The Fisherman and the Princess

kha yala babu myatele. kha yemma sota vayule. a marela katu adiyya khina gura viyyet. k-amset azet palkhet. a yala berreshkhele pelkhanele hal berashe. kha dukta matrusena bate, len bedda, khachcha shulane atkha. mara yemmi ana a shula le-amsen odenne. bayyen ka-gani palkhen. mara mu bayyet odet? mara bayyen azen nuyne mayyen, nuyne zabnen. nuyne doken. kedamta azen nuyne doken, mayyen zabnennun.

A boy—his father dies. He has an old mother. She says to him ‘Now you have grown up. You can go and work.’ The lad goes and works until evening, in a place where they build houses, I don’t know, jobs like that. He says ‘Mother, I cannot do this job. I want to work for myself.’ She says ‘What do you want to do?’ He says ‘I want to go and bring fish, sell fish. (I want) to catch fish. In the morning (I want) to go to catch fish and bring them back and sell them.’

a berreshkhele nuyne bedvakele. mayele gu-mdita zabunele, lakhkha tamma shule atkha. nikha nikha kharta berreshkhele kha-dukta bekhzayele, khachcha bekhdarele, bekhzayele kha amarat raba gurta ramta shule. bakurele aha muila lakhkha. mara aha betet malkele. a ganu takhmunele, mara dakhila ana lablen lakhkha gu bet-malka anne zabnennun? bush kha mendi zoda b-yavvi kati. o yuma khina berreshkhele nuyne shapire gure bedvakele mayele. tama bedrayele kale kat ana, e-dana mendi zabniva gu-alula gari kale dariva, akhnan nuyne zabunekh.

He goes and catches fish. He brings them to the town and sells them, and the like. Gradually, later, he goes to a place and sees, he wanders around a little, he sees a building that is very big and high, and so forth. He asks ‘What is this here?’ They say ‘This is the house of the king.’ He thinks to himself and says ‘How about I take them here into the house of the king and sell them? They will give me something more (for them).’ The next day he goes and catches beautiful big fish and brings them. There he cries ‘I’—at that time when people sold something in the street they had to cry out—‘We are selling fish.’

berreshkhele kam do-tarra. beklayele marele kat ana nuyne etli ka-zabuna. khatena. taza men-miyya dviken. raba shapirena, basimena, atkha. tarra ptakhula kha-palakhta, karavash. ptakhela, varela gavay, mara kha yala nuyne zabunele. brat-malka mara krile ate gavay melun. nuyne bekhzayela. bekhzayela a yala raba shapirele. mara kut-yum ka-diyyan nuyne mayye. kut-yum nuyne labulele ka-danne.

He goes to the door. He stands and says ‘I have fish for sale. They are fresh. I have just caught them from the water. They are very nice and tasty,’ and so forth. A worker, a servant, opens the door. She opens and goes inside, saying ‘A lad is selling fish.’ The daughter of the king says ‘Invite him to come inside and bring them.’ She sees the fish. She sees that he is a very handsome lad. She says ‘Let him bring us fish every day.’ He brings fish to them every day.

a-brata marela ka-akhuno tani ka-babi ana a yala maghghubun. babi balket yavvelli ka-daha. aha marele ka-babu babi khati ka-da yala byayela kat-nuyne zabunele. khob mara khazzakh mujjur yalele. bekrayuna kha yuma beta. hamzumena mennu mu vadet? shulukh muile? aha mara a nuyne ki-doken, ki-lablen zabnennun.

The girl says to her brother ‘Tell my father that I love this lad. Perhaps my father will give me to him.’ He says to his father ‘Father, my sister loves the lad who sells fish.’ ‘Well,’ he says ‘Let’s see what kind of boy he is.’ They invite him home one day. They speak with him ‘What do you do? What is your work?’ He says ‘Well, I catch fish and take them to sell them.’

mara akhnan b-yavvakh zuyze katukh aten se kha dekkana matti. ita duk palakhe azi nuyne doki, mayyi gu-dekkana, nashe ati men-tama zonilun. khina la khush gu-alulane zabennun anne. mara avitun basime ka-mu la. aha raba tyantet menta vadele. avva yala beddayele ina ayya brata katu byayela. a raba berreshkha bitayele shule.

He says ‘We shall give you money. Go and open a shop. Then employ workers to go to catch fish, then bring them to the shop, so that people will buy them from there. Do not go any more to sell them in the streets.’ He says ‘Many thanks. Why not?’ He expresses his great gratitude. The lad knows that the girl loves him. He comes and goes a lot, and so forth.

malka yavele katu zuyze. e brata zuyze yavela katu mara khush ka-ganukh kha-beta matres gura atkha makh da-betet babi. berreshkhele matrusele kha beta shule. yemmuda kha-bakhta sotela. avunda mattuyole gavu shule. a-yala nashe kulle mara a-yala mut kha-akhcha muntiyyele shule atkha. dekkananeda videle arpa khamsha dekkanane kulle tama muttele. ham nuyne zabunele, ham busra zabunele, ham nikha nikha a beznisu jens bedvakela. bar hada a bratada hamzumela mennu, hamzumena, mara ana byayen ka-diyyakh. ganu marele. anne byayena uydale. malka bratu yavole ka-daha. begvarena, khluyla, maraka m-akhkha al-tamma, labulole gu-do beta, betu.

