Apiyo and Adongo went to visit their grandmother. Their mother gave them a basket of fruits and a knitted sweater to take to the old lady. Their grandmother was always very happy to see her grandchildren. Each time they visited, she would give them a coin each if they were clean. She had always taught and reminded them of the importance of being clean.“If you are clean you will fall ill less often.” She said.
So, that morning, Apiyo and Adongo had hurriedly bathed and put on some clean clothes as they prepared to visit grandma. Apiyo carried the fruit basket while Adongo carried the sweater that their mother had knitted. Like a cat tending to her kittens, their mother reminded them to be careful along the way and look out for one another as sisters. With a kiss on their foreheads, she let them go on their journey.
The sisters exchanged funny stories and laughed heartily as they hoped towards their grandmother’s home. But as ill fortune would have it, Apiyo suddenly slept and her torso hit the muddy ground. The toppled fruit basket scattered all the oranges and berries in the mud as well. Apiyo looked around her in dismay. Her clothes were now dirty. The fruits she was carrying were covered in mud. Surely, grandmother will not be pleased. She was not going to give her a coin. Apiyo began to cry bitterly.
Adongo laughed at her sister. Their mother and grandmother had always taught them to show kindness and help one another when in trouble. But the sight of Apiyo covered in red mud was just too funny to Adongo. As a selfish one, she was always happy when her sister got into trouble. She felt happy for herself because she was going to be praised and rewarded for being clean and not her sister. So, the more Apiyo cried, the more Adongo laughed.
Suddenly, an old man appeared in their path. He was carrying a bag made from leopard skin. He heard the laughter of Adongo and the cry of Apiyo.
“What is it, children? ” He asked.
“It is Apiyo. She is crying because she has fallen in the mud. Grandmother will not be happy with her because she is dirty. She will not be given a coin,” Still laughing, Adongo spasmed out the words while pointing at her sister. “Look at the oranges and berries that she was supposed to take to her. They are very dirty now.”
The elderly man felt sorry for Apiyo. He comforted her and told her not to cry as he was going to help her.
“Really?” Apiyo was so happy. She wiped her tears and waited for the old man’s help.
The old man took out a bottle of water from the bag and asked Apiyo to wash the mud off herself. Then he lifted a clean, beautiful dress from the bag. It was Apiyo’s size.
Apiyo was so happy that she was laughing and crying at the same time. She couldn’t believe her luck. After washing up, she took the dress from the old man’s hand and went behind a bush to change into her new delightful outfit. The dress fit even better than what she had worn before.
The old man was busy washing the oranges and berries with remaining water and putting them back in the basket. Apiyo emerged from the bush looking very beautiful and clean. She helped the old man clean the remaining oranges. Adongo just stood there. She had stopped laughing. When she saw her sister, she felt as though she was trying to swallow a large ball of potato that was choking her. Her sister looked much better in the new dress.
Once all the clean oranges and berries were back in the basket, Apiyo and Adongo were ready to continue with their walk. Apiyo thanked the old man and waved him goodbye. She remembered that grandmother always told them to say thank you when someone has helped them.
They walked on quietly. Adongo was still upset that her sister now looked better than her. She thought of something sinister. She would push her sister in the mud just as they were nearing grandmother’s home so that her new dress won’t be as clean. Just as Adongo was getting behind her sister to shove her down, a wandering twig caught her leg instead and caused her to topple over. Bam! Adongo hit the mud. Panicking, she looked around and saw that the sweater she was carrying for grandmother had soaked in the mud as well. She started crying loudly and bitterly. Apiyo saw what had happened to her sister but she did not laugh at her. She tried to comfort her sister but Adongo wailed even louder and asked to be left alone.
Suddenly the old man reappeared. This time, he did not have his bag.
“What is it, children?” He asked.
“It is Adongo. She is crying because she has fallen in the mud. Grandmother will not be happy with her because she is dirty. She will not give her a coin. The sweater she was supposed to take to her is very dirty now.” Apiyo explained as Adongo continued to weep.
“Sorry, I cannot help you this time,” the old man said, “and you should never have laughed at your sister when she fell.” He reprimanded Adongo. With the warning, he suddenly disappeared.
The two girls walked on to their grandmother. She was pleased to see them as usual. She greeted them but saw that Apiyo was
clean and Adongo was dirty. She gave Apiyo a coin because she was clean and brought her clean oranges. She gave nothing to Adongo because she was dirty and brought her a dirty sweater.