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33rd translation contest: "Back to the playground" » English to Swahili » Entry by Agutu O. Evance


Source text in English

Translation by Agutu O. Evance (#37796)

[...] “I have a proposal.” It leaned forward like my friend April does when she wants to tell a secret, even though none of her secrets are any good. Or even really secrets. “If you don’t tell anyone I am here, I can fix your eyes.”
“Get out of town!”
It blinked a couple of times. “That is what I am attempting to do.”
“What I mean is you can’t do that!”
“Why not?”
“Well, no one else has been able to fix my eyes, besides with glasses.”
“I have certain abilities. You will see, provided…”
“…I don’t tell anyone about you?”
“That is the heart of it, that is the nub.”
“How do I know you won’t blind me? You could be like one of those telemarketers making promises but totally lying.”
It started waxing on, waxing off again. “I would not do such a thing to a creature who has done me no harm.”
“Meaning if I harmed you, you could make me go blind?”
“That’s on a need-to-know basis.”
“And if you fix my eyes, and I don’t tell anyone about you, you’ll leave our fields?”
“That’s the heart of it!” [...]
[...] "Nina pendekezo." Ilisogea mbele kama rafiki yangu April anavyofanya anapotaka kusema siri, ingawa hakuna siri yake yoyote nzuri au hata siri zenyewe hana. "Ikiwa hutamwambia mtu yeyote kuwa niko hapa, naweza kuyatibu macho yako."
“Ondoka mjini!”
Ilipesapesa macho mara kadhaa. "Hicho ndicho ninachojaribu kufanya."
"Ninachomaanisha ni kwamba huwezi kufanya hivyo!"
"Kwa nini isiwe hivyo?"
"Maana, hakuna mtu mwingine ambaye ameweza kurekebisha macho yangu, zaidi ya mimi kutumia miwani."
"Nina uwezo fulani. Utaona, mradi tu…”
"...Nisimwambie mtu yeyote kukuhusu?"
"Ndicho kiini cha nisemacho, ndicho ninachomaanisha."
“Nitajuaje kuwa hutanipofusha? Unaweza kuwa kama mmoja wa wauzaji wa simu wanaotoa ahadi za uwongo kabisa.
Ilianza kung'aa, ikatoka tena. "Siwezi kufanya kitu kama hicho kwa kiumbe ambaye hajanidhuru."
"Ina maana nikikudhuru, unaweza kunifanya niwe kipofu?"
"Hiyo ni kwa msingi wa hitaji lako kujua."
"Na ikiwa utaniweka macho yangu, na nisimwambie mtu yeyote kuhusu wewe, utaondoka kwenye mashamba yetu?"
"Hicho ndicho kiini chake!" [...]


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