Nale nale ondjuhwa nontsa oya li ookuume. Oya li ye na ombili nonoondhila oonkwawo wo. Kapwa li ondhila yi shi okutuka nando.
Once upon a time, Hen and
Eagle were friends. They lived
in peace with all the other birds.
None of them could fly.
Omvula yimwe, moshilongo omwe ya uulumbu. Kakodhi okwa li ha ende iinano iile a ka konge iikulya. Oha galuka ihe a vulwa noonkondo. “Opu na ngaa okukala pu na omukalo omupu gwokweenda!” ontsa osho yi ipopile.
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.
Ongula sho kwa shi ayehe ya vululukwa nawa, ondjuhwa oya eta po ondunge ombwanawa. Oya gongele omalwenya agehe ngoka ga li gwa koondhila oonkwawo. Oya lombwele ookuume kayo ya ti: “Natu hondjeleni omalwenya ngaka kombanda yaangoka ge li komalutu getu, ngiika otashi ka ningitha okweenda kwetu ku kale okupu.”
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.”
Ntsa oye awike a li e na onane momukunda aguhe. Oye a tameke tango okwiihondjela omawawa. Okwi ihondjele omawawa omawanawa. Okwa tameke ihe ta tuka pombanda e vule yalwe. Ondjuhwa oyi indile onane opo yi hondje wo omawawa gayo, ihe oya si mbala uunye. Oya tsilike onane kombanda yosikopa e tayi yi kelugo yi ka telekele uuyuhwena wayo.
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.
Oondhila oonkwawo odha mono nkene ontsa tayi tuka muule. Oya pula ondjuhwa yi ya pe onane yi ihondjele wo omawawa. Mbala mbala mewangandjo omwa li mu udha oondhila tadhi tuka.
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.
Ondhila yahugunina sho ya galula andola onane, ondjuhwa inayi adhika po. Uuyuhwena owa mono onane nowa tameke oku yi dhana. Sho wa vulwa okudhana owa thigi owala onane mevi moka e tawu yi.
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.
Komatango ontsa oya galuka. Oya pula onane opo yi ninge nawa omawawa ngoka ga li ga humunuka mo sho ya li molweendo. Ndjuhwa okwa tala pombanda yosikopa. Ta tala melugo, okwa tala mehalandjandja, ihe ina mona mo onane.
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.
“Pe ndje ngaa esiku limwe ndi konge natango, oto vulu ihe okuhondja omawawa goye e to ka konga ishewe iikulya yoye” ondjuhwa tayi indile. “Esiku limwe alike tandi ku pe!” ontsa tayi yamukula. “Nongele ino yi mona oto pe ndje ofuto yokanona koye kamwe ndi ka lye po.
“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.”
Ontsa sho ya galuka esiku lya landula, oya adha ondjuhwa yi ipyakidhila natango nokuhadha mevi, ihe onane inayi monika. Oya tuka neendelelo e tayi yakula po okayuhwena kamwe e tayi yi nako. Okuza tuu kesiku ndyoka ontsa aluhe ohayi adha ondjuhwa tayi hadha onane mevi.
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.
Shampa ondjuhwa ya mono omuzizimba gwontsa pevi, ohayi londodha uuyuhwena wayo tayi ti: “Zii po pevi ndyoka ekukutu nolyaa na sha.” Wo ohawu yamukula nee tawu ti: “Tse katu shi aagoya otatu fadhuka po.”
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.”
Ann Nduku
Wiehan de Jager
Rachel Nandjembo
Rachel Nandjembo
Oshindonga
Level 3
