| Description |
Translation (Seng Pan)
I am going to tell you a story about an old widow and a porcupine. A long time ago, there lived a widow in a village. ( The widow was someone who was pitiful.) The old widow was not able to clean the field with the other villagers anymore. She was already weak. She didn't also have grandchildren and lived alone. She was a miserable widow. Since the old widow was incapable of going and working with other villagers, she planted taro not so far from the other's field. She grew the taro and took care of the field well. She decently did the weeding too. The taro also shot up, and the field was filled with loads of taro roots. Before the old widow harvested the taro roots, a porcupine came and ate taro at night. Therefore, the old widow got angry at the porcupine. She thought to herself to catch the porcupine anyhow since it stole taro from the poor widow like her. But she didn't know how to weave string. On the other hand, the porcupine came every night and ate her taro. And the porcupine had nearly finished up all her taro. So, the poor widow considered taking off her belt and trap the porcupine. Since she had been wearing the same belt every day, it was quite filthy. Moreover, many bedbugs clung to her belt. Not only the bedbugs but also there were many bedbug eggs. The old widow made a trap with her belt and placed it on the way where the porcupine used to come. And she wished, "God please helps me! I plead you to make the porcupine trapped here, Lord." At night, the porcupine came to the widow's field to steal taro. And it was caught in the old widow's belt trap. One of the porcupine's hands was bound in it. No matter how hard the porcupine tried to pull back its hand, it couldn't make its hand free. Thus, the porcupine is regretful of its action. It thought to itself, "As I steal the widow's taro, I become to be trapped here. I have a big mistake. It's my fault. But I have to escape from this." So, it considered ways to break free. When the porcupine thought to bite the trap, it remembered the old widow. It said to itself that it had already eaten the widow's taro, and if it bit her belt, the guilt would become more extenisve. Therefore it decided to bite its hand instead of cutting the widow's belt since it desired to be free from the trap. The porcupine didn't bite the belt and cut its hand, caught in the trap. When it was biting its hand, it bled a lot and was in bad pain. Sometimes, it felt like it was going to die. Thus, he was in a dilemma whether to stop breaking his hand or not. On the other hand, the porcupine considered dying when the widow found it in the trap. Thus, he chose to try to escape from it. When it thought of cutting the widow's belt, it shrank from biting the belt because it was afraid to commit two crimes. So, the porcupine bit its hand again. As it constantly chewed its hand, the bone appeared at last. It closed its eyes, and it bit the bone hardly by using its strong teeth to break. The porcupine left the widow's belt and ran away. And it went into the burrow where the porcupines lived. When the porcupine's friends saw him, they said, "What happens to you? Bloodstains are all on your whole body. And your hand is broken." Then the porcupine told his elder about what happened to it. It said, "I was caught in the old widow's trap when I went to steal her taro. The trap is made with her own belt. Without cutting the belt, I ran back home by breaking my own hand." Afterwards, the elder asked, "Why didn't you cut the widow's belt? You broke your own hand. See! Now you don't have a hand." The porcupine replied, "Yes, master. I finished the widow's taro and I would get two sins if I cut her belt. Therefore, without cutting her belt, I chewed my hand since I realized my fault. Thus, I am free." After that, the porcupine elder gathered all the other porcupines and said, "Look! This porcupine lost its hand. And it feels bad for the widow. It ate her taro since it was starving. However, it broke its own hand and made itself free from the trap without cutting the widow's belt. This is amazing. I haven't seen this kind of porcupine before. That's why I want to reward this porcupine. Don't you wish to award it?" All the other porcupines replied, "Yes, we do." The elder said, "Then, how should we reward it?" They decided to look after the porcupine for the rest of its life and also let it stay relaxed in the burrow by babysitting its grandchildren. Starting from that day, the porcupine didn't have to go out. It just stayed inside happily and was taken after by the other porcupine. This is the end of the story. The message from this story is that there is a scar on the porcupines' hand till today and it is because the porcupine's hand was tied up with the widow's belt. In order not to commit more sins and to save a life, we have to suffer. Only then we would find our ways to survive. That's the message of this story.
