Brilletjie Speel WegkruipertjieLittle Specs Plays Hide-and-Seek

Brilletjie is ’n ondeunde klein kalant.
Op ’n dag kry hy ’n stout plan.
“Ek gaan wegkruipertjie met Ouma speel!”
Hy steek sy duimpie in die lug. In sy noppies met sy blink idee.Little Specs is a naughty little rascal.
One day he gets a cheeky plan.
“I am going to play hide-and-seek with Granny!”
He sticks his little thumb in the air. Delighted with his bright idea.

Ouma is al dae lank op soek na haar bril. Net soos Bennie Boekwurm, soek sy oral.
Onder die beddens, agter die kaste, selfs op plekke waar haar bril glad nie hoort nie.
Sy maak laaie oop en keer alles om. Die huis lyk soos ’n orkaan wat kom kuier het!Granny has been looking for her glasses for days. Just like Bennie Bookworm, she searches everywhere.
Under the beds, behind the cupboards, even in places where her glasses do not belong at all.
She opens drawers and turns everything over. The house looks like a hurricane that came to visit!

Sy gaan steek selfs by die winkels waar sy inkopies gedoen het kers op.
(Maatjies, kers opsteek beteken om iets uit te vind of navraag te doen.)
Maar niks nie...
Uiteindelik haal Ouma ’n stokou brilletjie uit ’n verweerde houertjie, skeef en oud, maar dis al wat sy het.She even goes to ask around at the shops where she did her shopping.
(Friends, “kers opsteek” means to find something out or to ask about it.)
But nothing…
At last Granny takes an ancient pair of glasses out of a weathered little case, crooked and old, but it is all that she has.

Brilletjie giggel in sy mou.
“Ouma sê altyd sy kan nie eers hoor sonder haar bril nie!”
Moeg en moedeloos sit Ouma later met haar kop effens gebuig.
Sy sug diep en vou haar hande.
“Jesus,” fluister sy, “As U asseblief net my brilletjie vir my wil terugbring.”Little Specs giggles up his sleeve.
“Granny always says she cannot even hear without her glasses!”
Tired and downhearted, Granny later sits with her head slightly bowed.
She sighs deeply and folds her hands.
“Jesus,” she whispers, “if You would please just bring my glasses back to me.”

Skielik voel Brilletjie sleg.
Hy sien Ouma se hart is seer.
Hy het nie bedoel om haar so omgekrap te maak nie...
Maar nou weet hy nie hoe om dit reg te maak nie.
Brilletjie sit met sy oë na onder, handjies inmekaar.
Hy is baie spyt.Suddenly Little Specs feels bad.
He sees that Granny’s heart is sore.
He did not mean to make her so upset…
But now he does not know how to make it right.
Little Specs sits with his eyes looking down, little hands folded.
He is very sorry.

Toe kry hy – o wee – nog ’n plan.
Stompie, die steekbaard-hondjie, gaan die skuld kry!
“Stompie,” fluister Brilletjie, “vat gou vir Ouma haar bril. Sê jy het hom by die appelboom gaan begrawe!”
Stompie dra die bril versigtig in sy bekkie en stap dapper by die agterdeur in.Then he gets – oh dear – another plan.
Stompie, the scruffy little dog, is going to get the blame!
“Stompie,” whispers Little Specs, “quickly take Granny her glasses. Say you buried them by the apple tree!”
Stompie carries the glasses carefully in his little mouth and walks bravely in by the back door.

Ouma kan nie glo wat sy sien, toe Stompie dood onskuldig met haar bril ingestap kom nie.Granny cannot believe what she sees, when Stompie comes walking in, as innocent as can be, with her glasses.

Maar, maatjies...
Brilletjie het daardie dag sy rieme styf geloop.
Want om spyt te wees, kom meestal ná die tyd.
En ’n leuen bly ’n leuen, al probeer jy dit mooi maak.
Ouma is so bly dat sy nie eens kwaad is nie.But, friends…
Little Specs learned his lesson the hard way that day.
Because being sorry mostly comes after the time.
And a lie stays a lie, even if you try to make it pretty.
Granny is so glad that she is not even angry.