Wan taim, En an Iigl a did fren. Dem yuuz tu liv piisful wid aal a di ada bod dem. Non a dem kudn flai.
Once upon a time, Hen and
Eagle were friends. They lived
in peace with all the other birds.
None of them could fly.
Wan die, famin did de pan di lan. Iigl did afi waak faar-faar fi fain fuud. Shi kom bak wel taiyad. “Wahn iiziya wie mos de bot fi chravl!” Iigl se.
One day, there was famine in
the land. Eagle had to walk very
far to find food. She came back
very tired.
“There must be an easier way
to travel!” said Eagle.
Afta a gud nait sliip, En kom op wid a brait aidiya. Shi staat kalek op aal a di feda dem we jrap aaf a aal a dem bod fren dem. “Mek wi suo dem op tugeda pan tap a fiwi feda dem,” shi se. “Miebi dat wi mek it iiziya fi chravl.”
After a good night’s sleep, Hen
had a brilliant idea. She began
collecting the fallen feathers
from all their bird friends.
“Let’s sew them together on top
of our own feathers,” she said.
“Perhaps that will make it easier
to travel.”
A Iigl aluon inna di uol vilij did av wahn niigl, so shi staat suo fos. Shi mek wahn priti pier a wing fi arself an did a flai wie uova En ed. En did baro di niigl bot shaatli afta dat shi get taiyad fi suo. Shi lef di niigl pan di kobad an go inna di kichin fi kuk fuud fi ar pikni dem.
Eagle was the only one in the
village with a needle, so she
started sewing first.
She made herself a pair of
beautiful wings and flew high
above Hen.
Hen borrowed the needle but
she soon got tired of sewing.
She left the needle on the
cupboard and went into the
kitchen to prepare food for her
children.
Bot di ada bod dem did si Iigl a flai we. Dem aks En fi len dem di niigl fi mek wing fi demself. Likl afta dat a pie bod a flai aal uova di skai.
But the other birds had seen
Eagle flying away. They asked
Hen to lend them the needle to
make wings for themselves too.
Soon there were birds flying all
over the sky.
Wen di laas bod kyari bak di niigl we im baro, En neva de de. So ar pikni dem tek di niigl an staat plie wid it. Wen dem get taiyad a di giem, dem lef di niigl inna di san.
When the last bird returned the
borrowed needle, Hen was not
there. So her children took the
needle and started playing with
it.
When they got tired of the
game, they left the needle in
the sand.
Lieta inna di aftanuun, Iigl kom bak. Shi aks fi di niigl fi fiks bak som feda we get slak wen shi did a chravl. En luk pan di kobad. Shi luk inna di kichin. Shi luk inna di yaad. Bot di niigl kudn fain no we.
Later that afternoon, Eagle
returned. She asked for the
needle to fix some feathers that
had loosened on her journey.
Hen looked on the cupboard.
She looked in the kitchen. She
looked in the yard. But the
needle was nowhere to be
found.
“Jos gi mi a die,” En beg Iigl se. “Da taim de yu kyan fiks yu wing an flai go get fuud agen.” “Jos wan muor die,” Iigl se. “Ef yu kyaahn fain di niigl, yu wi afi gi mi wan a yu pikni dem az piement.”
“Just give me a day,” Hen
begged Eagle. “Then you can
fix your wing and fly away to
get food again.”
“Just one more day,” said Eagle.
“If you can’t find the needle,
you’ll have to give me one of
your chicks as payment.”
Wen Iigl kom di neks die, shi si En a skrach out di san, bot no niigl. So Iigl flai dong an kech wan a di biebi chikin dem. Shi kyari it we. Evri taim afta dat, weneva Iigl kom roun, shi si En a skrach out di san fi niigl.
When Eagle came the next day,
she found Hen scratching in the
sand, but no needle.
So Eagle flew down very fast
and caught one of the chicks.
She carried it away.
Forever after that, whenever
Eagle appears, she finds Hen
scratching in the sand for the
needle.
Az di shado aafa Iigl wing toch di grong so, En waan ar pikni dem. “Kom out a di uopn jrai lan.” An dem ansa ar se: “Afta wi a no fuul. Wi ago ron.”
As the shadow of Eagle’s wing
falls on the ground, Hen warns
her chicks. “Get out of the bare
and dry land.”
And they respond:
“We are not fools. We will run.”
Ann Nduku
Wiehan de Jager
Georgette McGlashen
Jamaican Creole
Level 3
The audio for this story is currently not available.
