Eens op a tyd was daar ‘n arm man
en say vrou. Hulle het net een kind,
‘n dogter. Die meisie se naam was
Nonkungu.
Haar ouers was baie verlief vir hou.
Once upon a time there was a poor
man and his wife. They had only
one child, a girl. The child’s name
was Nonkungu.
Her parents loved Nonkungu very
much.
Een dag het haar ouers om besluit
om vir haar baie ryk Oom
Mtonyama te stuur.
Nonkungu’s se ma het vir haar a
spesiale romp met lint, knope en
krale, gemaak. Haar ma het ook a
pragtigge halssnoer vir Nonkungu
gemaak. Dan het sy vir Nonkungu
by haar Oom se dorpie te stuur.
One day her parents decided to
send her to stay with her rich Uncle
Mtonyama.
Nonkungu’s mother made a special
skirt with ribbon, buttons and
beads.
She also made a beautiful bead
necklace for Nonkungu.
Then she sent her off to her uncle’s
village.
Op pad na sy oom, het Nonkungu a
stroom gekom. Sy loop oor hierdie
stroom met die loop klippe.
Op die ander kant van die rivier, het
sy a jong vrou ontmoet wat lappe
gedra.
On the way Nonkungu came to a
stream. She crossed the stream
using the stepping stones.
On the other side she met a young
girl wearing rags.
“Waar gaan jy?” vra die jong meisie.
“Ek gaan by my Oom Mtonyama te
kuier” se Nonkungu.
“Mtonyama is ook my oom, en ek
gaan by hom ook kuier” se die jong
meisie.
En toe het hulle saam geloop.
“Where are you going?” asked the
young girl.
“I’m going to visit my Uncle
Mtonyama,” said Nonkungu.
“Well, Mtonyama is my uncle, too
and I am also on my way to visit
him,” said the young girl.
So they walked on together.
Voordat hulle het ver gegaan het
die jong meisie gese, “Jou romp is
so pragtig en die halssnoer is so
mooi. Kan ek aseblief hulle aansit?”
Nonkungu gee haar pragtigge goed
na die jong meisie om aan te sit.
Before they had gone very far, the
young girl said, “Your skirt is so
beautiful and your beads are so
pretty. Please let me try them on.”
So Nonkungu took off her skirt and
beads and gave them to the young
girl.
Waaneer die jong meisie het haar
lappe afgedrai, en Nonkungu se
romp aan te sit, het Nonkungu
gesien die meisie het ‘n stert!
Nonkungu was bang, as sy nou
weet heirdie meisie ‘n Imbulu is!
When the girl took off her rags and
changed into Nonkungu’s clothes,
Nonkungu saw that the young girl
had a tail!
Nonkungu was afraid.
She knew now that the young girl
was really an imbulu.
Hulle het verder saam geloop.
Nonkungu vra vir die meisie,
“Asseblief wil jy my romp en
halssnoer terug gee?”
Die imbulu antwoord, “Nee, laat my
vir hom dra tot ons om die boom
kom” en sy het vir a boom op die
berg vir Nonkungu gewys.
They walked on together.
“Please give me back my skirt and
my beads,” asked Nonkungu.
But the imbulu answered, “Let me
wear them until we get to that
tree.”
She pointed to a tree on the hill.
Tot hulle by die boom gekom, vra
Nonkungu vir die imbulu, “Aseblief
wil jy my romp en halssnoer terug
gegee?”
Maar die imbulu antwoord, “Nee,
laat my hom dra tot die volgende
stroom”.
Nonkungu was bang, en toe het sy
gestem.
Xa befika emthini, uNonkungu wathi
kwimbulu, “Nceda undinike
umbhinqo neentsimbi zam.”
Kha undivumele ndizinxibe side
sifike kulaa mfula ulandelayo,”
yatsho imbulu. UNonkungu
wayesoyika ngoko ke wavuma.
When they reached the tree,
Nonkungu said to the imbulu,
“Please give me back my skirt and
beads.”
“Just let me wear them until we get
to the next stream,” said the
imbulu.
Nonkungu was afraid, so she
agreed.
Op die laaste het hulle die stroom
bereik.
Nonkungu vra weer, “Aseblief wil jy
my romp en halssnoer terug gee”.
Maar die imbulu antwoord, “Nee,
laat my hom haal tot ons by die tuis
waar die vrouens sit”.
So, loop hulle nog verde.
Ekugqibeleni bafika emfuleni.
Kwakhona uNonkungu wabuza
imbulu, “Nceda undinike umbhinqo
wam neentsimbi zam.” Kha
undiyeke ndizinxibe nje side
siyokufika kulaa ndlu, apho abafazi
bahleli khona,” yatsho imbulu. Baza
baqhubeka behamba.
At last they reached the stream.
Again Nonkungu asked the imbulu,
“Please give me back my skirt and
my beads.”
“Just let me wear them until we get
to that hut where the women are
sitting,” said the imbulu.
So they walked on.
Waneer hulle by die tuis gekom, die
imbulu het Nonkung terug gestoot,
en roep sy vir die vrouens wat by
die tuis sit.
“Kyk hierdie meisie wat lappe dra.
