Long, long ago there was a king
called Kayanja. He lived in a palace
with the queen and their daughter,
princess Apenyo.
Princess Apenyo was such a
beautiful young woman that every
man wanted to marry her. But king
Kayanja demanded a very high
bride price for the princess.
Haufi le paleisi ya morena Kadi ho ne ho dula morenana Theko e Moholo. O ne a bitswa ‘e Moholo’ hobane bohle motseng ba ne ba mo mamela. (O ne a rata dikgoka haholo ho mang kapa mang ya neng a sa mo mamele!)
Near king Kayanja’s palace lived a
chief called Aludah the Great. He
was called “the Great” because
everybody in the neighbourhood
obeyed him. (He was very violent to
anyone who disobeyed him!)
Chief Aludah’s wife had recently
died of malaria and he wanted
another wife.
Kahoo morenana ya tsofetseng e motenya o ile a ya ho morena Kadi ho ya fana ka leruo la ho nyala kgosatsana.
So the fat old chief went to king
Kayanja to offer bride wealth for the
young princess.
While the two men were discussing
the price, the maid Kakembo
overheard their conversation. Maid
Kakembo was very close to princess
Apenyo.
Morenana Theko o ile a dumela ho fana ka halofo ya leruo la hae ho morena Kadi, ho kenyelletswa le nale, eo e neng e le karolo ya mahadi a monyaduwa.
Chief Aludah agreed to give half of
his wealth to king Kayanja,
including a needle, which was also
part of the bride price.
Preparations were made in secret
for the wedding between chief
Aludah and princess Apenyo. The
king knew that his daughter would
not be happy with this decision.
Beke pele ho letsatsi la lenyalo la borena, mosebeletsi Diako a ya ho Naledi.
One week before the royal wedding
day, maid Kakembo approached
Apenyo.
“My dear princess, your father has
organised your wedding with Chief
Aludah, and it will take place in one
week,” said Kakembo.
Kgosatsana Naledi o ne a tshohile haholo mme qalehong o ne a sa tsebe seo a neng a ka se etsa. Yaba o a nahana, “Nke ke ka nyalwa ke morenana Theko, monna eo e motenya ya tsofetseng. Le kgale! Ke tlameha ho potlakela ho Lesedi ke bone na a ka etsang pele nako e fela.”
Princess Apenyo was shocked and
at first didn’t know what to do. Then
she thought, “I will never marry
chief Aludah, that fat old man.
Never! I must hurry to Trevor and
see what he can do before it’s too
late.”
Trevor was princess Apenyo’s
boyfriend.
Bosiung boo Naledi a nyenyelepa a tswa ka paleising. Ebang ntate a ka bona hore o ne a ya kae o ne a tla halefa haholo.
That night Apenyo crept out of the
palace. If her father discovered
where she was going he would be
very angry.
She ran through the thick, dark
forest over rocks and shrubs, until
she finally reached her Trevor. When
she arrived at his house she was
tired, hungry, and thirsty.
“Moratuwa, hobaneng o mathile sebaka se sekana o le mong ka nako ee ya bosiu?” ha botsa Lesedi. A mo latela metsi a ba a mo dumella hore a phomole.
“My love, why have you run all this
long distance alone and at such a
time of night?” asked Trevor. He
fetched drinking water for her and
allowed her to rest.
Trevor could not settle down while
he waited for Apenyo to talk.
“Kgosatsana ya ka e ratehang, bothata keng?” ha botsa Lesedi.
“My dear princess, what is the
problem?” asked Trevor.
Apenyo breathed heavily and said
sadly, “My father wants to marry
me off to chief Aludah the Great.
But I can’t marry that horrible man.
Trevor, I want to marry you even if
you are poor. I am ready to suffer. I
love you.”
“Empa kgosatsana, ha ke na letho ho lefa mahadi, o a tseba hore ke moshemane ya futsanehileng,” ha rialo Lesedi a utlwile bohloko.
“Kodwa manje nkosazana, mina anginalutho, ukukhokhela ilobolo lakho. Wazi kahle, ngimpofu,” kuzikhalela uThando. UNaledi wamphendula wathi, “Ngiyakwazi loko, kodwa nguwe kuphela engingakugana.” Wake wathula isikhashana, wabe esethi, “Nginecebo, masigijimele ku Kwanda, indoda le yesikebhe asiweze sibalekele ngale komfula. Ngaleyo ndlela singeqa, ubaba angasitholi.”
“But princess, I have nothing to pay
as your bride price, you know I’m a
poor boy.” cried Trevor.
Apenyo replied, “I know, but it’s
only you I can get married to.”
She thought for a while and said,
“Let’s go to Kategga the boat man
to sail us to the other side of the
river. That way we can escape and
my father will never find us.”
Paleising kwana, morena Kadi a elellwa hore Kgosatsana Naledi o nyametse mme a laela mahlahana a hae ho mmatla hohle ka hara motse.
Back at the palace, king Kayanja
had discovered Princess Apenyo’s
disappearance and ordered his
subjects to search for her
everywhere in the village.
The king’s guards, soldiers, and
everyone else searched, but they
couldn’t find Princess Apenyo.
They went back to the King and told
him Apenyo was nowhere to be
seen. “Then go to the bush and
search,” King Kayanja ordered. He
was very annoyed.
Ha Kgosatsana Naledi le Lesedi ba potlakela lebopong la noka, maru a matsho a qala ho rwalellana sepakapakeng. Sefefo se matla se ne se tla.
Kategga the boatman was mooring
his boat when the young couple
approached him. Trevor asked
Kategga to row them across the
river.
Kategga refused to accept,
explaining that a heavy storm was
fast approaching, and it would be
too dangerous.
Lesedi a phehella mme a hlalosetsa Katleho hore na hobaneng ba tlameha ho tshela noka. Yaba o kenya letsoho hare ka borikgweng ba hae a ntsha kgaketla ho e fa Katleho.
Trevor insisted and explained to
Kategga why they must cross. He
then put his hand deep in his
pocket and took out a cowrie shell
to give to Kategga.
When Kategga heard their story and
saw the beautiful shell, he felt sorry
for them. He agreed to row them
across the river in spite of the
weather.
Katleho a hulela sekepe haufi le lebopo mme a ba jwetsa hore ba kene. Yaba o nka masokwana a hae a qalella ho soka sekepe.
Kategga pulled the boat near the
bank and told them to get in. He
then picked his oars and began
rowing.
When king Kayanja and chief
Aludah reached the bank, they saw
the three people in the boat. They
realised that the young lovers had
escaped.
Meya e matla e ne e tsukutla sekepe mme Katleho a sa kgone ho se laola. Morena Kadi a hweletsa, “Naledi, ka kopo hle kgutla! Ke o tshwaretse. Nke ka o otla kapa yena Lesedi.”
Heavy winds rocked the boat and
Kategga could no longer control it.
King Kayanja shouted: “Apenyo,
please come back! I have forgiven
you and will never punish you or
Trevor.”
But it was too late. The boat tipped
over and the three people were
thrown into the wild water. They all
drowned.
After that day, everyone in king
Kayanja’s kingdom could marry
anyone they wanted, rich or poor.
