It was a little girl who first saw the mysterious shape in the distance.
Kino kintu byokya fwenynye kwipi, wamwene amba ke inetu uji na jimi.
As the shape moved closer, she saw that it was a heavily pregnant woman.
Mu bumvu ne muku bula moyo, mwanyike wamucheche wamukazhi wafwenyenye kwipi nauno inetu. “Tusakumulama atweba,” baloongo ba wamukazhi bafukwile. “Tusakumulama aye mwine ne mwananji bulongo.”
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.”
The child was soon on its way.
“Push!”
“Bring blankets!”
“Water!”
“Puuuuussssshhh!!!”
Pano byo ba mwene mwaana, boonse batumbukile ne kubwela munyuma naku kumya. “Mbongolo!”
But when they saw the baby, everyone jumped back in shock.
“A donkey?!”
Bonse batekele kwipachika. “Twakwamba amba tusa kumula inanji ne mwaana bulongo, byobyo tusa kuuba byonkabyo,” umo wa ambile. “pano basa kwituletela mashamo!” bakwaabo nabo ba ambile.
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.
Kabiji ne byonka byo, uno inetu witaine buunke jikwaabo. Walangulukile byo afwainwa kuuba ne uno mwaana wapusanako. kabiji walangulukile byo akonsheshe kwiuba aye mwiine.
And so the woman found herself alone again.
She wondered what to do with this awkward child.
She wondered what to do with herself.
Kyapeleleko, waswiletu amba uno ke mwananji kabiji ye inanji.
But finally she had to accept that he was her child and she was his mother.
Nanchi inge uno mwaana waikele kipimo kimo, inge biintu bya puseneko. pano uno mboongolo wamwaana wakomenengatu poso kabule ne kufika munyuma ya bainanji. Nangwa eseke byepi, kechi wakonsheshe kwikala nobe muuntu. Bainanji javula bakokele neku bwezhewa panyuma mu mupashi. Jimo jimo bamupanga miingilo ya kwingila banyama.
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.
Kuvulangana ne bukaji byakomenenga mukachi kauno mboongolo. Kechi wakonsheshe kuuba kikye nangwa kyokya ne. Kechi waji kikye nangwa kyokya ne. Juuba jimo wazhingijile biingi kabiji wa panchile kibaaka bainaji bapona ne paanshi.
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.
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.
Mboongolo wabukile ne kutana mwaana mulume mukote ubeena kumutala. Watajile mu meeso auno mukote ne kwikala na luketekelo.
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.
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.
Juuba jimo lukelo, uno mukote wamulume wabujile mboongolo kumusendako ne kumu twala peulu ya mutumba.
One morning, the old man asked Donkey to carry him to the top of a mountain.
… the clouds had disappeared along with his friend, the old man.
Mboongolo pano wayukile bya kuuba.
Donkey finally knew what to do.
Mboongolo wataine bainanji buunke saka ajila mwaananji waeleka. Betajile kimye kya baya. Be pakachilemo kyakosa biingi.
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.
Mboongolo mwaana ne inanji bakomena pamo ne kutana mashinda akwikelamo. Pachepache boonse beba zhokoloka ne bisemi bikwabo bya tatula kwikiswisha.
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.
