Juha and the Misers (جحا والبخلاء) — Page 7

Arabic text · النص

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

قُلْتُ فِي نَفْسِي: لَقَدْ عَذَرْتُ صَاحِبِي فِي امْتِنَاعِهِ عَنْ شِرَاءِ اللَّحْمِ؛ لِأَنَّهُ بَخِيلٌ بِمَالِهِ، لَا يُرِيدُ أَنْ يَدْفَعَ لِلَّحْمِ ثَمَنًا.

I told myself: I could forgive my friend for refusing to buy meat, for he is a miser who hates to part with his money.

وَعَذَرْتُ صَاحِبِي أَيْضًا فِي امْتِنَاعِهِ عَنِ الْمُسَاعَدَةِ فِي الطَّبْخِ؛ فَرُبَّمَا كَانَ حَقًّا يَجْهَلُ الْقِيَامَ بِهَذَا الْعَمَلِ.

I also excused him for not helping with the cooking, as he might truly be ignorant of how it is done.

وَلَكِنِّي لَمْ أَجِدْ لَهُ عُذْرًا فِي الامْتِنَاعِ عَنْ فَتِّ الْخُبْزِ، وَبَلِّهِ بِالْمَرَقِ.

Yet I could find no excuse for his refusal to crumble the bread and soak it in the broth.

هَذَا الْعَمَلُ لَا يُكَلِّفُهُ مَالًا، وَكُلُّ إِنْسَانٍ يَسْتَطِيعُ الْقِيَامَ بِهِ، فَمَا بَالُهُ يَبْخَلُ حَتَّى بِتَحْرِيكِ يَدَيْهِ؟

This task costs nothing, and anyone can do it. Why, then, is he too stingy even to move his hands?

إِنَّهُ لَمْ يَزِدْ عَلَى أَنْ نَظَرَ إِلَيَّ مُتَبَالِهًا.

He simply stared at me, feigning ignorance.

ثُمَّ قَالَ مُتَلَطِّفًا، ضَارِعًا مُسْتَعْطِفًا: «وَاللَّهِ كَسْلَانُ.»

Then, with a gentle, imploring tone, he said, "By God, I am just too lazy."

قُمْتُ أَنَا فَثَرَدْتُ. (٥)

I stood up and did the work myself.

غَرْفُ الطَّعَامِ

Serving the food

قُلْتُ لَهُ سَاخِرًا: «لَعَلَّكَ تَقُومُ الْآنَ فَتَغْرِفَ!»

I said mockingly, "Perhaps you will stand up now and serve the food!"

لَمْ يُغَيِّرْ صَاحِبِي مِنْ أُسْلُوبِهِ السَّمِيجِ أَبَى إِلَّا أَنْ يَتَمَادَى فِي صَفَاقَتِهِ، وَيَسْتَرْسِلَ فِي رَذَالَتِهِ.

My companion did not abandon his tiresome ways; he insisted on pushing his insolence further and wallowing in his own baseness.

قَالَ لِي: «شَدَّ مَا يَحْزُنُنِي – بِحَقِّ – أَنْ أُظْهِرَ لَكَ عَجْزِي عَنْ تَلْبِيَةِ إِشَارَتِكَ، وَتَحْقِيقِ رَغْبَتِكَ.

He told me, "It truly saddens me to show you that I am unable to follow your lead and grant your wish."

إِنَّ أَخْشَى مَا أَخْشَاهُ يَا صَدِيقِي أَنْ يَنْقَلِبَ الطَّعَامُ عَلَى ثِيَابِي فَيُتْلِفَهَا، وَيَذْهَبَ تَعَبُكَ سُدًى!»

My greatest fear, my friend, is that the food might spill on my clothes and ruin them, making all your hard work go to waste!"

لَمْ أُصَدِّقْ قَوْلَهُ، وَهَمَمْتُ أَنْ أُرْغِمَهُ عَلَى أَنْ يَقُومَ لِيَغْرِفَ الطَّعَامَ.

I did not believe him and was about to force him to get up and serve.

