Other editions of book The Herd Boy

I have worked as a physiotherapist in Lesotho for the last two years and have been fascinated by the lives of the local herd boys. Everywhere you go you see them dressed in their hats, blankets and gumboots, watching over their sheep and cattle. This short story is based on conversations and anecdotes I have found out about them during my visits. Most of the pictures were taken on a trip to the Solane hot springs. There is an accompanying video of this journey on You Tube called Gypsy on the Hill.

Thabo means happiness. It was the name given to him by his father seventeen years ago on the starlit night he was born in the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho. African names often shape the destiny of the name bearer, and so it had been with Thabo. He was content as a Basotho herd boy and blessed with happiness. He knew no other life, had never been to school, and would travel the same path as his father before him.