Bobala Brenda  

Bobala Brenda  
Story: LITERACY WORKER TRAINING STUDENTS . 
Illustrations: ROSS TUKUMBA. 
KRIOL 
Bamyili Press 1983 

© Copyright Bamyili Press 1983 
ISBN 0 86822 2l3 5 

Wantaim, Brenda bin go hanting langa bush longwei brom Bemili. Imin ardim miselp nomo lilbit, bobala. Dijan na jad stori wen imin ardim miselp.
 
Brenda, Mary-Anne, Janella, Anne-Marie en najalot pipul bin go gadim modiga langa bush. Deibin go en dei bin faindim gud pleis bla fishing. Jad pleis bin abum loda tri en pendemij en ola woda bin rili klinwan. 

Bastaim, olabat bin go bla gedim olabat beit la sengraun. Dei bin grajim ala senfrog gadim olabat bingga, Brenda bin budum en imin go wok pleis bla fishing. 
Imin wok en imin kamat langa modiwan pleis en imin budum but en imin boldan. Binij, imin boldan na bobala en jad tin imin oldumbat langa im bingga imin katim im rait langa im hen.

Kwikbala imin gidap en imin oldum mijelp bingga. Imin deigimat jad tin en ola blad bin ran brom im bingga en imin jingat langa olabat, 
'Kaman olabat. Wi gobek na. Mi ardim main bingga na, en mi weistimbat main blad." 
Imin ranbek langa faiya pleis en jad olgamen bin askim im, 
"Wot rong yu bingga?" 
Brenda bin sei, "Ai bin boldan antap la konbif tin. Kwikbala, im ardimbat mi. Boilim main woda olgamen." 
Jad olgomen bin budum hot woda la faiya blango im. Brom jeya jad hot woda bin lilbit hotwan en imin budum im bingga insaid langa jad biliken. Imin stopum jad pein. Imin deigimat, en imin taiyimap im bingga gadim reig brom jod olgamen dilibeg. 

Brom jeya imin go langa ribasaid igin en imin jidan langa wanbala big log. Imin fishingbat rili kwaitbala en no nois. 
Bambai imin lisin ala gras bin meigimbat nois en jadlot gras bin mubmub. Imin lukbek na. Jeya, imin baindem gowena. Imin singat, 
"Olabot, ai bin baindem bigiswan gowena." Jadlot bin libum fishing lain bla olabat en deibin ran raitap langa im. Imin shoim olabat na. 
"Jeya luk, jad gowena," en deibin gedim bigwan stik en dei bin jeijimap im langa long gras, bobala. 

Brenda imin trai ran, bat im nomo bin luk stik. Jad stik bin bugum im rait la im fut. Im nomo bin ran bobala en imin labda wokwok slobala. Imin dalim olabat, 
"Yumob go lida dumaji mi ardim mai fut en ai wana wokwok slobala." 

Olabat bin kipgon jeijimap gowena bin jeijimap langa riba. Imin godan langa shelowan woda en deibin langa jad gowena. Deibin ol langa jad gowena en jad gowena la olabat tu. Brenda imin jidanbat langa bengk la imin laf laf la olabat. 

Wanbala yangboi imin jinggibat,
"Ai labda kilim dis gowena no. Namarra im bigwan. Im laswan big bla mibala."
Imin gedim bigwan stik en imin kilim rait la im hed. Imin binji. Olabat bin jampjamp blanga jad gowena bobala. Brenda im jeya stil deigimatbat jad stik brom im but. 

Bambai olabat bin gobek langa Bemili gadim modiga en bla Brenda bingga en but bin ardim im olawei langa modiga, bobala. Streidawei imin go langa hospil en dubala sista bin woshim im bingga en but en deibin sei, 
"Yu gadim bigiswan kat la yu bingga. Mibala gada gibit yu nidul langa yu so en mendim bla yu bingga."
Brenda nomo bin fraiten bla nidul, imin jis jidan kwaitbala en im jinggibat bla jad gowena langa kemp. 
"Maitbi jadlot olgamen dei gada budum main haf blanga mi." 
Wen dubala sista bin mendibat bla im so dei bin budum bendij langa im am en but en dubala bin gibit im nidul langa im bodum en langa im naja am. Brenda bin ardim ebriweya la im bodi bobala. 

