Dinaane tsa Setswana: short folktales

Ga twe e rile bogologolo, Mmutla o ne a ipelafatsa mo diphologolong tsotlhe. Letsatsi le letsatsi o ne a re: "Ga go na ope yo o ka mphenyang mo lebelong!" Khudu o ne a reeditse ka tidimalo. Ka letsatsi lengwe a re: "Mmutla, a re siane go ya kwa nokeng." Diphologolo tsotlhe tsa tshega. Mmutla a tshega go gaisa tsotlhe, a re: "Wena, Khudu? O tsamaya ka bonya bo bogolo! Go siame, re tla siana kamoso." Bosigo joo Khudu a bitsa ba losika lwa gagwe. Ba ne ba lebega fela jaaka ene. A ba baya mo tseleng yotlhe go ya kwa nokeng, mongwe le mongwe mo lefelong la gagwe, a ba raya a re: "Fa lo utlwa Mmutla a bitsa, arabang lo re: 'Ke fano!'" Mo mosong lebelo la simolola. Mmutla a taboga ka bonako, a leba kwa morago a se ka a bona sepe. A ema fa tlase ga setlhare go ikhutsa, mme a bitsa a re: "Khudu, o kae?" Lentswe la araba kwa pele ga gagwe: "Ke fano!" Mmutla a gakgamala, a taboga gape. Gangwe le gape o ne a bitsa, mme ka metlha go ne go arabiwa kwa pele. Fa a goroga kwa nokeng a lapile thata, a fitlhela Khudu a setse a dutse fa lotshitshing, a nwa metsi. Diphologolo tsa itumela. Mmutla a tlhabiwa ke ditlhong, mme go tloga ka letsatsi leo a se ka a tlhola a ipelafatsa. Ke fa nnaane e felelang teng.

Hare boasted that no animal could beat him in a race, so Tortoise challenged him to race to the river. That night Tortoise placed his look-alike relatives all along the road and told them to answer whenever Hare called. Each time Hare stopped and called out, a voice answered from ahead, and when he reached the river exhausted, Tortoise was already there drinking. Hare was ashamed and never boasted again.

Ga twe e rile bogologolo, go ne go na le mosetsana yo o bidiwang Tselane. Ka letsatsi lengwe motse wa gaabo wa fudugela kwa lefelong le lesha, mme Tselane a gana go tsamaya. A re: "Ga ke batle go tlogela ntlo ya rona." Mmaagwe a mo tlogela ka pelo e e botlhoko, mme letsatsi le letsatsi a boa go mo tlisetsa dijo. Fa a goroga o ne a opela ka lentswe le le bonolo: "Tselane, ngwanaka, bula, ke mme!" Tselane a itse lentswe leo, a bula setswalo. Mme Dimo, sebatana se se jang batho, o ne a iphitlhile mo sekgweng a reeditse pina eo. Ka letsatsi lengwe a tla a opela ka lentswe le le makgwakgwa: "Tselane, ngwanaka, bula, ke mme!" Tselane a reetsa, a re: "Nnyaa! Lentswe la ga mme ga le makgwakgwa jaana." Dimo a ya kwa ngakeng, ya mo naya sehlare sa go nolofatsa lentswe. A boa a opela ka bonolo jaaka mmaagwe Tselane. Tselane a bula, mme Dimo a mo tshwara, a mo tsenya mo kgetsing, a tsamaya a e rwele mo legetleng. Mo tseleng Dimo a ema kwa motseng mongwe go ikhutsa, a tlogela kgetsi kwa ntle. Batho ba motse oo e ne e le ba losika lwa ga Tselane. Ba utlwa lentswe le lennye le lela mo kgetsing, ba e bula ka kelotlhoko, ba ntsha Tselane. Mme ba tlatsa kgetsi ka dinotshe, ba e bofa gape. Fa Dimo a goroga kwa gae a bula kgetsi, dinotshe tsa mo loma, a tshabela kwa sekgweng. Tselane a busediwa kwa go mmaagwe, mme jaanong a dumela go fudugela kwa motseng o mosha.

