The Wolf Pit (حفرة الذئاب) — Page 14

Arabic text · النص

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

لَمْ أَضَعْ ذَاكَ الدُّولَارَ الْفِضِّيَّ فِي حَصَّالَتِي قَطُّ؛ لِأَنَّنِي لَمْ أَعْتَبِرْهُ مَالًا.

I never put that silver dollar in my piggy bank because I didn't consider it money.

كَانَ أَشْبَهَ بِقِلَادَةٍ تَخَيَّلْتُ أَنَّنِي سَأَرْتَدِيهَا يَوْمًا مَا، وَلَكُمْ بَدَتِ الْمَرْأَةُ الْمَرْسُومَةُ عَلَيْهِ جَمِيلَةً جِدًّا وَرَائِعَةً جِدًّا وَرَصِينَةً جِدًّا فِي تَاجِهَا ذِي الْأَشْوَاكِ!

It was more like a necklace I imagined wearing one day; how beautiful, wonderful, and dignified the woman drawn on it looked in her crown of thorns!

وَقَرَّرْتُ أَنَّنِي سَأَتَخَلَّى عَنْ بِنْسٍ لِتِلْكَ الْفَتَاةِ الْبَشِعَةِ الَّتِي كَانَتْ تَنْتَظِرُنِي عَلَى الْمَمْشَى الْمُؤَدِّي إِلَى مُنْخَفَضِ «حُفْرَةِ الذِّئَابِ»، بَلْ رُبَّمَا أَكْثَرَ، لَكِنْ لَنْ يَحْدُثَ أَبَدًا أَنْ أَتْرُكَ لَهَا ذَاكَ الدُّولَارَ الْفِضِّيَّ.

I decided I would give a penny to that ugly girl waiting for me on the path to the 'Wolf Pit' hollow—perhaps even more—but I would never, ever give her that silver dollar.

لِلذَّهَابِ إِلَى الْمَدْرَسَةِ، كُنْتُ أَمْشِي كُلَّ يَوْمٍ مَعَ شَقِيقَيَّ - هِنْرِي، الَّذِي كَانَ فِي التَّاسِعَةِ مِنَ الْعُمْرِ، وَجِيمْس، الَّذِي كَانَ فِي السَّابِعَةِ - إِلَى «حُفْرَةِ الذِّئَابِ»، ثُمَّ أَخْرُجُ مِنْهَا مَرَّةً أُخْرَى لِلْعَوْدَةِ إِلَى الْمَنْزِلِ.

To get to school, I walked every day with my brothers—Henry, who was nine, and James, who was seven—to the 'Wolf Pit,' then back out again to get home.

وَ«حُفْرَةُ الذِّئَابِ» هِيَ الْمَكَانُ الَّذِي قَالَتْ فِيهِ فَتَاةٌ ضَخْمَةٌ وَقَوِيَّةٌ أَكْثَرُ مِنَّا سِنًّا، تُدْعَى بَيْتِي، إِنَّهَا سَتَنْتَظِرُنِي فِيهِ بَعْدَ الْمَدْرَسَةِ.

The 'Wolf Pit' was where a huge, strong girl older than us, named Betty, said she would be waiting for me after school.

كَانَتْ قَدْ جَاءَتْ مِنَ الْمَدِينَةِ لِلْبَقَاءِ مَعَ جَدِّهَا وَجَدَّتِهَا، جْلِينْجَارِي وَزَوْجَتِهِ، اللَّذَيْنِ كَانَا يَعِيشَانِ فَوْقَ ضِفَّةِ نُهَيْرِ «رَاكُون كْرِيك»، بَعْدَ نِهَايَةِ الزُّقَاقِ الْمُؤَدِّي إِلَى مَزْرَعَتِنَا مُبَاشَرَةً.

She had come from the city to stay with her grandparents, the Glengarrys, who lived above the bank of Raccoon Creek, just past the end of the lane leading to our farm.

وَكُنْتُ أَخَافُ مِنْهَا مُنْذُ الْيَوْمِ الَّذِي ظَهَرَتْ فِيهِ فِي الْمَدْرَسَةِ، قَبْلَ ذَلِكَ بِثَلَاثَةِ أَسَابِيعَ.

I had been afraid of her since the day she showed up at school three weeks earlier.

كَانَ يُقَالُ هَمْسًا إِنَّ بَيْتِي أُرْسِلَتْ إِلَى الرِّيفِ لِأَنَّهَا «حَرُونٌ» (أَيْ غَيْرُ قَابِلَةٍ لِلتَّقْوِيمِ)، كَلِمَةٌ كُنْتُ أَجْهَلُهَا وَاضْطُرِرْتُ إِلَى الْبَحْثِ عَنْ مَعْنَاهَا فِي الْقَامُوسِ الْكَبِيرِ فِي الْمَدْرَسَةِ.

