Waŋganymirriy waluy, nyumukuṉiny'thu ḏepinay' gan nyaŋ'thurr man'tjarr.
One sunny day, a small caterpillar was eating some leaves.
Mirithirr ŋayi ŋunhi djäl ŋurikiyi man'tjarrwuny, ŋunhi ŋayi ŋuli dhawar'maranha waŋgany man'tjarr ga wiripuny muka ŋayi ŋuli ḻukanha man'tjarr. Ga man'tjarrnydja nhakun ŋunhi nhanŋu ŋathan.
She really liked eating those leaves. When she finished one leaf she
would go onto another leaf and eat. The leaves are her food.
Nyaŋ'thurr ŋayi marrtjin, ga ganarrthaŋalnydja ŋayi ŋunhi man'tjarrnydja ŋarŋgamirra. Waṉḏin ŋayi marrtji....in, ga gaṉdarrŋurnydj ŋayi bunan moŋ'muŋgun.
When she was walk...ing along eating, she left a big hole in the leaves. It was while she was crawling along that she bumped into a bug.
“Nhumalaŋguny manymak ŋe! Ŋunhi nhuma nhakun binbarrmirr. Ŋarra ŋuli ga dhuwal mirithirr guyaŋa ga djälthirr, balaŋ ŋarra dhuwal buṯthunamirr nhakun nhuma”. Yurr ŋayiny moŋ'muŋdja nhanŋu bäyŋun waŋanha, yan ŋayi buṯthurra. Ga ŋayiny bala marrtjin gaḻ'yurra wiripulila man'tjarrlil.
Yours are good! You've got wings. And for me, l always think about wings and really wish l could fly like you. But the beetle didn't talk to her, and flew away. And she went crawling to another leaf.
Ga märrma' djikay dhal'yurr, bala ŋayiny nhäŋal maṉḏany bala dharraḏayinan, ga ŋorranany ŋayi gan ŋunhi nhakun rakunynha. Bili ŋunhi balaŋ' ŋayi wingil'yunany maṉḏany balaŋ' ŋanya ḻukanhan. Yurr maṉḏany ŋanya nhäŋal bala ganarrthaŋala bala buṯthurra. Bala ŋayiny marrtjin gaḻ'yurra balan bitjarr man'tjarr guwatjmar.
And two birds landed, and she saw them and she was still. She slept for a long time like she was dead. Because if she were to move the two birds might eat her. However they did see her and left her and they flew away. Then she crawled to where she saw some leaves.
Ŋunhi ŋayi marrtjin nyaŋ'thurr man'tjarrnydja, bala ŋayi marrtjin yindithinan ŋuthar. Ga waŋganymirra bulu ŋayi ḻukan man'tjarr, ga dharrwa mala nhakun gan ŋunhiliyi buṯthu'puṯthurr milkmilk, guku- ḏawurr, ga wiripun mala, galkikurr nhankualaŋawurr. Ga ŋayiny walalany nhäŋal, bala bitjarra, “ Ye...e, wanha ŋarra binbarrmirr, ŋarra ŋuli gi buṯthu'puṯthurr?''
She was eating lots of leaves, and she was growing bigger. And one day when she was eating leaves there flying around were some mosquitos, bees, and other types of insects, close to her. And she saw them and she thought to herself, “Ye...es, if only l had wings, l could fly?''
Ga waŋganydhu waluy, ŋayi wäŋa warrpam' wapurarryin, bala nyärryurra ŋunhi waltjaṉdja. Ga ŋayiny ḏepinany' djuḻuḻ'yurra waltjaṉŋurnydja, man'tjarrlila, galkurr ŋayi gan bäy dhu ḏaŋgathirr.
And one day, the place was very calm, then it rained. And the caterpillar was hiding from the rain. Under the leaves, she was waiting for the rain to stop.
Ga ŋunhi waltjaṉ ḏaŋgathin bala ŋayi ḏepinany' marrtjin yarrupthurra.
Yarrupthurra ŋayi marrtjin ŋunhi beŋur man'tjarrŋurnydja....a, ga yup ŋayi
yupthurr. Ŋunhiyiny nhanŋu nhakun walu ŋayi dhu marrtjin. Yurr, yorrnha ŋayi marrtjinany. Ŋurruŋuny ŋathil ŋayi ḏawa'yurr, ga nhäŋal ŋunhi djikay mala yothu, ŋunhi walal gan bitjarryi bili nhinan guwarr.
And when the rain stopped the caterpillar went down. Down and down she went, from where the lea....ves were. That was the time for her to go. She just went.
Yupthurr ŋayi marrtjin, ga yup, bala marrtjin gaḻ'yurr wurrkikurra. Ga dharrwa mirithirr guku-ḏawurr mala gan buṯthu-puṯthurr ŋunhiliyi. Ga ŋayiny ŋulawitjarryi bili marrtjin gaḻ'yurr ḏepinany'.
Down and down she went, then crawling through the flowers. And there were lots and lots of bees flying about around the place. And the caterpillar was crawling in that same direction.
Bala ŋayi gulyurra ŋunhiliyi bili. Bala ŋayi marrtjin dhoṯkunhaminan man'tjarrlilnha, bala gan ŋorran. Ŋorranany ŋayi gan, bäyŋun ŋanya ŋula yolthu maḻŋ'maranha. Ga waluy gan ŋanya gorrmurkuŋal, ga ŋunhiliyi djinagany ŋayi marrtjin djambin.
Then she stopped there. Then she started covering herself with leaves, then went to sleep. While she was sleeping no-one saw her. And the sun was making her hot, and inside the leaves, she was changing.
Ga waŋganymirr munhawumirr ŋunhi man'tjarr marrtjin ḻapthurr.Yurr
ŋunhi ḏepinany' winya'yurra. Ga ŋunhiliyi dharapulŋur nhanukal gan
ŋorran ŋula nhän ŋunhi yaŋara' nhanŋu wiyin' maṉḏany, ga märrma'
wiyin' ŋula nhän maṉḏany ŋurruŋur. Ga bulu nhakun mirithirrnydja
manymak ŋayi nhakun ŋunhiyi ŋula nhäny binbarrmirriyirra.
And one night those leaves were coming apart. Caterpillar was lost. And
in that place where she was sleeping came her two long tails and also
two things coming out from her nose. And the best thing she had wings.
Ga ŋunhi ḏepinany'boṉba'yinan djambi minytji'mirriyinan.
And she, the caterpillar, turned into a butterfly with many colours.
Ga ŋunhi ŋayi buṯthurrnydja, bala ŋayi marrtjin nhäŋal'nhaŋal ḻundu'mirriŋuwnha nhankalaŋaw ŋayi, märr maṉḏa dhu marrtji'-marrtji, ga mala-buma bulu ḏepina' mala, märr bulu ŋayi dhu ŋurruyirr'yun ŋunhi dhäwu ḏepina'walaŋuwuy.
And when she flew, she could see her friends. They could meet together
and make more caterpillars, and we will make a book about caterpillar again.
