Long ago, there was a toothpick-thin boy named Matui. Unfortunately, his tongue would get stuck to the roof of his mouth, making him a joke for his buddies. 

Of course, the naughty boys were flogged with a horsewhip by the don’t-hide-the-rod uncles for mocking him. 

The boys sang every word that Matui was wrestling to sound. First, they shook his hands and then rode straying donkeys before he came up with an answer.  Sometimes, Ouma would ask him whether he liked porridge over sour milk, but she would only get the answer before the grapefruit sun dips, as the boy slapped his lap for the quickest response.  Unfortunately, by the time he responded, the soupy pap had hardened into a rock. 

One day, the pensioners’ lorry hooted at him for jaywalking across the stone-throwing gravel and gave him blue stick-mounted sweets so he could tip off the walking stick men to wait under the umbrella-shaped tree. Soon, the bundled money lorry parked under the tree, but only the skin-piercing ants and pinching mosquitoes greeted the visitors. 

In anger, the money givers praised Matui with textbook swearwords. The double pay news only reached the ever-broke headman after two days. Now, the grey-haired women scolded Matui for toying with their pay day. Matui stabbed his tongue with his knife-sharp teeth, blaming it for spoiling the sandy sugar and leafy tea day.  As tears showered his cheeks, a green snake slithered past him, and its scaly skin rubbed his pin-thin legs. The rattling snake slithered into the water, hissing that it would deal with Matui’s teasers. 

Then, he stood up, dusted off his heels, and nodded. 

The next day, the village bully tossed a bucket into the water but spotted a green snake mirroring his face and cried that the snake was half-human.  He galloped home, but his lips refused to open.  

Another bully walked the footpath toward the dam, and he too spotted a yellow snake, wearing his face like a king’s crown in the clear water. Then a third bully saw the snake wearing his yellow cap.    The villagers consulted the broom-waving witchdoctor and harassed him into explaining the mystery surrounding the mute boys.  Not even the hand-sized mirror witchdoctor could solve the riddle. More boys who were teasing Matui now lapped sour milk like dogs. Suddenly, at a crowded meeting under the tree, Matui singingly rapped that the green snake could have spooked the naughty kids. Matui whistled and hissed until the snake came out of the water, and the boys began chatting as before after they swore to never tease anyone who stuttered.

-Mungambue@gmail.com