Jakalashe and Umvolofu - The stories we were told around the camp fire in Africa

Jakalashe and Umvolofu and the barrel of butter

Jakalashe and Umvolofo were walking along the road when they came across a cart full of barrels of butter. Umvolofo asked Jakalashe if they should not perhaps pinch one. Jakalashe said, “Why not? You go and lie in the road and play dead. The farmer will pick you up and put you on the cart. Then you roll a barrel off while I hide in the grass”.

Of Umvolofo ran to lie in the road. The farmer stopped next to him and climbed down from the cart. He prodded Umvolofo a few times with his stick and when Umvolofo did not move, the farmer put him in the cart. He was going to take him home and skin him and use him as a carpet in front of the fire. After a little while, Umvolofo got up and pushed a barrel of butter off the cart.

“Let’s eat it. I can’t wait”, said Umvolofo .

Jakalashe said, “We can’t eat this now. It is not ready to be eaten. It has to be a few days old otherwise it will make you really sick”.

They hid the barrel and went home. On the second day, as Umvolofo was lying in the sun, dreaming of the taste of butter, he saw Jakalashe going past. He asked Jakalashe where he was going and that they should go and eat the butter.

“I can’t be bothered right now”, said Jakalashe. “I am in a big hurry. My wife is giving birth to a baby boy and I have to find the midwife. “What are you going to call him?” asked Umvolofo . “Just Begun”, said Jakalashe, as he ambled along, his stomach so full of butter he could hardly walk.

Umvolofo waited a few more days and when he saw Jakalashe again he asked him about the butter. Jakalashe was really upset. “You won’t believe it Umvolofo , but my wife is having another child”.

“What is his name going to be?” Umvolofo asked. Umvolofo thought that the first child had a very strange name.

“His name will be First Half”, answered Jakalashe.

The next day when Jakalashe passed by Umvolofo ’s door, he said that another son had been born and that they were going to call the third son, Second Half.

The following day it was the same thing all over, but the name of the next son was, All Gone.

Early the next morning Jakalashe was at Umvolofo ’s house as he had promised and the two set out for the butter keg. They came to the barrel, opened it and found that all the butter was gone.

“Oh, no!” groaned Jakalashe.

“Oh, no!” groaned Umvolofo .

“You ate it!” said Jakalashe.

“No, you ate it!” said Umvolofo .

“I’ll beat you”, said Jakalashe.

“I’ll murder you”, said Umvolofo .

Umvolofo was bigger and stronger than Jakalashe so if they had to fight, then Jakalashe would lose. “Wait, my friend”, he begged. “Let us go and lie in the sun and see whose mouth drips butter. Then we will know for sure who ate all the butter”. Umvolofo agreed.

So they lay in the sun and before long, Umvolofo was fast asleep. Quietly Jakalashe got up, scraped the last bit of butter from the bottom of the barrel and rubbed it on Umvolofo ’s mouth. Then he lay down again. When they woke up Jakalashe said, “My mouth is clean”.

“Oh, no”, said Umvolofo , “I’m the buttery one.”

“Then we know where the trouble lies”, said Jakalashe, picking up a stick to hit Umvolofo .

“I must have eaten the butter in my sleep, because I don’t remember a thing about it”, cried Umvolofo .

Jakalashe had beaten the Umvolofo again.