Some time back in a distant grassy village, lived a father with his three children; Siya, Mbali and Mfundo. He always returned from work tired and covered in coal dust. Before he cooked, he always had to fix something Siya had disassembled or broken because he was the curious one; always investigating how things worked. After bathing, he always fumbled through his wardrobe to find decent clothes, as Mbali always cut part of them to make outfits for her dolls. And during dinner he always had to listen to Mfundo’s jokes or answer his questions and silly riddles.
Many days passed where the children got up to no good. Until one evening when their father returned from work and found that Siya had broken the stove; Mbali had cut one whole arm from his favorite shirt, and Mfundo kept imitating his stuttering teacher. He lined them up and smacked their fingers with a piece of wood like their teachers did at school with a board duster. Oh, how they cried themselves to sleep that night!
But it wasn’t long before they got up to no good again. When their father’s overall had dried up and swung on the washing line, the wind blew through it and it puffed up…” Come, let’s hit father,” giggled Siya and punched the overall. “Yes, let’s also teach him a lesson,” joined Mbali with a stick. Mfundo came imitating his penguin-walk with a piece of wood and whipped the swaying fat figure as well.
Troubled by their behaviour as he heard their guffaws, shouting, dancing and whips on the overall saying it was him… Their father prepared their favorite meal; fixed Siya’s bicycle, cut a piece of fabric from his pants for Mbali’s dolls and gave the wrong answer to one of Mfundo’s riddles he knew the correct answer to, just so they could laugh until their stomachs hurt. If only they knew what would happen next!
The following day their father never returned from work. Instead, a one-eyed, hunched-back limping grandma came with her many bags and black cat with red eyes. The kids watched in fear as she told them their father was gone and she was going to look after them. They exchanged glances, but none of them had the courage to say or ask anything, especially after seeing her long brown crooked nails when she tried to touch them.
The hideous granny made them cook, clean, wash and fetch water, then set guard her cat to scare them if they cheated on their tasks. Their father never treated them this way, they murmured amongst themselves and the cat almost pounced on them. And while they did their tasks, she would accidentally break Siya’s toys, cut Mbali’s dresses for handkerchiefs and make fun of Mfundo. But after many days the children could no longer take it. They cried and begged her to bring their father back. She laughed at them and added more tasks to their chores.
One morning, without telling the kids, she went away for a few days. When she returned, she found that they had completed their chores. Siya had not broken anything, Mbali had not cut anyone’s clothes and Mfundo had not ridiculed anyone. When they came to greet her with a plate of food, she and her things were gone. Including the cat. As they wondered when she could have packed and disappeared… A hard knock came from the door. They huddled together in a corner. The knock came again, followed by wild scratches on the door. Quickly, they hid under the table. Then the door slowly opened and someone entered. They listened carefully under the table. Then a big pair of boots appeared from under the table, “Father!” they shouted, then held on to him for dear life.
While the new member of their family wiggled his tail, licked them and enjoyed their company; they told him all about the one-eyed hunch back limping grandma with her black red-eyed cat and promised to never be naughty again. He then gave each of them a gift that kept them busy and out of trouble.
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Qondile Pearl Matsebula is an ex-actress, writer and voice artist. She is a graduate of Performing Arts & Theatre Skills and Screenwriting at The Market Theatre Laboratory. In 2014, after an excerpt from her first written play was performed on graduation day, she attended ample writing workshops. In 2015 her first short story, The Divide, in the anthology It Takes Two, was published under the mentorship of Rosamund Haden, founder of Fundza Literacy Fund. She went on to write eleven short stories, The Pearl Matsebula Collection, for the blog: Naane le Moya. In 2022, her first written feature film, Thee Vacation, was shot, following a punchline film, Not A Fit, under the mentorship of the renowned screenwriter, Omphile Molusi. With a cocktail interest in different styles of storytelling; she’s reading, writing and studying to become an exceptional novelist and screenwriter. Currently, she’s exploring and enjoying the world of children’s literature.
Read – Shanti’s Big Adventure – A Children’s Literature by Nande T.S. Kamati – Namibia
