Folktales for Fearless Girls by Myriam Sayalero

Author:Myriam Sayalero [Sayalero, Myriam]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2020-02-25T00:00:00+00:00

“Don’t eat anything. It’s all a trap,” the bee whispered. “While you were out, the ogre took your sister and hid her.”

Alerted by the bee, Mulha and her brother refused to eat. As night fell, they went to the back of the hut and curled up, plotting their escape. As soon as the inzimu fell asleep, they found where the ogre had hidden their sister and rescued her. Then the three of them ran off as fast as they could. But just as they started to feel safe, the inzimu appeared on the path before them.

“Where are you going?” he asked, hiding his anger.

Mulha hid their younger sister behind her back. “Oh, we’re going to play by the river,” she and her brother answered calmly.

They walked quickly, hurrying toward the gurgling water, hoping to escape before the inzimu figured out what they were doing. But they weren’t fast enough: the ogre realized they were trying to escape and ran after them. He caught Mulha, who had purposely been lagging behind so that her siblings would have time to hide in the bushes growing along the riverbanks.

In the meantime, her siblings reached the river. Seeing that Mulha had been caught, they went off in search of their mother, who they hoped would come to save them. They swam and swam until they reached the field where she was working.

The ogre, not satisfied with just Mulha, went looking for her brother as well, and Mulha saw her opportunity to escape. Running away, she was able to reach her mother and explain what had happened. Her mother, hearing all that had transpired, knew that the inzimu would go back to the hut and that none of them would be safe; she knew that Mulha especially would be in danger, since she had devised the escape plan.

“Go live with your aunt,” her mother told her. “She is married and has a good job. She will take care of you and help you find a husband.”

So Mulha washed herself in the river, put on a pretty dress, and tied a blue-and-green sash around her waist. Then she beaded several necklaces and placed them around her neck. Before Mulha left, her mother gave her one last piece of advice: stay on the path and let nothing distract her. “Don’t touch the manumbela tree,” she warned. “Its shiny leaves and silver trunk will tempt you. Whatever you do, don’t eat its red berries.”

Her mother watched her leave, proud of how her daughter walked with such freedom and determination to her new destiny. She was convinced that soon she would marry a tribal chief’s son.

Mulha walked for a very long time, so long that the sun burned her skin and she felt more tired and thirsty with each step. She looked around, but did not find water or anything else that could quench her thirst. She walked on and on until she felt exhausted, and just as she was about to lose all hope, she saw a beautiful manumbela tree.

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