Sho yina ya Simbegwire a mana oondjenda, okwa li a yemata noonkondo. He okwa kambadhala a ninge shoka ta vulu opo a sile okamwanakadhona oshimpwiyu. Kashona nakashona oya tameke okudhimbwa yina nokukala ya nyanyukwa. Ongula kehe ohaa kuutumba nokukundathana shoka taa ka ninga momukokomoko gwesiku. Kongulohi ohaa teleke uulalelo pamwe. Shampa ya yogo iiyaha he ya Simbegwire oha kwathele okamwana miithigilwalonga yako yosikola.
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.
Esiku limwe he ya Simbegwire okwe ya kegumbo kwa toka unene hangaashi he ya shito. “Owu li peni kakadhona kandje?” he te mu ithana. Simbegwire okwa matukile kuhe. Okwa kankama sho a mono kutya he oya li yi ikwata nomukulukadhi moonyala. “Onda hala mu tseyathane nomuntu gumwe ngoka a simana kamwandje. Nguka oye Anita,” he osho a ti ti imemeha.
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.
“Ongiini Simbegwire, ho okwa lombwela ndje oshindji kombinga yoye,” Anita osho a ti. Ihe ini imemeha nando ye ina minika okanona. He ya Simbegwire okwa li a nyanyukwa nokwa shambukwa. Okwa li ta popi kombinga yawo yatatu sho taa ka kala pamwe ayehe nonkalamwenyo yawo nkene tayi ka kala ombwanawa. “Mumwandje ondi inekela oto taamba ko Anita a ninge nyoko gwokulipo,” omusamane osho a ti.
“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.
Onkalamwenyo yaSimbegwire oya lunduluka. Ke na we ethimbo okukuutumba nahe ongula onene kehe. Anita okwa li he mu pe iilonga oyindji unene sho ta ka mana okwa vulwa no ita vulu we okuninga iithigilwalonga ye yosikola kongulohi. Shampa a li uulalelo oha ka kotha owala. Ehekeleko limwe a li e na okakumbatha komalwaala hoka a li a thigilwa kuyina. He yaSimbegwire okwa li inaa dhimbulula kutya okamwana kaka li ku uvite ombili.
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.
Konima yoomwedhi dhimwe dhimwe, he yaSimbegwire okwe ya lombwele kutya ota zi po. “Otandi yi niilonga,” osho a ti. “Ashike ondi shi shi kutya otamu ka silalathana nawa oshimpwiyu.” Oshipala shaSimbegwire osha lembe, ihe he ina dhimbulula sha. Anita ina yamukula sha, ashike naye wo ka li a nyanyukwa.
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.
Onkalo kaya li nawa kombinga yaSimbegwire. Ngele ina mana iilonga ye nenge a ngongota kombinga yasha, Anita ohe mu dhenge. Puulalelo Anita oha li po konyala iikulya ayihe, ta thigile Simbegwire uundjagumuke wowala. Ongulohi kehe Simbegwire oha lili sigo a kotha, omanga a papatela okakumbatha kayina.
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.
Ongula yesiku limwe Simbegwire okwa kothelele. “Munanyalo ngoye!” Anita osho a igidha. Okwe mu hili mo mombete. Okakumbatha ke okaholike oka patekene momboha e taka tuuka miipambu iyali.
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 okwa li a yemata noonkondo. Okwa kutha iinyakwi iyali yokakumbatha niikulya e ta yi. Okwa landula ondjila ndjoka he a zi nayo megumbo.
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.
Etango sho lya toko okwa londo komuti gu li popepi nokandombe komeya, okwa kongo ehala ewanawa nokulala pokati kiitayi. Manga ta kotha okwa imbi ngeyi: “Meme, meme meme, owa thigi ndje po. Owa thigi ndje po no ino galuka we. Tate ke hole ndje we. Meme oto galuka uunake? Owa thigi ndje po.”
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.”
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.
Omukulukadhi nguka okwa tala nawa miitayi yomuti. Sho a mono okanona okwa igidha,” OSimbegwire okanona komumwamememati!” Aakulukadhi ooyakwawo oya etha shoka ya li taa ningi e taa kwathele Simbegwire opo a londoloke ko komuti. Yinagona okwe mu papatele e te mu hekeleke.
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.
Yinagona okwe mu fala kegumbo lye. Okwe mu pe iikulya iipyu nawa, e te mu siikile nawa. Uusiku mboka Simbegwire okwa lili, ihe okwa li ta lili kenyanyu. Okwa li e shi shi kutya, yinagona ote ke mu sila nawa oshimpwiyu.
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.
He yaSimbegwire sho a galukile kegumbo, okwa adha ondunda ye yi li owala. “Anita oshike sha ningwa po?” osho a pula nomutima gu udha eyeme. Omukulukadhi okwa hokolola kutya Simbegwire okwa fadhuka po. “Onda li owala nda hala a simaneke ndje,” osho a ti. “Ndele ngiika onda longitha unene onyati.” He yaSimbegwire okwa landula ndjila ndjoka yu uka kondombe. Okwa yi kegumbo lyamumwayina a ka pule ngele ina mona okamwana 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 oya adhika taa dhana naamwayinagona, sho a mono he, okwe mu monene kokule. Shoka okwa li a tila pamwe he ote mu geele, okwa matukile megumbo e ta holama. He okwa yi kuye e ta ti: “Simbegwire owa mona nyoko omwaanawa. Nyoko ngoka e ku hole noku ku uvite ko.” Oya uvathana opo Simbegwire a kale puyinagona ethimbo ndyoka a hala.
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.
Omusamane okwa li ha talele po okamwana kehe esiku. Oshikando shimwe oya yi naAnita. Anita okwa kwata Simbegwire mokwaako e ta ti: “Ombili kakadhona kandje, onda ningi epuko,” osho a lili. “Ito vulu okupa ndje ompito natango?” Simbegwire okwa tala koshipala shahe shoka sha li sha limbililwa. Okwa hedha kuAnita e te mu papatele.
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.
Oshiwike sha landula ko, Anita okwa hiya Simbegwire, yinagona naamwayinagona komatelekela. Osha li oshituthi. Anita okwa teleke iikulya mbyoka ya li yi holike unene kuSimbegwire. Kehe gumwe okwa li naanaa sigo ita vulu we. Aanona oya ka dhana omanga aakuluntu taa kundathana. Simbegwire okwa li a nyanyukwa noku uvite uupenda. Okwa tokola kutya ota ka galukila mbala kegumbo a kale nahe nayina gwokulipo.
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.
