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A bird sitting on a rock next to some honeycomb.

ፍዳ’ታ ቅርቅረ The Honeyguide's revenge La revanche de l'indicateur

Written by Zulu folktale

Illustrated by Wiehan de Jager

Translated by Daniel Berhane Habte

Language Tigrinya

Level Level 4

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


A man standing holding a spear and a bird sitting on a tree branch.

እዚ ዛንታ ናይ ንገደ፡ እታ ቅርቅረን፡ ጊንጊለ ዝተብሃለ ስሱዕ መንእሰይን እዩ። ሓደ መዓልቲ ጊንጊለ ክሃድን ወፊሩ ከሎ ናይ ንገደ ፋጻ ሰምዐ። ጊንጊለ መዓር ተራእይዎ ኣፉ ማይ መልአ። ደው ኢሉ ተጠንቂቑ ኣዳሚጹ፡ ነታ ዑፍ ደልዩ ደልዩ ኣብቲ ኣብ ልዕሊኡ ዝነበረ ጨንፈር ናይ ገረብ ርኣያ። “ጩቕ-ጩቕ-ጩቕ፡” ኢላ እናፋጸየት እታ ንእሽቶ ዑፍ ካብ ገረብ ናብ ገረብ ነፈረት። ጊንጊለ ይስዕባ ከምዘሎ ንምርግጋጽ ነናሻዕ ደው እናበለት፡ “ጩቕ-ጩቕ-ጩቕ፡” ፋጸየት።

This is the story of Ngede, the Honeyguide, and a greedy young man named Gingile. One day while Gingile was out hunting he heard the call of Ngede. Gingile’s mouth began to water at the thought of honey. He stopped and listened carefully, searching until he saw the bird in the branches above his head. “Chitik-chitik-chitik,” the little bird rattled, as he flew to the next tree, and the next. “Chitik, chitik, chitik,” he called, stopping from time to time to be sure that Gingile followed.

Voici l’histoire de Ngede l’indicateur et d’un jeune homme avide nommé Gingile. Un jour, lorsqu’il chassait, Gingile entendit l’appel de Ngede. Gingile commença à saliver en pensant au miel. Il s’arrêta et écouta attentivement, fouillant jusqu’à ce qu’il trouve l’oiseau dans les branches au-dessus de sa tête. « Chitik-chitik-chitik, » chantait le petit oiseau, en volant d’un arbre à l’autre. « Chitik-chitik-chitik, » lançait-t-il, s’arrêtant de temps en temps pour s’assurer que Gingile le suivait.


A man looking up at a tree and a bird sitting on a branch.

ድሕሪ ፍርቂ ሰዓት፡ ኣብ ሓንቲ ዓባይ ናይ በረኻ ፊኪ ገረብ በጽሑ። ንገደ ኣብ መንጎ’ቲ ጨናፍር ከምዝዓበደ ተሰራሰረት። ብድሕሪኡ ኣብ ሓንቲ ጨንፈር መሪጻ ደው ብምባል፡ “ኣብዚ እነሃለ! ንዓ ሕጂ! እንታይ እዩ ዘደንጕየካ ዘሎ?” ብዝመስል ኣቃውማ ርእሳ ናብ ጊንጊለ ኣቕንን ኣበለት። ጊንጊለ ኣብ ትሕቲ’ታ ገረብ ኮይኑ ዋላሓደ ንህቢ ክርእይ ኣይከኣለን፡ እንተኾነ ግና ንንገደ ኣመና።

After half an hour, they reached a huge wild fig tree. Ngede hopped about madly among the branches. He then settled on one branch and cocked his head at Gingile as if to say, “Here it is! Come now! What is taking you so long?” Gingile couldn’t see any bees from under the tree, but he trusted Ngede.

Après une heure et demie, ils atteignirent un figuier sauvage énorme. Ngede sautilla éperdument parmi les branches. Il s’installa ensuite sur une branche et inclina sa tête vers Gingile comme pour dire, « Le voici ! Viens vite ! Qu’est-ce qui te prend autant de temps ? » Gingile ne pouvait pas voir d’abeilles depuis le dessous de l’arbre, mais il avait confiance en Ngede.


A man putting a long stick into a fire.

