Summary

Starting school, Njoroge already has a friend – Mwihaki, the daughter of a wealthy local landowner (Jacobo) whom he comforted one day when other children were picking on her. She returns the favor on his first day when he is teased for being new. Their friendship grows over time, and one afternoon Mwihaki asks him to wait for her after school. They end up playing on the hillside until it starts to grow dark and Njoroge’s mother has to come looking for him. He feels that he has disappointed Nyokabi by mixing with a child of a higher social class, and decides to stay away from Mwihaki in future.

One afternoon, Njoroge comes home from school and pleads with Nyokabi to again tell him a traditional story, as he had been asked to tell one at school and forgotten...