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Slavani Finds His Brother
This is the first of a series of stories about Slavani, a little African boy who has fun and adventures with his cute animal friends. Watch out for more Slavani Stories coming soon!
Included with this collection of 10 enchanting embroidery designs, is a delightfully illustrated book which you can download and print it out yourself with Acrobat Reader. Children will love this charming tale - read on for the story and pictures of the embroidery designs.
Long, long ago, Slavani was born in Africa. It was long before animals were kept in a Zoo or Wild Resort. Slavani was born with green eyes, instead of brown eyes like the rest of the family. So his mother believed that he was a special child and that he would live very close to nature. As he grew up, he discovered that he could communicate with the plants and animals. One morning his Mother said. "Slavani, I have to go and look for food today. Please look after your brother and do not go near the river." Slavani quickly ate his breakfast - putupap - a porridge made from corn which was ground by his mother between two stones. He put his little brother Mopani on his back and off they went. Mopani got his name from the Mopani tree which is well known in Africa. In the bush he cut a dry branch from a tree and made his little brother a spear. "This Mopani" he said, "can be used to catch some fish in the river. Mother will be so glad if we bring some fish home."
Oops - Slavani forgot that Mother had said he must not go near the river with Mopani … At the riverside they sat down and Slavani made them each a scary African mask from the soft clay. They dried the masks in the hot sun and painted them with paint they made from berry and plant juice. Mopani laughed with joy and try to scare Slavani from behind his mask. Slavani was so busy painting his mask that he did not notice when Mopani walked away. He got a big fright when he looked around and there was no sign of his brother. He searched everywhere but could not find Mopani. He ran home as fast as his short legs could carry him. He brought his drum outside and banged it as hard as he could, to send signals to his animal friends. First to arrive was Giraffe. "Slavani why are you calling us, why are you looking so worried?" "Oh Giraffe, Mopani is gone." Slavani told Giraffe the story and began to cry because he suddenly remembered that he was not supposed to go near the river. Giraffe said, "Slavani you wait here, I'll go and call Leopard. He runs fast and I'll use my long neck to look in all the trees. Maybe Mopani climbed a tree to hide from the wild animals." Leopard took Slavani on his back and they ran until he became so tired that his legs were aching. "Slavani I cannot go any further. I'll go and call Elephant - maybe he can help you find Mopani."
"Oh thank you, Leopard." Slavani said, with tears in his eyes. "I hope my brother is safe." "Slavani," Leopard said "Do not fear, because fears can come true. You just believe, and we will find your brother." Elephant picked up Slavani with his trunk, lifted him onto his back and off they went. They searched for many long hours but with no success. "Slavani," Elephant said. "Mopani is not on this side of the river. We'll have to search in and across the river." Crocodile said to Slavani, "Get on my back so we can look in the river." They searched the river, but with no luck. Then, on the other side of the river they saw something move. Slavani called out Mopani's name as loud as he could, and then he heard his brother's laugh. From behind a bush Mopani came out with his mask still on. Slavani was very relieved to see him. But he could not understand how Mopani got to the other side of the river. Then he saw Eagle in the tree. "Eagle, do you know how Mopani got to the other side of the river? Did you see anything?" "Yes Slavani, I took him to the other side of the river to teach you a lesson. I hope from now on you will always do what your mother tells you." This was a lesson Slavani always remembered - as well as to believe, and not to fear.
Along with these embroidery designs you will also receive a zip file which contains a PDF (Acrobat Reader) version of this story. If you print it out in color, and cut the A4 sheets in half, you can then staple it down the side and make a very cute 12 page booklet for a child. Here is a sample picture of the book, before it is cut and stapled.
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