Nambi agreed to what her father said and went to pack up her things. 
Kintu and Nambi then took leave of Gulu, who said, "Be sure, if you have 
forgotten anything, nOt to come back, because Death will want to go with 
you and you must go without him.)) 
T hey started-off home, taking with them, besides Nambi's things and the 
TH E 
cows, a goat, a sheep, a fowl, and a plantain tree. On the way Nambi remem-
bered that she had fo rgotten the grain for the fowl, and she said to Kintu, "I UN I VERSE 
must go back for the grain for the fowl, or it will die." AN D I TS 
Kintu tried to dissuade her, but in vain. She said, " I will hurry back and 
get it w ith out anyone s~ing me.» BEG I NN I NGS 
He said, "Your brother Death will be on the watch and will see you ." 
She would not listen to her husband, but went back and said to her father, 
" I have forgotten the grain for the fowl, and I have come to take it from 
the doorway where I put it." 
He replied, "Did I nOt teU you that you were not to return if you forgot 
anything, because your brother Walumbe would see you and want to go 
with you? Now he will accompany you." 
Nambi tried to steal away without Walumbe, but he foUowed her. When 
she rejoined Kintu, he was angry at seeing Walumbe, and said, "Why have 
you brought your brother with you' Who can live with him?" 
Nambi was sorry, so Kintu said, "Let us go on and see what will happen." 
When they reached the earth Nambi planted her garden, and the plantains 
grew rapidly, and she soon had a large plantain grove in Manyagalya. They 
lived happily for some time and had a number of children, until one day 
Walumbe asked Kintu to send one of the children to be his coole 
Kinru replied, " If Gulu comes and asks me for one of my children, what 
am I to say to him? Shall I teU him that I have given her to be YOut cook?" 
' ;Valumbe was silent and went away, but he again asked for a child to be 
his cook, and again Kinru refused to send one of his daughters, so "Valumbe 
said, "I will i,ill them." 
Kinru, who did not know what he meant, asked, "What is it that you will 
do?" In a short time, however, one of the children feU ill and died, and from 
that time they began to die at intervals. 
Kintu returned to Gulu and told him about the deaths of the children, and 
accused Walumbe of being the cause. Gulu replied, "Did I not tell you when 
you were going away to go at once with your wife and not to return if you 
had forgotten anything? But you allowed Nambi to return for grain. Now 
you have Walumbe living with you. H ad you obeyed me you would have 
been free of hinl and would not have lost any of your children." 
After some further entreaty, Gulu sent Kaikuzi, another brother, to assist 
Nambi, and to prevent Walumbe from killing the children. Kaikuzi went to 
the earth with Kinru and was met by Nambi, who told him her pitiful story. 
He said he would call ' Nalumbe and try to dissuade him from killing the 
children. When Walumbe came to greet his brother they had quite a warm 
and affectionate meeting, and Kaikuzi told him he had come to take him back, 
because their father wanted him. 
Walumbe said, "Let us take our sister too." 
But Kaikuzi said he was not sent to take her, because she was married and 
had to stay with her husband. Walumbe refused to go without his sister, and 
Kaikuzi was angry with him and ordered him to do as he was told. Death, 
NATIVE however, escaped from Kaikuzi's grip and fled away into the earth. 
AFRICAN For a long time there was enmity between the two brothers. Kaikuzi tried 
in every possible way to catch his brother Walumbe, but he always escaped. 
FOLKTALES At last Kaikuzi told ~he peop>le to remain in their houses for several days and 
not to let any of the animals out, and he would have a final hunt for 
Walumbe. He further told them that if they saw Walumbe they must not 
call out or raise the usual cry of fear. 
The instructions were followed for two or three days, and Kaikuzi got his 
brother to come out of the earth and was about to capture him, when some 
children took their goats to the pasture and saw Walumbe and called out. 
Kaikuzi rushed to the spot and asked why they called, and they said they had 
seen Death. Kaikuzi was angry, because Walumbe had again gone into the 
earth. So he went to Kintu and told him he was tired of hunting Death and 
wanted to return home. H e also complained that the children had frightened 
Walumbe into the earth again. Kintu thanked Kaikuzi for his help and said 
he feared nothing more could be done, and he hoped Walumbe would not 
kill all the people. 
From that time Death has lived upon the earth and killed people whenever 
he can, and then he escapes into the earth at Tanda in Singo. 
[SAGANDA) 
17 
The SGn of Kimanaueze and the Daughter 
of Sun and Moon 
I OFT E N TEL L of Kimanaueze, who begat a male child. The child grew up, and he came to the age of marrying. H is father said, "Marry." 
He said, " I will not marry a woman of the earth." 
His father asked, "Then whom will you marry? " 
H e answered, " I! If it must be, I shall marry the daughter of Lord Sun 
and Lady Moon." 
But the people asked, "Who can go to the sky where the daughter of Lord 
Sun and Lady Moon lives?" 
He simply said, "I, indeed; I want her. If it is anyone on earth, I will not 
marry her." 
T hereupon he wrote a letter of marriage and gave it to Deer. But Deer 
said, "I cannot go to the sky." 
T hen he gave it to Antelope. Antelope also said, "I cannot go to the sky." 
He gave the letter to H awk. Hawk, too, said, "I cannot go to the sky." 
He gave it to Vulrure, but Vulture also said, "I can go half way to the 
sky; however, all the way I cannot go." 
Finally the young man said, "H ow shall I do it?" H e put his letter in his 
box and was quiet. 
The people of Lord Sun and Lady Moon used to come to get water on 
earth, and one day Frog came and sought out the son of Kimanaueze and 
spoke to him. 
"Young master," he said, "give me the letter that I may take it." 
T he young master, however, said, "Begone! If people of life, who have 
wings, gave it up, how can you say, 'I will go there?' How can you get 
there?" 
Frog said, "Young master, I am equal to it." 
So Kimanaueze gave Frog the letter, saying, "If you cannot get there and 
you rerum with it, I shall give you a thrashing." 
Frog started out and went to the well where the people of Lord Sun and 
Lady Moon were wont to come to get water. He put the letter in his mouth 
and got into the well and kept very still. In a little while, the people of Lord 
Sun and Lady Moon came to get water. They put a jug into the well, and 
73 
Frog got into the jug. After they got the water, they lifted it up, not know-
ing that Frog had entered the jug. They arrived in the sky, set down the jug 
in irs place and departed. 
Then Frog got out of the jug. In the room where they kept the jugs of 
water, there was also a table. Frog spat our the letter and placed it on top of 
the table. Then he hid in the corner of the room. 
NATIVE After a while, Lord Sun himself came into the room where the water was; 
AFRICAN he looked at the table and saw the letter on it. He took it and asked his 
people, "Whence comes this letter?" 
FOLKTALES They answered, "Lord, we do not know." He opened it and read it. It ran 
thus: "I, the son of Na Kimanaueze Kia-T umb'a Ndala, a man of earth, want 
to marry the daughter of Lord Sun and Lady Moon." Lord Sun thought to 
74 himself in his heart: "Na Kimanaueze lives on earth; I am a man who lives in 
the sky. He who came wi~h the letter, who is he?" He put the letter away 
into his box and said nothing. 
When Lord Sun finished reading the letter, Frog got into the jug again. 
After the water had been emptied out of the jugs, the water girls lifted them 
and went down to earth. They again arrived at the well and put the jugs in 
the water. Frog then got out and went under the water and hid himself. 
After the girls had finished the filling of the jugs they left. 
The Frog came out of the water and went to his village. There he kept 
quiet and said nothing. When many days had passed, the son of Kimanaueze 
asked Frog, "0 fellow, where did you take the letter, and how'" 
Frog answered, "Master, I delivered the letter, but they have not yet re-
turned an answer." 
The son of Kimanaueze said, "0 man, you are telling a lie; you did not 
go there." 
Frog said, "Master, that same place where I went, that you shall see." 
After six days, the son of Kimanaueze again wrote a letter to ask about 
the former letter, saying: "I wrote to you, Lord Sun and Lady Moon. My 
letter was delivered bur you returned no answer whatsoever to me, saying 
neither 'We accept you' nor 'We refuse you.' " Having finished his letter, 
he sealed it. Then he called Frog and gave it to him. Frog started and soon 
arrived at the well. He took the letter into his mouth, got into the water, and 
squatted on the bottom of the well. 
After a while, the water carriers came down and arrived at the well. They 
put the jugs into the water, and Frog got into a jug. ,;Vhen they had finished 
filling them, they lifted them up. They went up to the sky by means of a 
cobweb which Spider had woven. Soon they arrived there, and entered a 
house. There they set down the jugs and departed. Frog came out of a jug, 
spat out the letter, and laid it on the table. Then he hid in the corner. 
After a while, Lord Sun passed through the room where the water was. He 
looked at the table and saw the letter on it. He opened it and read it. The 
letter said: "I, son of Na Kimanaueze Kia-Tumb'a Ndala, I ask you, Lord 
Sun, about my letter that went before. You did not return me an answer 
at alL " 
Lord Sun said, "Girls, you who always go to fetch water, are you carrying 
letters?" 
The girls said, "vVe, master? No." THE 
Then doubt possessed Lord Sun. He laid the letter in the box and wrote to 
the son of Kirnanaueze, saying: "You who are sending me letters about UN I VERSE 
marrying my daughter: I agree, on condition that you in person, the man, AND ITS 
come with your first-present, so that I may know you." When he finished 
writing, he folded the letter and laid it on the table and went away. Frog BEGINNINGS 
now came out of the corner andtook the letter. He put it in his mouth and 
entered the jug. Then he remained very quiet. 
After a while, the water was emptied from the jugs, and the girls came 75 
and lifted them up. Then they went to the cord of Spider and descended to 
earth. They arrived at the well and put the jugs into the water. Frog got out 
of the jug and went to the bottom of the well. When the girls had com-
pleted the filling of the jugs, they returned to the sky. Frog then left the 
well and soon arrived in his village. H e kept very quiet. 
When evening came, he said, "Now I will take the letter." He spat it out 
and arrived at the house of the son of Kimanaueze. He knocked at the door, 
and the son of Kimanaueze asked, "\iVho is it?" 
Frog answered, "I, Mainu, the frog. " 
The son of Kimanaueze got up from his bed where he was reclining and 
said, "Come in." 
So Frog went in and delivered the letter. Then he departed. The son of 
. Kimanaueze opened the letter and read it. What Lord Sun announced pleased 
him. He said to himself: "Why, it was the truth Frog told me when he said 
'you shall see where I went.' " Then he went to sleep. 
The next morning, he took forty macutas and wrote a letter, saying: "You, 
Lord Sun and Moon, here is the first-present; I remain on earth to seek for 
the wooing-present. You up there, you tell me the amount of the wooing-
present." He finished the letter and called Frog. When he came, he gave him 
the letter and the money, saying, "Take this." 
So Frog started. Soon he arrived at the well. He went to the bottom of the 
well and remained very quiet. After a while, the girls came down and put 
the jugs in the water, and Frog entered one of them. When the girls had 
finished filling them, they took them up. Again they went up to the sky by 
means of a cobweb. Soon they arrived in the room for the water. They set 
down the jugS and went away. 
Then Frog got out of the jug and put the letter on the table, together with 
the money. Then he hid in the corner. Some time later, Lord Sun came into 
the room and found the letter on the table. He took it with the money and 
read the letter. Then he told his wife the news that had come from the pro-
spective son-in-law. His wife assented. 
Lord Sun said, "Who is coming with these letters? I do not know. How 
shall his food be cooked?" 
His wife, however, answered, "No matter, we shall cook it anyhow and 
put it on the table where the letters have been found." 
Lord Sun replied, "Very well." 
So they killed a mother hen and cooked it. When evening came, they 
NATIVE cooked mush. They set these eatables on the table and shut the door. Frog 
AFRICAN came to the table and ate the victuals. Then he went to the corner and kept 
quiet. 
FOLKTALES Lord Sun now wrote another letter, saying: "You, son-in-law of mine, the 
first-present, which you have sent me, I have received. For the amount of the 
wooing-present, you shall give me a sack of money." When he had finished 
the letter, he laid it on the table and left the room. Then Frog came out of 
the corner and [Ook the letter. Shortly afterward, he entered the jug and 
went to sleep. . 
In the morning the girls took the jugs and went down to the earth. They 
arrived at the well and put the jugs into the water. Frog then got out of the 
jug. When the girls had finished filling the jugs, they again went up ro the 
sky. 
Frog now got out of the water and soon arrived at his village. He entered 
his own house but waited quietly until sundown. When evening had come, 
he said, "Now I will take the letter. " He starred out and soon arrived at the 
house of the son of Kimanaueze. He knocked at the door and the son of 
Kimanaueze asked, "Who is it?" 
Then Frog answered, " I, Mainu, the frog." 
"Come in," he replied. 
Frog went in; he gave him the letter and departed. The son of Kimanaueze 
opened the lerrer, read it, and then put it aside. 
Six days passed; then he was ready with the sack of money. He called 
Frog, and when Frog had come, the son of Kimanaueze wrote the following 
letter: "You, my parents-in-law, the wooing-present is enclosed. Soon I my-
self, I shall find a day to bring my wife home." He gave the letter ro Frog, 
together with the money. 
Frog then started and soon arrived at the well. Again he went in under 
the water and hid. After a while, the water carriers came down and arrived 
at the well. They put the jugs, as usual, in the water; Frog, as usual, entered 
a jug. When they had finished filling the jugs, they rook them up, going up 
by means of Spider's cobweb. Soon they arrived in the sky. There they 
set down the jugs in the regular room and departed. Frog then got out of 
the jug and laid the letter down on the table, together with the money. Then 
he went into a corner and hid. 
Soon Lord Sun came inro the room and found the letter and the money. 
He took both and showed the money ro his wife, Lady Moon. 
Lady Moon thereupon said, " It is good." 
T hen they took a young hog and killed it. 'When they had cooked the 
food , they set it down on the table and shut the door. Frog came in then and 
ate it. vVhen he had finished, he entered the jug and went to sleep. 
The next morning the \vater carriers took the jugs and again went down 
to earth . Theysoon arrived at the well and dipped the jugs in the water. THE 
Frog then got out of the jug and hid. vVhen they had finished fi lling the 
jugs, they again returned to the sky. Then Frog left the well and soon ar- UNIVERSE 
rived at his village. H e entered his house and went to sleep. AN D ITS 
The next morning, he said to the son of !Zimanaueze, "Y cung master, I 
gave them the wooing"pr~ent, .and they accepted it. They cooked me a BEGINNINGS 
young hog, and I ate it~ Now, you, yourself, shall choose the day to fetch 
the bride home." 
The son of Kimanaueze said, "Very well." Then twelve days elapsed. 77 
Now the son of Kimanaueze spoke to Frog: " I need people to fetch the 
bride for me, but I cannot find them. All those to whom I speak say, 'We 
cannot go to the sky.' Now, what shall I do, Frog?" 
Frog said, "My young master, be at ease; I shall find a way to go and bring 
her home for you." 
But the son of Kimanaueze said, "You cannot do that. You could indeed 
carry the letters, but bring the bride home-that you are unable to do." 
But Frog again said, "Young master, be at ease; be not troub led for 
naught. I indeed will be able to go and bring her home. Do not despise 
me." 
T he son of Kimanaueze said, "Well, I will try you." 
Then he tOok ,some victuals and gave them to Frog. 
Frog thereupon started. Soon he arrived at the well. Again he got into the 
well and hid. After a while, the water carriers came down and arrived at the 
well. They dipped the jugs in the water. Frog entered one of them. \;Vhen 
they had filled them, they went back. Arriving at the proper room, they set 
down the jugs and departed. Then Frog gOt out of the jug and hid in a 
corner. \Nhen the sun had set and it was evening, Frog left the room of the 
water jugs and went to seek the room where the daughter of Lord Sun slept. 
He found it and saw her asleep there. First, he took out one of her eyes and, 
then, the other. These he tied up in a handkerchief and went back to the 
room where the jugs were. H e hid in a corner and slept. 
In the morning, all the people got up, but not the daughter of Lord Sun. 
So they asked her, "Why do you not get up'" 
And she answered, "!Vly eyes are closed; I cannot see." 
H er father and mother said, "~'hat may be the cause of this? Yesterday 
she did not complain." 
So Lord Sun called for two messengers and said to them, "Go to Ngombo 
to divine about my child who is sick, whose eyes are sick." 
They started immediately and soon arrived at the Ngombo-man's. They 
gave him presents and Ngombo tOok out his paraphernalia. Now the people 
who came did not let him know anything about the diseas~; they simply 
said, "We have come to be divined." 
Ngombo looked into his paraphernalia and said, "Disease has brought you. 
The one who is sick is a woman. The sickness that ails her concerns her eyes. 
You have come, lDeing sent; you have not come of your own will. I have 
spoken." 
NATIVE The people said, "True. Now tell us what caused the ailment." 
AFRICAN Ngombo looked again, and said, "She, the woman who is sick, is not yet 
married. She is only chosen. Her master, who bespake her, has sent a spell, 
FOLKTALES saying, 'My wife, let her come; if she does not come, she shall die.' You, who 
came to divine, go, bring her to her husband, that she may escape death. I 
have spoken." 
The messengers agreed and got up. They went to Lord Sun and reponed 
to him the words of Ngombo. 
Lord Sun said, "All right. Let us sleep. Tomorrow they shall take her 
down to the earth." 
Frog, being in his corner, heard all that they were saying. Then all slept. 
The next morning, Frog got into the jug. Again the water carriers came. 
Again they took up the jugs. Then they descended to the earth and soon 
arrived at the well. They put the jugs in the water, and Frog came out of one 
of them. He hid under the well . When the jugs were filled, the water carriers 
went up to the sky. 
Then Lord Sun told Spider, "Weave a large cobweb, down to earth, for 
this is the day when my daughter will be taken down to the earth." Spider 
wove and finished the web. Thus time passed. 
Frog now got out of the well and went to his village. He found the son 
of Kimanaueze and said to him, "0 young master' Thy bride, today she 
comes." 
The son of Kimanaueze said, "Begone, man, you are a liar." 
Frog answered, "Master, this is the truth itself. This evening 1 will bring 
her to you." 
Frog then returned to the well and gaL into the water and was silent. 
Now the sun had set, and the daughter of Lord Sun was taken down to 
the earth. They left her at the well and then went back. 
Frog now got out of the well and spoke to the young woman, saying, "I 
myself will be your guide. Let us go immediately so that I can bring you to 
your master." Then Frog returned her eyes to her and they started. Soon 
they entered the house of the son of Kimanaueze. Frog exclaimed: 
"0 young master' Your bride is here." 
The son of Kimanaueze said, "vVelcome, Mainu, the frog." 
And so the son of Kimanaueze married the daughter of Lord Sun and 
Lady Moon, and they lived on. 
[AMDUNDU ] 
IS 
The BlueJay Who Married the Daughter of God 
TO NG AGO Blue-Jay had a wife but after a time he went to God; he went 
L to seek the Daughter of God also as his wife. God replied, "Since you 
ask for her, you must not take her to the earth, you must stay just here in 
the sky. Because, if you take her to the earth, she may not eat meat of zebra 
or gnu ~r kudu; of any large animal she may not eat. If you desire to carry 
her to earth, let her eat only of smaller animals." Blue-Jay answered, "It is 
well, Chief." 
So Blue-Jay was allowed to bring the Daughter of God to eanh. Upon his 
arrival on earth he told these things to his earthly wife, saying, " I was told 
by God that his child may not eat of zebra or gnu or kudu ; she may not eat 
of any large animal." These things he told his wife and mother; when they 
heard them, his mother said, " It is well, my child ." Nevertheless, his first wife 
was terribly jealous. 
One day Blue-Jay went off hunting. He went and killed a zebra and a 
young duiker. vVhen he returned to his first wife, he ordered her, saying, 
"You must on no account give my wife the meat of the zebra. Let her eat 
only of the young duiker." His wife replied, " It is well." 
Another day while Blue-Jay was out walking, the old wife deceived her 
fellow, the Daughter of God, giving her zebra meat and saying, "Eat, it is 
young duiker." But she was simply deceiving her. As soon as the Daughter 
of God ate it, she died. Then Blue-Jay returned; on his arrival he asked, "My 
wife! What has she died of?" T he old wife replied, " I don't know." 
Nevenheless God had seen her from the sky. Said he, " It is that one yonder 
who killed my child ." 