ስለዚ ጊንጊለ መህደኒት ኵናቱ ኣብ ትሕቲ ገረብ ኣቐሚጡ፡ ገለ ዝነቐጻ ቀጠንቲ ጨናፍር ኣራርዩ ንእሽቶ ሓዊ ኣናኸሰ። እቲ ሓዊ ጽቡቕ ጌሩ ክነድድ ምስጀመረ፡ ሓንቲ ድርቕቲ ነዋሕ በትሪ ኣብ ማእከሉ ገበረ። እዚ ዓይነት ዕንጨይቲ ክነድድ ከሎ ብዙሕ ትኪ ዝገብር ምዃኑ እዩ ዝፍለጥ። ነታ በትሪ በቲ ዝሑል ክፋላ በስናኑ ቀርቂሩ ናብታ ገረብ ክድይብ ጀመረ።

So Gingile put down his hunting spear under the tree, gathered some dry twigs and made a small fire. When the fire was burning well, he put a long dry stick into the heart of the fire. This wood was especially known to make lots of smoke while it burned. He began climbing, holding the cool end of the smoking stick in his teeth.

Alors, Gingile déposa sa lance sous l’arbre, recueillit des brindilles séchées et alluma un petit feu. Une fois que le feu brûlait bien, il mit une longue branche au cœur du feu. Ce bois était connu pour la fumée qu’il créait quand il brûlait. Gingile commença à grimper, tenant entre ses dents le bout froid de la branche qui fumait.


A man pushing a stick into a hollow of a tree and bees flying out.

ሽዑ ነቲ ዓው ዝበለ ድምጺ ዚዝታ ናይቶም ኣብ ስራሕ ዝተጸምዱ ኣናህብ ክሰምዖ ከኣለ። ኣብ ጉንዲ ናይታ ገረብ ኣብ ዝነበረ ጓንጓ ይኣትዉን ይወጹን ነበሩ - ንሱ ቆፎኦም እዩ። ጊንጊለ ኣብቲ ቆፎ ምስበጽሐ ነቲ ዝነድድ ዝነበረ ጫፍ ናይታ በትሪ ናብቲ ጓንጓ ኣእተዎ። እቶም ኣናህብ ብሕርቃንን ብነድርን እናበረሩ ወጹ። ትኪ ስለዘይፈትዉ ነፊሮም ሃደሙ - ቅድሚ ምህዳሞም ግና ንጊንጊለ ንኽስክስ ኣበልዎ!

Soon he could hear the loud buzzing of the busy bees. They were coming in and out of a hollow in the tree trunk – their hive. When Gingile reached the hive he pushed the smoking end of the stick into the hollow. The bees came rushing out, angry and mean. They flew away because they didn’t like the smoke – but not before they had given Gingile some painful stings!

Bientôt il pouvait entendre le bourdonnement bruyant des abeilles affairées. Elles rentraient et sortaient d’un creux dans le tronc d’arbre - leur ruche. Lorsque Gingile arriva à la ruche il mit le bout fumant de la branche dans le creux. Les abeilles sortirent, fâchées et méchantes. Elles s’envolèrent parce qu’elles n’aimaient pas la fumée - mais pas avant d’avoir piqué douloureusement Gingile !


Someone putting honeycomb into a pouch.

እቶም ኣናህብ ምስወጹ፡ ጊንጊለ ኢዱ ናብቲ ሰፈሮም ሰደደ። ኣዝዩ ብርኩትን ስቡሕን፡ መዓር ዘንጠብጥብ ጽዑቕ ሰፈ-ንህቢ፡ ጻዕዳ ጎጎ መዓር ኣውጸአ። ነቲ ሰፈ-ንህቢ ኣብታ ኣብ መንኩቡ ዝተሰከማ ሳንጣ ተጠንቂቑ ኣእተዎ፡ ካብታ ገረብ ድማ ክወርድ ጀመረ።

When the bees were out, Gingile pushed his hands into the nest. He took out handfuls of the heavy comb, dripping with rich honey and full of fat, white grubs. He put the comb carefully in the pouch he carried on his shoulder, and started to climb down the tree.

Quand les abeilles furent sorties, Gingile enfonça ses mains dans le nid. Il sortit des poignées de rayons de miel d’abeilles desquelles s’écoulait du miel riche et des larves grasses et blanches. Il mit soigneusement le nid dans la besace qu’il portait sur son épaule et commença à descendre de l’arbre.


A bird sitting on a rock and a man climbing down from a tree.

ንገደ ኵሉ ጊንጊለ ዝገብሮ ዝነበረ ብሃረርታ ተኻታተለቶ። ሓደ ረጒድ ቍራስ ሰፈ-ንህቢ ከም ናይ ምስጋና ህያብ ነታ ቅርቅረ ኢሉ ክገድፈላ ትጽበ ነበረት። ንገደ ካብ ጨንፈር ናብ ጨንፈር ፍር ፍር እናበለት፡ ናብ መሬት ገጻ ቀረበት። ኣብ መወዳእታ ጊንጊለ ኣብ ታሕቲ ናይታ ገረብ በጽሐ። ንገደ ኣብ ጥቓ እቲ ወዲ ኣብ ሓደ ከውሒ ዓሊባ ዓስባ ተጸበየት።

Ngede eagerly watched everything that Gingile was doing. He was waiting for him to leave a fat piece of honeycomb as a thank-you offering to the Honeyguide. Ngede flittered from branch to branch, closer and closer to the ground. Finally Gingile reached the bottom of the tree. Ngede perched on a rock near the boy and waited for his reward.

