Once upon a time, there is a beautiful land called Sotho. In Sotho, there lived a king named Tumo and his lovely queen, Mapule. King Tumo and Queen Mapule ruled over the kingdom of Sotho with kindness and wisdom. The people of Sotho adored their royal family because they were always welcoming and kind to everyone they met.
However, there is a very important rule in the land that everyone had to follow. This rule had been passed down from one generation to the next: You must not ste@l in Sotho. Anyone who dared to ste@l would face a severe punishment. They would be sent to the evil forest, a place from which no one had ever returned.
Despite the beauty and prosperity of Sotho, the people knew that the law against ste@ling was there to protect everyone and ensure harmony in the kingdom. They respected this law and worked hard to uphold it, knowing that it is essential for the well-being of their beloved land.
In the land of Sotho, the rule of succession is unique and fair. Regardless of gender, any member of the royal family could ascend to the throne. If the king’s first child happened to be a boy, then he would inherit the title of king. However, if the first child is a girl, her husband would become the king.
This tradition demonstrated Sotho’s commitment to equality and non-discrimination based on gender. It ensured that both male and female heirs had the opportunity to lead the kingdom, depending on the circumstances of their birth. This approach fostered a sense of inclusivity and respect for all members of the royal family, regardless of their gender.
The kingdom of Sotho overflowed with happiness when Queen Mapule gave birth to a beautiful princess named Lerato. Joy and excitement filled the air as the news spread throughout the land. Everyone celebrated the arrival of the newest member of the royal family.
In the midst of this joyous occasion, Queen Mapule’s younger sister, Tebello, traveled to the palace to offer her support and assistance. Understanding that the queen’s body needed time to recover from the recent childbirth, Tebello graciously volunteered to help care for the newborn princess. With her nurturing presence and loving care, Tebello provided comfort and aid to both her sister and her precious niece.
Tebello and tumo before he became king were seeing each other,but fate had other plans for them.
Tebello was supposed to marry King Tumo, but her family said no because her older sister Mapule had to get married first. This made Tebello very sad because she loved Tumo a lot. When she went back to Sotho, she decided it’s time to play a trick to get Tumo back.
when princess Lerato was just six months old, Queen Mapule was fast asleep in her chamber. Meanwhile, Tebello, a sister to queen mapule, decided to have a chat with King Tumo for old time sake. Even though the king was feeling tired, Tebello insisted on talking, and the king reluctantly agreed.
Tebello had secretly spiked the drink with a sleeping potion, making the king unable to control himself. When the king drank it, he started feeling drowsy and eventually fell into a deep sleep. Seizing the opportunity, Tebello took advantage of the situation and took the king’s hand, leading him into his chambers.
Despite the king’s protests and pleas to stop, Tebello ignored his words and proceeded to share the bed with him,she force him to be intimate with her. The next morning, Queen Mapule went to check on her husband, only to find a shocking sight – her sister Tebello lying beside the king in bed.
With tears welling up in her eyes, Queen Mapule screamed in shock, waking both Tebello and King Tumo. The king, bewildered by the situation, was startled to see Tebello beside him in bed. Tebello, feigning innocence, pretended to be shocked as well, even though she knew exactly what she had done.
In tears, Tebello concocted a story, claiming that the king had been intoxicated the previous night. She alleged that despite her attempts to resist, the king had forced himself on her, overpowering her with his strength. Meanwhile, the king, unable to recall anything due to the effects of the potion, professed his innocence.
Heartbroken and betrayed, Queen Mapule fled from the king’s chambers, seeking solace with her little princess. Tebello, continuing her charade, left the king’s chambers, pretending to cry as she went.
As time passed, Tebello discovered that she is pregnant with the king’s child. Faced with this unexpected turn of events, she returned to her village and informed her parents of the situation. Despite their disappointment, her parents confronted the king, who found himself compelled to make a decision he deeply regretted.
Against his will, King Tumo was forced to marry Tebello as his second wife,this decision hurt queen mapule allot.
In the kingdom of Sotho, things got tense. Queen Mapule felt very sad because her sister Tebello hurt her by being with King Tumo. Queen Mapule stayed strong for her daughter Lerato, who made her feel better.