Thereupon Blue-Jay returned to the sky; on arrival he went to tell the 
news, saying, ('My wife is dead, Chief." God answered, saying, ((You forgot 
the orders I gave you that my child must not eat of zebra or gnu or kudu; 
nevertheless, tnere on eanh she was given some. She ate and died." Then 
Blue-Jay replied, " It may be so, Chief." God answered, "Return." 
, ;Vhen thirty days had passed, God gathered together a small cloud. Then 
he opened wide his mouth and thundered. After a time he descended and 
swept open the grave in which his child was buried; he took her out and car-
ried her to the sky. Nevertheless, Blue-Jay did not survive; he took him away 
79 
also. When he arrived midway he thrust him down to earth; but he never 
anived: only some small bones reached the ground. He died just there 
midway. To this very day this is what Blue-Jay does: when he flies he goes 
up into the air with a loud cry; on the point of descending he dies. 
[BAlLA 1 
19 
Mantis Creates an Eland 
M AN T I S 0 NeE 0 I 0 as follows: K wammang-a had taken off a part of his shoe and thrown it away, and Mantis picked it up and went and 
soaked it in the water, at a place where some reeds grew. Mantis went away, 
then he came back again, went up to the water, and looked. He turned away 
again, for he saw that the Eland was still small. 
Again he came, and found the Eland's spoor where it had come our of the 
water to graze. T hen Mantis went up to the water, while E land went seeking 
the grass which it eats. He waited, sitting by the water; he was upon the 
water's bank, opposite Eland's assegai, and soon Eland came to drink there. 
He saw Eland as it came to drink. He said, uKw arnmang-a's shoe's piece!" 
And young Eland walked up as when its father trilled w him. Mantis called, 
making his tongue quiver, as Bushmen still do in springbok hunting. 
Then !vIa ntis went to find some honey; he went to Cut some honey. He 
came back and put the bag of honey down near the water and returned 
home. Then, before the sun was up, he came back to pick up the bag. He 
approached while Eland was in the reeds. H e called to it, "Kw ammang-a's 
shoe's piece! " And Eland got up from the reeds and walked up to its father. 
Mantis put down the bag of honey. He took our the honeycomb and laid 
it down. H e kept picking up pieces of it, he kept rubbing it on Eland 's ribs 
while he splashed them, making them very nice. 
Then he went away and took the bag to seek for more honey to cut. vVhen 
he came back he again laid the bag of honey down near the water and re-
turned home. Once more he returned and picked up the bag, once more he 
went to the place and called Eland out of the water, saying, "Kwammang-a's 
shoe's piece." 
T hen Eland stood shyly in the water and walked up to its father, for he 
had grown. His father wept, fondling him. He again rubbed Eland's ribs 
making nice ";'ith honeycomb. Then he went away, while Eland walked back 
into the \vater, went to bask in the water. 
Mantis did not come back for a time, and for three nights Eland grew, 
becoming like an ox. Then Mantis went out early. The sun rose, as he walked 
up to the water. He called Eland, and Eland rose up and came forth, and the 
ground resounded as it came. And Mantis sang for joy about Eland; he sang: 
81 
"Ab, a person is beret 
Kwammang-a's sboe's piece! 
My eldest son's shoe's piece! 
Kwam",ang-a's sboe's piece! 
My eldest son's shoe's piece!" 
NATIVE Meanwhile he rubbed Eland down nicely, rubbed down the male Eland. 
AFRICAN Then he went away and returned home. 
The next morning he called young Ichneumon, saying that young Ichneu-
FOLKTALES mon should go with him and that they would be only two. Thus he deceived 
young Ichneumon. And they went out and reached the water while Eland 
was grazing. They sat down in the shade of the bush by which Eland's assegai 
stood, where he kept coming to take it. 
Mantis spoke: "Young Ichneumon, go to sleep'" for he meant to deceive 
him. So young Ichneumon -lay down, as Eland came to drink, because the 
sun stood at noon and was getting hot. Meanwhile young Ichneumon had 
covered up his head, because Mantis wished him to do so. But young Ich-
neumon did not sleep; he lay awake. 
Then Eland walked away, and young Ichneumon said, "Hi, stand! H~ 
stand, stand!)) 
And Mantis said, "What does my brother think he has seen yonder?" 
And young Ichneumon said, "A person is yonder, standing yonder." 
And Mantis said, "You think it is magic; but it is a very small thing, it is a 
bit of father's shoe, which he dropped. Magic it is not." And they went home. 
Then young Ichneumon told his father Kwammang-a about it. And 
Kwammang-a said that young Ichneumon must guide him and show him 
Eland; he would see whether Eland was so very handsome after Mantis had 
rubbed it down. Then young Ichneumon guided his father, while Mantis was 
at another place, for he meant to go to the water later on. Meanwhile they 
went up to Eland at the water, and K wammang-a looked at it and he 
knocked it down while Mantis was not there. He knocked Eland down and 
was cutting it up before Mantis came. So when Mantis arrived, he saw 
K wammang-a and the others standing there cutting up his Eland. 
And Mantis said, "Why could you not first let me come?" And he wept 
for Eland; he scolded K wammang-a's people, because K wammang-a had not 
let him come first, and let him be the one to tell them to kill E land. 
And Kwammang-a said, "Tell Grandfather to leave off. He must come 
and gather wood for us, that we may eat, for this is meat." 
When Mantis came, he said he had wanted K wammang-a to let him come 
while Eland was still alive, and not to have killed it when he was not looking. 
They might have waited to kill Eland until he was looking on. Then he him-
self would have told them to kill it. T hen his heart would have been com-
fortable. Now his heart did not feel satisfied about Eland whom he alone had 
made. 
Then, as he went to gather wood, he caught sight of a gall there; it was 
Eland's gall. And he said to himself that he would pierce the gall open and 
that he would jump upon it. And the gall spoke: " I will burst, covering you 
over." 
Just then young Ichneumon said, ""Vhat are you looking at there, that 
THE 
you do not gather wood at that place?" 
So Mantis left the gall, brought wood, and put it down. Then he again UNIVERSE 
looked for wood at the place where the gall had been. He went up to the AND ITS 
gall and again said he would pierce the gall open and that he would jump 
upon it. T he gall again s~d it wou~d burst, covering him all over. He said he BEGINNING S 
would jump, and that tlie gall must burst when he trod on it and as he 
jumped. 
Young Ichneumon scolded him again and asked, "What can be yonder, 
that you keep going to that place? You do not gather wood, you just keep 
going to that bush. You are going to play tricks and not gather wood." 
And Kwammang-a said, "You must make haste and let us go when you 
have called Grandfather, for the gall lies there; Grandfather has seen it. So 
you must make haste. When Grandfather behaves like this about anything, 
he is not acting honourably; he is playing tricks with this thing. So you mUSt 
manage that we start, when you have called Grandfather, that we may leave 
the place where the gall is." 
Then they packed the meat into the net, while MantiS' untied his shoe and 
put the shoe into the bag. It was an arrow-bag which he had slung on next 
the quiver. And so they carried the things and went along homeward. On 
the way Mantis said, "This shoestring has broken." 
Then young Ichneumon said, "You must have put the shoe away." 
And Mantis said, "No, no, the shoe must really be lying there where we 
cut up Elan·d. So I must rurn back and go fetch the shoe." 
But young Ichneumon said, "You must have put the shoe in the bag. You 
must feel inside the bag, feel in the middle of it and see whether you cannot 
find the shoe." 
So Mantis felt in the bag, but he kept feeling above the shoe. He said, "See, 
the shoe is really not in it. I must go back and pick it up, for the shoe is truly 
yonder." 
But young Ichneumon replied, "~Te must go home, we really must go 
home." 
Then Mantis said, "You can go home, but I must really go and get the 
shoe." 
Thereupon Kwammang-a said, "Let Grandfather be' Let him rum back 
and do as he ,",vants.}) 
And young Ichneumon said, "0 you person! I do wish Mantis would for 
once listen when we speak." 
Mantis only said, "You always go on like this' I must really go and get the 
shoe." 
Then Mantis turned back. He ran up to the gall, reached it, pierced it, and 
made the gall Durst. And the gall broke, covering his head; his eyes became 
big and he could not see. He groped about, feeling his way. And he went 
groping along, groping along, groping, until he found an ostrich feather. 
This he picked up, sucked it, and brushed off the gall from his eyes with it. 
Then he threw the feather up and spoke: "You must now lie up in the 
NATIVE sky; you must henceforth be the moon. You shall shine at night. By your 
AFRICAN shining you shall lighten the darkness for men, until the sun rises to light up 
all things for men. It is the sun under whom men hunt. You must just glow 
FOLKTALES for men, while the sun shines for men. Under hin1 men walk about; they go 
hunting; they return home. But you are the moon; you give light for men, 
then you fall away, but you return to life after you have fallen away. Thus 
you give light to all people." 
That is what the moon goes: the moon falls away and returns to life, and 
he lights up all the flat places of the world. 
[BUSHMEN 1 
20 
Why -the Chief of the Smiths Was Unable 
to Create Human Beings 
A VERY LONG T I ME AGO there was a king who called Walukaga, chief of rhe smiths, and gave him a great quantity of iron and said, "I 
want you to make a real man for me, one who can walk and talk, and who 
has blood in his body, and who has brains." 
Walukaga took the iron and went home, bur he was at a loss what to do, 
and no one could advise him how to set about making the real man. He went 
about among his friends telling them what the king had said, and asked what 
he had better do. a one was able to give him any advice. They all knew 
that the king would not accept anything short of an honest trial, and would 
punish the man for not carrying out his commands. 
On the way home one day vYalukaga met a former friend who had gone 
mad, and who lived alone on some wasteland. Walukaga did not know that 
he was mad until he met him. vYhen they approached each other, Walukaga 
greeted his old friend, and the madman asked him where he had come from. 
vYalukaga reasoned for a moment and then said to himself, "Why should I 
not tell him my story? Even though he is mad, he used to be my friend." So 
he answered, "I have come from some friends where I have been trying to 
get advice." 
T he madman asked what advice he wanted, and vValukaga told him all 
the king had said, and abour the work he had given him to do, and how he 
had given him the iron, and then added, "What am I to do'" 
The madman answered, "If the king has told you to do this work, go to 
him and say that, if he really wishes to have a nice man forged , he is to order 
all the people to shave their heads and burn the hair until they have made 
up a thousand loads of charcoal, and he is to get one hundred large pots of 
water from th~ tears of the people with which to slake the fire and keep it 
from burning too fiercely." 
Walukaga returned to the king and said to him, "My lord, if you wish me 
to make this man quickly and well, order the people to shave their heads and 
burn their hair, and make a thousand loads of charcoal out of it for me to 
work the iron into the man. Further, make them collect a hundred pots full 
85 
of tears to act as water for the work, because the charcoal from wood and 
the ordinary water from wells are of no use for forging a man." 
The king agreed to tlce request and gave the order to all the people to shave 
their heads and burn their hair into charcoal, and to collect all the tears. 
When they had all shaved their heads and burnt their hair, there was scarcely 
one load of charcoal, and when they had collected all the tears there were not 
NATIVE two pots full of water. 
AFRICAN When the king saw the results of his endeavours, he sent for the smith 
Walukaga and said to him, "Don't trouble to make the man, because I am 
FOLKTALES unable to get the charcoal or the tears for the water." 
Walukaga knelt down and thanked the king. He then added, "My lord, it 
was because I knew you would be unable to get the hair for charcoal and 
86 the tears for the water that I asked for them; you had asked me to do an im-
possible thing." 
All the people present l;ughed and said, "Walukaga speaks the truth." 
[BAGANDAl 
21 
How Spider Read the Sky-God's Thoughts 
T H E SKY-GO D BE GA T three children, who were Esum (Darkness), Osrane (Moon), and Owia (Sun). When his three children grew up, 
the sky-god made them go to separate villages. The first one built his vil-
lage, the second one also built his village, and the third one, he, too, built his 
village. And there they lived. 
Now their father loved Sun most. And while the sky-god was reigning 
there, he blackened a stool and said to his attendants, "Who knows what 
my thoughts are?" Ananse, the spider, said, "As for me, I know them." At 
the time when he said, "As for me, I know them," the sky-god made all the 
attendants rise up. There and then the spider also rose up, saying he was 
going to the villages of the sky-gad's children. 
When Ananse reached the path, he said to himself, "I do not know his 
thoughts and yet I said, 'I know them.' " And he plucked some feathers out 
of every bird, stuck them on himself and flew off, alighting on a gyedua 
Iree in the sky-gad's village. And when the people saw the bird, they all 
made a great commotion which sounded like "Ye-e-e-e!" And the sky-god 
came our of the house and came under the gyedua tree and said, "Were 
Ananse here, he would have known the name of this bird. I had decided that 
Owia, Sun, is the one I wanted to make a chief, so I asked who knew what 
was in my head and Ananse said that he did. Now I have gone and pulled 
up the yam known as 'Kintinkyi, ' and he \vho kno\vs its name and utters it, 
to him I shall give it, my blackened stool. That is why Ananse has gone off 
to bring my children. Had he been here, he would have known the name of 
this bird." 
Then the bird flew off, and Ananse pulled out the feathers and threw them 
away, and set our till he reached the village of Night. To Night he said, 
"Your father said that you must come with me." And Night replied, " It is 
well, I and you will go." Then Ananse said, "I am going on to fetch Moon 
and Sun." Bur Night said to him, "Let me first seek for something to give 
you to ear." Spider replied, "Ha ' " Night thereupon went out and brought 
some roasted corn and gave it to Ananse. vVhen he had finished chewing it, 
he set our for Moon's village. When he reached it, he said, "Your father says 
you must come along with me." And Moon replied, "It is well, I shall go." 
87 
Then Ananse said, "I shall go on to Sun's village in order to bring him." But 
Moon said, "Let me first get you something to eat." And Ananse replied, 
"Ho!" So Moon mashed up some yam for him to eat. Then Spider set out 
for Sun's village. When he reached Sun's village, he said to him, "Your 
father says you must come along with me." And Sun said, "It is well, I and 
you shall go, but let me get you something to eat first." Ananse replied, 
NATIVE "Ha'" So Sun went and caught a sheep. When he came back, he said to 
AFRICAN Ananse, " I would have wished, had my father come here, that he should 
have seen what I was doing; if it were good, or if it were bad, in either case 
FOLKTALES he would have seen. Since, however, he has not come and you have come, it 
is as if father had come. Therefore here is this, my sheep, that I shall kill so 
you may eat." 
88 And he killed the sheep and prepared it beautifully for Spider to eat. After 
the meal Ananse said, "Let us go on a fallen tree." When they got there, 
Ananse said to Sun, "Your fither has blackened a stool at his home. He wishes 
you to succeed to that stool, so he has pulled up a yam and if you know its 
name, he will take the stool and give it to you. Now this yam is called 
'Kintinkyi.' And in order that you may not forget its name, I shall cut a 
short drum for you, and make a mpimini drum to go with it, so that when 
they beat the shorr drum and the mpintini drum then you will never forget 
this word, for the shorr drum will speak out and say: 
'Fir; bomo! 
Firi bomo!' 
Then the mpintini drum will say: 
'Kintinkyi b011"lO! 
Kintinkyi bomo!'" 
So they set off to go to rhe sky-gad 's town. First they reached Moon's 
village and took him along; then they reached Night's village and took him 
along. All the way they played the 111pintini drum. vVhen they reached the 
outskirts of the town Ananse saw a man, and he sent him off to tell the sky-
god that they were coming. Thereupon the sky-god called an assembly to-
gether, and soon Ananse and the others arrived and saluted everyone. Ananse 
now gav~ the spokesman the news, saying, "The chief's errand on which I 
was sent I have performed; I have brought them." And the sky-god said, 
"M y children, the reason I caused you to be sent for is this: I have blackened 
the stool standing there and I have also pulled up the yam over there. I shall 
now take this stool and give it to him who sees and names the yam. Because 
my eldest child is Night, let hin1 try first." Then Night said, "It is called 
'Pona.''' And all the people shoured, "Ye-e-e-e ." Again the sky-god spoke, 
"My second child is Moon, therefore let him give its name." And Moon said, 
"It is the yam called 'Asante.''' The people shouted, "Y e-e-e-e." Again the 
sky-god spoke, "My child, the third one, is Sun, therefore let him name it." 
Now, I forgot to say that the dance music was going on: 
"Kintinkyi bomo! 
Kintinkyi b011W!" 
and Ananse was-turning cart-wheels. 
TH E 
Then Sun rose up and stood there, and took hold of the yam, and he said, 
"Oh, as for this, since ever I began to walk beside my father and was very U N I VERSE 
small, he used to tell me its name, and I have not forgotten ; it is called AND IT S 
'Kintinkyi.' " And the tribe shouted applause three times, " E!-E!-E!" 
Then his father rose up and stood there and said, "You, Night, you are BEGINNINGS 
the eldest, but the words:'ivhich I to ld you you have allowed yourself to for-
get, because you did not pay attention to my words. Because of this, it is now 
decreed that wicked thing& only will be done during your time. And you, 
Moon, the words with which you and I walked and I told you, you too, did 
not follow. It is decreed therefore that only children will play during your 
reign. As for you, Sun, when r said words to you, you did not forget; you 
listened to my advice, so you are to be the chief. Should anyone have any 
matter to settle, let it be heard in your time. H ousehold cases, however, may 
be heard in the evening. 
"So take the path which r have set you and if Moon wishes to trespass 
upon it, may Kontonkurowie, the circular rainbow seen at times around the 
sun, throw itself around you, so that Moon may not be able to come and 
touch you. Again, if the rainclouds gather, the sky-gad's bow will be cast on 
the sky that your children who are under you may see when I have cast it 
so that the waters will not overflow and carry them away. 
"One more thing. These words which were formerly known as the 'Say-
ings of the Sky-God,' now since Ananse, the spider, has been able to read 
these words in my head, let them be known henceforth as 'The Sayings of 
Spider.' " 
[ ASHANTI] 
II 
The Animal and His World 
22 
- Mantis and the All-Devourer 
M ANTI S W AS SF EA KING : "Now I want you, Ichneumon, to catch some fat sheep for my father to Cut up for us and hang up to dry near 
the house. I do not feel like cutting any up, as I am still writhing with pain. 
The swelling must first disappear, then I, too, can cut them up, then I, too, 
shall hang meat to dry at my house, because I, too, want the sheep's fat to be 
dry, that the women may render it, so that we may moisten the dry meat 
which we have been crunching. For the quagga's meat was white with age 
and not tender. Now I want you to cut up the old sheep, and let the young 
ones wait a little, for we shall not finish all these sheep; they are too many. 
I, furthermore, want Porcupine to go out tomorrow, when she has cooked 
and put aside the meat which she has dried. The Man ybnder shall come and 
eat with me of these sheep, because I have counted them and I see that they 
are plentiful." 
But Porcupine said, "Do you really want me to go to the Man yonder, who 
eats bushes? He will come and swallow all the sheep, as they stand in the 
kraal. You need not think that even these bushes will be left, for we shall 
be swallowed with the sheep. A Man who devours things as he does-walks 
along eating the very bushes among which he walks!" 
Mantis replied to her, "You musr go to your other father, the All-
Devourer, that he may help me to eat up these sheep, and drink this soup. I 
have already poured away some of the soup, because I feel that my heart is 
upset. Fat has taken hold of my heart; I do not want to drink more soup. I 
want the Old Man yonder to come to drink it up. Then I can talk, for I do 
not talk now. Do you, therefore, fill the sack with cooked meat and take it. 
Then he will come; otherwise he might refuse." 
Porcupine protested again: "People do not live with that Man. He is alone. 
People cannot. hand him food , for his tongue is like fire. He burns people's 
hands with it. You need not think that we can hand food to him, for we shall 
have to dodge away to the sheep opposite. The pots will be swallowed with 
the soup in them. Those sheep will be swallowed up in the same way, for 
yonder Man always does so. He does not often travel, because he feels the 
weight of his stomach which is heavy. See, I, Porcupine, live with you, al-
though he is Il)Y real father, because I think he might devour me, and you 
93 
will not devour me. Nevertheless, I will fetch him tomorrow, that he may 
come. Then you will see him yourself with your own eyes." 
