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A woman sitting between a boy and a girl each holding luggage.

ዓመት በዓልን ከአያት ጋር Holidays with grandmother Les vacances avec grand-maman

Written by Violet Otieno

Illustrated by Catherine Groenewald

Translated by Dawit Girma

Read by Abenezer Chane

Language Amharic

Level Level 4

Narrate full story

Reading speed

Autoplay story


A man walking between a boy and girl all smiling.

ኦዶንጎና አፒዮ ከአባታቸው ጋር ከተማ ነው የሚኖሩት። ዓመት በዓልን በጉጉት ይጠብቃሉ። ትምህርት ስለሚዘጋ ሳይሆን በዚያ አጋጣሚ አያታቸውን የማየት እድል ስለሚያገኙ ነው። የሴት አያታቸው አሳ በሚመረትበት መንደር ከትልቁ ሐይቅ አጠገብ ይኖራሉ።

Odongo and Apiyo lived in the city with their father. They looked forward to the holidays. Not just because school was closed, but because they went to visit their grandmother. She lived in a fishing village near a large lake.

Odongo et Apiyo vivaient dans la ville avec leur père. Ils avaient hâte aux vacances. Non seulement parce que l’école serait fermée, mais parce qu’ils iraient rendre visite à leur grand-mère. Elle vivait dans un village de pêche près d’un grand lac.


A boy in a bed chatting with a girl in a bed next to him, with luggage at the bottom of their beds.

ኦዶንጎና አፒዮ በጣም ተደስተዋል ምክንያቱም እንደገና አያታቸውን ሊጎበኙ ነው። በዋዜማው ማታ ሻንጣቸውን ሸካክፈው ወደ አያታቸው ቀዬ ለሚያደርጉት ረጂም ጉዞ ተዘጋጁ። አልተኙም፤ ሌሊቱን ሙሉ ስለበዓሉ ሲያወሩ አደሩ።

Odongo and Apiyo were excited because it was time to visit their grandmother again. The night before, they packed their bags and got ready for the long journey to her village. They could not sleep and talked the whole night about the holiday.

Odongo et Apiyo avaient hâte parce que c’était à nouveau le temps de rendre visite à leur grand-mère. La veille, ils ont fait leurs valises et se sont préparés pour le long voyage jusqu’à son village. Ils ne pouvaient pas dormir et ils ont parlé toute la nuit à propos des vacances.


A car driving past mountains and wild animals.

በነጋታው ጠዋት በአባታቸው መኪና ሆነው ጉዞ ጀመሩ። ተራራውን እያቆራረጡ፣ የዱር እንስሳትና የሻይቅጠል ማሳዎችን አልፈው እየሄዱ ነው። የሚያልፉ መኪናዎችን እየቆጠሩ፣ መዝሙር እየዘመሩ ነው የሚሄዱት።

Early the next morning, they left for the village in their father’s car. They drove past mountains, wild animals and tea plantations. They counted cars and sang songs.

Tôt le lendemain matin, ils sont partis vers le village dans la voiture de leur père. Ils ont vu des montagnes, des animaux sauvages et des plantations de thé. Ils ont compté les voitures et ont chanté des chansons.


A boy and girl sleeping in a car.

ከጊዜ በኋላ ልጆቹ ደከማቸውና ተኙ።

After a while, the children were tired and fell asleep.

Après un certain temps, les enfants se sont endormis, fatigués.


A woman sitting between a boy and a girl each holding luggage.

ከመንደሯ ሲደርሱ አባታቸው ቀሰቀሳቸው። አያታቸው እመት ንያር ካንያዳ ዛፍ ጥላ ስር ምንጣፍ ላይ ቁጭ ብላ ረፍት ስታደርግ አገኟት። ጠንካራና ቆንጆ ሴትዮ ናት።

Father woke up Odongo and Apiyo as they arrived in the village. They found Nyar-Kanyada, their grandmother, resting on a mat under a tree. Nyar-Kanyada in Luo, means ‘daughter of the people of Kanyada’. She was a strong and beautiful woman.

Papa réveilla Odongo et Apiyo lorsqu’ils arrivèrent au village. Ils ont trouvé leur grand-mère Nyar-Kanyada assise sous un arbre. En luo, Nyar-Kanyada veut dire « fille du peuple de Kanyada ». C’ était une femme belle et forte.


A happy-looking boy and girl holding out gifts to give to a woman.

ንያር ካንያዳ በክብር ወደቤቷ አስገባቻቸውና በደስታ መዝፈን ያዘች። የልጅ ልጆቿ ከከተማ የገዙላትን ስጦታዎች በደስታ ሰጧት። ‹‹መጀመሪያ የእኔን ስጦታ ክፈችው›› አለ ኦዶንጎ። ‹‹አይደለም፣ መጀመሪያ የኔን›› አለች አፒዮ።

Nyar-Kanyada welcomed them into the house and danced around the room singing with joy. Her grandchildren were excited to give her the presents they brought from the city. “First open my gift,” said Odongo. “No, my gift first!” said Apiyo.

