Once upon a time, there was a very wealthy chief. He owned a lot of cattle. But among all his oxen and cows, he had a special fondness for a hornless cow. One morning, however, she was not with the others. She had run away during the night and walked for days until she reached a fertile valley, where she gave birth.
However, instead of a calf, she gave birth to human twins: a boy and a girl. She nursed and raised them with great care. To ensure they lacked nothing, she began giving birth to calves. Meanwhile, time passed. The children grew up healthy and robust, and they started talking. One day, two men from the tribe happened to pass by. They saw the cow and the twins and ran to tell the chief the good news.
Imagine the chief’s joy when he heard that his favourite cow was still alive, had given birth to human twins, and had produced an abundance of livestock. He immediately set off at the head of a group of soldiers and shepherds to bring the cow and her offspring home. Upon arriving at the village, the chief organised a grand celebration to introduce his beloved cow, the twins, and the cattle to everyone.
Overcome with excitement and unable to find the words to express his joy, he made an incredible promise: when the twins reached puberty, he would give them clothes made from the skin of a legendary water monster. This monster was said to be an enormous, extremely strong and ferocious animal. It lived in a very deep pond. It was said that the monster’s skin was extraordinarily beautiful and that its colours were so splendid that they were impossible to describe.
Some time passed and no one thought about the chief’s promise anymore. Besides, it would be many years before the twins reached puberty. They grew up beautiful and strong, and one day, without anyone noticing, they began to show signs of puberty. Following their people’s customs, the twins went into the jungle and waited until the king’s promise was fulfilled.
However, time passed and they realised that this would never happen, so the young man took his sister and set off in search of the monster. He had brought a good supply of cakes with him. He searched from pond to pond, from pool to pool and from lake to lake for the monster.
When he came to a pond, he would throw a cake into the water. If nothing happened, it was a sign that the monster was not there, and they would move on. Finally, they came to a large, deep pond. As soon as he threw a cake in, the water began to stir and turn the colours of the rainbow. This was the place they were looking for! He threw another cake in and the surface churned like a stormy sea.
A monster with multicoloured skin appeared, furious, and advancing menacingly, eager to fight. Recovering from their surprise, the young man left his sister, jumped into the water, and began to fight the monster. The monster’s skin was beautiful and tough, but the blows gradually weakened it, and its attacks became weaker and weaker. Finally, it made its way to the shore, took one last breath, and died.
The siblings immediately set to work, carefully removing the monster’s skin to make themselves some magnificent clothes, then headed home. They walked day and night without stopping, finally arriving at the village of the chief’s tribe at night. Not wanting to disturb anyone, they went into a hut at the entrance to the village.
They covered themselves from head to toe in their magnificent new clothes and fell asleep peacefully. When the sun rose, they were still asleep. Some travellers saw ‘that thing’ covered in unfamiliar skin. “What could it be? Whatever could it be?’ they said to each other, gathering around. “What should we do? Should we chase them away? Should we kill them? Shall we call the chief?”
Just then, however, the hornless cow arrived, protecting the young people with her body as she began to moo. Her mooing woke the young people up. When they uncovered their faces, they were immediately recognised, and everyone was filled with joy. They lifted up the young people up and took them to see the chief.
When the chief saw them dressed in the multicoloured skin that had belonged to the monster, he remembered the promise he had made years before. He realised that the young men had disappeared because of him. Overjoyed at their return and the courage they had shown, he organised a big party and invited the whole tribe.
During the feast, he introduced the twins to the whole village and told them how brave the twins had been to conquer the monster and wear its skin. From that moment on, the twins lived in the chief’s court. He came to love them and treat them as his own children. The young woman married the chief’s son, while her brother became chief of another tribe. (Folktale from Tanzania) – (Pixabay)
