The Wolf Pit (حفرة الذئاب) — Page 16

Arabic text · النص

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

إِنَّ اشْتِغَالَهُمْ بِالزِّرَاعَةِ وَتَرْبِيَةِ الْمَوَاشِي سَيَجْعَلُهُمْ يُوَفِّرُونَ الْغِذَاءَ اللَّازِمَ لِلْجُنُودِ.

Their work in farming and raising livestock will ensure they provide the food the soldiers need.

وَمِنْ ثَمَّ فَرُبَّمَا يُنْقِذُهُمْ مِنْ وَيْلَاتِ الْحَرْبِ، أَوْ يَجْعَلُهُمْ أَقْوِيَاءَ بِمَا يَكْفِي لِلْقِتَالِ، لَكِنَّ الْمَدْرَسَةَ لَنْ تَجْعَلَهُمْ كَذَلِكَ أَبَدًا.

This might save them from the horrors of war or make them strong enough to fight, but school will never do that for them.

بِالرَّغْمِ مِنْ ذَلِكَ، فِي الْأَشْهُرِ الْأَشَدِّ بُرُودَةً، كَانَ الْعَمَلُ الَّذِي قَدْ يُكَلَّفُونَ بِهِ فِي الْمَنْزِلِ شَاقًّا وَصَعْبًا؛ كَإِصْلَاحِ الْأَسْوَارِ وَأَسْطُحِ الْحَظَائِرِ وَعَجَلَاتِ الْعَرَبَاتِ.

Despite this, the chores they were assigned at home during the coldest months were grueling—repairing fences, barn roofs, and wagon wheels.

وَلِهَذَا؛ فَفِي ظِلِّ وُجُودِ خِيَارٍ مُتَاحٍ لَدَيْهِمْ لِقَضَاءِ النَّهَارِ فِي قَيْلُولَةٍ، أَوِ اللَّعِبِ الْعَنِيفِ مَعَ الصِّبْيَانِ الْآخَرِينَ فِي فَتْرَةِ الِاسْتِرَاحَةِ بَدَلًا مِنَ الْعَمَلِ فِي الرِّيَاحِ الْقَارِسَةِ الْبُرُودَةِ، كَانَ مُعْظَمُ الصِّبْيَانِ يَخْتَارُونَ الْمَدْرَسَةَ فِي تِلْكَ الْأَشْهُرِ.

Because they had the option to nap or play roughly with other boys during breaks instead of working in the biting wind, most boys chose to attend school during those months.

هَذَا إِذَا سَمَحَ لَهُمْ آبَاؤُهُمْ بِذَلِكَ.

That is, if their fathers allowed them to.

لَكِنْ عِنْدَمَا وَصَلَتْ بَيْتِي فِي شَهْرِ أُكْتُوبَرَ ذَاكَ، كَانَ الْجَوُّ مَا يَزَالُ دَافِئًا، وَلَمْ يَكُنْ هَؤُلَاءِ الصِّبْيَانُ الْمُشَاكِسُونَ قَدْ وَاظَبُوا عَلَى الْحُضُورِ بَعْدُ.

But when Betty arrived that October, the weather was still warm, and those rowdy boys had not yet started attending regularly.

وَلَوْلَاهَا، لَكَانَتِ الْمَدْرَسَةُ مَكَانًا آمِنًا هَادِئًا، أَوْ كَانَتْ سَتَظَلُّ كَذَلِكَ عَلَى الْأَقَلِّ إِلَى أَنْ يَتَحَطَّمَ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ فِي نُوفَمْبَرَ الْفَظِيعِ ذَاكَ، حِينَ دُعِيتُ إِلَى سَرْدِ قَائِمَةِ أَكَاذِيبِي.

Were it not for her, the school would have been a safe, quiet place, or at least would have remained so until everything fell apart that terrible November, when I was called to list my lies.

فِي ذَلِكَ الْحِينِ، لَمْ أَكُنْ أَعْرِفُ الْكَلِمَةَ الَّتِي يُمْكِنُ أَنْ تَصِفَ بَيْتِي وَصْفًا صَحِيحًا، أَوْ اسْمَ السِّمَةِ الَّتِي تُمَيِّزُهَا عَنِ الْأَطْفَالِ الْآخَرِينَ فِي تِلْكَ الْمَدْرَسَةِ.

At the time, I did not know the word to accurately describe Betty, or the name of the trait that set her apart from the other children at school.

