JRead
06-29-2011, 03:09 PM
These two stories are translations of two homework assignments I completed in Yiddish and Hebrew respectively. I would love to get feed back on them.
A note about the Golden Peacock: The Golden Peacock is a legendary bird that holds a special place in Jewish folklore. It is often a representative of happiness and creativity (particularly in poetry or song). The Golden Peacock also commonly acts as a messenger between loved ones.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A young boy sat by the river and cried. He cried there everyday because he wished he could sing but he couldn’t.
Far far away, over the rolling blue ocean the golden peacock flies.
The boy tries to sing but all that comes out is a croak. He puts his head in his hands and cries.
The golden peacock flies over cities and towns. She sings as she flies and every place she flies over people sing along with her.
The boy is sobbing as the golden peacock flies over the forest and lands beside him on the bank of the river. “Why are you crying?” She asks him.
“I’m crying because all I want is to be able to sing but every time I try all that comes out is a croak.”
The golden peacock speaks to him gently. “I have traveled the world and have heard all of it’s singing, but the best song, I bring to you.” The little boy looks at her and asks “Will you sing it for me?” The golden peacock replies “It is a song that only you can sing.” The little boy cries in despair “But I cannot sing! Ever time I open my mouth to sing I only croak.” “Try one more time,” the golden peacock urges gently. The little boy finally agrees. He opens his mouth to sing expecting to hear the same horrible sound. The first note is weak and unsteady. The golden peacock encourages him to continue. With each note his voice becomes more sure and confident. At first the little boy cannot believe his ears. Is that really him singing? Now he sings stronger and in his voice is pure joy! In his excitement he jumps up and runs to his village so everyone can hear his new song. The golden peacock smiles to herself and the bird flies away.
From that day on, everywhere the boy went, he left joy and singing in his wake.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There was once a family: a mother, a father and their only child, a son. They lived in a lovely country home and were very happy there. Everyday, the son would play outside and watch the birds sing across the sky. They lived a happy simple life. One day, not so different from all the others, the father came home from work. But on this day, the father had some very different news. They had to move to the city. This made the family very sad because they loved their home in the country but they had no choice so they packed their things and call for a truck. The truck came and carried them away from the country that they loved to their new apartment in the city. The mother made the best of it and said what a fine new kitchen she had. The father made the best of it and said how wonderful the metro was. The son couldn’t make the best of it. He sat in his room and stared out the window at the forest of buildings. His mother and father told him “Look what wonderful parks there are!” But he just stared out his window at the lifeless sky. Now the mother and father were very worried about him. They would talk for hours about what should be done. Finally they had the perfect idea. They would buy him a pet bird. So one day, on his way home from work, they father stopped by the pet store and bought a bird for his son. It was a little yellow bird and looked all together ordinary. The boy loved his bird from the first moment he saw her. He was sure that there had never been a bird so beautiful. Everyday he would spend hours feeding her and talking to her. One day he realized that she never sang like the birds he had watched flying through the sky in the country. He thought this very odd so he asked her “Goldie,” (because Goldie was her name) “why don’t you sing?” Much to his surprise she replied, “Why don’t you sing?” He was so surprised it took him a minute or two to recover. “I don’t sing because I…” he started. “Well I mean, I used to sing but I…” he continued. “Wait a minute! Did you just speak?” “Of course I just spoke,” Goldie replied. “Well, why don’t you sing?” She asked again. “I don’t know,” said the boy. “I do not sing because I am locked in a cage and cannot fly as I was born to,” Goldie told the boy. This made the boy very sad because he loved his bird and didn’t want her to be unhappy but he also didn’t want to lose her. Then he had an idea. “Goldie,” he asked, “if I take you to the park and let you fly will you promise not to fly away?” She promised, so the boy grabbed her cage and his bicycle and after securing Goldie’s cage to the bike, rode to the park. At the park he carefully stood his bike against a tree and began to open the cage door. As he opened the door he said, “Remember you promised not to fly away.” She promised she would come back to the cage when he called her and took off. He was nervous as he watched her take flight but gradually his tension eased as he watched how beautifully she flew through the sky and how clearly she sang. It started to get late so he called to her and just as she had promised she flew back to him. For several weeks he took her to the park, watched her fly and listened to her sing. One evening after one of their trips to the park the little boy sat with his bird and mused, “I wish I could fly.” Goldie looked as him through half-closed eyes. “Oh can’t you teach me how to fly?” cried the boy, “More than anything in the world, I want to fly!” For a long time Goldie considered him. Finally, she said, “I will teach you. But you may find that flying is not the thing you want most in the world.”
