Kan mama Simbegwire finn mor, li ti bien tris. So papa finn sey tou so posib pou pran swin so tifi. Dousman dousman, zot finn aprann kouma pou santi zot ere san mama Simbegwire. Sak gramatin, zot asize et diskit zot prosin lazourne. Sak swar, zot kwi manze ansam. Apre ki li fini lav lasiet, papa Simbegwire ed li fer so bann devwar.
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.
Enn zour, papa Simbegwire finn retourn lakaz pli tar ki dabitid. Li kriye : « kot twa mo baba ? » Simbegwire galoupe al get so papa. Li aret enn sel kou kan li’nn trouv li trap lame enn madam. Li dir avek enn sourir « mo’nn anvi prezant twa enn dimoun spesial, mo baba. 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.
« Bonzour Simbegwire, » Anita dir « to papa inn koz boukou lor twa ». Me li pa ti pe riye e li pa finn donn Simbegwire lame. Papa Simbegwire ti kontan ek eksite. Li dir ki zot tou le trwa pou viv ensam ek zot pou ena enn bon lavi. Li dir « mo baba, mo espere to pou aksepte Anita kouma to mama. »
“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 koumans sanze. Li pa ti ena letan pou asize ek so papa gramatin. Anita ti pe donn li telman louvraz ki li ti fatige pou fer so devwar aswar. Li ti pe al dormi direk apre ki li ti fini manze. So sel rekonfor ti dra kouler-kouler ki so mama ti fer pou li. Papa Simbegwire pa ti pe remarke ki so tifi ti malerez.
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.
Apres plizier mwa, papa Simbegwire dir ki li pou parti pou enn bon moman. Li dir : « mo bizin vwayaze pou mo travay, me mo kone zot pou okip zot kamarad bien. » Figir Simbegwire sanze me so papa pa ti remarke. Anita pa dir nanye. Li pa ti kontan li si.
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.
Bann zafer koumanse vinn pir pu Simbegwire. Si li pa ti fini louvraz ouswa si li ti plengne, Anita ti pe bat li. Pou dine madaml-la ti p manz preske tou manze e Simbegwire pa ti pe gagn nanye. Toule swar, Simbegwire ti pe dormi an larm dan dra so mama.
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.
Enn gramatin, Simbegwire finn gagn tar pou leve depi lor so lili. « Pares ! » so mama kriye. Li tir Simbegwire lor so lili. Kouvertir presie la may ar enn koulou ek desir an de.
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.
Simbegwire ti bien boulverse. Li’nn desid pou sove depi kot li. Li’nn pran enn bann bout kouvertir so mama, inpe manze ek li finn kit lakaz. Li’nn swiv sime ki so papa ti 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.
Kan finn ariv aswar, li’nn mont lor enn gran pie pre kot enn rwiso ek li’nn fer enn lili pou limem dan bann brans. Kan li ti pe al dormi, li sante, « Mama, mama, mama, to’nn kit mwa. To’nn kit mwa e to pa’nn retourne zame. Papa nepli kontan mwa. Mama, kan to pou revini ? To’nn kit mwa. »
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.”
Landemin gramatin, Simbegwire ti pe sant sante-la ankor. Kan bann madam finn ariv kot rwiso pou lav zot linz, zot finn tann sa sante tris ki ti pe sorti depi sa gran pie-la. Zot finn panse ki bann fey ki ti pe fer tapaz e zot inn kontign zot travay. Me enn dan sa bann madam-la finn ekout sante-la bien.
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.
Sa madam-la finn get dan pie. Kan li’nn trouv tifi-la ek bann bout kouvertir tou kouler, li kriye : « Simbegwire, zanfan mo frer ! » Bann lezot madam-la aret lave ek finn ed Simbegwire pou depilor sa pie-la. So matant anbras li ek esey rekonfort li.
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.
Simbegwire so matant finn amenn li kot li. Li’nn donn Simbegwire enn repa so ek li’nn fer li dormi avek molton so mama. Sa lanwit-la, Simbegwire inn plore inn dormi. Me so bann larm ti bann larm lazwa. Li ti kone ki so matant pou get li bien.
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.
Kan Simbegwire so papa finn rant lakaz, li finn trouv so lasam vid. « Ki’nn arive, Anita ? » li’nn demande avek enn leker lour. Madam-la inn explik li ki Simbegwire inn kit lakaz. « Mo ti anvi li respekte moi, » li’nn dir. « Me kapav mo ti tro sever. » Simbegwire so papa finn kit lakaz ek finn al dan direksion rwiso. Linn kontinie ziska vilaz so ser pou gete si li’nn truv 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 ti pe zwe ek so bann kouzinn kan li’nn trouv so papa de lwin. Li ti pe per atansion li ankoler, alor li’nn galoupe li’nn al kasiet andan. Me so papa finn vinn get li ek inn dir li, « Simbegwire, to’nn gagn enn mama parfe. Enn mama ki kontan twa ek ki konpran twa. Mo fier de twa ek mo kontan twa. » zot finn dakor ki Simbegwire pou res ek so matant osi lontan ki li anvi.
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.
So papa ti pe vizit li toule zur. Finalman, li’nn vinn ek Anita. Li’nn pran Simbegwire so lame dan so lame. « Sori tipti, mo ti ena tor, » li’nn plore. « Eski to pou donn mwa ankor enn sans ? » Simbegwire finn examinn so papa ek so regar trakase. Lerla li’nn fer enn pa dousman an-avan ek li’nn may 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.
Semenn answit, Anita finn invit Simbegwire, so bann kouzinn ek so matant pou manze kot li. Bel fet ! Anita inn kwi tou manze ki Simbegwire kontan manze ek zot tou inn manze ziska ki zot inn plin. Answit, bann zanfan finn zwe tandi ki bann adilt ti pe koze. Simbegwire ti pe santi li zwaye ek brav. Li’nn deside ki biento, bien vit, li pou retourn kot li pu viv ek so papa ek so mama belmer.
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: Shameem Oozeerally & MIE French Students
Rukia Nantale
Benjamin Mitchley
Shameem Oozeerally & MIE French Students
Mauritian Creole
Level 5
The audio for this story is currently not available.
