Igihe nyina wa Simbegwire yapfaga, yarababaye. Ise we yakoze ibishoboka byose ngo amwiteho. Buhoro buhoro, barishimye nubwo nyina we atarahari. Buri mugitondo bicaraga bakavuga k’umunsi. Buri nimugoroba basangiriraga hamwe. Nyuma yokoza ibyombo, ise wa Simbegwire yamufashaga gukora imikoro y’ishuli.
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.
Umunsi umwe, ise wa Simbegwire yaje murugo (yatashye) akererewe. Yarahamagaye, “Umwana wange arihe?” Simbegwire yirukatse asanga se. Arahagara akibona ko ise afashe akaboko k’umugore. “ndashaka ko uhura numuntu w’igitangaza mwana wange. Yitwa Anita,” Yavuze amwenyura.
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.
Anita aravuga, “Bite Simbegwire, papa wawe yabwiye byinshi kuri wowe,” Ariko ntiyamwenyuye cyangwa se ngo amufate akaboko. Ise wa Simbegwire yari yishimye. Yavuze kubijyanye na bo bose batatu babana hamwe, n’uko ubuzima bwabo bwaba bwiza. Aravuga, “Mwana wange, nizeyeko wemera Anita nka nyoko (mama) wawe,”
“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.
Ubuzima bwa Simbegwire bwarahindutse. Ntiyongeye kubona akanya ko kwicarana na se mugitondo. Anita yamuga imirimo yo m’urugo myinshi yogukora bikamunaniza ntakore imikoro y’ishuli. Yahihitaga ajya kuryama nyuma n’ifunguro rya n’ijoro. Ikintu kituze cyari ikirangiti cy’amabara nyina yamuhaye. Ise wa Simbegwire yasaga nutabona ko umukobwa we atari yishimye.
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.
Nyuma y’amezi make, ise wa Simbegwire yababwiye ko atazaba ari m’urugo mu igihe runaka. Yaravuze, “ngomba gukora urugendo kubw’akazi” “ariko nziko muzitanaho.” Isura ya Simbegwire yahise ingwa ariko se ntiyabibonye. Anita ntacyo yavuze. Nawe ntiyari yishimye.
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.
Ibintu byarushijeho kumera nabi kuri Simbegwire. Iyo atarangizaga imirimo yo m’urugo, cyangwa ngo yinube, umugore yaryaga ibiryo hafi byose, agasigariza Simbegwire duke. Buri joro Simbegwire yarariraga kugeza asinziriye ahobeye ikirangiti cya nyina.
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.
Igitondo kimwe, Simbegwire yatinze guva mu buriri. “Wowe mukobwa w’umunebwe!” Atina yaravuze. Yakuruye Simbegwire mu uburiri. Ikirangiti cy’agaciro gifatwa mu umusumari, gicikamo kabiri.
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 yari arakaye cyane. Yanzuye kwiruka agahunga iwabo. Yatwaye ibice by’igirangiti cya nyina, apakira ibiryo, ava mu inzu. Yakurikiye inzira se yafashe.
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.
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.
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.
Nyirasenge wa Simbegwire yamutwaye iwe murugo. Yahaye Simbegwire ibiryo bishyushye, anamushyira mu uburiri n’ikirangiti cya nyina. Iryo joro, Simbegwire yararize ubwo yasinziraga, ariko amarira y’iruhuko. Yaraziko nyirasenge agiye kumwitaho.
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.
Ubwo se wa Simbegwire yagarukaga murugo, yasanze icyuma kirimo ubusa. “Ni iki cyabaye, Anita?” Yabasanyije umutima uremereye. Umugore yasobanuye ko Simbegwire yatorotse. “Nashakaga ko anyubaha,” Yaravuze. “Ariko wenda nararengereye.” Se wa Simbegwire yavuye munzu, agenda agana iriba. Yarakomeje kugera mu igiturage cya mushiki we kureba nimba yarabonye 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 yarari gukina na babyara be ubwo yabona ise mu intera. Yarafite ubwo ko ashobora kuba arakaye, ahita yirukankira munzu kwihisha. Ariko ise we yaramusanze aravuga, “Simbegwire, wibonye mama mwiza. Umwe ugukunda kendi unakunva. Unteye ishema kandi ndagukunda.” Bemeranyije ko Simbegwire aribugumane na nyirasenge igihe kirekire yifuza.
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.
Ise we yamusuraga buri munsi. Bigeze aho, yazanye na Anita. Yashyikiriye ukuboko kwa Simbegwire. “Umbabarire cyane mwana muto, nari mu amakosa.” Yararize. “Uzareka nongere ngerageze?” Simbegwire Simbegwire yarebye Ise n’isuraye ihangayitse. Arangije atera intabwe imbere ahobera 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.
Icyumweru gikurikira, Anita yatumiye Simbegwire, babyara be, na nyirasenge kuza murugo guusangira. Anita yateguye ibiryo Simbegwire agunda, na buri umwe yarariye kugeza bijuse. Nyua abana barakina ubwo abakuru bavuganaga. Simbegwire yunvise yishimye. Yanzuye ko vuba, vuba cyane, azagaruka murugo kubana na se na mukase.
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.
Rukia Nantale
Benjamin Mitchley
Patrick Munyurangabo
Kinyarwanda
Level 5
The audio for this story is currently not available.
