The Journey of Two Moons (مسيرة قمرين) — Page 15

Arabic text · النص

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

الصَّغِيرَةُ تَرْوِي قِصَّةً.

The little girl tells a story.

كَانَا مُخْطِئَيْنِ.

They were both mistaken.

فَاسْمُ الْقَبِيلَةِ كَانَ سِينِيكَا، لَكِنْ لَمَّا لَمْ يَكْتَشِفَا خَطَأَهُمَا إِلَّا بَعْدَ وِلَادَتِي، وَكَانَا حِينَهَا قَدْ أَلِفَا الِاسْمَ الَّذِي اخْتَارَاهُ لِي، ظَلَّ اسْمِي سَالَامَنْكَا.

The tribe's name was Seneca, but since they didn't discover their mistake until after I was born, and by then they had grown fond of the name they chose for me, my name remained Salamanca.

اسْمِي الْأَوْسَطُ، تْرِي، يَعْنِي شَجَرَةً بِالْإِنْجِلِيزِيَّةِ، إِذْ كَانَتْ أُمِّي تَرَى فِي الْأَشْجَارِ جَمَالًا بَالِغًا حَتَّى إِنَّهَا جَعَلَتْهَا جُزْءًا مِنْ اسْمِي.

My middle name, Tree, means tree in English, as my mother saw such great beauty in trees that she made it part of my name.

أَرَادَتْ أَنْ تَكُونَ أَكْثَرَ تَحْدِيدًا وَتَسْتَخْدِمَ اسْمَ شَجَرَتِهَا الْمُفَضَّلَةِ، شَجَرَةَ الْقَيْقَبِ السُّكَّرِيِّ شُوجَر مِيبِل تْرِي، لَكِنَّ اسْمَ سَالَامَنْكَا شُوجَر مِيبِل تْرِي هِيدِل كَانَ غَرِيبًا قَلِيلًا حَتَّى لَهَا هِيَ نَفْسِهَا.

She wanted to be more specific and use the name of her favorite tree, Sugar Maple Tree, but the name Salamanca Sugar Maple Tree Hiddle was a little strange even to her.

كَانَتْ أُمِّي تُنَادِينِي سَالَامَنْكَا، لَكِنْ بَعْدَ رَحِيلِهَا، لَمْ يَعُدْ أَحَدٌ يُنَادِينِي بِهَذَا الِاسْمِ سِوَى جَدِّي هِيدِل (حِينَمَا لَا يَدْعُوَانِي صَغِيرَتَهُمَا).

My mother used to call me Salamanca, but after she left, no one called me by that name except my grandfather Hiddle (when they weren't calling me their little one).

كَانَ أَغْلَبُ النَّاسِ يُنَادُونَنِي سَال، عَدَا حُفْنَةً مِنَ الصِّبْيَانِ رَأَوْا فِي مُنَادَاتِي سَلَمَنْدَر تَنْدَرًا مُسَلِّيًا جِدًّا.

Most people called me Sal, except for a handful of boys who found calling me Salamander very amusing.

فِي السَّيَّارَةِ، إِثْرَ انْطِلَاقِنَا فِي رِحْلَتِنَا الطَّوِيلَةِ إِلَى مَدِينَةِ لُوِيسْتُون بِوِلَايَةِ أَيْدَاهُو، قَالَتْ جَدَّتِي: «لِمَ لَا تُسَلِّينَنَا يَا سَالَامَنْكَا؟»

In the car, as we set off on our long trip to Lewiston, Idaho, my grandmother said, 'Why don't you entertain us, Salamanca?'

«أَيُّ نَوْعٍ مِنَ التَّسْلِيَةِ تَنْشُدِينَ؟»

'What kind of entertainment are you looking for?'

قَالَ جَدِّي: «مَا رَأْيُكِ أَنْ تَحْكِيَ لَنَا قِصَّةً؟ ارْوِي لَنَا حِكَايَةً.»

My grandfather said, 'How about you tell us a story? Tell us a tale.'

أَعْرِفُ بِالتَّأْكِيدِ عَدَدًا هَائِلًا مِنَ الْقِصَصِ، لَكِنَّ جَدِّي هُوَ مَنْ حَكَى لِي مُعْظَمَهَا.

I certainly know a huge number of stories, but my grandfather is the one who told me most of them.

اقْتَرَحَتْ جَدَّتِي أَنْ أَرْوِيَ قِصَّةً عَنْ أُمِّي.

My grandmother suggested that I tell a story about my mother.

لَكِنِّي لَمْ أَسْتَطِعْ ذَلِكَ.

I couldn't do that.

إِذْ كُنْتُ قَدْ وَصَلْتُ إِلَى حَدٍّ أَنَّنِي أَكَادُ لَا أَسْتَطِيعُ أَنْ أَدْفَعَهَا عَنْ تَفْكِيرِي فِي كُلِّ لَحْظَةٍ مِنْ كُلِّ يَوْمٍ.

