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Guwaabal 1 Bigibila wiyayl/ The Echidna's spines

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Visit Version 2 to see the story presented sentence by sentence and translated into English. There is also an 'interlinear' translation which shows Yuwaalaraay word-building, verb tenses and suffixes.
Go to the Notes page to find out the background to the story.

Bigibila wiyayl
Bigibila yanaawaanhi, biyaduul. Bulaarr badjin mindjarru yanaawaanhi. (Giirr yilaalu nhama mindjarru, bigibila, dhayn gigilanhi.)
Milandu mindjarrugu gayawiy barrandu nhama, dhinawan nhama. Giirr bundaanhi nhama dhinawan. Bamba ngaama bundaanhi.
Bigibilagubala winangay, guwaay: "Aa, minya ngaama bundaanhi? Bamba nhama bundaanhi."
Bulaayubala mindjarrugu nhama guwaay: "Waal, waal baayamba. Waal baayamba." (Giirr bulaayu nhama gayrrbaldanhi "baayamba".)
Giirrbala nguu gagay: "Waa, waa, waa, waa, maayndjul dhinggaa." Guwaaldanhi nguu dhinawandi, bigibila nhalay. Giirr gaanhi nguu nhama dhinawan. Yilaa nguu nhama yilamay, nguu nhama dhawumay.
Giirr nguu guwaay mindjarru girran.girraa dhiyamaligu. Giirr guwaaldanhi nguu: "Ngarraagulaynga yanaaya, girran.girraagu, dhawumaligu ngiyani dhinawan."
" Ngaayaybaay ngaan.gii." Bulaayu guwaaldanhi.
Giirr banagaylanhi yurrulgu, nhalay badjinduul. "Nhalaygaa baayamba?, ngaan.gii?"
"Ngaangaarran.gu yanaaya." Nguu guwaaldanhi, "Yanaaya."
Nhama bulaarr dhurray ngayagaya maalaabididja. "Nhalaygaa ngaan.gii?"
"Waal, ngaangaarran, ngaangaarran.gu!"
Yilaabala giirr nguu barraay dhinawan dhawumaldanhi; yilaa dhinawan dhawumanhi.
Dhinawanbala nhamanga dhuwimay nguu, dhinawan ngaarrma, ngiyarrma nguunga dhaldanhi. Mindjarrubala nhama dhaaynga yanaawuwinyi.
"Yaamanga ngaan.gii! Giirr ngalinga maayrr dhaldanha. Ngaa, ganabadhaay ngay wuuna."
Bigibilagubala guwaay. "Waa, waa, waa, waa, maayndjul dhinggaa!" Dhugay nguu ngaama guwaaldanhi. Waalbala nguu dhinggaa wuudhanhi nhama bulaarrgu nhama badjingaaligu.
Giirr nhama ngiilay yanaanhi, nhama bulaarr, badjinduul. Dhurray bulaarr gadhuuga. [Giirr ganungabula dhayn gigilanhi, nhama buurrngan.]
Bulaayu guwaay nhama buurrnganda: "Waal ngaan.giidju minyagaa ngalingu wuurri. Waal nguu minyagaa ngay wuudhanhi. Waal ngay gana wuunhi, waal ngay gii wuunhi."
"Ngaayaybaay." guwaay nhama buurrngandu.
Giirr nhama buurrngan yanaawaabay, bilaarriyaay. Ngaa, nhamadhaaynga ganunga, buurrngan yanaanhi. Ngiyarrmanga ganugu bilaayu dhunhi nhama. Bilaayu dhunhi, bilaayu dhunhi, aawu, burrulaagu.
Giirrnga nguu guwaay: "Nginaalingu dhinggaa, nginu dhinggaa, nginu dhinggaa."
Giirr nguu dhugay gagaldanhi "Waal, waal." Yilaabala burrulaa bilaarr nguungunda waylanha.
Nhama wiyayl nguungu, giirr nhama bilaarr gigilanhi. Yalagiyu bigibila yanaaylanha wiyaylbil, bilaarrbil.