| Hills like White Elephants | tcimontey o byela gadjey |
|---|---|
| The hills across the valley of the Ebro were long and white. On this side there was no shade and no trees and the station was between two lines of rails in the sun. Close against the side of the station there was the warm shadow of the building and a curtain, made of strings of bamboo beads, hung across the open door into the bar, to keep out flies. The American and the girl with him sat at a table in the shade, outside the building. It was very hot and the express from Barcelona would come in forty minutes. It stopped at this junction for two minutes and went to Madrid. | nal mesmonte a ebre, tcimontey vasti ni byeli. en suda late, ne si ombre nio ne si obe, ni stopeve eni sub sune mes bi relovaye. tuk late a stopeve, ombre a budeye tuksendisi; kortine da bambua tcibole ri muce pendi preen apa dore a gulene. usikane ni mayunte kon balo sedi en meze en ombre, eku budeye. tios guwarmi, ni wayvage da barselona vo tiiti os kwarunti minute. lo stopi en tia vayutene duros bi minute ni durifi ite na madrid. |
| 'What should we drink?' the girl asked. She had taken off her hat and put it on the table. | "kie noy guli?", mayunte kipeli. lo preo deicesi loa kapele ni oti lo sopu meze. |
| 'It's pretty hot,' the man said. | "guwarmi", bate peli. |
| 'Let's drink beer.' | "noy gulí bire." |
| 'Dos cervezas,' the man said into the curtain. | "Dos cervezas", bate peli na kortine. |
| 'Big ones?' a woman asked from the doorway. | "ki gua?" mate kipeli da dore. |
| 'Yes. Two big ones.' | "ha, bi gua." |
| The woman brought two glasses of beer and two felt pads. She put the felt pads and the beer glass on the table and looked at the man and the girl. The girl was looking off at the line of hills. They were white in the sun and the country was brown and dry. | mate naberi bi gulere a bire ni bi felta tcitape. lo oti felta tcitape ni gulere a bire sopu meze ni lo weli bate ni mayunte. mayunte so telweli line a tcimontey. line byeli sub swele, ni agrare bruni ni sehi. |
| 'They look like white elephants,' she said. | "ley oydi byela gadje", malo peli. |
| 'I've never seen one,' the man drank his beer. | "me neyos wi gadje", bate pospeli gulio loa bire. |
| 'No, you wouldn't have.' | "ha, tu ne sis abli." |
| 'I might have,' the man said. 'Just because you say I wouldn't have doesn't prove anything.' | "me ha sis abli," bate peli. "solo as tu peli ti me ne sis abli pruvi neye." |
| The girl looked at the bead curtain. 'They've painted something on it,' she said. 'What does it say?' | mate weli tcibola kortine. "ley penti ye sop lo", malo peli. "kie lo sini?" |
| 'Anis del Toro. It's a drink.' | "Anis del Toro. si guleye." |
| 'Could we try it?' | "ki noy probi?" |
| The man called 'Listen' through the curtain. The woman came out from the bar. | bate voki "orí" per kortine. mate tiite da gulene. |
| 'Four reales.' 'We want two Anis del Toro.' | "kwar reale." "noy voli bi Anis del Toro." |
| 'With water?' | "ki kon akwe?" |
| 'Do you want it with water?' | "ki tu voli lo kon akwe?" |
| 'I don't know,' the girl said. 'Is it good with water?' | "me ne tsi," mayunte pospeli. "ki boni kon akwe?" |
| 'It's all right.' | "si bona." |
| 'You want them with water?' asked the woman. | "ki tu voli lo kon akwe?" kipeli mate. |
| 'Yes, with water.' | "ha, kon akwe." |
| 'It tastes like licorice,' the girl said and put the glass down. | "gusti sim lekrise", mayunte peli ni resopoti gulere. |
| 'That's the way with everything.' | "si tio tem ole." |
| 'Yes,' said the girl. 'Everything tastes of licorice. Especially all the things you've waited so long for, like absinthe.' | "ha," yunte peli. "ole gusti sim lekrise. osobo ole tu jo vati guoso, semplo absinte." |
| 'Oh, cut it out.' | "oh, stopí tie..." |
| 'You started it,' the girl said. 'I was being amused. I was having a fine time.' | "tu esi lo," mayunte peli. "me preo plezi." |
| 'Well, let's try and have a fine time.' | "no, noy probí plezi." |
| 'All right. I was trying. I said the mountains looked like white elephants. Wasn't that bright?' | "bono. me preo probi. me peli montey simi byela gadjey. ki tie ne si genia?" |
| 'That was bright.' | "si ha genia." |
| 'I wanted to try this new drink. That's all we do, isn't it - look at things and try new drinks?' | "me preo voli probi tia nova guleye. noy solo i tie, ki ne? weli nova eye ni probi nova guleye." |
| 'I guess so.' | "me sumi ha". |
| The girl looked across at the hills. | mayunte weli na tcimontey. |
| 'They're lovely hills,' she said. 'They don't really look like white elephants. I just meant the coloring of their skin through the trees.' | "si amibla tcimontey," malo peli. "ley ne vero simi byela gadjey. me solo tempeli krome a leya kute per obey." |