The next day, the boy and his bird went to the park as usual but this day would not be usual at all. He let her out of her cage and Goldie hopped onto the top or it. “The first thing you will need to do,” Goldie instructed, “is to stretch out your wings like this.” The boy watched her closely and then spread out his arms the way she had spread out her wings. “Then you want to stretch your neck up toward the sky like this.” He copied the way she stretched her neck. “Then all you need to do is give a little hop, flap your wings and away you fly!” She did each step as she explained it to him and off she soared into the sky. The boy concentrated hard to make sure that he copied her precisely but when he hopped and flapped his arms nothing happened. Goldie flew back to him and asked what happened. “I did exactly what you said but nothing happened.” “Flying doesn’t happen on it’s own,” Goldie said, “It takes work. If you flap your wings and hop, that’s a good start but that’s all it is. Try again but this time don’t stop with the first hop. Use your wings to push the air down and you up.”
So the little boy tried again and this time he remembered to keep trying after the first hop.
He was flying! Nothing in his whole life had ever felt so amazing! He soared and swooped above the forest of buildings that made up the city. After they had flown for some time Goldie said “We should probably go back to your house so your parents don’t start to worry about you.” “No,” said the boy. “I never want to go back home. They won’t worry, really. They are both so busy.” Goldie was skeptical but she agreed to find a nice place in a tree for them to sleep.
They were gone for several days and the boy’s parents did start to worry. The mother asked everyone if they had seen him and the father phoned the police. The next day there was a knock on the door. The father answered it and found a policeman standing on the step. The policeman had a bicycle with him. On the bicycle was tied a birdcage. “This your bike?” asked the policeman. “Yes.” Answered the father quietly. “That is my son’s bicycle and his bird’s cage.” The policeman helped him bring the bicycle inside and told him that it had been found against a tree in the park and that there was no sign of the boy. The father thanked him and let the policeman out. He went back to his chair in the family room sank into it, put his head in his hands, and cried. The mother came out of the kitchen and found the father crying. “What is it?” She asked, afraid of the answer. When he had told her, she began to cry to and they both cried for a long time. That night it rained as if the sky was crying with the mother and the father. As the rain started up, Goldie suggested again that they return to the boy’s home. This time the boy agreed but only to peak in the window to see how his parents were doing. They flew back to his house and the weather got worse and worse as they did. Finally, they reached the shelter of the house and landed in the window frame outside the family room. Pressing their faces against the window, they saw the mother and father crying together on the couch. “Why do you think they are crying?” asked the boy. “Isn’t it obvious?” Goldie asked. “They miss you. They are afraid that you are hurt or hungry or scared and there is nothing that they can do about it. They are worried that they will never see you again.” The boy looked at his mother and his father they seemed to have grown so much older since he had been gone. His father’s hair was graying and his mothers face wore wrinkles of worry. He hadn’t realized how much he missed them too. He hadn’t realized how much they love him. At that moment he made a decision. He hopped down from the window ledge and walked up the steps to his door.
There was a knock on the door. At first, his parents froze, then they moved very fast hurrying to open the door, hoping for news of their son. There he stood on the front step. His hair plastered to his head, his clothing soaked through and in much need of mending but there he stood unharmed. They all cried and hugged. The happy kind or tears when your joy is too great to be expressed any other way and the desperate kind of hug you give to a person you love dearly but never thought you would see again. After several minutes the father realized that they were still all standing on the front step and that the boy was wet from head to toe. They hurried him inside got him warm clothes, wrapped him in warm blankets and sat him by the heater. They fussed over him in a way he normally would have thought silly, but just now, he thought that he must be the luckiest boy on earth.
