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Tom morekisi wa dipanana Tom the banana seller

Written by Humphreys Odunga

Illustrated by Zablon Alex Nguku

Translated by Antonia Madi

Language Tswana

Level Level 2

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Tom o tseile seroto sa dipanana tse di budileng.

Tom carries a tray of ripe bananas.


Tom o ya kwa marekisetsong go rekisa dipanana.

Tom goes to the market to sell bananas.


Batho kwa marekisetsong ba reka maungo.

People at the market are buying fruit.


Ga go ope yo o rekang dipanana tsa ga Tom. Ba batla go reka maungo a mosadi.

But no one is buying Tom’s bananas. They prefer to buy fruit from women.


Mo setshabenf sa rona, ke bomme fela ba ba rekisang maungo, “go bua batho.”Ke monna wa mofuta ofe ? Ga botsa batho.

“In our community, only women sell fruit,” people say. “What kind of a man is this?” people ask.


Mme Tom ga se ke a nyeme mooko. Oa goa a re, “Rekang dipanana tsa me! Rekang dipanana tse dibotse tse dibudileng.

But Tom does not give up. He calls, “Buy my bananas! Buy my sweet ripe bananas!”


Mosadi mongwe a tsaya ngata ya dipanana go tswa mo serotong. A leba dipanana a tlhwaafetse.

One woman picks up a bunch of bananas from the tray. She looks at the bananas carefully.


Mosadi a reka dipanana.

The woman buys the bananas.


Batho ka bontsi batla fa go rekisiwang teng. Ba reka dipanana tsa ga Tom ba ja.

More people come to the stall. They buy Tom’s bananas and eat them.


Ka ponyo ya leitlho seroto se be se se na sepe.Tom a bala madi a o a boneng.

Soon, the tray is empty. Tom counts the money he earned.


Morago go moo Tom a go reka molora .sikiri le borotho. A tsenya dilo mo serotong.

Then Tom buys soap, sugar, and bread. He puts the things in his tray.


Tom a rwala seroto mo tlhogong a ya gae.

Tom balances the tray on his head and goes home.


Written by: Humphreys Odunga
Illustrated by: Zablon Alex Nguku
Translated by: Antonia Madi
Language: Tswana
Level: Level 2
Source: Tom the banana seller from African Storybook
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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