وَلَكِنِّي عَدَلْتُ عَنْ ذَلِكَ، وَقُلْتُ: مَاذَا يُدْرِينِي؟

However, I reconsidered, thinking to myself: Who knows?

لَعَلَّهُ إِذَا أَرْغَمْتُهُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ أَنْ يَتَصَنَّعَ الْعَجْزَ عَنِ الْغَرْفِ، وَأَنْ يَكُبَّ الطَّعَامَ؛ لِأَنَّهُ لَمْ يَغْرَمْ فِيهِ مَالًا، وَلَمْ يَبْذُلْ فِي طَبْخِهِ جُهْدًا، فَأَرَانِي قَدْ خَسِرْتُ مَالِي وَجُهْدِي جَمِيعًا، وَضَاعَ وَقْتِي الَّذِي بَذَلْتُهُ فِي شِرَاءِ اللَّحْمِ وَطَبْخِ الطَّعَامِ.

If I forced him, he might pretend to be clumsy and spill the meal. Since he didn't pay for it or put any effort into cooking it, I would end up losing my money and my labor, and all the time I spent buying the meat and preparing the food would be for nothing.

Vocabulary · المفردات (45 verbs · 37 nouns)

• قَالَ — to say
• عَذَرَ — to excuse
• أَرَادَ — to want
• دَفَعَ — to pay
• كَانَ — to be
• جَهِلَ — to be ignorant of
• وَجَدَ — to find
• فَتَّ — to crumble
• بَلَّ — to moisten
• كَلَّفَ — to cost
• اِسْتَطَاعَ — to be able
• بَخِلَ — to be stingy
• زَادَ — to do more than
• نَظَرَ — to look
• تَبَالَهَ — to feign stupidity
• تَلَطَّفَ — to be gentle
• ضَرَعَ — to implore
• اِسْتَعْطَفَ — to seek sympathy
• قَامَ — to stand
• ثَرَدَ — to crumble bread into broth
• غَرَفَ — to ladle
• سَخِرَ — to mock
• غَيَّرَ — to change
• أَبَى — to refuse
• تَمَادَى — to persist
• اِسْتَرْسَلَ — to continue
• حَزَنَ — to sadden
• أَظْهَرَ — to show
• لَبَّى — to fulfill
• حَقَّقَ — to realize
• خَشِيَ — to fear
• انْقَلَبَ — to overturn
• أَتْلَفَ — to ruin
• ذَهَبَ — to go
• صَدَّقَ — to believe
• هَمَّ — to intend
• أَرْغَمَ — to force
• عَدَلَ — to turn away
• أَدْرَى — to know
• تَصَنَّعَ — to feign
• كَبَّ — to spill
• غَرِمَ — to pay for
• بَذَلَ — to exert
• خَسِرَ — to lose
• ضَاعَ — to be lost
• بَخِيلٌ — miser
• نَفْسٌ — self
• صَاحِبٌ — companion
• امْتِنَاعٌ — refusal
• شِرَاءٌ — buying
• لَحْمٌ — meat
• مَالٌ — money
• ثَمَنٌ — price
• مُسَاعَدَةٌ — help
• طَبْخٌ — cooking
• عَمَلٌ — work
• عُذْرٌ — excuse
• فَتٌّ — crumbling
• خُبْزٌ — bread
• مَرَقٌ — broth
• إِنْسَانٌ — human
• تَحْرِيكٌ — moving
• يَدٌ — hand
• سَاخِرٌ — mocker
• غَرْفٌ — ladling
• طَعَامٌ — food
• أُسْلُوبٌ — style
• سَمِيجٌ — disagreeable
• صَفَاقَةٌ — impudence
• رَذَالَةٌ — baseness
• عَجْزٌ — inability
• تَلْبِيَةٌ — fulfillment
• إِشَارَةٌ — sign
• تَحْقِيقٌ — realization
• رَغْبَةٌ — desire
• صَدِيقٌ — friend
• ثَوْبٌ — a garment
• تَعَبٌ — effort
• سُدًى — in vain
• قَوْلٌ — saying
• جُهْدٌ — effort
• وَقْتٌ — time