When her village moved, Tselane refused to leave the old house, so her mother came each day with food and sang a song so Tselane would open the door. An ogre, Dimo, overheard the song and, after a healer smoothed his rough voice, tricked Tselane into opening and carried her off in a sack. Her relatives in a village on the way heard her crying, freed her and filled the sack with bees instead. Dimo was stung and fled, and Tselane went back to her mother and agreed to move.

Ga twe e rile bogologolo, Kgogo le Phakwe e ne e le ditsala tse dikgolo. Ka letsatsi lengwe Kgogo a tlhoka go roka diaparo tsa bana ba gagwe, a ya kwa go Phakwe a re: "Tsala yame, ke kopa o nkadimise nnale ya gago." Phakwe a mo adimisa nnale, a re: "E tlhokomele thata. Ga ke na e nngwe." Kgogo a simolola go roka. Fa a sa ntse a dira, bana ba gagwe ba mmitsa go tla go bona sengwe kwa ntle. A baya nnale fa fatshe, a tsamaya ka bonako. Fa a boa, nnale e ne e nyeletse. A e batla gongwe le gongwe, a fata mmu ka maoto, a sutisa matlhare le dithupana, mme a se ka a e bona. Morago ga malatsi a mmalwa Phakwe a tla go kopa nnale ya gagwe. Kgogo a mo bolelela boammaaruri, a re: "Tsala yame, ke maswabi. E latlhegile, ke sa ntse ke e batla." Phakwe a galefa thata, a re: "Fa o sa mpusetse nnale ya me, ke tla tsaya mongwe wa bana ba gago mo boemong jwa yone." Ke ka moo le gompieno Phakwe a fofang a dikologa fa godimo ga metse, a lebeletse dikgogonyana. Mme Kgogo ene o sa ntse a fata mmu ka maoto letsatsi le letsatsi, a sa batla nnale e e latlhegileng. Thuto ya nnaane e ke gore: tlhokomela se o se adimileng, ka gonne ga se sa gago.

Hen borrowed a needle from her friend Hawk to sew clothes for her children, and Hawk warned her to take care of it. Hen put it down when her children called her and could never find it again. Hawk, angry, said he would take one of her chicks in its place. That is why hawks still circle over villages watching the chicks, and why hens still scratch the ground, looking for the lost needle.

Ga twe e rile bogologolo, Tau le Mmutla ba ne ba tsoma mmogo. Ka letsatsi lengwe ba bolaya phofu e kgolo. Tau a re: "Nama e ke ya me yotlhe. Wena o tla ja marapo fela." Mmutla a se ka a bua sepe, mme a akanya. Mo mosong o o latelang Mmutla a tla a taboga a lebega a tshogile, a re: "Rra Tau! Ke utlwile gore go tla sefefo se segolo, se se tla gogolang sengwe le sengwe se se sa bofelelwang mo setlhareng! Le ditlou di setse di ipofeletse!" Tau a tshoga, a re: "Mmutla, mpofelele ka bonako!" Mmutla a tsaya megala e e thata, a bofelela Tau mo setlhareng se segolo, a bofa maoto a gagwe le mogatla ka thata. Fa a fetsa, a ya kwa nameng, a gotsa molelo, a besa nama, mme a ja a itumetse fa pele ga Tau. Tau a goa a re: "Sefefo se kae?" Mmutla a araba a tshega: "Sefefo ke nna!" Tau a nna a bofeletswe malatsi a le mantsi, a bolawa ke tlala, mme Mmutla a ja nama yotlhe. Kgabagare pula ya na, megala ya nolofala, Tau a ikgolola. Go tloga ka letsatsi leo Tau o batla Mmutla gongwe le gongwe. Ke ka moo Mmutla a robalang matlho a bulegile, a reeditse tsotlhe tse di mo dikologileng. Thuto ke gore: bopelotshetlha ga bo na molemo, ka gonne yo o tsayang tsotlhe o ka latlhegelwa ke tsotlhe.

Lion and Hare hunted an eland together, but Lion claimed all the meat and left Hare only the bones. The next morning Hare warned that a great storm was coming that would sweep away anything not tied to a tree, and the frightened Lion begged to be tied up. Hare tied him tight and then roasted and ate the meat in front of him. When the rain finally loosened the ropes, Lion went hunting for Hare, which is why the hare still sleeps with its eyes open.

