The Proverb That Does Not Fit
A composition task asks learners to end a story with a Setswana proverb that fits the moral. The story: a boy named Tshepo refuses to share his lunch with a hungry classmate, later loses his own lunch to a dog, and is then helped by the same classmate. Four proverbs are offered by the class: (a) one about a person being helped by the one he wronged; (b) one about a single finger not washing itself; (c) one about a dog that barks not biting; (d) one about patience bringing good things. The class votes, and proverb (c) wins because "it has a dog in it and the story has a dog". The teacher points out that the vote was decided by a shared word, not by meaning, and asks the class to match each proverb to the story's actual moral: wrongdoing returns, and help can come from the person you wronged.
1. Evaluate each of the four proverbs against the story's moral, and explain why the dog-based vote was a reasoning error.
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The story's moral is that wrongdoing can return to you and help may come from the person you wronged. Proverb (a) fits directly. Proverb (b), about mutual help, fits partly, since the classmate helps Tshepo, but it does not capture the wrong done. Proverb (c), about a barking dog not biting, concerns empty threats; it does not match, because the dog in the story actually acts and the moral is about repayment, not threats. Proverb (d), about patience, is only loosely relevant. The vote failed because learners matched a surface word ("dog") instead of the propositional meaning. Proverbs are judged by the situation they describe, not by shared vocabulary.
2. Rewrite the ending so that proverb (a) is introduced naturally rather than tacked on. Explain your choices.
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A natural ending first states the outcome (the classmate shares his food and Tshepo is ashamed), then draws the lesson in the narrator's voice, and only then cites the proverb as a summary, e.g. "Tshepo remembered how he had refused, and now the same boy fed him. Truly, the one you wrong may be the one who saves you." The proverb comes last because it seals the lesson rather than introducing it. The explanation should note that the proverb must be earned by the story's events; a proverb dropped in without preparation feels like decoration, and examiners reward integration, not decoration.