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The Whale and the Sandpiper
Raj Eo im Kidid Eo
An Oral Tradition of the Marshall Islands
Juõn Bwebwenãtõ in ãelõñ Kein
Adapted by Jane Downing

One bright day the sea was calm
and the sun was shining
But the whale and the sandpiper were arguing.
"There are more whales than sandpipers in the world"
said the great whale.
"Oh not at all, there are many more sandpipers"
cried the little sandpiper.
"More whales"
"More sandpipers"
The bickering could be heard all over the island
and across the ocean.
"More sandpipers"
"More whales"
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Eaar juon raan eo emman, lomalo
elae im al ej romaak.
Ak raj eo im kidid eo rej
akwõõl.
"Elãñ lok raj jõn kidid ilalin."
Raj kileplep eo ekar ba.
"Ooo, elãñ lãk kiddid jõn raj."
Kiddid jidikdik eo eaar lamãj
"Elãñ raj."
"Elãñ kiddid"
"Elãñ kidid."
"Elãñ raj."
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Suddenly the whale stopped
shouting and started to sing
"Bottor, Bottora
Water to the sky
Calling all whales
Come fast to me
From the East, the West, the North, the South
Come faster to me."
And they came
From the East they came pushing the waves high
From the West From the North From the South Pushing the waves up to the sky.
"See" said the great whale
"There are more whales than sandpipers!"
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Raj eo eaar bojrak im jino al.
"Bãttãra, Bãttãra."
Dõn ñan mejatto
Kär aolep raj
Mãkaj tok
Jõn Ratak,Rõlik,
Eõñ, Rak.
Mãkaj tok.
Im raar itok.
Jõn Reaar raar itok, iuuni tok no ko reutiej.
Jõn Ralik Jõn Eõñ Jõn Rak Iuni tok no ko reutiej
"Kwolo ke!" raj kileplep eo eaar ba.
"Elãñ lok raj jõn kidid!"
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The sandpiper said nothing
But began to sing
"Kirir, Kirira
Crying to the world
Calling all sandpipers
Come quickly
From the East, the West, the North, the South
Come quickly and save me."
As the bird chanted, a high wind blew in from the East,
It blew from the West from the North from the South The flapping of a hundred thousand wings.
All the sandpipers came
And the whole sky was dark.
"See" said the little sandpiper
"I told you there are more sandpipers than whales."
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Kidid eo eaar jab kãnono
Ak eaar jino al
"Kidid, Kidida
Kär ñan lalin.
Kär aolep kidid
Eõñ, Rak
Mãkaj tok
Jõn Ratak, Rõlik, Mãkaj tok im lomoren eã.
Ke kidid eo ej jino al eo,
juon kãto kajoor eaar itok jõn Reaar.
Eaar tartok jõn Rõlik
Jõn Eõñ Jõn Rak Añin bukwi taujin põ. Aolep kiddid raar itok
"Kwolo ke"
Kiddid jidikdik eo ekar ba
"Iaar jiroñ eok ke elãññlok
kiddid jõn raj
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"Wait. You'll see more" laughed the whale and loudly came his chant
"Bottor, Bottora
Black fins above the sea
Calling all sharks
Come fast to me
From the East, the West, the North, the South
Come faster to me."
From the four points of the world
The ocean filled with fins.
"More whales, more fish, more than sandpipers
More, more, more!"
Shouted the clever whale.
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"Kãttar. Konaaj lo bwijin." Raj eo eaar ettãñ im jarãk al peran eo an
"Bãttãr, Bãttãra
Īl kilmeej ioon lojet
Kär aolep pako
Mãkaj tok ñan ippa
Jõn Ratak, Rõlik, Eõñ, Rak
Mãkaj tok ñan ippõ.
Jõn tärtär ko emõn ilo lalin
Eobrak malo kin äl
Elãñlok raj, elãñlok ek,
elãñlok jõn kidid
lãñ!, lãñ!, lãñ!"
Elamãj Raj mõletlet eo.
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Above his shout came the sandpiper's song
"Kirir, Kirira
Crying from defeat
Calling all cranes
Come quickly
From the East, the West, the North, the South
Come quickly and save me."
The whale and the sandpiper
heard thunder and looked to the sky.
The cranes had heard the chant
and flew in with loudly beating wings to save their friend.
"More sandpipers, more birds, more than whales
More, more, more!"
Chirped the clever sandpiper.
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Al eo an kidid eo epran lok jõn lamãj eo.
"Kidid, Kidida
lamãj jõn jorrõõn
Kär aolep kabãj
Mãkaj tok
Jõn Ratak, Rõlik, Eõññ, Rak
Mãkaj tok im lomoren eã."
Raj eo im Kiddid eo raar roñ ainikien jourur im reilok
ñan mejatoto.
Kabãj ko raar roñ ikäd eo kõtok
kãn juon ainikien epañijñij
in jipañ ro jeraer.
"Elãñlok Kiddid, lãñlok bao, jõn Raj.
lãñlok, lãñlok, lãñlok!"
Kiddid mõletlet eo ekar ba.
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The great whale and the little sandpiper kept
Singing and chanting
Chanting and singing Calling all the fish Calling all the birds of the earth to come.
The tuna heard and came
The gulls heard and came The bonito heard and came The noddy terns heard and came
By the hundred, by the thousand, by the million.
The noise could be heard over
The noise of all the fish and all the birds
in the whole wide world called together
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Raj kileplep eo im Kidid
jidikdik eo raar akwõõl
Al im roro
Roro im al
Kär aolep ek
Kär aolep bao
In lal in bwe ren itok
Bwebwe ko raar roñ im itok
Keõr ko raar roñ im itok
ñãjabwil ko raar roñ im itok
Keõr kilmeej ko raar roñ im itok
Bukwi,
taujin,
milien.
Ainikien eo eaar elaaj ioon
õne eo im malo eo.
Ainikien aolep ek im aolep
bao ipelaakin lalin
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But still no-one knew if there were
more whales than sandpipers
Or more sandpipers than whales.
"What will we do now?" a shark asked the whale.
The whale looked over the multitude,
He looked back and forth
And back and forth at the birds
flying above and
the birds resting on the island.
"We will eat all the land
then the birds will not be able
to survive" said the whale.
All the fish in the sea ate the land,
Piece by piece by piece.
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Ak ejjelok en ejelõ ellañe
elãñ lok raj jõn kiddid
Ak lãñ lok kiddid jõn raj.
"Jenaaj et kiã?" juon pako ekar
kajitikäni raj eo.
Raj eo eaar lale jarlepju eo,
Eaar reilik reimaan
Im lale bao ko rej ekkõke
imejatoto Im reilik reimaan
Im lale bao ko rej kakkije ioon õne.
"Jenaaj kañ aolepõn õn in
Ilõm bao kein reban maroñ mour."
Raj eo eaar ba.
Aolep ek ko ilojet raar kañ õn eo,
Jidik Illok jidik Illok jidik.
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"What will we do now?" a crane asked the sandpiper
as the land disappeared from under their feet.
The sandpiper looked back and forth across the ocean
and over and under the sea.
"We will drink up all the water in the ocean"
said the sandpiper
"Then the fish will not be able to survive."
It took a lot more time to eat the land
than to drink the ocean
So the birds finished first.
They drank all the water in the ocean
And with no water to live in the whales
and the sharks and the tuna and the bonito and all the fish
wriggled and gasped.
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"Jenaaj et kiã?" juon kabãj eaar kajitikni kidid eo
ke õne eo ej jako lok jõn eomän ne er.
Kidid eo eaar reilik reimaan
ioon im ibulãn malo eo
"Jenaaj ilim aolepõn lojet bwe en jab maroñ mour ek kein."
Eaar bãk elap iien ñan kañ õn eo
jõn ilim malo eo.
Kãn menin bao ko raar mãj mokta
Raar ilim aolepõn dõn eo ilojet
Im kãn an ejjelok dõn ilojet
Aolep pako, bwebwe, lãjabweil im ek ko jet
raar dipãkpãk im ikkijelok.
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The birds saw the fish dying
And they all started to worry.
They ate fish for their food
Without food they would starve Without fish they too would die.
"We need to have fish in the world" they cried.
They watched the fish gasp for water and were sad.
The sandpiper was the saddest of them all,
He told the birds what to do.
All the sandpipers and the cranes and the gulls
and the noddy terns and all the birds
Spat out the water they had swallowed
And the ocean was filled again Just as before.
The sandpiper and the whale smiled at each other as friends.
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Bao ko raar lo an ek ko mej
Em jino inepata.
Ek ej men eo kijeer
Im ñe ejjelok ek renaaj mej barõinwãt.
"Aikuj or ek ilal in." raar lamãj.
Raar lale an ek ko ikkijelok im buromãj.
Eaar lap tata an kidid eo buromãj,
Eaar jiroñ bao ko ta eo ren kãmmane
Aolep kidid, kabãj, keõr im keõr
kilmeej im aolep bao ko
Raar ibbäraake lok dõn eo raar ilimi
Im eaar bar ejaak malo eo õinwãt kar mokta
Kidid eo im Raj eo raar bar ettãñ im jera.
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So all the fish swam home
And all the birds flew home
To the East, the West, the North, the South
They swam and flew.
Everything was just the same as it was in the beginning
Only they had learnt a lesson,
A lesson about how much they needed each other.
The birds and the fish of the world remembered
and lived together in harmony.
And they never did find out if
there were more whales than sandpipers in the world.
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Kon menin aolep ek raar aã .ñan joko jikieer
Aolep bao raar kelok ñan joko jikieer.
an Reaar, Rõlik, Eõñ, Rak Raar aã im kelok.
aikuji doon.
Men otemjej ar bar õinwãt
Men eo wãt, raar katak juon katak,
Juon katak eo kãn joñan aer
Bao im ek ko ilal in raar ememej
im mour ippõn doon.
Im rejab jelõ ellaññe elãññlok
raj jõn kidid ilal in.
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- Original publication:
- Downing, Jane (1992)
- The Whale and the Sandpiper. An Oral Tradition of the Marshall Islands retold by Jane Downing. Majuro Atoll: Ministry of Education.
- Downing, Jane (1992)
- Raj Eo im Kidid Eo. Juan Bwebwenato in aelãñ kein Ekkar in Jane Downing. Majuro Atoll: Ministry of Education.

(c) Jane Downing 1992-2000
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