Ngede regardait avec impatience tout ce que Gingile faisait. Il attendait qu’il laisse un gros morceau de nid d’abeille comme signe de remerciement à l’indicateur. Ngede voltigeait de branche en branche, de plus en plus près du sol. Finalement, Gingile arriva au pied de l’arbre. Ngede se percha sur une roche près du garçon et attendit sa récompense.


A bird flying above a man raising one of his hands.

እንተኾነ ግና፡ ጊንጊለ ነቲ ሓዊ ኣጥፊኡ፡ ኲናቱ ኣልዒሉ፡ ነታ ዑፍ ሸለል ብምባል፡ ናብ ገዝኡ ክኸይድ ተበገሰ። ንገደ ብሕርቃን፡ “ዕውት! ዕውት!” ብምባል ጸውዓቶ። ጊንጊለ ደው ኢሉ፡ ናብታ ንእሽቶ ዑፍ ቀው ኢሉ ብምጥማት ዓው ኢሉ ሰሓቐ። “መዓር ደሊኺ ምሽ? ከምኡ ድዩ ዛ’ዓርከይ? ሃ! ግና ኣነ እኳ እየ እቲ ኵሉ ስራሕ ዝሰራሕክዎ፡ እቲ ኵሉ እውን ዝተነኸስክዎ። ስለምንታይ እየ ነዚ ምቁር መዓር ምሳኺ ዝተኻፈልክዎ?” ኢሉ ገዲፍዋ ከደ። ንገደ ተቘጥዐት! እዚ ኣይኰነን ኔሩ ኢዳ! ግና ሕኒኣ ኽትፈድይ እያ።

But, Gingile put out the fire, picked up his spear and started walking home, ignoring the bird. Ngede called out angrily, “VIC-torr! VIC-torrr!” Gingile stopped, stared at the little bird and laughed aloud. “You want some honey, do you, my friend? Ha! But I did all the work, and got all the stings. Why should I share any of this lovely honey with you?” Then he walked off. Ngede was furious! This was no way to treat him! But he would get his revenge.

Mais Gingile éteint le feu, ramassa sa lance et commença à rentrer chez lui, en ignorant l’oiseau. Ngede lança, fâché, « VIC-torr ! VIC-torr ! » Gingile s’arrêta, dévisagea le petit oiseau et éclata de rire. « Tu veux du miel, mon ami ? Ha ! Mais c’est moi qui ai fait tout le travail et qui me suis fait piquer. Pourquoi est-ce que je devrais partager ce miel avec toi ? » Et il partit. Ngede était furieux ! Ce n’était pas une façon de le traiter ! Mais il aurait sa revanche.


A man standing holding a spear and a bird sitting on a tree branch.

ሓደ መዓልቲ ድሕሪ ገለ ሳምንታት፡ ጊንጊለ እንደገና መዓር ከምዘሎ ዝሕብር ጻውዒት ናይ ንገደ ሰምዐ። ነቲ ምቁር መዓር ዘከሮ፡ ብህርፋን ድማ እንደገና ነታ ዑፍ ተኸተላ። ንጊንጊለ በቲ ጫፍ ናይቲ ጫካ ድሕሪ ምምራሕ፡ ንገደ ኣብ ሓንቲ ዓባይ ጨዓ ከተዕርፍ ደው በለት። “ኣሃ” ኢሉ ጊንጊለ ሓሰበ፡ “እቲ ቆፎ ኣብዛ ገረብ ክህሉ ኣለዎ።” ብቕልጡፍ ቍሩብ ሓዊ ኣናኺሱ፡ ነታ እትተክኽ ጨንፈር ኣብ ኣፉ ቀርቂሩ ክድይብ ጀመረ። ንገደ ኮፍ ኢላ ተኸታተለት።

One day several weeks later Gingile again heard the honey call of Ngede. He remembered the delicious honey, and eagerly followed the bird once again. After leading Gingile along the edge of the forest, Ngede stopped to rest in a great umbrella thorn. “Ahh,” thought Gingile. “The hive must be in this tree.” He quickly made his small fire and began to climb, the smoking branch in his teeth. Ngede sat and watched.

