A useful signup list is described as an old custom until unexpected arrivals test its limits.
01Read the Arabic story
الْعَادَةُ الْقَدِيمَةُ ذَاتُ الْقَاعِدَةِ الْجَدِيدَةِ
كَانَتْ مَائِدَةُ الْحَيِّ تُقَامُ فِي أَوَّلِ سَبْتٍ مِنَ الشِّتَاءِ؛ تَجْلِبُ كُلُّ أُسْرَةٍ طَبَقًا، وَيَجِدُ الْوَاصِلُ مَكَانًا بِتَحْرِيكِ الْكَرَاسِيِّ. وَكَثِيرًا مَا اسْتَعَارَتْ سَمِيرَةُ أَطْبَاقًا إِضَافِيَّةً لِلْوَاصِلِينَ. هَذَا الْعَامَ، وَضَعَ مُنَظِّمُهَا، نَادِرٌ، قَائِمَةً تُغْلَقُ يَوْمَ الْأَرْبِعَاءِ، وَقَالَ إِنَّ الْأَوْلَوِيَّةَ لِمَنْ يُسَجِّلُ اسْمَهُ. أَرَادَ شِرَاءَ الْخُبْزِ وَالْأَطْبَاقِ بِعَدَدٍ مَعْرُوفٍ، بَدَلًا مِنَ التَّخْمِينِ الَّذِي أَرْهَقَهُ فِي الْعَامِ الْمَاضِي.
عَلَّقَ نَادِرٌ إِعْلَانًا يَصِفُ التَّسْجِيلَ بِأَنَّهُ «طَرِيقَتُنَا الْقَدِيمَةُ فِي حِفْظِ حَقِّ الْجِيرَانِ». لَمْ يَعْتَرِضْ أَحَدٌ فِي اجْتِمَاعِ التَّحْضِيرِ، فَاطْمَأَنَّ إِلَى الْعِبَارَةِ. كَانَ الْحَاضِرُونَ قَدْ كَتَبُوا أَسْمَاءَهُمْ بِالْفِعْلِ. وَعِنْدَمَا سَأَلَتْهُ الْجَارَةُ سَمِيرَةُ عَنِ الْمَتَأَخِّرِينَ، أَجَابَ بِأَنَّ الْقَائِمَةَ مُعَلَّقَةٌ أَمَامَ الْجَمِيعِ، كَأَنَّ رُؤْيَتَهَا تُغْنِي عَنْ مَعْرِفَةِ مَا اسْتُحْدِثَ فِيهَا.
ظُهْرَ السَّبْتِ، وَصَلَتْ أُمٌّ مَعَ ابْنَتِهَا وَقِدْرٍ مَغْلُوقَةٍ، بَعْدَ انْتِهَاءِ عَمَلِهَا. وَحِينَ لَمْ تَجِدِ اسْمَهَا، قَالَتْ إِنَّهَا لَمْ تَعْرِفْ أَنَّ إِحْضَارَ الطَّبَقِ لَمْ يَعُدْ كَافِيًا. كَانَ نَادِرٌ مُحْرَجًا؛ الْخُبْزُ قَلِيلٌ، وَالْأَطْبَاقُ مَحْسُوبَةٌ. سَأَلَتِ الْبِنْتُ سَمِيرَةَ أَيْنَ تَضَعُ الْقِدْرَ، فَنَقَلَتْ سَمِيرَةُ سَلَّةَ الْخُبْزِ، وَأَحْضَرَتْ طَبَقَيْنِ مِنْ بَيْتِهَا.
قَالَ نَادِرٌ: «إِذَا فَتَحْنَا الْقَائِمَةَ الْآنَ، فَلَنْ نَعْرِفَ كَمْ نَحْتَاجُ». أَجَابَتْ سَمِيرَةُ: «الْحِسَابُ مُهِمٌّ، لَكِنَّ هَذَا الشَّرْطَ جَدِيدٌ». لَمْ تُنْكِرْ تَعَبَهُ، وَلَمْ تَقُلْ إِنَّ الْخُبْزَ سَيَكْفِي بِمُجَرَّدِ حُسْنِ النِّيَّةِ. قَسَمَ نَادِرٌ مَا بَقِيَ مِنَ الْخُبْزِ إِلَى قِطَعٍ أَصْغَرَ، وَكَتَبَ عَلَى الْإِعْلَانِ: «التَّسْجِيلُ تَنْظِيمٌ أَضَفْنَاهُ هَذَا الْعَامَ».