King Tumo felt bad too. He didn’t want to marry Tebello, but he had to because of tradition. He felt sorry for hurting Queen Mapule.
People in Sotho talked quietly about what happened in the palace. They wanted things to be peaceful again.
Despite everything, King Tumo and Queen Mapule promised to stay loyal to their people.
Months passed, and Queen Tebello gave birth to a lovely son. The news spread throughout the kingdom, bringing joy to everyone. King Tumo and Queen Mapule were delighted by the arrival of their new prince.
Despite Queen Mapule’s anger towards her sister for marrying King Tumo, she harbored no ill feelings towards the newborn prince. She put aside her own feelings and helped Tebello until she is strong enough to care for her son on her own…
Years passed, King Tumo decided to take his daughter Lerato and son Selebalo into the forest to teach them how to hunt. Lerato showed great interest in hunting, following in her father’s footsteps, while Selebalo, although less interested, joined them out of respect for his father and sister.
Despite being step-siblings, Lerato and Selebalo shared a close bond as cousins. Selebalo spent much of his time with Queen Mapule, who instilled good values in him. However, Queen Tebello, Selebalo’s mother, wasn’t happy about their relationship. She wanted to remove Lerato from the picture so that her son could become king after King Tumo’s passing.
Queen Tebello attempted to influence Selebalo by teaching him negative things, but he didn’t pay much attention to her teachings.
One day, Queen Tebello, frustrated by her inability to separate King Tumo and Queen Mapule and remove Lerato from the line of succession, devised a cunning plan. In the night She st*le the royal bead, a symbol of kingship passed down through generations, and hid it in Princess Lerato’s chambers. This bead is essential for King Tumo to wear daily before sitting on the throne. Queen Tebello knew that ste@ling is a grave crime in Sotho, punishable by severe consequences.
In the morning, King Tumo got ready as usual to speak with his chiefs. He put on his royal clothes and accessories but couldn’t find his special royal bead. He woke up Queen Mapule, who is sleeping in his chambers, and asked if she had taken it, but she said she hadn’t. They searched for three hours but didn’t find the bead. They decided to ask everyone in the palace if they knew where it is.
Everyone said they didn’t know, so the king asked the guards to check everyone’s rooms. After searching for a long time, they still didn’t find the bead. Queen Tebello suggested checking Prince Selebalo and Princess Lerato’s rooms.
At first, King Tumo didn’t want to because he trusted his children, but Lerato said they should check her room too because everyone should be treated equally. The king agreed reluctantly, and the guards searched her room, finding the missing royal bead. Everyone was shocked because no one had st*len anything in Sotho for years. They wondered how the princess, who is suppose to be the next ruler, could have taken her father’s royal bead.
King Tumo told everyone not to talk about what happened outside the palace because if the villagers found out, they might demand punishment for Lerato. Meanwhile, Lerato insisted she didn’t ste@l it and believed someone must have put it in her room.
Queen Tebello told one of her trusted maids to go to the village and tell people what happened. The news spread quickly, and soon, everyone in the kingdom came to the palace, urging the king to follow the kingdom’s tradition for ste@ling, which meant nobody, not even the princess, could escape punishment.
As the anger in the villagers’ faces grew, Queen Mapule became frightened. She pleaded tearfully, begging them not to harm her only child, Lerato. But the people of Sotho demanded justice, insisting that the princess be brought out and sent to the evil forest for her cr!me.
King Tumo tried to calm the villagers, insisting that no one had st*len anything, but they continued to shout and threaten to destroy the palace if Lerato isn’t punish. Despite Lerato coming forward herself to explain that she didn’t ste@l the bead and that someone had placed it in her chambers, the villagers refused to listen. They believed that sending Lerato to the evil forest is the only way to avoid misfortune befalling Sotho.
Queen Mapule pleaded desperately with the villagers, insisting that her daughter is not a
th!ef, but her pleas fell on deaf ears. The villagers argued that if a th!ef Isn’t punished by being sent to the evil forest, it would bring evil upon the kingdom. @top fans
When the king refused to give his decision, the villagers began to stone the palace. Prince Selebalo, seeing the danger his sister is in, came out with a sword, declaring that no one would take his sister anywhere. Despite being stoned by the villagers, Lerato intervened and agreed to go with them.
