The Cow and The Poor Girl

e taverta zarde et-kha brata kasebva. ita etvala ayen yemma uga. har verteva bar de taverta zarde verteva baro. gano mumritova. e yemma uga ka-de goro merteva a bayyet le-bayyet a taverta zarde prumla, ana basman. mu avedva? hi busra t-akhlan, basmana. baram leva byaya avva nasha paremvala ayya taverta. ku jur t-iva primale. primale. kharta e taverta zarde tuniteva ka-de kechche yan en parmali en garmo jammatte rappatte gu-kha-chale tashyatte ani. ka-diyyakh lazem t-avini.

The yellow cow belonged to a poor girl. Now, she had a stepmother. She was going after that yellow cow, went after it. She (the stepmother) pretended to be ill. The stepmother said to her husband ‘Whether you want to or not, slaughter this yellow cow so that I will be cured.’ What could he do? ‘Yes, I shall eat the flesh and shall be cured.’ But that man did not want to slaughter the cow. One way or another, however, he slaughtered it. He slaughtered it. Now, the yellow cow had said to the girl that if she slaughters me, you should gather the bones and put them in a pit, hide them. You will need them (one day).

hida khina e taverta primale khilale. e kechche jummela en garme ruppela gu-chale. kharta tila dana mu jura, kha malka brun-malka tavvuyeva baret kalu kalu yan gaverva brata. ita khderre khderre ita tile ka-da brata khzile redyale. redyale, e bakhta khitada yemmo uga etvala tre bnate khine ayenda tre kha khine. hi da bart tile kep vedle supra ptekhle.

Well then, they slaughtered the cow and ate it. The girl gathered the bones and threw them in a pit. Later, a time came, one way or another, in which a king, the son of a king, was searching for a bride, a bride, in order to marry a girl. Now, he searched and searched, then he came, saw this girl and he liked her. He liked her, but the other woman, her stepmother, had two other daughters, herself and two others. Now, after he came, they made merry, they held a feast.

iket anne gurane gurane alma kheshle tama, khluyla, ita khluyla t-i kheshle, e yemma uga, shkella anne khette hamda rezza, hamda mu atkha deryela al-arra, buzbekkela deryela kam de brito uga. merra halt atyan anne kul dana dana jammatte b-noshe, avva b-noshu, avva b-noshu. la hadakh khina en tili ki-o yumakh b-yavvenne. ayenda hayvan tevla, vila bekhya, berra berro bekhya. ana mujjurra jammanne? anne mu odana?

Where the nobles, the noble people went, the wedding, now when they went to the wedding, the stepmother took grains of wheat and rice and I don’t know what, and threw them on the ground, she scattered them, threw them before her stepdaughter. She said ‘Before I come back, you must pick up each one of these by itself, this one by itself, that one by itself. If (you have not done) thus when I come back, I shall indeed give you hell.’ She, the poor creature, sat down and started crying, wailing and crying. ‘How shall I gather them? What can I do about these?’

kharta ekbalo ukhcha t-iva rakhmanta ukhcha t-iva jis e kechche tila henne yonay yonay tile kul jmile merre la-zdi. la-zdi. merre ati silakh lush sakel bakel silakh gu … al khalta shteta gu-shara silakh. akhnan anne b-jammakhle. ita hi Rkak razR atkha vedla, tkherra, tkherra e taverta zarde t-i merra en garmo rappile tama. hi? kheshla t-i-ptikhela ani, gushekla tile pltetle kha suysa smuka paytun tila, sodanta paytun sukelta bukelta tila. tevla al-de paytun, kheshla.

Then came her good fortune, so caring was she, so good was that girl, that … came, doves came, they all gathered and said ‘Do not fear, do not fear.’ They said ‘You go and dress, make yourself beautiful and go to the feasting, go to the party. We shall gather these.’ So, she did exactly that. She remembered, she remembered that the yellow cow said they should throw its bones there, yes? She went and when she opened them up, she saw that a red horse came out, a carriage came, a fine carriage which had been made beautiful came. She sat in the carriage and went off.

kheshla. adiyya e-yemma uga t-i khzila ka-dekha brito hamda anne khatvato uga merre aha e hennela, briteni. merra la ayen m-ika atkha jullo? m-ika jul-let dayen? mara aha vela tevtela beta ayen khetto anjagh jammale. hi spay. kheshla verra.