Porcupine went on the morrow, carrying cooked meat. She arrived at her 
real father's, the All-Devourer. There she stopped and set down the sack of 
meat. She said to her father, "Go! Cousin yonder invites you to come and 
help eat the sheep yonder, for his heart is troubling him. It is he who wants 
NATIVE you to come. I have told you. Now I will go on in front, for I do not walk 
AFRICAN fast." 
She shook the meat out of the bag upon the bushes. The All-Devourer 
FOLKTALES licked up the meat and the bushes with it; he just gulped down the bushes 
too. Porcupine slung on her empty bag, and went forward quickly. While 
she walked she gave directions: "You must climb up to that place from 
94 which I came; you will see the sheep standing there." She went ahead in great 
fear of the All-Devourer, an9 was the first to reach the hut. 
Mantis asked her, "Where is your father?" 
Porcupine answered him, "He is still on his way. Look at that bush stand-
ing up there, and see if a shadow comes gliding from above. Watch for the 
bush to break off, then look for the shadow; when you see that, the bushes 
up there will have disappeared, for his tongue will take away the bushes 
beforehand, while he is still approaching from behind the hill. Then his body 
will come up and when he arrives the bushes will be gone all along the way 
to us. We shall no longer be hidden. Now I want Ichneumon to eat plenty, 
for of that meat he will never eat again and when the Man yonder comes, 
the bushes will be finished and the sheep likewise be swallowed up." 
The All-Devourer followed Porcupine's spoor. As he went he ate up the 
bushes. He climbed up, finishing off the bushes, while his shadow glided up 
to Mantis's hut. The shadow fell upon Mantis. Mantis looked at the sun. He 
asked where the clouds were, for the sun seemed to be in clouds. 
Porcupine said to him, "There are no clouds there, but I want Ichneumon 
to go and hide this pot away for me, for he truly feels the shadow of the Man 
eoming yonder. It altogether shuts us in. The sun will seem to have set when 
he reaches us. His mouth sits black along there; it is not shadow, it is what 
the trees go into.}) 
T hen Mantis saw the AlI-Devourer's tongue. He asked Porcupine, "Is 
your fa ther holding fire in his hand, for a fire is waxing red yonder?" 
Porcupine answered, "It is the Man coming there, whose tongue is red. He 
is nigh, therefore you see his tongue. We will get out of the way here. We 
will not hand him anything ourselves, but put down something for him, for 
his tongue would singe our hands if we held anything out to him. Therefore 
I want Dasse to hide the other POt that she may still have soup. For now she 
herself sees the stomach, it truly extends to either side of us. We do not hear 
the wind, because he comes; the wind does not blow, for he always makes a 
shelter when he stands. Hc does not sit down, he stands; he will first eat up 
the things around him for they are still plentiful. He has put a layer of bushes 
in the bottom of his stomach and he has partly fill ed it, but he has not filled 
it up yet. Therefore he is still seeking food. He is a Man who fills himself 
to his trunk. If he looks round and finds no food, he will swallow these 
people, for they in vited him to come to food which was not sufficient to his 
hunger. 
T he All-Devourer arrived, and Mantis placed food for him. The AlI- THE 
Devourer gulped it guicldy down. Then Mantis took soup and pouted it into ANIMAL 
a bucket. The All-Devourer swallowed the bucket. A pot was still keeping AND HIS 
warm. Now Mantis took meat which had been put away in a bag, he put it 
into a bucket, and pushed the bucket toward the All-Devourer. The All- WORLD 
Devourer put out his tOffgue and licked and scorched Mantis's hands. Mantis 
pulled his arms quickly away and sprang aside, knocking against Dasse. 
Dasse said , ""Vhy does Mantis spring aside from the Man whom he in- 95 
vited to come? Porcupine told him not to give anything with his hands, but 
to put meat for the All-Devourer on the bushes." 
Mantis took meat and put it in the pot. H e said to young Manris, "0 Child, 
make a good fire for the pot. 1\1 y hands are burning and keep me sitting 
where Grandfather scorched me. You can feel his breath which is hot. H is 
tongue feels like that, too." 
Then Dasse said to him, "You ought to ladle out sheep's meat and put it 
on the bushes." But Mantis did not hear, he sat spitting on his hands to cool 
them. He ladled out another bucketful. H e again pushed the bucket to the 
All-Devourer. The All-Devouter licked his hands again. Mantis sprang aside, 
losing his balance, and tumbled into the hut. He got up, and sat licking, 
cooling his hands. H e spoke to Ichneumon: "0 Ichneumon, give me meat 
to cook, for you see it is as Porcupine told us, the buckets seem to have 
vanished." 
But Ichneumon said to Mantis, "!vI other told you that it would be like this. 
You would not listen; you invited the big cousin whom people know, whom 
no one invites, because his tongue is like fire." 
Now Mantis called to young Mantis, "Go and fetch me the meat which 
Porcupine hid, for you see this bucket of meat has been devoured. You must 
look at the stomach." 
Mantis brought two buckets and ladled out the meat. Dasse nudged him, 
and he winked at her. He slung a bucket forward with meat in it, then he 
slung another bucket forward alongside of it. The All-Devourer's tongue 
licked his ear, and he tumbled into the hut. 
Dasse spoke to him and he winked at her. She said, "0 Mantis, leave off 
winking at mer You must feed cousin, whom you invited. You must give him 
plenty to eat; Porcupine told you that she did not want to fetch him, be-
cause his tongue is always like this." 
The All-Devourer gobbled up both buckets, he licked up the meat which 
was on the bushes of the hut and devoured it, together with the bushes. 
Mantis then said to Ichneumon, "0 Ichneumon, you must cook at that 
other place, and bring the meat which is on the bushes, for the buckets here 
are all swallowed. I will give the Old Man a pot which is hot to swallow, for 
you see the bushes are all gone. I sha!l no longer sit and cook in the bushes, 
when the wind blows." 
The All-Devourer stepped backward, he licked up Kwammang-a's home 
bushes, he devoured them quickly with the meat on them. 
NATIVE Mantis spoke to Ichneumon: "0 Ichneumon, quickly bring another sheep, 
AFRICAN you must cut it up quickly, for you see that the bushes have all been swal-
lowed with a!l the meat." 
FOLKTALES The All-Devourer asked for water. Mantis lifted up a whole waterbag and 
set it before him. The All-Devourer's tongue took up the waterbag; he swal-
lowed it with the water in it. He licked up a thorn bush. 
Mantis then spoke to young Mantis: "You see, we shall not eat, for that 
thorn bush has been devow:ed, even though it has thorns." Again Mantis said 
to Ichneumon, "0 Ichneumon, fetch that water there which is in the water-
bag, for you see the other waterbag has been swallowed. Grandfather turns 
his head seeking for more water. He himself has devoured all the other things, 
he still seems likely to gobble up our beds. I shall truly sit upon the ground, 
if Grandfather eats up all the things in my hut." 
The All-Devourer licked up Porcupine's things; he swallowed them 
quickly. Then Mantis said to his son, young Mantis, "See, sister's things there 
have been devoured; sister sits there on a bare place. All the sheep will soon 
be devoured." 
The All-Devourer looked toward the sheep, his tongue took up all the 
sheep, he swallowed them quickly, while they were still alive. 
Mantis exclaimed, "Have not the sheep been quickly swallowed, even be-
fore I had cut them up as I meant to do? Alas, the bushes have vanished, swal-
lowed Upl We are sitting on a bare place. Alas I Now I lack my things which 
I brought, that I might possess them." 
Porcupine winked at Ichneumon. "0 Ichneumon, I tell you, your younger 
brother must spring away. Father will be swallowed, if he goes on acting 
bravely like this; and Grandfather Mantis, the one who is talking, he will 
certainly be swallowed." 
The All-Devourer called out his name, He-~rho-Is-a-Devourer-of-Things, 
whom Mantis had called to come to him. He said to Mantis, "0 Mantis, 
bring out the things to which you invited me, the rea! things which I, a de-
vourer of things, should eat." He advanced and burned Mantis with his 
tongue. 
But Mantis said, "I who am Mantis who invited Y ou-vVho-Devour-Things 
to my home. You came and finished off my things. You should not ask, seek-
ing the real food to which I invited you, for those sheep which you have 
devoured were the food. There is no other food ." 
Thereupon the All-Devourer quickly devoured Mantis and Mantis was 
quiet. Young Mantis sprang away and took up the bow. The All-Devourer 
looked toward Kwammang-a. Young Kwammang-a sprang aside and ran 
away. Mantis was quite silent, because he was in the stomach of the All-
Devourer. The AU-Devourer stood opposite Kwammang-a and said that he 
was really going to swallow his daughter Porcupine's husband, even though 
he was handsome, yet he would swallow him, for he felt inclined to do so. THE 
H e advanced and quickly swallowed his daughter's husband with the bed on AN I MAL 
which he was sitting. All-Devourer's stomach now hung almost down to the 
AN D HI S 
earth. 
Porcupine wept; she ~toocj sighing. The children came from afar. Then WORLD 
Porcupine asked young iVIantis, "Are you a fierce man?" He was silent. She 
asked him, "Are you angry?" Young Mantis was silent, because he felt angry. 
She also questioned her son, young K wammang-a. She turned as she sat, 97 
heated a spear, and asked her son, "Are you angry? You must remember 
that Grandfather's tongue resembles fire. I do not want you to flinch, if your 
heart is like father's heart. " Young Kwammang-a sat still; they agreed to cut 
his grandfather open. 
She took the spear out of the fire and drew it, burning hot, along her 
younger brother's temple. The fire burnt his ear; he sat still. She reheated 
the spear, it became red hot. She put the spear burning hot into her younger 
brother's nose. Tears slowly gathered and stood in his eyes. She said to him, 
"A mild person is this, whose tears slowly gather." 
She reheated the spear and laid it, burning hot, on her son's ear-root. H er 
son sat still. She heated the spear again, and said to her son, "Grandfather's 
tongue is like this; I don't want you to flinch from him, if your heart is like 
your father's heart." She took out the spear when it was red, and put it into 
her son's nose. Then she looked at his eyes. They were dry. She said to her-
self, "Yes, a fierce man is this; that one is a mild man. This one is fierce; he 
resembles his father. That other one is mild ; he resembles his father Mantis. 
H e is a runaway." She said to her son, "Remember, Grandfather's tongue is 
like this. You must sit firmly when you go to Grandfather." 
The children went in wrath to their Grandfather; they approached him as 
he lay in the sun. H e arose, stood up, and waited. Young Kwammang-a said 
to the other, "Mother wished me to sit on one side of Grandfather, and you 
to sit on his other side. Because you cut with the left hand like your father, 
you must sit with your left arm, in which you hold the spear, outward. I will 
sit opposite on this side, so that I may have my right arm, in which I hold the 
spear, outside. ' ~ 
The All-Devourer scorched young Mantis's temple with his tongue. He 
walked forward, he scorched with his tongue the ear-root of his grandson, 
young Kwammang-a. He said that this little child really seemed very angry. 
H e walked forward, and scorched the root of young Mantis's ear with his 
tongue. Young Mantis sat still. All-Devourer went forward, and scorched 
young Mantis's other ear with his tongue. Young Kwammang-a looked hard 
at the other and signed to him to hold his spear fast, and he held his own 
well. The other also held his spear well, because be had said beforehand, 
"You must cut one side, while I cut the other side. Then we must run away, 
while the people pour out." 
He sprang forward and cut the All-Devourer; and the other cut him too. 
NATIVE Then they ran away, while their fathers poured forth. The sheep also poured 
AFRICAN forth, the buckets poured forth; his father sat on his bed; the pots poured 
forth; all the things poured down. His grandfather doubled up and died. 
FOLKTALES Then the children said, "0 bushes, we have cut you out. You shall truly 
become bushes; you shall again grow in your place; you shall be what you 
were before. The place shall be right again and these sheep shall wander over 
it. They shall graze over it, and again rerum to the kraal, which shall be as it 
was before. For that Man who now lies here, who ate up the bushes, shall 
utterly perish and disappear, so that the people may get dry bushes and be 
able to warm themselves." Thus young Maotis spoke. He felt that he truly 
resembled his father, that his speech resembled his father's speech. And it all 
came true. 
Now Dasse gave Mantis water but said to him, "0 Mantis, you must drink 
only a little I" 
Mantis replied, " I am dying of thirst, I must drink up the eggshellful." He 
gulped all the water down and sank to the ground. K wammang-a waited. 
Porcupine said to Dasse, "Take that long stick lying there; you must beat 
your husband on the shinbone with it until he gets up, you must hold his face 
fast and rub it." So Dasse took up the long stick and hit Mantis on the shin. 
He started up quickly and sat shivering. 
Dasse reproved him: "I told you to drink only a little, because you would 
be like this, if you gulped down all the water; but you would drink nearly 
all, thus killing yourself, so that you fell down." 
Now Porcupine gave Kwammang-a some water and said to him, "0 
Kwammang-a l You must drink only a little. You must put the water down 
soon- when you have just wet your mouth. You must sit down then and 
wash yourself a little, for you have just come out of the stomach in which 
you were. Then presently you can drink plentifully, when you feel that your 
body is .warm." 
K wanunang-a drank a little, he put down the water quickly, and did not 
gulp it all down. He washed himself, drank again, and then he drank plenti-
fully. 
His wife cooked the meat for him which she had kept hidden away. She 
had told ichneumon to hide some for her, so that they could eat it after the 
children had dealt with the Man who was devouring them, and he lay dead. 
"We must eat here, for he lies yonder, where the children have slain him. 
Then we will travel away, leaving him lying outside the hut. We will move 
away and seek a new home, because the Man lies in front of this home. ' Ne 
will live in a different hut wh ich we will make our home." 
Then they travelled away to a new home, and left the hut at w hich the 
Man who had devoured the people was lying. In this new home they always 
lived in peace. 
[BUSHMEN 1 
23 
The Fox and the Wolf 
O NCE UPON A TIME there was a wolf and a fox. The wolf was the master and the fox the servant. 
One day both were grazing their flock in the pasture and, as they were 
thus grazing, the wolf arid the fox wandered off into the plains to dig up 
some wild onions. The sheep scattered in pasturing and then lay down. Wolf 
and Fox were in the plains eating wild onions; in this way they lost sight of 
the sheep. After a while, the wolf said to the fox, "Companion, go and bring 
back the sheep'" 
The fox found the wild onions very much to his taste, but he got up and 
bound two sheep together, a ram and a ewe, and then returned. Again the 
wolf and the fox wandered over the plain to dig up wild onions. After a 
while the wolf again said to the fox, "Go and bring back the sheep once 
more!)) 
The fox, however, said, "Companion, look, the sheep are pasturing 
quietly." Thereupon the wolf himself got up and looked after the sheep, 
and there he found the rwo sheep which had been bound to the tree by the 
fox, a male one and a female one. He grew very angry when he saw what 
roguish triCK the fox had played on him, and when he returned he asked the 
fox, "Rascal, where are the other sheep?" and he broke off some branches 
and struck the fox hard. The fox, thereupon, went to look for the sheep, but, 
as he was crying, he held his arms up to his head. 
Then he looked into the distance and saw rwo cattle, a white one and a 
black one, and said, "Those cattle there are mine." And the wolf questioned 
him, saying, " ' Nhere are they?" And the fox said, "Was it not you who just 
beat me so severely?" And the wolf said, "'Neli, come and beat me now!" 
Thereupon the fox looked around for branchtlS from a thorny bush, braided 
them together, and said to the wolf, "Lie down' " 
Then he beat him hard, and the wolf's blood began to trickle down. And 
the wolf said, "By the blood of my mother! Did I beat you that hard?" So 
the fox said, "Come, just look at my back; it is ali torn up." So the wolf said, 
"Go ahead then, beat me!" When he stopped beating him, he looked our into 
the distance and saw the two cattle. And the fox said, "The black one is 
mine." Then they raced toward the two cattle. The wolf seized the white 
100 
one and the fox seized the- black ooe. The wolf pierced his cow first, the fox 
pierced his last. The fox's cow showed fat in the wound, and the wolf's noth-
ing but foam. Then the wolf grew angry and said, "The cow that you have 
given me is emaciated." And the fox said, "All right then; take mine." Then 
both pierced their-cows again, the wolf that belonging to the fox, and the 
fox that belonging THE to the wolf. And when the wolf pierced the cow, foam 
once more appeared in the wound, whereas the wound that the fox made ANIMAL 
showed fat. So the wolf said, "Let us slaughter them together so that we may 
AND HIS 
eat in common." 
As they were slaughtering them, the wolf said to the fox, "Now that we WORLD 
have slaughtered a thingE lf thiskind, why, in truth, are we eating? Let us 
therefore kill our mothers, so that we can grieve for them." Thereupon the 
fox said, "Yes," merely out of roguishness. So they went and came to their 101 
village and stowed away the meat. Shortly after they arrived, the wolf led 
his mother into the field and killed her. But the fox led his mother away and 
seated her in a cave by the road to the spring and then returned. Thereupon 
they fetched the meat. The wolf sent the fox out and said, "Get out the 
cooking-pot and go fetch some water." So the fox took the vessel and went. 
On the road he rubbed some meat around his mouth and then went into 
the cave where his mother was and said, "Mother' ," calling her. And the 
mother said, "Vooo/," answering him. Then he gave her the meat and went 
to dra\v "vater. 
Upon his return he went to the village of the wolf, and the wolf was full 
of grief because he had really killed his mother. But the fox was joyful, be-
cause he had not really killed his mother. And so they put the meat on to 
cook. Then the wolf said, "Fox, go fetch me some water. Take some meat 
and go; you can eat on your way." And since his mother was hidden near 
the road, he eagerly hurried on. 
One day the wolf said, "T oday I shall go to fetch water." The fox said, 
" I beg you, I have an aunt there, and ~he road is bad, let me fetch water." 
But the wolf said, " It is my turn to go and fetch water." The fox was dis-
turbed because the wolf would not yield. Now the wolf took the waterpail 
and went and fetched water, and he had nOt taken any meat along. On his 
way he came close to the cave, and the fox's mother called, saying, "Fox, my 
child, have you abandoned me?" So the wolf stayed still and listened to de-
termine where the voice came from. 
Then the fox's mother called again, saying, "My child, have you aban-
doned me?" So the wolf realized that the fox had deceived him and had not 
killed his mother. Then he went to the cave and stabbed the mother with the 
spear and laid her down in the opening. Then he went to fetch water and 
came back to the village. 
The next morning the wolf sent the fox, saying, "Go, fetch me some 
water." Thereupon the fox took some meat and his pail and started out. 
When he came close to the cave, he called and looked in, thinking she was 
asleep. And he said, "Mother, mother!" Then he touched her foot. "The 
poor creature is not sleeping, she only sleeps on one eye, the other is open." 
But the mother did not stir, so he gOt an ant and placed it on her eye, so that 
it could bite her and wake her up. But she did not wake up; no, she was dead. 
Then he went into the cave and looked around. And then he saw the wound; 
and he sat down and cried very hard. 
NATIVE Thereupon he fetched some water and went home and did not want to 
AFRICAN return to the water any more. The wolf noticed that the fox had become 
angry. In the evening, when they set the meat to cook and sat by th~ fire to 
FOLKTALES warm themselves, the fox was crying very hard. TheFeupon the wolf ques-
tioned him, saying, "What are you crying about?" And the fox said, "I am 
bleary-eyed, that is all, perhaps it is the smoke." And the other said, "Get up, 
102 come here to my side where there is no smoke." Yet, when he had taken his 
seat there, he continued crying. Then the wolf said, "Yonder is your aunt, 
your mother, whom I have killed and for whom you are weeping. Is that not 
so? Now I am bewailing both my mother and your mother, my friend." 
The next day dawned. The wolf went to graze his flock, but the fox stayed 
in the village. The wolf said to him, "Stay here and cook me a good meal!" 
Thus it was. The wolf went to graze his flock, and the fox stayed in the 
village and put meat in the pot to cook. As the meat was cooking, the fox 
took all of it out, scooped up the fat , gathered together some dung of dogs, 
cattle, and human beings and some pieces of leather for the pot and departed. 
When the wolf came back in the evening from driving his flock, he found 
that the fox had disappeared. Under the fur blanket the fox had placed an 
insect and told it, " If the wolf calls, answer'" And the wolf came in and 
called saying, "There is the aunt." Thereupon the insect said "Uooo!" and 
the wolf was very pleased and said, "There is that aunt of yours; just put her 
in, she is boiling." He was very pleased. 
