Bogogolotala go ne go le kgosi e bidiwa Mothupi. O ne a dula mo ntlong ya segosi le mmakgosi le morwadiabona, kgosigadi Dineo. Kgosigadi Dineo o ne a le bontle jwa go tshwana le naledi, mme banna botlhe ba motse ba ne ba batla go mo nyala. Kgosi Mothupi o ne a batla magadi a a thibang letsatsi.
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.
Gaufi le ntlo ya segosi go ne go dula kgosana nngwe e bidiwa Moroka o mogolo. O ne a bidiwa o “mogolo” ka gonne o ne a obamelwa ke batho botlhe ba motse. Fa o ne o sa mo obamele o ne a go tlhagisetsa kotsi! E ne e se kgale mosadi wa ga kgosana Moroka a tlhokafetse ka ntlha ya malaria. Kgosana o ne a batla mosadi yo mongwe.
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.
Ka jalo kgosana e e nonneng ebile e tsofetse e, e ne ya etela Kgosi Mothupi ka maikaelelo a go ntshetsa kgosigadi Dineo magadi. Fa banna ba babedi ba ba ntse ba bua, mothusi wa mo ntlung ya kgosi, Phemelo, o ne a utlwa puisano ya bona. Phemelo le kgosigadi Dineo ba ne ba utlwana thata.
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.
Kgosana Moroka o ne a dumelana le Kgosi Mothupi gore o tla mo fa bontlhabongwe jwa khumo ya gagwe, go akaretsa le nalata, e le yona e neng e le karolo ya magadi. Dipaakanyo tsa lenyalo magareng ga kgosana Moroka le kgosigadi Dineo di ne tsa dirwa mo sephiring. Kgosi e ne e itse gore morwadie a ka se itumelele kakanyo e.
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 ga lenyalo la segosi, Phemelo ne a ya kwa go Dineo. “Kgosigadi ya me e e rategang, rrago o rulagantse lenyalo la gago le kgosana Moroka, mme lona le tla diragala mo sebakeng sa beke.”
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.
Kgosigadi Dineo o ne a maketse mme a sa itse gore a dire eng. Jaanong a akanya, “Ga ke na go nyala kgosana Moroka, monnamogolo yole yo o nonneng. Le eseng! Ke tshwanetse ke etele Lefika ke bone gore a ka se thuse pele go nna thari.” Lefika e ne e le lekau la ga kgosigadi Dineo.
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.
Bosigo joo, Dineo a ngwega mo ntlong. Fa rragwe a ka itse gore o ya kae, o tla tenega thata. O ne a taboga mo gare ga sekgwa se se kitlaneng, se se lefifi se na le mmitlwa le matlapa, go fitlhela a goroga kwa go Lefika. O ne a fitlha a lapile, a tshwerwe ke tlala le lenyora.
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.
“Moratiwa, goreng o tlile o le esi kgakala jaana ka nako e?” ga botsa Lefika. O ne a mo siela metsi mme a mo tlogela gore a ikhutse. Lefika o ne a sa kgone go itshoka fa a ntse a emetse Dineo gore a bue.
“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.
“Kgosigadi ya me e e rategang, bothata ke eng?” Lefika a botsa. Dineo a hemela kwa godimo mme ka kutlobotlhoko a re, “Rre o batla go nnyadisa kgosana Moroka yo mogolo. Mme nna nka se kgone go nyala monna yole. Lefika, ke batla go nyalana le wena le fa o le modidi. Ke ikemiseditse go sotlega. Ke a go rata.”
“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.”
“Fela kgosigadi, ga ke na sepe se nka se fang rrago, o a itse gore ke mosimane wa modidi,” Lefika a lela. “Ke a itse, ke wena fela monna yo nka nyalanang le ena,” ga araba Dineo. O ne a akanya mme morago ga nako a re, “A re tsamae re ye kwa go Thabang monna wa mokoro gore a re tshedise noka. Ka mokgwa oo, re ka tshaba mme rre a ka se tlhole a re bona.”
“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.”
Kwa ntlong ya segosi, Kgosi Mothupi o lemogile gore kgosigadi Dineo ga a teng, mme a laela bathusi ba gagwe gore ba mmatle motse otlhe. Badisa ba kgosi, masole le baagi botlhe ba motse ba ne ba batla gotlhe mme ba se bone kgosigadi Dineo. Ba ne ba boela kwa kgosing mme ba mmolelela gore ga ba a bona Dineo gope. “Tsamayang lo ye go mmatla kwa nageng,” Kgosi Mothupi a ntsha molao. O ne a tenegile.
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.
Fa kgosigadi Dineo le Lefika ba itlhaganelela kwa ditshitshing tsa noka, go ne ga thiba maru a mantsho. Go ne go tla pula ya matlakadibe.
As Princess Apenyo and Trevor
hurried to the riverbank, dark
clouds began gathering in the sky. A
heavy storm was coming.
Thabang rramokoro o ne ntse a baakanya mokoro wa gagwe fa baratani ba ba tla mo go ena. Lefika o ne a kopa Thabang gore a ba tshedise noka. Thabang o ne a gana, a tlhalosa gore go tla pula ya matlakadibe mme ga go a sireletsega.
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.
Lefika o ne a pateletsa mme a tlhalosetsa Thabang mabaka a bona. O ne a tsha legago mme a le fa Thabang. Fa Thabang a utlwa mathata a bona mme a bona legapa le lentle, o ne a ba utlwela botlhoko. O ne a dumela go ba tshedisa noka maemo a loapi a ntse a sa dumele.
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.
Thabang o ne a gogela mokoro gaufi le bona, mme a re ba palame. O ne a simolola go kgweetsa mokoro wa gagwe ka baratani ba. Fa Kgosi Mothupi le kgosana Moroka ba fitlha kwa ditshitshing tsa noka, ba ne ba bona batho ba bararo mo mokorong. Ba lemoga gore baratani ba bašwa ba tshabile.
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.
Diphefo tse di bokete di ne tsa fekeetsa mokoro mme Thabang o ne a palelwa ke go o laola. “Boa tswee-tswee. Ke go itshwaretse. Nka se lo otlhae.” Mme go ne go setse go le thari. Mokoro o ne wa fetoga mme boraro jwa bona ba nwela mo metsing a a bogale. Go tloga ka letsatsi leo, moagi mongwe le mongwe wa motse wa ga Kgosi Mothupi o ne a letlelewa go nyala motho yo a mo ratang, mohumi kgotsa modidi.
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.