It was whispered that Betty had been sent to the country because she was 'incorrigible'—a word I didn't know and had to look up in the big school dictionary.

لَمْ أَكُنْ أَعْرِفُ مَا إِنْ كَانَ الْهَدَفُ مِنْ عَيْشِهَا فِي الرِّيفِ مَعَ جَدِّهَا وَجَدَّتِهَا هُوَ الْعِقَابَ أَمِ الْعِلَاجَ؛ وَسَوَاءٌ أَكَانَ الْأَمْرُ هَذَا أَمْ ذَاكَ، لَمْ أَرَ أَنَّهُ مِنَ الْعَدْلِ أَنْ تُبْتَلَى بِهَا وَنَحْنُ لَمْ نَرْتَكِبْ أَيَّ جُرْمٍ فَظِيعٍ.

I didn't know if living in the country with her grandparents was meant to be a punishment or a cure; either way, it didn't seem fair that we should be saddled with her when we hadn't committed any terrible crime.

وَصَلَتْ إِلَى مَدْرَسَتِنَا صَبَاحَ أَحَدِ الْأَيَّامِ دُونَ سَابِقِ تَنْوِيهٍ وَلَا أَيِّ شَيْءٍ مِنْ قَبِيلِ التَّفْسِيرِ.

She arrived at our school one morning without any warning or explanation.

كَانَ عَدَدُنَا قُرَابَةَ الْأَرْبَعِينَ بِالْفِعْلِ، وَكَانَ هَذَا أَكْثَرَ مِمَّا يُفْتَرَضُ أَنْ تَسْتَوْعِبَهُ الْمَدْرَسَةُ الصَّغِيرَةُ؛ وَلِهَذَا اضْطُرَّ الْبَعْضُ إِلَى أَنْ يَجْلِسُوا أَزْوَاجًا فِي مَكَاتِبِ الدِّرَاسَةِ؛ اثْنَانِ فِي مَقْعَدٍ مُخَصَّصٍ لِفَرْدٍ وَاحِدٍ، اثْنَانِ يَكْتُبَانِ وَيُجْرِيَانِ الْعَمَلِيَّاتِ الْحِسَابِيَّةَ عَلَى سَطْحِ الْمَكْتَبِ الْمَائِلِ الْمَلِيءِ بِالنُّدُوبِ الْعَمِيقَةِ، وَمَجْمُوعَتَانِ مِنَ الْكُتُبِ فِي الصُّنْدُوقِ الْمُلْحَقِ أَسْفَلَ غِطَاءِ الْمَكْتَبِ.

There were already about forty of us, which was more than the small school was meant to hold, so some had to double up at the desks: two in a seat meant for one, both writing and doing math on the slanted, scarred desktop, with two sets of books crammed into the compartment beneath the lid.

لَمْ أُمَانِعْ ذَلِكَ بِشِدَّةٍ؛ لِأَنَّنِي تَشَارَكْتُ الْمَقْعَدَ مَعَ صَدِيقَتِي رُوث، وَهِيَ فَتَاةٌ شَاحِبَةُ الْبَشَرَةِ حَمْرَاءُ الشَّفَتَيْنِ دَاكِنَةُ الشَّعْرِ، صَوْتُهَا هَادِئٌ، وَثِيَابُهَا مَكْوِيَّةٌ بِإِتْقَانٍ مِثَالِيٍّ.

I didn't mind that much, because I shared my desk with my friend Ruth, a pale, dark-haired girl with red lips, a quiet voice, and perfectly ironed clothes.

كَانَتْ رُوث تُحِبُّ الْقِرَاءَةَ بِقَدْرِ مَا كُنْتُ أُحِبُّهَا أَنَا أَيْضًا، وَبِذَلِكَ كَانَتْ هَذِهِ الْهِوَايَةُ الْمُهِمَّةُ مُشْتَرَكَةً بَيْنَنَا.

Ruth loved reading as much as I did, and that important interest was something we shared.

وَكِلْتَانَا فَتَاتَانِ نَحِيفَتَانِ تُوَاظِبَانِ عَلَى الِاسْتِحْمَامِ لَمْ يَكُنْ ذَلِكَ يَنْطَبِعُ عَلَى كُلِّ الطُّلَّابِ فِي مَدْرَسَةِ «حُفْرَةِ الذِّئَابِ» وَلِذَا لَمْ يَكُنْ جُلُوسُنَا مُتَلَاصِقَتَيْنِ بِالْأَمْرِ السَّيِّئِ.

We were both thin, clean girls—which couldn't be said for all the students at the Wolf Pit school—so sitting pressed together wasn't such a bad thing.

