NARRATOR 1: Once there was a woman named Shindo, who lived in a village at the foot of a snow-capped mountain.
NARRATOR 4: Her husband had died, and she had no children, so she was very lonely.
NARRATOR 2: And she was always tired too, for she had no one to help with the chores.
NARRATOR 3: All on her own, she
NARRATOR 1: cleaned the hut,
NARRATOR 4: cleaned the yard,
NARRATOR 2: tended the chickens,
NARRATOR 3: washed her clothes in the river,
NARRATOR 1: carried water,
NARRATOR 4: cut firewood,
NARRATOR 2: and cooked her solitary meals.
NARRATOR 3: At the end of each day, Shindo gazed up at the snowy peak and prayed.
SHINDO: Great Mountain Spirit! My work is too hard. Send me help!
NARRATOR 1: One day, Shindo was weeding her small field by the river, where she grew vegetables and bananas and gourds. Suddenly, a noble chieftain appeared beside her.
CHIEFTAIN: I am a messenger from the Great Mountain Spirit.
NARRATOR 4: He handed the astonished woman some gourd seeds.
CHIEFTAIN: Plant these carefully. They are the answer to your prayers.
NARRATOR 2: Then the chieftain vanished.
SHINDO: (skeptically, looking at the seeds in her hand) What help could I get from a handful of seeds?
NARRATOR 3: Still, she planted and tended them as carefully as she could.
NARRATOR 1: Shindo was amazed at how quickly the seeds grew. In just a week, long vines trailed over the ground, and ripe gourds hung from them.
NARRATOR 4: Shindo brought the gourds home, sliced off the tops, and scooped out the pulp. Then she laid the gourds on the rafters of her hut to dry.
NARRATOR 2: When they hardened, she could sell them at the market as calabashes, to be made into bowls and jugs.
NARRATOR 3: One fine gourd Shindo set by the cook fire. This one she wanted to use herself, and she hoped it would dry faster.
NARRATOR 1: The next morning, Shindo went off again to tend her field.
NARRATOR 4: But meanwhile, back in the hut,
NARRATOR 2: the gourds began to change.
NARRATOR 3: They sprouted heads,
NARRATOR 1: then arms,
NARRATOR 4: then legs.
NARRATOR 2: Soon they were not gourds at all.
NARRATOR 3: They were—
ALL NARRATORS: children!
NARRATOR 1: One boy lay by the fire, where Shindo had put the fine gourd.
NARRATOR 4: The other children called to him from the rafters.
CHILDREN:
Ki-te-te, come help us!
We’ll work for our mother.
Come help us, Ki-te-te,
Our favorite brother!
NARRATOR 2: Kitete helped his brothers and sisters down from the rafters.
NARRATOR 3: Then the children started quickly on the chores.
CHILD 1: Clean the hut!
CHILD 2: Clean the yard!
CHILD 3: Feed the chickens!
CHILD 4: Wash the clothes!
CHILD 5: Carry water!
CHILD 6: Cut the wood!
CHILD 7: Cook the meal!
NARRATOR 1: All joined in but Kitete.
NARRATOR 4: Drying by the fire had made the boy slow-witted. So he just sat there, smiling widely.
NARRATOR 2: When the work was done, Kitete helped the others climb back on the rafters.
NARRATOR 3: Then they all turned again into gourds.
NARRATOR 1: That afternoon, as Shindo returned home, the other women of the village called to her.
WOMAN 1: Who were those children in your yard today?
WOMAN 2: Where did they come from?
WOMAN 3: Why were they doing your chores?
SHINDO: (angrily) What children? Are you all making fun of me?
NARRATOR 4: But when she reached her hut, she was astounded.
NARRATOR 2: The work was done, and even her meal was ready!
NARRATOR 3: She could not imagine who had helped her.
NARRATOR 1: The same thing happened the next day. As soon as Shindo had gone off, the gourds turned into children,
NARRATOR 4: with heads
NARRATOR 2: and arms
NARRATOR 3: and legs.
NARRATOR 1: The ones on the rafters called out,
CHILDREN:
Ki-te-te, come help us!
We’ll work for our mother.
Come help us, Ki-te-te,
Our favorite brother!
