Chief Mofor is in his palace talking with his son Chi. Chi is proud to tell his father that he has completed his chores. His father encourages him to remain hardworking as it will fetch him a reward in future. Then his father reveals to him that he is his favourite son; imploring him to keep it a secret. Chi happily agrees.

Mimi, the Chief’s little daughter, comes in. She has just finished helping out her mother in the kitchen. Her father enquires about the kind of man she will like to get married to in future. She emphasizes a rich man. But her father tells her to be careful because not all rich men are good.

Chi, Mimi and Tita, their step brother, are playing in the yard. Mimi soon leaves them. Tita is leading in the game they are playing and Chi soon gets jealous and they start an argument about who is best. Chi boasts of his intelligence to Tita so it does not matter if Tita wins him in a game. In the course of the argument, Chi inadvertently reveals the secret his father told him about him being his favourite. Tita is sad and complains of unfair treatment. When Chi realizes his mistake, he begs Tita not to tell anyone. Tita agrees though still unhappy.

Later back at home, Mimi and Chi are sitting by their mother’s kitchen arguing about who is more important, their father or their mother. Chi holds that their father is more important. He brings up a number of arguments to support his point of view but in the process of doing so, he says odd things about their mother. When he realizes this, he begs his sister not to tell their mother. She agrees and leaves but later tells the mother who becomes furious at Chi. She starves him for a week as punishment. Chi is angry at his sister and beats her up for betraying him. 

Some time later, he goes to greet his father. On telling his father the reason his mother refused him food, the chief summons his mother and tells her that no matter the child’s offence, she does not have to starve him. She agrees to give him food on the condition that he apologises and does some punishment, which he agrees to. However, the father also reproaches him for revealing their secret. He adds that he is disappointed and does not consider him the favourite any more. The next day, Chi confronts Tita for revealing the secret he had confided in him. He is now at logger heads with both Mimi and Tita. But they blame him for being talkative and for gossipping and that he is the cause of his demise. 

A few months after, news goes around that Mimi’s trap has caught a lion. Mimi confirms this news to her father while acknowledging that Chi taught her how to set traps. The chief is thrilled and appoints Mimi head of women’s affairs and his second in command. A big feast is organised in her honour. Everyone celebrates except for Chi who regrets that he had lost his position to Mimi because of bad conduct.

Most, if not all royal families in traditional African set-ups are polygamous in nature. Amongst the many children that the chief may have, there is always a favourite, to whom he would bequeath the throne. However, this favourite is expected to be of good behaviour to merit what is intended for him. Chi, in the story, loses his position as favourite due to bad conduct: boastfulness, prejudice and volubility. 

That notwithstanding, the story raises questions on whether secrets should be revealed to children since they may not be mature enough to keep them and/or may simply be excited to reveal them. None of the characters in the story can keep a secret. Secrets are a source of conflicts since they may carry some information that may not be pleasing to others. Tita and Chi, in the story, are both sons of the chief but he has a softer spot for Chi, making Tita feel hurt. 

Lastly, the story brings to light the importance of wild game in traditional Africa. Divine favour, strength and might are sometimes determined by what game one brings home. Mimi brings home a lion, which in itself is a symbol of strength and royalty, and this earns her a position of honour.

In all, the story emphasises the need for young adults to obey instructions at all times for little mistakes can cause a life-time regret.

Twum-Danso, Afua, "Reciprocity, Respect and Responsibility: The 3Rs underlying Parent-Child Relationships in Ghana and the implications for children's rights", The international Journal of Children's Rights 17.3 (2009): 415–432.

Liste des manuels scolaires autorisés en 2012/2013. Enseignement Maternel et Primaire, official textbook list for nursery and primary education published by the Ministry of Basic Education of Republic of Cameroon (the scholar year 2012/2013) includes The Princess of Bamba as readers for Primary Four.