Pass on the love of reading! Read this children’s story to a lucky young person.

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This traditional story was translated from !Xun to Afrikaans and English by Kashivi and Winberg.

Lion Woman is about the power of a woman.

There was once a man who had two wives. They quarreled and disagreed. The man did nothing to help resolve their problems.

Finally, the one woman decided to return to her parent’s place. She walked and walked for a long time, collecting berries and honey as she went along, for she was very good at gathering food. When the sun went down, she made a fire to protect her from the wild animals and keep her warm.

It was not long before she heard a terrible roar waking her from her sleep. A lion was standing over her with his horrible mouth wide open. The brave woman reached for her honey calabash that was standing next to the fire. By now it had melted and was very hot. She poured it down the lion’s open mouth. He groaned and fell down dead.

When the sun came up again, she walked to her parent’s place. She told them how she had killed a lion at her fire. They would not believe her.

They called out: “Since when can a woman kill a lion? Take us to this lion that you say you killed,”

When the family came upon the dead lion, they called out in surprise. “How can a woman kill a lion! You are brave. You are a strong woman.”

The slaughtered the lion and the woman cured its hide. Now she had the best blanket to sleep on. Everyone respected the woman.

In the meantime, her husband decided to look for her. When he arrived at her parent’s place and heard the lion story, he said: “Oh! My wife can kill a lion! From now on you will be my only wife.”

The man fetched her children from his place. He became a good husband. He no longer quarreled with her and helped her by bringing home good food to eat.

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Thank you to the Manyeka Arts Trust for allowing FunDza to republish this story. To find out more about the Manyeka Arts Trust, visit: www.manyeka.co.za