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A woman with a donkey tied to her back.

አህያ ሆኖ የተወለደው ልጅ Donkey Child L'enfant-âne

Lindiwe Matshikiza

Meghan Judge

Dawit Girma

Abenezer Chane

Amharic

Level 3

A girl standing on a rock looking at woman in the distance.

አንዲት ህጻን ልጅ አንድ የሆነ አስገራሚ ቅርጽ ከርቀት ተመለከተች።

It was a little girl who first saw the mysterious shape in the distance.

Une petite fille fut la première à voir la forme mystérieuse au loin.

A girl standing on a rock and a pregnant woman kneeling down holding her tummy.

ያ ቅርጽ እየቀረበ ሲመጣ ድርስ እርጉዝ ሴት መሆኗን ህጻኗ ተረዳች።

As the shape moved closer, she saw that it was a heavily pregnant woman.

Tandis que la forme se rapprocha, la petite fille vit que c’était une femme enceinte de plusieurs mois.

A pregnant woman surrounded by women hugging her.

ዓይንአፋር ግን ደግሞ ጎበዝ የሆነችው ይህች ህጻን እርጉዟን ሴትዮ ተጠጋቻት። ‹‹ይህችን ሴት ከእኛ ጋር ማኖር አለብን›› በማለት የህጻኗ ቤተ ዘመዶች ወሰኑ። ‹‹እሷን ከእኛ ጋር እናኖራታለን፤ ልጇንም አንንከባከባለን።››

Shy but brave, the little girl moved nearer to the woman. “We must keep her with us,” the little girl’s people decided. “We’ll keep her and her child safe.”

Timide mais brave, la petite fille se rapprocha de la femme. « Nous devons la garder avec nous, » dit le peuple de la petite fille. « Nous la garderons en sécurité, ainsi que son enfant. »

A woman in labour and other women helping her and bringing her water and blankets.

ወዲያው ምጥ ጀመራት። ‹‹ግፊ!›› ‹‹ብርድ ልብስ አምጡ!›› ‹‹ውሃ!›› ‹‹ግፊፊፊፊፊፊ!!!››

The child was soon on its way. “Push!” “Bring blankets!” “Water!” “Puuuuussssshhh!!!”

L’enfant arriva bientôt. « Pousse ! » « Apportez des couvertures ! » « De l’eau ! » « Pouuusseeee ! »

A baby donkey.

ነገር ግን ህጻኑን ሲያዩ ሁሉም በድንጋጤ ወደኋላ አፈገፈጉ። ‹‹አህያ?!››

But when they saw the baby, everyone jumped back in shock. “A donkey?!”

Mais quand ils virent le bébé, tous firent un saut en arrière. « Un âne ?! »

A group of women arguing.

ሁሉም መከራከር ያዘ። ‹‹እናትና ልጇን እንንከባከባለን ብለን ቃል ገብተን ነበር፤ አሁንም ቢሆን ማድረግ ያለብን እሱን ነው።›› ሲሉ አንዳንዶቹ፤ ሌሎቹ ደግሞ ‹‹ግን መጥፎ እድል ሊያመጡብን ይችላሉ›› አሉ።

Everyone began to argue. “We said we would keep mother and child safe, and that’s what we’ll do,” said some. “But they will bring us bad luck!” said others.

Tout le monde commença à se disputer. « Nous avions dit que nous garderions mère et enfant en sécurité et c’est ce que nous ferons, » dirent quelques-uns. « Mais ils vont nous porter malchance ! » dirent d’autres.

A woman holding a donkey in her arms.

በመሆኑም ሴትዮዋ እንደገና ብቸኝነት ተሰማት። ሴትዮዋ ግራ ተጋባች፤ ይህንን ያልተጠበቀ ፍጡር ምን እንደምታደርገው ጨነቃት። ምን ማድረግ እንዳለባት አላወቀችም፣ በጣም ተወዛገበች።

And so the woman found herself alone again. She wondered what to do with this awkward child. She wondered what to do with herself.

Ainsi, la femme se retrouva seule encore une fois. Elle se demanda quoi faire de cet enfant embarrassant. Elle se demanda quoi faire d’elle-même.

A woman hugging a donkey.

በስተመጨረሻም ፍጡሩ ልጇ መሆኑንና እሷም እናቱ መሆኗን አምና ተቀበለች።

But finally she had to accept that he was her child and she was his mother.

Mais elle dut finalement accepter qu’il était son enfant et qu’elle était sa mère.

A woman with a donkey tied to her back.

አሁን ነገሮች ሁሉ አስቸጋሪ እየሆኑ መጥተዋል። ልጁ እንደተወለደ ባለው የአካል መጠን በዚያው ቢቀጥል ልዩ ነገር ነው የሚሆነው። ሲያድግም ለናትየዋ ለመንከባከብ፣ ለማዘል ይቸግራታል። የሆነ ሆኖ ህጻኑ አህያ ለእናትየዋ በጀርባዋ ማዘል እስኪያቅታት ድረስ እያደገ መጣ። እናም ልጁ የጣረውን ያህል ቢጥር ልክ እንደሰው ያለ ባህርይ ሊኖረው አልተቻለውም። እናትየዋም እየደከማት እየፈራችም መጣች። አንዳንዴ እንስሳት እንደሚሰሩት ያለ ስራ እንዲሰራ ታደርገዋለች።

Now, if the child had stayed that same, small size, everything might have been different. But the donkey child grew and grew until he could no longer fit on his mother’s back. And no matter how hard he tried, he could not behave like a human being. His mother was often tired and frustrated. Sometimes she made him do work meant for animals.

Maintenant, si l’enfant était resté petit, tout aurait été différent. Mais l’enfant-âne grandit et grandit jusqu’à ce qu’il ne puisse plus être porté sur le dos de sa mère. Et malgré ses plus grands efforts, il ne pouvait pas se comporter comme un être humain. Sa mère était très souvent fatiguée et frustrée. Parfois elle l’obligeait à faire du travail destiné aux animaux.

A donkey kicking a woman.

አህያው በውስጡ ግራ መጋባትና ብስጭት እያየለበት መጣ። ይህንና ያንን ማድረግ ላይኖርበት ይችላል፤ እንደዚህ መምሰል እንደዛም መምሰል አይኖርበትም። በዚህ መወዛገብ ውስጥ ሆኖ ይናደዳል፤ አንድ ቀን እናቱን በርግጫ መታትና ከመሬት ጋር አጋጫት።

Confusion and anger built up inside Donkey. He couldn’t do this and he couldn’t do that. He couldn’t be like this and he couldn’t be like that. He became so angry that, one day, he kicked his mother to the ground.

La confusion et la colère s’accumulèrent à l’intérieur d’Âne. Il ne pouvait pas faire ceci et il ne pouvait pas faire cela. Il ne pouvait pas être comme ceci et il ne pouvait pas être comme cela. Il devint tellement fâché qu’un jour il botta sa mère par terre.

A donkey running away.

አህያው በጣም ሃፍረት ተሰማው። ከዚያ ሮጠ። የሚችለውን ያህል ፈጥኖ በጣም ሩቅ ወደሆነ ቦታ ፈረጠጠ።

Donkey was filled with shame. He started to run away as far and fast as he could.

Âne fut rempli de honte. Il commença à se sauver aussi vite et aussi loin qu’il pu.

A donkey sleeping.

መሮጡን ሲያቆም መሽቶ ነበር፣ በዚህም አጋጣሚ አህያው ጠፋ። ‹‹ሃ ሂሃ ሂሃ›› አህያው ጨለማው ውስጥ አስካካ። ‹‹ሃ ሂሃ ሂሃ›› ይላል ደግሞ። ግን የገደል ማሚቶው ብቻ ያስተጋባል። ብቻውን ሆነ። ከባድ የድካም ስሜት እንደተጫነው ጥቅልል ብሎ ተኛ።

By the time he stopped running, it was night, and Donkey was lost. “Hee haw?” he whispered to the darkness. “Hee Haw?” it echoed back. He was alone. Curling himself into a tight ball, he fell into a deep and troubled sleep.

Quand il s’arrêta de courir, la nuit était tombée et Âne était perdu. « Hi han ? » il chuchota à la noirceur. « Hi han ? » retourna la noirceur en écho. Il était seul. Se lovant en petite boule, il tomba dans un sommeil profond et agité.

A man dressed in a fur coat staring down at a donkey.

አህያው ሲነቃ እንግዳ ሽማግሌ ሰውዬ አፍጥጦ ሲያየው አገኘ። ሽማግሌውን ዓይን ዓይኑን እያየ የተስፋ ጭላንጭል ተሰማው።

Donkey woke up to find a strange old man staring down at him. He looked into the old man’s eyes and started to feel a twinkle of hope.