Nyar-Kanyada les a accueillis dans sa maison et a dansé tout autour de la salle en chantant de bonheur. Ses petits-enfants avaient hâte de lui donner les cadeaux qu’ils avaient apportés de la ville. « Ouvre mon cadeau en premier, » dit Odongo. « Non, ouvre le mien en premier ! » dit Apiyo.


A boy and girl bowing their heads and a woman touching the boy's head.

ስጦታዎችን ከከፈተች በኋላ አያትዬው የልጅ ልጆቿን መረቀቻቸው።

After she opened the presents, Nyar-Kanyada blessed her grandchildren in a traditional way.

Après avoir ouvert ses cadeaux, Nyar-Kanyada donna une bénédiction traditionnelle à ses petits-enfants.


A boy and girl outside chasing butterflies and birds.

ከዚያም አዱኛና አፒዮ ወደ ውጪ ወጡ። ቢራቢሮዎችንና ወፎችን ማባረር ያዙ።

Then Odongo and Apiyo went outside. They chased butterflies and birds.

Ensuite, Odongo et Apiyo sont sortis dehors. Ils ont poursuivi des papillons et des oiseaux.


A boy hanging upside down from a tree and a girl splashing in a lake.

ዛፍ ላይ ይወጣሉ፤ ሐይቁ ውስጥም ይንቦጫረቁ ነበር።

They climbed trees and splashed in the water of the lake.

Ils ont grimpé aux arbres et se sont éclaboussés dans l’eau du lac.


A boy and girl falling asleep eating dinner.

ሲመሽ ለራት ወደ ቤት መጡ። ምግባቸውን በወጉ ከመጨረሳቸው በፊት እንቅልፍ ጣላቸው።

When it was dark they returned to the house for dinner. Before they could finish eating, they were falling asleep!

Quand la nuit tomba ils retournèrent à la maison pour souper. Ils se sont endormis avant même de finir de manger!


A boy, a girl and a woman waving goodbye to a man driving off in a car.

በሚቀጥለው ቀን አባታቸው ልጆቹን ከአያታቸው ጋር ትቷቸው ወደ ከተማ ተመለሰ።

The next day, the children’s father drove back to the city leaving them with Nyar-Kanyada.

Le lendemain, le père des enfants est retourné à la ville, les laissant avec Nyar-Kanyada.


A boy fetching water and firewood and a girl carrying eggs and a basket of vegetables.

ኦዶንጎና አፒዮ አያታቸውን ቤት ውስጥ ስራ ያግዟቸው ነበር። ውሃ ይቀዳሉ፣ የማገዶ እንጨትም ይለቅማሉ። ዶሮዎች የጣሉትን እንቁላሎች ይሰበስባሉ፣ ቅጠላቅጠል ከአትክልት ስፍራው ይሰበስባሉ።

Odongo and Apiyo helped their grandmother with household chores. They fetched water and firewood. They collected eggs from the chickens and picked greens from the garden.

Odongo et Apiyo ont aidé leur grand-mère à faire les tâches ménagères. Ils sont allés chercher de l’eau et du bois de chauffage. Ils ont ramassé les œufs des poules et ont cueilli des herbes aromatiques dans le jardin.


A woman with her arms around a boy and girl sitting at a table eating dinner.

ንያር ካንያዳ የተለያዩ ምግብ አሰራሮችን ለልጆቹ አስተማረቻቸው። ሩዝና የተጠበሰ አሳ አሰራር እንዴት እንደሚሰራ አሳየቻቸው።

Nyar-Kanyada taught her grandchildren to make soft ugali to eat with stew. She showed them how to make coconut rice to eat with roast fish.

Nyar-Kanyada a montré à ses petits-enfants comment faire de l’ugali mou pour manger avec du ragoût. Elle leur a montré comment faire du riz de noix de coco pour manger avec du poisson grillé.


Two cows eating crops and a farmer and a boy shouting at the cows.

አንድ ቀን ጠዋት ኦዶንጎ የአያቱን ላሞች ሳር ለማጋጥ ወደመስክ ወሰዳቸው። ላሞቹም ወደጎረቤት ማሳ ሮጠው ገቡ። የማሳው ባለቤት ገበሬ በኦዶንጎ ተናደደበት። አስፈራራው፣ ሰብሉን ስለበሉበት ላሞቹን እንደሚወስድበት አስፈራራው። ከዚያ ቀን በኋላ ላሞቹ ዳግም ችግር እንዳይገጥማቸው ይጠነቀቅ ጀመር።

One morning, Odongo took his grandmother’s cows to graze. They ran onto a neighbour’s farm. The farmer was angry with Odongo. He threatened to keep the cows for eating his crops. After that day, the boy made sure that the cows did not get into trouble again.

Un matin, Odongo a mené paître les vaches de sa grand-mère. Elles ont couru dans la ferme d’un voisin. Le fermier était fâché envers Odongo. Il a menacé de garder les vaches parce qu’elles avaient mangé ses récoltes. À partir de ce jour-là, le garçon a veillé à ce que les vaches ne fassent pas d’autres bêtises.


