The audio for this story is currently not available.
Se te yon ti fi ki te wè an premye yon fòm dwòl nan distans lan.
It was a little girl who first saw the mysterious shape in the distance.
Plis fòm nan tap vanse plis li wè ke se yon madanm gwo vant anpil kap mache sou yo.
As the shape moved closer, she saw that it was a heavily pregnant woman.
Ti fi a te timid men li te brav tou, li proche pi pre madanm nan. Moun yo ki te avèk li deside “Fòke nou kenbe li avèk nou,” Nou pral mete’l ak pitit li nan sekirite.”
Shy but brave, the little girl moved nearer to the woman.
“We must keep her with us,” the little girl’s people decided. “We’ll keep her and her child safe.”
Madanm nan kòmanse gen tranche. “Pouse!” “Pote kouvèti!” “Dlo!” “Pouuuuusssssee !!!”
The child was soon on its way.
“Push!”
“Bring blankets!”
“Water!”
“Puuuuussssshhh!!!”
Men lè yo wè ti bebe a, yo tout sezi “Yon bourik?”
But when they saw the baby, everyone jumped back in shock.
“A donkey?!”
Moun yo kòmanse diskite. “Nou te di nou tap kenbe manman an ak tout pitit li an sekirite kidonk se sa nou pral fè”. Men kèk lòt moun di “Bagay sa a pral bannou devenn!”
Everyone began to argue.
“We said we would keep mother and child safe, and that’s what we’ll do,” said some.
“But they will bring us bad luck!” said others.
Se konsa, manman an vin jwenn li pou kont li ankò. Li pate konnen kisa pou’l te fè ak pitit dwòl sa a, kisa pou’l fè ak tèt li.
And so the woman found herself alone again.
She wondered what to do with this awkward child.
She wondered what to do with herself.
Li reyalize finalman ke se pitit li e ke li se manman an.
But finally she had to accept that he was her child and she was his mother.
Si pitit la pate grandi sa pa ta yon pwoblèm men pitit lan kòmanse grandi, grandi jis li pa te kapab rete sou do manman’l ankò. Malgre tout sa li fè li pat kapab aji tankou yon moun. Manman an te fatige ak tris toutan. Gen defwa li fè timoun lan travay tankou yon bèt.
Now, if the child had stayed that same, small size, everything might have been different. But the donkey child grew and grew until he could no longer fit on his mother’s back.
And no matter how hard he tried, he could not behave like a human being. His mother was often tired and frustrated. Sometimes she made him do work meant for animals.
Bourik lan kòmanse fache. Li pat ka fè yon pa kita yon pa nago. Yon jou, li te si tèlman fache ke li jete manman’l atè anba kout pye.
Confusion and anger built up inside Donkey. He couldn’t do this and he couldn’t do that. He couldn’t be like this and he couldn’t be like that.
He became so angry that, one day, he kicked his mother to the ground.
Bourik la vin wont sa’l fè a enpi li tonbe kouri, kouri, kouri.
Donkey was filled with shame. He started to run away as far and fast as he could.
Lannwit tonbe, bourik la pèdi. “Hi han?” li di tou ba nan fè nwa a. “Hi han” li tande vwa li ap repete. Li te pou kont li. Li mete kò li tankou yon boul enpi li tonbe dòmi ajite.
By the time he stopped running, it was night, and Donkey was lost.
“Hee haw?” he whispered to the darkness.
“Hee Haw?” it echoed back. He was alone.
Curling himself into a tight ball, he fell into a deep and troubled sleep.
Lè li leve li wè yon mesye dwòl kap fikse li. Li gade granmoun nan nan je enpi li kòmanse santi yon ti espwa.
Donkey woke up to find a strange old man staring down at him. He looked into the old man’s eyes and started to feel a twinkle of hope.
Bourik lan ale rete kay granmoun nan ki aprann li plizyè jan pou li degaje’l viv. Bourik lan koute, li aprann e li fè sa granmoun nan di li. Yonn ede lòt enpi yo ri ansanm.
Donkey went to stay with the old man, who taught him many different ways to survive.
Donkey listened and learned, and so did the old man. They helped each other, and they laughed together.
Yon maten, granmoun nan mande bourik la pou li pote’l sou tèt yon mòn.
One morning, the old man asked Donkey to carry him to the top of a mountain.
Granmoun lan ak bourik lan tonbe dòmi sou tèt mòn sa a. Bourik lan reve ke manman’l te malad, li tap rele li. Lè li leve …
High up amongst the clouds they fell asleep.
Donkey dreamed that his mother was sick and calling to him.
And when he woke up…
… nyaj yo te disparèt ansanm ak granmoun lan.
… the clouds had disappeared along with his friend, the old man.
Kidonk, Bourik la te konnen sa pou’l te fè.
Donkey finally knew what to do.
Li jwenn manman li kite pou kont li ak anpil lapenn. Yo gade yon lòt nan grenn je pandan yon bon moman enpi manman louvri de bra li pou’l akeyi pitit li.
Donkey found his mother, alone and mourning her lost child. They stared at each other for a long time.
And then hugged each other very hard.
Bourik la ak manman’l grandi ansanm enpi piti piti lòt moun nan fanmi an vin kòmanse viv nan zòn la.
The donkey child and his mother have grown together and found many ways of living side by side.
Slowly, all around them, other families have started to settle.
Written by: Lindiwe Matshikiza
Illustrated by: Meghan Judge
Translated by: ACE Haiti-University of Notre Dame USA