NARRATOR 4: Kitete helped them down, and they did all the chores.
CHILD 1: Clean the hut!
CHILD 2: Clean the yard!
CHILD 3: Feed the chickens!
CHILD 4: Wash the clothes!
CHILD 5: Carry water!
CHILD 6: Cut the wood!
CHILD 7: Cook the meal!
NARRATOR 2: Then they climbed back to the rafters, and turned again into gourds.
NARRATOR 3: Once more, Shindo came home and was amazed to see the work all done. But this time, she decided to find out who were her helpers.
NARRATOR 1: The next morning, Shindo pretended to leave, but she hid beside the door of the hut and peeked in. And so she saw the gourds turn into children,
NARRATOR 4: with heads
NARRATOR 2: and arms
NARRATOR 3: and legs.
NARRATOR 1: And she heard the ones on the rafters call out,
CHILDREN:
Ki-te-te, come help us!
We’ll work for our mother.
Come help us, Ki-te-te,
Our favorite brother!
NARRATOR 4: Kitete helped them down. As the children rushed out the door, they nearly ran into Shindo.
NARRATOR 2: She was too astonished to speak, and so were the children. But after a moment, they went on with their chores.
CHILD 1: Clean the hut!
CHILD 2: Clean the yard!
CHILD 3: Feed the chickens!
CHILD 4: Wash the clothes!
CHILD 5: Carry water!
CHILD 6: Cut the wood!
CHILD 7: Cook the meal!
NARRATOR 3: When they were done, they started to climb back to the rafters.
SHINDO: (urgently) No, no! You must not change back into gourds! You will be the children I never had, and I will love you and care for you!
* * *
NARRATOR 1: So Shindo kept the children as her own.
NARRATOR 4: She was no longer lonely.
NARRATOR 2: And the children were so helpful, she soon became rich, with many fields of vegetables and bananas, and flocks of sheep and goats.
NARRATOR 3: That is, all were helpful but Kitete, who stayed by the fire with his simple-minded smile.
NARRATOR 1: Most of the time, Shindo didn’t mind.
NARRATOR 4: In fact, Kitete was really her favorite, because he was like a sweet baby.
NARRATOR 2: But sometimes, when she was tired or unhappy about something else, she would get annoyed and yell at him.
SHINDO: You useless child! Why can’t you be smart like your brothers and sisters, and work as hard as they do?
NARRATOR 3: Kitete would only grin back at her.
NARRATOR 1: One day, Shindo was out in the yard, cutting vegetables for a stew. As she carried the pot from the bright sunlight into the hut, she tripped over Kitete.
NARRATOR 4: She fell, and the clay pot shattered. Vegetables and water streamed everywhere.
SHINDO: (getting up, screaming at him) Stupid boy! Haven’t I told you to stay out of my way? (derisively) But what can I expect? You’re not a real child at all. You’re nothing but a calabash!
NARRATOR 2: The very next moment, Kitete was no longer there.
NARRATOR 3: In his place was a gourd.
SHINDO: (shrieking) What have I done? I didn’t mean what I said! You’re not a calabash, you’re my own darling son!
NARRATOR 1: The other children came crowding into the hut.
SHINDO: Oh, children, please do something!
NARRATOR 4: They looked at each other a moment.
NARRATOR 2: Then over each other they climbed, scampering up to the rafters.
NARRATOR 3: When the last child had been helped up by Shindo, they called out one last time,
CHILDREN:
Ki-te-te, come help us!
We’ll work for our mother.
Come help us, Ki-te-te,
OUR FAVORITE BROTHER!
NARRATOR 1: For a long moment, nothing happened.
NARRATOR 4: Then slowly,
NARRATOR 2: the gourd began to change.
NARRATOR 3: It sprouted a head,
NARRATOR 1: then arms,
NARRATOR 4: then legs.
NARRATOR 2: At last, it was not a gourd at all.
NARRATOR 3: It was—
SHINDO & CHILDREN: (shouting happily, as SHINDO hugs him) KITETE!
* * *
NARRATOR 1: Shindo learned her lesson.
NARRATOR 4: Ever after, she was very careful what she called her children.
NARRATOR 2: And so they gave her comfort and happiness,
NARRATOR 3: all the rest of her days.