Queen Mapule protested, telling Lerato not to go anywhere, but Lerato chose to go with the villagers, who then cast her out of the kingdom.
However, Queen Mapule vowed never to forgive the king for allowing their daughter to be sent away.
Filled with joy, Queen Tebello saw her plan succeed. She ki!!ed two birds with one stone.
She had achieved her goal of separating her sister from the king and removing Lerato from the kingdom, making her son the heir to the throne.
In the scary forest, Lerato cried while thick fog surrounded her. She felt really scared, thinking about what might happen to her in this awful place called the “ev!l forest.” Just when she thought she couldn’t feel worse, a big burst of fire appeared out of nowhere, making her freeze in shock.
From the fiery flames, a huge and amazing creature came out. Its shiny scales looked like gold in the faint light. Lerato couldn’t even breathe when she saw the majestic Zucchini, the old guardian dragon of the forest. But instead of being angry and breathing fire at her, the dragon looked at her with curious eyes, filled with a wisdom she couldn’t grasp..
Zucchini, the wise old dragon, bowed respectfully before Princess Lerato, calling her “my princess”wishing her a long life. Lerato felt shocked and puzzled, wondering how this dragon knew her name and why it was showing such reverence to her.
Summoning her courage, Lerato asked the dragon if it knew her. The dragon chuckled and said it knew her and why Lerato was in the forest. This surprised Lerato, so she asked how the dragon knew.
With a mysterious smile, the dragon replied, “Yes, I do know. You were accused of taking a special royal bead.” Lerato was stunned to hear this and asked the dragon how he knew about her situation.
The dragon said it’s a story for another time and invited Lerato to explore the beauty of the forest. Lerato hesitated at first, unsure about following the dragon, but eventually, she decided to join him, intrigued by what he knew.
As they walked in the spooky forest, Lerato asked Zucchini if she would d!e here in the forest and if the kingdom would ever find out she is innocent. Zucchini replied if you were to d!e, you would have d!ed immediately you entered the forest. Zucchini also replied that the soil of the land is already fighting for her immediately she entered the forest. Zucchini told her to stay with him for a bit because she would soon go home. Lerato felt calm hearing this and they both kept walking through the forest.
Back in the village of Sotho, the aftermath of Lerato’s unjust exile started to show its dark effects. The once vibrant community now faced a grim reality of famine and hopelessness. People suffered from hunger and sorrow, haunted by the looming presence of starvation and despair.
Fields that were once lush with crops now lay barren and lifeless. The plants wilted away, unable to withstand the weight of injustice that hung heavy in the air. Livestock, once plentiful, dwindled in number as they succumbed to the harsh conditions and lack of care.
The land itself seemed to rebel against the cruelty inflicted upon its cherished princess. It refused to yield its bounty, as if mourning the absence of Lerato, the beloved daughter of the kingdom. The village, once filled with laughter and joy, now echoed with the cries of suffering and anguish.The villagers realized they had wrongly accused Princess Lerato and suspected the real th!ef was still in the kingdom. They believed this was why they were facing so many problems.
Queen Mapule, burdened with sorrow, spoke to King Tumo about the consequences of their actions. She begged him to rethink their choice and find out the truth about who really st0le the royal bead. King Tumo, worried and regretful, promised to correct the injustice done to Lerato and bring peace back to their kingdom. He had always believed in his daughter’s innocence and wondered who had spread the news to the villagers.
King Tumo gathered everyone in the palace, expressing his concern about the village’s suffering and warning that if the real th!ef wasn’t found, things would only get worse. He urged everyone to tell the truth so they could fix the problems plaguing the land.
a maid stepped forward and admitted that she was asked by Queen Tebello to spread the news about the missing royal bead to the villagers.
Upon hearing this, King Tumo and Queen Mapule were filled with anger. They turned to Queen Tebello to confirm if the maid’s words were true. With trembling lips, Queen Tebello confessed to instructing the maid.
Enraged by this revelation, King Tumo drew his sword and demanded to know if Queen Tebello was also the one who st0le the bead and hid it in Princess Lerato’s room. Faced with the threat of the sword, Queen Tebello admitted her guilt.
