotsuba box (Yotsubox) よつばこ is a pun since はこ is a box, which can become ばこ with rendaku.)
Yotsuba: That’s it! For today, let’s make my box look good.
(box is emptied)
Yotsuba: I’ll draw Juralumin. (Juralumin/Duralumin is Yotsuba’s mistaken name for Julieta, Ena’s teddy bear from Chapter 10. Thanks @Belthazar!)
(doorbell rings)
Yotsuba: Oh!? Did Jumbo come?

Page 94
Newspaper guy: Hello! It’s the newspaper…
Yotsuba: Huh? What kind? (Probably intended to be “Who are (you)”, but 何様(なにさま) seems like a formal way to say 誰(だれ). For this sentence, Yotsuba is trying to being polite and used ですか)
Newspaper guy: Um… Is your father or mother present, perhaps?
Yotsuba: Dad is. Mom isn’t.

Page 95
Newspaper guy: Then, could you call your father?
Yotsuba: That’s no good.
Newspaper guy: shocked (A direct refusal in Japan is abnormal, so Yotsuba’s refusal is understandably shocking to the newspaper guy.)
Yotsuba: Shh! leaves

Page 96
Yotsuba: Next is… either a cicada or cake, I guess… Which of the two looks good/cooler, I wonder…
(phone rings)
Yotsuba: It’s the phone.

Page 97
Yotsuba: What’s up?
(This wasn’t a 申し申し(もうしもうし) or standard telephone greeting.)
Phone: confused …? Is this Mr. Kuroda’s house?
Yotsuba: ? This is Yotsuba (though)?
Phone: …? Um… I made a mistake.
Yotsuba: Don’t mind! Don’t mind!
Phone: !?
Yotsuba: Don’t worry about it! Get it!? hangs up

Page 98
Yotsuba: Oh yeah! I wonder if Daddy’s sleeping really wellproperly.
moves blanket and gets an idea

Page 99
(draws Daddy on the box)
Yotsuba: It looks like him. Let’s try to add on facial hair! A good idea!

Page 100:
Yotsuba: Cool~! (ALT: Looks good~!)

Page 104:
Yotsuba: thinks “He might get mad.” tries to rub the marker off thinks “It won’t disappear”

Page 105:
Fuuka: Huh? Erase a magic marker? What did you draw on?
Yotsuba: Daddy’s face.
Fuuka: …
Yotsuba: … because he was sleeping, you know?
Fuuka: Wait. I’ve seen this on TV before. It’s said to be erasing advice or something…

Page 106:
Fuuka: Ah, mayonaisse! If you apply mayonaisse and wipe, it will disappear!
Yotsuba: O~! runs off
Ena: Yotsuba came here (+explain)? Why did Yotsuba come?
Fuuka: She came to ask for the way to remove magic marker writing from skin. I saw it before on TV! With mayonaisse, it’ll disappear (+was what it said).
Ena: It’s butter (though)?

Page 107:
Yotsuba: worrying at Daddy’s messy face It’s not really disappearing…

Page 108:
Yotsuba: Don’t mind!

I wonder why is Yotsuba’s teddy bear named Juralumin/Duralumin?

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