Lè manman Simbegwire mouri, Simbegwire te tris anpil. Papa’l fè tout sa li te kapab pou’l okipe piti fi li. Ofiyamezi, yo kòmanse santi yo byen san manman an. Chak maten, yo chita ansanm pou yo pale sou kisa ka pwal pase nan jounen jodya. chak swa, yo fè manje ansanm. Lè yo finn lave asyèt yo, papa Simbegwire ede li fè devwa li.
When Simbegwire’s mother died,
she was very sad. Simbegwire’s
father did his best to take care of
his daughter. Slowly, they learned
to feel happy again, without
Simbegwire’s mother.
Every morning they sat and talked
about the day ahead. Every evening
they made dinner together. After
they washed the dishes,
Simbegwire’s father helped her with
homework.
Yon jou, papa Simbgewire tounen lakay li pita pase anvan. Li mande Simbgerwire « Ki kote ou ye pitit mwen an? ». Simbgerwire kouri al jwenn papa li. Men, Simbgerwire kanpe lè li wè papa li tap kenbe men yon madanm. Papa a di li ak yon souri « Mwen ta renmen ou rankontre yon moun espesyal, pitit mwen an. Moun sa a se Anita »
One day, Simbegwire’s father came
home later than usual. “Where are
you my child?” he called.
Simbegwire ran to her father. She
stopped still when she saw that he
was holding a woman’s hand. “I
want you to meet someone special,
my child. This is Anita,” he said
smiling.
Anita di li « Bonjou Simbegwire, papa ou pale’m anpil de ou ». Men, Anita pas janm souri ni pa janm kenbe li. Papa Simbegwire te gen kè kontan. Li di ke yo twa ta pral viv byen ansanm “Pitit mwen an, mwen ta byen kontan si Anita ta manman ou.
“Hello Simbegwire, your father told
me a lot about you,” said Anita. But
she did not smile or take the girl’s
hand.
Simbegwire’s father was happy and
excited. He talked about the three
of them living together, and how
good their life would be. “My child, I
hope you will accept Anita as your
mother,” he said.
Lavi Simbegwire kòmanse chanje. Li pa te gen tan ankò pou li chita ak papa li chak maten. Anita te bay si tan travay pou li fè nan kay la ke li te bouke anpil epi li pat kapab fè devwa li nan aswè. Lè li finn manje, lale dirèk nan kabann li. Sèl ti konfò li se te kouvèti koulè a ke manman’l te fè pou li. Papa Simbegwire pa wè ke pitit fi li te tris.
Simbegwire’s life changed. She no
longer had time to sit with her
father in the mornings. Anita gave
her so many household chores that
she was too tired to do her school
work in the evenings. She went
straight to bed after dinner.
Her only comfort was the colourful
blanket her mother gave her.
Simbegwire’s father did not seem to
notice that his daughter was
unhappy.
Kèk tan apre, papa Simbegwire anonse ke li te gen pou vwayaje pou yon titan. « Mwen gen pou’m vwayaje pou travay mwen men mwen konnen ke tout bagay pral pase byen ». Figi Simbegwire vinn byen tris men papa a pa janm wè anyen.
After a few months, Simbegwire’s
father told them that he would be
away from home for a while. “I have
to travel for my job,” he said. “But I
know you will look after each other.”
Simbegwire’s face fell, but her
father did not notice. Anita did not
say anything. She was not happy
either.
Sitiyasyon vin pi mal pou Simbegwire. Si li pat fin travay li nan kay la oswa si li te plenyen, Anita te konn bat li. Lè pou manje, madanm nan manje pifò nan manje a enpi li kite ti kras pou Simbegwire. Chak nwit, Simbegwire kriye nan kouvèti manman li.
Things got worse for Simbegwire. If
she didn’t finish her chores, or she
complained, Anita hit her. And at
dinner, the woman ate most of the
food, leaving Simbegwire with only
a few scraps.
Each night Simbegwire cried herself
to sleep, hugging her mother’s
blanket.
Yon maten, Simbegwire leve ta. Anita rele byen fò « Paresèz ! ». Li rale Simbegwire sòti nan kabann li. Bèl ti kouvèti manman an ki te pandye sou yon klou shire an de tibout.
One morning, Simbegwire was late
getting out of bed. “You lazy girl!”
Anita shouted. She pulled
Simbegwire out of bed. The
precious blanket caught on a nail,
and tore in two.
Lè sa a Simbegwire te boulvèse anpil. Li deside sove nan kay la. Li pran kouvèti chire an, li pran manje avèk li epi li kite kay la. Li swiv wout papa li te pran.
Simbegwire was very upset. She
decided to run away from home.
She took the pieces of her mother’s
blanket, packed some food, and left
the house. She followed the road
her father had taken.
Lè soley la kouche li grenpe yon pyebwa ki a kote yon ti dlo epi li fè yon kabann ak branch pyebwa a. Pandan lap kòmanse dòmi li tonbe chante ” Manman, manman, manman, ou kite’m. Ou ale epi ou pa janm tounen. Papa pa renmen’m ankò. Kilè wap tounen manman ? Ou kite’m. »
When it came to evening, she
climbed a tall tree near a stream
and made a bed for herself in the
branches.
As she went to sleep, she sang:
“Maama, maama, maama, you left
me.
You left me and never came back.
Father doesn’t love me anymore.
Mother, when are you coming back?
You left me.”
Demen maten, Simbegwire rechante menm chante an. Lè medam yo rive nan basen an pou lave rad yo, yo tande yon chante tris kap sòti nan gwo pyebwa a. Nan kòmansman, yo te kwè ke se bwi fey yo epi yo kontinye travay yo. Men yonn nan yo kanpe pou koute chante an ak anpil atansyon.
The next morning, Simbegwire sang
the song again. When the women
came to wash their clothes at the
stream, they heard the sad song
coming from the tall tree.
They thought it was only the wind
rustling the leaves, and carried on
with their work. But one of the
women listened very carefully to
the song.
Madanm sa a voye je’l nan pyebwa a epi li wè ti fi a ak mòso kouvèti koulè a. Li rele “Simbegwire, pitit frè mwen!”. Lòt medam yo kanpe lave pou yo ede Simbegwire desann pyebwa a. Matant li kòmanse bo li ak eseye konsole’l.
This woman looked up into the tree.
When she saw the girl and the
pieces of colourful blanket, she
cried, “Simbegwire, my brother’s
child!”
The other women stopped washing
and helped Simbegwire to climb
down from the tree. Her aunt
hugged the little girl and tried to
comfort her.
Matant Simbegwire mennen li lakay li. Li bay Simbegwire yon plat manje cho epi li mete’l dòmi nan kabann ak kouvèti manman li. Lè lannwit rive, Simbegwire tonbe dòmi kriye. Men kriye an fwa sa a se kriye kè kontan. Li konnen ke matant li ta pral okipe li.
Simbegwire’s aunt took the child to
her own house. She gave
Simbegwire warm food, and tucked
her in bed with her mother’s
blanket.
That night, Simbegwire cried as she
went to sleep. But they were tears
of relief. She knew her aunt would
look after her.
Lè papa Simbegwire tounen lakay li, li jwenn chanb pitit fi li vid. Li mande madanm li ak kè lou « Kisa ki pase, Anita ? ». Madanm li eksplike’l ke Simbegwire kouri ale. Li di « Mwen te vle ke li rekspete’m men mwen kwè ke’m te twò di avèk li ». Papa Simbegwire soti nan kay la, lale nan direksyon basen an kote sè li rete pou’l mande li si li te wè Simbegwire.
When Simbegwire’s father returned
home, he found her room empty.
“What happened, Anita?” he asked
with a heavy heart. The woman
explained that Simbegwire had run
away. “I wanted her to respect me,”
she said. “But perhaps I was too
strict.”
Simbegwire’s father left the house
and went in the direction of the
stream. He continued to his sister’s
village to find out if she had seen
Simbegwire.
Simbegwire tap jwe ak kouzen li yo lè li wè papa li ap vin byen lwen. Li te pè ke papa a te fache kidonk li kouri al kache anndan kay la. Men, papa a al jwenn li pou’l li di, “Simbegwire, ou te jwenn yon manman pafè pou tèt ou. Yon moun ki renmen ou ak konprann ou. Mwen fyè de ou menm, mwen renmen ou.” Yo te dakò ke Simbegwire ta rete ak matant li osi lontan ke li te vle.
Simbegwire was playing with her
cousins when she saw her father
from far away. She was scared he
might be angry, so she ran inside
the house to hide.
But her father went to her and said,
“Simbegwire, you have found a
perfect mother for yourself. One
who loves you and understands
you. I am proud of you and I love
you.”
They agreed that Simbegwire would
stay with her aunt as long as she
wanted to.
Papa a kontinye vini wè li chak jou. Yon jou li vini ak Anita. Anita lonje men bay Simbegwire enpi li di « Mwen regrèt anpil, tifi, mwen pat gen rezon ». Li mande Simbegwire « eske wap kite’m esese yon lòt fwa ankò?». Simbegwire gade papa’l anpil. Li te sispèk men ti pa ti pa lale kote Anita epi li pase de ti bra li nan ren Anita.
Her father visited her every day.
Eventually, he came with Anita. She
reached out for Simbegwire’s hand.
“I’m so sorry little one, I was
wrong,” she cried. “Will you let me
try again?”
Simbegwire looked at her father
and his worried face. Then she
stepped forward slowly and put her
arms around Anita.
Lòt semen nan, Anita envite Simbegwire ak kouzen li yo ak matant li vin manje lakay li. Se te yon bèl fèt ! Anita te pare tout manje Simbegwire re renmen enpi tout moun manje vant deboutenen. Apre sa a, timoun yo ale jwe pandan granmoun you rete pale. Simbegwire te gen kè kontan. Li deside tounen lakay li byen vit pou li viv ak papa e ak bèlmè li.
The next week, Anita invited
Simbegwire, with her cousins and
aunt, to the house for a meal. What
a feast! Anita prepared all of
Simbegwire’s favourite foods, and
everyone ate until they were full.
Then the children played while the
adults talked.
Simbegwire felt happy and brave.
She decided that soon, very soon,
she would return home to live with
her father and her stepmother.
Written by: Rukia Nantale
Illustrated by: Benjamin Mitchley
Translated by: ACE Haiti-University of Notre Dame USA