She went off. Now, when the stepmother saw that stepdaughter of hers, and also her stepsisters (saw her), they said ‘This is …, our daughter.’ She said ‘No, where (could) she (get) such clothes from? Where (could) her clothes (have come) from?’ She says ‘She is sitting at home. She could hardly manage to gather up the wheat.’ Oh, fine. She went in.

kulle khdirele, khdirele o brun-malka kes-hech nasha la rkedle, kheshle rkedle kes-de brata, kes-de kaseb kheshle. kes-dayen kheshle rkedle. RiR ka-dayen rdile. kha-ka. a-spar d-tre-ka al-do yumet d-tre-ka a-spar tile khazze kuma suysa tile medre gu-paytun.

The son of the king went around everybody. He did not dance with anybody, but he went and danced with that girl, he went to that poor girl. He went and danced with her. He liked her. (This was) once. The second time, on the day of the second time, on that occasion he came and sees that a black horse has come, again together with a carriage.

kharta tile yumet tlada tile kha suysa khvara paytun khvarta sodanta tila. shkelle trile kheshle. kheshla medre ayen e kechche e kaseb. har ani e yemmo uga en khatvato har mara a ayenla? mara la. ayenla? la. kharta RuzheR bayyiva yan kemiva aziva a brata rekla. pletla, rekla, kheshla.

Then the third day came and a white horse came, a fine white carriage came. It (the horse) took (her) and rode off. That girl, that poor girl. Her stepmother and her sisters kept saying ‘Is this her?’ She says ‘No.’ ‘Is this her?’ ‘No.’ Then they already wanted to get up and go. The girl fled. She went out, fled, went away.

hi pletla mudevla pletla. ukhcha t-iva malyuze malyuze, a savelto shlekhla, pella al-pallakane al-pallakane khina. ayen trila kheshla. o brun-malka t-i pelle baro, pletle baro tile, e savelta shkilale. e savelta shkilale, kheshle rkhetle, rkhetle baro. la muchkhale khina. ayen prekhla kheshla, prekla. hi kharta kharta dana tila, kul denye kul mavay khdirel o brun-malka, merre a savelta ka-kut oya ana ayen gorenna. khina roba mavay khderre. roba mdiyyay khderre. ka-hech nasha la vila.

Yes, she went out. She managed to leave. She was in such a great hurry, that her shoe came off and fell on the stairs, on the stairs. She drove off. When the son of the king went after her, went out after her, he came and took the shoe. He took the shoe, went off and ran after her. But he did not find her. She flew away and disappeared. Yes. Then some time later, the son of the king searched the whole world, all the villages, and he said ‘I shall marry whoever this shoe fits.’ He went around many villages. He went around many towns. It fitted nobody.

b-khartet kharta khartet kharta kheshle kes-de kaseb. tama kheshle en tre khatvay uga etvala ayen. anida har t-i-khela vado b-khela yan loshavala e savelta, la vila. ka-de khita la vila. kharta en shvave merre kela e kechche? kela e khatokhun uga? memunla. khina ayen hayvan verteva gu-kha chole.

At the very end he went to that poor girl. He went there. She had those two stepsisters. They—when (one) tried to force the shoe on, it did not fit. It did not fit the other. Then the neighbours said ‘Where is the girl? Where is your stepsister? Bring her.’ Now she, poor creature, had gone into a hut.

gu-kha chole verteva chullukhta. khina kut-jur t-iva, shvave pultale. pultale, kheshla, mulveshshale. e savelta Rkak-razR vila ka-dayen, ka-de kaseb vila khina. aha ka-diyyakh vila, ayenda pultala e savelta khitada mukhziyyala. merra aha diyyila.

She had gone into a hut, into a cabin, but one way or another, the neighbours brought her out. They brought her out, she went and they dressed her. The shoe fitted her exactly, it fitted the poor girl. ‘It fits you.’ She took out the other shoe and showed it. She said ‘This is mine.’

o brun-malka shkilale mutyevvale al-suyset ganu gu-paytunet ganu lublale beta. beta lublale kes-babu yemmu . khina shavva yumane shavva lelavay viyyele khluyla shara. atkha, prekla mettelta.

The son of the king took her, mounted her on his horse, in his carriage and took her home. He took her home to his father and mother. Then there was a wedding party for seven days and seven nights. This is it, the story has ended.