Sami’s family and friends celebrate him on different dates. A record and remembered rain answer narrower questions than his daughter first expects.
01Read the Arabic story
لِمَاذَا تَذْكُرُ أُسْرَتِي تَارِيخَيْنِ لِمِيلَادِي؟
يُحْتَفَلُ فِي بَيْتِ سَامِي بِمِيلَادِهِ مَرَّتَيْنِ: فِي السَّادِسِ مِنْ نُوفَمْبَرَ، وَفِي الْعَاشِرِ مِنْهُ. تَتَمَسَّكُ أُمُّهُ بِالْأَوَّلِ، وَتَضَعُ الْكَعْكَةَ حَيْثُ تَتَذَكَّرُ سَرِيرَهُ الصَّغِيرَ. وَيَظْهَرُ الثَّانِي فِي بِطَاقَتِهِ، فَيَتَّصِلُ بِهِ أَصْدِقَاؤُهُ فِيهِ. وَحِينَ سَأَلَتْهُ ابْنَتُهُ أَيُّهُمَا صَحِيحٌ، أَخْرَجَ الْبِطَاقَةَ، ثُمَّ تَوَقَّفَ. كَانَ يَعْرِفُ مَا كُتِبَ عَلَيْهَا، لَا كَيْفَ اخْتِيرَ التَّارِيخُ الَّذِي يَحْفَظُهُ.
تَذَكَّرَتْ أُمُّهُ الْمَطَرَ الْبَارِدَ لَيْلَةَ وِلَادَتِهِ، وَقَالَتْ إِنَّ الْخَالَ وَصَلَ فِي الْيَوْمِ التَّالِي. أَمَّا الْخَالُ فَذَكَرَ أَنَّهُ حَمَلَهُ أَوَّلًا، وَأَنَّ الْمَطَرَ بَدَأَ بَعْدَ وُصُولِهِ. ضَحِكَتْ أُمُّهُ وَقَالَتْ إِنَّ الْجَدَّةَ هِيَ الَّتِي أَطْعَمَتْهُ قَبْلَ ذَلِكَ. كَانَ كُلٌّ مِنْهُمَا يَضَعُ نَفْسَهُ قُرْبَ الْبِدَايَةِ، لَكِنَّ الْمَطَرَ لَمْ يَحْمِلْ رَقْمَ يَوْمٍ فِي رِوَايَةِ أَيٍّ مِنْهُمَا.
طَلَبَ سَامِي صُورَةً مِنْ سِجِلٍّ قَدِيمٍ حَفِظَهُ أَبُوهُ. وَجَدَ فِيهَا عِبَارَةً تَقُولُ إِنَّ الْقَيْدَ أُجْرِيَ فِي الْعَاشِرِ مِنْ نُوفَمْبَرَ، وَخَانَةً لِلْمِيلَادِ تَحْمِلُ التَّارِيخَ نَفْسَهُ بِلَا تَفْسِيرٍ. لَمْ يَعْرِفْ مَنْ قَدَّمَ هَذَا التَّارِيخَ. أَرَادَتْ ابْنَتُهُ أَنْ تَجْعَلَ الْوَرَقَةَ حَكَمًا، فَقَالَ إِنَّهَا تُثْبِتُ يَوْمَ الْقَيْدِ، وَتُسَجِّلُ يَوْمًا لِلْمِيلَادِ، وَلَا تَرْوِي مَا حَدَثَ فِي الْغُرْفَةِ.
فِي السَّادِسِ، قَطَعَتْ أُمُّهُ الْكَعْكَةَ وَنَاوَلَتِ الْخَالَ الْقِطْعَةَ الْأُولَى. عَادَا إِلَى الْحِكَايَةِ، وَاخْتَلَفَا فِي مَوْضِعِ سَرِيرِهِ. لَمْ يُخْرِجْ سَامِي الْوَرَقَةَ؛ كَانَ الِاخْتِلَافُ الْآنَ عَنِ الْمَكَانِ، لَا عَنِ الرَّقْمِ. سَأَلَهُمَا مَنْ أَعَدَّ الْفِرَاشَ، فَذَكَرَا جَارَةً لَمْ تَدْخُلْ قِصَّتَهُ مِنْ قَبْلُ. بَقِيَ الْيَوْمُ مَجْهُولًا لَهُ، وَصَارَ فِي الْحِكَايَةِ شَخْصٌ آخَرُ يَسْتَحِقُّ أَنْ يُذْكَرَ.
