Follow a nickname from an old sign to a new assignment.
01Read the Arabic story
اللَّقَبُ الَّذِي لَا يُسْتَعْمَلُ إِلَّا فِي الِانْتِخَابَاتِ
سُمِّيتُ مُهَنْدِسَ النَّادِي يَوْمَ طَلَيْتُ لَافِتَتَهُ الْأُولَى. لَمْ أَكُنْ مُهَنْدِسًا؛ كُنْتُ أَعْرِفُ كَيْفَ أَمْنَعُ اللَّوْنَ مِنَ السَّيَلَانِ تَحْتَ الْحُرُوفِ. أَطْلَقَ فَارِسٌ عَلَيَّ اللَّقَبَ، وَضَحِكْنَا عِنْدَ تَعْلِيقِ اللَّافِتَةِ الْمَائِلَةِ. بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ لَمْ أَسْمَعْهُ إِلَّا حِينَ تَجْرِي انْتِخَابَاتُ لَجْنَةِ النَّادِي. فِي بَقِيَّةِ السَّنَةِ كَانَ اسْمِي نَبِيلًا، وَكَانَ فَارِسٌ يَشْرَبُ مَعِي الشَّايَ أَحْيَانًا.
هَذِهِ الْمَرَّةَ تَرَشَّحَ فَارِسٌ، وَنَادَانِي بِاللَّقَبِ أَمَامَ الْأَعْضَاءِ. فَرِحْتُ لِأَنَّهُ تَذَكَّرَ عَمَلًا بَسِيطًا بَعْدَ سِنِينَ، وَرَفَعْتُ يَدِي لِلتَّحِيَّةِ. ثُمَّ قَالَ إِنَّ مُهَنْدِسَنَا سَيَكْتُبُ إِعْلَانَ الِانْتِخَابَاتِ كَالْعَادَةِ. لَمْ يَسْأَلْنِي قَبْلَ الْجُمْلَةِ، وَأَصْبَحَتْ يَدِي الْمَرْفُوعَةُ تَبْدُو كَأَنَّهَا تُؤَيِّدُهَا. لَمْ أُحِبَّ أَنْ أَقْطَعَ ضَحِكَ الْجَمَاعَةِ، فَأَنْزَلْتُ يَدِي وَقُلْتُ إِنَّنَا نَتَحَدَّثُ لَاحِقًا.
خَلْفَ صُنْدُوقِ الِاقْتِرَاعِ الصَّغِيرِ، وَجَدْتُ بِطَاقَةً تَحْمِلُ لَقَبِي تَحْتَ عُنْوَانِ الْمُتَطَوِّعِينَ. سَأَلْتُ فَارِسًا مَنْ كَتَبَهَا. قَالَ إِنَّهُ هُوَ، وَإِنَّ النَّاسَ يَثِقُونَ بِصَاحِبِ اللَّافِتَةِ. رَدَدْتُ أَنَّ الْخَطَّ الْوَاضِحَ لَا يَضْمَنُ وَقْتًا فَارِغًا، وَأَنَّنِي أَعْمَلُ مَسَاءَ ذَلِكَ الْيَوْمِ. اِعْتَذَرَ، وَسَحَبَ الْبِطَاقَةَ. لَمْ يَطْلُبْ مِنِّي إِثْبَاتًا لِمَوْعِدِ عَمَلِي، فَخَفَّ ضِيقِي قَلِيلًا.
اِقْتَرَحْتُ أَنْ أَكْتُبَ الْعُنْوَانَ فَقَطْ قَبْلَ الْعَمَلِ، وَأَنْ يَتَوَلَّى غَيْرِي بَقِيَّةَ الْإِعْلَانِ. قُلْتُ: اُكْتُبْ نَبِيلًا فِي الْقَائِمَةِ، وَاسْأَلْنِي قَبْلَ أَنْ تَعِدَ بِوَقْتِي. أَجَابَ بِأَنَّ اللَّقَبَ مَدْحٌ، وَأَنَّهُ لَمْ يُرِدْ إِحْرَاجِي. صَدَّقْتُ أَنَّهُ مَدْحٌ، وَلَكِنَّ الْمَدْحَ وَالْمَهَمَّةَ وَصَلَا مَعًا. أَعَدْتُ الْفُرْشَاةَ إِلَى عُلْبَتِهَا، وَكَتَبْتُ الْمَوْعِدَ الَّذِي نَاسَبَنِي عَلَى الْغِطَاءِ.