Âne se réveilla et vit un vieil homme étrange qui le regardait. Il regarda dans les yeux du vieil homme et commença à ressentir un brin d’espoir.

A man carrying a donkey.

አህያው እንዴት መኖር እንደሚገባው የተለያዩ ዘዴዎችን ካስተማረው ከሽማግሌው ሰውዬ ጋር ለመቆዬት አብሮ ሄደ። አህያው በደንብ ያዳምጣል። ትምህርት ይወስዳል። ሽማግሌው ሰውዬም እንደዚያው። እርስበርሳቸው ይረዳዳሉ፤ ይሳሳቃሉም።

Donkey went to stay with the old man, who taught him many different ways to survive. Donkey listened and learned, and so did the old man. They helped each other, and they laughed together.

Âne partit vivre avec le vieil homme, qui lui montra plusieurs façons de survivre. Âne écouta et apprit, et le vieil homme aussi. Ils s’aidèrent l’un l’autre et ils rirent ensemble.

A man sitting on a donkey walking up a mountain.

አንድ ቀን ማለዳ ሽማግሌው ሰውዬ አህያውን ተሸክመህ ወደ ተራራ ጫፍ አውጣኝ ሲል ጠየቀው።

One morning, the old man asked Donkey to carry him to the top of a mountain.

Un matin, le vieil homme demanda à Âne de le transporter jusqu’au sommet d’une montagne.

A donkey and a man sleeping on the top of a mountain surrounded by clouds. The donkey dreaming of a woman.

ተራራው ጫፍ ላይ በደመናው መሃል እንቅልፍ ወሰዳቸው። አህያው በህልሙ እናቱን እንዳመማትና ስትጠራው አየ። እንደነቃ….

High up amongst the clouds they fell asleep. Donkey dreamed that his mother was sick and calling to him. And when he woke up…

En haut, parmi les nuages, ils s’endormirent. Âne rêva que sa mère était malade et qu’elle l’appelait. Et quand il se réveilla…

A donkey sitting on the top of a mountain with the sun shining on him.

… ደመናው ጠፍቷል፣ ከጓደኛው ከሽማግሌው ሰውዬ ጋር።

… the clouds had disappeared along with his friend, the old man.

… les nuages avaient disparu avec son ami le vieil homme.

A donkey running.

አህያ በስተመጨረሻም ምን ማድረግ እንዳለበት አወቀ።

Donkey finally knew what to do.

Âne sut finalement quoi faire.

A sad-looking woman standing amongst some trees and a donkey looking at her.

አህያው እናቱን ብቻዋን ሆና በጠፋው ልጇ እያዘነች አገኛት። ለረጂም ጊዜ ፍጥጥ ብለው ተያዩ። ከዚያም ጥብቅብቅ ብለው ተቃቀፉ።

Donkey found his mother, alone and mourning her lost child. They stared at each other for a long time. And then hugged each other very hard.

Âne trouva sa mère, seule et en deuil pour son enfant perdu. Ils se regardèrent longtemps. Puis ils s’embrassèrent très fort.

A woman sitting on top of a donkey near adults and children.

ትንሹ አህያና እናቱ አብረው መኖርና ማደግ ጀመሩ። ህይወታቸውን አብረው ማስቀጠል የሚችሉባቸውን በርካታ መንገዶችም አሰቡ። ቀስ በቀስ ሌሎች ሰዎችና ቤተዘመዶች ተረጋግተው ህይወታቸውን መግፋት ጀመሩ።

The donkey child and his mother have grown together and found many ways of living side by side. Slowly, all around them, other families have started to settle.

L’enfant-âne et sa mère ont grandi ensemble et ils ont trouvé plusieurs manières de coexister. Lentement, tout autour d’eux, d’autres familles ont commencé à s’installer.

Written by: Lindiwe Matshikiza

Illustrated by: Meghan Judge

Translated by: Dawit Girma

Read by: Abenezer Chane

Language: Amharic

Level: Level 3

Source: Donkey Child from African Storybook

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Read more level 3 stories:

ትንሽ ዘር፣ የዋንጋሪ ማታይ ታሪክ ኖዚቤሌና ሦስቱ ጸጉሮች ዶሮና ሃምሳ እግር የሳኪማ መዝሙር አናንሲና ጥበብ ከቀየዬ ወጥቼ ከተማ ስገባ ዶሮና ንስር

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