A walking club’s private joke appears on an open-day poster. A newcomer reads a rule, while an old friend finds a promise.
01Read the Arabic story
عِنْدَمَا صَارَتْ مَزْحَتُنَا الْخَاصَّةُ شِعَارًا عَامًّا
عَلَّقَتْ هِنْدٌ مُلْصَقَ الْيَوْمِ الْمَفْتُوحِ لِنَادِي الْمَشْيِ، وَعَلَيْهِ شِعَارٌ اخْتَارَهُ أَصْدِقَاؤُهَا: لَا نَصِلُ أَبَدًا بِلَا خَرِيطَةٍ. ضَحِكَتْ وَهِيَ تُثَبِّتُ الشَّرِيطَ. فِي رِحْلَتِهِمُ الْأُولَى، ضَلُّوا الطَّرِيقَ بِخَرِيطَةٍ لَمْ يَفْتَحُوهَا، ثُمَّ وَصَلُوا مُتَأَخِّرِينَ يَحْمِلُونَهَا مَطْوِيَّةً. كَانَتْ زَيْنَبُ تُرَدِّدُ الْعِبَارَةَ كُلَّمَا اسْتَعْجَلُوا. أَمَّا عَلَى الْمُلْصَقِ، فَقَدْ وَقَعَتْ تَحْتَ عُنْوَانٍ كَبِيرٍ يَدْعُو الْجَمِيعَ.
جَاءَتْ فَتَاةٌ تَحْمِلُ زُجَاجَةَ مَاءٍ، وَسَأَلَتْ إِنْ كَانَ يَجِبُ أَنْ تَعُودَ إِلَى بَيْتِهَا. لَمْ تَجْلِبْ خَرِيطَةً. شَرَحَتْ هِنْدٌ الْمَزْحَةَ، فَابْتَسَمَتِ الْفَتَاةُ وَبَقِيَتْ عِنْدَ الْبَابِ. لَمْ تَسْأَلْ عَنْ تَفَاصِيلِ الرِّحْلَةِ الْقَدِيمَةِ؛ سَأَلَتْ مَنْ سَيَخْتَارُ طَرِيقَ الْيَوْمِ. اِنْتَبَهَتْ هِنْدٌ إِلَى أَنَّ الْقِصَّةَ الَّتِي تُضْحِكُهَا لَا تُجِيبُ عَنْ سُؤَالِ الدُّخُولِ، وَلَا عَنْ سُؤَالِ الطَّرِيقِ.
اِقْتَرَحَتْ نَزْعَ الشِّعَارِ، لَكِنَّ زَيْنَبَ اعْتَرَضَتْ. قَالَتْ إِنَّهَا قَرَأَتْهُ هَذَا الصَّبَاحَ كَوَعْدٍ بِأَلَّا يَتْرُكُوا أَحَدًا يَمْشِي تَائِهًا. كَانَتْ هِيَ صَاحِبَةَ الْخَرِيطَةِ الْمَطْوِيَّةِ فِي الرِّحْلَةِ الْأُولَى. لَمْ يَجْعَلْهَا ذَلِكَ تُرِيدُ حَبْسَ الْجُمْلَةِ فِي خَطَئِهَا. أَخْرَجَتْ خَرَائِطَ لِتُوَزِّعَهَا، وَقَالَتْ إِنَّ بَعْضَ الْقَادِمِينَ قَدْ يَحْمِلُونَ خَرِيطَةً وَلَا يَعْرِفُونَ كَيْفَ يَقْرَؤُونَهَا.
كَتَبَتْ هِنْدٌ وَرَقَتَيْنِ صَغِيرَتَيْنِ: نَقْتَرِحُ الطَّرِيقَ مَعًا؛ الْخَرَائِطُ مُتَاحَةٌ هُنَا. ثَبَّتَتْهُمَا تَحْتَ الدَّعْوَةِ، ثُمَّ طَلَبَتْ مِنَ الْفَتَاةِ أَنْ تَقْرَأَ الْمُلْصَقَ مَرَّةً أُخْرَى. سَأَلَتِ الْفَتَاةُ عَنْ مَسَافَةِ الْمَشْيِ، فَأَضَافُوا الْمَسَافَةَ أَيْضًا. بَقِيَ الشِّعَارُ، وَصَارَتْ حَوْلَهُ وَرَقَاتٌ بِخُطُوطٍ مُخْتَلِفَةٍ. لَمْ يَعُدْ أَنِيقًا كَمَا كَانَ، وَطَلَبَ أَحَدُ الْأَصْدِقَاءِ طِبَاعَةَ نُسْخَةٍ جَدِيدَةٍ بَعْدَ الرِّحْلَةِ.