A boy and a girl helping a woman sell vegetables to customers at a marketplace.

በሌላ ቀን ልጆቹ ከአያታቸው ጋር ወደገበያ ወጡ። የሚሸጥ ቅጠላቅጠል፣ ስኳርና ሳሙና ይዛለች። አብይ ለደንበኞቹ የሚሸጡ ነገሮችን ዋጋ ይናገራል። አፒዮ ደግሞ የተሸጡ እቃዎችን ለገዢዎች ትጠቀልልላቸዋለች።

On another day, the children went to the marketplace with Nyar-Kanyada. She had a stall selling vegetables, sugar and soap. Apiyo liked to tell customers the price of items. Odongo would pack the items that customers bought.

Un autre jour, les enfants sont allés au marché avec Nyar-Kanyada. Elle avait un stand pour vendre des légumes, du sucre et du savon. Apiyo aimait donner le prix des articles aux clients. Odongo emballait ce que les clients achetaient.


A boy, a girl and a woman drinking tea together.

ሲጨርሱ ሁሉም በአንድ ላይ ሆነው ሻይ ጠጡ። አያታቸው ከሽያጭ ያገኘችውን ገንዘብ በመቁጠር አገዟት።

At the end of the day they drank chai tea together. They helped grandmother to count the money she earned.

À la fin de la journée, ils ont bu du thé chai ensemble. Ils ont aidé leur grand-mère à compter l’argent qu’elle avait gagné.


A girl wearing a new sweater and a boy wearing a new cap next to a woman holding lots of luggage.

ብዙም ሳይቆዩ በዓላቱም አለፉ፤ ልጆቹም ወደ ከተማ መመለሻቸው ሆነ። ንያር ካንያዳ ለኦዶንጎ ኮፍያ፣ ለአፒዮ ደግሞ ሹራብ ሰጠቻቸው። ለመንገዳቸውም ስንቅ ቋጠረችላቸው።

But too soon the holidays were over and the children had to go back to the city. Nyar-Kanyada gave Odongo a cap and Apiyo a sweater. She packed food for their journey.

Trop tôt, les vacances étaient terminées et les enfants devaient retourner à la ville. Nyar-Kanyada donna une casquette à Odongo et un chandail à Apiyo. Elle emballa de la nourriture pour leur voyage.


A boy and girl hugging a man standing next to a woman with her arms open wide.

አባታቸው ሊወስዳቸው ሲመጣ እነሱ በበኩላቸው መሄድ አልፈለጉም። ልጆቹ ንያር ካንያዳን አብራቸው ወደ ከተማ እንድትሄድ ጠየቀቻቸው። ፈገግ አለችና እንዲህ አለች፣ ‹‹አይ ልጆቼ ከተማ ለመኖር እንኳ አርጅቻለሁ። ዳግም ወደኔ ዘንድ እስክትመጡ እጠብቃችኋለሁ።››

When their father came to fetch them, they did not want to leave. The children begged Nyar-Kanyada to go with them to the city. She smiled and said, “I am too old for the city. I will be waiting for you to come to my village again.”

Quand leur père est venu les chercher, ils ne voulaient pas partir. Les enfants ont supplié Nyar-Kanyada de venir avec eux à la ville. Elle sourit et dit, « Je suis trop vieille pour la ville. J’attendrai votre retour à mon village. »


A boy and girl hugging a woman tightly.

ኦዶንጎ እና አፒዮ ጥብቅ አድርገው አቀፏቸውና ተሰናበቷቸው።

Odongo and Apiyo both hugged her tightly and said goodbye.

Odongo et Apiyo l’ont tous les deux embrassée fort et lui ont dit au revoir.


A boy and girl talking with school friends.

ኦዶንጎ እና አፒዮ ወደ ትምህርት ቤት ሲመለሱ ለጓደኞቻቸው አገር ቤት ስለነበራቸው ቆይታ ነገሯቸው። አንዳንድ ልጆች የከተማ ህይወት ጥሩ እንደሆነ ያስባሉ። አንዳንዶቹ ደግሞ ገጠር የተሻለ እንደሆነ ይሰማቸዋል። ሁሉም ሰው ኦዶንጎ እና አፒዮ በጣም ግሩም የሆኑ አያት እንዳላቸው ይስማማሉ።

When Odongo and Apiyo went back to school they told their friends about life in the village. Some children felt that life in the city was good. Others felt that the village was better. But most of all, everyone agreed that Odongo and Apiyo had a wonderful grandmother!

Quand Odongo et Apiyo sont retournés à l’école ils ont raconté leurs histoires de la vie dans le village à leurs amis. Certains enfants croyaient que la vie en ville était bonne. D’autres étaient de l’avis que le village était meilleur. Et surtout, ils étaient tous d’accord que Odongo et Apiyo avaient une grand-mère merveilleuse !


Written by: Violet Otieno
Illustrated by: Catherine Groenewald
Translated by: Dawit Girma
Read by: Abenezer Chane
Language: Amharic
Level: Level 4
Source: Holidays with grandmother from African Storybook
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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