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E rile fa mmagwe Simbegwire a tlhokafala, o ne a utlwile botlhoko thata.Rragwe Simbegwire o dirile ka bojotlhe jwa gagwe go tlhokomela morwadie. Ka bonya, ba ithuta go ikutlwa ba itumetse, kwa ntle ga ga mmagwe Simbegwire. Letsatsi le letsatsi mo mosong ba ne ba nna fatshe ba bua ka ga letsatsi go ya pele. Maitsiboa mangwe le mangwe ba ne ba dira dijo tsa maitsiboa mmogo. Morago fa ba sena go tlhatswa dijelo, rragwe Simbegwire o mo thusa ka tiro ya sekolo.
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.
Ka letsatsi lengwe rragwe Simbegwire a tla go le thari fa gae e seng jaaka gale.”O kae ngwanaka?” a bitsa. Sibegwire a tabogela kwa go rragwe. O ile a ema fa a bona rragwe gore o tshwere motho wa mme ka letsogo.”Ke batla gore o kopane le mongwe yo o kgetegileng, ngwanaka. Yo ke Anita,” a bua a nyenya.
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.
Dumela Simbegwire, rrago o mpoleletse tse dintsi ka ga gago,”go bua Anita. Mme ga a ka a nyenya kgotsa a tshwara letsogo la mosetsana. Rragwe Simbegwire o ne a itumetse. O ne a bua ka boraro jwa bona ba nna mmogo, le gore botshelo jwa bone bo tla nna jo bo siameng. ”Ngwanaka, ke solofela gore o tla amogela Anita jaaka mmago,” a bua.
“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.
Botshelo jwa ga Simbegwire jwa fetoga. O ne a sena nako ya gonna le rragwe mo mesong. Anita o ne a mo naya ditiro tse dintsi tsa mo gae gore a lape a palelwe ke go dira tiro ya sekolo maitsiboa. Morago ga dijo tsa maitsiboa o tlhamalelela kwa bolaong. Kgomotso ya gagwe e ne e le kobo e e mebalabala e o e neilweng ke mmagwe. Rragwe Simbegwire go ne go sa bonale gore o lemoga gore ngwana wa gagwe ga a itumela.
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.
Morago ga dikgwedi tse di mmalwa, ragwe Simbegwire a ba bolelela gore o tla be a seo lobaka nyana mo gae. ”Ke tshwanetse ka tsamaya ka tiro ya me,” go bua ene. ”Mme ke a itse gore lo tla tlhokomelelana.”Sefatlhego sa ga Simbegwire sa wa, mme rragwe ga a lemoga se. Anita ga a bua le fa e le sepe. Le ene o ne a sa itumele.
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.
Dilo di ne tsa nna maswe le go feta go Simbegwire. Fa a sa fetsa tiro ya gagwe ya mo gae, kgotsa a bua ka sengwe se se sa mo itumediseng, Anita wa mobetsa.Nako ya dijo tsa maitsiboa, mosadi o ja bontsi jwa dijo, mme a tlogelela Simbegwire matlhotlhori fela. Maitsiboa le maitsiboa Simbegwire o lela go fitlhela a robala, a atlaretse kobo ya ga mmagwe.
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.
Moso mongwe, Simbegwire o ne a le thari go tsoga. ”Mosetsana ke wena wa sekopa!” Go goa Anita. O ne a goga Simbegwire go tswa mo bolaong. Kobo e ntle e ile ya tshwara sepeikiri, mme ya gagoga ka dikarolo tse pedi.
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 o ne tenegile tota. O ne a tsaya tshwetso ya gore o sia gotswa mo gae. O ile a tsaya dikarolo tse pedi tsa kobo ya ga mmagwe, a tsaya dijo nyana, mme a tsamaya. O ile a tsaya tsela e rragwe o tsamaileng ka yona.
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.
