Fiela's Child (Fiela se Kind)

Fiela decides that it is finally time to put the two ostriches together, but she is still worried that they won’t breed. She is also concerned that Pollie, the hen, will hurt one of the children. As they prepare to put them together, Fiela thinks about Benjamin questioning her about the two men from the government. He asks why she was afraid of them and why his skin is white, and hers is brown. She snaps back to the present and sees the government men approaching. They say the magistrate wants to see Benjamin, and she must bring him to Knysna soon. When she protests that she does not have a way to bring him, they say they will return in the morning. Benjamin will ride with them.

After much thought, Fiela decides that there is no other way: Benjamin must go with them. She sends Dawid to town to buy Benjamin a nice shirt so he will be presentable. She promises Benjamin that he will be returned to her soon. The next morning, she coaches Benjamin on how to address the magistrate, how to respond to certain questions about his upbringing, and how to present himself to his best advantage. Shortly after, the men arrive, and Benjamin leaves with them. 

The men are kind to Benjamin on the road. When he addresses them as “master,” they laugh. Now that he is among white people, he no longer has to call them master, they explain. When they come to a narrow mountain road, Benjamin is afraid of the precipice. To calm his fear, he recites multiplication tables in his head. When they reach the bottom, they tell him he will need to walk behind the cart for a while. They need to lighten the load to spare the horses the upcoming climbs. Benjamin’s feet hurt in the new shoes he got for the trip. Eventually, he gets back in and falls asleep. When he wakes, they are in Knysna. He stays the night with a kind woman who feeds and bathes him. In the morning, he goes to the courtroom with the government men, who tell him that all he has to do is be honest. They say the magistrate is a good and clever man and will know exactly what to do. 

Elias and Barta are walking towards Knysna. Barta is required to appear before the magistrate to ascertain the veracity of Benjamin’s story. As they travel, Elias is nervous. He fears that the elephants that chased him are waiting nearby, intent on revenge. Barta is nervous about her courtroom appearance. She keeps asking Elias what they will do if the child is not theirs. Elias thinks that if it is indeed their son, it will be good fortune. With another boy to work for him, they will be able to make more money, but he does not say this to Barta. Many times, he tells her that if it is not Benjamin, they will turn around, go home, and bear it as they did when their child disappeared nine years earlier. 

Benjamin waits in the hall outside the courtroom. He thinks about a day when he and Dawid stole an ostrich egg from a wild ostrich so that Fiela could make a sugar cake for them. Eventually he begins to wonder if he has been forgotten and decides that he will climb out a window and escape. Then he is called into the courtroom before the Magistrate. The Magistrate asks him what he can remember before living with Fiela, but Benjamin has no former memories. Four boys are brought in and Benjamin is placed in a line with them. Then a woman from the forest enters, obviously frightened. She scans the boys, points at Benjamin, begins to cry, and then leaves. The Magistrate explains to Benjamin that she just picked him out of a lineup. It has now been proven that he is not Fiela’s son. The Magistrate decrees he will go home with his parents. Benjamin cries, but there is nothing he can do to change the ruling.  

Fiela and Selling talk about Benjamin, calculating when he will be back. The ostriches are still not breeding, and Fiela is feeling more desperate than ever. Saturday passes, and then Sunday. It is obvious that Benjamin is not returning. Fiela decides to go to Knysna on her own.

The chapter shifts to Benjamin in the aftermath of the Magistrate’s ruling. He is confused. He has been told that Elias and Barta are his real parents, and that his own name is Lukas. They begin to walk. They ask him questions, but he refuses to answer to the name Lukas. Barta worries aloud that he is not speaking enough, and Elias grows impatient with his silence. When they arrive at their house, many people come to visit and look at Benjamin. He is introduced to Willem and Nina, who are his brother and sister. But he remains quiet and heartbroken, desperate to go home to Fiela.