Vocabulary · المفردات (40 verbs · 114 nouns)

• وَضَعَ — to put
• اعْتَبَرَ — to consider
• تَخَيَّلَ — to imagine
• ارْتَدَى — to wear
• بَدَا — to seem
• رَسَمَ — to draw
• قَرَّرَ — to decide
• تَخَلَّى — to abandon
• انْتَظَرَ — to wait
• أَدَّى — to lead
• حَدَثَ — to happen
• تَرَكَ — to leave
• مَشَى — to walk
• خَرَجَ — to exit
• قَالَ — to say
• دَعَا — to call
• جَاءَ — to come
• بَقِيَ — to remain
• عَاشَ — to live
• خَافَ — to fear
• ظَهَرَ — to appear
• أَرْسَلَ — to send
• جَهِلَ — to lack knowledge of
• اضْطَرَّ — to force
• عَرَفَ — to know
• رَأَى — to see
• ابْتَلَى — to afflict
• ارْتَكَبَ — to commit
• وَصَلَ — to arrive
• افْتَرَضَ — to assume
• اسْتَوْعَبَ — to accommodate
• جَلَسَ — to sit
• كَتَبَ — to write
• أَجْرَى — to conduct
• مَانَعَ — to object
• تَشَارَكَ — to share
• كَوَى — to iron
• أَحَبَّ — to love
• وَاظَبَ — to persist
• انْطَبَعَ — to apply
• حُفْرَة — pit
• ذِئْب — wolf
• دُولَار — dollar
• فِضِّيّ — silver
• حَصَّالَة — piggy bank
• مَال — money
• قِلَادَة — necklace
• يَوْم — day
• اِمْرَأَة — woman
• جَمِيل — beautiful
• رَائِع — wonderful
• رَصِين — dignified
• تَاج — crown
• شَوْك — thorn
• بِنْس — penny
• فَتَاة — girl
• بَشِع — ugly
• مَمْشَى — walkway
• مُنْخَفَض — depression
• أَكْثَر — more
• أَبَد — eternity
• مَدْرَسَة — school
• شَقِيق — brother
• عُمْر — age
• مَنْزِل — house
• مَكَان — place
• ضَخْم — huge
• قَوِيّ — strong
• سِنّ — age
• مَدِينَة — city
• جَدّ — grandfather
• جَدَّة — grandmother
• ضِفَّة — bank
• نُهَيْر — stream
• نِهَايَة — end
• زُقَاق — alley
• مَزْرَعَة — farm
• أُسْبُوع — week
• هَمْس — whisper
• رِيف — countryside
• حَرُون — stubborn
• تَقْوِيم — correction
• كَلِمَة — word
• بَحْث — search
• مَعْنَى — meaning
• قَامُوس — dictionary
• كَبِير — large
• هَدَف — goal
• عَيْش — living
• عِقَاب — punishment
• عِلَاج — treatment
• أَمْر — matter
• عَدْل — justice
• جُرْم — crime
• فَظِيع — terrible
• صَبَاح — morning
• تَنْوِيه — notice
• تَفْسِير — explanation
• عَدَد — number
• قُرَابَة — approximately
• أَرْبَعِين — forty
• فِعْل — reality
• صَغِير — small
• زَوْج — pair
• مَكْتَب — desk
• دِرَاسَة — study
• مَقْعَد — seat
• مُخَصَّص — designated
• فَرْد — individual
• وَاحِد — one
• عَمَلِيَّة — operation
• حِسَابِيَّة — arithmetic
• سَطْح — surface
• مَائِل — slanted
• مَلِيء — full
• نَدْب — scar
• عَمِيق — deep
• مَجْمُوعَة — set
• كِتَاب — book
• صُنْدُوق — box
• مُلْحَق — attached
• غِطَاء — cover
• شِدَّة — intensity
• صَدِيق — friend
• شَاحِب — pale
• بَشَرَة — complexion
• أَحْمَر — red
• شَفَة — lip
• دَاكِن — dark
• شَعْر — hair
• صَوْت — voice
• هَادِئ — quiet
• ثَوْب — clothes
• مَكْوِيّ — ironed
• إِتْقَان — perfection
• مِثَالِيّ — perfect
• قِرَاءَة — reading
• قَدْر — extent
• هِوَايَة — hobby
• مُهِمّ — important
• مُشْتَرَك — shared
• نَحِيف — thin
• اسْتِحْمَام — bathing
• طَالِب — student
• جُلُوس — sitting
• مُتَلَاصِق — close
• سَيِّئ — bad
• عَوْدَة — return
• أَسْفَل — bottom
• ثِيَاب — clothes
• حَمْرَاء — red (female)
• أَكْبَر — bigger
• مَرْسُومَة — drawn
• أَشْبَه — most similar