There was an old man, old man, old man,
There was an old man
who had grown so old.
He walked around limping,
limping, limping,
He walked around limping
with his crooked leg.
There was a young man,
young boy, young boy.
There was a young boy,
too naughty for words.
He laughed at the old man,
old man, old man.
He laughed at the old man
till he turned into a cat.
Have you ever noticed
how very different each one of us is?
In the way we look, the way we talk,
walk, laugh and sing?
These differences
are the things
that make each and
every one of us so special.
Well, some people
don't realize that.
Once there was a young boy
who lived with his mother and father
in a small town.
The boy was very, very naughty,
naughtier than anyone you've ever seen.
If he saw someone with cross eyes
or a very short upper lip,
he would laugh at them.
He would laugh until the other person
got embarrassed or angry or so upset
that they burst out crying.
One day he saw a girl
with only two fingers
on one hand.
The boy laughed so much
that he could not
even eat his supper that night.
His parents told him over and over
that it was not right to laugh at other
people
just because they are different.
They told him that everyone is special
and beautiful in their own way.
Do you think the naughty
naughty boy
listened to them?
No, he continued laughing at other people.
til one afternoon he was walking with
his mother
to the train station,
when he saw an old man
with one short, crooked leg.
The old man carried a bag
and he was rushing for the train.
The boy thought he looked very funny,
as he tried to run to catch the train.
The boy laughed and laughed.
He rolled on the platform
holding his stomach, Ha!
Pour it together old man.
And he loved some more!
His mother was embarrassed.
Other people at the
station were shocked.
Well, well what do you know?
Right there in front of everybody
the boy turned into a cat.
Yes, a big, fat,
brown and ugly cat with five legs.
And his eyes were a dirty green.
His ears were long
and there were fingers growing
at the top of them.
He was a horrible looking cat
and no one wanted anything
to do with him.
Embarrassed and sad,
the big, fat,
brown cat with five legs ran away.
His dirty green eyes filled with tears
and the fingers at the end
of his ears were waving goodbye.
His mother was very sad.
After some months,
people say that his heart
changed a lot.
Eventually,
he changed back into his old body
and went home to his family.
He became very nice to everyone,
no matter how different they looked.
If he saw a crooked old person
carrying big bags
trying to catch a bus,
he went and offered to help them.
When he saw other children fighting,
he went and talked them
into being friends again.
But he was especially nice
to funny -looking cats
on the roadside.
Se þi kexa, i kexa, i kexa
Wali se þi kexa, wapendu gi ka tili
Ladysmith Black Mambazo 