Ga twe e rile bogologolo, go ne go na le leuba le legolo. Dinoka di ne di omile, mme diphologolo di ne di bolawa ke lenyora. Kgosi Tau a bitsa phuthego, a re: "A re epeng sediba mmogo." Diphologolo tsotlhe tsa simolola go epa. Mmutla fela a gana, a re: "Nna ga ke nyorwe. Ke nwa phoka ya mosong." Diphologolo tsa epa malatsi a le mantsi go fitlha metsi a tswa. Mme bosigo bongwe le bongwe mongwe o ne a tla a nwa metsi, a a leswafatsa ka seretse. Diphologolo tsa bona dikgato tsa mmutla gaufi le sediba. Phiri a re o tla disa, mme Mmutla a mo tlisetsa todi e e monate, Phiri a ja, a robala. Tshwene le ene a tsiediwa jalo. Kgabagare Khudu a re: "Ke tla mo tshwara." A tshasa kgaralale ya gagwe ka sekgomaretsi se se tswang mo setlhareng, a nna mo metsing a didimetse jaaka leje. Bosigo joo Mmutla a tla. A bona leje, a gata mo go lone go nwa. Maoto a gagwe a kgomarela! A leka go ikgolola ka maoto a mangwe, mme le one a kgomarela. Mo mosong diphologolo tsa mo fitlhela a kgomaretse mo mokwatleng wa ga Khudu. Kgosi Tau a atlhola a re: "Yo o sa direng ga a je. Mmutla o tla epa sediba se sesha a le esi." Mmutla a epa letsatsi lotlhe, mme go tloga foo a ithuta go thusa ba bangwe.

In a great drought the animals dug a well together, but Hare refused to help, saying he drank only the morning dew. Every night someone drank the water and muddied it, and Hare tricked each guard, bringing Hyena honey until he fell asleep. Then Tortoise smeared his shell with sticky tree gum and sat in the water like a stone, and when Hare stepped on him to drink he was stuck fast until morning. Chief Lion ruled that whoever does not work does not eat, and made Hare dig a new well on his own.

Ga twe e rile bogologolo, Kgabo o ne a nna mo setlhareng sa mofeie fa lotshitshing lwa noka. Letsatsi le letsatsi o ne a latlhela Kwena maungo a a butswitseng, mme ba nna ditsala. Ka letsatsi lengwe Kwena a re: "Tsala yame, kwa moseja ga noka go na le ditlhare tse di tletseng maungo a a monate go gaisa a. Palama mo mokwatleng wa me, ke go tshedise." Kgabo a itumela, a palama. Fa ba fitlha fa gare ga noka, kwa metsi a leng boteng teng, Kwena a ema, a re: "Tsala yame, ke maswabi. Kgosi ya dikwena e a lwala, mme dingaka tsa re e tla fola fela fa e ja pelo ya kgabo." Kgabo a tshoga thata, mme a nna a didimetse, a akanya ka bonako. A re: "Ao, tsala yame! Ke eng o sa mpolelela pele? Nna ga ke tsamaye le pelo ya me. Ke e tlogetse mo setlhareng, e akgegile mo kaleng. A re boeleng, ke e tsee." Kwena a dumela, a boela kwa lotshitshing. Kgabo a tlolela mo setlhareng ka bofefo, a palamela kwa godimo. A goa a re: "Tsala e e batlang go ja pelo ya me ga se tsala! Pelo ya me e ne e le le nna ka metlha!" Kwena a tlhabiwa ke ditlhong, a nwela mo metsing. Go tloga ka letsatsi leo Kgabo ga a ka a tlhola a palama mo mokwatleng wa gagwe. Thuto ke gore: fa o le mo kotsing, tlhaloganyo e e ritibetseng e go thusa go feta matlhagatlhaga.

Monkey lived in a fig tree by the river and fed Crocodile ripe fruit until they became friends. Crocodile offered to carry Monkey across the river to better trees, but in the deep middle he admitted that the crocodile chief needed a monkey's heart. Thinking fast, Monkey said he had left his heart hanging in the tree, and Crocodile took him back to fetch it. Monkey leapt into the branches and called down that a friend who wants to eat your heart is no friend.

