Il-ħamsa ta' filgħodu

Five in the morning

Get to know the neighbours and practise what you've learned in a new story.

The storyOne day in the life of Lina, from five in the morning to the evening: who calls her before dawn, why everybody in her café gets cake, and what happens when a customer says she isn't hungry.

New words in the story

naħmi I bake
taħmi you bake; she bakes
naħmu we bake
forn an oven (imqarrun il-forn is macaroni from the oven)
għaġla a hurry (għandi l-għaġla, I'm in a hurry)
biċċa a piece (biċċa oħra, another piece)
Għawdex Gozo, the small island north of Malta

One day in the life of Lina, from five in the morning to the evening: who calls her before dawn, why everybody in her café gets cake, and what happens when a customer says she isn't hungry.

Tap a word to see what it means.

AutoplayEnglish

Five in the morning. Number 7 is dark, except for one window above the café.
Il-ħamsa ta' filgħodu. Kulħadd fid-dar jorqod.
Five in the morning. Everybody in the house is asleep.
Marija torqod, Ċikku jorqod. Ġorġ biss qed idoqq fuq, bil-kwiet ħafna.
Marija is asleep, Ċikku is asleep. Only Ġorġ is playing upstairs, very quietly.
Imma Lina ma torqodx. Hi diġà fil-kafetterija.
But Lina isn't asleep. She's already in the café.
Lina
Bonġu, kafetterija! Issa naħmi.
Good morning, café! Time to bake.
Lina taħmi l-ħobż u l-kejk. Fil-friġġ hemm tletin bajda, ħafna ħalib u ħafna butir.
Lina bakes bread and cake. In the fridge: thirty eggs, plenty of milk and plenty of butter.
Fil-forn hemm il-kejk tagħha. Tajjeb ħafna.
In the oven: her cake. It's very good.
Six o'clock. The phone rings. Only one person calls at this hour.
Fis-sitta l-mowbajl idoqq.
At six the phone rings.
Lina
Ħello? Nanna! Bonġu!
Hello? Grandma! Good morning!
In-nanna ta' Lina
Bonġu, Lina! Diġà qed taħmi?
Good morning, Lina! Are you baking already?
Lina
Iva, qed naħmi. U int? Int ma torqodx?
Yes, I'm baking. And you? Aren't you asleep either?
In-nanna ta' Lina
Le. Jien ukoll naħmi. Aħna ma norqdux, aħna naħmu!
No. I'm baking too. We don't sleep, we bake!
In-nanna ta' Lina toqgħod f'Għawdex. Hi taħmi l-ħobż kull filgħodu.
Lina's grandmother lives in Gozo. She bakes bread every morning.
In-nanna ta' Lina
Int tiekol, Lina? Kulħadd jiekol il-kejk tiegħek. U int?
Are you eating, Lina? Everybody eats your cake. And you?
Lina
M'iniex bil-ġuħ, nanna. U m'għandix ħin.
I'm not hungry, Grandma. And I don't have time.
In-nanna ta' Lina
Mhux bil-ġuħ? Min hu bil-ġuħ mhux kuntent. Int taf.
Not hungry? Whoever is hungry isn't happy. You know that.
Lina
Naf, naf. U fil-kafetterija tiegħi kulħadd jieħu l-kejk.
I know, I know. And in my café everybody gets cake.
Seven o'clock. Lina opens the café. Outside, people are already waiting.
Fis-sebgħa Lina tiftaħ il-bieb. Hemm diġà nies jistennew.
At seven Lina opens the door. People are already waiting there.
Lina
Bonġu! Idħlu, idħlu!
Good morning! Come in, come in!
Jiġi Ġorġ. Hu idoqq il-lejl kollu, u hu għajjien ħafna.
In comes Ġorġ. He plays all night, and he's very tired.
Ġorġ
Bonġu, Lina... Te, jekk jogħġbok. Te biss.
Morning, Lina... Tea, please. Just tea.
Lina
Tajjeb, Ġorġ. Int mhux bil-ġuħ, int għajjien. Hawn hi tazza te kbira.
All right, Ġorġ. You're not hungry, you're tired. Here's a big cup of tea.
Lina taf x'irid kulħadd. Marija tgħid kollox lil Lina.
Lina knows what everybody wants. Marija tells Lina everything.
Then Marija comes in, with Ella on her way to school.
Lina
Bonġu, Sinjura Marija! Ħello, Ella! X'tixtiequ?
Good morning, Mrs Marija! Hi, Ella! What would you two like?
Marija
Jien, te iswed, bla zokkor.
Black tea for me, no sugar.
Ella
U jien, imqarrun il-forn! Għaxra, jekk jogħġbok!
And baked macaroni for me! Ten, please!
Marija
Ella! Mhux għaxra. Tnejn.
Ella! Not ten. Two.
Lina
Tajjeb: imqarrun il-forn u tazza ħalib. U Ċikku jieħu ftit ukoll.
All right: baked macaroni and a cup of milk. And Ċikku gets a little too.
Ċikku diġà bilqiegħda fuq siġġu. L-imqarrun il-forn jogħġbu ħafna.
Ċikku is already sitting on a chair. He loves baked macaroni.
Eight o'clock. The café is full. A woman in a smart grey coat hurries in, her phone in her hand.
Sinjura
Kafè, jekk jogħġbok! Malajr! Għandi l-għaġla.
A coffee, please! Quickly! I'm in a hurry.
Lina
Bonġu! Kafè bil-ħalib? Biz-zokkor?
Good morning! Coffee with milk? With sugar?
Sinjura
Bla ħalib. Bla zokkor. U bla kejk! M'iniex bil-ġuħ.
No milk. No sugar. And no cake! I'm not hungry.
“M'iniex bil-ġuħ.” Dan ma jogħġobx lil Lina.
"I'm not hungry." Lina doesn't like that at all.
Lina
Mhux bil-ġuħ? Imma int għajjiena ħafna. Hawn hu l-kafè. U l-kejk, minni.
Not hungry? But you're very tired. Here's your coffee. And the cake is on me.
Sinjura
Le, grazzi! M'għandix ħin. Kemm jiswa l-kafè?
No, thank you! I don't have time. How much is the coffee?
Lina
Ewro u tmenin. Il-kejk ma jiswa xejn.
One eighty. The cake costs nothing.
The woman looks at the cake. She takes one bite. Then another.
Sinjura
Oh! Jogħġobni ħafna! Nista' jkolli biċċa oħra?
Oh! I really like it! Can I have another piece?
Lina
Mela le! Poġġi, jekk jogħġbok.
Of course! Sit down, please.
U hi bilqiegħda. U tiekol. U issa mhux għajjiena.
And she sits. And eats. And she isn't tired any more.
Evening. The last guest has gone. Lina counts the money, and Ċikku sits in the café window.
Filgħaxija. Il-kafetterija vojta.
Evening. The café is empty.
Lina
Illum, tmenin persuna! U kulħadd jieħu l-kejk.
Eighty people today! And everybody gets cake.
Il-mowbajl idoqq mill-ġdid. Lina diġà taf: in-nanna.
The phone rings again. Lina already knows: it's Grandma.
In-nanna ta' Lina
Mela, Lina? Qed tiekol?
Well, Lina? Are you eating?
Lina
Iva, nanna! Issa qed niekol. Ħobż bil-ġobon, u kejk.
Yes, Grandma! I'm eating now. Bread with cheese, and cake.
U Ċikku? Ċikku qed jiekol ukoll. Ħut, mela le.
And Ċikku? Ċikku is eating too. Fish, of course.
Lina
Il-lejl it-tajjeb, Ċikku. Għada, mill-ġdid, fil-ħamsa ta' filgħodu!
Good night, Ċikku. Tomorrow, five in the morning again!

Il-ħamsa ta' filgħodu

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Il-ħamsa ta' filgħodu

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