The Wolf Pit (حفرة الذئاب) — Page 17

Arabic text · النص

Line-by-line translation · المعاني

عِنْدَمَا كُنْتُ أَصْغَرَ سِنًّا، سَأَلْتُ جَدِّي عَنْ سَبَبِ تَسْمِيَةِ «حُفْرَةِ الذِّئَابِ» بِهَذَا الِاسْمِ.

When I was younger, I asked my grandfather why the 'Wolf Pit' was called that.

وَقَدْ قَالَ: «لِأَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا يَحْفِرُونَ حُفَرًا عَمِيقَةً هُنَاكَ لِصَيْدِ الذِّئَابِ.»

He said, 'Because they used to dig deep pits there to hunt wolves.'

كَانَ وَاحِدًا مِنَّا نَحْنُ الثَّمَانِيَةِ الَّذِينَ كُنَّا نَعِيشُ مَعًا فِي الْبَيْتِ الرِّيفِيِّ ذِي الْمَزْرَعَةِ الَّذِي كَانَتْ عَائِلَتُنَا تَسْكُنُهُ مُنْذُ مِائَةِ سَنَةٍ.

He was one of the eight of us living together in the farmhouse our family had occupied for a hundred years.

وَهَكَذَا كُنَّا أَفْرَادًا مِنْ ثَلَاثَةِ أَجْيَالٍ مُكَدَّسِينَ مَعًا تَحْتَ سَقْفٍ وَاحِدٍ، بَعْدَمَا فَرَضَتْ فَتْرَةُ «الْكَسَادِ» التَّقَشُّفَ عَلَى الْبَلَدِ كُلِّهِ، وَجَعَلَتْ مَزْرَعَتَنَا أَنْسَبَ الْأَمَاكِنِ لِلْمَعِيشَةِ.

We were three generations packed under one roof after the Depression forced austerity on the country and made our farm the most practical place to live.

وَمَعَ دَوَرَانِ رَحَى حَرْبٍ عَالَمِيَّةٍ ثَانِيَةٍ، لَجَأَ الْكَثِيرُونَ إِلَى زِرَاعَةِ حَدَائِقِ النَّصْرِ لِلْمُسَاعَدَةِ فِي إِطْعَامِ أَنْفُسِهِمْ، لَكِنَّ مَزْرَعَتَنَا كُلَّهَا كَانَتْ بِمَثَابَةِ حَدِيقَةِ نَصْرٍ عِمْلَاقَةٍ أَمْضَى جَدِّي حَيَاتَهُ كُلَّهَا فِي الِاعْتِنَاءِ بِهَا.

As the Second World War ground on, many people turned to victory gardens to help feed themselves, but our entire farm was like a giant victory garden that my grandfather had spent his life tending.

كَانَ رَجُلًا جَادًّا يُخْبِرُنِي دَوْمًا بِالْحَقَائِقِ الصَّادِقَةِ، صَحِيحٌ أَنَّنِي لَمْ أَكُنْ أُرِيدُهَا فِي كُلِّ الْأَحْيَانِ، لَكِنِّي فِي بَعْضِ الْأَحْيَانِ كُنْتُ أَسْأَلُهُ عَنْهَا عَلَى أَيِّ حَالٍ.

He was a serious man who always told me the honest truth; I did not always want to hear it, but I asked him anyway.

فَعَلَى سَبِيلِ الْمِثَالِ، حِينَ سَأَلْتُهُ عَنْ سَبَبِ تَسْمِيَةِ «حُفْرَةِ الذِّئَابِ» بِهَذَا الِاسْمِ، أَخْبَرَنِي بِالْحَقِيقَةِ مَعَ أَنَّ عُمْرِي حِينَهَا كَانَ ثَمَانِيَةَ أَعْوَامٍ فَقَطْ.

For instance, when I asked him about the name 'Wolf Pit,' he told me the truth even though I was only eight years old.

كَانَ جَالِسًا فِي كُرْسِيٍّ بِالْمَطْبَخِ قَرِيبٍ مِنَ الْمَوْقِدِ وَاضِعًا مِرْفَقَيْهِ عَلَى رُكْبَتَيْهِ، وَيَدَاهُ تَتَدَلَّيَانِ مِنْ رُسْغَيْهِ الضَّخْمَيْنِ وَقَدَمَاهُ الشَّاحِبَتَانِ جَاهِزَتَانِ لِانْتِعَالِ حِذَائِهِ.

