Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 11, 1900.djvu/381

 Cairene Folklore. 361

III.

" There was once a man who had a thousand piastres, but he was afraid to go into business because of his money ; then he goes (away), not wanting to give anything to other people lest he should become poorer. A neighbour of theirs, a woman, said to his wife : 'You had better buy some spring chickens ; they will soon grow into fowls, and you can sell each fowl for two piastres and a half or perhaps three piastres, and so you will make a good profit.' The wife replied : ' Very well, when my husband comes I will tell him of it.' When her husband came in she said to him : ' You had better buy some spring chickens so that we may

hediya lis-sultan : " akhad el-haga-di werah lis-sultan : qallo : " 'ebel el- hediya-di, ya melik ! 'ebilte minnak." 's-sultan qal lir-ragil : " etmin 'aleya tahtah!" Qal: " an' 'auz timlali '1-bet esh." Es-sultan qallo; " Ya ragil, utlub haga tani." Qallo : "an' 'auz timlali el-bet esh !" 's-sultan amar yim- lulu '1-bet esh. Lamma malu el-bet esh, qa'ad huwa 'mrato lim'add el-akl. Qallah : "Ya Neba, qumi, billi el-esh !" Iliya qaletlo : " Qum, ya Kheba, enta bill el-esh ! " Huwa qallah, 'ilet kalam huwa yebill el-esh. Qa'ad letnen qosad ba'd : la-huwa yitkallim wala hiya yitkallim. Flh wahida sitt betCdid : ba'atet el-garya beta'ha 'alashan teruhha Neba tewuledah. Lamma wassalet el-garya lihadd el-bet, fidilet el-garya tindah 'aleha, " Ya Neba, imrat Kheba!" Mahaddish radd 'aleha : '1-garya fatahet el-bab, laqet letnen qa'idin qosad ba'd: '1-garya qaletla ; "qumi, walladi, sitti." Qamet, mishiyet wayaha lihadd el-bet : lamma waladet es-sitt, dabahum wahid kharuf, iddu el-isha li- Neba : Neba iddet el-isha lil-garya uqaletleha : " waddi el-isha le-Kheba." El-garya misiketha urahet ila '1-bet : tindah : " Ya Kheba, ya goz Neba ! " Mahaddish yerudd 'aleha. Lamma za'alat el-garya, fatahet el-bab uhashet guwa, laqet Kheba qa'id, qaletlo : "Khod, ya Kheba: di ba'atet halek Neba." Makanshi radd 'aleh. Lamma mayeruddish lil-garj'a, el-garya libiset el-kirsh fir-rasuh, lafet em-masarin hawalin raqabeto ufateto umishiyet. El-kilab shemm er-rihah, gum : qarrabu 'aleh shwoyya shwoyya : lamma gum 'andoh makanshi had yehoshu, shaddu em-masarin, er-ragil yuqa' ; fedil yedaliq lamma lihadd el bahr : fi fa\'yit wahid sayyad : lamm' esh-shabaka tila' Kheba fish-shabaka : es-sayyad qallo: "enta ensi wala ginni?" makanshi radd 'aleh. Es-sayyad qal fi nefsuh : " Amsiku 'alashan en-nas yitfanag 'aleh; alimm aktar min 's-sayyada." Shalu 'ala kitfu umishi. Neba rahet el-bet, malaqetsh' Kheba ; qalet : "yumkin nizil ighsil el-isha." Hiya nezla 'alashan teshiifu, laqet es- sayyad shailu : qaletlo : " Khabar e, ya Kheba? " " qallaha : " 'Aleki ball el- -esh!" Es-sayyad qallo: " Enzil, in'al abuk ! 'alashan ball el-esh ta'mil kida?"