The Great Arrow Man

The Great Arrow Man

By Emmanuel Inya

Once there lived a rich man who had three sons and one daughter. The sons used to argue over who was able to shoot an arrow the furthest distance. Since their father didn’t want them to continue arguing, he called them and told them to compete. When the first son shot the arrow, it went and hit a tree that was about one hundred meters from them.

The second one also tried but the arrow did not go beyond the tree. As the last son was shooting the arrow, their relatives, their mother, and their sister, who was called Wakeri, came to watch. Just then, a man arrived. He was carrying a quiver if arrows on his back. “You must be poor with your arrows” he said. People looked at him in surprise. “I am very brave, I can shoot an arrow even more then one kilometer,” he boasted.

“If you compete with my sons and defeat them, I will give my biggest ox or you will ask me anything as your reward,” said Waker’s father. The three brothers tries as mucg as possible but they could not succeed. They looked at the man. “You must be the great arrow man!” said Waker’s father. “What do you wish as your reward?” The man pointed at Wakeri and said, “I want your daughter for a wife.” At first, Wakeri’s father didn’t want to accept but since he had promised he allowed the man to marry Wakeri.

“What’s your name?” asked Wakeri’s father. “My name is Kamanga,” replied the man. As Wakeri and Kamanga set off, Wakeri waved at her mother and father, “Good bye!” Wakeri was a bit happy to get married to the great arrow man but she was sad to leave her elder brother. On the way they saw a gazelle. “That gazelle can make a good meal for us,” said Kamanga. He pulled out an arrow and fixed it to the bow. He shot the gazelle and it fell down. Kamanga pulled out a sword and started cutting the meat into smaller pieces. After that, they lit the fire and roasted the meat.

After roasting, they ate the meat happily. Wakeri was surprised to see Kamanga eating all the meat at once. When the meal was over Wakeri asked, “How can you eat all that meat?” “We should eat a lot of meat for me to shoot an arrow very far,” Kamanga replied. When they arrived at Kamanga’s home, Wakeri saw many big houses. When Wakeri looked in one of the houses, Kamanga pushed her in and locked the heavy door behind.

Wakeri found nine other girls inside the house. They were happy to see her but they were sad girls. One of the girls told Wakeri that Kamanga was a giant who sometimes turned himself into a man. The girls were locked in the house and Kamanga would choose the fattest among them each day. On hearing this, Wakeri almost fainted. The nine girls were brought food by an old woman through a small window. The old woman used to come in the morning, noontime, and evening.

The next day the old woman brought food. When she looked inside the room, she was surprised to see Wakeri. “New girl! Your earrings, bangles and necklaces are beautiful!” she said, “I will take them when Kamanga eats you.” She handed the food to the girls and they ate happily but they were guilty of losing their lives.

Luckily the giant went for a walk. After the giant left, a hunter came by. He was carrying a shield, sword, gun and spear. Wakeri peeped outside and called to the hunter. “Please help us,” she begged. “Go and open the door so we can escape.” The hunter listened very carefully as he was told everything by the girls.

The hunter pulled out his sword and cut the wooden door. It broke and the girls came out happily. They started going back to their homes. They had covered one kilometer when they saw the giant coming. The hunter told the girls to run as fast as they could. The giant pulled out his bow and arrows. As the giant prepared to shoot, the hunter shot one bullet which hit the giant in the chest.

The giant screamed loudly and fell down heavily. Without wasting time, the hunter shot another bullet which hit the giant in the stomach. When the giant was dead, the hunter ran and caught up with the girls. He showed them the right way to go to their homes. All the parents who had missed their daughters were very happy. They decided to hold a feast to thank the hunter.

Fatuma and the Magic Man

By Lawrence Ochieng

Once upon a time there lived a girl called Fatuma. She was very good and kind. She always obeyed the elder people and did what they said. One day the village elders ordered a dance to be held the following night. All the people prepared themselves for the dance of the coming night. Fatuma’s mother told her not to go to the dance, but she knew all of her friends were going to enjoy themselves at the dance.

When night came Fatuma went out of the house with out her parents noticing. She went out and met her friends Ashley and Paul. They run until they were where the dance was taking place. While Fatuma was dancing, a huge person appeared. He had an ugly face and had magic. As Fatuma saw him, she hid herself in one of the buses near her thinking that the magic man could not see her. To her surprise, she saw the magic man coming closer to her. She started to remember that her mother had warned her not to go to the dance. She started to regret why she came for the dance.

“Fatuma,” said a voice. When she looked back, she saw the magic man standing behind her. The magic man took her to the middle of the dance and told her to dance. As she was dancing, the magic man said his spell, “Alaka zoom alaka zoom.” Suddenly the beautiful girl’s ears became big. “That is the present you get for disobeying your parents,” said the magic man. Fatuma continued dancing for almost a half hour, after that the magic man said his second spell, “Alaka zoom alaka zoom,” and the girl’s nose became big like an elephant’s trunk and she felt pity on herself.

She wept bitterly as she lay down on the ground. After that the magic man went away bring proud that he had changed the beautiful girl in the village, making her no longer beautiful. When she went back home, her mother was very much surprised to see her daughter with an ugly face and collapsed on seeing her. “I will never disobey my parents again,” said Fatuma.

Samantha and Her Stepmother

By Mercy Jillo

Once upon a time there lived a girl called Samantha. When she was born her mother died. After her mother died, her father married another wife. The stepmother of Samantha was very harsh. She used to tell her to do all the house chores. Samantha’s stepmother never liked her children doing the house chores. She gave Samantha a lot of work to do so that she could not go to school. Whenever she went to school her stepmother would beat her.

