Soul of a Brother - Icelandic and English

Guðrún Kristín Magnúsdóttir :

Sál bróðurins, steinbítsbróðurins Soul of a Brother Hlýri. Steinbítsbróðir. Bróðir (steinbítur (stein-bítur) : catfish, stein-bíts-bróðir – hlýri : = another type of catfish: leopard fish)

The fish hlýri, leopard fish, is, in Iceland, called: “brother of the catfish”

verðlaunasaga (verð-launa-saga)

This is a price-winning short story

Published by / útgefin (út gefin) af Námsgagnastofnun 1994 í bókinni: Sál bróðurins, steinbítsbróðurins fjórar smásögur; útgáfu verðlaunasagna Guðrúnar Kristínar Magnúsdóttur myndir: höf.

illustrated by the author

enska þýðingin hefur verið gefin út í safnriti/bókinni: Nordic Children's Libraries, IFLA '97, English translation of: _Soul of a Brother_ short story has been publ.in Nordic Children's Libraries, IFLA 1997

this black-white picture is of the skin of a hlýri (pronounce: hlee-rri), nor surprisingly the name leopard fish, besides that the real color is yellow-brown (as seen on the book-cover in color).

Steinbítur (stein-bítur (literally stone-biter)), cat-fish, is, on the other hand, greyish in color

Sál bróður, steinbítsbróður Drengurinn sat í flæðarmálinu með hundinn.

Drengurinn var dapur því hann átti engan bróður. Þess vegna var hundurinn líka dapur.

Drengurinn teygði ögn úr hálsinum, þar sem hann sat í flæðarmálinu.

Honum sýndist einn af bátunum vera að koma lengst úti á firði.

Hundurinn teygði líka ögn úr sér og horfði á bátinn í fjarska sem steig og hneig á öldunum. Það var heldur ekkert annað að sjá. Bara hafið, himinninn, sólin, skýin, grjótið í fjörunni, þangið í fjörunni; höfði sem trónaði úti í firði eins og hann hafði alltaf gert; -- fuglinn sem sveif í endalausri leit að æti.

The boy sat by the seashore with the dog.

He was sad because he had no brother.

This also made the dog sad. (flæðar-mál) The boy stretched a little as he sat there by the seashore. He thought he could see one of the boats appearing far out on the bay.

The dog also raised his head a bit and watched the boat in the distance rising and falling on the waves.

(enda-laus) There was nothing else to be seen. Only the ocean, the sky, the sun, some clouds, the rocky beach, the seaweed on the beach; a headland towering out over the bay as it always had; -- seagulls gliding in the air in their endless search for something to eat.

Drengurinn átti engan bróður.

Inni í þorpinu voru börn, strákar, sem áttu bróður.

Drengurinn vissi að mamma hans var hjá guði og þess vegna átti hann ekki bróður.

Drengurinn velti því oft fyrir sér hvers vegna mamma hans vildi frekar vera hjá guði.

En hann spurði einskis.

Hann spurði aldrei neins.

Drengurinn átti að vísu þennan hund, þ.e.a.s. hann átti alls ekki þennan hund.

Einhverra hluta vegna hafði hann orðið viðskila við ferðamenn á hestum.

Enginn kom að sækja hann.

Hundurinn elti drenginn hvert fótmál frá morgni til kvölds. Þessi hundur átti ekki einu sinni nafn, því í rauninni átti enginn hann.

The boy did not have a brother.

There were children in the village, boys, who had a brother.

The boy knew that his mother was with god and therefore he had no brother.

The boy often wondered why his mother preferred to stay with god.

But he did not ask.

He never asked about anything. (þ.e.a.s. það er að segja “that is to say“) It was true, actually, that he owned this dog, or rather, it didn’t belong to him at all.

For some reason or another, this dog had become separated from a group of horsemen passing by.

Nobody came back for it. (fót-mál) The dog followed the boy’s every step from morning to night.

This dog didn’t even have a name because nobody really owned it.

Drengnum fannst gott að grafa fingrunum inn í mjúkan lurg hundsins. Þetta var ungur hundur, varla fullvaxinn, og hundurinn skildi ekki þessa þrá drengsins að vilja eiga bróður.

En samt var eins og hann skildi það.

Hundurinn vildi ekkert endilega eiga bróður, -- það er kannski annað með dreng.

Báturinn hvarf eins og undiraldan hefði gleypt hann, reis svo upp á ölduna alveg upp að himninum, skartaði silfruðu pusi í hverri dýfu.

Nú yrði nógur fiskur.

Piltarnir voru svo röskir, og þeir höfðu eflaust sótt á djúpið í dag í svona veðri.

