MuchiShona
Paivepo. (Dzepfunde!) Kare kare, Gudo aiva namagaro akafukidzwa nemvere setumwe twemhuka dzose. Asi Gudo aivawo nomukurumbira wamakaro — kana pane chokudya, aida kudya oga, uye aida kudya zvakawanda kupfuura vose.
Rimwe gore, mhuka dzesango dzakaita mutambo mukuru wokupemberera goho. Mhuka imwe neimwe yakaunza chokudya: Tsuro akauya nemhunga, Shumba nenyama, Nzou nemichero, Hungwe nehove. Zvokudya zvakagadzikwa pamatombo makuru pakati pedare.
Zvino Tsuro, uyo akanga achiri kurangarira mabasa aGudo enguva yenzara, akaronga zano. Akatsvaka dombo rakati sandara, akariisa pedyo nomoto kwenguva refu, kusvikira rapisa kuti pfaa — asi richiratidzika serakangofanana namamwe.
Mutambo pawakatanga, Tsuro akadaidzira achiti, “Varume nevakadzi! Tsika yedu nhasi inoti: mukuru wedare ndiye anotanga kudya, uye anogara pachigaro chapamusoro — dombo iri jena rakanaka iri!” Gudo, achida kuzviratidza somukuru nokuti awane mugove mukuru wechikafu, akamhanya achisunda vamwe, akati, “Ndini mukuru pano! Chigaro ndechangu!”
Akasvetukira padombo riya, akagara zvine mutsindo. “Maiwee-e!” Gudo akaridza mhere yakanzwika nesango rose, achisvetuka mudenga, achipukuta magaro ake. Mvere dzose dzakanga dzatsva; ganda rakasara riri dzvuku tsvuu.
Mhuka dzose dzakaseka kusvikira misodzi yobuda. “Ndizvo zvinoita makaro!” dzakadaidzira. Gudo akatiza akananga mumakomo nenyadzi, uko kwaanogara nanhasi.
Kubvira zuva iroro, magaro aGudo haana kuzomeranazve mvere. Akaramba ari matsvuku, uye vana vaGudo nevana vevana vake vakaberekwa vakadaro — chiyeuchidzo chisingaperi chokuti makaro anokuvadza muridzi wawo.
Naizvozvo kana ukaona gudo richimhanya mumabwe rine magaro matsvuku, uziva kuti: iyeyo mubhadharo wamakaro, wakatanga kare kare pamutambo wemhuka.
Ndipo pakaperera sarungano.
In English
Paivepo — once upon a time. (Dzepfunde!) Long ago, Baboon's bottom was covered in fur just like the rest of the animals. But Baboon was also famous for his greed — wherever there was food, he wished to eat alone, and to eat more than everyone else.
One year, the animals of the bush held a great feast to celebrate the harvest. Every animal brought food: Hare brought millet, Lion brought meat, Elephant brought fruit, and Fish-Eagle brought fish. The food was laid out on the great flat stones in the middle of the gathering place.
Now Hare — who had not forgotten Baboon's tricks in the year of famine — devised a plan. He found a smooth flat stone and kept it close to the fire for a long, long time, until it was scorching hot — yet it looked exactly like all the others.
When the feast began, Hare called out, “Men and women of the bush! Our custom today is this: the most senior among us eats first, and sits upon the seat of honour — this fine pale stone here!” Baboon, eager to claim seniority and the biggest share of the food, came shoving through the crowd, crying, “I am the elder here! The seat is mine!”
He leapt onto the stone and sat down with a thump. “Maiwee-e!” Baboon let out a shriek heard across the whole bush, springing into the air and clutching his backside. All the fur had been singed away; the skin beneath was left glowing red.
The animals laughed until the tears ran. “That is what greed does!” they cried. Baboon fled in shame to the rocky hills — where he lives to this very day.
From that day on, the fur never grew back. Baboon's bottom stayed red, and his children and his children's children were born the same way — an everlasting reminder that greed wounds its own master.
So if you ever see a baboon scrambling over the rocks with a bright red bottom, now you know: that is the wages of greed, first paid long ago at the feast of the animals.
And there the storyteller's tale came to its end.