Mende, Mdogo

Mende Mdogo (The Small Cockroach) is a highly imaginative Kiswahili moral fable by Nyambura Mpesha, published by Phoenix Publishers. The story centers on Mende, a dissatisfied cockroach who encounters a powerful witch doctor capable of granting his wish to transform into any creature. However, Mende is plagued by insatiable greed, repeatedly changing from a mouse to a dog, then a leopard, and finally demanding to be a human, constantly seeking more power. When the witch doctor hesitates on the final, dangerous transformation, the once-cockroach, now a fierce leopard, threatens to devour him, providing a thrilling climax to this tale about the perils of covetousness and ingratitude.