The king gives him money. The girl gives him money and says ‘Go and build yourself a house, big like this, like the house of my father.’ He goes and builds a house, and so forth. His mother is an old woman. He puts her in it, and so forth. Everybody says how much the lad has been successful, and so forth. He has opened shops, four or five shops, and has established them all there. He sells fish and he also sells meat. Gradually his business takes hold well. Afterwards, the girl speaks with him, they speak. He says ‘I love you.’ He says it himself. They love each other. The king gives his daughter to him. They get married, a wedding, a big occasion, from here to there. He takes her into the house, his house.

hala hech-mendi la va, beshvarele b-risho kat nashekla. ayyada mara katu aha lela tabaket nuyne al-rishukh iket … ku-mendit bayyet odet. aha bratet kha PsultanPila. mu maret aten? ana gviren ka-diyyakh. at bakhtet diyyivat. hi amma lela atkha aten kemet atkha odet. marele khob bas ana mennakh le doken. aten brat-malket, ana zabnanet nuyne. ba ana mennakh le doken khina. aha berreshkhele.

Before anything else, he jumps on her to kiss her. But she says to him ‘This is not a plate of fish on your head where … you can do whatever you like. This is the daughter of a ruler.’ ‘What are you saying? I am married to you. You are my wife.’ ‘Yes, but it is not proper for you to behave like this.’ He says ‘Fine, but I shall not stick with you. You are the daughter of a king, but I am a seller of fish. I shall not stick with you any longer.’ He goes away.

berreshkhele. platele men-beta berreshkhele. a brata pyashela b-nosho. bitayela ka-babo mara kat atkha vila. babo marele aten gnayakh vitela. ka-mu atkha mertet? mara ina ana pt-azan machkhanne. a brata berreshkhela bekhdarela gu-da mdita kat-aha machkhale, lela machukhu. ina aha lele hamzume khina. ku-mendit mennu bakurena lele hamzume. mara ana lalen. aha betyavela gu-gami berreshkhela b-gami ora al-da gibet atra.

He goes away. He leaves the house and goes away. The girl remains by herself. She comes to her father and says that such-and-such has happened. Her father says ‘You were at fault. Why did you say this?’ She says ‘I shall go and find him.’ The girl goes and looks around the town to find him, but she does not find him. But he does not talk any longer. Whatever they ask him he does not speak. He says ‘I am mute.’She sits in a boat; she goes in a boat to cross to the other side of the land.

aha berreshkhela, kha dukta beslayela kat oya kha Ehotel. berreshkhela gu do-Ehotel kat kha-ramsha akhla. mayena nuyna kato. ayen nuyna bikhalela mara raba basemta nuynela. mara anne kha-yala lakhkha ki-daveklun bashellun. ina a-yala lalele. aha bekhzayela ka-daha. mara aha lele lala.

She goes and alights at a place where there is a hotel. She goes to the hotel in order to eat dinner. They bring her a fish. She eats the fish and says ‘It is a very tasty fish.’ They say ‘A lad here catches them and cooks them. But this lad is mute.’ She sees him and says ‘He is not mute.’

ani marena la aha anne kma shenne lakhkha pelkhanele, a tre tla shenne pelkhanele lakhkha, a-yala lalele. mara la lele lala. mara marj dokakh mennakh al-kha-akhcha dave. aha lalele. mara katu hamzem! marj dvikena al-kha-akhcha dave. avva mara la ana lalen, le hamzemmen. kharta dave prakena. mara al gamiyyi ana … b-gami titela, al-de-gamiyyi ana marj bedvaken kat a-yala lala lele.

They say ‘No, he has been working for several years, he has been working here for two or three years, the lad is mute.’ She says ‘No, he is not mute.’ They say ‘We shall make a bet with you on such-and-such an amount of gold coins. He is mute.’ She says to him ‘Speak! They have made a bet on such-and-such an amount of gold coins.’ He says ‘No, I am mute, I shall not speak.’ Then the gold coins run out. She says ‘On my boat—she has come by boat—on my boat I bet that this lad is not mute.’

medre mara katu hamzem! gami p-shaklila mara la ana lalen, la-amsen hamzemmen. kharta mara ana al-rishi kavvulen en a la humzemle rishet-diyyi prumule. anneda bekrayena kha mendi lena beddaya a bratet malkela. byayena … kha mir-kazzab bitayele kat rishet-daha paremle. mara rishi byayena parmile. b-hamzemmet yan la? kala lele vada. avva beshkalele o-sepa p-idu mara aha lele … mendi … siniyyet nuyne lela aha. aha rishet brat-malkele. la-amset parmette. e-dan hamzumele khina aha kulle an-mendyanet mukremmeva yavena katu mattuyula gu-gami mayula bitayena khina.

She says again to him ‘Speak! They will take the boat.’ He says ‘No, I am mute, I cannot speak.’ Then she says ‘I promise on my head, if he does not talk, cut off my head.’ They call a thing … They do not know that she is the daughter of the king. They want … an executioner comes to cut off her head. She says ‘They want to cut off my head. Will you speak or not?’ He does not make a sound. (But then) he takes the sword (of the executioner) in his hand and says ‘This is not … she is not a tray of fish. This is the head of the daughter of the king. You cannot cut it off.’ When he speaks again, they give him all the things he had lost. She puts him in the boat and brings him back, and they come back.

e-dana marele ana dokanet nuyneven. aten brat-kha-malkevat. ayya k-amsakh akhnan? e-dana makhleta betlabela mennu mara la khina atenda khetnet malkevet. khina berreshkhena, sharuyena b-khayyute.

Then he says ‘I am a fisherman. You are the daughter of a king. Can we (make this work)?’ Then she asks for forgiveness from him and says ‘No more, you are also the son-in-law of the king.’ So they go off and begin their life (together).