Drengurinn og hundurinn vöppuðu áleiðis að naustinu. Það var alltaf gaman að sjá bátana koma að. Kannski var pabbi í þessum báti.

The boy liked to bury his fingers in the dog’s thick soft fur. (full-vaxinn) It was a young dog, not fully grown. The dog didn’t understand the boy’s longing for a brother. (endi+lega) And yet, it was as if it understood. The dog did not particularly want a brother - maybe it is different for a boy. (undir-alda) The boat disappeared as if the undercurrent had swallowed it, then it rose up on top of the wave, all the way towards the sky, wearing the silvery spray as jewelry every time it went down.

There would be plenty of fish today. (ef-laust) Hardy as they were, without doubt the lads had gone far out to sea in this weather. (á-leiðis; allt-af) The boy and the dog sauntered towards the landing. Watching the boats come in, always gave a good feeling.

Dad might be on this one.

Piltarnir voru háværir, en þó sögðu þeir fátt.

Faðir drengsins kyssti hann á ennið er hann var kominn í land með aflahlutinn sinn.

-Sjáðu þennan skrýtna, sagði hann. -Hlýri.

Steinbítsbróðir, bætti hann við.

-Hann veiðist nú ekki uppi við landsteina þessi.

Fallegur?

Faðir drengsins hélt uppi stórum fiski með ugga frá haus aftur á sporð, doppóttum um allan kroppinn.

-Bróðir? hugsaði drengurinn og tók við fiskinum, tók fiskinn í fangið.

-Þú verður allur slorugur, krakki, sagði faðir hans og hló.

(há-vær) The lads talked loudly, although they didn’t really say much. (afla-hlutur) The boy’s father kissed him on the forehead when he was on shore with his share of the catch. (stein-bíts-bróðir; land-steina; fal+legur) - Look at this funny one, he said.

- A leopard fish.

Brother to the catfish, he added. - This one can’t be caught anywhere near land.

Beautiful, isn’t it? (dopp+óttur) The boy’s father held up a large fish with a fin from head to tail, covered all over with spots.

- Brother? The boy thought, reaching out to take the fish in his arms.

- You’ll get all slimy and smelly, boy, his father laughed.

Fiskurinn var mjúkur, sleipur, þungur og ákaflega fallegur, doppóttur um allan kroppinn.

Ekki fallegur í framan, nei, hausinn á honum var nú frekar ljótur, en drengurinn hafði aldrei séð fallegri fisk.

-Bróðir, hugsaði drengurinn. -Hann heitir Hlýri.

Drengurinn sagði ekki neitt þegar hlýirnn var flakaður. Þessi drengur sagði eiginlega aldrei neitt.

Hann vissi að þetta yrði kvöldmaturinn í kvöld, því ýsan, lýsan og þyrsklingarnir fóru í salt eða voru spyrt.

Dálknum af hlýranum var fleygt; hausnum, uggunum, sporðinum, roðinu.

(á-kaf+lega) The fish was soft, slippery, heavy, and very beautiful; its body covered all over with spots. (aldr-ei) Its expression was perhaps not so very beautiful - no, its head was rather ugly - but the boy had never seen a more beautiful fish.

- Brother, the boy thought.

- His name is Leopard.

(eigin+lega) The boy didn’t say a thing when the leopard fish was cut into fillets.

This boy, actually, never uttered a word. (kvöld-matur; þyrsk+lingur) He knew this would be tonight’s dinner, as the haddock, whiting and codlings would be salted, or some hung up for drying.

The leopard fish’s spine with the head, fin and tail was thrown away along with the skin.

Þegar enginn sá til, tók drengurinn þessar gersemar. Hann bar þær upp fyrir hól. Þar hengdi hann þessar fallegu leifar bróðurins til þerris; dálkinn, með haus og sporði og uggum, og roðið sem hann þurfti að slétta út.

Hann hengdi þetta milli stórra steina þar sem hrafninn fyndi það ekki.

Enginn nema drengurinn og hundurinn vissi um þetta.

Drengurinn gat ekki borðað.

Hann sat við kvöldverðarborðið og starði á hvítt holdið á fatinu -- steinbítsbróðurinn.

Amma hans hélt að hann væri lasinn. Hann gat ekki einu sinni smakkað kartöfluna.

-Ætlarðu ekki að éta neitt, vinurinn? spurði hún.

(ger-semi) When nobody was watching, the boy collected these treasures. He took them with him to a place behind the hillock.

There, he hid these beautiful remains of the brother - the spine with head, tail, and fins, and the skin, which he had to stretch out.

