Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters An African Tale

A long time ago, in a certain place in Africa, a small village lay across a river and half a day’s journey from a city where a great king lived. A man named Mufaro lived in this village with his two daughters, who were called Manyara and Nyasha. Everyone agreed that Manyara and Nyasha were beautiful.

Manyara was almost always in a bad temper. She teased her sister whenever her father’s back was turned, and she had been heard to say, “Someday, Nyasha, I will be a queen, and you will be a servant in my household.”
“If that should come to pass,” Nyasha responded, “I will be pleased to serve you. But why do you say such things? You are clever and strong and beautiful. Why are you so unhappy?”

“Because everyone talks about how kind you are, and they praise everything you do,” Manyara replied. “I’m certain that Father loves you best. But when I am a queen, everyone will know that your silly kindness is only weakness.”

Nyasha was sad that Manyara felt this way, but she ignored her sister’s words and went about her chores. Nyasha kept a small plot of land, on which she grew millet, sunflowers, yams, and vegetables. She always sang as she worked, and some said it was her singing that made her crops more bountiful than anyone else’s.