Texts to translate

The North Wind and the Sun were disputing which was the stronger, when a traveler came along wrapped in a warm cloak. They agreed that the one who first succeeded in making the traveler take off his cloak should be considered stronger than the other.

The North Wind blew as hard as he could, but the more he blew, the more closely did the traveler fold his cloak around him; and at last the North Wind had to give up.

Then, the Sun tried his luck. It shone out warmly, and the man took off his cap and mopped his brow. At last he became so heated that he pulled off his cloak, and, to escape the blazing sunshine, lay down in the shade of a tree by the roadside.

And so the North Wind was obliged to confess that the Sun was the stronger of the two.

The words of the Preacher (Qoheleth; the Leader of the Assembly; teacher), the son of David, king in Jerusalem:

"Meaningless," says the Preacher, "Everything is meaningless."

What does man gain from all his labor in which he labors under the sun?

One generation goes, and another generation comes -- but the earth remains forever.

The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, and hurries to its place where it rises.

The wind goes toward the south, and turns around to the north. It turns around continually as it goes, and the wind returns again to its courses.

All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place where the rivers flow, there they flow again.

All things are full of weariness, more than anyone can say. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.

What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done. There is nothing new under the sun.

Is there a thing of which it may be said, "Behold, this is new"? It has already existed long ago, in the ages which were before us.

There is no memory of the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them.

Corley, G. (2012). Conlangery #35: Practicum -- Getting Rid of Case Marking. Conlangery Podcast.

There was once a man who beat his donkey every day. One day, a second man, who was a neighbor, came to the donkey-beater and asked, "Why do you beat your donkey?" The donkey-beater said, "Beating is all the donkey knows, I must beat him until he learns how to behave."

The donkey-beater then went into his home and discovered his dinner wasn't ready, so he beat his wife. His neighbor heard the screams of the donkey-beater's wife and came to the door. "You should not beat your wife so much," said the neighbor. "I beat her until she learns to have dinner ready on time."

Some time later, the neighbor saw the donkey-beater beating his son in a field. This time, he did not say anything, but seized the donkey beater and began to beat him with a heavy cudgel. When the donkey-beater asked why his neighbor was beating him, his neighbor replied, "I will beat you until you learn not to beat others."

Many summers ago, a child was lost and taken by the land. A spirit was born. Quickly, it flew up to the clouds, riding the spirit-currents between the floating islands, and came across a skywhale.

It asked: "Why do you always follow the same path through the sky? Couldn't you swim elsewhere?"

The big skywhale chuckled softly, then spoke: "I am but another island. People love being able to see me in the glowing sky, and the birds on my back need me. The stable seasons of their home would start to change. They would not find food where they know they can find some. And the predators would grow hungry without their prey."