He stepped up 1:0 the pot aud took a stick and stirred with it, saying, "The 
fox has played a roguish trick again, he has eaten all the meat, the fat as well 
and then he has disappeared." Then he grew very wroth and took the fur 
and beat it thinking that the fox was inside. But the fox had gone long ago. 
He was far away. This the wolf discovered, so he pursued him and stayed on 
the spoor, till he found him on a rock. At this he was very well pleased, for 
now he would be able to kill him. He tried to climb up. He climbed part way 
but then slid back. Then he climbed again but again slid back and said, "Fox, 
how did you climb up?" But the fox had smeared the rock with tallow, and 
he said, "Yonder is the aunt; take this pebble, and I shall tell you where I 
climbed up. Take it and let me see'" Then he continued: "Do show me your 
teeth that I can see whether they are good or bad, whether they are filed out 
or whether they are not filed out yet. " So the wolf opened his mouth and the 
fox threw the rock into the wolf's mouth and broke all his teeth. 
Then the fox ran away. The wolf cried Out but did not turn back; indeed, 
he did not. He continued his pursuit of him. Now the fox was at a woman's 
house in the vi llage, so when the wolf arrived, he said, "Grab that fox." He 
went closer and closer and shouted, "Do not let him get away!" But the fox 
said, "People, you hear what he is saying: 'Let him get away!' " So the people 
,vent away. 
Thereupon the wolf went to the lion and said, "H ave pity on me and do 
THE 
seize that fox; do not let him get away! " And the fox said again, "Do you 
hear? There he says it again: 'Let him get away! '" AN I MAL 
Finally the fox went into a cave and plucked out all his hair. The wolf AND HIS 
caught up with him and said, "How this one resembles the fox with his thick 
tail and his long muzzle! " But the fox said, "H ow the man talks! Have I WORLD 
not plucked myself bare=as a HilfOamara, and now he says, you resemble 
the fox! " And so the wolf went away. 
10 3 
[ HER E RO 1 
24 
The Elephant and the T orroise 
T WO BEl N G s, Elephant and Rain, had a dispute. Elephant said, "If you say that you nourish me, in what way is it that you do so?" Rain an-
swered, "If you say that I do not nourish you, when I go away, will you not 
die?" And Rain then depa~ted. 
E lephant said, "Vulture ' Cast lots to make rain for me!" Vulmre said, "I 
will not cast lots." 
Then Elephant said to Crow, "Cast lots'" and Crow answered, "Give the 
things with which I may cast lots." Crow cast lots and rain fell. It rained at 
the lagoons, but then they dried up, and only one lagoon remained. 
Elephant went hunting. There was, however, Tortoise, to whom Elephant 
said, "Torroise, remain at the water'" Thus Tortoise was left behind when 
Elephant went hunting. 
There carne Giraffe, and said to Torroise, "Give me water!" Tortoise an-
swered, "The water belongs to Elephant." 
There came Zebra, who said to Tortoise, "Give me water'" Torroise an-
swered, "The water belongs to Elephant." 
There came Gemsbok, and said to Tortoise, ((Give me 'water!" Tortoise 
answered, "The water belongs to Elephant." 
There came Wildebeest, and said, "Give me water!" Tortoise said, "The 
water belongs to Elephant." 
There came Roodebok, and said to Torroise, "Give me water'" Tortoise 
answered, "The water belongs to Elephant." 
There came Springbok, and said to Tortoise, "Give me water!" Torroise 
said, "The water belongs to Elephant." 
There came Jackal, and said to Tortoise, "Give me water'" Tortoise said, 
"The water belongs to Elephant." 
There came Lion, and said, "Little Tortoise, give me water '" When little 
Tortoise was about to say something, Lion got hold of it and beat it. Lion 
drank of the water, and since then all the animals drink water. 
~rhen Elephant came back from the hunting, he said, "Little Tortoise, 
where is the water~" Tortoise answered, "The arUmals have drunk the wa-
ter." Elephant asked, "Little Tortoise, shall I chew you or swallow you 
104 
down? " Little Tortoise said, "Swallow me, if you please," and Elephant 
swallowed it whole. 
After Elephant had swallowed little Tortoise, and it had entered his body, 
it tore off his liver, heart, and kidneys. E lephant said, "Little Tortoise, you 
kill me." 
So Elephant died. But little Tortoise came out of his dead body and went 
wherever it liked. 
[HOTTENTOT J 
25 
The Frog and Umdhlubu 
O Ne EON A Tl ME, a king married the daughter of another king; he loved her very much. His other wives were troubled on account of his 
love for her. She became pregnant, and gave birth to a girl: the father loved 
her exceedingly. The child grew, and when she was a fine handsome little 
child, the other wives formed a plot against her; they said, "Since her father 
is not at home, let us go and cut fi bre." They told the children not to agree 
to carry the child. The mother called the little girl who nursed her child. She 
refused to carry her. The mother put her on her back, and went with her. 
They Cut fibre, and went on continually. It came to pass in one of the 
valleys they sat down and took snuff. The mother made a bundle of fibre, 
and gave it to the child: the child played with it. They set out again and Cut 
fibre. They went on continually. The mother forgot the child. They went 
on continually cutting fibre; they tied it up in bundles, and carried it home. 
W hen they came home, they called the children's nurses: they all came. 
But hers came without the child . She asked, "Where is my child~" They 
said, "You took her with you." She was troubled, and cried, and ran to find 
her. She did not find her, and came back. 
There was a great lamentation. The other wives said, "How is it now~ 
\Ve have destroyed the father's darling. The pet wife is confounded." 
A messenger was sent to tell the father; it was said, "King, your child has 
been lost, while we were cutting fibre." The father was greatly troubled. 
In the morning an old woman of the royal household of another nation 
went to fetch water: she heard the child playing; she heard something say-
ing, (ITa, tfl, ta ." She wondered and said, HAh! what is this?" She 'went 
stealthily along, and found the child, sitting and playing. She went home, 
and left-both her and the waterpot. She called the Icing's chief wife, and said, 
"Come here." The queen went out of the house. She said, "Let us go; there 
is something by the river which you will see." She went with the old woman. 
They arrived. She said, "Behold a child." The queen said, "Take her." She 
said so with joy . The old woman took her. They came to the river. The 
queen said, " \Vash her." She washed her. The queen took her, and placed 
her on her back, and went home. 
She suckled her, for she had given birth to a boy. The queen brought her 
up. She grew. Both she and the queen's own child walked. She grew and be-
106 
came a great girl. She was appointed chief of the girls, when a great feast was 
made. Many cattle wete slaughtered, and all the people rejoiced. 
After that the chief men said to the boy, "Marry this girl." The boy 
wondered, and said, "O! what is the meaning of this? Is she not my sister? 
Did we not suck together at my mother's breast?" They said, "No, she was 
THE 
found in a valley." H e denied, and said, "No, she is my sister. " The next 
morning they said, " It is proper you should take her to be your wife." H e ANIMAL 
refused, and was greatly troubled. AND HIS 
On another occasion an old woman said to the girl, "Do you know?" She 
answered, "What?" Sh,,=said, "You are going to be married." She inquired, WORLD 
"To whom? " She said, ''The young man of your own house." She said, "O! 
what is the meaning of this? Is he not my brother?" The old woman said, 
"No, you were taken from a valley, and brought up by the queen." She 107 
cried, being much troubled. 
The girl tOok a waterpot, and went to the river, and sat down and wept. 
She filled the waterpot, and went home. She sat down in the house. Her 
mother gave her food ; she did not like it, and refused. The mother asked, 
"What is it' " She said, "Nothing. There is a pain in my head." So it was 
evening, and she went to lie down. 
In the morning she awoke and tOok the waterpot, and went to the river; 
she sat down and wept. As she was crying, there came out a great frog, and 
said, "Why are you crying?" She said, "I am in trouble." The frog said, 
"What is troubling you?" She replied, " It is said that I am to become the 
wife of my brother." T he frog said, "Go and take your beautiful things, 
which you love, and bring them here." 
She rose and tOok the waterpot, and went home. She tOok another pot, 
and fetched her things, and put them in the pot; she took her brass rod, and 
her ubentble kilt, and a petticoat with a border of brass balls, and her fillet, 
and her brass, and her beads. She took these things, and went to the river, 
and threw them on the ground. 
The frog inquired, saying, "Do you wish me to take you to your own 
people?" The child said, "Yes." The frog took her things and swallowed 
them; he took her and swallowed her; and set out with her. 
On the way he met with a string of young men: they saw the frog. The 
one in front said, "Just come and see: here is a very great frog. " The others 
said, "Let us kill him, and throw stones at him." The frog said: 
"I am but a fl'Og; I will not be killed. 
I am taking Umdblubu to ber OWl! country." 
They left him. They said, "H au! How is it that the frog speaks, making a 
prodigy? Let us leave him." They passed on, and went their way. 
And so the frog too went on his way. Again he met with a string of men. 
The one in front said, "0 , come and see a huge frog." They said, "Let us kill 
it." The frog replied: 
"I am but afro g; I will not be killed. 
I am taking Umdblubu to her own country." 
They passed on, and the frog went on his way. 
He fell in with some boys herding cattle: they saw him, and he was seen 
by a boy of the damse!"'s father. He said, "Wau! By Umdhlubu the Icing's 
NATIVE child' Come and kill a great frog. Run and cut sharp sticks, that we may 
pierce him with them." The frog said: 
AFRICAN 
"I am but a frog; I will not be killed. 
FOLKTALES I am taking UmdbJubu to ber own country." 
The boy wondered, and said, "0, sirs, do not let us kill him. He calls up 
painful emotions. Leave him alone, that we may pass on." They left him. 
108 The frog went on his way and came to others. He was seen by the girl's 
own brother: he said, "By Umdhlubu the king's child! There is a very great 
frog. Let us beat it with stones and kill it." The frog said: 
" I am but a frog; I will not be killed. 
I am taking Umdhlubu to ber own country." 
He said, "0, leave him alone. He speaks a fearful thing." 
He went on and came near her home: he entered a bush below the kraal: 
he placed her on the ground with her things. He put her in order: he cleansed 
her with udonqa: he anointed her, and put on her ornaments. 
So she set out. She took her brass rod, and went and entered at the gate-
way, and she passed across the cattle enclosure: she went in the middle of it: 
she came to the opening, she went out, and entered the house of her mother. 
Her mother followed her into the house and said, "Where do you come 
from, damsel?" She said, "I am merely on a journey." The mother said, 
"Tell me." She said, "There is nothing, I am merely on a journey." The 
mother said, " ' Nomen are satisfied who have such fine children as you. For 
my part, I am in trouble: my child was lost: I left her in the valley: she died 
there." The child answered, saying, ""Vhy did you leave her? Did you do it 
because you did not love her '" She said, "No; the queens made me forget 
her; they would not allow the nurse to carry her." The girl said in answer, 
"No' there is no woman who can forget her own child." She said, "No; it 
happened through my not being accustomed to carry a child; for she used to 
remain with the nurse." Umdhlubu said, "Yes; you did it because you did not 
love me." She began to look very earnestly at her; she saw that it was her 
child. 
vVhen she saw her she rejoiced. She praised with the praise-giving names 
of her child. The mother took her robe, and girded her herself; she took her 
head-ornament, and put it on her head; she took her petticoat, and put it on; 
she took her staff, and went out; she leaped for joy, and balala'd; she went 
into the cattle-pen; she played leaping about with joy. The people wondered 
and said, "What has happened to Untombinde today? "Vhy does she rejoice 
so much? Since the time her first-born died, she has never rejoiced, but has 
constantly been in sorrow ." 
O ne from her side went out, and said, "Just let me go and see what is in 
the house? ' ;Yhy do I hear the queen praising with the praise-giving names 
of her dead chihl-?" So she went, and entered the house, and saw the girl. She 
went out, and shouted aloud, and gave thanks. THE 
All the people went out. They ran to the house, hurrying to get there ANIMAL 
first. They crowded each other together at the doorway. They saw the child. 
AND HIS 
All the people on her side rejoiced. All the others were troubled, and the 
queens of the other side said, "Ah' "Vhat does it mean? For we thought we WORLD 
had already killed this Child. She-has come to life again. We shall be con-
founded together with our children. The supremacy of our children is com-
ing to an end. II [09 
A messenger set out and went to her father; he arrived and said, " 0 king, 
your child that was dead is come to life again." The king said, "H au! Are 
you mad? Which is that child'" The messenger said, "Umdhlubu." The fa-
ther said, "Whence comes she?" He said, "I do not know, 0 king." The 
father said, " If it is not she, I will kill you. If it is she, run, raise a cry in all 
places, that the people may bring together all the large oxen, and come with 
them." 
H e went and raised a cry, and said, "The princess has come. Make haste 
with the oxen." The men asked, "';Yhi~h princess?" He replied, "Umdhlubu, 
the child of the king, who was dead." 
They rejoiced; they took their shields; they took the oxen, and drove 
them; they took also their presents to gladden the princess; for she had risen 
from death; they found her when they no longer expected it. They came; 
they slaughtered many cattle, even in the paths, in order that the old men 
and the old women and the sick might eat, who were not able to reach the 
home where the princess was. 
The father came and said, "Come out, my child, that I may see you." She 
did not answer. He slaughtered twenty oxen. She made her appearance at 
the doorway, and stood still. He slaughtered thirty; she came out. The father 
said, "Go into the cattle-kraal; let us go to dance for you, for our great joy; 
for I used to say, you are already dead, but in fact you are still alive." She 
stood still. Again he slaughtered forty oxen. Then she went, and entered into 
the kraal. 
They danced for her very much. But the other side of the kraal did not 
rejoice; it did not dance together with the children and queens of that side. 
They left off dancing. 
The father went with her into the house, and sat down with her. He said, 
"Let a fat young ox be taken, that we may eat and rejoice, for she was dead, 
and has risen from death." 
So all the people rejoiced. The child returned to her royal position. Her 
father did right, royally; he returned to his former habits, and lived at that 
kraal, for h~ had ceased to be there much, because he remembered his child 
which had died. Her mother and the children of her house rejoiced together. 
Her father asked her, "How did you come here?" The child said, "I was 
brought by a frog." The father said, "Where is he?" The child replied, "He 
is yonder in the bush." The father said, "Let oxen be taken, that he may be 
danced for, and come up to our home." So they went and danced for him. 
NATIVE They brought him home. They brought him into the house and gave him 
AFRICAN meat, and he ate. The king inquired, "What do you wish that I should give 
you as a reward?" He said, "I wish some black hornless cattle." He took 
FOLKTALES many cattle and people, and said, "Go with him." So they went and came to 
his country. 
The frog built a great town, and became a great chief. He slaughtered 
110 cattle continually; and men came to ask for meat. They inquired, "What is 
your chief who built this town?" They said, "Uselesele." They inquired, 
"Whence did he obtain so large a town as this?" They said, "He got it be-
cause he brought our princess to the king; so he gave him cattle and men." 
They answered, saying, "Are you then the people of Uselesele?" They said, 
"Yes. Do not speak disrespectfully of him; he will kill you, for he is a great 
chief." 
Uselesele took many people under his protection. They revolted from 
their chiefs through seeing the abundance of food at Uselesele's. So Uselesele 
reigned and became a king. 
Unkosi-yasenthla heard it said, "Unkosi-yasenzansi has a beautiful daugh-
ter, named Umdhlubu." He said to his people, "Go and see what kind of 
damsel it is." They went, and came to Unkosi-yasenzansi, and said, "King, 
we have been sent by Unkosi-yasenthla, that we might select a beautiful 
damsel from among your children." 
He summoned them, and they came. At length they saw only one damsel 
which excelled all the others in beauty. For they remembered, that if a king 
has sent people to go and choose a beautiful damsel, it is proper that they 
should look very earnestly; for those people are the king's eyes, because he 
trusts them. They look earnestly, that they may not be reproved when the 
damsel is brought home. \;Vhen they see she is ugly, not like a damsel which 
has been chosen for a king, they find great fault, saying, "Why have you 
disgraced the king by choosing an ugly thing for him?" The honour of those 
men is ended; they are removed from their honourable office, because they 
are not trustworthy. TheFefore they chose Umdhlubu for her beauty's sake, 
saying, " It is she only who is fit to be the king's queen above all the others." 
Therefore those who were left were ashamed; and their mothers were 
ashamed; and their brothers were ashamed. There was rejoicing in the house 
of Umdhlubu. The joy began with Umdhlubu, who was conspicuous for 
beauty among many other damsels and in the eyes of them all, for it was 
said, "There is a beautiful woman indeed!" Her mother rejoiced in her heart, 
saying, "I did well when I gave birth to my child'" And the children of her 
house were e:allted, although their mother had been long ago exalted by the 
king, through being loved. There, then, was the hatred which increased to-
wards that house of Umdhlubu, as her mother also was loved very much by 
the father of Umdhlubu. There was a very great hatred in the hearts of the 
other queens, on-account of the beauty of Umdhlubu, which was admired by 
the king of another people above all their own children. They were ashamed THE 
for ever. AN I MAL 
So they looked, and cbose Umdhlubu. They departed to tell the Icing. AND HIS 
They arrived home, and said, "King, we have seen the beautiful damsel; her 
name is Umdhlubu." The king said, "Aye; it is well. \Ve must set out and go WORLD 
thither, and take a thousand head 6f cattle." So they set out. 
Unkosi-yasenzansi, as he was sitting in the shade within the cattle-pen with 
his people, said, "\~rhat is that yonder? There is a great dust which rises to I I I 
the heaven." They were afraid. He said to his soldiers, "Get ready to fight, 
for we do nOt know what is coming." After that the cattle appeared coming 
with the king and his people. Unkosi-yasenzansi went to meet them. 
But the chief said, "I am Unkosi-yasenthla; I come to see Umdhlubu. Then 
they all went to her house. When they arrived, they asked to have Umdhlubu 
given them. Her father rejoiced when he heard that. 
T hey had cattle slaughtered for them. They spoke with the father. Unkosi-
yasenthla said, "I come to you, Unkosi-yasenzansi, I being desirous of taking 
your daughter; if you assent, it is well: I come with a thousand carrIe." The 
father assented, saying, " It is well." 
He assembled all the girls, and all the men, the young men with head-
rings, and the youth; he set apart men for the purpose of working for 
Umdhlubu. He took out brass and beads for her marriage, and five hundred 
oxen, and said, "Now it is right. Set out with her. There is an officer for the 
purpose of conducting the wedding ceremonies." 
So they all went with him, and reached the king's home. As they were 
coming into sight, a great cry was raised, and the people appeared in all 
directions, shouting, "The queen of Unkosi-yasenthla has come." They re-
joiced. 
They retired to rest. In the morning, when the sun had risen, and it was 
hot, the damsels went out with the young men and youths, and went into the 
bush; they sat down there. \Vhen the time for dancing arrived, they danced; 
they fetched the damsel from the bush ; she went to the kraal to dance. 
So they ended the dance. She took brass, and placed it before her father, 
and prayed, saying, "Sire, take care of me for ever, for now I am in thy hand, 
preserve me." . 
The whole marriage parry sat down. They danced for them. They ended 
the dance. In the morning the damsel had ten bullocks killed and they ate and 
rejoiced. 
The officer of the ceremony said, "Sire, we now wish to set out to return 
home, for the work is done." 
The king took five hundred head of catrle, and sent th"m as a present to 
his moth€L Th€ men returned home. 
And the damsels remained. Umdhlubu's father had said that they were not 
to return, but stay with her, and work for her; and many people, both male 
and female, remained there to build her town. 
The king said, "Now build the town of the queen, where she may live 
NATIVE with her people." 
AFRICAN So the town was built and completed. Th€ king visited it; many catrle were 
killed, that the soldiers might eat, and complete the queen's town. The king 
FOLKTALES also went to live there at the new town. Thus he took Umdhlubu to be IUs 
wife. 
The people of Umdhlubu's father reached th€ir home, and said, "0 king, 
I 12 we have done all things very well. There are cattle for Umdhlubu's mother; 
they are given to her by her son. He told us to give his respects to both his 
father and mother." 
So all lived together in peace. 
[ZULU] 
26 
Th~ Caterpillar and the Wild Animals 
O Ne E UP 0 NAT I MEa caterpillar entered the house of a hare when the owner was absent. On his return the hare noticed the marks on the 
ground, and cried out, ""\N ho is in my house?" 
