The audio for this story is currently not available.
Pensa e ne e le motsomi wa maemo a a kwa godimo mo sekakeng sotlhe sa Kalahari. O ne a tlisa diphologolo tse di nonneng kwa gae e bile a jesa balelwapa la gagwe sentle. Go ne go na le nonyane e e bidiwang Pam-Pam, e Pensa o neng a eletsa go e tshwara. Diphuka tsa mogatla wa yone di ne di siametse metswi ya gagwe. Mathata e ne e le gore o ne a sa kgone go tshwara kgotsa go hula Pam-Pam. Metswi ya ga Pensa e ne e kgona go fofa mo lefaufaung jaaka nonyane - fela fa a ka kgona go tshwara Pam-Pam le go tlobola diphuka tsa mokwatla wa yone!
Pensa was the best hunter in the whole Kalahari Desert. He brought home fat animals and fed his family well.
There was this bird, the Pam-Pam bird, which Pensa wanted to catch. The bird’s tail feathers were perfect for his arrows. The problem was, he could never manage to trap or shoot Pam-Pam.
Pensa’s arrows would fly through the air just like a bird - if only he could catch Pam-Pam and pull out his tail feathers!
Pensa o ne a ya kwa monneng yo o nonofileng yo e leng ngaka ya bone. “Ke kopa thuso go ka tshwara nonyane ya Pam-Pam. Ke tlhokela bora le metswi ya me diphuka tsa yone. Ke dire eng go ka e tshwara?” Ngaka ya araba ya re “Tsamaya o ye go gotsa molelo. Fa digagabi tsotlhe di sia go tswa fa molelong wa gago, o tla tshwanela ke go tshwara segagabi se se nnye mo go tsone tsotlhe. Dira selaga mme o tsenye segagabi se sennye seo moteng. Seo se tla raela nonyane ya Pam-Pam.
Pensa went to the wise man, their healer. He asked for help. “Please guide me to catch the Pam-Pam bird. I need his feathers for my bow and arrows. What must do to catch him?”
The healer replied, “Go and make a fire. When all the insects run away from your fire, you must catch the smallest of them. Make a trap and place this little insect inside your trap. It will tempt the Pam-Pam bird.”
Pensa o ne a sa itse gore ngaka le nonyane ya Pam-Pam ke ditsala. Nonyane e, e ne e tlhola e etela ngaka. Ba ne ba itaya dikgang. “O itlhokomele,” ga bua ngaka e rile nonyane ya Pam-Pam e mo etetse. “Ke boleletse motsomi mokgwa o a ka go tshwarang ka one. Fa o bona molelo mo nageng o fofele kgakala. Ke batla go bona gore ke mang magareng ga lona yo o tla fenyang.”
Pensa did not know that the healer and the Pam-Pam bird were friends. Pam-Pam often visited the healer. They exchanged stories. “I warn you,” said the healer when Pam-Pam bird visited him, “I have told the hunter how to catch you. When you see a fire in the veld, you must fly far away. I want to see which one of you will win.”
Fa nako e ntse e tsweletse, Pensa a simolola go tsoma nonyane ya Pam-Pam. A dula mo nageng a baakanya dikgong tsa molelo wa gagwe. E rile mosi o bonala, o ne a budulela mowa mo bojannyeng jo bo neng bo le mo isong mo gareng ga dikgong go fitlhela molelo o tshwara. Digagabi tse di neng di le gaufi le molelo o o tukang tsa fofa mme Pensa a kgona go tshwara tlontlopana. A baya tlontlopana eo mo selageng.
In the meantime, Pensa started his hunt for the Pam-Pam bird. He sat in the veld and rubbed and rubbed his fire sticks. When the smoke appeared, he blew into the fine grass around his fire sticks, until the little flame appeared and became a fire.
The insects around the flaming grass flew away, but Pensa managed to catch a young grasshopper. He put it into his trap.
Nonyane ya pam-Pam e ne ya palelwa ke go itshwara ka e ne e eletsa tlontlopana e e neng e le mo selageng sa ga Pensa. Ya ikaelela go fofela tlase e be e tsubula tlontlopana eo ka bonako jo bo kgonagalang ka molomo wa yona o o bogale. Pensa o utlwile selelo sa nonyane ya Pam-Pam, “Pam-pam, pam-pam, pam-pam.” A tabogela kwa selageng. Nonyane e ne e tshwerwe!
The Pam-Pam bird could not resist the juicy young grasshopper in Pensa’s trap. He decided to fly down and grab it quickly with his sharp beak.
Pensa heard Pam-Pam bird’s cry, “Pam-pam, pam-pam, pam-pam.”
Pensa ran to his trap. The bird was trapped!
Nonyane ya Pam-pam ya kopa Pensa gore a e golele. “Ga go kgonagale,” ga bua Pensa, “Kgale ke batla go go tshwara. Gompieno o wa me! Diphuka tsa gago di tla dira gore motswi wa me o fofe mo lefaufaung fela jaaka wena.”
Pam-Pam bird begged Pensa to set him free. “Oh no,” said Pensa, “I have wanted to catch you for a very long time. Today you are mine! Your feathers will make my arrow fly through the air, just like you.”
Nonyane ya ikuela kwa godimo ya re “Fa o ka mpolaya ga o kitla o nna le diphuka tse o tla di dirisetsang metswi ya gago fa tse di tsofetse, se ke ka gore ke tlaabo ke sule. Nkgolole ebile ke a go tshepisa gore ke tla go neela diphuka tse disa ka ngwedi nngwe le nngwe e e tletseng.
Pam-Pam bird screeched, “If you kill me you will have no more feathers for your arrow when these are worn out, because I will be dead. Set me free and I promise to give you new feathers with each full moon.”
Pensa o ile a golola nonyane ya Pam-Pam. Fa nonyane e ntse e itsamaela jalo ya ikakanyetsa e re “A mme gone ke gololesegile?”
Pensa let Pam-Pam go. As Pam-Pam walked away, he thought, “Am I really free?”
Pensa o ile a boela gae mme a dira metswi e mesa. Fa batho ba bona metswi eo ya gagwe ba mo dudueletsa ba re “Ehe, bonang motsomi yo! Metswi ya gagwe e na le diphuka tsa nonyane ya Pam-pam, jaanong o tla tsoma sentle e bile o tla re tlisetsa dijo tse di itumedisang. Re tla nna le moletlo o mogolo!”
Pensa went home and made new arrows. When the people saw his new arrows, they exclaimed: “O-o, look at this hunter! He carries the Pam-Pam bird’s feathers in his arrows. Now he will hunt well and bring us good food. We shall have a feast!”
Mo bosigong joo, ngaka ya gorosa batho kwa molelong wa mmino go keteka phenyo ya motsomi le kgololesego ya nonyane ya Pam-Pam. Go tswa ka letsatsi leo, batsomi botlhe ba ba tiileng ba gakologelwa kgang ya nonyane ya Pam-Pam go ka e bolelela bana ba bone ka e le segopotso sa malatsi a bogologolo.
That night, the healer led the people in a fire dance to celebrate the hunter’s success and Pam-Pam bird’s freedom.
And since that day, all the good hunters remember the story of the Pam-Pam bird, to tell their children as a memory of days gone by.
