Story Seeds

Long ago, when trees could talk and fish could fly, Frog was the biggest of all the animals. He liked to bully everyone, and the animals were growing tired of him. One day, when Frog had gone swimming, the other animals held a meeting to decide how to deal with him. “We need…

Once upon a time, there was a farmer called Vusi who was very, very strong. Nobody knew how he did it, but he could easily carry two cows at the same time. One morning, when Vusi woke up, he ran around in a panic. “My necklace! Who has stolen my magic necklace?” he…

Long ago when the world was new, Nkwazi, the great fish eagle, called all the birds together. “As you know,” he said, “Bhubesi the lion is king of the beasts. But why should he speak for us birds? We need to choose our own king… and as I am so majestic, I…

Long ago, there was a land filled with every kind of fruit tree. The only fruit that nobody had ever seen or tasted, was the lemon. One day, the king’s favourite daughter, Bokang, fell ill. Many doctors and sangomas tried to help her, but Bokang didn’t get better. At last, a very…

Once upon a time, an old woman lived all alone near the top of a tall mountain above a village. Everybody in the village was afraid of her. They called her “The Witch”. One day a young girl called Phumla went out to collect wild roots and herbs on the slopes of the…

A long time ago, a woman lived with her family in a village in the Kingdom of Zululand. Every Sunday the family went down to the big ocean. The woman made food over a fire while her husband looked for wood washed up by the sea to carve beautiful things: birds, people and…