Labarik feto ki’ik ida mak fofoun haree forma misteriozu ida husi dook.
It was a little girl who first saw the mysterious shape in the distance.
Bainhira forma ne’e mai besik, nia haree mak feto ida ne’ebé kabuk todan hela.
As the shape moved closer, she saw that it was a heavily pregnant woman.
Moe maibé barani, labarik feto ki’ik ne’e muda besik ba feto ne’e. “Ami tenke rai nia ho ami,” labarik feto ki’ik ne’e ninia ema sira deside. “Ami sei rai nia no ninia oan sei seguru.”
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.”
Labarik ne’e lakleur sai duni. “Dudu!” “Foti lensol!” “Bee!” “Dudu!”
The child was soon on its way.
“Push!”
“Bring blankets!”
“Water!”
“Puuuuussssshhh!!!”
Maibé bainhira sira haree bebe ne’e, ema hotu haksoit ho hakfodak. “Kuda oan ida?”
But when they saw the baby, everyone jumped back in shock.
“A donkey?!”
Ema hotu komesa iha argumentu. “Ita dehan ita sei rai nia inan no oan seguru, no ida ne’e mak ita sei halo,” balun dehan. “maibé sira sei lori sorte aat ba ita!” seluk dehan.
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.
Entaun feto ne’e mesak fila fali tan dala ida. Nia hanoin saida mak nia sei halo ho oan estranu ida ne’e. Nia hanoin saida mak nia sei halo ho nia aan.
And so the woman found herself alone again.
She wondered what to do with this awkward child.
She wondered what to do with herself.
Maibéé to’o ikus nia aseita katak ne’e ninia oan no nia mak inan.
But finally she had to accept that he was her child and she was his mother.
Agora, se karik oan ne’e iha medida ki’ik nafatin, buat hotu sei diferente. Maibé kuda oan ne’e boot no boot liu-tan too ninia inan labele hulan nia iha kotuk. No maske nia koko maka’as, nia labele hahalok hanesan ema umanu ida. Nia inan sempre kolen no frustradu. Dalaruma nia haruka ninia oan halo servisu animál nian.
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.
Konfuzaun no hirus sa’e maka’as iha kuda oan ne’e nia laran. Nia labele halo buat ne’e no buat ne’ebá. Nia labele hanesan ne’e no labele hanesan ne’ebá. Nia sai hirus tebes, loron ida, nia tebe ninia inan ba rai.
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.
Kuda oan nakonu ho moe. Nia komesa halai dook maka’as tuir nia bele.
Donkey was filled with shame. He started to run away as far and fast as he could.
To’o momentu nia para halai, kalan to’o ona no Kuda oan ne’e lakon. “Hee haw?” Nia bisu bisu ba nakukun. “Hee haw?” lian ne’e fila fali de’it. Nia mesak de’it. Falun ninia aan hanesan bola ida, nia toba dukur loos ho mehi ne’ebé aat.
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.
Kuda oan hadeer hodi hetan mane katuas estranu ida hateke hela ba nia. Nia hateke ba mane katuas ne’e ninia matan no komesa sente esperansa oituan.
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.
Kuda oan ba hela ho mane katuas ne’e ne’ebé hanorin nia dalan oioin atu moris. Kuda oan no mane katuas ne’e rona no aprende. Sira ajuda malu, sira hamnasa hamutuk.
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.
Dadeer ida, mane katuas ne’e husu ba kuda oan atu lori nia ba foho nia tutun.
One morning, the old man asked Donkey to carry him to the top of a mountain.
Iha foho tutun entre kalohan sira, sira nain rua toba. Kuda oan mehi katak ninia inan moras no bolu ba nia. No bainhira nia hadeer mai…
High up amongst the clouds they fell asleep.
Donkey dreamed that his mother was sick and calling to him.
And when he woke up…
Kalohan sira ne’e lakon tiha ona hamutuk ho ninia belun, mane katuas ne’e.
… the clouds had disappeared along with his friend, the old man.
Kuda oan ikus mai hatene saida mak nia sei halo.
Donkey finally knew what to do.
Kuda oan hetan ninia inan, mesak, triste ba nia oan ne’ebé lakon. Sira haree ba malu ba tempu naruk. No depois sira hakuak malu maka’as.
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.
Kuda oan no ninia inan moris hamutuk ona no buka dalan atu hela besik malu. Neneik, família sira seluk mós komesa hela haleu sira.
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: Aurelio da Costa
Read by: Aurelio da Costa, Vitalina dos Santos, Criscencia R. Da Costa Viana
