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27th translation contest: "Stories about nature" » English to Swahili » Entry by Muriithi Mukami


Source text in English

Translation by Muriithi Mukami (#32912)

We live in one of the tiny apartments in a multi-storeyed building complex that provides shelter to a number of middle-class families. But, the members of the family Felis Domestica who have taken a fancy to our complex might very well outnumber the members of Homo Sapiens. Because these quadrupeds with retractable claws, who can boast of their country cousins- Lions, Tigers, Lynxes, and Ocelots fear no one in our vicinity. The increasing feline population possessing nine lives up their claws bothers everyone but provides comic relief to many.

These cats in our avenue have their own strict demarcations about territory. The ground floor, first and second-floor mousers keep to their floors except for hungry forays into the kitchens across the lines of control. The terrace is exclusively reserved for the young ones and occasionally used by the aristocrats from the erstwhile Siam for body lickings and sunbaths. Some of the tomcats find cozy corners for a purring sleep in places where there isn’t room to swing a cat in, such as the watchman’s cabin, where they might have found the poor fellow catnapping. God has gifted these cats with two voice boxes one for purring and another for meowing and a few of the feline sopranos in our locality keep all the residents awake with their nocturnal orchestras on special occasions.

Some of the residents who wish to be clean as a cat in pattens get irritated when these grey cats mess up their things. The hawks among the residents strongly feel that these cats should be driven out with a cat o’nine tails. But the doves are undecided waiting to see which way the cat jumps. Well, we don’t know who will be called to bell the cat!
Tunaishi katika moja ya vyumba vidogo kwenye jengo lenye ghorofa nyingi ambalo hutoa makazi kwa familia kadhaa za kiwango cha kati. Lakini, washiriki wa familia ya Felis Domestica ambao wamechukua dhana kwenye jumba letu wanaweza kuzidi sana wanachama wenye busara. Kwa sababu hizi nne zilizo na kucha za kurudisha, ni nani anayeweza kujivunia binamu zao wa nchi- Simba, Chui, Linksi, na Bahari hawaogopi mtu yeyote katika ukaribu wetu. Idadi ya wanyama wa kike wanaoongezeka walio na maisha tisa juu ya kucha zao husumbua kila mtu lakini hutoa raha ya vichekesho kwa wengi.

Paka hizi katika njia yetu zina mipaka yao mikali kuhusu eneo. Ghorofa ya chini, ya kwanza, na ghorofa ya pili vipanya huweka kwenye sakafu zao isipokuwa mahali pa njaa kwenye jikoni kwenye mistari ya udhibiti. Mtaro huo umetengwa kwa ajili ya vijana na mara kwa mara hutumiwa na watawala wakuu kutoka zamani Siam kwa kulamba miili na kuoga jua. Baadhi ya nyanya hupata pembe zenye starehe za kulala usingizi mahali ambapo hakuna nafasi ya kugeuza paka, kama kibanda cha mlinzi, ambapo wangeweza kumpata mnyang'anyi mwenzao. Mungu amezawadi paka hawa sanduku mbili za sauti moja ya kusafishia na nyingine kwa ajili ya kuchochea na chache za nguruwe kike katika eneo letu huwaweka wakaazi wote macho na okestra zao za usiku wakati wa hafla maalum.

Baadhi ya wakaazi ambao wanataka kuwa wasafi kama paka katika mfumo hukasirika wakati paka hizi za kijivu zinaharibu vitu vyao. Mwewe kati ya wakaazi wanahisi sana kwamba paka hizi zinapaswa kufukuzwa na mkia wa paka. Lakini njiwa hazijaamua, wasubiri kuona ni wapi paka inaruka. Vizuri, hatujui ni nani atakayeitwa kupigia paka kengele!


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