He was sitting in a kitchen chair near the stove, elbows on his knees, his hands dangling from his thick wrists, his pale feet ready for his boots.

كَانَ يَبْدُو، فِي أَوْقَاتٍ أُخْرَى مِنَ السَّنَةِ، رَجُلًا مُتَيَقِّظًا أَصْغَرَ سِنًّا.

At other times of the year, he seemed like a younger, more alert man.

أَمَّا فِي صَبَاحِ ذَلِكَ الْيَوْمِ، فَقَدْ بَدَا مُتْعَبًا رَغْمَ أَنَّنَا لَمْ نَزَلْ فِي يُونِيُو.

But that morning, he looked tired, even though it was only June.

كَانَ أَعْلَى جَبِينِهِ أَبْيَضَ كَقَدَمَيْهِ، لَكِنَّ أَنْفَهُ وَخَدَّيْهِ كَانَتْ بُنِّيَّةً، كَيَدَيْهِ وَذِرَاعَيْهِ، إِلَى حَيْثُ كَانَ يَطْوِي كُمَّيْ قَمِيصِهِ.

The top of his forehead was as white as his feet, but his nose and cheeks were brown, like his hands and arms up to where he rolled his sleeves.

كُنْتُ أَعْرِفُ مَدَى إِنْهَائِهِ الشَّدِيدِ، مَعَ أَنَّهُ كَانَ يَقْضِي قِسْطًا كَبِيرًا مِنْ كُلِّ نَهَارٍ جَالِسًا فِي الظِّلِّ يُؤَدِّي بَعْضَ الْأَعْمَالِ الْبَسِيطَةِ.

I knew how exhausted he was, even though he spent much of every day sitting in the shade doing light work.

سَأَلْتُهُ قَائِلَةً: «لِمَاذَا أَرَادُوا أَنْ يَصْطَادُوا الذِّئَابَ؟»

'Why did they want to hunt wolves?' I asked.

فَالْمَرْءُ لَا يَسْتَطِيعُ أَنْ يَحْلُبَ ذِئْبَةً. وَلَا يَسْتَطِيعُ أَنْ يَرْبِطَهَا بِمِحْرَاثٍ. وَلَا يَسْتَطِيعُ أَيْضًا أَنْ يَتَنَاوَلَهَا عَلَى الْعَشَاءِ، عَلَى مَا أَظُنُّ.

You cannot milk a she-wolf, you cannot hitch her to a plow, and I suppose you cannot eat her for dinner.

رَدَّ قَائِلًا: «كَيْ لَا يَظَلَّ الْكَثِيرُ مِنْهَا فِي الْأَنْحَاءِ.»

'So there wouldn't be so many of them around,' he replied.

لَمْ يَكُنْ يَنْظُرُ إِلَيَّ. كَانَ يَنْظُرُ إِلَى يَدَيْهِ.

He was not looking at me; he was looking at his hands.

وَمَعَ أَنَّهُمَا كَانَتَا خَشِنَتَيْنِ بِالْفِعْلِ كَجِلْدِ الْحَيَوَانَاتِ، فَقَدْ كَانَ لَدَيْهِ بَثْرَةٌ مُتَقَيِّحَةٌ عِنْدَ الْجُزْءِ السُّفْلِيِّ مِنْ كُلِّ إِبْهَامٍ، مِنْ مُسَاعَدَةِ أَبِي فِي الزِّرَاعَةِ.

Although they were already as rough as animal hide, he had a blister at the base of each thumb from helping my father with the farm work.

سَأَلْتُهُ: «هَلْ هِيَ تَأْكُلُ الدَّجَاجَ؟»

'Do they eat chickens?' I asked.

فَأَحْيَانًا مَا كُنْتُ أَسْتَيْقِظُ صَبَاحًا عَلَى صُرَاخِ أُمِّي فِي أَحَدِ الثَّعَالِبِ الَّتِي كَانَتْ تَشُقُّ طَرِيقَهَا إِلَى خُنِّ الدَّجَاجِ.

Sometimes I would wake up in the morning to my mother screaming at a fox that had made its way into the chicken coop.

