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辛波薇亚 Simbegwire

Written by Rukia Nantale

Illustrated by Benjamin Mitchley

Translated by Vicky Liu

Read by Zhuo Sun

Language Chinese (Mandarin)

Level Level 5

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Reading speed

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辛波薇亚的妈妈过世的时候,她非常伤心。辛波薇亚的爸爸尽全力照顾孩子。时间久了,他们渐渐开心起来,习惯了没有辛波薇亚妈妈的生活。每天早上,他们坐在一起,谈论着即将到来的一天。每天晚上,他们一起做饭,然后一起洗碗,辛波薇亚的爸爸还帮助她做功课。

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.


有一天,辛波薇亚的爸爸回家晚了。他一进门就喊道:“亲爱的孩子,你在哪里?”辛波薇亚跑出来迎接爸爸。但她突然停住了,因为她看到爸爸牵着另外一个女人的手。爸爸笑着说:“我的孩子,来,我向你介绍一个很特别的人,她叫阿妮塔。”

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.


阿妮塔跟辛波薇亚打招呼:“你好,辛波薇亚!你的爸爸跟我说了很多关于你的事。”她没有朝辛波薇亚微笑,也没有牵她的手。辛波薇亚的爸爸很高兴,他兴奋地说着,如果他们三个人住在一起,一定会很幸福的。爸爸朝辛波薇亚说:“我的孩子,我希望你能接受阿妮塔成为你的母亲。”

“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.


辛波薇亚的生活变了。她每天早上没有时间和爸爸坐在一起聊天。阿妮塔让辛波薇亚做很多家务,辛波薇亚每天晚上都累极了,根本没有时间做功课。她一吃完晚饭就睡觉了。她唯一的安慰就是妈妈留给她的彩色毯子。辛波薇亚的爸爸似乎没有意识到女儿一点儿也不开心。

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.


过了几个月,辛波薇亚的爸爸告诉她们,他要离家一段时间。他说:“我得出差,我相信你们会互相照顾对方的。”辛波薇亚低下头,但她的爸爸没有注意。阿妮塔什么也没说,她也不太高兴。

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.


辛波薇亚的生活变得更糟糕了。如果辛波薇亚没有做完家务,或者她稍微有点抱怨的话,阿妮塔就会打她。晚上,阿妮塔把大多数食物都吃了,只留给辛波薇亚一点剩饭剩菜。每天晚上,辛波薇亚都流着泪入睡,她只能紧紧地抱着妈妈留下的毯子。

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.


一天早上,辛波薇亚起床晚了。阿妮塔气极了:“你这个懒虫!”她把辛波薇亚从床上拉起来。毯子勾到一颗钉子,撕成了两半。

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.


辛波薇亚伤心透了,她决定离家出走。她带着毯子的碎片,包了一些食物,沿着爸爸出差的路离开了家里。

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.


天黑了,辛波薇亚找到一棵长在小溪旁边的树。她爬上了树,在树枝上搭了一张小床。她唱着歌,渐渐睡着了:“妈妈,妈妈,妈妈,你离开了我,离开了我再也不回来了。爸爸再也不爱我了。妈妈,你什么时候回来,你离开了我……”

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.”


第二天早上,辛波薇亚又唱起了这首歌。附近的女人到溪水边来洗衣服,她们听到了树上传来的歌声。她们以为这是风穿过树叶的声音,于是就没有在意,继续洗衣服。但其中有个女人仔细地听着这首歌。

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.


女人抬起头来看着那棵树。当她看到辛波薇亚和那条彩色的毯子时,她吓了一跳:“辛波薇亚,我哥哥的孩子!”其他的女人也停下了手里的活儿,帮助辛波薇亚从树上爬了下来。她的姑姑紧紧地抱着她,尽量安慰她。

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.


辛波薇亚的姑姑带着她去了自己家。她给辛波薇亚煮了美味的食物,又给她铺了床,让她盖着妈妈的毯子睡觉。那天晚上,辛波薇亚又哭着睡着了。不过这次是欣慰的泪水。她知道她的姑姑会照顾她。

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.


辛波薇亚的爸爸回到家里,发现辛波薇亚的房间里空荡荡的。他疲倦极了,问阿妮塔发生了什么事。阿妮塔说辛波薇亚离家出走了。她解释道:“我只是想让她尊敬我,但是我可能太严格了。”辛波薇亚的爸爸跑出家门,沿着小溪去找辛波薇亚。他走到了妹妹的村庄,想问问她有没有见过辛波薇亚。

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.


辛波薇亚正在和她的表兄弟姐妹玩耍,但她突然看到了远处的爸爸。她害怕爸爸会生气,于是就跑到房子里躲了起来。但是爸爸找到她,对她说:“辛波薇亚,你自己找到了一个完美的妈妈,她爱你,理解你。我为你感到骄傲,我爱你。”他们商量后决定辛波薇亚可以和姑姑住在一起,想呆多久就可以呆多久。

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.


辛波薇亚的爸爸每天都来看她。有一天,他和阿妮塔一起来了。阿妮塔朝辛波薇亚伸出手,她哭了:“我太抱歉了,小家伙,对不起,我错了,你可以再给我一次机会吗?”辛波薇亚看了看爸爸,看到他忧虑的脸庞。她朝前走了一步,抱住了阿妮塔。

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.


过了几天,阿妮塔邀请辛波薇亚,姑姑和姑姑的孩子们一起到家里吃饭。好丰盛啊!而且那都是辛波薇亚喜欢吃的东西,每个人都吃得津津有味。吃完饭,大人们在家里聊天,孩子们在外面玩耍。辛波薇亚觉得很开心,自己变得更加勇敢了。她决定不久以后就要回到家里,和自己的爸爸,继母住在一起。

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.


Written by: Rukia Nantale
Illustrated by: Benjamin Mitchley
Translated by: Vicky Liu
Read by: Zhuo Sun
Language: Chinese (Mandarin)
Level: Level 5
Source: Simbegwire from African Storybook
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 International License.
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