| 'Should we have another drink?' | "ki noy plezi ala guleye?" |
| 'All right.' | "okey" |
| The warm wind blew the bead curtain against the table. | warma fufe fufi tcibola kortine tuku meze. |
| 'The beer's nice and cool,' the man said. | "bire si bona ni frida," bate peli. |
| 'It's lovely,' the girl said. | "si amibla," yunte peli. |
| 'It's really an awfully simple operation, Jig,' the man said. 'It's not really an operation at all.' | "vero gusimpla operase, djig," bate peli. "ne vero operase." |
| The girl looked at the ground the table legs rested on. | yunte weli bode en meza gambe sopi. |
| 'I know you wouldn't mind it, Jig. It's really not anything. It's just to let the air in.' | "me tsi tie ne turbi tu, djig. tie vero neye. solo inifi awe." |
| The girl did not say anything. | yunte peli neye. |
| 'I'll go with you and I'll stay with you all the time. They just let the air in and then it's all perfectly natural.' | "me vo koniti tu ni me deiti kon tu oloma durose. ley solo inifi awe ni pososo si olomo natura." |
| 'Then what will we do afterwards?' | "sa noy i kie pososo?" |
| 'We'll be fine afterwards. Just like we were before.' | "noy bono seti pososo. presizo sam preoso." |
| 'What makes you think so?' | "kie menifi tu tio?" |
| 'That's the only thing that bothers us. It's the only thing that's made us unhappy.' | "si sole ke dekyeti noy. si sole ke nedjoyi noy." |
| The girl looked at the bead curtain, put her hand out and took hold of two of the strings of beads. | mayunte weli tcibola kortine, tendi loa mane ni cesi bi tcibola nite. |
| 'And you think then we'll be all right and be happy.' | "sa tu meni tios ole boni ni noy djoyi." |
| 'I know we will. Yon don't have to be afraid. I've known lots of people that have done it.' | "me tsi lo. tu ne muti fobi. me tsi multa ane ke jo i tie." |
| 'So have I,' said the girl. 'And afterwards they were all so happy.' | "nio me", mayunte peli. "ni pososo ola ley tiom djoyi." |
| 'Well,' the man said, 'if you don't want to you don't have to. I wouldn't have you do it if you didn't want to. But I know it's perfectly simple.' | "nu," bate peli, "sis tu ne voli, tu ne si mutifia. me ne voli mutifi tu sis tu deokeyi. may me tsi ti guo simpla." |
| 'And you really want to?' | "ni tu vero voli lo?" |
| 'I think it's the best thing to do. But I don't want you to do it if you don't really want to.' | "me meni si mas bono, may me ne voli tu i lo sis tu ne voli." |
| 'And if I do it you'll be happy and things will be like they were and you'll love me?' | "ni sis me i lo, ki tu djoyi ni ole si sam preose, ni tu relovi me?" |
| 'I love you now. You know I love you.' | "me lovi tu nuo. tu tsi me lovi tu." |
| 'I know. But if I do it, then it will be nice again if I say things are like white elephants, and you'll like it?' | "me tsi. may sis me i lo, sa ole reboni sis me peli eye oydi byela gadjey, ni tu postempo ami lo?" |
| 'I'll love it. I love it now but I just can't think about it. You know how I get when I worry.' | "me postempo ami lo. me ami lo nuo, may me ne abli meni tem lo. tu tsi kio me si os me zorgi." |
| 'If I do it you won't ever worry?' | "sis me i lo, ki tu neyos duro zorgi?" |
| 'I won't worry about that because it's perfectly simple.' | "me ne duro zorgi tem tie as olomo simpli." |
| 'Then I'll do it. Because I don't care about me.' | "sa me vo i lo. as me ne zorgi tem me." |
| 'What do you mean?' | "tu voli peli kie?" |
| 'I don't care about me.' | "me ne zorgi tem me." |
| 'Well, I care about you.' | "nu, me ha zorgi tem tu." |
| 'Oh, yes. But I don't care about me. And I'll do it and then everything will be fine.' | "ha, may me ne zorgi tem me. me vo i lo, ni ole postempo boni." |
| 'I don't want you to do it if you feel that way.' | "me ne voli tu i lo sis tu tio feli." |
| The girl stood up and walked to the end of the station. Across, on the other side, were fields of grain and trees along the banks of the Ebro. Far away, beyond the river, were mountains. The shadow of a cloud moved across the field of grain and she saw the river through the trees. | mayunte pedesi ni iti na pitu stopeve. nal vaye si gornagre ni obe rui ebro. telo, uper gurive, si monte. ombre a nube periti gornagre, ni malo weli gurive per obe. |
| 'And we could have all this,' she said. 'And we could have everything and every day we make it more impossible.' | "noy sis abli avi oloma tie," malo peli. "noy sis abli avi ole, ni unola die noy ifi lo mas neebla." |
| 'What did you say?' | "tu peli kie?" |
| 'I said we could have everything.' | "me peli noy abli avi ole." |
