1. Is-Slieqa u l-Fenek

    The Tortoise and the Hare

  2. Darba kien hemm fenek li kien jiddieħak bis-slieqa għaliex kienet tant bil-mod.

    Once there was a hare who used to laugh at the tortoise because she was so slow.

  3. "Tasal xi mkien xi darba?"

    "Do you ever get anywhere?"

  4. staqsa b'daħka ta' sħejna.

    he asked with a mocking laugh.

  5. "Iva," wieġbet is-slieqa,

    "Yes," replied the tortoise,

  6. "u nasal aktar kmieni milli taħseb. Se niġri miegħek u nipprova dan."

    "and I get there sooner than you think. I will run a race with you and prove it."

  7. Il-fenek ħaseb li din kienet idea ta' kulħadd bid-daħk.

    The hare thought this idea was a huge joke.

  8. Kien żgur li se jirbaħ.

    He was certain he would win.

  9. "Tajjeb ħafna," qal,

    "Very well," he said,

  10. "ejja niġru."

    "let us race."

  11. Il-volpi qablet li timmarkja l-kors u tkun l-imħallef.

    The fox agreed to mark the course and be the judge.

  12. It-tellieqa bdiet, u l-fenek ġera tant mgħaġġel li malajr kien imbiegħed ħafna mis-slieqa.

    The race started, and the hare ran so fast that he was soon far ahead of the tortoise.

  13. Biex juri kemm ma kienx jikkunsidra lis-slieqa, miedd ħdejn it-triq biex jorqod.

    To show how little he regarded the tortoise, he lay down by the roadside to take a nap.

  14. "Għandi ħafna ħin," qal lilu nnifsu.

    "I have plenty of time," he said to himself.

  15. "Dik is-slieqa bil-mod qatt ma se taqbadni."

    "That slow tortoise will never catch up to me."

  16. Is-slieqa, sadanittant, baqgħet timxi bil-mod iżda b'mod kostanti.

    The tortoise, meanwhile, kept walking slowly but steadily.

  17. Qatt ma waqfet għal mument wieħed.

    She never stopped for a single moment.

  18. Pass wara pass, kienet qed toqrob u toqrob lejn il-linja tal-wasla.

    Step by step, she was getting closer and closer to the finish line.

  19. Il-fenek baqa' jorqod.

    The hare kept on sleeping.

  20. Meta fl-aħħar qam, ra li s-slieqa kienet kważi fil-mira.

    When he finally woke up, he saw that the tortoise was almost at the goal.

  21. Ġera kemm felaħ, iżda kien tard wisq.

    He ran as fast as he could, but it was too late.

  22. Is-slieqa kienet diġà qasmet il-linja tal-wasla u rebħet it-tellieqa.

    The tortoise had already crossed the finish line and won the race.

  23. "Bil-mod u b'mod kostanti jirbaħ it-tellieqa," qalet is-slieqa b'tbissima.

    "Slow and steady wins the race," said the tortoise with a smile.

  24. U l-fenek tgħallem dak il-jum biex qatt ma jkun daqshekk ċert minnu nnifsu, u qatt ma jiddieħak bl-oħrajn.

    And the hare learned that day never to be so sure of himself, and never to laugh at others.