Long ago, a family lived in a small village. The family hunted on the veldt, and they tended a vegetable garden. At home they wove grasses into mats and baskets, and made clay pots and beaded jewelry. The father, Mabassa, was an expert carver. Often he sent his children in search of wood, and this he would carve into beautiful statues of the many animals that roamed their land.
Days were filled with laughter and chores, but once the sun set and the air grew cool, the family gathered inside. After sharing a meal, the children often grew restless. "Mother," they called to Siphiwe, "it is dark, and we cannot hunt or cook or bead. What shall we do?"
Siphiwe and Mabassa talked of ways to entertain their children. "We need to tell them stories," Mabassa said.
"But we know none," Siphiwe answered.
Now, it was Mabassa's task to go out into the world to find food to feed his family's stomachs. And so they decided that Siphiwe would go in search of stories to feed their minds.
The next morning she set out, and before long she came upon Mfene the baboon. "You are cunning and intelligent," she said, "tell me some stories."
Mfene yawned. "Go away," he said, "I have no time to talk of such foolishness."
"Very well," Siphiwe said, and she walked on. Soon she saw Khova the owl sitting on the tallest branches of a tree. "Khova, can you tell me stories?"
Khova blinked, and then he blinked again. "You disturb my sleep," he grumbled. "I have no time for stories. Go away."
Determined to find stories, Siphiwe walked on, and soon Inpungashe the jackal sped past. "Wait," Siphiwe called to him, "I want to know stories. Can you help?"
"No time," Inpungashe barked, hurrying on. And so it was that Siphiwe came to a muddy river where she saw Nvuba the hippopotamus peacefully resting. "Nvuba," she smiled, "surely you are not too busy to help me. I wish to know stories."
Nvuba laughed. "Inkwazi must know stories," she said. "He sees everything."
Siphiwe looked up, searching the sky for Inkwazi the fish eagle. Inkwazi flew over the entire land. Surely he knew where to find stories.
She spotted him plunging down to the nearby sea. "Inkwazi, wait!" she cried.
Caught mid-flight, Inkwazi screeched, "What do you want?"
"Stories!" Siphiwe said.
"You are asking the wrong creatures," said Inkwazi. "Only Ufudu can help you."
Siphiwe hurried to the sea's edge, and there she called to Ufudu the sea turtle. "Can you help me?" she asked, and a moment later Ufudu was carrying Siphiwe down beneath the water, rushing to the very bottom of the sea.
To her amazement, Siphiwe discovered she could breathe, and when she saw the Spirit People sitting amidst shimmering shells and colorful coral, she smiled. She bowed to the king and queen of the sea people. "Can you give me stories?" she humbly asked.
"Yes," said the queen, "but we ask you to bring us something in return."
"What can I offer you?" Siphiwe asked.
"We have never seen the world above the sea," said the king, "and we want to know what it looks like."
Siphiwe knew just what to do. "Take me home," she said to the sea turtle, and turning to the king and queen, she bowed. "I shall return soon."
Siphiwe hurried home, and there she confided her plan to Mabassa, who agreed to it. And so it was that soon Siphiwe returned to the bottom of the sea on Ufudu's back. In her arms she carried the beautiful carvings of Mabassa, one of each of the creatures of the land -- of Mfene and Khova, of Inpungashe and Nvuba and Inkwazi, and of others, too.
When the king and queen saw the carvings, they were overjoyed. "And now you will take this gift from us." They handed her a polished shell. "Whenever you wish to know stories, press this shell to your ear," they explained.
Delighted, Siphiwe returned home. That night, when her family sat around the fire and the children grew restless, she lifted the shell to her ear, and the children grew suddenly quiet as their mother began to tell them a tale.
Never again did anyone's mind feel restless or uneasy, for the family shared their stories with all the people of the Earth.
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