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27th translation contest: "Stories about nature" » English to Swahili » Entry by Rabiya Abubakar


Source text in English

Translation by Rabiya Abubakar (#33335)

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 kwenye chumba kidogo katika jengo kubwa lenye ghorofa nyingi linalotoa makazi kwa familia kadhaa zinazoishi maisha ya kiwango wastani. Lakini, wanafamilia wa Felis Domestica ambao wamelipenda jengo letu hata hivyo wanaweza kukizidi kizazi cha watu wa awali cha wa jamii ya sokwe yaani ‘Homo Sapiens’. Kwa sababu wanyama hawa wenye miguu minne na walio na kucha za kufumbatika, na wanaojiringia kuwa na mabinamu wao nchini, wakiwa ni pamoja - Simba, Chui milia, Simba-mangu na Pakamwitu. Kwa kawaida, wanyama hawa hawaogopi chochote katika mazingira yao. Idadi ya wanyama wa jamii ya paka huwa na maisha marefu na hutia hofu sana na hata hivyo hutoa amani kwa wengi.

Paka hawa kwenye mtaa wetu wana alama zao za kipekee za kuweka mipaka ya maeneo. Panya wa ghorofa ya chini, ghorofa ya kwanza na ya pili hubakia kwenye ghorofa zao isipokuwa pale wanapoenda kusaka chakula huko jikoni kwenye eneo la kiusimamizi. Mtaro huo umetengwa maalum kwa ajili ya vijana na mara kwa mara hutumiwa na watawala wakuu, kutoka zamani Siam kwa kulamba miili na kuotajua. Baadhi ya paka wa kufugwa hupenda kujiburudisha kwenye vipembe vyenye kupendeza ili kukoroma na kupata usingizi mwanana na tena wakati mwingi huwa ni katika sehemu ambazo hakuna hata nafasi ya paka hao kubembea, kama vile kwenye dungu la askari gongo, mahali ambapo wangeweza kumgutusha askari huyo anapopata lepe lake la usingizi. Mungu amewabariki paka hawa na aina mbili za visanduku vya sauti, moja ikiwa ni ya kukoroma na nyingine ya mlio wa paka wa sauti nyororo. Katika eneo la makazi yetu huwafanya wenyeji wote kuwa macho na miziki ya usiku inayotumia vinanda wakati wa hafla maalum.

Baadhi ya wakazi ambao wanataka kuwa wasafi kama paka katika mtalawanda hukasirika wakati paka hao wa kijivu wanapoharibu vitu vyao. Vipanga walio miongoni mwa wakazi wanahisi kwamba paka hawa wanapaswa kufukuzwa kwa kutumia mgwisho wenye mafundo tisa. Lakini njiwa hawajaamua huku wakisubiri kuona ni wapi paka watakaporukia. Ama kwa kweli, hatujui ni nani atakayemvika paka kengele!


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