Umuveli Ngqange, while resting from his labours of creation, was disturbed by a small, continuous, petulant sound: “Pee-eep! Pee-eep!” Looking down, he saw an angry red bird, swinging on a long blade of grass.

“What is the matter? Why do you disturb my rest with your crying? Are you not content with this beautiful world I have made for you?”

“Oh mighty lord, I am not content, for the woman’s cat comes from her hut and hunts me, and I am very small and afraid. Pee-eep, pee-eep!”

“Oh stop that!” growled The Creator. “Here, turn into a cat yourself, and give me some peace.” Sure enough, in the bird’s place was the biggest and handsomest cat imaginable, with splendid whiskers and sharp claws.

“How fine I am,” he said. Just at that moment, out rushed a man’s dog, which chased the frightened cat up a euphorbia tree.

“Yowl,” wailed the cat. “This is terrible! I wish to be a dog, not a weak cat.”

Umuveli Ngqange, sighing heavily, made a quick gesture over the animal and sank back into sleep.

 

A short while later, a new dog arrived at the village. How he barked and strutted, waving his magnificent tail, and bullied and wrangled with all the smaller dogs! When the evening came his master shut him out of the hut, and he was left in the dark, with night noises, black shadows and eyes in the bush. He howled, “Woo-oo! Woo-oo! The lion is coming to devour me! Why was I not made a lion? Lord, lord, make me into a lion! Woo-oo!”

“By all the stars in the galaxies!” cried Umuveli Ngqange. “Am I never to have any peace? Here, see how you like this!”

Immediately a huge, curly-maned lion appeared, and roared loudly. A man, hearing all the noise and disturbance outside, took his spear and hurled it at the aggressive animal. With a roar of pained surprise, the lion complained, “That was not what I wanted, I want to be a warrior, with a tooth as sharp as the spear point.”

“Have a care, lest you go too far,” warned the creator. Nonetheless, in a flash he turned the lion into a dashing Zulu warrior with plumes and shield, and so good looking that all the young women smiled at him. This was just what he had wanted, and for some time the warrior was very satisfied with life.

 

Then, one day, he was summoned by the king to bring gifts and pay homage.

“I am just as noble as the king,” he grumbled, “and twice as handsome. Why should I not be king?” And in a trice he was sitting on the royal stool with his wives and councillors around him. Now all his ambitions seemed fulfilled.

“Great Elephant,” said his chief councillor, “it is time to offer sacrifices to our god and creator, the one over us all, Umuveli Ngqange, for he is great and mighty and has done wondrous things for us!” The king frowned and looked up.

“And what about me? I am just as great and wonderful; it is to me that you should make sacrifices, and to me that the world should bow!” At that there was a flash of lightning, and a roll of thunder, which sounded like a mighty roar of laughter. A whistling wind blew through the hut, overturning stools, wives, and councillors alike. When they had picked themselves up, the king had vanished, never to be seen again. Outside, swinging on a blade of grass, was a little, red, cross bird, crying, “Pee-eep! Pee-eep!”