Ndra drio a’u pi yuku be ndra aa
aria azi ‘di pie asi anzu si. Yi
ndra afu dria ‘ye tualu.
Once upon a time, Hen and
Eagle were friends. They lived
in peace with all the other birds.
None of them could fly.
O’du alu liki ‘de yi vile angua.
Yuku mu re nyaku nda. Emvi
andezeza ru.
Yuku nga ota, ‘’Geri acizu nyaka
ndazu ri ma ewa ‘doni!”
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.
A’u kama o’duko onyiru ‘bo,
egata azi onyiru ni emu eri ma
omia. E’do eyi ma agi aria ru
odra’ba ‘bo ‘di ma ‘biko o’du.
‘’Le ama ma so ‘biko ‘di ri ama
dri ri ma dria. ‘ Di nga azzini si
ama fe aci ani ewakoko.”
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.”
Aria ma eselea dria yuku ndra
lu sindani pie andu yi vileria ni,
e’yo ni si e’do ‘biko so oko.
Indikindi ayu ima ‘biko ‘di yi yi
ngazu re de ku a’u ni ele dole.
a;’u andri ande mbeleru ‘biko
soza si. Ku sindani ‘diiri kabadi
ma dria ra, mu di nyaka a’di
‘ima anzi ni kukua.
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.
Esu de aria azi ‘di ndre yuku ni
ngaria ‘dale. Aria azia ‘di ziki
a’u andri ni eyini sindani fezu yi
ma opilebi sozu be ni.
Sawa were vutia, aria karakarau
ri onga ‘bua.
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.
Aria asizu ‘di ni sindani omviria,
esuni a’u andri ni ku. E’yo ‘di
avi ani.
Kamu ande avita si ‘bo, ku ki
sindani cinya alea.
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.
Estusi, yuku nga dri atri. A’I
‘ima sindani ima ‘biko azi alopi
‘di yi sozu vile. A’u nga kabadi
ma si ne. Ne kuku ale. Ne angu
aku dria.Te esuni sindani ku ye.
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.
A’u nga ‘I ma yuku, ‘’ife lu mani
o’du alu.”
‘’Mi di nga mi opile su ngazu
‘dule nyaka ndazu dika.”
Yuku nga ‘yo, afe lu mini o’du
alu dika.” ‘ika sindani di esuku,
mi nga parinia mi mva aluni fe
‘i.
“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.”
Drusin’dini yuku ka mu emu
‘bo, esu a’u andri ni angu oviria
cinya ma alea te esuni sindani
ku ye.
E’yo nisi yuku nga mbele ‘I eri
va, ‘du a’u ma mva ra.
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.
E’dozu o’du ‘dasi, yuku ka onga
oli alea, eri a’u andri esu cinya
ma ale ereria sindani ndazu.
Yuku ma opile ma endrilendri ka
‘I ‘ba nyakua, a’u andri ni ‘ima
anzi ma bile eti li.
‘’Mi da mi angu ole azini ‘wiza
‘di alea yi omvi.
‘’Ama adrini azaza ru ku.Ama
nga apa te.
Kere, kere,kere kere, kere
Kere,kere
Kere,kerer,kerer,kerer,kerer
Kerer,kere,
Kere,kere,mi ri di
Kere,kere.
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.”