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Bana ba kerese
Children of wax
Les enfants de cire
Southern African Folktale
Wiehan de Jager
Lorato Trok
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Bogologolo tala go kile
ga nna lelapa lengwe le
le itumetseng.
Once upon a time,
there lived a happy
family.
Il était une fois une famille bien heureuse.
Ba ne ba sa rate ntwa
mme ba ne ba thusa
batsadi ba bona kwa
gae le kwa masimong.
They never fought with
each other. They helped
their parents at home
and in the fields.
Ils ne se disputaient jamais. Ils aidaient leurs parents à la maison et dans les champs.
Mme ba ne ba sa
letlelelwa go atamela fa
thoko ga molelo.
But they were not
allowed to go near a
fire.
Mais ils n’avaient pas le droit de s’approcher d’un feu.
Ba ne ba letlelelwa fela
go dira ditiro tsa bona
bosigo.
Ka gonne ba ne ba bopilwe ka kerese
They had to do all their
work during the night.
Because they were made of wax!
Ils devaient faire tout leur travail pendant la nuit. Puisqu’ils étaient faits de cire !
Mme mongwe wa
basimane o ne a eletsa
go bona letsatsi.
But one of the boys
longed to go out in the
sunlight.
Mais un des garçons désirait se promener au soleil.
Ka letsatsi lengwe
keletso ya gagwe e ne
ya oketsega.
Basimane ba bangwe
ba ne ba mo kgalema
…
One day the longing
was too strong. His
brothers warned him…
Un jour son désir était trop puissant. Ses frères l’avertirent…
Mme go ne so setse go
le thari!
O ne a tlhapologa mo
letsatsing.
But it was too late!
He melted in the hot
sun.
Mais c’était trop tard ! Il fondit au soleil brûlant.
Bana ba kerese ba ne
ba utlwa botlhoko go
bona o mongwe a
tlhapologa.
The wax children were
so sad to see their
brother melting away.
Les enfants de cire étaient si tristes de voir leur frère fondre.
Mme ba ne ba dira
leano. Ba ne ba tsaya
kerese eo ba e aga go
nna nonyane.
But they made a plan.
They shaped the lump
of melted wax into a
bird.
Mais ils firent un plan. Ils façonnèrent le morceau de cire fondue en oiseau.
Ba ile ba tsaya nonyane
e ba e isa kwa godimo
ga thaba.
They took their bird
brother up to a high
mountain.
Ils apportèrent leur frère l’oiseau jusqu’au sommet d’une montagne haute.
Fa letsatsi le tlhaba, o
ile a fofela godima a
opela a itumetse.
And as the sun rose, he
flew away singing into
the morning light.
Et lorsque le soleil se leva, il s’envola vers la lumière du matin en chantant.
Written by: Southern African Folktale
Illustrated by: Wiehan de Jager
Translated by: Lorato Trok
