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.
Da Simbegwires mor døde, blev hun meget ked af det. Simbegwires far gjorde sit bedste for at tage sig af sin datter. Langsomt begyndte de at føle sig glade igen uden Simbegwires mor. Hver morgen sad de og snakkede om dagen, der skulle komme. Hver aften lavede de aftensmad sammen. Når de havde vasket op, hjalp Simbegwires far hende med lektierne.
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.
En dag kom Simbegwires far senere hjem end normalt. “Hvor er du, mit barn?” råbte han. Simbegwire løb hen til sin far. Hun stoppede op, da hun så, at han holdt en kvinde i hånden. “Jeg vil gerne præsentere dig for en speciel person, min barn. Dette er Anita,” sagde han og smilede.
“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.
“Hej Simbegwire, din far har fortalt mig meget om dig,” sagde Anita. Men hun hverken smilede eller gav pigen hånden. Simbegwires far var glad og ivrig. Han talte om, hvordan de tre skulle bo sammen, og hvor godt deres liv ville blive. “Mit barn, jeg håber, du vil acceptere Anita som din mor,” sagde han.
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.
Simbegwires liv forandredes. Hun havde ikke længere tid til at sidde sammen med sin far om morgenen. Anita gav hende så meget husarbejde, at hun var for træt til at lave lektier om aftenen. Hun gik direkte i seng efter aftensmaden. Hendes eneste trøst var det farverige tæppe, hendes mor havde givet hende. Simbegwires far lod ikke til at opdage, at hans datter var ulykkelig.
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.
Efter nogle måneder fortalte Simbegwires far dem, at han skulle rejse væk i et stykke tid. “Jeg skal på arbejdsrejse,” sagde han. “Men jeg ved, at I vil passe på hinanden.” Simbegwires ansigt blegnede, men hendes far opdagede det ikke. Anita sagde ikke noget. Hun var heller ikke glad.
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.
Det blev værre for Simbegwire. Hvis hun ikke blev færdig med husarbejdet, eller hvis hun klagede, slog Anita hende. Kvinden spiste det meste af aftensmaden, og Simbegwire fik kun en lille smule. Hver aften græd Simbegwire sig i søvn, mens hun krammede moderens tæppe.
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.
En morgen vågnede Simbegwire for sent op. “Din dovne pige!” råbte Anita. Hun hev Simbegwire op af sengen. Det dyrebare tæppe sad fast i et søm og blev revet itu.
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 var meget ked af det. Hun besluttede sig for at løbe hjemmefra. Hun tog de to stykker af moderens tæppe, pakkede lidt mad og forlod huset. Hun fulgte vejen, hendes far havde taget.
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.”
Da det blev aften, klatrede hun op i et højt træ nær en flod og lavede en seng til sig selv mellem grenene. Da hun gik i seng, sang hun: “Moder, moder, moder, du forlod mig. Du forlod mig og kom aldrig tilbage. Far elsker mig ikke længere. Moder, hvornår kommer du tilbage? Du forlod mig.”
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.
Næste morgen sang Simbegwire sangen igen. Da kvinderne kom for at vaske deres tøj i floden, hørte de den triste sang, der kom fra det høje træ. De troede, det bare var vinden, der hviskede i bladene, og de fortsatte deres arbejde. Men en af kvinderne lyttede nøje til sangen.
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.
Denne kvinde kiggede op i træets krone. Da hun så pigen og stykkerne af det farverige tæppe, råbte hun: “Simbegwire, min broders barn!” De andre kvinder holdt op med at vaske og hjalp Simbegwire ned fra træet. Hendes faster gav den lille pige et kram og forsøgte at trøste hende.
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.
Simbegwires faster tog barnet med hjem til sig selv. Hun gav Simbegwire varm mad og puttede hende i sengen med hendes moders tæppe. Den aften græd Simbegwire sig i søvn. Men det var lettelsens tårer. Hun vidste, at hendes faster ville passe på hende.
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.
Da Simbegwires far kom hjem, fandt han hendes rum tomt. “Hvad er der sket, Anita?” spurgte han ængsteligt. Kvinden forklarede, at Simbegwire var løbet hjemmefra. “Jeg ville have, at hun skulle respektere mig,” sagde hun. “Men måske var jeg for streng.” Simbegwires far forlod huset og gik ned imod floden. Han fortsatte til sin søsters landsby for at finde ud af, om hun havde set Simbegwire.
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 legede med sine fætre og kusiner, da hun så sin far på lang afstand. Hun var bange for, at han måske var vred, så hun løb ind i huset for at gemme sig. Men hendes far fandt hende og sagde: “Simbegwire, du har fundet en perfekt mor. En, der elsker dig og forstår dig. Jeg er stolt af dig, og jeg elsker dig.” De blev enige om, at Simbegwire kunne bo hos sin faster så længe, hun havde lyst.
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.
Hendes far besøgte hende hver dag. Endelig kom Anita også med. Hun rakte ud efter Simbegwires hånd. “Jeg er så ked af det, min kære, jeg tog fejl,” græd hun. “Vil du lade mig forsøge igen?” Simbegwire så på sin far og på hans bekymrede ansigt. Så trådte hun langsomt et skridt frem og lagde sine arme omkring Anita.
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.
Den næste uge inviterede Anita Simbegwire, hendes fætre og kusiner og hendes faster på middag derhjemme. Hvilken middag! Anita havde lavet alle Simbegwires livretter, og alle spiste, indtil de var mætte. Så legede børnene, mens de voksne snakkede. Simbegwire følte sig glad og modig. Hun besluttede sig for, at snart, meget snart, ville hun vende hjem og bo hos sin far og sin stedmor.
