Summary The purpose of this article is to describe and engage the Zambian writer Stephen Mpashi's work entitled Pano Calo (1956). Mpashi's material is. presented in the Bemba language, one of the major Zambian vernaculars. The material has been synthesised in English in this article for ease of access. Ah attempt is made in the discussion that ensues to provide an analogous analysis of Pano Calo with the material in the film The Story of Doctor Dolittle (1997). In the film African American actor Eddie Murphy plays the part of John Dolittle who has the power of speaking to animals. The article makes an attempt to bring to the surface the potential role of the Zambian literary material in the vernacular in informing modern-day popular culture.
