Do you know the story about the beautiful partridge named Nangumbi? She had five bosom girlfriends. One was called Nankimpeli, the other was Nawoki, the third was Nambendi, the fourth was Nantutu, and the fifth was Nankimpiti.
One day a panther carried away the husband of the beautiful Nangumbi.
The friends, having learned about the misfortune of poor Nangumbi, decided to surround her and the poor orphans - her children - with care.
Nankimpeli collected a lot of tasty millet, Navokki took with her a head of corn, Nambendi a bunch of young bamboo shoots, Nantutu brought a stalk of sugar cane, and Nankimpiti brought bunches of sweet bananas and figs.
They flew to Nangumbi's nest and found her chicks there alone.
- Where is your mother Nangumbi? - they ask. And the chicks squeak in response:
-I went to the forest, I went to the forest,
Bring us coconut milk,
Sweet dates and wild millet.
Partridges - let's lament:
O you, our Nangumbi!
I went to the forest, I went to the forest
For some coconut milk,
For a handful of millet,
Tyr-li-li, tyr-li-li,
And we brought everything to her:
And bananas and millet,
And coconut milk
And sweet reed
And lots of figs!
They put all their gifts in the nest and flew to look for Nangumbi.
We are looking for - phew, phew, phew -
Your partridge -
You come back Nangumbi,
Don't ruin your children! - they called.
Nankimpeli screamed the loudest.
“Wait,” she said, I’ll try to call her again, now she’ll probably answer:
Nangumbi, Nangumbi,
Hey-ho, hey-ho! Fu-fu-fu, fi-fi-fi!
Nangumbi heard and immediately, out of breath, rushed out of the forest.
- Hello, Nangumbi! “We brought you some food for your children,” Nankimpeli, Navoki, Nambendi, Nantutu and Nankimpiti told her.
“How grateful I am to you,” Nangumbi answered them. - How can I repay you for your gifts? Maybe you could drink at least a shell of coconut milk?
And Nangumbi began to treat them.
This went on all summer. Nankimpeli, Nawoki, Nambendi, Nantutu and Nankimpiti helped the poor widow Nangumbi and her orphans.
One day they come to the nest, and the chicks stick out their beaks and squeal:
Let me eat, let me eat,
We are hungry - all six of us.
Fu-fu-fu, fi-fi-fi!
They fed the orphans and asked:
- Where is your mother, where is Nangumbi?
I went to the forest, I went to the forest
We need to collect nuts.
- When?
- The dawn has just risen,
She's from the yard.
It's time for her to come back!
And Nankimpeli, Navoki, Nambendi, Nantutu and Nankimpiti again went to look for Nangumbi.
They ask the swallow:
“Have you seen poor Nangumbi somewhere?”
- Kiv-weep, kiv-weep!
I haven’t seen it, I haven’t seen it! - the swallow answered and flew on, catching midges in flight.
They ask the crow:
“Have you seen our poor Nangumbi somewhere?”
- Kar-r, kar-r, kar-r!
I don’t even know that.
They ask the little hummingbird:
- Beautiful hummingbird! Have you seen our dear Nangumbi?
“I didn’t see her, but you ask the locusts.” Look, a whole cloud of them has flown into the field and is eating the millet!
- Locust! Locust! - names are Nankimpeli, Navokki, Nambendi, Nantutu and Nankimpiti. - Tell us, maybe you know what happened to Nangumbi? Just yesterday she flew out of her nest and never returned to where her hungry chicks are waiting.
- We saw, we saw her, poor thing. The leopard caught her for breakfast.
Sad, with tears in their eyes, they returned to the nest.
Oh, you are our Nangumbi, Nangumbi!
Don't ruin your children, don't ruin them,
Who will take care of the children?
Who will smile at orphans?
“We must take revenge on the leopard Ulu for the death of Nangumbi!” He will not get away with this with impunity. He'll soon destroy us all! - said Nantutu.
“Okay, but he doesn’t admit his guilt,” Navoki objected.
- And we’ll ask the bumblebee. He is smart and will advise us what to do.
“Br-r-r-umm, br-umm,” the bumblebee hummed after a long thought. - Do you know where the Congo River is?
“Yes,” answered the partridges.
- So go to the Congo River and stretch strong vines from one bank to the other.
“Okay,” they answered in unison. - What next?
- Invite the leopard and other animals, let everyone walk across this bridge. Whoever the bridge breaks under is the one who killed Nangumbi. Do you understand me? Do you understand me? Brrr-room, brrr-room! - finished the bumblebee. “But remember that each of you, passing across the bridge, must say this:
Nangumbi, Nangumbi!
If I killed you
If I ruined
Let it fall under me
This bridge...
- Oh dear bumblebee! “We thank you for your good advice,” said the partridges. “But which of us would dare to invite a leopard, because he is so huge, so strong and, probably, he will refuse us,” Nantutu doubted.
- And this is my concern. Br-r-rum, bro-rum, bro-rum,” the bumblebee hummed in response. “I’ll tell the lion everything, and he’ll force the leopard to come to court.”
Nankimpeli, Navoki, Nambendi, Nantutu and Nankimpiti did as the wise bumblebee advised them. They stretched long vines over the Congo River from one bank to the other and called all the animals.
The first to cross the suspension bridge was Nankimpeli, followed by Navoki, then Nambendi, Nantutu and, finally, the last one - Nankimpiti.
Nangumbi, Nangumbi!
If I killed you
If I ruined
Let it fall under me
This bridge...” they said as they walked across the bridge, but the bridge under them didn’t even tremble.
After the partridges, a hare passed, a gazelle skipped behind him, then a huge ostrich walked importantly, followed by a long-necked giraffe, then a motley panther ran onto the bridge, after the panther - a tiger, a monkey and, finally, the king of the forests himself - a lion proudly walked along the stretched vines. Now it's the turn of the leopard Ulu.
“Well, I have no one else to kill, except this insignificant Nangumbi,” the leopard snorted contemptuously, entering the bridge.
“Hurry up and cast the spell like we did,” all five partridges exclaimed together at once.
And the leopard Ulu shouted with all his might:
Nangumbi, Nangumbi!
If I killed you
If I ruined
Let it fall under me
This bridge...
When the leopard Ulu reached the middle of the river
his paws slipped off the bridge, he fell down into the waters of the Congo and drowned.
And Nankimpeli, Navoki, Nambendi, Nantutu and Nankimpiti went to Nangumbi’s nest, fed the chicks there and sang:
O Nangumbi, Nangumbi,
The leopard Ulu fell in the Congo,
That he destroyed our sister.
Gay-go, gay-go.
The bad Ulu fell in the Congo.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru