Back to stories list

A girl sitting in a tree singing.

ሲምበግዊረ Simbegwire Simbegwire

Written by Rukia Nantale

Illustrated by Benjamin Mitchley

Translated by Daniel Berhane Habte

Language Tigrinya

Level Level 5

Narrate full story The audio for this story is currently not available.


A girl sitting on a man's lap.

ሲምበግዊረ ኣዲኣ ምስሞተት፡ ኣዝያ ሓዘነት። ኣቦ ሲምበግዊረ ንጓሉ ክከናኸን ኵሉ ዝከኣሎ ገበረ። ቀስ ብቐስ፡ ብዘይ ኣደ ሲምበግዊረ፡ ከምቀደሞም ናብራኦም ብሓጐስ ክመርሑ ጀመሩ። ንግሆ ንግሆ ኮፍ ኢሎም ብዛዕባ እታ መዓልቲ መደቦም ይሰርዑ። ምሸት ምሸት ብሓደ ይድረሩ። ኣቝሑ ምስሓጻጸቡ ኣቦ ሲምበግዊረ ዕዮ ገዝኣ ኣብ ምስራሕ ይሕግዛ።

When Simbegwire’s mother died, she was very sad. Simbegwire’s father did his best to take care of his daughter. Slowly, they learned to feel happy again, without Simbegwire’s mother. Every morning they sat and talked about the day ahead. Every evening they made dinner together. After they washed the dishes, Simbegwire’s father helped her with homework.

Quand la mère de Simbegwire décéda, Simbegwire fut très triste. Son père essaya de son mieux de prendre soin de sa fille. Lentement, ils apprirent comment se sentir heureux de nouveau, sans la mère de Simbegwire. Chaque matin, ils s’asseyaient et discutaient de la journée à venir. Chaque soir, ils cuisinaient le souper ensemble. Après avoir lavé la vaisselle, le père de Simbegwire l’aidait avec ses devoirs.


A girl looking at a man holding hands with a woman.

ሓደ መዓልቲ ኣቦ ሲምበግዊረ ዘይከም ልማዱ ደንጕዩ መጸ። “ኣበይ ኣለኺ’ዛ ጓለይ?” ኢሉ ጸውዓ። ሲምበግዊረ ናብ ኣቦኣ ጐየየት። ኣቦኣ ናይ ሓንቲ ሰበይቲ ኢድ ሒዙ ከምዝነበረ ምስረኣየት ድርቕ ኢላ ደው በለት። “ሓንቲ ፍልይቲ ጋሻ ከላልየኪ ደልየ ኣለኹ ‘ዛ ጓለይ። እዚኣ ኣኒታ ትብሃል፡” በለ ፍሽኽ እናበለ።

One day, Simbegwire’s father came home later than usual. “Where are you my child?” he called. Simbegwire ran to her father. She stopped still when she saw that he was holding a woman’s hand. “I want you to meet someone special, my child. This is Anita,” he said smiling.

Un jour, le père de Simbegwire retourna chez eux plus tard que d’habitude. « Où es-tu mon enfant ? » demanda-t-il. Simbegwire se précipita vers son père. Elle s’arrêta en chemin quand elle vit qu’il tenait la main d’une femme. « Je veux te présenter quelqu’un de spécial, mon enfant. Voici Anita, » dit-il en souriant.


A girl looking at a woman holding hands with a man.

“ሰላም ሲምበግዊረ፡ ኣቦኺ ብዛዕባኺ ብዙሕ እዩ ዝነግረኒ፡” በለት ኣኒታ። ግና ፍሽኽ ኣይበለትን ናይታ ቈልዓ ኢድ’ውን ኣይተንከፈትን። ኣቦ ሲምበግዊረ ተሓጒሱን ተረቢጹን ነበረ። ሰለስቲኦም ብሓባር ክነብሩ ምዃኖምን ሂወቶም ሕጕስ ክኸውን ምዃኑን ተዛረበ። “እዛ ጓለይ፡ ንኣኒታ ከም ኣዴኺ ክትቅበልያ ተስፋ እገብር፡” ድማ በለ።

“Hello Simbegwire, your father told me a lot about you,” said Anita. But she did not smile or take the girl’s hand. Simbegwire’s father was happy and excited. He talked about the three of them living together, and how good their life would be. “My child, I hope you will accept Anita as your mother,” he said.

« Bonjour Simbegwire, ton père m’a beaucoup parlé de toi, » dit Anita. Mais elle ne sourit pas et ne serra pas la main de la fille. Le père de Simbegwire était content et excité. Il dit qu’ils allaient vivre ensemble tous les trois et qu’ils auraient une bonne vie. « Mon enfant, j’espère que tu accepteras Anita comme ta mère, » dit-il.


A sad-looking girl in bed cuddling up to a blanket.

ሂወት ሲምበግዊረ ተለወጠ። ንግሆ ንግሆ ምስ ኣቦኣ ኮፍ ኢላ ትዘራረቦ ዝነበረት ተረፈ። ኣኒታ ኣድካሚ ስራሕ ገዛ ከተስርሓ ስለእትውዕል ምሸት ምሸት ዕዮ ገዝኣ ክትሰርሕ ኣይትኽእልን። ድሕሪ ድራር ብቐጥታ ናብ ድቃስ ክትከይድ ጀመረት። እታ ሓንቲ መጻናንዒታ፡ እታ ኣዲኣ ዝሃበታ ሕብራዊት ኮቦርታ እያ ኔራ። ኣቦ ሲምበግዊረ ጓሉ ሕጕስቲ ከምዘይነበረት ከስተብህል ኣይክኣለን።

Simbegwire’s life changed. She no longer had time to sit with her father in the mornings. Anita gave her so many household chores that she was too tired to do her school work in the evenings. She went straight to bed after dinner. Her only comfort was the colourful blanket her mother gave her. Simbegwire’s father did not seem to notice that his daughter was unhappy.

La vie de Simbegwire changea. Elle n’avait plus le temps de s’asseoir avec son père le matin. Anita lui donnait tellement de tâches ménagères qu’elle était trop fatiguée pour faire ses devoirs le soir. Elle allait directement se coucher après le souper. Son seul confort était la couverture colorée que sa mère lui avait faite. Le père de Simbegwire ne semblait pas remarquer que sa fille était malheureuse.


A sad-looking girl and woman waving to a man leaving home.

ድሕሪ ገለ ኣዋርሕ ኣቦ ሲምበግዊረ ንገለ እዋን ካብ ገዛ ኣርሒቑ ክገይሽ ከምዝዀነ ነገረን። “ብስራሕ ክገይሽ ኢየ፡” “ግና ንሓድሕድክን ብጽቡቕ ተሳኒኽን ክትነብራ ከምዝኾንክን እተኣማመን እየ።” በለ። ናይ ሲምበግዊረ ገጻ ጸልመተ፡ ኣቦኣ ግና ኣየስተብሃለን። ኣኒታ ገለ’ኳ ኣይበለትን። ንሳ ውን እንተኾነት ሕጕስቲ ኣይነበረትን።

After a few months, Simbegwire’s father told them that he would be away from home for a while. “I have to travel for my job,” he said. “But I know you will look after each other.” Simbegwire’s face fell, but her father did not notice. Anita did not say anything. She was not happy either.

Après quelques mois, le père de Simbegwire annonça qu’il serait parti pour un certain temps. « Je dois voyager pour mon travail, » dit-il. « Mais je sais que vous allez vous occuper l’une de l’autre. » Le visage de Simbegwire s’allongea, mais son père ne le remarqua pas. Anita ne dit rien. Elle n’était pas contente non plus.


A woman holding a stick pointing at a frightened-looking girl.

ንሲምበግዊረ ናብራ እናኸፍኣ ከደ። ስራሕ ገዛ እንተዘይወዲኣቶ ወይ ደኺመ ኢላ እንተኣጕረምሪማ ኣኒታ ትቕጥቅጣ። ኣብ ግዜ ድራር ድማ፡ ንሳ ዝበዝሐ በሊዓ ንሲምበግዊረ ቍሩብ ተረፍ መረፍ ትገድፈላ። ሲምበግዊረ ምሸት ምሸት፡ ነታ ናይ ኣዲኣ ኮበርታ ሓቚፋ እናበኸየት ትድቅስ።

Things got worse for Simbegwire. If she didn’t finish her chores, or she complained, Anita hit her. And at dinner, the woman ate most of the food, leaving Simbegwire with only a few scraps. Each night Simbegwire cried herself to sleep, hugging her mother’s blanket.

Les choses s’empirèrent pour Simbegwire. Si elle ne terminait pas ses tâches, ou si elle se plaignait, Anita la frappait. Et pendant le souper, la femme mangeait la plupart de la nourriture, laissant Simbegwire avec peu de restes. Chaque nuit Simbegwire s’endormait en pleurant, embrassant la couverture de sa mère.


A woman pointing at a girl kneeling on the floor holding a blanket.

ሓደ ንግሆ ሲምበግዊረ ካብ ድቃሳ ከይተንስአት ኣርፈደት። “ኣቲ ሰነፍ ቈልዓ!” ኢላ ኣኒታ ኣንጸርጸረትላ። ንሲምበግዊረ ካብ ዓራት ጐቲታ ኣውረደታ። እታ ምሒር እትፈትዋ ኮቦርታኣ ኣብ መስማር ተታሕዘት፡ ኣብ ክልተ ድማ ተቐደደት።

One morning, Simbegwire was late getting out of bed. “You lazy girl!” Anita shouted. She pulled Simbegwire out of bed. The precious blanket caught on a nail, and tore in two.

Un matin, Simbegwire se leva en retard. « Paresseuse ! » cria Anita. Elle tira Simbegwire de son lit. La couverture précieuse resta accrochée sur un clou et se déchira en deux.


A sad-looking girl walking carrying a bag.

ሲምበግዊረ ብጣዕሚ ተናወጸት። ካብ ገዛ ሃዲማ ክትወጽእ ወሰነት። ነታ ዝተቐደደት ኮቦርታ ወሲዳ፡ ገለ መግቢ ቈጺራ ነቲ ገዛ ገደፈቶ። ኣቦኣ ዝኸደሉ መንገዲ ተኸተለት።

Simbegwire was very upset. She decided to run away from home. She took the pieces of her mother’s blanket, packed some food, and left the house. She followed the road her father had taken.

Simbegwire était très bouleversée. Elle décida de se sauver de chez elle. Elle prit les morceaux de couverture de sa mère, emporta de la nourriture et quitta la maison. Elle suivit le chemin que son père avait pris.


A girl sitting in a tree singing.

ምስ መሰየ፡ ኣብ ጥቓ ሓደ ሩባ ኣብ ዝነበረት ነዋሕ ገረብ ተሰቒላ ኣብቲ ጨናፍር ድማ መደቀሲ ሰርሐት። ክትድቅስ ከላ ከምዚ ኢላ ኣልቀሰት “ኣደይ ኣደይ ኣደይ ገዲፍክኒ። ገዲፍክኒ ኬድኪ ኣይተመለስክን ድማ። ኣቦይ ደጊም ኣየፍቅረንን እዩ። ኣደይ መዓስ ኢኺ ክትመጺ? ሓዲግክኒ ኬድኪ።”

When it came to evening, she climbed a tall tree near a stream and made a bed for herself in the branches. As she went to sleep, she sang: “Maama, maama, maama, you left me. You left me and never came back. Father doesn’t love me anymore. Mother, when are you coming back? You left me.”

Quand le soir arriva, elle grimpa dans un arbre près d’un ruisseau et se fit un lit dans les branches. En s’endormant, elle chanta, « Maman, maman, maman, tu m’as quittée. Tu m’as quittée et tu n’es jamais revenue. Papa ne m’aime plus. Maman, quand reviens-tu ? Tu m’as quittée. »


A girl sitting in a tree singing and a woman and a girl nearby listening.

ንጽባሒቱ ንግሆ ሲምበግዊረ ነታ ልቕሶ እንደገና ደገመታ። እተን ኣንስቲ ክዳውንተን ክሓጽባ ናብቲ ሩባ ምስወረዳ፡ ነታ እተሕዝን ቍዘማ ካብታ ነዋሕ ገረብ ክትመጽእ ሰምዓኣ። ንፋስ ነቲ ኣቝጽልቲ ኣንቀሳቒሱ ሽውሽው ዘብሎ ዝነበረ መሲልወን፡ ሱቕ ኢለን ስርሐን ቀጸላ። ሓንቲ ካብተን ኣንስቲ ግና ጽን ኢላ ነታ ልቕሶ ሰምዓታ።

The next morning, Simbegwire sang the song again. When the women came to wash their clothes at the stream, they heard the sad song coming from the tall tree. They thought it was only the wind rustling the leaves, and carried on with their work. But one of the women listened very carefully to the song.

Le lendemain matin, Simbegwire chanta encore la chanson. Quand les femmes arrivèrent au ruisseau pour laver leur linge, elles entendirent la chanson triste qui venait du grand arbre. Elles pensaient que c’était seulement le bruissement des feuilles et continuèrent leur travail. Mais une des femmes écouta la chanson attentivement.


A woman kneeling hugging a little girl.

እዛ ሰበይቲ ናብታ ገረብ ንላዕሊ ጠመተት። ነታ ቈልዓን ነቲ ዝተቐደደ ኮቦርታን ምስረኣየት፡ “ሲምበግዊረ፡ ጓል ሓወይ!” ኢላ በኸየት። እተን ካልኦት ኣንስቲ ምሕጻብ ክዳውተን ገዲፈን ንሲምበግዊረ ካብታ ገረብ ክትወርድ ሓገዝኣ። ኣሞኣ ነዛ ንእሽቶ ቈልዓ ሓቘፈታ፡ ከተጸናንዓ ድማ ፈተነት።

This woman looked up into the tree. When she saw the girl and the pieces of colourful blanket, she cried, “Simbegwire, my brother’s child!” The other women stopped washing and helped Simbegwire to climb down from the tree. Her aunt hugged the little girl and tried to comfort her.

Cette femme jeta un coup d’œil dans l’arbre. Quand elle vit la fille et les morceaux de couverture colorés, elle cria, « Simbegwire, l’enfant de mon frère ! » Les autres femmes s’arrêtèrent de laver et aidèrent Simbegwire à descendre de l’arbre. Sa tante l’embrassa et essaya de la réconforter.


A girl in bed cuddling up to a blanket.

ኣሞ ሲምበግዊረ ናብ ገዝኣ ወሰደታ። ንሲምበግዊረ ምዉቕ መግቢ ሃበታ፡ በታ ናይ ኣዲኣ ኮቦርታ ጌራ ድማ ኣብ ዓራት ከደነታ። እታ ምሸት ሲምበግዊረ ክትድቅስ ከላ በኸየት። እንተኾነ ግና ናይ እፎይታ ንብዓይ እዩ ዝነበረ። ኣሞኣ ክትከናኸና ምዃና ትፈልጥ እያ።

Simbegwire’s aunt took the child to her own house. She gave Simbegwire warm food, and tucked her in bed with her mother’s blanket. That night, Simbegwire cried as she went to sleep. But they were tears of relief. She knew her aunt would look after her.

La tante de Simbegwire l’emmena chez elle. Elle donna à Simbegwire un repas chaud et la borda dans son lit avec la couverture de sa mère. Ce soir-là, Simbegwire s’endormit en pleurant. Mais ses larmes étaient des larmes de joie. Elle savait que sa tante prendrait soin d’elle.


An empty room.

ኣቦ ሲምበግዊረ ገዛ ምስተመልሰ፡ ክፍላ ጥርሑ ጸንሖ። “እንታይ ኣጋጢሙ ኣኒታ?” ክብል ብስንባደን ጓሂን ሓተተ። እታ ሰበይቲ፡ ሲምበግዊረ ከምዝሃደመት ነገረቶ። “ከተኽብረኒ ደልየያ፡” “ግና ምናልባት ኣዝየ ተሪረያ እኸውን እየ።” ድማ በለቶ። ኣቦ ሲምበግዊረ ገዛ ገዲፉ ናብቲ ሩባ ገጹ ከደ። ንሲምበግዊረ ርእያታ እንተኾነት ክሓታ ናብ ዓዲ እንዳ ሓፍቱ ቀጸለ።

When Simbegwire’s father returned home, he found her room empty. “What happened, Anita?” he asked with a heavy heart. The woman explained that Simbegwire had run away. “I wanted her to respect me,” she said. “But perhaps I was too strict.” Simbegwire’s father left the house and went in the direction of the stream. He continued to his sister’s village to find out if she had seen Simbegwire.

Quand le père de Simbegwire rentra chez lui, il trouva la chambre de sa fille vide. « Qu’est-ce qui est arrivé, Anita ? » demanda-t-il, le cœur gros. La femme expliqua que Simbegwire s’était sauvée. « Je voulais qu’elle me respecte, » dit-elle. « Mais j’ai peut-être été trop sévère. » Le père de Simbegwire quitta la maison et se dirigea dans la direction du ruisseau. Il se rendit au village de sa sœur pour découvrir si elle avait vu Simbegwire.


A man kneeling down talking to a girl.

ሲምበግዊረ ምስ ደቂ ኣሞኣ እናተጻወተት ከላ ኣቦኣ ናብኣ ገጹ ክመጽእ ካብ ርሑቕ ርኣየቶ። ሓሪቑ ከይከውን ፈርሐት፡ ስለዚ ንኽትሕባእ ናብቲ ገዛ ኣተወት። ኣቦኣ ግና ናብኣ ቀረበ፡ ከምዚ ድማ በላ፡ “ሲምበግዊረ፡ እታ ዝበለጸት ኣደ ረኺብኪ ኣለኺ። ሓንቲ ተፍቅረክን ትርደኣልክን። ብኣኺ እዀርዕ እየ አፍቅረኪ ድማ እየ።” ብድሕሪኡ፡ ሲምበግዊረ ክሳብ ዝደለየቶ ግዜ ምስ ኣሞኣ ክትቅመጥ ተሰማምዑ።

Simbegwire was playing with her cousins when she saw her father from far away. She was scared he might be angry, so she ran inside the house to hide. But her father went to her and said, “Simbegwire, you have found a perfect mother for yourself. One who loves you and understands you. I am proud of you and I love you.” They agreed that Simbegwire would stay with her aunt as long as she wanted to.

