Download PDF
Back to stories list

أَطْفَالُ الشَّمْعِ Children of wax ʔatˤfaːl aːlʃamʕ

Written by Southern African Folktale

Illustrated by Wiehan de Jager

Translated by Abrar Wafa, Maaouia Haj Mabrouk

Read by Mashael Muhanna

Language Arabic

Level Level 2

Narrate full story

Autoplay story


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
Language: Arabic
Level 2
Source: Children of wax from African Storybook
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 International License.
Options
Back to stories list Download PDF