At the foot of the great hills which lie on the borders of Swaziland a river flows among wide grassy plains. Trees line its banks throughout its course, and great herds of buck come down to the water to drink at night. It is a rich and beautiful country, and there, long years ago, lived a young Chief and his wife. They were very happy, and had everything they wanted. Two lovely little girls were born to them, and then, one sad day, the father died, and his wife was left all alone. Her husband had no brother who would take her to his kraal and provide for her, so she was thrown on her own resources, and had nothing but what she could find herself. For a while she worked hard, and tilled her lands with the help of the two little girls, but when [152]autumn came her crops were poor. There was not enough grain to last till the next harvest.

So when the spring rains fell and the seed was set, she turned to her children and said, “There will soon be no more corn for us to eat. We must leave the kraal and go to grandmother. She will give us corn and mealies to last till harvest-time.”

The little girls were delighted, for they loved a journey, and all set forth along the path which led towards the mountains. It was very narrow, so they went one behind another, the mother leading the way.

It was a beautiful spring morning. Great white clouds shone in the blue sky, the grass was getting greener every day, and the plain was carpeted with clusters of the most lovely flowers. First came whole companies of scarlet lynx-ear, then followed great patches of a tiny bright blue flower, and then again nothing but white blossoms, which turned inky-black as they faded. The little girls laughed and chattered, and sometimes sang a song of travel, for it was a holiday, and they were happy.

Then they left the flat plains and began to ascend the course of a tiny stream which came [153]down from the hills. The path led in and out among huge rocks and tall trees hung with creepers. Little ferns were beginning to show their fronds, and here and there nodded a brilliant scarlet daisy. The mother still walked first, and the bushes grew thicker and thicker.

The path gave a sharp turn, and there, right before them, lay an enormous snake. He was coiled in the very middle of the narrow road, and his wicked head was poised ready to attack them. In truth, he was an ogre in disguise, for he looked at the mother and said at once in a deep voice, “Where are you going to?”

The poor mother fled shrieking into the thorny bush, but the snake was much quicker than she. He threw himself round her in great folds, and in a few minutes he had eaten her up. The two little girls ran on as hard as ever they could and plunged in among the bushes till they came to a great rock. There they hid themselves, shaking in every limb, and not daring even to look for food.

Many hours passed by and the sun was getting low. The children were faint with hunger, and began to cry bitterly at the thought of their mother. Then they heard footsteps [154]coming through the grass. They sat up and listened; this was no snake. Presently an old woman came in sight carrying a little pot of food on her head. She had a kind face, and directly she saw the little girls she stopped and said, “Why do you hide right under the rock, and why are you crying?”

“Our father and mother are both dead,” said the little girls, “and we don’t know where our grandmother lives.”

“Wipe away your tears,” said the old woman. “I will be your grandmother.”

Then she sat down and spoke kindly to them till they felt comforted and happy. “Now,” said she, “I will provide for you. I will change both you and myself into beautiful birds. We will live in the forest, and no one shall have any power to harm us.”

And immediately all happened as the old woman said, for she was a great and powerful Fairy and no old woman at all. And they flew far away into a big forest where no man ever came. There they lived in perfect ease, twittering gaily all day long, bathing in the clear streams, and flying in and out among green ferns and many-coloured lilies. [155]

But one day the Fairy said to the girls, “You are grown up now, and can no longer live carelessly like birds. Now we must travel and seek our fortune.”

So they left the forest and flew for many days till they came to a big city, where a famous Chief ruled. There they stopped. The Fairy became an old woman once more, and she changed the two girls back into their original form. Only now they were women grown, and as pretty as they could be.

The next morning she asked to see the King’s chief councillor. As soon as she entered the hut she saluted him respectfully, saying:

“I see you, Chief.”

“I see you,” answered the Induna.

“I am come here to ask if I and my two grand-daughters may live here under the protection of the great King.”

“Why do you want to come?” asked the Induna. “Have you no kindred to whom you belong?”

“The girls have lost both father and mother by witchcraft,” said the old Fairy. “I am their only living relation, and I want to find them a home, for I am old.” [156]

“They are beautiful girls,” said the Induna. “I will give you lands which you may cultivate, and space within the city on which to build your hut.”

The Induna then appointed men who should show them the land for their hut and help them to set the framework. A Kafir hut, you know, is round and thatched with grass, very like an old-fashioned bee-hive. Men set the framework with strong supple boughs; then the women come and thatch from top to bottom with their clever fingers. As soon as the King’s men had gone, the old Fairy and the two girls set to work. It often takes many days to complete a hut, but so well did they work that by sundown the hut was finished, even to a beautiful little screen before the door to keep off the wind. Not only had they been quicker than any women before known, but the thatch was also finer than any in the whole city. The marvel of their neighbours may be imagined. The next day they cleared away the grass before the entrance and put up the neatest and most beautiful fence in the whole country-side.

Then when their home was ready, they set out to hoe their lands. These lay at some [157]distance from the kraal, at the outermost border of the lands already tilled.

“Now,” said the Fairy, “I am too old to wield a hoe, but you, my daughters, are strong. Each of you must take your pick and work straight ahead without looking behind you. I will follow behind, gather the weeds, and clear everything up.”

It was early morning, and the mists had barely risen from the hills. The wide veld lay before them, and stretched in long golden lines to the sharp blue mountain peaks on the horizon. The girls did as they were bid. They worked steadily till mid-day, singing gaily all the while; nor did they once look behind them. When the sun was at its height they stopped to rest. They were amazed to see the extent of ground they had cleared, and could not believe it possible. The old Fairy smiled and said, “We will come again to-morrow and do yet better.”

They came the next day, and yet many days. Their lands grew and grew till at length they had hoed more land than the King himself, who could have as many workers as he wished. Their neighbours began to notice them. “These girls are not only beautiful,” said they, “they are [158]strong and willing, and work like no one we have ever seen. Their lands are better than those of the King himself.”

That year the rains came early. The golden hues of winter changed as the young grass sprang up, and hundreds of flowers appeared to delight the eye. Every one had good crops that summer, but the Fairy’s mealies were taller and greener than those of any one in the King’s dominions.

It was not long before the King was told of these wonderful strangers. “I must see for myself,” said the King. “No doubt it is not so wonderful as they say. People talk so much.”

But when he walked out himself and saw the land hoed by the Fairy and her maidens, he was astonished beyond belief; the field was far larger even than he had heard, and the mealies taller than himself or any of his men. The next day he commanded the old woman and her grand-daughters to appear before him. An Induna brought them into the King’s presence.

“How is it,” said the King, “that you have been able to hoe such enormous lands? Your mealies and corn are better than mine, though I can have hundreds of men to work for me.”

“King of Kings,” said the wise old Fairy, [159]“I am the daughter of a very mighty King, and these girls are my daughter’s children. A mighty King, as you know, has great power, and can do more than other men.”

“I am indeed pleased,” said the King, “to see that your daughters are such beautiful girls. I am too old to marry them myself, but I have two fine young Princes who are just of an age to wed. I should not like your daughters to marry any one else, for such maidens are the ones who should marry great Chiefs. They are not only beautiful, but industrious and strong beyond all other women.”

So the marriages were arranged, and the two maidens, who had lost both father and mother, became the wives of the bravest and finest of all the King’s sons. Many hundreds of cattle were given to the Fairy grandmother in exchange for her daughters, and great were the rejoicings throughout the whole city.

The Fairy stayed till she saw that both her adopted children were happy and well-beloved. Then one day she divided her cattle between them, kissed them farewell, and disappeared. [160]