I had reached a point where I could barely stop thinking about her every moment of every day.

قَالَ جَدِّي: «إِذَن مَاذَا عَنْ قِصَّةٍ عَنْ أَصْدِقَائِكِ؟ هَلْ تَعْرِفِينَ أَيَّ قِصَصٍ هُمْ أَبْطَالُهَا؟»

My grandfather said, 'Then what about a story about your friends? Do you know any stories where they are the heroes?'

عَلَى الْفَوْرِ تَذَكَّرْتُ فِيبِي وِينْتَرِبُوتُوم.

Immediately, I remembered Phoebe Winterbottom.

فَفِي جَعْبَتِي الْعَدِيدُ وَالْعَدِيدُ مِنَ الْحِكَايَاتِ عَنْهَا.

I had many, many tales about her.

قُلْتُ مُحَذِّرَةً: «بِإِمْكَانِي أَنْ أُخْبِرَكُمَا بِقِصَّةٍ بَالِغَةِ الْغَرَابَةِ.»

I said, with a warning, 'I can tell you both a very strange story.'

قَالَتْ جَدَّتِي: «رَائِعٌ! بَدِيعٌ!»

My grandmother said, 'Wonderful! Marvelous!'

وَهَكَذَا قَطَعْتُ صَلَوَاتِي لِلْأَشْجَارِ وَحَكَيْتُ لَهُمَا عَنْ فِيبِي وِينْتَرِبُوتُوم، وَعَنْ اخْتِفَاءِ أُمِّهَا، وَعَنِ الْمُخْتَلِّ عَقْلِيًّا.

So I stopped my prayers to the trees and told them about Phoebe Winterbottom, about her mother's disappearance, and about the mentally disturbed man.

Vocabulary · المفردات (29 verbs · 63 nouns)

• رَوَى — to narrate
• كَانَ — to be
• اِكْتَشَفَ — to discover
• أَلِفَ — to grow accustomed to
• اِخْتَارَ — to choose
• ظَلَّ — to remain
• عَنَى — to mean
• رَأَى — to see
• جَعَلَ — to make
• أَرَادَ — to want
• اِسْتَخْدَمَ — to use
• نَادَى — to call
• عَادَ — to return
• دَعَا — to invite
• اِنْطَلَقَ — to set off
• قَالَ — to say
• سَلَّى — to entertain
• نَشَدَ — to seek
• حَكَى — to tell
• عَرَفَ — to know
• اِقْتَرَحَ — to suggest
• اِسْتَطَاعَ — to manage to
• وَصَلَ — to arrive
• كَادَ — to come close to
• دَفَعَ — to push
• تَذَكَّرَ — to remember
• حَذَّرَ — to warn
• أَخْبَرَ — to inform
• قَطَعَ — to cut
• صَغِيرَة — little girl
• قِصَّة — story
• مُخْطِئ — mistaken person
• قَبِيلَة — tribe
• خَطَأ — mistake
• وِلَادَة — birth
• اسْم — name
• أَوْسَط — middle
• شَجَرَة — tree
• إِنْجِلِيزِيَّة — English language
• أُم — mother
• شَجَرَة — trees
• جَمَال — beauty
• بَالِغ — extreme
• جُزْء — part
• تَحْدِيد — specification
• مُفَضَّل — favorite
• قَيْقَب — maple
• سُكَّرِي — sugary
• غَرِيب — strange
• قَلِيل — little
• نَفْس — self
• رَحِيل — departure
• أَحَد — someone
• جَد — grandfather
• نَاس — people
• حُفْنَة — handful
• صَبِي — boy
• سَلَمَنْدَر — salamander
• تَنْدَر — taunt
• مُسَلِّي — entertaining
• سَيَّارَة — car
• إِثْر — aftermath
• انْطِلَاق — setting off
• رِحْلَة — trip
• طَوِيل — long
• مَدِينَة — city
• وِلَايَة — state
• تَسْلِيَة — entertainment
• نَوْع — type
• حِكَايَة — tale
• تَأْكِيد — certainty
• عَدَد — number
• هَائِل — huge
• قِصَص — stories
• حَد — limit
• لَحْظَة — moment
• يَوْم — day
• صَدِيق — friend
• بَطَل — hero
• فَوْر — immediate
• جَعْبَة — quiver
• عَدِيد — many
• غَرَابَة — strangeness
• رَائِع — wonderful
• بَدِيع — marvelous
• صَلَاة — prayer
• اخْتِفَاء — disappearance
• مُخْتَل — mentally disturbed person
• عَقْلِي — mental
• مُنَادَاة — calling
• أَغْلَب — most
• أَكْثَر — more