T he caterpillar replied in a loud voice, "I am the warrior son of the long 
one whose anldets have become unfastened in the fight in the Kurtiale coun-
try. I crush the rhinoceros to the earth and make cow's dung of the elephant! 
I am invincible!" 
The hare went away, saying, "What can a small animal like myself do with 
a person who tramples an elephant under foot like cow's dung?" 
On the road he met the jackal and asked him to return with him and talk 
with the big man who had taken possession of his house. T he jackal agreed, 
and when they reached the place he barked loudly and said, "W ho is in the 
house of my fr iend, the hare'" 
T he caterpillar replied, " I am the warrior son of the long one whose 
anklets have become unfastened in the fight in the Kurtiale country. I crush 
the rhinoceros to the earth and make cow's dung of the elephant' I am in-
vincible !" 
On hearing this the jackal said, "I can do nothing against such a man," and 
left. 
The hare then fetched the leopard, whom he begged to go and talk with 
the person in his house. T he leopard, on reaching the spot, grunted out, 
"Who is in the house of my friend, the hare?" 
T he caterpillar replied in the same manner as he had to the jackal, and the 
leopard said, "If he crushes the elephant and the rhinoceros, he will do the 
same to me." 
T hey went away again, and the hare sought out the rhinoceros. The latter, 
on arriving at the hare's house, asked who was inside, but when he heard the 
caterpillar's reply, he said, " "\,yhat! He can crush me to the earth' I had better 
go away then." 
T he hare next tried the elephant and asked him to come to his assistance, 
but on hearing what the caterpillar had said, the elephant remarked that he 
had no wish to be trampled under foot like cow's dung, and he departed. 
A frog was passing at the time, and the hare asked him if he could make 
II) 
the man who had conquered all the animals leave his house. The frog went 
to the door and asked who was inside. He received the same reply as had been 
given to the others, but, instead of leaving, he went nearer and said, "I, who 
am strong and a leaper, have come. My buttocks are like the post and God 
has made me vile." 
When the caterpillar heard this, he trembled, and as he saw the frog com-
NATIVE ing nearer, he said, "I am only the caterpillar." 
AFRICAN The animals who had collected nearby seized him and dragged him out; 
and they all laughed at the trouble he had given. 
FOLKTALES 
[MASAI J 
27 
_T he Gazelle and the Leopard 
T HE G A Z ELL E S A I D to the leopard, " It is now the dry season, and we should be cutting down the bush, so our women may plant as soon as the 
first rains come," 
"Well," said the leopard, "I cannot go today, but you may as well go." 
The gazelle went; and all that day he cut the bush, and cleared the ground 
for planring, and the next day he also wem alone. 
On the third day the leopard called on the gazelle and asked him to go to 
the plantation with him. Bur the gazelle said he was sick and could not go, 
so the leopard went by himself. 
The next day the leopard again called for the gazelle, bur he was not in. 
"Where's he gone?" inquired the leopard. 
"Oh, he has gone to another part." 
And each day the leopard called upon the gazelle he was either sick or out 
of town; so that the leopard had nearly all the hard work himself. 
When the women had planted, and the harvest was ripe, the gazelle went 
to look at the plamation. He was greatly pleased to find so much plamed, 
and thought how pleased his friends would be if he invited them to a feast; 
so he called in all the antelopes and other beasts of the field, and they had a 
splendid feast. 
By and by the leopard thought he would go and see how his plantation 
was getting on, and no ·sooner had he arrived there than he exclaimed, 
"Hullo, who has been feeding on my plantation and eaten up my corn? 
Surely I will set a trap for them and catch the thieves." 
The next day the animals, led by the little gazelle, came again; and he 
warned them, saying, "Be careful , for the leopard will surely set a trap for 
us." Bur the antelope became careless, and finally fell into the leopard's trap. 
"There," said the gazelle, "I told you to be careful. vVhat shall we do? They 
have all run away and left us, and I am not strong enough to release you." 
Then the leopard came, and rejoiced greatly at having caught the thief. 
He took the antelope to his town. "Please, sire, the gazelle told me to go," 
cried the antelope. "Don't kill me! Don't kill me! " 
"How am I to catch the gazelle'" the leopard replied. "No, I must kill 
you." And so he killed the aorelope and ate him. 
115 
When the gazelle heard what the leopard had done, he was greatly an-
noyed, and declared that as the leopard was their chief, the animals were 
guite right in eating the food he had provided for them. Was it not the dury 
of the father to provide for his children? "Well, well, never mind, he will 
pay us for this." 
Then the gazelle made a drum, and beat it until all the animals came as if 
NATIVE to a dance. When they were assembled, he told them that they must be re-
AFRICAN venged upon the leopard. 
The leopard heard the drum, and said to his wife, "Let us go to the dance." 
FOLKTALES Bet his wife said she would rather stay at home, and did not go. The leopard 
went; but no sooner had he arrived than they all set upon him and killed him. 
And when the dance was over, the leopard's wife wondered why he did not 
[ [6 return. The gazelle sent her the head of her husband, skinned, as her part of 
the feast; and not knowing that it was her husband's head, she ate it. 
"Oh, for shame," said the gazelle, "you have eaten your husband's head." 
"Nay, sir, the shame rests with you; for you gave it to me to eat, after 
having murdered him." And she wept and cursed the gazelle. 
[DAKONGO] 
28 
The Leopard, the Squirrel, and th~T ortoise 
M AN Y YEA R SAG a there was a great famine throughout the land and all the people were starving. The yam crop had failed entirely, the 
plantains did not bear any fruit, and the corn never came to a head; even the 
palm-oil nuts did not rip-en, and the peppers and okras also failed. 
The leopard, who lived entirely on meat, did not care for any of these 
things, and al though some of the animals who lived on corn and the growing 
crops began to get rather skinny, he did not really mind very much. 
However, in order to save himself trouble, since everybody was complain-
ing of the famine, the leopard called a meeting of all the animals. He told 
them that, as they all knew, he was very powerful and must have food, that 
the famine did not affect him, as he lived only on flesh, and that as there were 
plenty of animals about, he did not intend to starve. He then told all the ani-
mals present at the meeting that, if they themselves did not wish to be killed, 
they must bring their grandmothers to him for food, and that when the 
grandmothers were finished, he would feed off their mothers. The animals 
might bring their grandmothers in succession, and he would take them in 
turn, so that, as there were many different animals, it would probably be 
some time before their mothers were eaten. By that time it was possible that 
the famine would be over. But, in any case, the leopard warned them that he 
was deternlined to have sufficient food for himself and that, if the grand-
mothers or mothers 'were not forthcoming, he would turn upon the young 
people themselves and kill and ~at them. For this, of course, the young gen-
eration, who had attended the meeting, had little liking, and in order to save 
their own skins they agreed to supply the leopard with his daily meal. 
The first to appear with his aged grandmother was the squirrel. The grand-
mother was a poor decrepit old thing with a mangy tail, and the leopard swal-
lowed her at one gulp and then looked round for more. In an angry voice he 
growled out, "This is not the proper food for me; I must have more at once." 
T hen. a bush cat pushed his old grandmother in front of the leopard, but 
he snarled at her and said, "Take the nasty old thing away; I want some 
sweet food." 
It was then the turn of a bush buck and, after a great deal of hesitation, a 
wretchedly poor and thin old doe tottered and fell in front of the leopard, 
117 
who immediately dispatched her and, although the meal was very unsatis-
factory, declared that his appetite was appeased for that day. 
The next day a few more animals brought their old grandmothers, until at 
last it becanle the tum of the tortoise; but, being very cunning, he produced 
witnesses to prove that his grandmother was dead, and so the leopard excused 
him. 
NATIVE After a few days all the animals' grandmothers were exhausted, and it was 
AFRICAN necessary that the mothers be sacrificed to supply food for the ravenous leop-
ard. Now, although most of the young animals did not mind getting rid of 
FOLKTALES their grandmothers, whom they had scarcely even known, many of them had 
very strong objections to providing their mothers, of whom they were very 
fond, as food for the leopard. Among the strongest objectors were the squir-
liB rel and the tortoise. The tortoise had thought the whole thing out. As every-
one knew that his mother was alive, she being rather an amiable old person 
and friendly with all, he waS aware that the same excuse would not avail him 
a second time. He therefore told his mother to climb up a palm tree, and he 
would provide her with food until the famine was over. He instructed her to 
let down a basket every day and said that he would place food in it for her. 
The tortoise made the basket for his mother and attached it to a long string 
of tie-tie. The string was so strong that she could haul her son up whenever he 
wished to visit her. 
All went well for some days, as the tortoise used to go at daybreak to the 
bottom of the tree where his mother Jived and place her food in the basket. 
Then the old lady would pull the basket up and have her food, and the tor-
toise would depart on his daily round in his usual leisurely manner. 
In the meantime, the leopard had to have his daily food. The squirrel's 
turn came first, after the grandmothers had been finished, and as he was a 
poor, weak thing and not possessed of any cunning, he was forced to produce 
his mother for the leopard to eat. The squirrel was, however, very fond of 
his mother, and after she had been eaten he remembered that the tortoise had 
not produced his grandmother or his mother for the leopard's food . H e there-
fore determined to set a watch on the movements of the tortoise. 
The very next morning, while he 'vas gathering nuts, the squirrel sa\>v the 
tortoise walking very slowly through the bush and, being high up in the trees 
and able to travel very fast, he had no difficulty in keeping the tortoise in 
sighr without being noticed. When the tortoise arrived at the foot of the tree 
where his morher lived, he placed the food in the basket which his mother 
had already let down by the tie-tie and, having got into the basket and given a 
pull at the string to sig.1ify that everything was right, was hauled up and after 
a time was let down again in the basket. The squirrel was watching all the 
time and, as soon as the tortoise had gone, he jumped from branch to branch 
of the trees and very soon arrived at the place where the leopard was nap-
ping. 
When the leopard woke up, the squirrel said, "You have eaten my grand-
mother and my mother, but the tortoise has not provided any food for you, 
It is now his turn, and he has hidden his mother away in a tree," 
Hearing this, the leopard was very angry and told the squirrel to lead him 
at once to the tree w here the tortoise's mother lived . 
But the squirrel-said, "The tortoise only goes at daybreak when his mother 
TH E 
lets down a basket; so if you go early in the morning, she will pull you up, 
and you can then kill her," AN I MA L 
T o this the leopard agreed, and the next morning the squirrel came at AND HI S 
cockcrow and led the leopard to the tree where the tortoise's mother was 
hidden, The old lady had already let down the basket for her daily supply WO R LD 
of food, T he leopard goi1nto-it ana gave the line a pull, but except for a few 
small jerks nothing happened, as the old mother tortoise was not strong 
enough to pull a heavy leopard off the ground, 'When the leopard saw that 1 1 9 
he was not going to be pulled up, being an expert climber, he scrambled up 
the tree, ' '''hen he got to the top he found the poor old tortoise whose shell 
was so tough that he thought she was not w·orth eating, so in a violent temper 
he threw her down on the ground and then came down himself and went 
home. . 
Shortly after this, the tortoise arrived at the tree and, finding the basket on 
the ground, gave his usual tug at it but there was no answer. He then looked 
about and after a little while came upon the broken shell of his poor old 
mother who by this time was quite dead. The tortoise knew at once that the 
leopard had killed his mother and made up his mind that for the future he 
would live alone and have nothing to do with the other animals. 
[EF IK-IBIBIO J 
29 
The Hare, the Hyena, and the Lioness's Cave 
T HE H ARE 0 NeE MET the hyena and proposed that they should go for a walk. They went for a walk together and then separated, after 
which the hare went to the lioness's cave and found it closed. She cried out, 
"Stone, open," and the stone rolled away from the mouth of the cave. She 
entered and said, "Stone, close," and the stone returned to its place. She then 
proceeded to the room where the lioness stored her fat, after which she went 
to the room where the meat was kept, and having had enough to eat, she re-
turned to the entrance, told the stone to open, ana when she had passed out, 
to close once more. 
Feeling hu ngry again later she returned to the cave. On the road she met 
the hyena, who asked her where she came from and why her mouth was oily. 
The hare denied that her mouth was oily, but as the hyena persisted in his 
statement, she told him to rub ashes on his mouth and it would become as 
beautiful as hers. The hyena did as he was recommended, but no change took 
place in his appearance. The hare next suggested washing it with water and 
afterwards with urine; but although the hyena tried both, his mouth remained 
as dryas before. The hyena then said, "Please tell me where you go and 
feed." At first the hare refused to comply with his request and said , "You are 
so foolish whenever you go anywhere and are sure to be caught. " But as the 
hyena would take no refusal, she consented to allow him to accompany her 
and told him about the lioness's cave. "There are," she said, " five rooms. In 
the first the ashes are kept; in the next, the bones; in the third, the tough 
meat ; in the fou rth, the tender meat; and in the last, the fat." The hyena 
cried, "Get out of the way, take me there," and off they started. 
W hen they arrived at the cave, the hare told the hyena that when he 
wanted the cave to open he must say, ((Stone, open," and w hen he w"anted 
it to shut, "Stone, close." The hyena cried OUt, "Stone, open," and the stone 
rolled aside. \ ,yhen they were inside, the hare said, "Stone, close," and it 
closed again. 
The hyena at once started on the ashes, while the hare went to the room 
where the fat was kept. vVhen the latter had had enough to eat, she returned 
to the entrance and said she was going away. The hyena remonstrated with 
her as he was not nearly satisfied. After telling him how to get out of the 
120 
cave, the hare "vent up to the stone and said, «Stone, open," and again, w hen 
she was outside, "Stone, close." 
vVhen the hyena was alone, he went to the place where the bones were 
kept, after which he proceeded to the next room, where the tough meat was 
stored, and ate until he was satisfied. H e then returned to the entrance and 
TI-I E 
said to the stone, "Stone, close," instead of ceStone, open." He repeated the 
words "Stone, close," several times and could not understand 'vhy nothing AN IM A L 
happened. 
AND HIS 
At this point the lioness, the owner of the cave, returned and said, "Stone, 
open." W hen the hyena hearg her, he cried, "Ah! vVoe is me' T hat is what I WORLD 
wanted to say. Poor fellow that I am' Stone, open' Stone, open'" 
The lioness entered and said, "Shall I eat you, or shall I make you my 
servant?" 1 21 
The hyena asked to be made her servant and was told to look after the 
lioness's cub. H e was also given a bone and instructed to break it when the 
lioness had crossed four rivers. The hyena counted the lioness's footsteps and, 
when he calculated that she had crossed the four rivers, broke the bone. A 
chip flew, fracturing t1;e cub's skull. Fearing that the lioness wou ld kill him 
on her return, he searched for some hornets and stuffed one up each of the 
cub's nostrils so that it might be supposed that it had been stung to death. 
The lioness returned to her cave a short while afterwards and called to the 
hyena to bring her cub. The hyena told lies for some time and invented sev-
eral excuses for not doing as he was told; but the lioness was firm, and the 
hyena had to pick up the cub and bring it to its mother. The lioness at once 
saw that it was dead and told the hyena to take it outside. While he was do-
ing trus, he ate one of the cub's legs. 
A little later he was again ordered to bring the cub to its mother and then 
to take it away once more. He devoured another leg while carrying it away, 
and when the lioness called out to him a third time to bring the cub to her, he 
said the birds had eaten two of its legs. He then ate up the cub. 
The lioness intended to punish the hyena for his misdeeds, and after tying 
him to a tree, went to get some sticks with' which to beat him. As he was 
standing there, bound to the tree, some other hyenas bent on a raiding expe-
dition passed close by, and one of them, seeing him, asked him why he had 
been tied up in this manner. He replied that he was being punished for hav-
ing refused to drink some oil which had flies in it. The other hyena suggested 
that they should exchange places and, after untying the knots, he allowed 
himself to be bound to the tree instead, while the first hyena followed in the 
wake of the raiding party. 
After a time the lioness returned, and commenced to flog the hyena, who 
cried out, "Stop! I will drink it now." 
"Drink what?" said the lioness, and she commenced to flog him again. 
"Oh! Oh!" the hyena cried, "I will drink the oil with the flies in it." 
The lioness then saw that this was not the hyena that had killed her cub. 
The next morning the hyenas on their way back from their raid passed the 
cave, and the one who had killed the cub saw on the ground some strips of 
bark, which the lioness had spread out in the sun to resemble meat. "I will 
go to my mistress's kraal," quoth he, "For I see there has been a kill." On 
reaching the spot, however, he was seized by the lioness, who bound him to 
the tree once more and then beat him to death. 
After this the lioness returned to her cave and said, "Stone, open." When 
the stone had rolled aside and she had entered, she said, "Stone, close," and it 
closed again. 
[MASAI 1 
30 
Nwashisisana, the Hare 
H ARE, THAT W I LY TR ICK S TER , went to live with Grey Antelope. One day he said to her, "Suppose we go and till our fields and plant 
some beans! " So off they went and set to work. Antelope stole Hare's beans, 
and H are stole Antelope's beans, but Hare did most of the stealing. 
H are set a trap in his field, and Antelope was caught by the leg. In the 
early morning the cunning rascal went out and found Antelope caught in 
the trap. "Don 't you think you deserve to be killed," said he, "now that I 
have found you out? " 
"No! No' " she cried. "Let me go, and we will go back to my house where 
I will give you a hoe." So he let her go, and she gave him the hoe. 
H are then packed his beans, harvested all his fields, and made ready to be 
off. Good-bye," he said to Antelope, " I won't stay with you any longer. You 
are a thief' '' 
Hare soon came across the great lizard, V aran, lying at the edge of a water-
hole. It was the chief's waterhole, where they drew their water, and he had 
been placed there on guard to find out who it was that was continually dis-
turbing it and making it muddy. "What are you doing here?" said Hare. 
"I am watching this hole to see who it is that muddies the chief's water." 
"I'll tell you what," said Hare, "we had much better go and till a field to-
gether." 
"How can I dig?" said Varano" I can't stand on my hind legs and hold the 
hoe in my forepaws." 
"That doesn 't matter' Just come along. I will tie the hoe to your tail and 
you will be able to dig beautifully." 
So the hoe was tied on, but when this was done V aran could not move. 
Then Hare ran back to the hole, drank his fill of water, and finished by 
stirring it up well, making it as muddy as possible. After this he walked all 
over Varan's fields and regaled himself on his groundnuts. In the heat of the 
day he came back and said, "Ho' An army has passed through the country. 
I hear that the warriors have dinied the water in the hole. I hear, too, that 
they have ravaged all your crop of groundnuts'" 
"Untie me! " said Varano "I can't budge." 
"3 
"All right, but only on condition that you don't go and accuse me, Hare, 
of having stirred up the water." 
"But who told you this story about those soldiers who did aU the mIS-
chief?" 
"Don't ask me so many questions. If you do, I won't untie you!" 
"Very well! I'll be quiet, but take away this hoe. It hum me!" 
NATIVE "Listen' First of all, I'll go and draw some water for you. You must be 
AFRICAN thirsty." 
"No, I'm not thirsty. Only let me go! " 
FOLKTALES "If you are not thirsty, all right' I won't untie the hoe." 
"Oh, very well, I am thirsty. Hurry up, and come back as fast as you can." 
H are went to V aran's village, took the wooden goblet from which he 
always drank, drew some water, and once again stirred up the hole. He took 
a drink to Va ran, and said to him, "If anyone asks you whether I have dis-
turbed the water, you must say that you did it. If you don't promise me this, 
I won't untie you." 
"All right. Very well. " 
Then Hare ran to call the chiefs-Lord Elephant, Lord Lion, and the rest. 
They all came and asked Varan, "Who has been drawing our water and 
making it all muddy'" 
"It is I ," said Varano 
And Hare, the rascal, added, "Yes, I found him committing this crime and 
I tied him up to a hoe, so that he couldn't run away." 
The chiefs congratulated Hare. "Ah' you have been very clever' You 
have discovered the villain who has been muddying our pool'" And they 
immediately killed V aran. 
T he wily trickster, Hare, took the hoe and then went to look for Grey 
Antelope. She was on sentry duty, on the edge of a pool, for guards were 
placed at all the pools to prevent anyone from approaching, as the water 
still continued to be muddied during the night. Hare, not being able to get 
anyth ing to drink, said to Antelope, "What are you doing there so close to 
the water?" 
"I am guarding the chief's pool." 