Transcription (Lu Awng)
Ya ngai hkai dan na maumwi gabaw gaw gaida langai hte dumsi a lam tsun dan na re. Moi shawng de kahtawng langai mi kaw e gaida langai mi nga ai da. Gaida ngu ai gaw matsan mayan re hpe gaida ngu ga. Dai gaida jan gaw da mare masha ni hte rau rau yi mung n lu hkyen n jin mat sai. Kashu mung nlu, shi hkrai sha nga ai, matsan mayan re gaida jan langai nga ai. Mare ting yi hkyen ai yi wa de shi gaw yi hkyen n jin ngut ai majaw masha ni yi sa lam mare de kade n tsan ai shara kaw nai kadung yi galaw ai da. Nai kadung yi kaw gaw kaja wa shi mung e atsawm sha galaw atsawm sha hkai tawn da di na, tu kaba wa nai kadung ni mung ga kata de gai rawng nga sai da. Aten ladu du ai hte nai kadung dai ni hpe shi garai n gawt sha yang dumsi gaw shana sa galu sha sha re ai da. Dai majaw gaida dinggai dai gaw grai pawt mayu myit grai yawn di myit rawng ai hte e dumsi gaw nai gaida hpe she asha ya ai gaw ndai gaw ngai lu hkra hkam la na re ngu myit ai da. Retim shi gaw sumri mung n chye ri, rai na mau nga ai ten, dumsi gaw shana shagu wa sha ya re na shi na nai kadung yi ni ma yen wa sai ten hta, um ngai nye a shingkyet raw na hkam na re ndai dumsi hpe gaw ngu na kaja wa shi shingkyit raw na hkam ai da. Shi shingkyit gaw shani shagu n shang kaw sha kyit da ai re majaw kagri mung grai htat mat sai. Kagri htat ai hta n ga na gaw shakrep ngu mung kap ai da. Shakrep wa hkrung kanu re nga, dai kaw di da kanu da rawng taw kap taw nga ai da. Dai hpe shi gaw kaja wa dumsi lai wa lai sa rai dumsi lam kaw hkam tawn da ai da. Hkam tawn da ai shaloi gaw ya ndai kaw dumsi kaja lu u ga lo, karai e sagya e ndai kaw dumsi dau na dau ya rit lo ngu na matan da ai da. Matan da re yang kaja wa shana gaw dumsi gaw nai kadung sa la na matu sa wa ai shaloi dai gaida jan a shingkyit mahkam kaw lu mat dau mat, shi lata langai mi gyit lu mat ai da. Re jang gaw dumsi dai gaw kade lak timmung gaida jan a shingkyit hpe raw na hku n lu galaw ai da. Dai dumsi mung grai myit malai wa ai i. E gaida jan a nai kadung sha kau ya ai majaw ndai zawn re hkam ai katut hkrum sai re ngai grai shut sai. Retim ndai kaw na ngai lawt ra ai ngu myit lu na shi gaw lawt na tam ai da. E ndai shingkyit hpe gawa di kau na ngu jang gaida jan hpe bai myit dum ai da i. E nai kadung mung sha kau ya, ya ndai shi kyit ai shingkyit mung ngai bai gawa di kau ya re jang gaw ngai mara 2 lu na re. Dai majaw shingkyit gaw n gawa di ai sha ndai kaw na lawt gaw lawt ra sai, hpa mi raitim nye asak lawt na matu nye lata gawa di gawa di kau sa na re ngu na dai hku tawn kau ai da. Kaja wa sha shi gaw gaida jan a shingkyit hpe gaw n gawa di kau ya ai sha shi a mahkam kaw lu ai lata hpe gawa di kau ai da. Gawa machyi la ai hte sai pru wa ai hte si na zawn zawn kalang lang gaw e n mai na re nye lata hten mat na re n gawa sa na re. E gaida jan a mahkam kaw lu mat jang gaw ngai si na re nmai na re lawt hkra gaw shakut ra ai. Gaida jan a shingkyit she di na re, e raitim gaida jan a mara 2 gaw nlu ga shi lata bai gawa di na matu dawdan wa gawa tik tik maret tik tik hpang jahtum gaw n ra sha nga sai da. Kinra sha ngam ai shaloi myi di chyip re wa grau ngang ai wa hte gawa abrep di kau na gaida jan a shingkyit tawn kau da na hprawng mat wa ai da. Hprawng mat na dumsi ni a yup ra shara ngu ai dumsi lungpu de shang mat wa ai. Shaloi gaw dumsi manaw manang ni gaw shi hpe grai hkap na nang gara hku byin mat ai, sai hkrai hkrai rai nga le, lata mung daw mat sai le, sa ngu jang she shi dumsi salang hpe atsawm sha tsun dan ai da. E madu e ngai gaida jan a nai kadung lagu sha ai shaloi gaida jan a mahkam kaw lu mat ai. Dai mahkam kaw gaida jan a shingkyit hte hkam da ai re. Dai gaida jan a shingkyit hpe n di kau ai sha nye lata di kau na hprawng wa ai ngu tsun ai da. Shaloi gaw shi agyi wa salang gaw nang gaida jan a shingkyit hpa rai n gawa di kau ai. Na lata hpa rai gawa di kau ai, na lata n tu mat sai gaw ngu tsun jang she re law madu e ngai gaida jan a nai kadung mung sha kau ya, shingkyit mung gawa di kau re jang ngai mara 2 lu na re ngu na ngai shut ai lam hpe dum n htawm e gaida jan a shingkyit hpe ngai n gawa di ai sha nye lata hpe gawa di kau nngai re na lawt wa re ai ngu tsun ai da. Shaloi gaw dumsi agyi wa gaw dumsi masha kaga hpe yawng hpe shaga la na yu yu mu ndai wa gaw shi lata hpe asum hkam kau sai. Gaida jan hpe shi matsan dum ai. Nai kadung sha ai gaw shi kawsi ai majaw sha ai she re. Retim gaida dinggai na n gawa di kau ai sha shi lata gawa di kau n htawm shi a asak hpe lawt pru wa ai ndai gaw grai mau hpa re. Shawng de anhte dumsi amyu ni hta ning re dumsi n mu n na ga nngai. Dai majaw ndai wa hpe ngai gaw shagrau sha-a mayu ai. Nanhte n shagrau sha mayu ai i ngu dai mare masha ngu na ni gaw yawng shagrau sha-a mayu ai nga na garu ai majaw, kaning di shagrau na ta shi hpe anhte yawng jawm bau ga. Shi gaw nang kaw ma ni kashu ni kasha ni rem na nga nga u ga ngu na dawdan na dai shani kaw na dai dumsi gaw gara de n pru n hkawm ai manang ni la jaw ai sha na nga pyaw mat ai nga maumwi gaw dai re sai. Re yang e ndai majun ngu na gaw dumsi ni gaw ya lata kaw e ke ke re na ya du hkra hkang ai. Dai gaw gaida jan a shingkyit ke hkang re ai nga trsun ma ai. Tinang a mara n kaba na matu lawt na matu tinang a asak hpe lawt lam gaw tinang jang machyi hkam jang she tinang asak lawt lam lu ai ngu ai maumwi majun re law. |
