In the lake near the village lived the terrible white monster, Nabulela. Every day someone from the village left porridge and bread on the banks for him and then ran away. Otherwise, Nabulela would eat him too!
Meanwhile, a daughter was born to the village chief’s wife and there was great rejoicing, for the chief had sons but had wanted a daughter. He loved her daughter-princess and gave her gifts of beads and furs and feathers. The princess was loving and kind, but the other girls in the village were jealous and hated her.
They were careful not to show their real feelings, however, because they did not wish to get into trouble with the chief. So, they played and laughed with her and went daily to the river with her to fetch water.
One day, the princess saw a small paw waving in the lake. She jumped in and rescued the puppy that had been thrown in to be drowned. The puppy became very devoted to her. The princess also loved him very much.
The princess grew up to become a beautiful young girl and the puppy grew old. But the girls remained jealous and full of hatred. One day, they went to collect clay and buried the princess in the clay pit.
When they returned, the old dog saw that the princess was not with them. He bit through his leash and ran to search for her. He returned with her bead necklace and led the chief and others to the clay pit.
The chief and his men dragged out the princess just in time. The chief learnt the whole story and decided to punish the girls for trying to kill the princess. He ordered them to catch Nabulela and bring him.
The terrified girls took the porridge and bread to the banks and waited there. When Nabulela came out, they ran to the shed. Nabulela chased them into it. They ran out of the backdoor and slammed it shut. Nabulela was caught and the warriors of the village then killed him.
The village girls made a cloak of his white fur for the chief and made one for the princess and for the old dog too.
