The Cannibal Who Was Tricked into the Pit
Sesotho folktale · ditšomo
Kwesukasukela... In a time when cannibals (madimo) roamed the land hunting people to eat, a clever person fell into the hands of one such ogre and was carried home to be cooked. The captive, knowing strength would not save him, used his wits. He praised the cannibal, flattered his appetite, and proposed a fine feast: let the ogre first build a great fire in a deep pit so the meat would roast perfectly. The cannibal, drooling with greed, dug and dug. The clever captive then suggested the ogre test the heat himself, or lean over to tend the flames, and at the right moment pushed the cannibal headlong into his own roasting-pit, or tricked him into the boiling pot meant for the captive. The fire that was prepared for the victim consumed the cannibal instead. In some tellings the trickster also freed other captives or restored those already swallowed by cutting the beast open. He returned to his village a hero. These ogre-tales recall the dread of the lifaqane upheavals when desperate cannibalism was remembered, and they teach that wit overcomes brute hunger. Cosu cosu iyaphela.
The lesson: Brute strength and greed can be defeated by patience and cleverness; the trap you dig for another may swallow you.