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Why the Cheetah's Cheeks Are Stained (A Traditional Zulu Story)
“Kwasuka sukela....”
Long ago a lazy hunter was sitting under a tree. He was thinking that it was too hot to be bothered with the arduous task of stalking prey through the bushes. Below him there were fat antelope grazing. But this hunter couldn't be bothered, so lazy was he! He gazed at the herd, wishing that he could have the meat without the work, when suddenly he noticed a movement. It was a female cheetah. She singled out an antelope who had foolishly wandered away from the rest. With great speed she came upon the antelope and brought it down.
The hunter watched as the cheetah dragged her prize to some shade on the edge of the clearing. There three beautiful cheetah cubs were waiting for her. The lazy hunter was filled with envy. Then he had a wicked idea. He decided that he would steal one of the cheetah cubs and train it to hunt for him.
When the sun began to set, the cheetah left her cubs concealed in a bush and set off to the waterhole. Quickly the hunter went to the bushes where the cubs were hidden. He first chose one, then decided upon another, and then changed his mind again. Finally, he stole them all.
When their mother returned half-an-hour later and found her babies gone, she was broken-hearted. The poor mother cheetah cried and cried until her tears made dark stains down her cheeks. She cried so loudly that she was heard by an old man who came to see what the noise was all about.
The old man returned to the village and told the elders what has happened. They drove the lazy man away from the village and took the three cheetah cubs back to their grateful mother. But the long weeping of the mother cheetah stained her face forever.
The predominant verb tense in this story is the simple past tense.