دَخَلَتِ الْفَتَاةُ وَفَتَحَتْ خَرِيطَةً فَوْقَ الطَّاوِلَةِ. رَأَتْ زَيْنَبَ تَضْحَكُ، فَسَأَلَتْهَا عَنْ خَطٍّ مُتَعَرِّجٍ، لَا عَنِ الْمَزْحَةِ. أَشَارَتْ زَيْنَبُ إِلَى مَمَرٍّ قُرْبَ النَّهْرِ وَسَأَلَتْهَا إِنْ كَانَ يُنَاسِبُهَا. جَمَعَتْ هِنْدٌ بَقَايَا الشَّرِيطِ مِنَ الْأَرْضِ. لَمْ تَكْتُبْ شَرْحَ الْمَزْحَةِ عَلَى الْمُلْصَقِ. وَضَعَتْ قَلَمًا بِجَانِبِ الْخَرِيطَةِ؛ سَيَحْتَاجُونَ إِلَيْهِ إِذَا اخْتَارُوا مَمَرًّا آخَرَ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَخْرُجُوا.
Show English translationHide English translation
Hind put up the walking club’s open-day poster. It carried a motto her friends had chosen: we never arrive without a map. She laughed as she fixed the tape. On their first outing they had lost their way with a map they had not opened, then arrived late carrying it folded. Zaynab used to repeat the phrase whenever they hurried. On the poster, however, it sat beneath a large heading inviting everyone.
A girl came carrying a water bottle and asked whether she had to go home. She had not brought a map. Hind explained the joke; the girl smiled and stayed at the door. She did not ask about details of the old outing; she asked who would choose today’s route. Hind noticed that the story that amused her answered neither the question of entering nor that of the route.
She suggested removing the motto, but Zaynab objected. She said she had read it that morning as a promise not to leave anyone walking lost. She had owned the folded map on their first outing. That did not make her want to imprison the sentence in her mistake. She took out maps to distribute and said some arrivals might carry a map without knowing how to read it.
Hind wrote two small notes: we propose the route together; maps are available here. She fixed them below the invitation, then asked the girl to read the poster again. The girl asked about the walking distance, so they added the distance too. The motto remained, now surrounded by notes in different handwriting. It was no longer as elegant as it had been, and one friend requested a newly printed copy after the outing.
The girl came in and opened a map on the table. Seeing Zaynab laugh, she asked her about a winding line, not about the joke. Zaynab pointed to a path near the river and asked whether it suited her. Hind picked up scraps of tape from the floor. She did not write an explanation of the joke on the poster. She put a pen beside the map: they would need it if they chose another path before going out.
02Useful words from the story
| Arabic in the story | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| مُلْصَقَ | the poster of |
| شِعَارٌ | a motto; slogan |
| مَطْوِيَّةً | folded |
| تَائِهًا | lost; wandering |
| حَبْسَ | confining |
| مُتَاحَةٌ | available |
| أَنِيقًا | elegant; neat |
| مُتَعَرِّجٍ | winding; meandering |
| بَقَايَا | scraps; remnants |
| الشَّرِيطِ | the tape |
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 phrase’s private origin need not settle what a public invitation communicates.
- The newcomer’s practical questions reshape the poster and the route, beyond simply explaining the joke.
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 تَجْلِبْ خَرِيطَةً
Read lam with a sound-final jussive verb: the girl did not bring a map.
Lakinna and Lakin in Arabic: Two Patterns for But
لَكِنَّ زَيْنَبَ اعْتَرَضَتْ
Read lakinna as a contrast: Zaynab, its accusative noun, objects to removing the motto.