"You will get thin and die of hunger, if you stay like that at the edge of 
the pools. Listen! You would do much better to come with me and till a 
field. T hen, in t ime of famine, you would have something to eat." 
"Let us go!" said Antelope. 
Hare set to work in grand style. He gave Antelope a hoe and told her 
to dig. "I can't get on my hind legs," said she, "and hold the hoe with my 
forelegs." 
"Let me have a look at your forelegs . I'll tie the hoe to them, and you will 
be able to dig all right." 
Antelope tried, but she couldn't do it. 
"Never mind," said Hare. "Wait a minute." He ran back to the pool, 
quenched his thirst, and muddied the water. Then he filled a calabash and 
hid it in the bush. On returning to Antelope, he said, "H ello! H aven't you 
done any hoeing yet?" 
"No, I can't manage it." 
"vVould you bd ieve it! An army has passed by, and they have stirred up 
the pool." T HE 
"No' T ruly? Untie me, H are'" AN I MAL 
"I won't untie you unless you swear that what I said is true." 
AND HI S 
"Very well! Untie me." 
Off Hare went to get the calabash to give her a drink, and he made her WOR LD 
promise to confess that It was she who had disturbed the water. Then he 
called the chiefs, who killed Antelope. 
But there was one creature that outdid H are in cunning and that was 1 2 5 
T ortoise. She mounted guard at the pond. Hare arrived there. "You will die 
of hunger, if you stay at the edge of the pool with nothing to do. We had 
much better go and till a field together." 
"H ow can I hoe with such short legs?" asked T ortoise. 
"Oh! T hat will be ali right. I'll show you how to do it." 
"Eh! No thank you! I think not'" 
"Well then ' Let's go and help ourselves to some of the wild boar's sweet 
potatoes." 
((No," said T ortoise uncompromisingiy, "no pilfering! " 
H owever, before very long T ortoise began to feel hungry, so much so that, 
when H are again proposed a marauding expedition, she overcame her scru-
ples and they went off together to roOt up the sweet potatoes. Then they 
lighted a fire of grass in the bush and roasted them. 
"Tortoise," said Hare, " just go and see if the owners of these fields are 
anyw-here about, as we must not let them catch us." 
"Yes, but let us both go. You go one way and I'll go the other." 
Off went Hare, but Tortoise, instead of following his example, stayed 
behind and crawled into H are's sack. Hare soon came back, filled up his bag 
with sweet potatoes, threw it over his back, and ran away to escape the pro-
prietors, shouting at the top of his voice, "Hi, Tortoise! Look out! They 
will catch you' I'm off' Fly!" 
H e ran as hard as he could to escape capture. Tortoise, inside the sack, 
ate the sweet potatoes. She picked out all the best ones and finished the lor. 
She said, being satisfied, "Kutlu." After a while Hare was tired out and lay 
down quite exhausted. H e felt the pangs of hunger. 
"Aha!" said he to himself. " I will have a good feed'" He sat down in a 
shady spot, opened his sack, put his hand inside, and pulled out one very 
small sweet potato. "This is much too small for me," said he, and putting his 
hand in again, felt a nice big one. "Oho! here's a beauty! " When he had 
pulled it Out of his bag, what was his surprise to find that his potato turned 
out to be Mistress T ortoise' 
"Hello' Why! It's you!" he cried in disgust and threw her on the ground. 
She scuttled away as fast and as far as she could. Then Hare began to wail, 
"When I think that I have been carrying her all this time!" He felt very 
crestfallen. 
Continuing his travels, Hare next met King Lion, surrounded by his cour-
tiers. He at once asked permission to swear allegiance to the king and to 
NATIVE settle in that country. But every day he went out to steal other folk 's ground-
AFRICAN nuts. When the owners of the fields came to look at their crops, they ex-
claimed, "Who can it be that digs up our groundnuts?" 
FOLKTALES Hare went off to find King Lion, and said to him, "Sire, your subjects 
are not what they should be, for they are in the habit of stealing." 
"Indeed! " said Lion. "Go and keep watch, and if you discover anyone 
126 stealing, catch him." 
Hare went off to take up his position in the fields, but Lion followed him 
and surprised him in the very act of feasting on groundnuts. "Ha! Ha! You 
tell me that my subjects are not honest folk, while it is you who do the 
thieving'" 
"Not at all! I was only keeping a look our' Come here, and I will show 
you the footprints of your subjects, for I know them well!" 
So they went to a large shady banyan tree. Hare made a strong String of 
one of the long tendrils and said to Lion, "As you think I don't speak the 
truth, just sit down here and you will soon see the thieves passing by. I shall 
while away the time by making you a crown of wax." 
"All right," said Lion, "make me a crown." 
Hare began by parting Lion's mane down the middle and arranging the 
hairs carefully, one by one, on either side of his neck, as if he were preparing 
a spot on the top of his head for a crown. Then he made holes through the 
bark of the tree, on both sides of the trunk, and passed the hairs of the mane 
right through them, some on one side, some on the other. This done, he tied 
all the hairs securely together at the back of the tree with the string he had 
made, and he said to Lion, "I've finished the job. Jump up quickly and you 
will see one of your subjects stealing in the fields!" 
Lion tried to jump up. He couldn't' He half killed himself struggling to 
get on his feet' 
Hare ran to the village. "Come," he shouted, "and see who it is who rav-
ages your fields!" He had previously torn up a lot of groundnut leaves and 
thrown them down close to the Lion. The villagers hurried to the spot. 
"There' Don't you see him? Haven't I found him our, eh?" Lion didn't 
dare to say a single word. 
Then his subjects cur great staves and beat him to death. "Ah! Hare, you 
are very clever, and we are grateful! " they said. 
Hare cut Lion up into pieces. Then he took the skin and wrapped himself 
in it. Thus disguised, he went to Lion's village and entered the queen's hut. 
He said, "I am not well," and shut himself up, refusing to see anyone. He 
gave orders to the servants to kill an ox because he was ill. Then he had a 
second one slaughtered, then a third. 
The w·omen said to him, "Are you going to move to another place, since 
you are killing all your oxen?" 
"No," said H-are, HI have no intention of moving any more. I am killing 
THE 
them because I know very well that I shall never get over this illness." So 
he had a general slaughtering of all Lion's oxen, goats, and sheep, to the very AN I MAL 
last head of cattle. vVhen all were killed, he said to the queen, "Haven't you AND H I S 
got my money in your keeping? " 
"Yes," she replied. WORLD 
"vVell, bring it all our=anJ-·put it together with my royal mat and all my 
valuables on the village square." 
The lion's skin had now acquired a rather loathsome odour, the flies were 12 7 
settling upon it in swarms, and Hare was by no means comfortable inside of 
it. 
"VVhat son of complaint have you got?" asked the queen. " It is some-
thing that smells very nasty. " 
"Oh! I have only gOt some sores. I must go and find a doctor. Good-bye, 
I shall start at once." 
Lion's wife replied, "Then I will go with you, my husband." 
"No," said he, «No occasion for that, for I know exactly where I must go." 
He went out to the square, picked up the mat in which all the money and 
valuables had been packed, and then, throwing off the lion's skin, he tore 
away as fast as his legs could carry him with all the village in pursuit. 
Hare came to a burrow, and in he ran. The pursuers got a hooked stick 
to pull him out. They tried to hook him and managed to get hold of his leg. 
"Oh, pull away!" cried he. "Pull away! You've only got hold of the root of 
a tree!" 
So they left off pulling. They tried again, and this time they really hooked 
a root. 
"Hi! hi' " he yelled. "Hi! hi' Take care' You're hurting me! You're killing 
me! Ow! Ow!" 
They all pulled as hard as they could, and they pulled and pulled until 
the hook broke and they all fell over backward. They said , "Q_a." Finally 
they were tired out and said, "Oh' Let us give it up and leave him where he 
is!" So they stopped up the burrow with a bunch of grass and went away. 
The south wind now sprang up and blew the grass deeper into the burrow. 
"I am done for," said Hare to himself, as he fancied they were succeeding 
in getting neater to him. H e was suffering the pangs of hunger and was 
terribly thirsty, but did not dare to leave the burrow, supposing his enemies 
to be close at hand. At length he cried out, "Have pity on me and let me 
go, my good fathers, I beseech you!" He crept cautiously toward the entrance 
of the burrow, and found only a bunch of grass. Then he made off at once, 
leaving all his treasures behind him, not even giving them a single thought. 
He ran on and on. He became thin and ill. He ate grass, but it did not 
remain in his insides; it passed through him immediately. He came to the 
home of Grey Antelope. "Say, Antelope, suppose we sew one another up! 
You stitch me up, but not completely, you know' It will keep the grass much 
longer in our insides when we browse, and we shall get much more nourish-
ment out of it." Antelope consented, and partially stitched up Hare. Hare 
NATIVE sewed her up entirely. Antelope swelled and died. Fortunately for her, how-
AFRICAN ever, she fell in a field belonging to a woman who picked her up, put her in 
her basket on the top of her head, and can;ied her to the village to be eaten. 
FOLKTALES She gave her to her husband to cut up. He set no work and began by cutting 
vhe stitches that Hare had sewn. All that was in Antelope's interior at 
once came out, she jumped to her legs, and galloped away. 
128 She met Hare, and she said to him, "All right! I've found you out now! 
Never again do I call you my friend' " 
Hare, being thirsty, was looking for a pool but could not find one. At last 
he came to one where no one was on guard. Tortoise was really in charge, 
but she was in the water. Hare walked in. "What luck' How nice and cool 
it is'" said he, quenching his thirst and swimming about. Tortoise snapped 
at one of his legs, then at another. 
"Hello' Let me go! I'll promise you a goat if you will let go!" 
They came Out of the pool together, and Hare said to her, "Come along 
to my house, and get your goat." They reached his home, but no goat' 
Nothing' Hare did not give her anything. Then he remembered the money 
that he had left in the burrow and said, "Let us go and see Chameleon. He 
has my valuables, for he borrowed a lot of money from me. I'll just run round 
and fetch my brother; he knows all about the business and will be my wit-
ness." Having said this, Hare ran off. T ortoise arrived at Chameleon's abode 
and said, "Give me Hare's money which he says you have!" 
"What' I haven't anything belonging to Hare' " vVhereupon Chameleon 
blew into Tortoise's eyes. She swelled, and swelled, and died. 
That's the end. 
[THONGA] 
31 
~aster Rabbit and the Berries 
T HI S IS W H AT j\'IASTER RABBIT DID: The beasts were dying of thirst. They dug a well, but Master Rab-
bit refused to dig, saying, "I have enough juicy food." 
H e went and met the crane. They resolved to gather certain berries called 
mfulimunil1ga or nkoroondo, and soon they found them. T hen they ate 
some and put the others aside. This done, they went and walked each his 
own way in the forest: 
While they were on their walk, Master Rabbit bethough t himself of going 
back, and he went and ate all the berries. 
H e then called to the crane and asked, "Who has eaten my berries? It 
must be you, Crane, since you were here." 
"Friend," said the crane, "I have not seen them." 
"Now," said the rabbit, "what will you pay me for the berries, my berries 
which you have eaten?" And he went on singing: 
"My berries! 
I am dead, I am eaten up." 
Mother! There is the crane shaking off and shaking off some of his feath-
ers .. .." Which is the biggest? " he said. H e threw a big one to Master Rab-
bit, who picked it up and went on his way home. 
There he goes ....H e ·happened to meet on the road some people who 
were dancing the war dance and throwing the assegai at one another. "H ere 
is a feather," he said, " for one of you to put on." So one of them stuck the 
feather on his head, but a gust of wind came and blew it off .... 
"I-Iello, 111u11Sanje!" said the man. "There is your feather going a,vay," 
"Let it go," said the rabbit, "let it go. vVhat is it 'worth ?" 
"Well, Rabbit," asked some of the people, "does it not look as if we were 
men?" 
The sun was going down. Someone said, "H ave they given you back your 
feather?" 
"They have not." 
So he sang: 
"Alas! My big feather, 
That I got from my brother the crane, 
The crane tbat ate my berries, 
My berries that I found on a dry tree. 
My berries! I am dead, I am eaten up." 
They gave ~he rabbit a fish-spear. He picked it up and went and met some 
NATIVE 
people who were fishing. "Here is a spear," he said, "fer one of you to spear 
AFRICAN the fishes." 
FOLKTALES One man took it and went on killing fish after fish umil he nit a big one. 
There was the spear disappearing into the water. Dear! Dear! It was going 
to stop only at the bottom. 
"0 munsanje} your sp€ar is gone." 
13 0 "Let it go. What is it worth?" 
When the rabbit saw the sun go down, he said, "It looks as if the sun were 
going while we rabbits are still here." 
"Let them give you your spear first." 
"Yes," he sang, 
"My spear that I got from playing at war, 
The people playing at war that lost my big feather, 
The big feather that I got from my brother the crane, 
The crane that ate my berries, 
My berries that I found on a dry tree. 
My benies! I am dead, 1 am eaten up." 
They made for the rabbit a parcel of fish, and he picked it up. 
He went on and met some people who were eating porridge witheut 
relish. He asked them, "Do you really eat without relish? Here is some 
fish." 
They put the pot on the fire, then ate, and finished the fish while Rabbit 
slept. He then awoke. "Have you finished them?" he asked. 
"Alas/ My fishes which you have eaten, 
Tbe fishes that 1 got f,·om people 
fishing with kafir-corn stalks, 
The fishermen that lost my fish-spears, 
The fish-spear that I got from people playing at war, 
The people playing at war that lost my big feather, 
The big feather that I got fro11' my btotber the crane, 
The crane that ate my berries, 
The berries that I found on a dry tree. 
My berries! I am dead, I am eaten up." 
They gave him kafir corn. He took it and went and met some people who 
were eating sour mille "Here is some grain," he said. "Grind it and cook 
some light porridge." 
They cooked it and ate it all up ....T hen he remembered: "H ave they 
given you back your kalir corn, Rabbit?" 
The sun was going down. So he said, "Give me back my kafir corn." 
"vI/hat? " they replied. "Did you not give it to us?" 
"And I, did h :ell you to eat it? 0 mother! 
THE 
"Alas! my kafir corn tbat you bave eaten, 
AN I MA L 
T he kafir corn tbat I got from people 
who were eating pOTTidge witbout "elisb, AND HI S 
T he people eating without relisb tbat ate my fishes, WORLD 
T be fishe~,at:.l goCfrom people 
fisbing With kafir-corn stalks, 
T he fisheT71zen that lost my fish -spears, 
T he fish -spear that I got from people playing at war, 
T he people playing at war that lost my big feather, 
T he big feather that I got from my brother the crane, 
T he C1'ane that ate my beTTies, 
My berries that I found on a dry tree. 
My berries! I am dead, I a11l eaten up." 
They gave him sour milk. So he went on and on, walking carefully. H e 
then saw clouds: "Now," he said, "it looks as if this little cloud were going 
to drench me. Somebody will have to pay for ir." 
. So he went to the top of an ant-hill. And there the little cloud burst 
upon him. He began to slip and fell over there. There was the sour milk 
spilt on the ground ...." T o think," he said, "that my sour milk should be 
spilt like that! 
"My sour milk that I got from people eating thick milk, 
T he people eating tbick milk, that ate my kafir corn! 
4nt-hill! 
Give me my sour milk. 
A nt-hill! 
Give me 11Iy sour milk." 
o mother! Did not the ant-hill actually send out winged ants for him! 
He picked them up and went to meet the lion, who was guarding the ani-
mals' well . "Give me some water," he said, "I am thirsty." 
"This is no water for the rabbit," said the lion. "Did you not refuse 
to dig?" 
The rabbit said, "Do you know what I have here?" 
"What is it that you have?" asked the lion. 
"They are winged ants," answered the rabbit. 
"Well!" said the lion. "T ie me up while I eat, but let me have the winged 
ants." 
The rabbit tied him up properly, then gave him the winged ants. After 
that he went and drank his fill, and, when he had had enough, he took a bath 
in the well. Then he said, "Your water is all dirtied, as we are rabbits." He 
went away. 
Soon after that the beasts came to drink from their well. They found the 
water all dirty and asked, "Who is it that has made our water so dirty?" 
The lion said, "It is the rabbit. Do you not see how he has tied me up?" 
"What! The little rabbit has tied up such a big person I How did that 
happen?" 
"He deceived me by giving me winged ants." 
The beasts, hearing that, got up and, coming up to the rabbit, fired a can-
non at him, boom! and he came to an end. 
So does my little story. 
[TONGA] 
32 
How It Came About That We Shall Always See 
Okra the Cat Lying ,on a Velvet Cushion, 
While Okraman the Dog Sleeps Among 
the Ashes of the Kitchen Fire 
T HEY SA Y that there once was a certain \varnan who was so unfortu-' nate that whenever she gave birth to a child it died. So she set out to 
consult one of the lesser-gods about it and to tell him that she desired a 
child. The lesser-god said, " I shall give you one, but as for the child, all the 
work he will ever do will be to get you into debt, but nevertheless, some day 
he will repay you." 
It was not two days, it was not three days after consulting the lesser-god, 
when the woman conceived. She gave birth to a child-a spider-story child 
it was, for it was not long in growing up. T he infant grew into a comely 
youth. One day he was with his mother and he said, "Mother, give me gold 
dust that I may go to the Edge-of-the-Sea-Country and buy salt." 
The mother said, "H-o\v much do you want? )) 
H e said, "An asuanu." And the mother took it and gave to him, and he 
set out on the journey. 
Now, as he was going, he met a certain man and his spotted dog. He said, 
"Bring it that I may buy it." 
The dog's master said, ((You cannot buy it." 
The youth said, "How much is it?" 
The dog's master replied, "An asuanu's weight of gold dust." 
The youth said, "What's that to me' Take this asuanu." He received the 
dog and brought it back home. 
When he returned, his mother said, "Why did you not reach your desti-
nation?» 
He replied, "1 used the gold dust to buy a dog." 
His mother said, «Ho~" 
Now they were living there, it would be for about one moon, when the 
youth said, "Mother, give me gold dust that I may go trading." 
'33 
She said, "As for you, as is your wont, you will only take the gold dust 
and throw it away again, but how much do you want?" 
He replied, "An asuanu-and-suru's worth of gold dust." 
She said, "Take it, then." So he set out along the trade road. 
As he was going along, he met a certain man carrying a cat. He said, "Man, 
bring that animal that always falls on its feet, that I may buy it." 
NATIVE The man said, "When I lie down in my room, the mice gnaw my feet; for 
AFRICAN that reason I bought it." 
He said, "I beseech you, let me have it." 
FOLKTALES The man said, "You cannot buy it." 
The youth asked, "How much wil l you take for it?" 
The man then replied, "An asuanu-and-sul1<'S worth of gold dust." 
'34 The boy said, "So that's why you say 1 cannot buy it! Here, take it." The 
boy received the cat and went off horne with it. 
\i\Then he reached horne; he said, "Mother, look here at what I have 
brought." 
She replied, "Ah, that is JUSt what they said would happen." The child 
remained there at home. 
It would be about forty days later when the son again addressed his 
mother, saying, "Give me gold dust that I may go trading." 
The mother said, "All the money I have about me is finished with the 
exception of an asuasa's weight of gold dust. If I give you this, and you go, 
and you do not buy goods with it, that's the end of this business." 
The boy said, "I have heard." 
The next morning, when things became visible, the youth took up his bag 
and was off, pal As he was going, he met a certain Ashanti fellow who was 
carrying a pigeon. He said, "Friend, bring that creature of yours that I may 
buy it." 
The Ashanti replied, "I am not selling it, for I amuse myself with it. " 
The youth said, "I shall buy it." 
The bird's master said, " I will not sell it, for I know what it may do 
for me." 
The boy said, "Oh, give it to me." 
He said, "Will you be able to buy it?" 
The boy said, "How much~" 
I-Ie replied, "An asuasa's weight of gold dust." 
He said, "Do you suppose because of that r would not buy it? Here is 
the sum." 
The boy brought the bird home. His mother said, "This has turned out 
no berrer than before. So this is what you have brought?" He replied, 
"Nevertheless, this is w hat I have brought." 
Now one day the boy was living there at home, when the pigeon called 
to him, saying, "Come." When he went up to it, the pigeon informed him, 
saying, "In my own village 1 am a chief, and 1 was about to go on a journey 
when a certain fellow came and seized hold of me. Then you, out of your 
kindness, bought me, and now I beseech you, if you will only take me back 
to my town, the people will thank you greatly." 
