written and illustrated by John Steptoe
Story Summary
Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters is a beautiful African tale that has been compared to the familiar story of Cinderella. In it, Mufaro has two lovely daughters. Manyara is cruel and self-centered, while Nyasha is sweet and kind. The king sends notice to Mufaro that the girls should come before him so that he might choose one of them for a wife. Manyara sneaks out of the village early so that she might be the first to appear before the king, ignoring a child's plea for food and an old woman's stern advice along the way. The next day, Nyasha goes with the wedding party as planned, giving food along the way to the hungry boy. Upon arriving at the king's chambers, Manyara runs out, crying that there is a monster in the room who said that he was very displeased with her. Bravely, Nyasha enters the room and sees her friend, a small snake that helped her from time to time in her garden. He transforms before her eyes and says he know of her kindness and is pleased with her, and Nyasha becomes the queen.
Lesson IdeasThis story lends itself particularly well to teaching students about diversity. All too often, anly Anglo-European tales are the ones told to children, both in and out of the classroom. Upon reading this tale, begin to read the familiar story of Cinderella to the class (Note that another multicultural book with a Cinderella theme is Yeh-Shen). When you have finished reading, initiate a whole group discussion about the similarities and differences between the two stories. Once specific details have been pointed out, begin to emphasize the similarity in the themes of the two works. Discuss how the common theme that "good always wins out over bad" seems to be a universal one. Although the backgrounds from which the stories originate are different, all human beings in all cultures have a sense of right and wrong, a sense of justice and kindness. Norton has created a list of thoughtful questions that a teacher might use to compare Cinderella stories.
It might also be helpful to bring in an African storyteller who is familiar with other tales from Zimbabwe (the place from which Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters came) and other African countries. Once he/she has presented some stories, see if you can find common themes between those tales and other stories with which students are already familiar. One might also choose on that day to do a geography/history lesson on Zimbabwe that day.