The little bird watched from the windowsill smiling to herself at the happy family inside. Then she spread her wings and flew off into the night.
A note about the Golden Peacock: The Golden Peacock is a legendary bird that holds a special place in Jewish folklore. It is often a representative of happiness and creativity (particularly in poetry or song). The Golden Peacock also commonly acts as a messenger between loved ones.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A young boy sat by the river and cried. He cried there everyday because he wished he could sing but he couldn’t.
Far far away, over the rolling blue ocean the golden peacock flies.
The boy tries to sing but all that comes out is a croak. He puts his head in his hands and cries.
The golden peacock flies over cities and towns. She sings as she flies and every place she flies over people sing along with her.
The boy is sobbing as the golden peacock flies over the forest and lands beside him on the bank of the river. “Why are you crying?” She asks him.
“I’m crying because all I want is to be able to sing but every time I try all that comes out is a croak.”
The golden peacock speaks to him gently. “I have traveled the world and have heard all of it’s singing, but the best song, I bring to you.” The little boy looks at her and asks “Will you sing it for me?” The golden peacock replies “It is a song that only you can sing.” The little boy cries in despair “But I cannot sing! Ever time I open my mouth to sing I only croak.” “Try one more time,” the golden peacock urges gently. The little boy finally agrees. He opens his mouth to sing expecting to hear the same horrible sound. The first note is weak and unsteady. The golden peacock encourages him to continue. With each note his voice becomes more sure and confident. At first the little boy cannot believe his ears. Is that really him singing? Now he sings stronger and in his voice is pure joy! In his excitement he jumps up and runs to his village so everyone can hear his new song. The golden peacock smiles to herself and the bird flies away.
From that day on, everywhere the boy went, he left joy and singing in his wake.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There was once a family: a mother, a father and their only child, a son. They lived in a lovely country home and were very happy there. Everyday, the son would play outside and watch the birds sing across the sky. They lived a happy simple life. One day, not so different from all the others, the father came home from work. But on this day, the father had some very different news. They had to move to the city. This made the family very sad because they loved their home in the country but they had no choice so they packed their things and call for a truck. The truck came and carried them away from the country that they loved to their new apartment in the city. The mother made the best of it and said what a fine new kitchen she had. The father made the best of it and said how wonderful the metro was. The son couldn’t make the best of it. He sat in his room and stared out the window at the forest of buildings. His mother and father told him “Look what wonderful parks there are!” But he just stared out his window at the lifeless sky. Now the mother and father were very worried about him. They would talk for hours about what should be done. Finally they had the perfect idea. They would buy him a pet bird. So one day, on his way home from work, they father stopped by the pet store and bought a bird for his son. It was a little yellow bird and looked all together ordinary. The boy loved his bird from the first moment he saw her. He was sure that there had never been a bird so beautiful. Everyday he would spend hours feeding her and talking to her. One day he realized that she never sang like the birds he had watched flying through the sky in the country. He thought this very odd so he asked her “Goldie,” (because Goldie was her name) “why don’t you sing?” Much to his surprise she replied, “Why don’t you sing?” He was so surprised it took him a minute or two to recover. “I don’t sing because I…” he started. “Well I mean, I used to sing but I…” he continued. “Wait a minute! Did you just speak?” “Of course I just spoke,” Goldie replied. “Well, why don’t you sing?” She asked again. “I don’t know,” said the boy. “I do not sing because I am locked in a cage and cannot fly as I was born to,” Goldie told the boy. This made the boy very sad because he loved his bird and didn’t want her to be unhappy but he also didn’t want to lose her. Then he had an idea. “Goldie,” he asked, “if I take you to the park and let you fly will you promise not to fly away?” She promised, so the boy grabbed her cage and his bicycle and after securing Goldie’s cage to the bike, rode to the park. At the park he carefully stood his bike against a tree and began to open the cage door. As he opened the door he said, “Remember you promised not to fly away.” She promised she would come back to the cage when he called her and took off. He was nervous as he watched her take flight but gradually his tension eased as he watched how beautifully she flew through the sky and how clearly she sang. It started to get late so he called to her and just as she had promised she flew back to him. For several weeks he took her to the park, watched her fly and listened to her sing. One evening after one of their trips to the park the little boy sat with his bird and mused, “I wish I could fly.” Goldie looked as him through half-closed eyes. “Oh can’t you teach me how to fly?” cried the boy, “More than anything in the world, I want to fly!” For a long time Goldie considered him. Finally, she said, “I will teach you. But you may find that flying is not the thing you want most in the world.”
