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Overview
The king’s beloved herd includes an ox expressly called a fairy ox by the arrangers. Its horns curl across its forehead and its voice sounds like thunder. It leads the herd, whose other cattle follow at its call. The king entrusts his son with the cattle, but even a supernatural lookout stone and a cattle-calling song do not prevent theft when the boy falls asleep.
Years later, serving as herdsman to the chief who stole them, the grown son uses a feast to recover the cattle. His magic song brings them out of the enclosure, and the crumple-horned ox bellows. Cattle from east, west and south answer its call and follow the returning owner. The ox’s own summons thus enlarges the recovery beyond passive obedience to the human singer. When the pursuers close in, it remains part of the herd protected by the fairy’s shield-bearing frogs.
The story ends with the son’s safe return and continued nightly use of his song. Its bodily appearance and thunderous voice belong to this particular helper. They do not identify it automatically with Callaway’s named white revived Umpengempe, another bullock whose source gives a different origin and episode.
Origins & earliest records
Sarah F. Bourhill and Beatrice L. Drake collected and arranged this English children’s retelling. Their preface says most stories came from Swazi contributors, others from Zulu and nearby communities, but gives no individual narrator for this episode. Its colonial generalizations are not adopted as community self-description.
Records & interpretation
Complete II. The Story of the King’s Son and the Magic Song, printed pp. 18–27, read through the ending; collection title page, preface and chapter community label checked.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Fairy Tales from South Africa
II. The Story of the King’s Son and the Magic Song, pp. 18–27; English literary arrangement for children, unnamed episode contributor.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
Located primary passages
Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.
Primary source witness
Sarah F. Bourhill (Mrs. E. J. Bourhill) and Beatrice L. Drake (Mrs. J. B. Drake), Fairy Tales from South Africa, London: Macmillan, 1908, selected original title page and complete headed tales in PG75833. Introduction pp.v–xi says the tales are arranged for children from principally Swazi, also Zulu and border-region sources; individual contributors are not named for these episodes. Its colonial generalisations are attributed historical framing, not present ethnographic fact.
- During the prince’s escape, an ox with a deformed horn calls cattle from several directions into the travelling herd. The text explicitly calls it a fairy ox but does not describe a humanoid transformation or give it a personal name.
II The Story of the King’s Son and the Magic Song, pp.23–24; cattle gathering
- Frogs supplied with shields frighten pursuing armed men into retreat, allowing the prince to return the herd safely. The ox’s special role is its gathering call; the text does not assign the frog army’s deception to the ox or establish its later death.
No individual oral contributor or separate original-language manuscript inspected. Historical framing and translations are not universal current community consensus. Original facsimile not visually inspected in this batch.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Collected historical tale in an English literary retellingBourhill and Drake — II. The Story of the King’s Son and the Magic SongResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
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