فَفِي أَقَلَّ مِنْ أُسْبُوعٍ مِنَ الْالْتِحَاقِ بِالْمَدْرَسَةِ، كَانَتْ قَدْ عَلَّمَتْنَا دَزِينَةً مِنَ الْكَلِمَاتِ الَّتِي لَمْ يَكُنْ يَصِحُّ أَنْ نَعْرِفَهَا، وَسَكَبَتْ قِنِّينَةً مِنَ الْحِبْرِ عَلَى سُتْرَةِ إِيمِيلِي، وَأَخْبَرَتِ الْأَطْفَالَ الصِّغَارَ بِكَيْفِيَّةِ حُدُوثِ الْحَمْلِ وَالْوِلَادَةِ.

Within a week of joining, she had taught us a dozen words we shouldn't have known, spilled a bottle of ink on Emily's jacket, and explained to the younger children how babies are made.

وَتِلْكَ مَعْلُومَةٌ لَمْ أَعْرِفْهَا أَنَا نَفْسِي إِلَّا فِي الرَّبِيعِ الْمَاضِي عِنْدَ وِلَادَةِ الْعُجُولِ الصِّغَارِ.

That was information I myself had only learned the previous spring when the calves were born.

وَصَحِيحٌ أَنَّ تَجْرِبَتِي مَعَ تَعَلُّمِ كَيْفِيَّةِ حُدُوثِ الْحَمْلِ وَالْوِلَادَةِ كَانَتْ لَطِيفَةً بِفَضْلِ جَدَّتِي الَّتِي تَنَاوَلَتِ الْمَسْأَلَةَ بِكَيَاسَةٍ وَظَرْفٍ؛ لِأَنَّهَا هِيَ نَفْسُهَا قَدْ وَلَدَتِ الْعَدِيدَ مِنَ الْأَطْفَالِ، وَكَانَ ذَلِكَ يَحْدُثُ فِي كُلِّ مَرَّةٍ عَلَى السَّرِيرِ الَّذِي كَانَتْ لَمْ تَزَلْ تَنَامُ عَلَيْهِ مَعَ جَدِّي.

It is true that my own introduction to how pregnancy and birth work was gentle, thanks to my grandmother, who handled the subject with tact and grace; she had given birth to many children herself, always in the same bed she still shared with my grandfather.

لَكِنَّ تَجْرِبَةَ أَصْغَرِ الْأَطْفَالِ فِي الْمَدْرَسَةِ مَعَ تِلْكَ الْمَسْأَلَةِ لَمْ تَكُنْ لَطِيفَةً.

But the youngest children at school did not have such a gentle introduction.

ذَلِكَ أَنَّ بَيْتِي تَنَاوَلَتْهَا بِفَظَاظَةٍ.

Betty handled it crudely.

لَقَدْ أَفْزَعَتْهُمْ مِنْهَا لِلْغَايَةِ.

She terrified them.

وَالْأَسْوَأُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ أَنَّهَا هَدَّدَتْهُمْ مِنْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذَا وَشَوْا بِهَا إِلَى آبَائِهِمْ وَأُمَّهَاتِهِمْ، فَسَتُلَاحِقُهُمْ عَبْرَ الْأَحْرَاجِ بَعْدَ الْمَدْرَسَةِ وَتَضْرِبُهُمْ، كَمَا ضَرَبَتْنِي لَاحِقًا.

Worse, she threatened that if they told their parents, she would hunt them down in the woods after school and beat them, just as she beat me later.

وَرُبَّمَا تَقْتُلُهُمْ.

She might even kill them.

وَقَدْ صَدَّقُوهَا، كَمَا صَدَّقْتُهَا.

They believed her, just as I did.

كَانَ يُمْكِنُ أَنْ أُهَدِّدَ شَقِيقَيَّ بِالْمَوْتِ وَتَقْطِيعِ أَوْصَالِهِمَا عَشَرَاتِ الْمَرَّاتِ فِي الْيَوْمِ، وَكَانَا يَضْحَكَانِ عَلَيَّ وَيُخْرِجَانِ لِي لِسَانَيْهِمَا، لَكِنَّ نَظْرَةً وَاحِدَةً مِنْ بَيْتِي كَانَتْ كَفِيلَةً بِأَنْ تَجْعَلَهُمَا يَلْزَمَانِ الصَّمْتَ وَالْهُدُوءَ فَوْرًا.

I could have threatened my siblings with death and dismemberment dozens of times a day, and they would have just laughed and stuck their tongues out at me, but one look from Betty was enough to make them go silent and still immediately.

الْأَرْجَحُ أَنَّهُمَا مَا كَانَا لِيُقَدِّمَا لِي مُسَاعَدَةً تُذْكَرُ لَوْ كَانَا مَعِي ذَلِكَ الْيَوْمَ فِي مُنْخَفَضِ «حُفْرَةِ الذِّئَابِ» عِنْدَمَا خَرَجَتْ بَيْتِي مِنْ خَلْفِ شَجَرَةٍ وَقَطَعَتِ الطَّرِيقَ عَلَيَّ.

