| Description |
Translation (Rita Seng Mai)
This story is about a wicked, narrow-minded lesser wife. Once upon a time, there was a couple in a village. They had a daughter and a son. After some years, the mother passed away. So, the father got married to a woman again. The second wife disliked the children of the first wife. She didn't want to feed them too. Sometimes, she put some rice on their clothes or faces. When the father asked if the children had finished eating, she showed the rice and said that they had eaten it. The children said, "No, we haven't eaten it yet." Then, the stepmother scolded them, "When your father asks you if you have eaten, just say yes. If you say you haven't eaten yet, I will beat both of you hard. Get it?" They were frightened and said, "Yes, we will listen to you." When their father asked them if they had eaten the next day, they said yes. The children couldn't eat anything. They spent their days just drinking water. One day, the second wife told her husband, "I can't feed your children anymore. Take them to the forest and kill them." He was shocked and said, "I can't. I can't kill my children." The wife told him, "If you can't, will you break up with me?" He said, "I can't break up with you too." His wife told him, "Then, kill your children." The next day, he took his two children and went to the deep forest. He took a knife too. There was a stray dog following them. They walked past the streams and hills. Somewhere in the forest, the father told his children, "I will cut some bamboo down in the forest to make bamboo strips. Wait for me here." But the father didn't come back even at night. Then, the children talked to each other, "Seem like dad has abandoned us. There is a dog that follows us. It might know the right way back to our house. Let's go back." When they arrived home, they were scared and didn't dare go inside. They crawled under the floor and stayed there silently. Their father knew that they had arrived home because he saw the dog. At dinnertime, he made the rice balls and put them down through the floor for the children. His wife saw him and asked him, "Why are you putting the rice down through the floor?" When she looked under the floor, she saw the two children. She got angry at him and said, "You told me that you killed your children in the forest. But now, they are under the house? You lied to me, so I will go back to my house." The husband was worried and begged her not to go back. And he said, "I will listen to you from now. Don't leave me." The next day, he took his two children to the forest again. He told his wife before he went, "I will definitely abandon my children. Don't worry. You will not see them again." The dog was following them on that day too. They took a small spear and knife to the forest. The father took them to a farther place than before. He told them, "I will collect some vines today. Last time, I collected some bamboo to make the strips. I have to make some vine strips. So, wait for me here." He took the dog and killed it somewhere in the forest. And he put the blood on the knife. He showed the knife with the blood to his wife and said, "See! I killed my children. Look at the blood on the knife." His wicked wife was pleased and said, "Okay then." Even though it was getting dark, the father didn't show up. Then, the children knew that they were abandoned. The elder brother said to his sister, "We have been abandoned. It's okay. We can cut some trees down and grow vegetables here since we have the spear and the knife. We can live our lives here." He shot a bird down with the spear. There was a mouth full of rice in that bird. They ate it and did farming. Later, they moved to a nearby village and got married there. They had spent their lives there happily. They worked hard to have a happy life. This is the end of the story.
Transcription (La Ring)
Hpang num nkaja ai lam nambat lahkawng. E ndai lam gaw moi shawng de kahtawng langai mi hta e la langai mi gaw num langai mi la nna dinghku de rai yang num sha langai mi la sha langai mi la hte num sha lahkawng lu ai hpang gaw dai kanu gaw si mat wa ai. Dai hpang shi gaw hpang num langai mi bai la ai. Dai hpang num gaw ndai shawng na kasha yen hpe kachyi mi mung nra na shi gaw shat ni nkam jaw sha. Kawa bungli bungsi kaw wa ai shana de wa jang gaw shat hkyep ni hpa ni ndai n-gup makau kan sinda hkan e shakap da ya ya rai ai da. Rai yang "Ma yen shat sha sai i" ngu yang dai madu jan hpang num gaw "Sha sai" ngu. Ma yen gaw "Um hum nsha ai" ngu e ndai zawn re chye galaw ai da. Dai rai na hpang e rai yang gaw ndai num jan gaw grai pawt ai da "Nan shat sha sai ngu na wa san jang sha sai ngu tsun mu lu. Sha sai nga ntsun sai kaw na gaw hpawtni gaw gayet ri duk hte gayet daw hkra hkra gayet na re na sai i na sai i" ngu jang she shan nau mung "Na sai" ngu hkrit nna. Shana e kawa wa jang gaw "Nan nau shat sha sai i" ngu yang gaw "Sha sai" ngu. Shan nau gaw shani shagu shat nlu sha na ndai hka sha lu na dai hku nga lai wa. Shaloi she lani mi na aten hta gaw ndai hpang num gaw "E na kasha yen hpe ngai ndang bau sai dai majaw htaw nam de sa sa kau u sa sat kau u lu hkra sa sat kau u htaw nam de" ngu tsun ai da. "E nye kasha yen hpe nsat gwi ai lo" nga "Sa sat kau u dai nrai yang ngai hte hka na i ngai nang hpe hka gwi gwi re jahka kau na dai na kasha yen hpe nja yang gaw ngai hte hka ga" nga jang "Nang hte mung nhka nja ai law" nga "Rai jang na kasha yen hpe sa sat kau u" nga. Shaloi gaw hpang shani gaw shi mung nhtu mung langai lang rai na shan wa ni masum sa ai kaw gwi mung langai mi hkan nang ai da. Gwi hkan nang rai na shan wa ni gaw htaw nam maling grai tsan ai e bum mung lai hka ni lai re kaw shan wa ni gaw dai kaw sa du rai na ma yen nau hpe "Nan nau nang kaw nga la mu yaw awa htaw nam de e kawa pali naw sa dan la ga nang kaw naw nga la mu" ngu tsun kau da. Rai yang gaw shana raitim mung ndu wa hkraw da. Jan shang wa mahka du wa tim mung ndu wa hkraw rai yang gaw "E ndai wa gaw an hpe kabai kau ai she rai sai. Dai majaw gaw an gaw ndai gwi langai mi hkan nang ai ndai gwi hte anhte nta de wa ga" ngu nna she gwi hpe shawng de dat na she hkan nau hkan nang wa na nta de du ai shaloi gaw shan nau gaw nhku de nshang gwi na le npu de wa rawng nga da. Dai npu de gaw chyinghkyen hku grai hku ai dai chyinghkyen hku kawa gaw kasha yen bai du wa sai lam hpe chye ai gwi bai du sai majaw kasha yen du sai re ngu shat hpe ndai majup la nna e le de jahkrat hkrat di ai da. Lahkawng masum lang dai hku jahkrat yang she ndai num gaw mu dat ai da. "E nang gaw hpabaw ngu na shat jahkrat nga ai hpabaw byin ai i" ngu na shi mung yu yang gaw wo npu de yu dat yang gaw kasha lahkawng dai kaw nga taw ai da. Dai majaw shan gaw grai ga law sai da. "E nang na nsha yen hpe nam de sa kabai kau ai law nga sa sat kau sai law nga me htaw ya du wa nga le hpa majaw nang ngai hpe dai hku masu ai. Dai majaw ngai mung nang masu sai re majaw ngai mung wa na re" nga. "E nang hkum wa mat u lo ya na ga gaw ngai she ngai gaw madat sana hkum wa mat u" ngu nna bai ahkum rai yang gaw hpang e shani hta bai woi sa mat sai da. "Ya daini gaw teng teng sha e woi sa mat na re nang nmu mat sana re" ngu na kaja nan woi sa. Dai shani mung gwi mung hkan nang da. Dai ma kasha dai la sha hte num sha yen nau gaw ndan ma langai mi hpai ai da. Ndan shan nau chyai chyai re ndan kasha langai hpai e nhtu kasha ni mung hpai rai na shan nau hkan nang mat ai da. Gwi mung bai hkan nang da shaloi mani sa ai yahte sa ai kaw nre sha htaw grau tsan ai de woi sa nna she ma yen hpe dai kaw tawn da "Ndai kaw nga la mu yaw ya awa gaw daini gaw ri pali la na re yahte gaw ndai kawa pali sa la ai. Ya daini gaw ri pali la na majaw awa gaw loi tsan ai de rai na dai majaw ndai gwi hpe ma woi mat na" ngu na gwi hpe ma woi mat na sa na shi gaw gwi hpe sa sat kau rai na she nhtu kaw gaw gwi sai ni hpa ni dai hku chya la nna she madu jan hpe wa tsun dan ai da. "E yu u daini gaw teng sha nye kasha yen hpe sat kau sai dai majaw nang sai pyi grai kap ai gaw nang nhtu kaw" ngu rai yang madu jang mung "Rai sai deng gaw" ngu na dai hku nga taw. Shaloi she shana du wa timung ndu wa sai hpang shani tim ndu galoi ndu wa sai da. Shaloi gaw shan nau gaw "E an nau hpe gaw wa gaw kabai kau ai rai sai an nau hpe nra ai majaw kabai sai re majaw an nau gaw hpa nra ai ndai kaw e ya ndan mung lu sai rai nhtu mung lu ai rai re majaw an nau gaw nang kaw yi hkyen sha nna nga ga" ngu na dai ndan hte e u hpe gap ai da. Shaloi u hkrat wa ai shaloi dai u na ma-u kaw gaw mam latup mi daram rawng ai da. E ndai hte shan nau gaw yi hkyen sha na ndai hku nga mat ai da. Nga mat ai shaloi gaw shan nau gaw dai hku na dinghku de na kashu kasha mayat maya na dai kahtawng mare kaw dai hku nga na grai galu kaba mat wa ai da shan nau gaw. Yi hkyen sha ai hkauna ni galaw ai sun ni galaw nna grai rai na shan nau gaw nga galu kaba rai na nga mat ai da. Maumwi gaw dai kaw htum sai. |