لَكِنِّي لَا أَعْتَقِدُ أَنَّ حَتَّى أُمِّي كَانَتْ سَتُلَاحِقُ ذِئْبًا بِهَذِهِ الطَّرِيقَةِ.

But I did not think even my mother would go after a wolf like that.

Vocabulary · المفردات (30 verbs · 106 nouns)

• كَانَ — to be
• سَأَلَ — to ask
• قَالَ — to say
• حَفَرَ — to dig
• عَاشَ — to live
• سَكَنَ — to inhabit
• فَرَضَ — to impose
• جَعَلَ — to make
• لَجَأَ — to resort
• أَمْضَى — to spend
• أَخْبَرَ — to inform
• أَرَادَ — to want
• جَلَسَ — to sit
• تَدَلَّى — to hang
• بَدَا — to seem
• طَوَى — to fold
• عَرَفَ — to know
• قَضَى — to spend time
• أَدَّى — to perform
• اِصْطَادَ — to hunt
• حَلَبَ — to milk
• رَبَطَ — to tie
• تَنَاوَلَ — to consume
• ظَلَّ — to remain
• نَظَرَ — to look
• أَكَلَ — to eat
• اِسْتَيْقَظَ — to wake up
• شَقَّ — to split
• اِعْتَقَدَ — to believe
• لَاحَقَ — to pursue
• سِنّ — age
• سَبَب — reason
• تَسْمِيَة — naming
• حُفْرَة — pit
• ذِئْب — wolf
• اسْم — name
• عَمِيق — deep
• صَيْد — hunting
• بَيْت — house
• رِيفِيّ — rural
• مَزْرَعَة — farm
• عَائِلَة — family
• مِائَة — hundred
• سَنَة — year
• فَرْد — individual
• جِيل — generation
• سَقْف — roof
• فَتْرَة — period
• كَسَاد — depression
• تَقَشُّف — austerity
• بَلَد — country
• مَكَان — place
• مَعِيشَة — living
• دَوَرَان — rotation
• رَحَى — millstone
• حَرْب — war
• عَالَمِيّ — global
• ثَانِيَة — second
• زِرَاعَة — farming
• حَدِيقَة — garden
• نَصْر — victory
• مُسَاعَدَة — help
• إِطْعَام — feeding
• مَثَابَة — status
• عِمْلَاق — giant
• حَيَاة — life
• اعْتِنَاء — care
• رَجُل — man
• جَادّ — serious
• حَقِيقَة — truth
• صَادِق — truthful
• صَحِيح — correct
• حِين — time
• سَبِيل — way
• مِثَال — example
• عُمْر — age
• عَام — year
• كُرْسِيّ — chair
• مَطْبَخ — kitchen
• قَرِيب — near
• مَوْقِد — stove
• مِرْفَق — elbow
• رُكْبَة — knee
• يَد — hand
• رُسْغ — wrist
• ضَخْم — huge
• قَدَم — foot
• شَاحِب — pale
• جَاهِز — ready
• انْتِعَال — wearing
• حِذَاء — shoe
• وَقْت — time
• مُتَيَقِّظ — alert
• صَبَاح — morning
• يَوْم — day
• مُتْعَب — tired
• جَبِين — forehead
• أَبْيَض — white
• أَنْف — nose
• خَدّ — cheek
• بُنِّيّ — brown
• ذِرَاع — arm
• كُمّ — sleeve
• قَمِيص — shirt
• مَدَى — extent
• إِنْهَاء — exhaustion
• شَدِيد — intense
• قِسْط — portion
• كَبِير — large
• نَهَار — daytime
• ظِلّ — shade
• عَمَل — work
• بَسِيط — simple
• مَرْء — person
• مِحْرَاث — plow
• عَشَاء — dinner
• نَاحِيَة — area
• خَشِن — rough
• فِعْل — reality
• جِلْد — skin
• حَيَوَان — animal
• بَثْرَة — blister
• مُتَقَيِّح — pus-filled
• جُزْء — part
• سُفْلِيّ — lower
• إِبْهَام — thumb
• دَجَاج — chicken
• صُرَاخ — screaming
• ثَعْلَب — fox
• طَرِيق — path
• خُنّ — coop
• طَرِيقَة — way
• أَعْلَى — Upper parts
• أَصْغَر — smaller
• كَثِير — a lot
• أَنْسَب — most suitable