Enn zour, Poul ek Leg ti kamarad. Zot ti pe viv an pe avek tou lezot zwazo. Okenn parmi zot pa ti konn anvole.
Once upon a time, Hen and
Eagle were friends. They lived
in peace with all the other birds.
None of them could fly.
Enn zour, finn ena enn lafaminn dan pei. Leg finn bizin marse al bien lwin pou trouv nouritir.Li’nn retourne bien fatige. « Bizin ena enn fason pli sinp pou vwayaze » Leg finn dir.
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.
Apre enn bon somey dan lanwit, Poul inn gagn enn lide zeni. Li’nn koumans ramas bann plim ki’nn tonbe depi lekor so bann kamarad zwazo. « Koud zot lao ansam avek nou bann plim, » li’nn dir. « Kitfwa sa pou kapav rann nou vwayaz pli sinp. »
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.”
Leg tousel ti ena enn zegwi dan antie vilaz, alor limem li’nn koumans koud an premie. Li’nn fabrik enn zoli per lezel e li’nn anvol pli lao ki Poul. Poul finn pran zegwi prete me li’nn fatige koud. Li’nn kit zegwi lor larmwar e li’nn al dan lakwizinn pou prepar nouritir pou so bann zanfan.
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.
Me lezot zwazo finn trouv Leg anvole. Zot finn demann Poul zegwi prete pou ki zot kapav fer bann lezel zot ousi. Biento ti ena bann zwazo ki ti pe anvole dan lesiel.
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.
Kan dernie zwazo finn retourn zegwi ki zot ti pran prete la, Poul pa ti la. Alor, so bann zanfan finn pran zegwi e zot finn koumans zwe avek sa. Kan zot finn fatige avek sa zwe-la, zot finn les zegwi-la dan disab.
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.
Plitar dan sa lapremidi-la,Leg finn revini. Li’nn demann zegwi-la pou ki li kapav redres so bann plim ki’nn defer pandan so vwayaz. Poul finn zet enn koudey lor larmwar. Li’nn get dan lakwizinn. Li’nn get dan lakour. Me li pa’nn trouv zegwi okenn par.
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.
« Donn mwa ankor enn zour » Poul finn sipliye Leg. « Answit, to pou kapav repar to lezel e anvole pou al rod nouritir ankor enn fwa » « Zis ankor enn zour » Leg inn dir. « Si to pa pe trouv zegwi-la, to pou bizin donn mwa enn to bann pousin kouma peman. »
“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.”
Kan Leg finn arive lot zour, li’nn trouv Poul pe grat disab, me pa ti ena zegwi. Alor, Leg finn dessan bien vit ek finn trap enn bann pousin pou amenn avek li. Apre sa,sak fwa ki Leg paret, li trouv Poul pe grat disab pou sey trouv zegwi.
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.
Kouma Leg so lonbraz paret lor later, Poul averti so bann pousin « Sorti depi lor sa terin sek la ! » E zot ti pe reponn : « Nou pa bann inbesil, nou pou sove ! »
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.”
Written by: Ann Nduku
Illustrated by: Wiehan de Jager
Translated by: Shameem Oozeerally & MIE French Students
Ann Nduku
Wiehan de Jager
Shameem Oozeerally & MIE French Students
Mauritian Creole
Level 3
The audio for this story is currently not available.
