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Tom marsan banann Tom the banana seller

Written by Humphreys Odunga

Illustrated by Zablon Alex Nguku

Translated by Shameem Oozeerally & MIE French Students

Language Mauritian Creole

Level Level 2

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Tom sarye enn plato banann mir.

Tom carries a tray of ripe bananas.


Tom al bazar pou vann banann.  

Tom goes to the market to sell bananas.


Bann dimounn dan bazar aste frwi.

People at the market are buying fruit.


Selman, personn pa aste banann Tom. Zot prefer aste zot frwi ek bann madam.

But no one is buying Tom’s bananas. They prefer to buy fruit from women.


« Dan nou kominote, zis bann madam vann frwi, » bann dimounn-la dir. « Ki kalite zom li ete sann-la ? » bann dimounn-la demande.

“In our community, only women sell fruit,” people say. “What kind of a man is this?” people ask.


Selman Tom pas bes lebra. Li kriye, « Aste mo banann ! Aste mo banann mir, bien bien dou ! »

But Tom does not give up. He calls, “Buy my bananas! Buy my sweet ripe bananas!”


Enn madam swazir enn rezim banann depi plato-la. Li chek banann-la bien.

One woman picks up a bunch of bananas from the tray. She looks at the bananas carefully.


Madam-la aste banann-la.

The woman buys the bananas.


Bann lezot dimounn vinn kot latab-la. Zot aste banann Tom et zot manze.

More people come to the stall. They buy Tom’s bananas and eat them.


Enn ti mama apre, plato-la vid. Tom kont kas ki li’nn gagne.

Soon, the tray is empty. Tom counts the money he earned.


Apre sa, Tom al aste savon,disik ek dipin. Li met tou lor so plato.

Then Tom buys soap, sugar, and bread. He puts the things in his tray.


Tom, avoy plato-la lor so latet et retourn lakaz.

Tom balances the tray on his head and goes home.


Written by: Humphreys Odunga
Illustrated by: Zablon Alex Nguku
Translated by: Shameem Oozeerally & MIE French Students
Language: Mauritian Creole
Level: Level 2
Source: Tom the banana seller from African Storybook
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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