One day Samantha went to fetch firewood from the forest. As she was walking, she met with the prince. When the prince saw her he was surprised because he had never seen a beautiful girl like Samantha. He told his servants to call Samantha. When they called her she ran away and left one of her shoes. The prince took it and then he went to the palace.

That night, the prince told the king about Samantha. When the king heard that he told his son that he could call all the girls so that he could choose the one he liked. After a week all the girls came to the palace except Samantha. She was told by her stepmother to stay at home and do the chores. All her stepmother’s daughters went because each one of them wanted to be married to the prince.

When the prince arrived he looked at the crowd but he did not see Samantha. When he was asked by the king to choose one of the girls, he said that he was not ready. The king told the girls to come back after four days. They all agreed and went back home. Four days later the girls went back to the palace. Samantha was left at home to clean the utensils. Before her stepmother left, she took Samantha and tied her to a chair. After that she left with her ugly daughters. Samantha was left alone. She tried to untie herself but she was not able.

At the king’s palace the prince took Samantha’s shoe. He said that the girl that could wear the shoe and it fit her would be his wife. The girls tried but they could not fit into the shoe. When Samantha was at home she started crying for help but nobody came to help her. Suddenly she saw a person who appeared in the room. She was shocked. The person told her that she was the Goddess. She untied Samantha and gave her a beautiful dress.

When she wore the dress the Goddess told her to close her eyes. When she opened her eyes she found herself in the palace. Samantha went and tried if they shoe would fit her. When she tried, she was lucky the shoe fit her. After that, the prince married her. Her stepmother felt very jealous. After the wedding she told the prince about her stepmother. The prince ordered his soldiers to arrest Samantha’s stepmother and her daughters. After the wedding Samantha thanked the Goddess and she lived happily with the prince.

The Girl Who Could Not Listen to Her Mother

By Joseph Akite

Once upon a time there lived a mother and her daughter Helen. One day they went to look for firewood in the forest. When they were in the forest they saw a big stone which was said by many people that if you sit on it you will be stuck. When Helen heard that she was surprised. In a few minutes Helen’s mother left her and went to look for some fruits to eat. She told Helen not to sit on that stone. Helen waited for her mother for a long time. She was tired and decided to sit on the stone. When her mother came, she was surprised to see her daughter sitting on the stone she had warned her about. She wondered what she could do. She simply built a small house where Helen was sitting. Before she left, she told Helen, “If you hear someone singing in a small voice ‘Helen, Helen, Helen little girl open for me I am your mother’ you open. But if you hear a rough sound, don’t open.”

So her mother went home. The following day she brought Helen breakfast. She sang with her small voice, “Helen, Helen, Helen little girl open for me I am your mother.” Helen opened. She was given breakfast and then her mother left. Her mother kept on bringing her food now and then. One day a very huge animal with eight legs came and started singing that song with a loud voice. Helen remembered what she was told and she did not open. That huge animal tried many times but Helen refused to open.

When that huge animal saw that the door had not been opened, he went to the witchdoctor and told him that he wanted to have a voice like a mothers. The witchdoctor told him to walk but not to look behind. He started his journey but on the way, something scared him and he looked behind. When he reached where Helen was, he tried to sing like a mother but it was not possible.

That animal went again to the witchdoctor and told him what had happened. Round two, he was told to run as fast as he could but not walk. On his way, he ran as fast as a deer and fell down. He started walking, and he was told not to walk. When he reached Helen, he tried to sing but his voice did not change. The third time he went again to the witchdoctor and he was told to carry a thermos flask and not to drop it. He started walking and reached where he was going without it falling. He started singing like a mother. Helen thought for some time and then opened. She was swallowed at that moment.

When her mother came, she sang for a long time but the door was not opened. She simply sensed something had taken Helen away. She kicked the door wide open and found no one was there. She simply ran and saw two huge animals laying on the ground. One had a very big stomach. When she reached them, she asked the first one if he had seen her daughter. The first one told her that maybe the one who has a big stomach knew. When she asked, she found out it was him. She simply cut him open and removed her daughter. She was happy and overjoyed. Helen learnt a lesson that you must follow what your parents have told you.

The Envious Stepmother

By Diana Akinyi

Once upon a time, there lived a man who had two wives. The first wife had two children, while the second wife had one child called Chebet. The man had a shamba which was far away from their home. He used to go with both of his wives and children to the shamba. On their way they had to pass through forty forests. It was believed that the forests had spirits. The shamba was at the edge of the last forest. One day they went to the shamba as usual. They worked all day. When it was time to go home, they all set off at once. They hurried because the sun had set and darkness had started appearing. When they were about to reach home, Chebet remembered that he forgot his flute in the shamba. He asked his mother if he could go and get it. His mother pleaded with him not to go. Chebet insisted that he could not go home without his flute.

Chebet went and asked his father, but he refused. Chebet then started to cry. His father saw this and allowed Chebet to go. He walked all the way back to the shamba It was already dark and the moon was shining. When Chebet reached the shamba he saw some figures which looked like human beings. He was not afraid. He went on to look for his flute. The spirits then moved towards Chebet. The leader of the spirits asked, “Who are you?” Chebet replied in a courageous way, “I am Chebet and I have come to look for my flute. Have you seen it?” The spirits then told Chebet to search for the flute in the two bags the spirits had. When Chebet removed the first flute and said that it was not his. He removed the second flute. The flute was shining but Chebet said that it was not his. He then found another flute. He looked at it keenly and then said it was his.

The spirits then brought two pots, one big pot and a small pot. They then told Chebet to choose one of the pots. Chebet then chose the smaller pot. The spirits told Chebet that when he reaches home he should break the pot in front of his parents, and when he hears the hitting of a drum, he should hide in a bush.