The boy said, "You are teUing me lies. You will run away." 
The pigeon said, " If you can't see your way to do as I ask, then take a 
THE 
string and tie it to my leg, and take me along." 
The boy took a string and fastened it to the pigeon's leg, and it fo llowed ANIMAL 
slowly behind him until they arrived at the pigeon's town. INhen they AND H I S 
reached the outskirts of the town, the children were playing nte marbles. 
As soon as they saw the bird they said, "H ere is the chief! Here is the WORL D 
chief'" One of the children ra'll to tell t he Korenti chief, but they seized him 
and cut his throat, saying, "You are causing us to call to mind OUf late sor-
row ." But another one went again with the same tidings. 135 
And now the Akwamu chief said, "You, Gyase chief, do you yourself 
go and see what this is all about." 
He went and looked, and returned. He said, "Oh, it is true!" Then they 
got a hammock and the regalia and went to bring the chief to his house. The 
whole tribe was told the news-how he was setting out on a journey, and 
how a certain fellow had caught him, and how this youth by his kindness 
had bought him, and how today he had brought him home. 
Elders and young people aU rose up and thanked the youth. The queen 
mother brought a waterpot full of gold dust, and all of the elders also each 
gave a waterpot fu ll of gold dust. The chief himself looked on his hand and 
slipped off a ring and gave it to the youth. And he said, "T ake this ring, and 
whatever you desire this ring will give to you." 
He said, "I have heard." And he went off with the ring to his village, and 
he showed the gold dust and the ring to his mother. 
Then the mother said, ""Velcome Aku, welcome Aku'" 
Formerly, when the boy, having burned up his gold dust and returned 
from his journeys, would salute his mother, she used not to answer him. And 
he gave his mother the news, saying, "You have seen this gold dust and this 
ring; I shall go and build it great village for us to live in." 
The mother said, "Press your eyes hard; try your best to do so." 
The youth set Out and went and stood in the bush. He slipped off the ring 
and placed it on the ground and said, "Ring, clear all this land of forest and 
of bush for me." And the whole of the place became cleared. He said, "Col-
lect all which you have cleared into heaps for burning." And it did so. H e 
said, "Set up houses." And it set up many houses. He said, "Ring, let people 
come and inhabit these houses. " And people came. 
The youth made his mother the queen mother and he became chief. 
Now, Ananse, the spider, was his best friend. One day, when he was living 
there in his new home, K waku Ananse set out to come to this youth's village. 
When he reached it, he said, "Oh, little mother's child, little father's child, 
you have been fortunate and successful and you don't care any more about 
me or to look after me. Eut what has happened to bripg all this about?" 
Then the youth told him all the news. The spider replied, "I shall go to 
my village to get something and return." 
Ananse went off to his village. He said to his niece, "I shall send you to my 
friend yonder, and when you go you will take this white wine for him, and 
pay attention and do whatever he orders, and you must try secretly to lay 
NATIVE your hands on that ring." 
AFRICAN The girl set out and went to the youth's village. The youth said to her, "As 
for this, I shall see to it that you do not go back again, for you must stay 
FOLKTALES with me three days before you return." 
The girl said, "I have heard." 
Now he and the girl were there together, and the youth went to bathe. 
'3 6 He slipped off the ring and placed it on a table, and the girl took it and went 
off with it to her uncle, K waku Ananse. As soon as Ananse laid his hands 
upon it, he made use of the ring to build a big town. 
Now, the youth, when he came to look for his ring, could not find it. He 
came to hear that the spider had built a big town which was greater than his 
own. Then he went off to consult one of the lesser-gods yonder. The lesser-
god told him, "Ananse's niece who came there to you has taken your ring 
and gone and given it to her uncle." The spider also went to consult the 
lesser-god, and it was revealed to him that Okra, the cat, and Okraman, the 
dog, would be sent to recover the ring. Therefore he went and got medi-
cine with which to treat the meat he was going to place on the path, so that 
when the animals who were walking there took some to eat, they would be 
unable again to go anywhere at all. 
The youth who had lost his ring came home and told the cat and the dog: 
"The time has now come for me to tell you the reason I bought you, and 
it is this: something belonging to me has been lost, and they say it is in the 
possession of the spider, but that it lies in a box which is in the middle of all 
the rest of his boxes. They say he has taken medicine and mixed it with the 
flesh of the sheep and placed it on the path. So when you reach there, don't 
eat it but jump over it." 
The dog said, "Cat, have you heard ? You are the one who will chew it." 
The cat said, "Oh, go along, you who every little while take your nose 
to sniff and sniff!" 
Then they began to talk a lot, and their master said, "That's all right, 
be off." 
The two animals set out and were going along the path. Now there re-
mained only a short time for them to reach the place where the meat was, 
when the dog detected the smell of it. He said, "Cat, I have a pain in my 
stomach and I cannot go on." 
The cat said, "Come, come' Let us go on, the business in hand is impor-
tant." 
The dog said, "Cat, I am unable." 
The cat went on alone. The dog then went to where the meat was, and 
he chewed up the who le of the meat. There he lay! He was unable to go 
on any more. And the cat reached Ananse's village, and lay down in Ananse's 
sleeping-room, on the ceiling above the room. As he lay there, he saw a 
mouse passing.- Squeak! as he landed on its head. The mouse said, "Don't 
catch me, w hat is the matter?" THE 
The cat replied, "My master's ring has been lost and they say it lies in AN I MAL 
Ananse's box, which stands in the middle of all the rest of his boxes. If you AN D HIS 
are able to go and bring it to me, then I shall let you go." 
The mouse said, "I am able." WORLD 
The cat said, "Suppo~ I let you go, and you go off and don't bring it but 
run a\vay?" 
The mouse said, " If you wish, fasten a string around my waist." I37 
The cat took a string and tied it around the mouse's waist. Then the mouse 
went off into the spider's room and gnawed a hble in the box which stood 
in the middle of all the rest. Little by little he made an opening, and soon 
it became large. He passed through it to go and get the ring to take to the 
cat. No sooner did the cat lay his hands upon it, than he ran off and came 
across the dog. He was lying JUSt where the cat had left him. The cat said, 
"You are still ly ing here! And where is that meat?" 
The dog said, "Oh, I did not see what became of it. Perhaps the people 
to whom it belonged came and removed it. But where ~ the ring?" The cat 
said, "H ere it is." The dog said, "They say that the river which lies in the 
path is in fl ood, and as you, Cat, walk on the bottom when you cross water, 
it might be that the ring would fall down, so give it to me, for as for me, you 
know, I pass on the surface of the water." 
The cat said, "That's SO; you take it." 
They reached the river, and the dog jumped in-so did the cat. At once 
the cat crossed over. The dog reached the centre of the stream and became 
tired and, as he was about to take a deep breath, the ring fell out of his mouth 
into the water. H e crossed over and came to where the cat '\vas. 
The cat said, "Where is that ring?" He said, " It fell out of my mouth into 
the water. " The cat ran and entered the water; he saw a great fish passing. 
The cat caught it. The fish said, "vVhat is it'" 
H e said, "My ring has just fallen into this river, so unless you want trouble, 
give me what belongs to me at once. If you don't give it to me I shall kill 
you immediately." 
The fish said, "Let us go to the river bank that I may give you what be-
longs to you." 
When they both reached the bank, the fish vomited and the ring came out. 
The cat took it and came and showed it to the dog. The dog said, "Father, 
I beg of you, when you go, don 't speak about what has happened." The cat 
remained silent. They reached home and the cat told his master all that had 
happened, saying, "Because of the meat which the dog chewed as we were 
going along, he became unable to go farther. And again, when I had gone 
and got the ring and brought it back, the dog said to me, as he crossed a 
river on its surface, that I must hand over the ring to him. I gave it to him, 
and he threw it away in the river. It was only after a little while that I laid 
my hands on it again." 
All the people who were present said, "Praise be to the cat!" And they 
NATIVE shouted "E!" 
AFRICAN Then the chief said, "You, Cat, whatever kind of food I am eating, I will 
see to it that I break some and place in your little dish. Whatever mat I sleep 
FOLKTALES upon, I shall only lie upon it provided you lie on some of it. As for you, Dog, 
you will only lie on the smouldering embers of the dead fire when the chilly 
night comes. Only with floggings, the folk will flog you." 
That is why you will always see the cat sleeping nowhere bur on the best 
mat; also, if you cast some food down on the ground for him, he will not eat 
it unless it is on a plate. Bur as for the dog-we shall always see him sleeping 
in the courtyard on the dead ashes of the day's fire; also you will see him 
there being beaten, he will yelp "Kao!" 
It is all because of the time when the cat and the dog were sent on this 
business of the ring. 
[ ASHANTII 
33 
How IcCame About T hat the Hinder Part of 
Kw aku Ananse the Spider Became Big, 
at the Expense of His Head, 
Which Is Small 
T HE Y SA Y that once a great hunger came, and that K waku Ananse, the spider, said he would go and search for meat and vegetable food and 
bring it that he and his wife Aso might eat. H e went into a certain stream 
and there he met certain people. Now these people whom he met, excuse 
my saying so, were spirits. When Ananse met the spirits, they were stand-
ing in the water and splashing the stream-bed dry to catch the fish. Kwaku 
Ananse said, "Brothers, may I come and splash a little too?" 
T he spirits said, "Come." 
Ananse went, and he saw that they were using their skulls to splash the 
stream dry. The spirits said to Ananse, "You have seen that which we take 
"to splash the stream dry. Will you allow us to remove your skull in order 
that you may splash too?" Ananse said, "I will permit you, take it off for me." 
Of a truth, the spirits removed it and gave it to him. Kwaku Ananse and 
the spirits joined together in splashing the bed of the stream dry. As they 
splashed, the spirits raised a song: 
"We, the spirits, wben we splash tbe river-bed 
dry to catch fisb, "we use our beads to splasb the water. 
o the spirits, we are splashing the water." 
The spider said, "This song is sweet, may I sing some of it? " The spirits 
said, "Sing some." And he lifted up his voice: 
"Tbe spirits, we are splasbing tbe water, 
'UJe take our beads to splash tbe water. 
o tbe spirits, we are splasbing tbe water. 
Since tbe Creator made tbings, 
do we take our beads to splash tbe water? 
o tbe spirits, we are splashing the water. 
'39 
I take my head to splash the water dry today 0, 
o the spirits, we are splashing the water." 
Ananse finished singing, anm the spirits told him, saying, "We have 
splashed, we ha:ve got fish, your share is a basketful. Take it and go and eat. 
Take your sltull, join it on your body, and go off. But what we ha:ve to say 
most particularly is this-the :very day you sing any of that song, your skull 
NATIVE will open and fall off." 
AFRICAN The spider said, "Fish in abundance, which you ha:ve given to me, is all 
FOLKTALES that I desire, and as for a song-for what reason should I sing it?" 
The spirits said, "That is well, go off." 
So the spider set off. The spirits, too, got everything together and they, 
also, went away. When the spirits had reached yonder, as it were, then they 
raised their song: 
"We, the spirits, when we splash the river-bed dry 
to catcb fish, we use our beads to splash tbe water. 
o the spirits, we are splasbing tbe water." 
And the spider heard the song and he, too, took it up: 
"Since the Creator made tbings 
bave we taken our beads to splash the water? 
o tbe spirits, we are splasbing tbe water." 
No sooner had he finished than his skull opened and dropped off. Ananse 
lifted it up and held it against his chest. He said, "Spirits, spirits, my head has 
fallen off." 
The spirits heard, and they said, "That's the spider. He hasn't listened to 
what we told him, and he is calling us. Let us all go back and hear him." 
Almost immediately, Spider came hastening along. He said, "Puo! Children 
of my father! My head has opened and fallen off, so I beg of you, if I have 
done you any harm, forgive it. You are in the right, but take my head and 
put it back in its place for me." 
The spirits took it, and replaced it. They said to him, "Now, if you sing 
this song again and your head falls off again, we shall not answer when you 
call us. So get along with you!" The spirits set off again. 
As they were going they sang their song. Then Ananse began to sing 
again, ana his head became detached and fell off, kutuku1l2! And he lifted 
it and, excuse my vulgarity, clapped it against his anus, and leaped to the side 
of the path. Sora' was the sound of the grass parting as he entered it. He said, 
"Path, save me! When the day dawns that I am rich, I shall give you some." 
That is why you will see Ananse with a small head and a very big bottom. 
It all comes from the hardness of his ears. 
[AsHANT1l 
34 
Why There Are Cracks in Tortoise's Shell 
M R. T ORTOISE, who was married to Mrs. Tortoise, had in Vulture a friend w-ha "vas constant in visiting him. But, having no wings, Tor-
toise was unable to return the visits, and this upset him. One day he be-
thought himself of his cunning and said to his wife, "Wife! " 
Mrs. Tortoise answered, "Hello, husband! What is it?" 
Said he, "D on't you see, -wife, that "ve are becoming despicable in Vulture's 
eyes?" 
"How despicable?" 
"Despicable, because it is despicable for me not to visit Vulture. He is al-
ways coming here and I have never yet been to his house-and he is my 
friend." 
Mrs. T ortoise replied, "I don't see how Vulture should think us despicable 
unless we could fly as he does and then did not pay him a visit." 
But Mr. Tortoise persisted: "Nevertheless, wife, it is despicable. " 
Said his wife, "Very well, then, sprour some wings and fly and visit your 
friend Vulture." 
Mr. Tortoise answered, "No, I shan't sprout any wings because I was not 
born that way." 
"Well," said i\1rs. T ortoise, 4\vhat w ill you do?" 
"I shall find a way," he replied. 
"Find it then," said Mrs. ·Tortoise, "and let us see what you will do. " 
Later Tortoise said to his wife, "Come and tie me up in a parcel with a 
lump of tobacco and, when Vulture arrives, give it to him and say that it is 
tobacco to buy grain for us." So Mrs: Tortoise took some palm leaf and made 
him into a parcel and put him down in the corner. 
At his usual time, Vulture came to pay his visit and said, "Where's your 
husband gone, Mrs. T ortoise?" 
"My husband has gone some distance to visit some people, and he left 
hunger here. We have not a bit of grain in the house." 
Vulture said, "You are in trouble indeed, not having any grain." 
Mrs. Tortoise replied, ""\IVe are in such trouble as human beings never 
knew." And she went on: "Vulture, at your place is there no grain to be 
bought?" 
"Yes," said he, "any amount, Mrs. Tortoise." 
She brought the bundle and said, "My husband left this lump of tobacco 
thinking you would buy some grain with it for us and bring it here." 
Vulture willingly took it and returned to his home in the heights. As he 
was nearing his native town he was surprised to hear a voice saying, "Untie 
me, I am your friend Tortoise. I said I would pay a visit to you." 
But Vulture, in his surprise, let go his hold of the bundle and down crashed 
Tortoise to the earth, pididi-pididi, his shell smashed to bits, and he died. And 
so the friendship between Tortoise and Vulture was broken: and you can 
still see the cracks in Tortoise's shell. 
[BAlLA 1 
35 
Why ~ome Animals Became Domesticated 
I N T H E 0 L 0 EN D A Y S all cattle, sheep, and goats lived in the forests. Then, one day, T ororut called all the anin" ls before him at a place in the 
jungle, and he lighted a large fire there. And when the animals Saw the fire 
they were frightened and fled away back into the forests. There remained 
only the cattle, sheep, and goats who were not frightened. And T ororut was 
pleased with these animals and blessed them, and he decreed that henceforth 
they should always live with man who would eat their fl esh and drink their 
milk. 
[ SUK 1 
Ifl 
36 
How Honey-Guide Came to Have 
Authority over Honey 
H aN E Y - G U IDE and Capped VVheatear lived together in one place at first and ate out of one dish. Honey-Guide was the elder, VVheatear the 
younger. They set their minds on going to hunt for honey, and it happened 
when they arrived in the vicinity of the honey that Honey-Guide said, 
"Smile, Wheatear, when you see where the honey is." VVheatear smiled, but 
he did not see the honey. When Honey-Guide smiled he had really seen it. 
That is what they did, and then they returned horne leaving the honey 
behind, but Wheatear quietly disappeared and went off to steal the honey. 
Next morning Honey-Guide said, "Let us go to our honey." There they 
found a bit of bare honeycomb mangled and thrown about, so he asked 
Wheatear about it, and Wheatear replied, "My brother, I have seen neither 
it nor him who has stolen the honey. Since we carne out yesterday nobody 
has come back here to demolish the honey in this way." And once again 
Wheatear said to Honey-Guide, "As for me, I could not eat any of this 
honey unless you had given it to me." 
So then Honey-Guide said no more, and they went out again looking for 
honey. Once more they found some honey. Honey-Guide saw it before 
Wheatear did, and he tested ,;Vheatear by saying, "Smile." Wheatear said, 
"I cannot see the honey, smile yourself, my brother." Honey-Guide: "No, 
child, smile." So Wheatear smiled and he saw the honey; then Honey-Guide 
asked him, "What do you see?" 
,;Vheatear said, "It looks as if it might be flies fluttering before the eyes." 
Honey-Guide said, "Haven't you seen it?" 
But Wheatear was deceiving him, for he saw the honey all the time. When 
Honey-Guide was about to smile, he saw the honey and said, "Let us Cut 
down the tree to get it." 
Wheatear refused, saying, "No, as you said yesterday that I stole the 
honey, well, I am Wheatear' Let us bring some bird-lime and set a trap be-
side the honey, then if it be I who steal the honey you will catch me." 
"Good business," replied Honey-Guide. 
They went off to get some bird-lime from the human beings. Then when 
'44 
they arrived at their village, Honey-Guide said, "We will come tomorrow 
to set the trap." But after a time Honey-Guide quietly disappeared and went 
off to set the bird-lime at the honey. Said Wheatear to himself, "Let me go 
quietly and eat the honey." But the bird-lime was set already, although he 
did not notice it_When he thought of sitting down beside the honey, he sat 
THE 
on the bird-lime. Said he, "I will strike it with my wing," but he stuck to it. 
And when he struck with his tail he stuck to it. vVhen he wanted to draw ANIMAL 
back his right wing, it was stuck fast. He tried to strike it with his breast but AND HIS 
he stuck. When he attempted to bite it with his beak, he bit the bird-lime. 
Then he simply died for lack of breath. WORLD 
When Honey-Guide -appeared OJ) the scene, after he had looked for him 
at the village, he found hin1 already dead. Then he mocked him, saying, 
"Wheatear, smile'" As he was dried up, he said that was the reward of 145 
thievery. "From today you will not steal any more. The chieftainship is mine 
over honey and to be extolled by people! As for you, from today your por-
tion shall be bird-lime already spread, and thus will you be killed by people." 
Now since they separated there on account of thievery, Wheatear belongs 
to bird-lime and Honey-Guide is still extolled. While he talked like this, 
Honey-Guide was standing upon the corpse of Wheatear. They became dis-
tinct in other directions, while their cry remained the same and, to this day, 
Wheatear's portion is bird-lime and to be entrapped by men. 
[B Al LA J 
37 
The Bird That Made Milk 
I T ISS A I D that there was once a great town in a certain place which had many people living in it. They lived only upon grain. One year there was 
a great famine. 
Now in that town there was a poor man, by name Masilo, and his wife. 
One day they went to dig jn their garden, and they continued digging the 
w hole day long. In the evening, when the digging gangs returned home, they 
returned also. Then there came a bird which stood upon the house which 
was beside the garden, and it began to whistle and said: 
"Masilo's cultivated ground, mL" together." 
The ground did as the bird said. After that was done, the bird went away. 
In the morning, when Masilo and his wife went to the garden, they were 
in doubt, and said, "Is this really the place we were digging yesterday'" 
They saw that it was the place by the people who were working on each 
side of them. The people began to laugh at them, and mocked them, and said, 
"It is because you are very lazy." 
They continued to dig again that day, and in the evening they went home 
with the others. 
Then the bird came and did the same thing. 
When they went back next morning, they found their ground altogether 
undug. Then they believed that they were bewitched by some of the others. 
They continued digging that day again. But in the evening when the dig-
ging gangs returned, Masilo said to his wife, "Go home; I will stay behind 
to watch and find the thing which undoes our work." 
