The Girl and the Mbulu (The Imposter at the River)
Xhosa folktale · iintsomi
Kwesukasukela. A young bride set out on the long journey to the home of her husband, accompanied by her maid or her younger companions. On the road they came to a river. There dwelt the Mbulu, a sly and shape-shifting creature with a long tail it kept hidden, that wished to take the bride's place. By trickery the Mbulu persuaded the true bride to give up her fine ornaments and clothing piece by piece, and finally to exchange places, so that the Mbulu dressed in the bridal finery while the real bride was disguised or sent to herd the calves. Arriving at the husband's homestead, the Mbulu was received as the wife, but its strange behaviour, its hidden tail, and its odd appetites raised suspicion. Meanwhile the true bride, set to lowly work, sang a sorrowful song about how she had been cheated, and someone overheard. The deception was uncovered. The household devised a test: a pit was dug or boiling liquid prepared, and the Mbulu, betrayed by its tail and its greed, was destroyed. The true bride was restored to her rightful place of honour. Cosu cosu, iyaphela.
The lesson: Falsehood and stolen identity cannot endure; truth, though brought low for a time, will rise again and be honoured.