Simbegwire jouait avec ses cousins quand elle vit son père de loin. Elle avait peur qu’il soit peut-être fâché, alors elle se précipita à l’intérieur de la maison pour se cacher. Mais son père vint la voir et lui dit, « Simbegwire, tu t’es trouvé une mère parfaite. Une mère qui t’aime et te comprend. Je suis fier de toi et je t’aime. » Ils se mirent d’accord que Simbegwire resterait avec sa tante aussi longtemps qu’elle le voudrait.


A woman kneeling hugging a girl.

ኣቦኣ መዓልታዊ ይበጽሓ ነበረ። ኣብ መወዳእታኡ፡ ምስ ኣኒታ መጸ። ኣኒታ ንሲምበግዊረ ብኢዳ ሒዛ፡ እናበኸየት፡ “ይቕረ በልለይ ‘ዛ ጓለይ፡ ተጋግየ እየ፡ ሓንቲ ዕድል ሃብኒ በጃኺ?” በለታ። ሲምበግዊረ ናብ ኣቦኣን እቲ ዝተሻቐለ ገጹን ረኣየት። ሽዑ ቀስ ኢላ ናብኣ ገጻ ቀረበት ሕቝፍ ድማ ኣበለታ።

Her father visited her every day. Eventually, he came with Anita. She reached out for Simbegwire’s hand. “I’m so sorry little one, I was wrong,” she cried. “Will you let me try again?” Simbegwire looked at her father and his worried face. Then she stepped forward slowly and put her arms around Anita.

Son père lui rendit visite chaque jour. Finalement, il vint avec Anita. Elle tendit la main vers celle de Simbegwire. « Je suis tellement désolée, petite, j’ai eu tort, » sansanglota-t-elle. « Me laisseras-tu essayer de nouveau ? » Simbegwire examina son père et son regard inquiet. Puis elle fit lentement un pas en avant et mit ses bras autour d’Anita.


A family standing around a table full of food smiling.

ኣብታ ዝሰዓበት ሰሙን፡ ኣኒታ ንሲምበግዊረ፡ ምስ ደቀ’ሞኣን ኣሞኣን ናብቲ ገዛ ንምሳሕ ዓደመተን። ከመይ ዝበለ ድግስ’ዩ! ኣኒታ ኵሉ እቲ ሲምበግዊረ እትፈትዎ መግብታት ኣዳልያ ነበረት፡ ኵላቶም ድማ ክሳብ ዝጸግቡ በልዑ። ሽዑ እቶም ቈልዑ ተጻወቱ እቶም ዓበይቲ ድማ ኣዕለሉ። ሲምበግዊረ ሓጐስን ትብዓትን ተሰምዓ። ምስ ኣቦኣን ሰይተ-ቦኣን ክትነብር ብቕልጡፍ ከይደንጐየት ናብ ገዝኣ ክትከይድ ወሰነት።

The next week, Anita invited Simbegwire, with her cousins and aunt, to the house for a meal. What a feast! Anita prepared all of Simbegwire’s favourite foods, and everyone ate until they were full. Then the children played while the adults talked. Simbegwire felt happy and brave. She decided that soon, very soon, she would return home to live with her father and her stepmother.

La semaine suivante, Anita invita Simbegwire, ainsi que ses cousins et sa tante, chez elle pour un repas. Quel festin ! Anita prépara tous les plats favoris de Simbegwire et tous mangèrent jusqu’à temps qu’ils soient repus. Ensuite, les enfants jouèrent tandis que les adultes parlaient. Simbegwire se sentait contente et courageuse. Elle décida que bientôt, très bientôt, elle retournerait chez elle pour vivre avec son père et sa belle-mère.


Written by: Rukia Nantale
Illustrated by: Benjamin Mitchley
Translated by: Daniel Berhane Habte
Language: Tigrinya
Level: Level 5
Source: Simbegwire from African Storybook
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 International License.
Read more level 5 stories:
Options
Back to stories list Download PDF