Motse wa Maruping o dikaganyeditswe ke dithaba. Dinoga tse dintsi di dula mo sekgweng mo dithabeng tseo. Go ne go na le noga e kgolo go di feta tshotlhe. Baagi ba motse ba ne ba e bitsa Serodumo. E ne e le noga e e tshosang. E ne e metsa dipodi le dinku di feletse.
Sinyaire village is surrounded by
hills.
Many snakes live in the forest on
those hills.
The biggest snake was called
Unyalego by the villagers.
This snake scared many people.
It swallowed whole goats and
sheep.
Ka letsatsi lengwe Atang, Agang le Amo ba ne ba ya kgonnyeng kwa sekgweng. E ne e le bana ba motho. Nkoko wa bone o ne a ba gakolola, “Lo tlhokomeleng noga e kgolo Serodumo. Lo se tseye sepe se sengwe kwa sekgweng ntle fela le dikgong.” Amo ke ene fela o neng a sa utlwelela Nkoko wa gagwe.
One day, sisters Apiyo, Ajoh and
Atieno were going to the forest to
fetch firewood.
The girls’ grandmother warned,
“Beware of Unyalego the big snake.
Do not take anything from the
forest except the wood.”
Only Ajoh did not pay attention to
her grandmother.
Basetsana ba ne phutha mašwi, dipanana, dipotata le metsi, e le dijo tsa tsela. Ba ne ba tsaya dithudi tse di tiileng go bofa dikgong le selepe se se bogale go rema dikgong. Mme ba tsena tsela go ya sekgweng.
The girls packed milk, bananas,
sweet potatoes and water.
They took ropes for tying firewood
and a sharp machete for chopping
the wood.
Then they left for the forest.
Fa ba le mo tseleng, basetsana ba ne ba tsaya dikgang go le monate. O mogolo mo go bona, Atang, a ba gakolola ka gangwe a re, “Didimalang. Re tsena mo tulong ya ga Serodumo.”
On the way, the sisters chatted
and laughed.
Suddenly, Apiyo, the eldest of
them, said, “Be quiet. We are
coming to where Unyalego lives.”
Agang a bitsa ba bangwe, “Bonang, meno a ga Serodumo a gauta ke a. A re a tseyeng.” Atang a ba gakolola, “Lo se lebale kgakololo ya ga Nkoko. Ga re a tshwanela go tsaya sepe se sengwe ntle le dikgong.”
Atieno called to the others, “Look,
here are Unyalego’s golden teeth.
Let us take them.”
Apiyo reminded them, “Don’t forget
grandmother’s warning. We must
not take anything from the forest
except firewood.”
Amo a re, “Ga ke tshepe Nkoko. Ke nagana gore o ne a bua se fela gore re se nne le se se re batlang. Ke batla meno a gauta.” Bo ausi ba gagwe ba ne ba tshwenyegile. “Amo, re go kgalemile,” ba rialo. Amo o ne a sa kgathale.
U-Ajoh wathi, “Andiyikholelwa mna into ethethwa ngumakhulu. Ndicinga ukuba ubesitsho nje kuba engafuni ukuba sizithathele izinto esizithandayo. Unomona umakhulu. Ndiza kuwathatha mna la mazinyo egolide.” Oodadewabo bakhathazeka kakhulu ngale nto. “Ajoh, uze ungathi khange sikuxelele.” U-Ajoh akazange abahoye.
Ajoh said, “I don’t trust
grandmother. I think she said that
to stop us having what we want. I
want the golden teeth.”
Her sisters were worried. “Ajoh, we
warned you,” they said.
Ajoh did not care.
Ka motlha oo, Serodumo a tla go batla meno a gagwe a gauta. O ne a tlala bogale fa a ne a sa a bone. Jaanong Serodumo a utlwa basetsana ba bua ebile ba tshega. A iphitlha mo tlase ga letlapa mo thoko ga tsela, mo basetsana ba neng ba ya go feta teng go boela gae.
At that moment Unyalego came
looking for his golden teeth. He was
furious when he could not find the
teeth.
Then Unyalego heard the girls
chatting and laughing. He hid under
a rock next to the road where the
girls would pass on their way back.
Basetsana ba ne ba rwele dikgong tsa bona mo ditlhogong ba boela gae. Ka ponyo ya leitlho ba utlwa, “Hzzzzzzzz!” E ne e le Serodumo, molomo wa gagwe o bulegile gotlhelele, a ikemiseditse go loma. Basetsana ba ne ba tshogile tota.
The sisters were going home
carrying their firewood on their
heads.
Suddenly, they heard “Hzzzzzzzz!”
There was Unyalego with his mouth
wide open, ready to bite. The girls
were terrified.
“Ke mang a tseileng meno a me a gauta?” Serodumo a botsa basetsana. Go se nne le yo o arabang. Noga e ne ya nagana go leka basetsana. “Yo o senang molato o tla kgona go opela ntle le diphoso. O tla ya gae ka dikgong tsa gagwe. Mme yo o molato, a ka se kgone go opela. O tla nna dijo tsa me malatsi a mararo a a latelang!”
Unyalego asked the girls, “Who
took my golden teeth?” No one
answered.
The snake decided to test the girls.
“Whoever is innocent, will be able
to sing without mistakes. She will
go home with her firewood.
But the guilty one will sing badly.
She will be my food for the next
three days!”
Atang a simolola go opela ka lentswe le le edileng:
Apiyo started to sing with a clear
voice:
“Sio mimi, sio mimi aliye na meno,
Mwenye meno bado yuko nyuma.”
Then Atieno sang the song. She also
sang well.
Wa bofelo e ne e le Amo. O ne a tshogile. A ya kwa pele mme a simolola go opela. Mme kopelo ya gagwe e ne e sa kgatlhise, ebile mantswe e se one. Serodumo a mo goelela, “Ke eng o sa opele sentle go tshwana le ba ba bangwe?” Noga ya itse gore ke Amo a tseileng meno a yona.
Lastly, it was Ajoh’s turn. She was
scared. She stepped forward and
started singing. But her singing
sounded terrible and the words
were wrong.
Unyalego shouted, “Can’t you sing
properly like the others?”
The snake knew that Ajoh took his
golden teeth.
Serodumo o ne a bula metlhagare ya gagwe e megolo mme a metsa Amo. Bo ausi ba bagwe ba ne boela kwa motseng ka lebelo le legolo. Ba ne ba anegela baagi ba motse ka se se diragetseng. “Ke mo kgalemetse, fa fela a ne a nkutlwelela,” nkoko wa basetsana a bua a utlwile botlhoko.
Bimbilili! U-Unyalego wamginya u-Ajoh. Oodadewabo babaleka bagoduka bayokuxela esi senzo sibi kangaka esenzekileyo.
Unyalego opened his huge jaws and
swallowed Ajoh.
Her sisters ran back to the village.
They told everyone the story of
what happened.
“I warned her, if only she had
listened,” the girls’ grandmother
said sadly.