فِي الْعَاشِرِ، رَدَّ سَامِي عَلَى أَصْدِقَائِهِ وَشَكَرَهُمْ. سَأَلَتْهُ ابْنَتُهُ إِنْ كَانَ سَيُبْقِي الْمَوْعِدَيْنِ، فَأَشَارَ إِلَى الْكَعْكَةِ الْبَاقِيَةِ وَالْهَاتِفِ. قَالَ إِنَّهُ لَا يَعْرِفُ يَوْمَ وِلَادَتِهِ يَقِينًا، لَكِنَّهُ يَعْرِفُ مَنْ يَنْتَظِرُهُ فِي كُلِّ مَوْعِدٍ. كَتَبَتْ فِي تَقْوِيمِهَا: «حِكَايَةُ الْبَيْتِ» وَ«اتِّصَالَاتُ الْأَصْدِقَاءِ». لَمْ تَكْتُبْ كَلِمَةَ «الْحَقِيقَةِ» تَحْتَ أَيٍّ مِنْهُمَا.
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Sami’s birthday is celebrated twice at home: on the sixth of November and on the tenth. His mother holds to the first and puts the cake where she recalls his little bed. The second appears on his card, so his friends call him then. When his daughter asked which was correct, he took out the card and stopped. He knew what was written on it, not how the date he knew by heart had been chosen.
His mother remembered the cold rain on the night of his birth and said his uncle arrived the following day. His uncle, however, remembered holding him first and the rain starting after his arrival. His mother laughed and said it was the grandmother who had fed him before that. Each placed themselves near the beginning, but in neither account did the rain carry a numbered day.
Sami requested a copy of an old register his father had kept. He found a statement saying the registration was made on the tenth of November, and a birth field carrying the same date without explanation. He did not know who had supplied that date. His daughter wanted to make the paper the judge, but he said it established the registration day and recorded a birth date, without telling what had happened in the room.
On the sixth his mother cut the cake and handed the first slice to his uncle. They returned to the story and disagreed about where his bed had stood. Sami did not take out the paper; the disagreement now concerned a place, not a number. He asked who had prepared the bedding, and they named a neighbour who had never entered his story before. The day remained unknown to him, and there was now another person in the story who deserved mention.
On the tenth Sami replied to his friends and thanked them. His daughter asked whether he would keep both dates, and he pointed to the remaining cake and the phone. He said he did not know his birth date for certain, but knew who waited for him at each appointment. She wrote in her calendar, “The household story” and “Calls from friends.” She did not write “The truth” beneath either.
02Useful words from the story
| Arabic in the story | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| تَتَمَسَّكُ | holds firmly to |
| الْقَيْدَ | the registration; recording |
| وَخَانَةً | and a field; entry space |
| حَكَمًا | a judge; arbiter |
| الْفِرَاشَ | the bedding |
| مَجْهُولًا | unknown |
| الْبَاقِيَةِ | remaining |
| يَقِينًا | with certainty |
| تَقْوِيمِهَا | her calendar |
| يَنْتَظِرُهُ | waits for him |
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 recorded birth date and a dated registration act have distinct functions; the unrecorded source still matters.
- Two celebrations can retain their relationships without either becoming proof of the actual day of birth.
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 يُخْرِجْ سَامِي الْوَرَقَةَ
Read the regular jussive ending after lam in Sami’s unperformed action.
Arabic Prepositions with Pronouns: To Me, On Me and With Us
فَيَتَّصِلُ بِهِ أَصْدِقَاؤُهُ
Follow the masculine pronoun after bi: the friends call him, Sami.
