O’du alu ndra drio, aku
ayikoruni ovu ‘dale
Once upon a time,
there lived a happy
family.
Eyi ndra ayikoru. Fuuni
afu eyi ma eselea ku.
Eyi ndra eyi ma ti’ba
ma azako aku alea dika
amvua.
They never fought with
each other. They helped
their parents at home
and in the fields.
Te eyi ma ati le ndra eyi
ma si aci ma ageia enyi
ku.
But they were not
allowed to go near a
fire.
Eyi ndra azi eyini ‘dii
nga inisi. A’dusiku ‘ba
ede eyi afa akaapi acisi
akaaka ri si.
Ka gonne ba ne ba bopilwe ka kerese!
They had to do all their
work during the night.
Because they were made of wax!
Te mva alu agupi anzi
‘diyi ma eseleari le ndra
mu acisi etu alia.
But one of the boys
longed to go out in the
sunlight.
O’du alu, mva aluri ma
asi muzu etu aliari nde
eri ra. Eri ma adrii iri ‘dii
oga eri si.
One day the longing
was too strong. His
brothers warned him…
‘Ba oga eri ti. ‘Da koni
eri ma aza ku. E’do aka
etu drizasi.
But it was too late!
He melted in the hot
sun.
Anzi nde bani edele afa
akaza si ‘dii ovu
chandisi tu yini yi ma
adrii nezu akaria etusi ri
si.
The wax children were
so sad to see their
brother melting away.
Anzi ‘dii ega ondoa alu.
Asi eyi ma adri ma odri
akazari ede aria ru.
But they made a plan.
They shaped the lump
of melted wax into a
bird.
Anzi ‘dii ‘du yi ma adrii
ariaruri ‘be uruni ma
dria.
They took their bird
brother up to a high
mountain.
Etuni e’do agaria, yima
adri ariaruri nga oli alia,
ongo be etu o’bitiniri
ma alia.
And as the sun rose, he
flew away singing into
the morning light.
