Juha and the Misers (جحا والبخلاء) — Page 15

Arabic text · النص

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

الْبَخِيلُ انْتَحَى نَاحِيَةً قَصِيَّةً.

The miser retreated to a remote corner.

شَرَعَ يَأْكُلُ مُتَوَصِّدًا، دُونَ أَنْ يُفَكِّرَ فِي دَعْوَتِي إِلَى طَعَامِهِ.

He began to eat, lounging comfortably, without a thought for inviting me to share his meal.

اشْتَدَّ بِيَ الْغَيْظُ اجْتَمَعَ عَلَيَّ الْجُوعُ وَالظَّمَأُ دَبَّ إِلَى نَفْسِي الِاشْمِئْزَازُ وَالْغَضَبُ، مِنْ سَمَاجَةِ «أَبِي مُرَّةَ» وَفَرْطِ حِرْصِهِ. بَارِقَةُ أَمَلٍ

My rage flared. Hunger and thirst took hold of me, while disgust and anger at Abu Murra’s boorishness and extreme stinginess crept into my soul.

ظَلِلْتُ – فَتْرَةً – أُفَكِّرُ فِي أَمْرِهِ الَّذِي حَيَّرَنِي.

For a while, I pondered his behavior, which left me bewildered.

لَاحَتْ لِي بَارِقَةُ أَمَلٍ فِي أَنْ أُعَالِجَ مُشْكِلَتِي.

Suddenly, a glimmer of hope appeared for resolving my predicament.

لَمْ أَلْبَثْ أَنِ اهْتَدَيْتُ إِلَى خُطَّةٍ بَارِعَةٍ لِلْوُصُولِ إِلَى مَا قَصَدْتُ إِلَيْهِ، وَأَجْمَعْتُ رَأْيِي عَلَيْهِ.

I quickly hit upon a brilliant plan to get what I wanted and made up my mind to see it through.

لَا عَجَبَ أَنَّ الْمُضْطَرَّ يَرْكَبُ الصَّعْبَ مِنَ الْأُمُورِ.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

قُلْتُ فِي نَفْسِي: «مَنْ لَمْ تَكْرُمْ نَفْسُهُ عَلَى النِّعْمَةِ وَالرَّخَاءِ، كَرُمَتْ – عَلَى الرَّغْمِ مِنْهَا - فِي الشِّدَّةِ وَالْبَلَاءِ.» مُصَادَفَةٌ نَادِرَةٌ

I told myself, 'Those who are not generous in times of plenty will be forced to be generous in times of hardship and affliction.'

أَتَاحَتْ لِيَ الْفُرْصَةُ مُصَادَفَةً نَادِرَةً لِمُدَاعَبَتِهِ وَالسُّخْرِيَةِ مِنْهُ؛ لَعَلَّنِي أَسْتَخْلِصُ مِنْ زَادِهِ مَا يُنْقِذُنِي مِنَ التَّلَفِ، وَيُنَجِّينِي مِنَ الْهَلَاكِ، بَعْدَ أَنْ بَخِلَ بِهِ عَلَيَّ.

A rare opportunity arose to tease and mock him, hoping to extract enough of his provisions to save me from starvation after he had been so miserly with me.

اعْتَزَمْتُ أَنْ أُلْقِيَ عَلَيْهِ دَرْسًا، يَذْكُرُهُ فَلَا يَنْسَاهُ، مَدَى الْحَيَاةِ، وَلَا يَعُودُ إِلَى هَذَا الْمَسْلَكِ الْمَمْقُوتِ مَعَ النَّاسِ.

I resolved to teach him a lesson he would never forget for the rest of his life, one that would cure him of this detestable way of treating people.

مَرَّ بِنَا - لِحُسْنِ الْحَقِّ - كَلْبٌ هَزِيلُ الْجِسْمِ.

As luck would have it, a scrawny dog wandered past us.

أَشَارَ إِلَيْهِ «أَبُو مُرَّةَ» سَاخِرًا مُسْتَهْزِئًا، مُبَاهِيًا بِكَلْبِهِ مُفَاخِرًا، قَالَ: «أَيْنَ هَذَا مِنْ كَلْبِي وَثَّابِ؟»

Abu Murra pointed at it with a mocking sneer, boasting of his own dog as he said, 'How could this compare to my dog, Wathab?'

Vocabulary · المفردات (30 verbs · 49 nouns)

• انْتَحَى — to move aside
• شَرَعَ — to begin
• أَكَلَ — to eat
• فَكَّرَ — to think
• اشْتَدَّ — to intensify
• اجْتَمَعَ — to gather
• دَبَّ — to creep
• ظَلَّ — to remain
• حَيَّرَ — to confuse
• لَاحَ — to appear
• عَالَجَ — to treat
• لَبِثَ — to linger
• اهْتَدَى — to be guided
• قَصَدَ — to intend
• أَجْمَعَ — to resolve
• رَكِبَ — to ride
• قَالَ — to say
• كَرُمَ — to be generous
• أَتَاحَ — to provide
• اِسْتَخْلَصَ — to extract
• أَنْقَذَ — to save
• نَجَّى — to rescue
• بَخِلَ — to be stingy
• اعْتَزَمَ — to determine
• أَلْقَى — to deliver
• ذَكَرَ — to remember
• نَسِيَ — to forget
• عَادَ — to return
• مَرَّ — to pass
• أَشَارَ — to point
• بَخِيلٌ — miser
• نَاحِيَةٌ — side
• دَعْوَةٌ — invitation
• طَعَامٌ — food
• غَيْظٌ — rage
• جُوعٌ — hunger
• ظَمَأٌ — thirst
• نَفْسٌ — soul
• اشْمِئْزَازٌ — disgust
• غَضَبٌ — anger
• سَمَاجَةٌ — ugliness
• فَرْطٌ — excess
• حِرْصٌ — greed
• بَارِقَةٌ — glimmer
• فَتْرَةٌ — period
• أَمْرٌ — matter
• مُشْكِلَةٌ — problem
• خُطَّةٌ — plan
• بَارِعَةٌ — brilliant
• وُصُولٌ — arrival
• رَأْيٌ — opinion
• عَجَبٌ — wonder
• مُضْطَرٌّ — compelled
• صَعْبٌ — difficulty
• نِعْمَةٌ — blessing
• رَخَاءٌ — prosperity
• شِدَّةٌ — hardship
• بَلَاءٌ — affliction
• مُصَادَفَةٌ — coincidence
• نَادِرَةٌ — rare
• فُرْصَةٌ — opportunity
• مُدَاعَبَةٌ — teasing
• سُخْرِيَةٌ — mockery
• زَادٌ — provision
• تَلَفٌ — ruin
• هَلَاكٌ — destruction
• دَرْسٌ — lesson
• حَيَاةٌ — life
• مَسْلَكٌ — path
• مَمْقُوتٌ — hated
• نَاسٌ — people
• حُسْنٌ — goodness
• حَقٌّ — truth
• هَزِيلٌ — emaciated
• جِسْمٌ — body
• سَاخِرٌ — mocking
• مُسْتَهْزِئٌ — ridiculing
• مُبَاهٍ — boasting
• مُفَاخِرٌ — bragging