They likely would not have been much help if they had been with me that day in the 'Wolf Pit' hollow when Betty stepped from behind a tree and blocked my path.

Vocabulary · المفردات (50 verbs · 89 nouns)

• حَفَرَ — to dig
• اشْتَغَلَ — to work
• رَبَّى — to raise
• جَعَلَ — to make
• وَفَّرَ — to provide
• أَنْقَذَ — to save
• كَفَى — to suffice
• قَاتَلَ — to fight
• كَلَّفَ — to assign
• أَصْلَحَ — to repair
• أَتَاحَ — to make available
• قَضَى — to spend
• لَعِبَ — to play
• اسْتَرَاحَ — to rest
• اخْتَارَ — to choose
• سَمَحَ — to allow
• وَصَلَ — to arrive
• زَالَ — to cease
• وَاظَبَ — to persist
• حَضَرَ — to attend
• ظَلَّ — to remain
• تَحَطَّمَ — to shatter
• دَعَا — to invite
• عَرَفَ — to know
• وَصَفَ — to describe
• مَيَّزَ — to distinguish
• الْتَحَقَ — to join
• عَلَّمَ — to teach
• صَحَّ — to prove correct
• سَكَبَ — to pour
• أَخْبَرَ — to inform
• حَدَثَ — to happen
• تَعَلَّمَ — to learn
• تَنَاوَلَ — to deal with
• وَلَدَ — to give birth
• نَامَ — to sleep
• أَفْزَعَ — to frighten
• هَدَّدَ — to threaten
• وَشَى — to inform against
• لَاحَقَ — to pursue
• ضَرَبَ — to hit
• قَتَلَ — to kill
• صَدَّقَ — to believe
• قَطَعَ — to cut
• ضَحِكَ — to laugh
• أَخْرَجَ — to stick out
• لَزِمَ — to keep
• قَدَّمَ — to offer
• ذَكَرَ — to mention
• خَرَجَ — to exit
• غِمَار — midst
• زِرَاعَة — agriculture
• مَاشِيَة — livestock
• غِذَاء — food
• جُنْدِيّ — soldier
• وَيْل — woe
• حَرْب — war
• مَدْرَسَة — school
• شَهْر — month
• بُرُودَة — coldness
• عَمَل — work
• مَنْزِل — house
• سُور — fence
• سَطْح — roof
• حَظِيرَة — barn
• عَجَلَة — wheel
• عَرَبَة — cart
• ظِلّ — shadow
• وُجُود — existence
• خِيَار — option
• نَهَار — daytime
• قَيْلُولَة — nap
• لَعِب — play
• صَبِيّ — boy
• فَتْرَة — period
• اسْتِرَاحَة — break
• رِيح — wind
• مُعْظَم — most
• أَب — father
• جَوّ — weather
• حُضُور — attendance
• مَكَان — place
• شَيْء — thing
• سَرْد — narration
• قَائِمَة — list
• أُكْذُوبَة — lie
• حِين — time
• كَلِمَة — word
• وَصْف — description
• اسْم — name
• سِمَة — trait
• طِفْل — child
• أُسْبُوع — week
• دَزِينَة — dozen
• حِبْر — ink
• سُتْرَة — jacket
• كَيْفِيَّة — manner
• حَمْل — pregnancy
• وِلَادَة — birth
• مَعْلُومَة — information
• رَبِيع — spring
• عِجْل — calf
• تَجْرِبَة — experience
• جَدَّة — grandmother
• مَسْأَلَة — issue
• كَيَاسَة — tact
• ظَرْف — grace
• عَدِيد — number
• مَرَّة — time
• سَرِير — bed
• جَدّ — grandfather
• فَظَاظَة — rudeness
• غَايَة — extreme
• أُمّ — mother
• حَرَج — woods
• مَوْت — death
• تَقْطِيع — dismemberment
• وِصَال — joints
• يَوْم — day
• نَظْرَة — look
• صَمْت — silence
• هُدُوء — calm
• مُسَاعَدَة — help
• مُنْخَفَض — depression
• حُفْرَة — pit
• ذِئْب — wolf
• شَجَرَة — tree
• طَرِيق — path
• كَفِيلَة — guaranteeing
• أُكْتُوبَر — October
• أَصْغَر — smaller
• قَارِسَة — biting, severe (female)
• فَظِيع — horrible
• وَاحِدَة — one (feminine)
• لَطِيفَة — nice
• صَعْب — difficult
• أَسْوَأ — worse
• عَنِيف — harsh
• دَافِئ — warm