Sy het agter my vir die hulle dag
get stap. Ek wens sy wil weg ge
gaan”, se die imbulu.
Nonkungu was so skaam en bang
dat sy het geloop en in die kraal
verborge.
When they reached the hut, the
imbulu pushed Nonkungu back and
called to the women sitting by the
hut.
“Look at this girl wearing rags. She
has been following me all day. I
wish she would go away,” said the
imbulu.
Nonkungu was so ashamed and so
frightened that she ran hid in the
kraal.
Die imbulu gaan by Oom Mtonyama
se huis en se sy so soet, “Ek is jou
niggie, Nonkungu. My ouers het vir
my stuur om met jou te bly”.
Mtonyama verwelkom die jong
meisie. Sy en sy familie was baie
goed tot die imbulu.
Arme Nonkungu het in die kraal
geslaap and die hond se kos saam
te eet.
Then the imbulu went to Uncle
Mtonyama’s hut. She said sweetly,
“I am your niece, Nonkungu. My
parents sent me to stay with you.”
Mtonyama welcomed the young
girl. He and his family were very
kind to the imbulu.
But poor Nonkungu had to sleep in
the kraal and share the dog’s food.
Gedurende die dag het Nonkungu
by die meilies verborge en sing sy,
“Arme ek, arme ek. Ek was by my
ma en pa na my Oom Mtonyama
gestuur. Op die pad het ek ‘n
imbulu ontmoet en sy het my romp
en halssnoer ge vat. Arme ek, arme
ek”.
Emini uNonkungu wayehamba
aye emasimini, acashe
ngamahlanga acule:
“Oh mina engilusizi,
ngangithunyelwe ngubaba
nomama, ukuba ngizohlala
nomalume uMntonyama.
Endleleni ngaficana nembulu
yangithathela isiketi sami kanye
nobuhlalo. Oh mina engilusizi.”
During the day Nonkungu went to
the fields, hid in the corn, and sang:
“Oh misery me, misery me.
I was sent by my father and mother
to stay with my Uncle Mtonyama.
On the way I met an imbulu and she
took my skirt and my beads.
Oh misery me, misery me.”
Een dag, een van Mtonyama’s se
broers het op die veld geloop. Hy
het a vreemde en pragtig liedjie.
Hy weet nie wie sing nie, maar
waaneer hy het by die tuis gekom,
vertel sy Mtonyama die woorde.
Mtonyama het by die veld gestap
en die liedjie gehoor. En soek hy vir
Nonkungu.
One day, one of Mtonyama’s
brothers was walking in the fields.
He heard the strange and beautiful
song.
He didn’t know who was singing,
but when he got home, he told
Mtonyama the words.
Mtonyama went into the fields. He
heard the song, and looked until he
found Nonkungu.
Nonkungu het vir haar oom vertel
na als waat gebeur, en hoe die
imbulu haar pragtigge klere gevat
het.
Mtonyama het haar na sy huis
gestuur en het haar in verborge.
Mtonyama weet hoe hy wil die
imbulu vang.
Nonkungu told him what had
happened, how the imbulu had
taken her beautiful clothes.
Mtonyama took her back to his
place and hid her in a hut.
Mtonyama knew what he was going
to do to catch the imbulu.
Mtonyama weet ‘n imbulu se stert
kan nie by loop vir melk, en drink
nie.
So het hy na sy manne vertel om a
groot gat maak en moet dit met
suur melk vol maak.
Mtonyama roep al die meisies in die
dorpie om a spring komeptisie te
he.
Mtonyama had heard that an
imbulu’s tail loves milk and that it
can’t go past milk without drinking
some.
So he told his men to dig a deep
ditch and to fill the ditch with sour
milk.
Then he called all the girls of the
village to take part in a jumping
competition.
Die imbulu was bekommerd om die
gat oor te spring, Omdat Sy weet
haar stert wil dors wees om die suur
melk.
So loop sy na die tuis en sy het haar
stert tot haar ligaam vasgebind.
Dan gaan sy by die spring
kompetisie.
The imbulu was worried. She did
not want to jump over the ditch.
She knew that her tail would be
thirsty for the sour milk.
So she went into a hut and tied her
tail to her body as tightly as she
could. Then she took her place with
the other girls.
Een meisie na die ander het oor die
gat gespring het.
Dan was dit die imbulu se beurt. Sy
probeer hoog oor die gat te spring,
maar sy stert het losgebreek. Die
stert het haar af, af en af binne die
suur melk gemaak.
Yathi uma yeqa umgodi, umsila
wayo waqonda emasini.
One girl after another jumped over
the ditch.
At last it was the imbulu’s turn.
She tried to jump high over the
ditch, but her tail broke loose.
The imbulu’s tail pulled her down,
down, down into the sour milk.
As die imbulu in die suur melk
gesukkel het, die manne het die gat
vol gemaak met sand en het die
imbulu begrawe. Toe was dit die
einde van die imbulu.
Nonkungu het by haar oom gebly
om a lang, lang tyd te wees.
En dit is die einde van die storie.
As the imbulu struggled in the sour
milk, the men quickly filled the
ditch with sand and buried her. That
was the end of the imbulu.
Nonkungu stayed happily with her
uncle for a long, long time.
And that is the end of the story.