The next day, the boy and his bird went to the park as usual but this day would not be usual at all. He let her out of her cage and Goldie hopped onto the top or it. “The first thing you will need to do,” Goldie instructed, “is to stretch out your wings like this.” The boy watched her closely and then spread out his arms the way she had spread out her wings. “Then you want to stretch your neck up toward the sky like this.” He copied the way she stretched her neck. “Then all you need to do is give a little hop, flap your wings and away you fly!” She did each step as she explained it to him and off she soared into the sky. The boy concentrated hard to make sure that he copied her precisely but when he hopped and flapped his arms nothing happened. Goldie flew back to him and asked what happened. “I did exactly what you said but nothing happened.” “Flying doesn’t happen on it’s own,” Goldie said, “It takes work. If you flap your wings and hop, that’s a good start but that’s all it is. Try again but this time don’t stop with the first hop. Use your wings to push the air down and you up.”
So the little boy tried again and this time he remembered to keep trying after the first hop.
He was flying! Nothing in his whole life had ever felt so amazing! He soared and swooped above the forest of buildings that made up the city. After they had flown for some time Goldie said “We should probably go back to your house so your parents don’t start to worry about you.” “No,” said the boy. “I never want to go back home. They won’t worry, really. They are both so busy.” Goldie was skeptical but she agreed to find a nice place in a tree for them to sleep.
They were gone for several days and the boy’s parents did start to worry. The mother asked everyone if they had seen him and the father phoned the police. The next day there was a knock on the door. The father answered it and found a policeman standing on the step. The policeman had a bicycle with him. On the bicycle was tied a birdcage. “This your bike?” asked the policeman. “Yes.” Answered the father quietly. “That is my son’s bicycle and his bird’s cage.” The policeman helped him bring the bicycle inside and told him that it had been found against a tree in the park and that there was no sign of the boy. The father thanked him and let the policeman out. He went back to his chair in the family room sank into it, put his head in his hands, and cried. The mother came out of the kitchen and found the father crying. “What is it?” She asked, afraid of the answer. When he had told her, she began to cry to and they both cried for a long time. That night it rained as if the sky was crying with the mother and the father. As the rain started up, Goldie suggested again that they return to the boy’s home. This time the boy agreed but only to peak in the window to see how his parents were doing. They flew back to his house and the weather got worse and worse as they did. Finally, they reached the shelter of the house and landed in the window frame outside the family room. Pressing their faces against the window, they saw the mother and father crying together on the couch. “Why do you think they are crying?” asked the boy. “Isn’t it obvious?” Goldie asked. “They miss you. They are afraid that you are hurt or hungry or scared and there is nothing that they can do about it. They are worried that they will never see you again.” The boy looked at his mother and his father they seemed to have grown so much older since he had been gone. His father’s hair was graying and his mothers face wore wrinkles of worry. He hadn’t realized how much he missed them too. He hadn’t realized how much they love him. At that moment he made a decision. He hopped down from the window ledge and walked up the steps to his door.
There was a knock on the door. At first, his parents froze, then they moved very fast hurrying to open the door, hoping for news of their son. There he stood on the front step. His hair plastered to his head, his clothing soaked through and in much need of mending but there he stood unharmed. They all cried and hugged. The happy kind or tears when your joy is too great to be expressed any other way and the desperate kind of hug you give to a person you love dearly but never thought you would see again. After several minutes the father realized that they were still all standing on the front step and that the boy was wet from head to toe. They hurried him inside got him warm clothes, wrapped him in warm blankets and sat him by the heater. They fussed over him in a way he normally would have thought silly, but just now, he thought that he must be the luckiest boy on earth.
The little bird watched from the windowsill smiling to herself at the happy family inside. Then she spread her wings and flew off into the night.