| 'No, we can't.' | "ne..." |
| 'We can have the whole world.' | "noy abli avi ola munde." |
| 'No, we can't.' | "ne." |
| 'We can go everywhere.' | "noy abli iti na olen." |
| 'No, we can't. It isn't ours any more.' | "ne, noy ne abli. ne duro aveyi noy." |
| 'It's ours.' | "ne, lo aveyi noy." |
| 'No, it isn't. And once they take it away, you never get it back.' | "ne. ni os ley ekoti lo, tu neyos ricesi lo." |
| 'But they haven't taken it away.' | "may ley ne jo ekoti lo." |
| 'We'll wait and see.' | "noy vati ni noy vo wi." |
| 'Come on back in the shade,' he said. 'You mustn't feel that way.' | "retiití na ombre," balo peli. "tu mando ne feli tio." |
| 'I don't feel any way,' the girl said. 'I just know things.' | "me ne feli yo," mayunte peli. "me solo tsi ye." |
| 'I don't want you to do anything that you don't want to do -' | "me ne voli tu i pye ti tu ne voli i..." |
| 'Nor that isn't good for me,' she said. 'I know. Could we have another beer?' | "u ti wani por me," malo peli. "me tsi. ki noy avi ala bire?" |
| 'All right. But you've got to realize - ' | "okey. may tu mando etsi..." |
| 'I realize,' the girl said. 'Can't we maybe stop talking?' | "me etsi," yunte peli. "ki ebli noy stopi peli?" |
| They sat down at the table and the girl looked across at the hills on the dry side of the valley and the man looked at her and at the table. | "ley sedesi en meze ni mayunte weli na seha late a montey. bate weli malo ni pososo meze." |
| 'You've got to realize,' he said, ' that I don't want you to do it if you don't want to. I'm perfectly willing to go through with it if it means anything to you.' | "tu mando etsesi," lo peli, "me ne voli tu i tie sis tu ne voli. me preti okeyi mute sis tie avi sine na tu." |
| 'Doesn't it mean anything to you? We could get along.' | "ki tie ne avi sine na tu? noy sis abli uperguprobi." |
| 'Of course it does. But I don't want anybody but you. I don't want anyone else. And I know it's perfectly simple.' | "senmeno, may me voli neyan sen tu. me voli neyan mes noy, ni me tsi si guo simpla." |
| 'Yes, you know it's perfectly simple.' | "ha, tu tsi si guo simpla." |
| 'It's all right for you to say that, but I do know it.' | "tu moci peli e tu voli, may me ha tsi lo." |
| 'Would you do something for me now?' | "ki tu okeyi, i ye por me?" |
| 'I'd do anything for you.' | "me sisu i pye por tu." |
| 'Would you please please please please please please please stop talking?' | "no tu cici, ples. ples, ples, ples, ples, ples, ples..." |
| He did not say anything but looked at the bags against the wall of the station. There were labels on them from all the hotels where they had spent nights. | lo cici ni weli bagaje tuku stopeva rupe. ley sopavi multa etikete da hoteley en ley deiti. |
| 'But I don't want you to,' he said, 'I don't care anything about it.' | "may me ne voli tu i lo", lo peli, "me dezorgi tem tie." |
| 'I'll scream,' the girl said. | "me vo kriti," mayunte peli. |
| The woman came out through the curtains with two glasses of beer and put them down on the damp felt pads. 'The train comes in five minutes,' she said. | magulenarkane tiiti per kortine kon bi gulere a bire ni oti ley sopu tcideseha felta tcitape. "vage tiiti os pec minute," malo espanyezo peli. |
| 'What did she say?' asked the girl. | "lo peli kie?" mayunte kipeli. |
| 'That the train is coming in five minutes.' | "ti vage tiiti os pec minute." |
| The girl smiled brightly at the woman, to thank her. | mayunte prehahi lutco na mate, nas danki malo. |
| 'I'd better take the bags over to the other side of the station,' the man said. She smiled at him. | "masboni me beri bagaje nalu stopeve," bate peli. malo prehahi na lo. |
| 'All right. Then come back and we'll finish the beer.' | "okey. sa retiití ni noy fini bire." |
| He picked up the two heavy bags and carried them around the station to the other tracks. He looked up the tracks but could not see the train. Coming back, he walked through the bar-room, where people waiting for the train were drinking. He drank an Anis at the bar and looked at the people. They were all waiting reasonably for the train. He went out through the bead curtain. She was sitting at the table and smiled at him. | balo cesi bi peza bagaje ni beri ley ruitio stopeve na ala vaye. lo wakweli vaye may lo ne abli wi vage. retiitio lo periti gulene, en aney preo guli vatio vage. lo guli Anis en gulene ni weli aney. olan kyeto vati vage. lo ekiti per tcibola kortine. lo preo sedi en meze ni prehahi na lo. |
| 'Do you feel better?' he asked. | "ki tu mas bono seti?" |
| 'I feel fine,' she said. 'There's nothing wrong with me. I feel fine.' | "me bono seti," lo peli. "neya probleme, me bono seti". |