Enwa ke Khalai. O na le dilemo tse supa. Lebitso la hae le bolela ‘ya lokileng’ ka puo ya habo ya Lubusuku.
This is Khalai. She is seven years old. Her name means ‘the good one’ in her language, Lubukusu.
Khalai o a tsoha a bue le sefate sa dilamunu. ” Sefate sa dilamunu ke kopa o hole hle! Hola o re fe dilamunu tse ngata tse butswitseng.”
Khalai wakes up and talks to the orange tree. “Please orange tree, grow big and give us lots of ripe oranges.”
Khalai o ya sekolong ka maoto. Tseleng o bua le jwang. “Jwang hola hle! Hola o be motalana mme o se ke wa omella.”
Khalai walks to school. On the way she talks to the grass. “Please grass, grow greener and don’t dry up.”
Khalai o feta pela dipalesa. “Dipalesa holang hle! Holang ke tle ke kgone ho le beha moriring wa ka.”
Khalai passes wild flowers. “Please flowers, keep blooming so I can put you in my hair.”
Sekolong Khalai o bua le sefate se mahareng a jarete. Sefate ntsha makala a maholo, hore re tle re bale ka tlasa moriti wa hao hle!
At school, Khalai talks to the tree in the middle of the compound. “Please tree, put out big branches so we can read under your shade.”
Khalai o bua le dihlahlana tse potapotileng sekolo. Dihlahlana holang hle! Holang le be matla mme le thibele dikweta hore di se ke tsa kena sekolong sa heso.
Khalai talks to the hedge around her school. “Please grow strong and stop bad people from coming in.”
Ha Khalai a kgutla sekolong, o tjhakela sefate sa dilamunu. “Na dilamunu tsa hao di se di butswitse?” Khalai o a botsa.
When Khalai returns home from school, she visits the orange tree. “Are your oranges ripe yet?” asks Khalai.
“Dilamunu di ntse di le tala,” Khalai o hemela hodimo. “Ke tla o bona hosane.” Ho rialo Khalai. “Mohlomong o tla mpha lamunu e butswitseng.”
“The oranges are still green,” sighs Khalai. “I will see you tomorrow orange tree,” says Khalai. “Perhaps then you will have a ripe orange for me!”