Fa gonna maitsiboa, o palama setlhare se se leele gaufi le noka mme a itirela bolao mo dikaleng. Fa a ya go robala, a opela: ”Mme,mme,mme, o ntlogetse. O ntlogetse mme, mme ga se o ke o menoge. Rre ga a tlhole a nthata. Mme, o tla menoga leng? O ntlogetse.”
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.”
Moso wa letsatsi le le latelang, Simbegwire a opela pina gape. Erile fa bomme ba tla go tshwatswa diaparo tsa bone fa nokeng, ba utlwa pina e e tlhomolang pelo e utlwala gotswa mo setlhareng se se leele. Ba ne ba ithaya gore e ne e le phefo e e fokang makakaba, mme ba tswelela ka tiro ya bone. Mme mongwe wa bomme a reetsa pina ka tlhwafalo.
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.
Mme yo a leba kwa godimo mo setlhareng. Erile fa a bona mosetsana le dikarolo tsa kobo e e mebala-bala, a lela, ”Simbegwire, ngwana wa ga kgaitsadieke!” Bomme ba bangwe ba khutla go tlhatswa mme ba thusa Simbegwire go phola mo setlhareng. Rakgadiagwe o ile a mo a atla mosetsanyana mme a leka go mogomotsa.
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.
Rakgadiagwe Simbegwire o ile a tseela ngwana kwa ntlong ya gagwe. O ile a naya Simbegwire dijo tse di molelo, mme a mo tsenya mo bolaong ka kobo ya ga mmagwe. Bosigo joo, Simbegwire o ne a lela fa a ya go robala. Mme e ne e le dikeledi tsa kgomotso. O ne a itse gore rakgadiagwe o tla motlhokomela.
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.
E rile fa rragwe Simbegwire a boela gae, o fitlhetse phaposi ya borobalo ya gagwe e sena sepe. ”Go diragetse eng, Anita?” a botsa ka pelo e e botlhoko. Mosadi a tlhalosa gore Simbegwire o siile. ” Ke ne ke batla gore a ntlotle,”go bua ene. ”Mme gongwe ke ne ka gagamatsa molao thata.”Rragwe Simbegwire o ne a tswa fa lwapeng mme a tsamaya ka tsela e e yang nokeng. O ile a tswelela go ya kwa motseng wa ga kgaitsadie go utlwa gore a ga a bona 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 o ne a tshameka le bo ntsalae fa a bona rragwe gotswa kgakala. O ne a boifa gore gongwe o kgopilwe, ka jalo a tabogela moteng ga ntlo go itshuba. Mme rragwe o ne a ya kwa go ene a re, ”Simbegwire, o iponetse mmago yo o go tshwanetseng. Yo o go ratang gape a go tlhaloganya. Ke motlotlo ka wena ke a go rata.” Ba dumalana gore Simbegwire o tla nna le rakgadiagwe lobaka lo a neng a lo batla.
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.
Rragwe o ne a mo etela letsatsi le letsatsi. Kgabagare, o ne a fitlha le Anita. O ne a mo tshwara ka seatla. ”’Ke maswabi ngwanyana,” A lela. ”A o tla ntetla go leka gape?” Simbegwire o ne a leba rragwe le sefatlhego se se tshwenyegileng. Jaanong a atamela ka bonya mme a atla 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.
Beke e e latelang, Anita a laletsa Simbegwire, bontsalae le rakgadiagwe, kwa lwapeng go tla go ja. Mokete o montle tota! Anita o ne a apaya dijo tsotlhe tse Simbegwire o di ratang, mme mongwe le mongwe a ja go fitlhela megodu e tlala. Morago bana ba ne ba tshameka fa bagolo bona ba ne ba bua. Simbegwire o ne itumetse a le pelokgale. O ne a tsaya tshwetso ya gore go ise go ye kae, go ise go ye kae ka bonako, o tla boela gae gotla gonna le rragwe le mmagwe wa bobedi.
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.
