Ha xipus axarei Lorna |
The search for Lorna |
Daisy Hamilton hayta
xokeret pratit. |
Daisy
Hamilton was a private detective. |
Hi haita bat
shloshim, ve avda ke xokeret pratit be-meshex ha shnatayim
ha axronot. |
She
was thirty years old and had been a detective for the past two years. |
Be xol boker
halxa la misrad shela kdey lehamtin le sixot telefon o liftoax et ha delet
le lakoxot ha zkukim le sheruteha. |
Every
morning she went to her office to wait for phone calls or open the door to clients needing
her services. |
Daisy adayin
lo hayta meod yedu'a, ax le-itim anashim tilfenu eleha be ikvot ha hoda'a she hi
pirsema ba iton ha mekomi. |
Daisy
wasn't very well known yet but occasionally people telephoned her from the advertisement
she had put in the local newspaper. |
Boker exad, be
sha'a axat-esrei be-erex, mishehu hikish al delet misrada. |
One
morning at about eleven o'clock someone knocked on her office door. |
Zu haita isha shmena
she lavsha parva sviv tsavara. |
It
was a fat lady who wore a fur around her neck. |
"Shalom, ani
yexola la'azor lax?", sha'ala Daisy et ha isha. Ana, hikansi u shvi". |
"Hello,
can I help you?" Daisy asked the lady. "Please come and sit down." |
"Ken, be-hexlet!
Ani zekuka le ezratex be ofen no'ash. |
"Oh
yes indeed! I need your help desperately. |
Lorna, ha ktana
sheli, ne'elma. Eini yoda'at ma la'asot. |
Lorna,
my little one has disappeared. I don't know what to do." |
Daisy hitsi'a la isha
ha shmena sefel kafe names ve xikta li pratim. |
Daisy
offered the fat lady a cup of instant coffee and awaited the details. |
Ha isha ha shmena
hityashva bi xvedut ve sama et tik ha or ha gadol shela al ha shulxan shel Daisy. |
The
fat lady sat down heavily and put her large red leather handbag on Daisy's desk. |
"Ana, sapri li
ha kol, gveret ...?" |
"Please
tell me everything - Mrs. ...?" |
"Shmi hu gveret
Edwina Humphries. Ani xosheshet she hem yevakshu mimeni kesef - ani xosheshet
she Lorna nextefa!" |
"Mrs.
Edwina Humphries is my name. I am afraid they will ask me for money - I'm afraid Lorna has
been kidnapped!" |
"Ze nora, gveret
Humphries. Ha'im gam mar Humphries xoshev she Lorna nextefa?" |
"That's
terrible, Mrs. Humphries. Does Mr. Humphries, too, think Lorna has been kidnapped?" |
"Ba'ali eino mit'anyen
im Lorna nextefa o lo!" |
"My
husband is not interested if Lorna has been kidnapped or not!" |
"Be-emet, gveret
Humphries, aval ha'im mar Humphries eino aviha ha amiti shel Lorna?" |
"Really,
Mrs. Humphries? But is your husband Lorna's real father?" |
"Eineni
yoda'at le ma at mitkavenet. Anu kaninu et Lorna be-yaxad",
heshiva gveret Humphries. |
"I
don't know what you mean. We bought Lorna together," replied Mrs. Humphries. |
"Atem kanitem...
gveret Humphries, ze bilti xuki, at yoda'at". |
"You
bought ............Mrs. Humphries, that's illegal, you know." |
"Lo, ze lo, lo
be Hodu." |
"No
it isn't, not in India!" |
"Atem kanitem
et Lorna be Hodu?" |
"You
bought Lorna in India?" |
"Ken, be-hexlet!
Ve hi tamid mesapeket li xevra nifla'a, at yoda'at". |
Yes
indeed! And she always keeps me great company, you know." |
Gveret
Humphries patxa et tik ha or he anak shela kedei lehotsi mimxata. |
"Mrs.
Humphries opened her huge leather bag to pull out a handkerchief. |
Daisy hitxalxela bir'ota
yetsur mitpatel ha yotse mi-tox ha tik. |
With
horror Daisy saw a wiggling creature come out of that bag. |
"Gveret
Humphries, tikxi mi kan et ha davar haze miyad!", tsa'aka Daisy. |
"Mrs.
Humphries - move that away immediately!" screamed Daisy. |
"Ma? Oy, Lorna
- sof sof matsati otax!" amra gveret Humphries. "At hitxabeit ba
tik sheli, yalda shovava she kmotex!" |
"What?
Oh Lorna - I've found you at last!" said Mrs. Humphries."You hid in my bag - you
naughty girl!" |
"Gveret
Humphries, zu hi Lorna?" |
"Mrs.
Humphries. This is Lorna?" |
"Ken, naxash ha
bitsot ha Bengali shelanu. Oy, toda lax, yakirati. Lo, eineni xoshevet
she ani zkuka yoter le sherutayix!" |
Yes,
our Bengali swamp snake. Oh thank you my dear. No, I don't think I need your services any
longer!" |
Ka-asher Daisy sagra
et ha delet axarey tseita shel gveret Humphries, hi tsiyna le atsma lehosif
la moda'a shela: Lelo xayot, lelo nexashim. |
As
Daisy shut the door after Mrs. Humphries, she made a mental note to write in the
advertisement: no animals, no snakes. |
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