Afta, bla im andi bin deigimbek gadim modiga la im kemp en Brenda bin askim olabat, "Wujei main gowena?" 
"Wodei, mibala nomo bin budum bla yu jad gowena, bobala. Mibala bin boget na en mibala bin idimap mijelp." Brenda bin tok, 
"Wotfo yubala bin idimap jad gowena. Yubala shudbi libum main haf. Im rait, ai idim fish na." Imin jidan en idimbat fish, bat imin stil ardim bobala. 

English Translation 
Title: Poor Brenda 
Authors: Literacy Worker Training Students 
Illustrator: Ross Tukurnba 
One day, Brenda went hunting, a long way from Bamyili, and she hurt herself. This is the story about what happened. 
Brenda, Mary-Anne, Janella, Anne-Marie and everyone else went in the motor-car out bush. Soon they found a good place to fish. The water was clean, and surrounded by trees and pandanus. 
First, everyone looked for bait in the sand. They dug for frogs with their fingers. Brenda put her bait in an old corn-beef tin and walked along the river side to look for a good place to fish. Then she came to a muddy patch, and as she put her foot down, she slipped and fell. That was it. As she fell, the tin she was holding cut her on the hand. 
Quickly she held her hand and took the tin out and the blood began to run from her hand. She sang out to everyone. "Come on everyone, we have to go back. I've hurt my hand. All my blood is running out." She ran back to where the fire was and the old lady there said, "What's wrong with your hand?" I fell onto the corn-beef tin. Quick, its hurting me. Boil some hot water for me me old lady." The old lady put some water on the fire and Brenda waited for it to get hot. When it was a little hot, she put her hand inside the billy can. It stopped the pain. 
Then she took her hand out and tied it up with a rag from the old lady's dilly-bag. 
After that, she went back to the river and sat on a big log. She began fishing, not making a noise. Later, she heard a noise in the grass, and it moved. She looked around and saw a goanna. She shouted, "Hey everyone, I've found a goanna!" They all left their fishing lines and ran towards Brenda. She pointed and said, "There look, there's a goanna," and they all got sticks and started chasing it into the long grass. Brenda started to run, but she didn't see a big stick on the ground. The stick went into her foot. She couldn't run, the poor thing, and she had to walk really slowly. She sang out, "You all go ahead, because I've hurt my foot. I'll have to walk slowly." 

They kept chasing the goanna until they caught up with it at the river. It went down into the shallow water and they all surrounded it. They were frightened of the goanna, and the goanna was frightened of them too. 
Brenda sat on a log on the bank and laughed at them all. One young boy said, "I'll have to kill this goanna. It doesn't matter if he's a big one. He's our last chance to have some meat." He got a big stick and hit it right on the head. That was it. Everyone began jumping up and down. Brenda however, was still trying to take the stick out of her foot. 
Later, they all went back to Bamyili in the car, and Brenda's hand and foot were hurting her all the way. As soon as they got back, she went to the hospital and the two nurses washed her hand and foot and said, 
"You've got a really big cut on your hand. We'll have to give you a needle and then stitch up your hand." 
Brenda wasn't frightened. She just sat quietly, thinking about the goanna at home. "Maybe the old ladies will save me some," she thought. 
When the two nurses had finished stitching her sore, they put a bandage on her hand and foot and gave her a needle in the bottom and her other arm. Poor Brenda was hurting all over her body. 
After that, her aunty took her back home in the car and she asked everyone, "Where's my goanna?" 
"Oh no, we didn't leave you any, you poor thing. We forgot about you and we've eaten it all ourselves." 
Brenda said, "Why did you eat all that goanna? You should have left me some. It's alright. I'll eat some fish." 
She sat down and ate her fish and was still aching all over. 

PRINTED BY BAMYILI PRESS 
With assistance from AUSTRALIA COUNCIL ABORIGINAL ARTS BOARD 
Private Mail Bag 25 
Katherine. N.T. 5780