He hung them up between some boulders where the raven would not find them.

Nobody but the boy and the dog knew about it.

The boy couldn’t eat. (kvöld-verðar-borð; stein-bíts-bróðir) He sat at the dinner table staring at the white flesh on the plate - the brother to the catfish.

His grandmother thought he was sick. He would not even taste his potato.

-Aren’t you going to eat anything, my dear? she asked.

Leifar hlýrans þornuðu og hörðnuðu milli stóru steinanna fyrir ofan hól.

Drengurinn og hundurinn fóru á hverjum degi að skoða þessar gersemar.

Drengurinn gróf fingrunum í mjúkan lubba hundsins og starði á haus hlýrans.

Hann nærri því gleymdi að fara heim á kvöldin.

-- Bróðir.

Drengurinn fór út á hlað en hundurinn var ekki þar eins og venjulega á morgnana.

Hundurinn svaf alltaf úti í hlöðu en var alltaf kominn á bæjarhelluna þegar drengurinn kom út á morgnana.

Drengurinn hafði aldrei kallað á hundinn, enda átti hundurinn ekkert nafn. Það kom hik á drenginn.

Hann var orðinn vanur að hafa hundinn alltaf með sér.

The remains of the leopard fish became dry and hard between the boulders in the cave behind the hillock.

Every day the boy and the dog went there to take a look at these treasures.

The boy dug his fingers in the dog’s soft fur staring at the head of the leopard fish. He almost forgot to go home in the evenings.

- A brother. (venju+lega; allt-af; bæjar-hella) The boy went outside, but the dog wasn’t there as it usually was every morning.

The dog always slept in the barn and every morning it would wait at the doorstep of the farmhouse for the boy to come out.

The boy had never called the dog since this dog didn’t have a name.

The boy hesitated.

He had grown used to having the dog always by his side.

Hann gekk út að hlöðuopinu og gægðist inn. Þar var enginn hundur.

Drengurinn gekk frá bænum og stefndi á hólinn.

Bak við hólinn var hundurinn að ljúka við að éta hlýrahaus, hlýraugga, hlýrasporð og hlýraroð sem hafði hangið til þerris milli steina þar sem hrafninn fann það ekki.

Hundurinn lá fram á lappir sínar með leifar dálksins.

Hann dinglaði skottinu þegar drengurinn kom.

Drengurinn stóð kyrr. Það er sárt að missa.

Sumir kunna ekki að gráta. Sumir kunna ekki að reiðast.

Drengurinn stóð kyrr. Hundurinn dinglaði skottinu.

(hlöðu-op) He walked to the barn and peeped inside.

There was no dog in there.

The boy walked away from the farmhouse and headed towards the hillock. (hlýra-haus, hlýra-uggar, hlýra-sporður, hlýra-roð) Behind the hillock the dog was finishing eating the head, fins, tail and skin of the leopard fish which had been hidden away to dry between boulders where the raven would not find them.

The dog lay there with the remains of the spine beside it.

It wagged its tail when the boy appeared.

The boy stood still.

It hurts to lose someone.

Some people don’t know how to cry. Some don’t know how to get angry.

The boy stood still. The dog wagged its tail.

Drengurinn gróf holu, djúpa holu, fyrir ofan hól.

Hann hafði óljósa vitneskju um, að allir þyrftu að fara ofan í djúpa holu, þegar þeir færu upp til guðs. Í þessa holu lét hann leifar dálksins.

Hann velti fyrir sér hvort ekki yrði að jarða líka það sem hundurinn hafði étið.

Sálin fer upp til guðs, sagði amma. Skrítið að þurfa fyrst að fara oní jörðina.

Til vonar og vara setti hann allan skit, sem hundurinn skildi eftir sig næstu daga, í holuna líka.

Mokaði svo yfir.

Kannski hittir mamma sál bróðurins, steinbítsbróðurins, þarna uppi hjá guði -- og kannski kemur hún þá aftur.

-- oo 0 oo -SÖGULOK

The boy dug a hole, a deep hole, behind the hillock. (ó-ljós vit+n+eskja) He had this vague notion that everybody had to go into a deep hole on their way up to god.

He put the remains of the spine into this hole. He wondered if what the dog had eaten wouldn’t have to be buried too.

Grandma had told him that the soul goes up to god.

How strange to have to go down into the earth first.

In order to be sure, he also put into the hole all the turds the dog left behind the next few days.

Then he shoveled soil over it.

Maybe mom will meet the soul of the brother brother to the catfish - up there with god, and maybe then she will come back.

-- oo O oo -(sögu-lok)