Simbegwire alihuzunika mama yake alipofariki. Baba yake alijitahidi kumtunza mwanaye. Taratibu wakaanza kuwa wenye furaha tena, bila ya Mama Simbegwire. Kila asubuhi walikaa na kupanga mipango ya siku inayofuata. Kila jioni waliandaa chakula cha jioni pamoja. Baada ya kuosha vyombo, baba yake Simbegwire alimsaidia kufanya kazi zake za shule.
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.
Siku moja baba yake Simbegwire alirudi nyumbani kwa kuchelewa. “Mwanangu uko wapi?” aliita. Simbegwire alimkimbilia baba yake. Alisimama ghafla baada ya kumwona baba yake akiwa ameshika mkono wa mwanamke. “Nataka ukutane na mtu muhimu, mwanangu. Huyu ni Anita,” alisema huku akitabasamu.
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.
“Hujambo Simbegwire? Baba yako amenisimulia mengi kukuhusu,” alisema Anita. Lakini hakutabasamu wala kumpa Simbegwire mkono. Baba yake Simbegwire alijaa na furaha. Aliongelea jinsi maisha yatakavyokuwa mazuri watatu hao wakiishi pamoja. “Mwanangu, ni matumaini yangu kuwa utamkubali Anita kuwa mama yako,” alisema.
“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.
Maisha ya Simbegwire yakabadilika. Hakuwa na muda tena wa kukaa na baba yake asubuhi. Anita alimpa kazi nyingi za nyumbani zilizomchosha sana kiasi cha kushindwa kufanya kazi zake za shuleni jioni. Alikuwa anaenda moja kwa moja kulala baada ya chakula cha jioni. Faraja pekee aliyokuwa nayo ni blanketi lenye rangi nyingi alilopewa na mama yake. Baba yake Simbegwire hakugundua kwamba binti yake alikuwa hana furaha.
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.
Baada ya miezi michache, baba yake Simbegwire aliwaambia kwamba ana mpango wa kusafiri. “Itanibidi nisafiri kikazi,” alisema. “Lakini najua hakutakuwa na tatizo.” Uso wa Simbegwire ulijawa huzuni, lakini baba yake hakugundua. Anita hakusema lolote. Hakuwa na furaha.
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.
Mambo yakawa mabaya kwa Simbegwire. Aliposhindwa kumaliza kazi au alipolalamika, Anita alimpiga. Wakati wa chakula cha jioni Anita alikula chakula kingi, na kumwachia Simbegwire makombo. Kila usiku Simbegwire alikuwa analia, huku akilikumbatia blanketi la mama yake.
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.
Asubuhi moja, Simbegwire alichelewa kuamka. “Wewe mtoto mvivu,” Anita aliita kwa kelele. Akamvuta Simbegwire kutoka kitandani. Blanketi lake zuri likanasa kwenye msumari na kuchanika vipande viwili.
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.
Simbegwire alikasirika sana. Akaamua kutoroka nyumbani. Akachukua vipande vya blanketi la mama yake. Akachukua na chakula na akaondoka nyumbani. Akaifuata barabara aliyopita baba yake.
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.
Ilipofika jioni alipanda mti mrefu karibu na kijito na akaandaa kitanda kwenye matawi ya mti. Alipokuwa analala akaimba “Maama, maama, maama, umeniacha. Umeniacha na haukurudi tena. Baba hanipendi tena. Mama unarudi lini? Uliniacha.”
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.”
Asubuhi iliyofuata, Simbegwire aliimba ule wimbo tena. Wakina mama walipokuja kufua nguo zao walisikia wimbo wa huzuni kutoka kwenye mti mrefu. Wakafikiri ni upepo unatikisa matawi ya mti na wakaendelea na kazi zao. Lakini mama mmoja akasikiliza ule wimbo kwa makini.
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.
Mama huyo akaangalia juu ya mti. Alipomwona msichana na vipande vya blanketi la rangi, akalia, “Simbegwire, mtoto wa kaka yangu!” Wakina mama wengine wakaacha kufua na wakamsaidia Simbegwire kushuka toka juu ya mti. Shangazi yake akamkumbatia na kumfariji.
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.
Shangazi yake Simbegwire akampeleka nyumbani kwake. Akampatia chakula, akampeleka kitandani na akamfunika na blanketi la mama yake. Usiku ule Simbegwire akalia alipokwenda kulala. Lakini yalikuwa machozi ya furaha. Alijua shangazi yake atamtunza.
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.
Baba yake Simbegwire aliporudi nyumbani, alikikuta chumba chake kikiwa tupu. “Nini kimetokea, Anita?” aliuliza kwa simanzi. Anita akaelezea kuwa Simbegwire alitoroka. “Nilitaka aniheshimu,” alisema. “Labda nilikuwa mkali sana.” Baba yake Simbegwire aliondoka nyumbani na akaelekea kwenye kijito. Akaenda kwenye kijiji cha dada yake kuuliza kama amemwona Simbegwire.
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.
Simbegwire alikuwa anacheza na binamu zake alipomwona baba yake akija kwa mbali. Aliogopa kuwa baba yake angekuwa amekasirika, na akakimbilia ndani ya nyumba ili ajifiche. Baba yake alimwendea na akamwambia, “Simbegwire umempata mama mzuri. Anayekupenda na kukuelewa. Najivunia kuwa nawe na ninakupenda.” Walikubaliana kuwa Simbegwire angeishi na shangazi yake kwa muda wote atakaotaka.
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.
Baba yake alikuwa akimtembelea kila siku. Mwishoe akaja na Anita. Akampa mkono Simbegwire. “Nisamehe, nilikosea,” akalia. “Utanipa nafasi kujaribu tena?” Simbegwire alimwangalia baba yake aliyekuwa na uso wa wasiwasi. Baadaye akamwendea Anita taratibu na akamkumbatia.
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.
Wiki iliyofuata, Anita aliwaalika Simbegwire, binamu zake, na shangazi yake kwa ajili ya chakula. Anita akaandaa vyakula vyote ambavyo Simbegwire anavipenda, na kila mmoja akala hadi akashiba. Baada ya kula watoto wakaenda kucheza huku watu wazima wakiongea. Simbegwire akajisikia furaha na jasiri. Akaamua kuwa si muda mrefu atarejea nyumbani kuishi na baba yake na mama yake wa kambo.
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.