Ga twe e rile bogologolo, go ne go na le bana ba babedi ba basimane, Masilo le Masilonyane. Masilonyane, yo monnye, o ne a le pelonomi, a thusa batsadi ba gagwe ka metlha, mme batho botlhe ba ne ba mo rata. Masilo, yo mogolo, o ne a tletse lefufa. Ka letsatsi lengwe ba ne ba ya go tsoma mmogo kwa nageng. Ba fitlha fa khuting e e boteng, Masilo a re: "Masilonyane, leba, go na le sengwe se se phatsimang kwa tlase!" Fa Masilonyane a inama go leba, Masilo a mo kgarametsa mo khuting, a boela kwa gae a le esi. Batsadi ba botsa ba re: "Monnao o kae?" Masilo a aka a re: "Re ne ra kgaogana mo nageng. Ga ke itse gore o kae." Mme nonyane e nnye e ne e bone sotlhe. Ya fofela kwa motseng, ya dula mo legoreng la ntlo ya batsadi, ya opela: "Masilonyane o mo khuting! Masilo o a aka! Latelang nna, ke lo bontshe!" Rraagwe le mmaagwe ba gakgamala, ba latela nonyane go ralala naga. Ya ba isa kwa khuting, mme ba fitlhela Masilonyane a sa tshela, a lapile a bile a tshogile. Ba mo ntsha ka mogala, ba boela kwa gae ba opela. Masilo a tlhabiwa ke ditlhong, a ipolela phoso ya gagwe fa pele ga lelapa lotlhe. Batsadi ba mo kotlhaya, mme kgabagare ba mo itshwarela fa a ithuta go rata monnawe. Thuto ke gore: lefufa le senya, mme boammaaruri bo tla bonala ka metlha.

Masilonyane, the kind younger brother, was loved by everyone, and his elder brother Masilo was full of jealousy. Out hunting, Masilo pushed Masilonyane into a deep pit and went home alone, lying to their parents. A small bird that had seen everything sang the truth at their door and led the parents to the pit, where they found Masilonyane alive and pulled him out. Masilo confessed, was punished and in time forgiven, and the tale teaches that jealousy destroys and the truth always comes out.

Ga twe e rile bogologolo, Mmutla o ne a tsamaya fa lotshitshing lwa noka, a kopana le Tlou. A re: "Rra Tlou, batho ba re o nonofile thata, mme nna ke dumela gore ke nonofile go go feta." Tlou a tshega go fitlha a tsholola keledi. "Wena, sephologolwana se? Re tla bona!" Mmutla a re: "A re gogisaneng mogala. Kamoso mo mosong, ke tla go naya mogala, mme fa o utlwa o gogwa, goga ka thata yotlhe ya gago." Morago ga moo Mmutla a ya kwa nokeng, a bitsa Kubu, a mmolelela mafoko a a tshwanang. Le ene Kubu a tshega, a dumela. Mo mosong Mmutla a tsaya mogala o moleele thata. A naya Tlou tlhogo e nngwe kwa sekgweng, mme a naya Kubu tlhogo e nngwe kwa nokeng. A iphitlha mo dithokgweng fa gare ga bobedi ba bone, a goa a re: "Gogang!" Tlou a goga, Kubu a goga. Mogala wa tiega thata. Tlou a goga ka thata yotlhe, Kubu a goga a nwelela mo seretseng. Letsatsi lotlhe ga go ope yo o neng a fenya. Mme Mmutla o ne a robetse mo moriting a tshega. Fa letsatsi le phirima, bobedi ba lapile, ba latela mogala go bona gore Mmutla o nonofile jang. Ba kopana fa gare, ba lebana ka kgakgamalo. Ba tlhaloganya gore ba tsieditswe. Ba batla Mmutla, mme o ne a setse a tshabile. Thuto ke gore: yo o ipelafatsang ka bogolo o ka tsiediwa ke yo monnye.