King Tumo yelled at Tebello, asking why she plotted against Lerato. Tebello admitted she did it because she wanted her son, Selebalo, to be the next king. This shocked everyone, especially Selebalo, who couldn’t believe his own mother could be so wicked. He asked her how she could do such a terrible thing, making Lerato suffer and no one knows if she is still alive.
Queen Mapule couldn’t control her anger and tried to fight Tebello, but King Tumo stopped her. He ordered the guards to take Tebello to the palace prison. Tebello begged for forgiveness, crying loudly and promising she wouldn’t do it again.
As the guards escorted Tebello away, Mapule couldn’t hold back her rage. She stopped them and sl@pped Tebello hard. She shouted at Tebello, accusing her of taking her husband and forcing the villagers to send Lerato away. She kept hitting Tebello until King Tumo intervened.
Two days later, Zucchini informed Princess Lerato that it is time to go back home. Lerato, who had become friends with the dragon, didn’t want to leave the forest. She had found peace there. But Zucchini explained to her that she needed to return to save the villagers from starving. He told her that once she set foot on the soil of Sotho, peace would be restored. Understanding the importance of her return, Lerato agreed, though she would miss her dragon friend dearly.
Curious about how she would return home safely, Lerato asked Zucchini for guidance. Zucchini assured her that he would carry her back. He bent down so Lerato could climb onto his back, and together they set off towards the kingdom of Sotho.
As they arrived in the village, the sight of a giant dragon alongside Princess Lerato astonished and frightened the villagers. They couldn’t believe their eyes to see the princess alive and accompanied by such a majestic creature.
Meanwhile, back in the palace, King Tumo instructed the guards to bring Tebello from the royal prison. As Tebello stood before the king, he prepared to address her, but his attention was diverted by the sound of a large crowd of villagers rushing towards the palace.
As King Tumo lifted his gaze, he was stunned to see the mighty creature standing alongside Princess Lerato, who sat atop the majestic dragon. Zucchini lowered himself, allowing Lerato to dismount. As soon as her feet touched the soil, a miraculous transformation began.
Dying plants revived, and the lifeless animals stirred with renewed vigor as the land itself seemed to come alive once more. The villagers watched in awe as the once-barren earth burst forth with vibrant life.
Despite the initial fear of the dragon, Queen Mapule rushed forward to embrace her daughter, tears of joy streaming down her face. Selebalo joined in, hugging his sister tightly, relieved to see her safe and sound.
Meanwhile, the dragon’s gaze fell upon Tebello, his eyes burning with anger and reproach. It was as if Zucchini could sense the weight of Tebello’s guilt and the suffering she had caused.
King Tumo observed the scene unfold before him, filled with a mix of emotions. Relief washed over him at Lerato’s return, but he also felt the weight of responsibility for the injustice that had been inflicted upon his daughter and the kingdom. With determination in his heart, he knew that justice must be served, and peace restored to their land.
When the king tried to show respect to the dragon, the dragon spoke kindly to him, wishing him a long reign. Then, the dragon said he had to leave because it came for someone. But before he took her away, he want her to confess. With eyes full of anger, the dragon stared at Tebello.
Tebello confessed to her terrible deeds. She admitted to putting a sleeping potion in the king’s drink and taking advantage of him in his chambers. Everyone was shocked. Queen Mapule shouted at Tebello, realizing that she had wrongly blamed the king for years while Tebello had planned everything.
After Tebello confessed, the dragon picked her up and flew back to the evil forest. Tebello screamed for help, but no one could save her. Even her son, Selebalo, didn’t try to save her.
After the dragon left, King Tumo, the villagers, and Selebalo asked Lerato for forgiveness. Lerato said she wasn’t angry with them.
Queen Mapule took Lerato inside and asked the maids to bring food. She fed Lerato herself, hugging her and asking if she was hurt in the forest. Lerato reassured her mother that she had enjoyed her adventure and had even made a friend in the dragon.
With Lerato’s return, Sotho found a new beginning. The village flourished once more, freed from the darkness of Tebello’s treachery. The royal family and the people of Sotho lived happily ever after, learning from Tebello’s downfall that the destructive forces of conspiracy, envy, jealousy, and hate only lead to destruction.
The End
