This collection of African tales and legends, have as their background the remote regions of Zululand, Basutoland and the Lowveld, where the African children are in close contact with birds, plants and animals.
The aloe, the sugar-cane, the water-lily and the tick bird are so much a part of the African way of life that they take on human characeristics, and in this way influence the lives of "the naughty picannin" or the "brave warrior", as in the case of the Aloe, that protects a whole tribe from its enemies.
In some of these tales magic plays a major role, as in Mother's Love, where a wicked baboon-like creature kidnaps the babies, who with the help of magic are rescued by their anxious and loving mothers.
In Oxalis, the well known little pink flower of this name sprang up in the veld to guide the little girl, Umbala, and her pet ox back to their home.