Det var en lille pige, der først så den mystiske skikkelse i det fjerne.
It was a little girl who first saw the mysterious shape in the distance.
Da skikkelsen kom nærmere, så hun, at det var en højgravid kvinde.
As the shape moved closer, she saw that it was a heavily pregnant woman.
Genert, men modig bevægede den lille pige sig nærmere kvinden. “Vi må beholde hende hos os,” besluttede den lille piges folk. “Vi kan holde hende og hendes barn i sikkerhed.”
Shy but brave, the little girl moved nearer to the woman.
“We must keep her with us,” the little girl’s people decided. “We’ll keep her and her child safe.”
Barnet var snart på vej. “Pres!” “Hent tæpper!” “Vand!” “Preeeesss!!!”
The child was soon on its way.
“Push!”
“Bring blankets!”
“Water!”
“Puuuuussssshhh!!!”
Men da de så babyen, sprang alle chokerede tilbage. “Et æsel?!”
But when they saw the baby, everyone jumped back in shock.
“A donkey?!”
Alle begyndte at diskutere. “Vi sagde, at vi ville holde mor og barn i sikkerhed, og det vil vi gøre,” sagde nogle. “Men de vil bringe uheld!” sagde andre.
Everyone began to argue.
“We said we would keep mother and child safe, and that’s what we’ll do,” said some.
“But they will bring us bad luck!” said others.
Og så var kvinden alene igen. Hun spekulerede på, hvad hun skulle gøre med sit underlige barn. Hun spekulerede på, hvad hun skulle gøre med sig selv.
And so the woman found herself alone again.
She wondered what to do with this awkward child.
She wondered what to do with herself.
Men til sidst måtte hun acceptere, at han var hendes barn, og at hun var hans mor.
But finally she had to accept that he was her child and she was his mother.
Hvis barnet var blevet ved med at være lille, havde alt måske været anderledes. Men æselbarnet voksede og voksede, indtil han ikke længere kunne sidde på sin mors ryg. Og lige meget hvor meget han prøvede, kunne han ikke opføre sig som et menneske. Hans mor var ofte træt og frustreret. Nogle gange fik hun ham til at udføre dyrearbejde.
Now, if the child had stayed that same, small size, everything might have been different. But the donkey child grew and grew until he could no longer fit on his mother’s back.
And no matter how hard he tried, he could not behave like a human being. His mother was often tired and frustrated. Sometimes she made him do work meant for animals.
Forvirring og vrede voksede i Æsel. Han måtte ikke gøre det ene, og han måtte ikke gøre det andet. Han måtte ikke være på den ene måde, og han måtte ikke være på den anden måde. Han blev så vred, at han en dag sparkede sin mor til jorden.
Confusion and anger built up inside Donkey. He couldn’t do this and he couldn’t do that. He couldn’t be like this and he couldn’t be like that.
He became so angry that, one day, he kicked his mother to the ground.
Æsel skammede sig. Han løb væk så hurtigt, han kunne.
Donkey was filled with shame. He started to run away as far and fast as he could.
Da han holdt op med at løbe, var det blevet nat, og Æsel var faret vild. “I-ah?” hviskede han ud i mørket. “I-ah?” svarede det tilbage. Han var alene. Han rullede sig sammen til en kugle og faldt i en dyb og urolig søvn.
By the time he stopped running, it was night, and Donkey was lost.
“Hee haw?” he whispered to the darkness.
“Hee Haw?” it echoed back. He was alone.
Curling himself into a tight ball, he fell into a deep and troubled sleep.
Da Æsel vågnede op, stod der en underlig, gammel mand og kiggede ned på ham. Han så ind i den gamle mands øjne og begyndte at føle en gnist af håb.
Donkey woke up to find a strange old man staring down at him. He looked into the old man’s eyes and started to feel a twinkle of hope.
Æsel boede hos den gamle mand, der lærte ham forskellige ting, der kunne hjælpe ham til at overleve. Æsel lyttede og lærte, og det gjorde den gamle mand også. De hjalp hinanden, og de grinede sammen.
Donkey went to stay with the old man, who taught him many different ways to survive.
Donkey listened and learned, and so did the old man. They helped each other, and they laughed together.
En morgen bad den gamle mand Æsel om at bære ham til toppen af et bjerg.
One morning, the old man asked Donkey to carry him to the top of a mountain.
Højt oppe mellem skyerne faldt de i søvn. Æsel drømte, at hans mor var syg og kaldte på ham. Og da han vågnede op …
High up amongst the clouds they fell asleep.
Donkey dreamed that his mother was sick and calling to him.
And when he woke up…
… var skyerne væk, og det var hans ven, den gamle mand, også.
… the clouds had disappeared along with his friend, the old man.
Endelig vidste Æsel, hvad han skulle gøre.
Donkey finally knew what to do.
Æsel fandt sin mor i sorg over sit mistede barn. De så længe på hinanden. Og så gav de hinanden et stort knus.
Donkey found his mother, alone and mourning her lost child. They stared at each other for a long time.
And then hugged each other very hard.
Æselbarnet og hans mor er vokset sammen og har fundet mange måder at leve side om side på. Langsomt er andre familier begyndt at bosætte sig omkring dem.
The donkey child and his mother have grown together and found many ways of living side by side.
Slowly, all around them, other families have started to settle.
