“And you went back for the feather!” said Sisiwe. “I should never have dared.
“You are lucky to have escaped—and to have the beautiful feather,” Sisiwe said, touching it admiringly.
“I have something else,” added Nomusa. She opened the little deerskin bag that hung about her neck. This bag was her only pocket, and into it went all Nomusa’s small treasures.
She took out a golden-yellow pebble, smooth and round, about the size of her thumbnail.
“How lovely!” Sisiwe exclaimed. “Where did you get it?”
“I found it on the ground as I returned from the stream.”
“The most exciting things always happen to you, Nomusa,” Sisiwe said. “How did you happen to be so early today?”
“I am early because our father is coming to visit us today, Sisiwe.”
“He visited our hut yesterday. He wore a new belt of wildcat tails and looked very handsome,” Sisiwe said proudly.
Nomusa was very proud of their father, too. Zitu was one of the most powerful Zulu chiefs, and head of the Zulu king’s council. He was rich, rich enough to have six wives, and this was why Nomusa was lucky enough to have thirty brothers and sisters.