بَعْدَ الْمَائِدَةِ، اقْتَرَحَ أَنْ تُحْجَزَ حِصَّةٌ صَغِيرَةٌ لِغَيْرِ الْمُسَجَّلِينَ فِي الْمَرَّةِ الْقَادِمَةِ، وَأَنْ يُعْلَنَ حَدُّهَا مُسْبَقًا. قَالَتْ سَمِيرَةُ إِنَّهَا سَتُسَاعِدُهُ فِي شِرَاءِ الْأَطْبَاقِ، لَا فِي وَعْدِ النَّاسِ بِمَقَاعِدَ لَا تُوجَدُ. غَسَلَتِ الْأُمُّ الْقِدْرَ، وَسَأَلَتْ نَادِرًا أَنْ يُخْبِرَهَا بِالْمَوْعِدِ قَبْلَ الْأَرْبِعَاءِ. أَخَذَ رَقْمَهَا، ثُمَّ سَأَلَهَا عَنْ مِقْدَارِ الْخُبْزِ الْمُنَاسِبِ لِطَبَقِهَا.
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The neighbourhood table was held on the first Saturday of winter. Each family brought a dish, and chairs were moved to make room for whoever arrived. Samira often borrowed extra plates for newcomers. This year its organiser, Nader, put up a list that closed on Wednesday and said priority would go to those who registered their names. He wanted a known quantity of bread and plates to buy, instead of the guessing that had exhausted him the previous year.
Nader posted a notice describing registration as “our old way of protecting neighbours’ entitlement.” Nobody objected at the planning meeting, so he felt reassured by the wording. Those present had already written down their names. When his neighbour Samira asked about late arrivals, he replied that the list was on display for everyone, as though seeing it removed the need to know what had been newly introduced.
At midday on Saturday, a mother arrived with her daughter and a covered pot after finishing work. When she could not find her name, she said she had not known that bringing a dish was no longer enough. Nader was embarrassed: there was little bread, and the plates had been counted. The girl asked Samira where to put the pot. Samira moved the bread basket and brought two plates from her house.
“If we open the list now, we will not know how much we need,” Nader said. Samira answered, “The count matters, but this condition is new.” She did not deny his efforts or say that good intentions alone would make the bread suffice. Nader divided the remaining bread into smaller pieces and wrote on the notice: “Registration is an arrangement we added this year.”
After the meal, he proposed reserving a small allocation for people who had not registered next time, and announcing its limit beforehand. Samira said she would help him buy plates, rather than promise people seats that did not exist. The mother washed the pot and asked Nader to tell her the date before Wednesday. He took her number, then asked her how much bread would go well with her dish.
02Useful words from the story
| Arabic in the story | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| بِتَحْرِيكِ | by moving |
| التَّخْمِينِ | guessing; estimating without a known count |
| أَرْهَقَهُ | exhausted him |
| الْأَوْلَوِيَّةَ | priority |
| الْمَتَأَخِّرِينَ | late arrivals |
| لَمْ تَجِدِ اسْمَهَا | she could not find her name |
| مُحْرَجًا | embarrassed |
| تَعَبَهُ | his effort; exertion |
| قِطَعٍ أَصْغَرَ | smaller pieces |
| حِصَّةٌ | an allocation; reserved portion |
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 practical new condition acquires a misleading history when it is presented as an inherited custom.
- The response combines a truthful label, limited supplies and a proposed reserve with an announced limit.
Explore the Arabic in this story
Related grammar and vocabularyOpen Araqick guides connected to this story.
Kana in Arabic: Was and Were
كَانَ نَادِرٌ مُحْرَجًا
Read the past state with a nominative name and an accusative description.
Arabic Past-Tense Endings: I Wrote, You Wrote and We Wrote
وَكَتَبَ عَلَى الْإِعْلَانِ
Identify the regular masculine singular past form and its understood subject.
