Back to stories list
Abana ba ipula
Children of wax
Abana ba ipula
Southern African Folktale
Wiehan de Jager
AGNES CHIBAMBA
The audio for this story is currently not available.
Regular PDFs (full-page)
Bilingual PDFs
Booklet PDFs (for printing)
Patile akantu, kwali ulupwa ulwaleikala ulwasansamuka.
Once upon a time,
there lived a happy
family.
Patile akantu, kwali ulupwa ulwaleikala ulwasansamuka.
Tabatalile abalwa bekabeka. Baleyafwa abafyashi babo pa ng’anda na mu ibala.
They never fought with
each other. They helped
their parents at home
and in the fields.
Tabatalile abalwa bekabeka. Baleyafwa abafyashi babo pa ng’anda na mu ibala.
Lelo tabasuminishiwe ukupalama ku mulilo.
But they were not
allowed to go near a
fire.
Lelo tabasuminishiwe ukupalama ku mulilo.
Balebomba imilimo yabo yonse ubushiku. Pantu bapangilwe na ipula.
They had to do all their
work during the night.
Because they were made of wax!
Balebomba imilimo yabo yonse ubushiku. Pantu bapangilwe na ipula.
Lelo umulumendo umo alifulwike ukuya panse mu kasuba.
But one of the boys
longed to go out in the
sunlight.
Lelo umulumendo umo alifulwike ukuya panse mu kasuba.
Bushiku bumo ukufuluka kwalicililemo. Ba ndume yakwe balimucengeshe.
One day the longing
was too strong. His
brothers warned him…
Bushiku bumo ukufuluka kwalicililemo. Ba ndume yakwe balimucengeshe.
Lelo inshita yalipitile kale. Alisungulwike mu kasuba akakaba.
But it was too late!
He melted in the hot
sun.
Lelo inshita yalipitile kale. Alisungulwike mu kasuba akakaba.
Abana ba ipula bali ababulanda pakumona uko ndume yabo alesunguluka.
The wax children were
so sad to see their
brother melting away.
Abana ba ipula bali ababulanda pakumona uko ndume yabo alesunguluka.
Lelo balyumfwene. Balipangile icuuni ukufuma ku ipula ilya sungulwike.
But they made a plan.
They shaped the lump
of melted wax into a
bird.
Lelo balyumfwene. Balipangile icuuni ukufuma ku ipula ilya sungulwike.
Balisendele ndume yabo mu cuuni pa mulu walupili ulutali.
They took their bird
brother up to a high
mountain.
Balisendele ndume yabo mu cuuni pa mulu walupili ulutali.
Elyo lintu akasuba katulile, alipupwike aleimba mu cengelo ca lucelo.
And as the sun rose, he
flew away singing into
the morning light.
Elyo lintu akasuba katulile, alipupwike aleimba mu cengelo ca lucelo.
Written by: Southern African Folktale
Illustrated by: Wiehan de Jager
Translated by: AGNES CHIBAMBA