Hare told Elephant that he was stronger than him and challenged him to a tug of war, then made the same challenge to Hippo in the river. The next morning he gave one end of a long rope to Elephant in the forest and the other end to Hippo in the river, and hid in the middle shouting "Pull!" The two giants pulled all day and neither won, while Hare laughed in the shade. At sunset they followed the rope, met each other in the middle and realised they had been tricked, but Hare had already run away.

Ga twe e rile bogologolo, fa batho ba ne ba sa itse se se tla diragalang morago ga loso, Kgwedi ya batla go ba romela molaetsa wa kgomotso. Ya bitsa Mmutla, ka gonne o ne a na le lebelo, ya re: "Ya kwa bathong o ba bolelele o re: 'Jaaka Kgwedi e swa e bo e tsoga gape, le lona lo tla swa lo bo lo tsoga gape.'" Mmutla a taboga ka bonako, a tlola dinoka le dithaba. Mme ka lebelo la gagwe a lebala mafoko a mangwe. Fa a goroga kwa bathong, a ba raya a re: "Kgwedi ya re: 'Jaaka nna ke swa ke sa tsoge, le lona lo tla swa lo sa tsoge.'" Batho ba lela, ba hutsafala thata. Mmutla a boela kwa Kgwedi, a mmolelela se a se buileng. Kgwedi ya galefa go gaisa, ya re: "O fetotse molaetsa wa me wa botshelo, wa o dira molaetsa wa loso!" Ya tsaya thobane, ya itaya Mmutla mo molomong, mme molomo wa gagwe wa phatlogana. Ga twe ke ka moo le gompieno mmutla o nang le molomo o o phatlogileng. Mme Kgwedi yone e santse e swa e bo e tsoga gape kgwedi le kgwedi, e re gakolola molaetsa o Mmutla a o lebetseng. Thuto ke gore: fa o romilwe, reetsa sentle o bo o tshwara molaetsa jaaka o ntse.

Long ago the Moon wanted to comfort people with a message: just as the Moon dies and rises again, so people would die and rise again. She sent Hare because he was fast, but in his hurry he garbled it and told people they would die and never rise. The Moon, furious that he had turned a message of life into one of death, struck him on the mouth with a stick. That is why the hare's lip is split, and why the Moon still dies and returns every month to remind us of the message Hare forgot.

Ga twe e rile bogologolo, go ne go na le monna yo o humanegileng yo o neng a sena dikgomo. Bana ba gagwe ba ne ba robala ba bolawa ke tlala. Ka letsatsi lengwe a le mo tshimong, a bona nonyane e ntle e dutse mo setlhatsaneng. Nonyane ya mo opelela, mme ka gakgamalo ya ntsha mashi a mantsi a a tsididi. Monna a e tshwara ka bonolo, a e fitlha mo pitseng, a e isa kwa gae. A bolelela bana a re: "Nonyane e e tla re fepa. Mme lo se ka lwa bula pitsa e. Fa lo e bula, re tla latlhegelwa ke sotlhe." Go tloga ka letsatsi leo lelapa la nwa mashi mosong le maitseboa, mme bana ba gola ba nonofile. Ka letsatsi lengwe batsadi ba ya kwa masimong. Bana ba nna ba le esi, mme ba tlhoafala. Mosimane yo mogolo a re: "A re bone nonyane e, re tla e busetsa ka bonako." Ba bula pitsa. Nonyane ya tswa, ya opela gangwe, ya fofela kwa ntle ka setswalo. Bana ba e latela ba lela, ba re: "Boa, nonyane ya rona, boa!" Mme ya fofa go ya kwa godimo, ya nyelela mo marung. Fa batsadi ba boa ba fitlhela pitsa e se na sepe. Monna a dula fa fatshe a hutsafetse, a re: "Lo bone? Se lo neng lo se fiwa ka lorato, lo se latlhile ka go sa reetse." Go tloga foo lelapa la boela mo bohumaneging, mme bana ba se ka ba tlhola ba lebala thuto eo.

A poor man with no cattle found a beautiful bird in his field that sang and gave fresh milk, and he hid it in a pot at home. He warned his children never to open the pot, and the family drank milk every day and grew strong. One day, while the parents were in the fields, the curious children opened the pot and the bird flew away, never to return. The family became poor again, and the children never forgot the lesson of disobedience.