رحلة الفيل, edited by Sameer Abd Albaaqa, is one of a series of 32 children's stories by the Arab company حار جلمعارف which if my Google Translate has got it right means 'Hot Knowledge'... I picked up this copy for the equivalent of ten pence well over four months ago and finally, in a fit of exam procrastination, got round to translating it.
As the meaning of particular turns of phrase emerged I found myself laughing aloud a number of times: particularly at the single incidence of Arab sarcasm that had me baffled for a good ten minutes, and some of the great illustrations of the 'trolley monster that doesn't have on him a hose'. The ending is something of an anticlimax but the story is really sweet - if time allows, and nobody sues me, hopefully a few more translations will find their way up here.
Just to clarify: THIS IS NOT MY OWN WORK. I BLOODY WISH.
في كل مساء كانت العسفورة تعود الى عسها الذي بنته في سقف بيت الفيل
Every evening the sparrow returned to her nest, that she had built in part of the elephant's home.
و عندما كان الحارس يذهب للنوم تنزل الى صديقها الفيل الصغير و تحكى له عن رحلاتها الى المدينة الكبيرة التي حول الحديقة
When the guard went ot sleep, she would go down to her friend, the little elephant, and tell him about her journeys to the big city around the park.
و في كل ليلة كان الفيل يحلم بالمدينة و يحلم بانه يصارع و يقاتل الحيونات الضخمة التي تسير في شوارءهاو و التي وصفتها له العصفورةؤ قالت عنها:
And every night the elephant dreamed about the town, and dreamed that he was struggling and fighting the many animals that went in its streets that the sparrow had told him about. He told her:
انها ضجمة جدا و له ارجل مستديرة و تبلع النهس طول الوقف ثم تنزلهم و هي تصيح و تزمجر بيب بيب و اواة اواة و ليس لها خراطيم مع انها اكبر من اكبر الافيل
"It's huge, and it has round legs, and it swallows the people all the time, then spits them out. And it shouts "beep beep" and "awaa awaa" and doesn't have a trunk. It's bigger than the biggest of the elephants.
و ذات صباح استيقط الفيل الصغير و في راسه فكرة خطيرة
One morning, the little elephant woke up, and in his head was a dangerous idea...
و ظل طول اليوم ينتظر صديقته ليجبرها بفكرته و كان الاطفل يعجبون لحالة صديقهم الذي رفض ان يتناول شيابا من طعلمهم
And he remained waiting for his friend throughout the day, and the children wondered about the problem with their friend the elephant, who refused to eat any of their food.
و امتنع عن الحديث معهم كما كان يفعل في الايام العادية لقد كان الغيل يفكر و قال طفل صغير: هذا الفيل يفكر في امر خطير
He refrained from speaking with them as he did on normal days, and a small child said, "This elephant is thinking in a dangerous way..."
و في اعادا العصفورة لتحكي للفيل مثل كل مساء ولكن الفيل لم يتركها تحكى هذة المرة و اخد هو يتكلم و يشرح لها سره الخطير
و غي البداية رفضت العصفورة قبول الفكرة و لكن الفيل الصغير كاد يبكى فوافقته و اخدت تفكر في خطه
In the evening, the sparrow returned to talk to the elephant like every night, but the elephant didn't come down to speak this time, but to explain to her his dangerous secret.
At first the sparrow refused to accept the idea, but the little elephant cried, so she agreed, and began to think about the plan.
و بعد قليل خرج الاثنان من البيت دون ان يشعر بهما احد و كانت العصفورة تطير امامه لتكشف الطريق ثم تعود لتقودة في طرقات الحديقة
Shortly after, the pair left home, feeling that neither was alone. The sparrow flew in front to oversee the road, then took the lead down the garden path, free of guards.
و عند سور الحديقة كان الامر طبيعيا جدا و فعلت العصفورة المستحيل تساعد الفيل على القفز فوق السور والخروج الى الشارع
At the garden wall, a very natural thing occurred: the sparrow did the impossible and helped the elephant jump over the wall to get out into the street.