Un jour, plusieurs semaines plus tard, Gingile entendit de nouveau l’appel de Ngede. Il se souvint du miel délicieux et suivit avec impatience l’oiseau une fois de plus. Après avoir guidé Gingile à l’orée de la forêt, Ngede s’arrêta pour se reposer dans un acacia épineux. « Ahh, » pensa Gingile. « La ruche doit être dans cet arbre. » Il alluma rapidement son petit feu et commença à grimper, la branche fumante entre ses dents. Ngede s’assit et le regarda.


An angry-looking leopard with its arms wide open and a man with his hands in the air.

ጊንጊለ፡ ከምቲ ልሙድ ናይ ንህቢ ዚዝታ ብዘይምስምዑ እናተገረመ ደየበ። “ምናልባት እቲ ቆፎ ኣብ ውሽጢ’ዛ ገረብ ይህሉ ይኸውን።” ኢሉ ሓሰበ። ካብ ጨንፈር ናብ ጨንፈር ደየበ። ግና ኣክንዲ’ቲ ቆፎ ንህቢ፡ ገጽ ናይ ሓንቲ ነብሪ ረኣየ! ብድፍረት ካብ ድቃሳ ስለዘበራበራ ነብሪ ኣዝያ ሓረቐት። ዓይና ኣጨምጭም ኣቢላ ኣፋ ከፊታ እቶም ኣመና ዓበይትን ምሒር በላሕትን ኣስናና ኣርኣየቶ።

Gingile climbed, wondering why he didn’t hear the usual buzzing. “Perhaps the hive is deep in the tree,” he thought to himself. He pulled himself up another branch. But instead of the hive, he was staring into the face of a leopard! Leopard was very angry at having her sleep so rudely interrupted. She narrowed her eyes, opened her mouth to reveal her very large and very sharp teeth.

Gingile grimpa, se demandant pourquoi il n’entendait pas le bourdonnement habituel. « Peut-être que la ruche est très profonde dans l’arbre, » se dit-il. Il se hissa sur une autre branche. Mais au lieu de la ruche, il arriva face-à-face avec le visage d’un léopard ! Léopard était très fâchée que son sommeil ait été interrompu si brusquement. Ses yeux se plissèrent et elle ouvrit sa bouche pour révéler ses grandes dents pointues.


A bird sitting on a rock next to some honeycomb.

ነብሪ ብጽፍዒት ከየላደደቶ ከላ፡ ብቕልጡፍ ካብቲ ገረብ ወረደ። ክወርድ ክብል ሓንቲ ጨንፈር ሰሓተ፡ ናብ መሬት ዱብ ኢሉ ብምውዳቕ ዓንካር ዓንካሪቱ ተቘጽየ። ሰልፈፍ እናበለ ናይ ሓይለቦኡ ሃደመ። ጽቡቕ ዕድል ጌሩ፡ ነብሪ ተታኺሳ ስለዝነበረት ክትሕዞ ኣይተጓየየትን። ንገደ፡ እታ ቅርቅረ ሕኒኣ ፈደየት። ጊንጊለ ድማ መምሃሪ ኮኖ።

Before Leopard could take a swipe at Gingile, he rushed down the tree. In his hurry he missed a branch, and landed with a heavy thud on the ground twisting his ankle. He hobbled off as fast as he could. Luckily for him, Leopard was still too sleepy to chase him. Ngede, the Honeyguide, had his revenge. And Gingile learned his lesson.

Avant que Léopard ne puisse s’en prendre à Gingile, ce dernier se précipita en bas de l’arbre. Dans son empressement, il manqua une branche et atterrit par terre avec un bruit sourd, se tordant la cheville. Heureusement pour lui, Léopard était encore trop endormie pour le poursuivre. Ngede, l’indicateur, eu sa revanche. Et Gingile retint sa leçon.


A bird flying above a man raising one of his hands.

ስለዚ ድማ ደቂ ጊንጊለ ናይ ንገደ ዛንታ ክሰምዑ ከለዉ ነታ ንእሽቶ ዑፍ ኣኽብሮት ኣለዎም። መዓር ኣብ ዝበርበሩላ ግዜ እታ ዝዓበየት ሰፈ-ንህቢ ነታ ቅርቅረ ከምዝገደፉላ ከረጋግጹ ኣለዎም!

And so, when the children of Gingile hear the story of Ngede they have respect for the little bird. Whenever they harvest honey, they make sure to leave the biggest part of the comb for Honeyguide!

Ainsi, quand les enfants de Gingile entendent l’histoire de Ngede ils respectent le petit oiseau. Chaque fois qu’ils récoltent du miel, ils s’assurent de laisser la plus grande partie du rayon à l’indicateur !


Written by: Zulu folktale
Illustrated by: Wiehan de Jager
Translated by: Daniel Berhane Habte
Language: Tigrinya
Level: Level 4
Source: The Honeyguide's revenge from African Storybook
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 International License.
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