Egyptian Arabic Curriculum — Grade 8, Semester 2 — Page 80

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

سَأَلْتُ الصَّبْيَةَ وَالأَطْفَالَ عَنِ البَحْرِ، فَقَالُوا: "هُوَ زَبَدٌ جَمِيلٌ لَا خَطَرَ فِيهِ وَلَا ضَرَرَ، يَخْرُجُ مِنْ ثَغْرِ بَسَّامٍ وَيَهْمِسُ لَنَا بِالكَلَامِ، نَفْهَمُهُ وَيَفْهَمُنَا، وَنَلْعَبُ مَعَهُ بِمَجَارِفِنَا الصَّغِيرَةِ، وَنَعْبَثُ فِي مَائِهِ الضَّحْلِ بِأَقْدَامِنَا القَصِيرَةِ، وَنَسْبَحُ فِيهِ فَلَا نَرَى غَوْرًا، وَنَجْمَعُ أَصْدَافَهُ الفَارِغَةَ؛ لِنُزَيِّنَ بِهَا قُصُورَ الرِّمَالِ فَتَصْمُدُ مَزْهُوَّةً لِلَمَسَاتِ مَوْجَاتِهِ، وَيَنْحَسِرُ عَنْهَا دُونَ أَنْ يَظْفَرَ مِنْهَا بِثُغْرَةٍ فِي الْأَسْوَارِ، أَوْ صَدْعَةٍ فِي الأَبْرَاجِ".

I asked the boys and children about the sea, and they said: 'It is beautiful foam, harmless and safe. It spills from a smiling mouth and whispers to us in a language we both understand. We play with it using our small shovels, splashing in the shallows with our little feet. We swim without ever finding a bottom, collecting empty shells to decorate our sandcastles, which stand proudly against the waves, receding only to leave our walls and towers unbreached.'

وَسَأَلْتُ عَنْهُ النُّوتِيَّةَ وَالرَّبَابِنَةَ مِنَ الْأَبْطَالِ، فَقَالُوا: "هُوَ جَبَّارٌ نَرْهَبُهُ وَنَخْشَاهُ، لَا أَمَانَ مَعَهُ وَلَا ضَمَانَ، كَمْ أَرَانَا الأَهْوَالَ مِنْ زَبَدِ غَضَبِهِ! وَكَمْ تَحَطَّمَتْ سُفُنٌ كَالْمَدَائِنِ بِلَطْمَةٍ مِنْ مَوْجِهِ! نَحْسُبُ لَهُ الحِسَابَ قَبْلَ أَنْ نَلْقَاهُ، وَنَسْتَوْثِقُ مِنْ مَتَانَةِ الحِبَالِ وَالشِّرَاعِ وَالبُخَارِ؛ فَإِنَّ مِزَاحَهُ مَعَنَا قَدْ يَكُونُ فِيهِ الفَنَاءُ، وَهَمَسَاتُهُ فِي آذَانِنَا رِيَاحٌ هُوجٌ قَدْ تَنْقُرُنَا عَلَى صَدْرِهِ هَبَاءً".

I asked the heroic sailors and captains about it, and they said: 'It is a giant we fear and dread, offering no safety or guarantees. How many horrors it has shown us in its foaming rage! How many ships, vast as cities, have been shattered by a single blow of its waves! We weigh the risks before we set out, checking the strength of every rope, sail, and engine, for its play can mean annihilation, and its whispers in our ears are violent winds that may scatter us like dust against its chest.'

وَسَأَلْتُ عَنْهُ الصَّيَّادِينَ، فَقَالُوا: هُوَ مَصْدَرُ الرِّزْقِ وَمَنْبَعُ الغِذَاءِ، يَحْمِلُ قَوَارِبَنَا كَمَا تَحْمِلُ الأُمُّ أَرْجُوحَةَ ابْنِهَا، وَيَتَلَقَّى شِبَاكَنَا عَلَى صَدْرِهِ كَمَا تَتَلَقَّى الوَالِدَةُ أَذْرُعَ وَلِيدِهَا، وَيُخْرِجُ لَنَا مِنْ جَوْفِهِ طَعَامًا شَهِيًّا، وَلَحْمًا طَرِيًّا".

I asked the fishermen about it, and they said: 'It is our source of livelihood and the fountain of our food. It carries our boats as a mother cradles her child’s swing, and it receives our nets as a mother welcomes her newborn’s arms, yielding from its depths delicious food and tender meat.'

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Vocabulary · المفردات (32 verbs · 109 nouns)

• سَأَلَ — to ask
• قَالَ — to say
• خَرَجَ — to exit
• صَبِيّ — boy
• طِفْل — child
• بَحْر — meter, sea