و قبل ان تنطق العصفورة بكلمه كان الفيل قد اندفع يخرى عاضبا نحو عربة (الترولي ) القادمة من بعيد
Before the sparrow had begun to speak, the elephant had rushed in anger towards the far-away cars.
و صاح الفيل ها ها هاذا واحد من تلك الوحوش الجبارا التي تحدثيننى عنني و سوف ترين يا صديقتي كيف انها ستهرب خائفه مني
The elephant cried, "Th-th-this is one of those powerful monsters you told me about! You will see, my friend, how they flee in fear from me!"
و بالفعل حاولت عربة )الترولي( ان تهرب لكيل تصطدم به ولكن الفيل الصغير اصر على مهاجمتهم مرة بعد مرة لكى يثبت العصفورة ان الافيللا تحشى هذة الحوانات الكبيرة التي لا خراطيم لها
Indeed, the car tried to evade causing a collision. But the elephant insisted on attacking time after time, so as to prove to the sparrow that elephants do not fear this big animal that didn't have a trunk.
في النهاية كانت صدمة عنيفه اضطرت العربة بعدها الى التوقف و ظهرت نتيجة الصدمة بلونة كبيرة مولمة فوق جنهة الفيل
In the end came a violent shock - the vehicle forced its way past him without stopping, and a surprising result appeared: a painful bump on the elephant's head.
و صاح الناس و ارتفعت اصوات العربات الكثيرة التي وقفت خلف المعطل
And the people screamed, and the voices of the many cars that stood behind the frozen vehicle rose...
بيب بيب اواء توت عوم عووم فظن الفيل ان ذلك القطيع من الحيوانات الحديدية يستعد للهجوم عليه و الانتقام منه فاستدار و انطلق هاربا بسرعة ناجية شاطي النيل
"Beep-beep..." "Awaa... awaa" "Toot-toot..."
The elephant thought that the herd of iron animals was preparing to attack him in revenge, so he turned, and quickly dashed to escape to the Low Nile...
و انقلبت الدنيا و دقت اجراس التيليفونات بقوة مراكز البوليسو في بيت المديرالحديقة و اجتمع و انطلقوم صفوفا صفوفا يبحثون عن الفيل الهارب الذي يهاجم العربات المسالمة في شوارع المدينة
The world overturned. The guards' telephones sounded in police stations, and in the park keeper's home. The guards got together and set out in rows upon rows to look for the fugitive elephant who had attacked the peaceful vehicles in the streets of town.
و سمع صديقنا الطفل بالجبر فهز راسه و قال لقد كنت اعرف ان هذا الفيل الصغير يفكر في شيء خطير
Our friend, the small child, heard the news. He shook his head and said, "I knew that little elephant was thinking about something dangerous..."
و اخيرا وجدوا الفيل الصغير مختفيا تحت الكوبري و صديقته العصفورة تحاول ان تثرح له و تمسح دموعة
Finally they found the little elephant hiding under a bridge, and his friend the sparrow tried to comfort him, and dried his tears.
و عادالى الحديقة ليستمع مساء الى صديقته و هي تحكى له حكاياتها عن المدينة و وحوشها المحولة
They returned to the garden every night after that, so the elephant could listen to his friend tell her tales of the city, and its unnamed creatures.
و ظلت البالونة الكبير المولمة فوق جنهة الفيل الصغير و كانت رحلته الاولى و الاخيرة في ادغال المدينة الكبيرة
And the big painful bump on the elephant's head went away.
And it was his first and last journey in the jungles of the big city.
It's not quite Rudyard Kipling, but it ended better than I thought it might! Good to see that the elephant made it home safely with only a bump on the head... I've often thought that children's stories aren't a bad place to start with learning a new language, although I've yet to put this into serious practice.
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