Once upon a time there was a boy who set traps for birds in the forest from the time he began to gain intelligence. For each bird he caught, he pulled out two feathers - one from the wing, the other from the tail - and put them in a bag. Whether long or short, he collected a whole bag of feathers. His father and mother asked him:
- Son, why do you need so many feathers?
“Let them lie there, they will be useful to me,” answered the boy.
One day, the boy's family gathered to fish in a distant river. Everyone in the house began preparing for the journey the day before: some cooked, some checked the hooks and rigs, some mended the nets. One boy did nothing. When it was time to set off, he took his bag of feathers and threw it behind his back. The father asked him:
- Son, why do you need this bag?
- I will need it, father.
When they got there, everyone lowered their burden to the ground, only the boy did not let go of his bag. Finally everything was ready and the fishing began. Someone said:
- You know, there are kibungo here...
- Here's more! “Nothing of the sort...” they answered him.
So they were debating whether there was a kibungo there or not, when suddenly from afar, from the forest, a terrible roar was heard. Everyone was terribly scared.
- Oh, it’s a kibungo!
- I told you so!
- What will happen to us?
“Everything is gone, we won’t see our home, the kibungo will eat us!”
When everyone started running, the boy said:
- Listen to me. There is no need to run anywhere, calmly stand still and hold tight to your catch.
Then he lined everyone up in a row, and gave each one two bird feathers - one from the wing, the other from the tail, and ordered:
- Take the feather from the wing in your teeth, and put the feather from the tail under your arm.
Having distributed feathers to everyone, he shook the bag, took the remaining two feathers for himself and stood last in a row. And then a huge kibungo appeared, roaring angrily. He had already stretched out his terrible paws to the boy’s father, who was standing first in the row, but the boy suddenly began to sing:
- Don’t you dare grab my father,
Otherwise it won't be good for you.
Kibungo growled and extended his paw towards the boy's mother, but the boy sang:
- Don’t you dare grab my mother,
Otherwise it won't be good for you.
So the kibungo walked along the entire row, but did not touch any of the boy’s relatives, because as soon as he was ready, the boy began to sing his song. And as soon as the kibungo passed by, each one grew wings. When the kibungo reached the boy, he also took one feather in his teeth, and put the other under his arm, and wings grew on him. And then they all flapped their wings: frrrrr! - and flew home. And as soon as they arrived and sat down in the yard to catch their breath, they started talking:
- That’s it, now the kibungo won’t show up! It's time to catch the catch.
The boy here says:
- Kibungo will come, he will come.
Everyone here was thinking about how they could put an end to the damned kibungo. The boy says:
- Let's dig a deep, deep hole in front of the door and stick stakes in it. Then we’ll make a scarecrow and plant it near the pit. Kibungo will rush at him and fall into the pit on the stakes. This is where we will finish him off.
No sooner said than done. They dug a hole, stuck stakes in it, covered it with branches and banana leaves, and sprinkled earth on top. Then they connected two sticks crosswise, dressed them in trousers and a shirt, and then fitted them with a hat. When everything was ready, they hid.
Soon the roar of the kibungo was heard, then he himself appeared, saw a man at the threshold, rushed at him and fell onto the stakes. Everyone here: men, women, children - rushed at him, some with a club, some with a knife, some with a sickle, and in the blink of an eye they finished off the kibungo. Well, there was rejoicing later: the kibungo was no longer afraid of them, catch your own fish wherever you want! And how the boy was praised! After all, he not only saved them from the clutches of the kibungo, but also suggested how to end him.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru