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أَطْفَالُ الشَّمْعِ
Children of wax
ʔatˤfaːl aːlʃamʕ
Southern African Folktale
Wiehan de Jager
Abrar Wafa, Maaouia Haj Mabrouk
Mashael Muhanna
فِي يَوْمٍ مِنَ الأَيَّامِ، كَانَتْ هُنَاكَ عَائِلَةٌ سَعِيدَةٌ.
Once upon a time,
there lived a happy
family.
fiː @يومٍ min aːlʔajjaːm @كانت hunaːka @عائلةٌ @سعيدةٌ
لَمْ يَحْدُثْ بَيْنَهُمْ أَيُّ خِلَافٍ قَطُّ. كَانُوا دَائِمًا يُعَاوِنُونَ وَالِدَيْهِمْ فِي الحَقْلِ وَفِي المَنْزِلِ.
They never fought with
each other. They helped
their parents at home
and in the fields.
lam jaħduθ @بينهم ʔeɪ @خلافٍ qatˤˤa @كانوا @دائمًا @يعاونون @والديهم fiː aːlħaql wafijj aːlmanzil
لَكِنْ لَمْ يُسْمَحْ لَهُمْ بِالاِقْتِرَابِ مِنَ النَّارِ أَبَداً.
But they were not
allowed to go near a
fire.
lakunna lam jasmaħ lahum biaːliqtiraːb min aːlnaːr @أبداً
كَانَ عَلَيْهِمْ القِيَامُ بِكُلِّ مَا لَدَيْهِمْ مِنْ أَعْمَالٍ خِلَالَ اللَّيلِ، لِأَنَّهُمْ مَصْنُوعُونَ مِنَ الشَّمْعِ.
They had to do all their
work during the night.
Because they were made of wax!
kaːna @عليهم aːlqiːaːm bakkala maː @لديهم min @أعمالٍ xilaːla aːlleɪl liʔannahum @مصنوعون min aːlʃamʕ
وَلَكِنَّ أَحَدَ الأَوْلَادِ كَانَ يَتُوقُ إِلَى الخُرُوجِ فِي ضَوْءِ الشَّمْسِ.
But one of the boys
longed to go out in the
sunlight.
walakunna ʔaħħada aːlʔaʊlaːd kaːna jatuːq ʔilaː aːlxuruːdʒ fiː dˤaʊʔ aːlʃams
وَذَاتَ يَوْمٍ اشْتَدَّتْ رَغْبَتُهُ فِي الخُرُوجِ فِي النَّهَارِ، فَحَذَّرَهُ إِخْوَتُهُ…
One day the longing
was too strong. His
brothers warned him…
@وذات @يومٍ @اشتدت @رغبته fiː aːlxuruːdʒ fiː aːlnahaːr @فحذره @إخوته
وَلَكِنْ بَعْدَ فَوَاتِ الأَوَانِ! فَقَدْ ذَابَ فِي الشَّمْسِ الحَارِقَةِ.
But it was too late!
He melted in the hot
sun.
walakunna baʕda faʊaːt aːlʔaʊaːn faqada ðaːba fiː aːlʃams @الحارقة
كَانَ أَطْفَالُ الشَّمْسِ حَزِينِينَ لِلْغَايَةِ لِرُؤْيَةِ أَخِيهِمْ يَذُوبُ.
The wax children were
so sad to see their
brother melting away.
kaːna ʔatˤfaːl aːlʃams @حزينين lilɣaːja @لرؤية @أخيهم jaðuːb
إِلَّا أَنَّهُمْ قَامُوا بِتَشْكِيلِ قِطْعَةِ الشَّمْعِ المُنْصَهِرِ إِلَى طَيْرٍ.
But they made a plan.
They shaped the lump
of melted wax into a
bird.
ʔillaː ʔannahum @قاموا bitaʃkiːl @قطعة aːlʃamʕ aːlmunsˤahar ʔilaː @طيرٍ
بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ، أَخَذُوا أَخَاهُمْ المُتَشَكِّلَ عَلَى هَيْئَةِ طَيْرٍ إِلَى جَبَلٍ عَالٍ.
They took their bird
brother up to a high
mountain.
baʕda ðaːlika @أخذوا @أخاهم @المتشكل ʕalaː @هيئة @طيرٍ ʔilaː @جبلٍ @عالٍ
وَمَعَ بُزُوغِ الشَّمْسِ، طَارَ بَعِيداً وَهْوَ يُغَنِّي فِي ضَوْءِ النَّهَارِ.
And as the sun rose, he
flew away singing into
the morning light.
wamaʕa buzuːɣ aːlʃams tˤaːra @بعيداً wahuːa juɣanniː fiː dˤaʊʔ aːlnahaːr
Written by: Southern African Folktale
Illustrated by: Wiehan de Jager
Translated by: Abrar Wafa, Maaouia Haj Mabrouk
Read by: Mashael Muhanna