يَوْمَ الِانْتِخَابِ، وَقَفَ عُضْوٌ قُرْبَ الْإِعْلَانِ وَشَكَرَ نَبِيلًا عَلَى الْعُنْوَانِ. لَمْ يَذْكُرِ اللَّقَبَ، وَلَمْ يَبْدُ شُكْرُهُ أَقَلَّ دِفْئًا. فِي الْمَمَرِّ بَقِيَتْ صُورَةُ اللَّافِتَةِ الْأُولَى الْمَائِلَةِ. مَا زَالَتْ أَلْوَانُهَا زَاهِيَةً، وَتَحْتَهَا اسْمُ مُهَنْدِسِ النَّادِي بِخَطِّ فَارِسٍ. تَرَكْتُهَا مَكَانَهَا. وَعِنْدَمَا دَعَانِي فَارِسٌ لِلشَّايِ بَعْدَ الْفَرْزِ، سَأَلْتُهُ عَنِ الْوَقْتِ قَبْلَ أَنْ أَرْفَعَ يَدِي.
Show English translationHide English translation
I was named “the club engineer” on the day I painted its first sign. I was no engineer; I knew how to stop paint running beneath the letters. Faris gave me the nickname, and we laughed as we hung the crooked sign. After that I heard it only when elections were held for the club committee. For the rest of the year my name was Nabil, and Faris sometimes drank tea with me.
This time Faris stood as a candidate and called me by the nickname in front of the members. I was pleased that he remembered a small piece of work years later, and raised my hand in greeting. Then he said our engineer would letter the election notice as usual. He had not asked me beforehand, and my raised hand began to look as though it endorsed the sentence. I did not like to interrupt the group’s laughter, so I lowered it and said we would talk later.
Behind the small ballot box I found a card bearing my nickname under the heading “Volunteers”. I asked Faris who had written it. He said he had, and that people trusted the man who had made the sign. I replied that clear lettering did not guarantee free time and that I was working that evening. He apologised and withdrew the card. He did not ask me to prove my work schedule, and my irritation eased a little.
I offered to write just the heading before work, with someone else completing the notice. I said, “Put Nabil on the list, and ask me before promising my time.” He replied that the nickname was praise and that he had not meant to embarrass me. I believed it was praise, but the praise and the task had arrived together. I returned the brush to its box and wrote the time that suited me on the lid.
On election day a member stood near the notice and thanked Nabil for the heading. He did not mention the nickname, and his thanks seemed no less warm. In the corridor the photograph of the first crooked sign remained. Its colours were still bright, with “the club engineer” written below it in Faris’s hand. I left it where it was. When Faris invited me to tea after the count, I asked him the time before raising my hand.
02Useful words from the story
| Arabic in the story | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| اللَّافِتَةِ الْمَائِلَةِ | the crooked sign |
| لِلتَّحِيَّةِ | in greeting |
| تُؤَيِّدُهَا | endorses it (the statement) |
| صُنْدُوقِ الِاقْتِرَاعِ | the ballot box |
| الْمُتَطَوِّعِينَ | volunteers |
| لِمَوْعِدِ عَمَلِي | of my work schedule |
| ضِيقِي | my irritation |
| الْفُرْشَاةَ | the paintbrush |
| أَقَلَّ دِفْئًا | less warm |
| الْفَرْزِ | the counting of votes |
03Check your understanding
Choose one answer per question. Track voices, omissions and competing accounts. Choose the reading best supported by the Arabic text.
What to remember
- A remembered contribution can become an unrequested public role.
- Keeping the nickname in a photograph does not waive control of present commitments.
Explore the Arabic in this story
Related grammar and vocabularyOpen Araqick guides connected to this story.
Lam in Arabic: How to Say “Did Not”
لَمْ يَطْلُبْ مِنِّي إِثْبَاتًا
Notice lam with a sound-final verb: a past action denied with a jussive ending.
Lakinna and Lakin in Arabic: Two Patterns for But
وَلَكِنَّ الْمَدْحَ وَالْمَهَمَّةَ وَصَلَا مَعًا
Lakinna introduces a qualification: praise arrived together with a task. Its first noun is accusative.