Then he went and laid himself down by the head of the garden, under the 
same house on which the bird always perched. vVhile he was thinking, the 
bird came. It was a very beautiful bird. He was looking at it and admiring it, 
when it began to speak. 
It said, "Masilo's cultivated ground, mix together." 
Then he caught it, and said, "Ah' it is you who eats the work of our 
hands'" 
He took out his knife from the sheath and was going to cut off the head 
of the bird. 
Then the bird said, "Please don't kill me and I will make some milk for you 
to drink." 
Masilo answered, "You must bring back the work of my hands first. " 
The bird said, "Masilo's cultivated ground, appear," and it appeared. 
Then Masilo said, "Make the milk now," and, behold, it immediately made 
thick milk, which IvIasilo began to drink. When he was satisfied, he took the 
bird home. As b.e..approached his house, he put the bird in his bag. 
THE. 
After he entered his house, he said to his wife, " \ ;1/ ash all the largest beer 
pots which are in the house." ANIMAL 
But his wife was angry on account of her hunger and she answered, "What AND HIS 
have you to PUt in such large pots? " 
Masilo said to her, "Just listen to me, and do as I command you, then you WORLD 
will see." 
When she was ready with the POtS, Masilo took his bird out of his bag, and 
said, "Make milk * for my children to drink." 147 
Then the bird filled all the beer pots with milk. 
They commenced to drink, and when they were finished, Masilo charged 
his children, saying, "Beware that you do not tell anybody of this, not even 
one of your companions." 
They swore to him that they would not tell anybody. 
Masilo and his family then lived upon this bird. The people were surprised 
when they saw him and his family. They said, "Why are the people at 
Masilo's house so fat? He is poor, but now since his garden has appeared he 
and his children are so fat' " 
. They tried to watch and to see what he was eating, but they never could 
find out at all. 
One morning Masilo and his wife went to work in their garden. About the 
middle of the same day the children of that town met together to play. They 
'met just before Masilo's house. While they were playing the others said to 
Masilo's children, "Why are you so fat while we remain so thin?" 
They answered, "Axe we then fat ' We thought we were thin just as 
you are.)) 
They would not tell them the cause. The others continued to press them, 
and said, "We won't tell anybody." 
Then the children of Masilo said, "There is a bird in our father's house 
which makes milk." 
The others said, "Please show us the bird." 
They went into the house and took it out of the secret place where their 
father had placed it. They ordered it as their father did, to make milk, and 
it made milk, which their companions drank, for they were very hungry. 
After drinking they said, "Let it dance for us," and they loosened it from 
the place where it was tied. 
The bird began to dance in the house, but one said, "This place is too con-
fined," so they took it outside the house. While they were enjoying them-
selves and laughing, the bird flew away, leaving them in great dismay . 
.. See glossary, s.v. Hamasi." 
Masilo's Ghildren said, "Our fa~her will this day kill us, tpeFefore we must 
go aiter the biEd." 
So they followed it and continued going after it the whole day long, for 
when they were at a distance it would sit still for a long while and, when 
they approached, it would flyaway. 
When the digging gangs returned from digging, the people of the town 
NATIVE cried for their childrem., for they did not know what had become of them. 
AFRICAN But whem. Masilo went into the house and could not find his bird, he knew 
where the children were, but he did not tell any of the other parents. He was 
FOLKTALES very sorry about the bird, for he knew that he had lost his food. 
When evening set in, the children wanted to return to their homes, but 
there came a storm of rain with heavy thunder, and they weFe very much 
afraid. Among them was a brave boy, named Mosemanyanamatong, who 
encouraged them and said, "Do not be afraid. I can command a house to 
build itself." 
They said, "Please command it." 
He said, "House appear!" and it appeared, and also wood for a fire. Then 
the children entered the house and made a large fire, and began to roast some 
wild roots which they dug out of the ground. 
While they were roasting the roots and were merry, there came a big can-
nibal, and they heard his voice saying, "Mosemanyanamatong, give me some 
of the wild roots you have." 
They were afraid, and the brave boy said to the girls and to the other 
boys, "Give me some of yours." 
They gave some to him, and he threw the roots outside. While the cannibal 
was still eating, they went out and fled. He finished eating the roots, and 
then pursued them. When he approached, the children scattered more roots 
upon the ground, and while the cannibal was picking them up and eating, 
they again fled. 
At length they came among mountains, where trees were growing. The 
girls were already very tired, so they all climbed up into a tall tree. The can-
nibal came there and tried to cut the tree down with his long sharp fingernail. 
Then the brave boy said to the girls, "While I am singing you must con-
tinue saying, 'Tree be strong, Tree be strong!'" 
He sang this song: 
"It is foolish, 
It is foolish to be a traveller, 
And to go on a journey 
With the blood of girls upon one! 
Wbile we were roasting wild roots 
A great darkness feU upon us. 
It was not darkness, 
It was awful gloom!" 
While he was singing, there came a great bird w hich hovered over them, 
and said, "Hold fast to me." 
The children held fast to the bird and it fl ew away with them, and took 
them to their own town. 
It was midnight when it arrived there, and it sat down at the gate of 
THE 
Mosemanyanamatong's mother's house. 
In the morning, when that woman came out of her house, she took ashes ANIMAL 
and cast them upon the bird, for she said, "This bird knows where our chil- AND HIS 
dren are.» 
At midday the bird sent word to the chief, saying, "Command all your WORLD 
people to spread mats i;D,.1l the paths." 
The chief commanded them to do so. Then the bird brought all the chil-
dren out, and the people were greatly delighted. 
[ XOSA 1 
38 
The Man and the Snake 
A M A N 0 NC E F 0 U N D some snakes fighting. As he came near and looked at them he saw that one snake had been killed. He reproved them. He 
said, "Go away." 
One snake gave him a charm, saying, "By means of this charm you will 
hear all things. When the rat talks, you will hear it. When the cow talks, you 
will hear it. You will hear everything that is said." The man passed on. He 
came to the village. 
At night the man 's wife locked the house so that there was no open place. 
All was quite dark. She and her husband lay down to sleep. A mosquito came 
to the door. It examined the house and found no way in. The mosquito ex-
claimed, "They have locked the house very tightly. How can one get in~" 
The man understood and laughed. 
"What are you laughing about?" asked his wife. 
"Nothing," said he. 
Later, a rat came. He examined the door. He found it fast closed and left 
it. Then he tried the eaves of the house and got in. He searched everywhere. He 
wanted butter but he found none. He said, "Oh, where has that woman 
stored her butter?" The man laughed. 
His wife asked him, "' '''hat are you laughing about?" 
I-Ie answered, "Nothing." 
In the morning the man went to his barn. He let the cattle out. \,l,Ihen it 
was nearly milking time his wife came to mille When she arrived the cow 
said, "Of course you come, but you will not milk me today. I shall withhold 
my mille My calf will drink it afterward." The man laughed. 
His w>fe asked him, "What arc you laughing at?" 
He answered, "Nothing." 
The wife left the cow. She returned to the village. Then the calf sucked 
its mother. 
The next day the wife again came to milk. The cow again withheld its 
milk. In the afternoon the woman's child was ill for want of milk. She 
brought it to the barn and she talked to her husband. She said, "That calf will 
kill my daughter." 
The cow interrupted, "' '''hat! My daughter will lilll your daughter?" 
The man laughed. 
His wife asked him, "What are you laughing about?" 
H e ans'wered, "Nothing." 
' iVhen it was nearly sunset his wife said, HI shall get a divorce." 
THE 
She called all the people. They came to her husband's place. They seated 
themselves. They said to the wife: AN I MA L 
"You and your husband talk. vVe will listen." AN D HI S 
The wife talked. She said to the people, "When we lie down to sleep, my 
husband always laughs at me without any reason. vVhen I ask him why he WORLD 
does it he hides the reasoll' from me. Thac is why I object to him." 
Then they asked the husband, "\"'hy do you laugh at your wife? Tell us." 
He answered, UNothing." 
They said again, "T ell us." 
He answered, "Men, if I tell it, I will die." 
They said, "Tell it, man! Do not hide it." 
He replied, "Oh, men, I will not tell it. I wi ll surely die if I do." 
They urged him. vVhen he was worn out he told them. I-Ie said to the 
people, "T his is the reason why I laughed when we were lying down in the 
house. After a while at night the mosquito would talk. It would say, 'Who 
is this woman that has locked up her house so tightly? ' '''here can one get 
in?' That is why I laughed." 
The man died, as he had said. The people cried. Some of them dug a 
grave. As they were abour to bury the body a certain snake hastened to the 
desolate spot. It wrapped itself around the body. It stuck its tail in the nose 
of the dead man. H e sneezed. The people were amazed. Some of them said, 
"Is it his god? " 
Others replied, "vVhy ask who it is?" 
When the man stood up the snake left. 
' '''hen the man had quite recovered he travelled through the desolate 
places. He found the snake under a tree. The snake said, "But why did you 
tell ? Long ago when I gave you that charm I told you it would make you 
hear all things." 
The man replied, "They urged me, so I told them." 
The snake said, "Oh' " 
Then the snake gave him another charm, saying, "You will hear the words 
of the birds which eat the kafir corn. W hen a bird eats the kafir corn in the 
field you will hear its words." 
The snake went away. 
The man returned to the village. He heard many things. When a bird 
was eating the kafir corn, if another bird came near, the first one would say, 
"Bird' Do not come. vVe shall be seen. I am eating quietly. This is my place. 
Let us separace. The field is large." 
After a while another bird would reply, "What I I shall be found out?" A 
third would break in, "How will you get out? Perhaps they will find us." 
"Let him go." cried one bird. 
"I am not going," said the other. The man laughed there in the kafir corn. 
The man always held that snake sacred as his god. 
[NUER 1 
39 
How- .Elephant Married a Nama Woman 
and Was Deceived by Her 
I T ISS A I D that Elephant fell madly in love with a Nama woman and married her. Her two brothers came to visit her secretly bur, for fear of 
him, she told Elephant she wanted to fetch some wood and then went and 
hid the two in the firewood. 
Then she said, "Since I have married into this kraal, I beg you to tell me, 
has the one-withour-hair-at-the-knees been slaughtered for me? " (That 
wou ld be a fully grown ram.) The blind mother-in-law answered her, 
"Things that were not spoken about of old, these she now speaks of and the 
smell of a Nama is present." T hereupon the woman answered her mother-
in-law, "Should I nOt anoint myself in the old way and sprinkle myself with 
incense?" And the mother-in-law said, "Hom, things are being said by my 
son's sweetheart which she did not say of ald." 
Just then, E lephant, who had been in the field, came home and behaved as 
though he had found our that the woman's two brothers had come. He 
rubbed himself against the house. Then the wife said, "What I did not do of 
old, now I do. vVhich day did you slaughter for me the ram lying far back 
in the kraal, and when did I anoint myself and sprinkle myself with my 
incense' " Thus the woman spoke to him. Thereupon the mother-in-law said 
to him, "Things which were not spoken abour of old are spoken now; there-
fore grant her her desire." 
So the one-withour-hair-at-the-knees was slaughtered. And the woman her-
self fried it. T hat night she asked her mother-in-law, "How do you breathe 
when you sleep the sleep of life, and how do you breathe when yoo sleep 
the sleep of death? " And the mother-in-law said, "Hum, this is an evening 
rich in conversation. When we sleep the sleep of death, we breathe sui sui, 
and when we sleep the sleep of life, we breathe chao awaba, chao awaba." 
Then the woman prepared all her things as well as herself, while the others 
just slept. vVhen they snored heavily and slept the sui sui sleep, she rose and 
said to her brothers, "The people are sleeping the sleep of death, let us make 
ready! " So the rwo rose and went our, and she uncovered the mat-house and 
took all the necessary things and said, "Any noise that is made means that 
153 
someone wants me to die." So all things were done in silence. Then with the 
two brothers, who stood ready to go, she went among the flock, leaving her 
husband just a cow, a sheep, and a goat. Then she instructed the cow, "Do 
not cry as though you were only one, if you do not desire my death." She 
spoke to the sheep and the goat in a like manner. Then they moved on with 
all the flock behind them. Now, the animals that had been left behind, cried 
NATIVE out and cried out noisily in the night, as though all of them were still there, 
AFRICAN and Elephant thought all of them were really there. When he arose at 
daybreak, he saw his wife had left with everything, so he grabbed a stick 
FOLKTALES and said to his mother, "If I fall, the eatth will resound with a thud." And he 
pursued them. 
When his wife and her brothers saw him coming close, they turned aside 
154 but could not penetrate a rock which barred the way. Thereupon the woman 
said, "\Ne  are people behind whom a big company of travellers is following, 
so, rock of my forefathers, spread out to both sides for us!" And the rock 
parted and then, when all had gone through, closed again. 
Elephant, too, soon arrived and said to the rock, "Rock of my forefathers, 
cleave yourself for me too' " Then it spread itself and when he had entered, 
closed again. There Elephant died. The earth resounded with a thud. His 
mother at home said, "As it was predicted by my oldest son, so it has hap-
pened. The earth has just resounded with a thud." 
r NAMA 1 
40 
How Kwaku Ananse Got Aso III Marriage 
T H E REO NeE L I V E D a certain man called Akwasi-the-Jealous-One, and his wife was Aso. He did not want anyone to see Aso or anyone to talk 
to her, so he went and built a small settlement for Aso to live in. No one ever 
went into that village. 
Now he, Akwasi-the-Jealous-One, could not beget children. Because of 
that, if he and his wife lived in town, someone would take her away. Now 
the sky-god advised the young men, saying, "Akwasi-the-Jealous-One has 
been married to Aso for a very, very long time. She has not conceived by 
him and borne a child; therefore he who is able, let him go and take Aso and, 
should she conceive by him, let him take her as his wife." All the young men 
tried their best to lay hands on her, but not one was able. 
Now Kwaku Ananse, the spider, was there watching these events and he 
said, "I can go to Akwasi-the-Jealous-One's village." 
The sky-god said, "Can you really do so?" 
Ananse said, "If you will give me what I require." 
The sky-god said, "What kind of thing?" Ananse replied, "Medicine for 
gun and bullets." And the sky-god gave them to him. 
Then Ananse took the powder and bullets to various small villages, saying, 
"The sky-god has bade me bring powder and bullets to you, and you are to 
go and kill meat, and on the day I shall return here I shall take it and depart." 
He distributed the powder and the bullets among very many small villages, 
until all were exhausted. All the villagers gave him some meat. 
On a certain day Ananse wove a palm-leaf basket. Its length, as it were, 
was from here to over yonder. Ananse took it to the small villages where he 
had distributed the powder and bullets to receive all the meat which they had 
killed. Father Ananse took the meat and palm-leaf basket, set them on his 
head, and set out on the path leading to Akwasi-the-Jealous-One's settle-
ment. When he reached the stream from which Akwasi and his wife drank, 
he picked out some meat and put it in the stream. 
Ananse strode hard, carrying the palm-leaf basket full of meat, and passed 
through the main entrance leading into Akwasi-the-Jealous-One's compound. 
Aso saw him. She said, "Akwasi-e! Come and look at something which is 
coming to the house here. What can it be'" 
'55 
Ananse said, "It is the sky-god who is sending me, and I am weary, and I 
am coming to sleep here." 
Akwasi-the-Jealous-One said, "I have heard my lord's servant." 
Aso said to Ananse, "Father man, some of your meat has fallen down at 
the main entrance to the compound." 
The spider said, "Oh, if you happen to have a dog, let him go and take it 
NATIVE and chew it." So Aso went and got it and gave it to her husband. Then 
AFRICAN An.nse said, "Mother, set some food on the fire for me." Aso put some on, 
and Ananse said, "Mother, is it fufuo that you are cooking or eta?" 
FOLKTALES Aso replied, "Fufuo." 
Ananse said, "Then it is too little; go and fetch a big pot." 
Aso went and fetched a big one, and Ananse said, "Come and get meat." 
There were forty hindquarters of great beasts. He said, "Take only these 
and put them in the pot. If you had a pot big enough, I would give you 
enough meat to chew to make your teeth fall out." 
Aso finished preparing the food, turned it out of the pot, and placed it on 
a table, splashed water, and put it beside the rest of the food. Then Aso took 
her portion and went and set it down near the fire, and the men went and sat 
down beside the table. They touched the backs of each other's hands and ate 
out of the same dish. All the time they were eating, Kwaku Ananse said, 
"There is no salt in this fufuo." 
Akwasi said to Aso, "Bring some. II 
But Ananse said, "Not at all. When the woman is eating, you tell her to 
get up to bring salt. Do you yourself go and bring it." 
Akwasi arose from the table, and Ananse looked into his bag and took out 
a pinch of purgative medicine and put it in the fUfuo . Then he called Akwasi, 
saying, "Come back for I have brought some with me." 
''''hen Akwasi came Ananse said, "Oh, I shall eat no more; I am full." 
Akwasi, who suspected nothing, continued eating. 
When they had finished their meal, Akwasi said, "Friend, we and you are 
sitting here and yet we do not know your name." 
Ananse replied, "I am called 'Rise-Up-and-Make-Love-to-Aso.' " 
Akwasi said, "I have heard, and you, Aso, have you heard this man's 
name? " 
Aso replied, "Yes, I have heard." 
Akwasi rose up to go and prepare one of the spare bedrooms and to make 
everything comfortable. He said, "Rise-Up-and-Make-Love-to-Aso, this is 
your room, go and sleep there." 
The spider said, "I am the soul-washer to the sky-god and I sleep in a 
open veranda-room. Since mother bore me and father begat me, I have never 
slept in a closed bedroom." 
Akwasi said, "\¥here, then, will you sleep?" 
He replied, "Were I to sleep in this open veranda-room here, to do so wonld 
be to make you equal to the sky-god, for it would mean that I was sleeping 
in the sky-gad's open veranda room. Since I am never to sleep in anyone's 
open room except that of a sky-god, and since that is so, I shall just lie down 
in front of this closed sleeping-room where you repose." 
The man took out a sleeping mat and laid it there for him. Akwasi and his 
wife went to rest;-and Ananse, too, lay down there. An.nse lay there and he 
THE 
slipped in the crossbar of the bedroom door. Ananse lay there and took his 
musical bow and sang: ANIMAL 
"Akuamoa A name, today we shall achieve something, today. AND HI S 
Ananse, the child of Nsfa, the mother of Nya",e, the sky-god, today we WORLD 
shall achieve s01l1et!E.ng,Joday . 
Aname, the soul-was/jer to Ny«me, the sky-god, today I shall see some-
thing." 
157 
Then he ceased playing his sepirewa, and he laid it aside and lay down. 
H e had slept for some time when he heard Akwasi-the-Jealous-One calling, 
"Father man!" Not a sound in reply except the chirping of the cicada, dinn! 
"Father man!" Not a sound in reply except dinn! Akwasi-the-Jealous-One 
was dying. T he medicine had taken effect on him, but he called, "Father 
man'" Not a sound in reply except dinn! At last he said, "Rise-Up-and-
Make-Love-to-Aso! " 
The spider said, "M! M! M!" 
Akwasi said, "Open the door for me." Ananse opened the door, and 
Akwasi went out. And the spider rose up and went into the room there. 
He said, "Aso, did you not hear what your husband said? " 
She replied, "What did he say)" 
Ananse replied, "He said I must rise up and make love to you." 
'Aso said, "You don't lie.)) 
And he did it for her, and he went and lay down. 
That night Akwasi rose up nine times. The spider also went nine times to 
where Aso was. When things became visible next morning, Ananse went off. 
It would be about two moons later when Aso's belly became large. Akwasi 
questioned her, saying, "vVhy has your belly gOt like this? Perhaps you are 
ill, for you know that I who live with you here am unable to beget children." 
Aso replied, "You forget that man who came here whom you told to rise 
up and make love to Aso. Well, he took me and I have conceived by him." 
Akwasi-the-Jealous-One said, "Rise up, and let me take you to go and 
give you to him." They went to the sky-gad's town. On the way Aso gave 
birth. They reached the sky-gad's town and Akwasi went and told the sky-
god what had happened, saying, "A subject of yours whom you sent slept 
at my house and took Aso, and she has conceived by him." 
The sky-god said, "All of my subjects are roofing the huts. Go and point 
out the one you mean." They went off, and the spider was sitting on a ridge-
pole. 
Aso said, "There he is! " Then Ananse ran farther on. 
And again Aso said, "There he is'" Then Ananse fell down from up there 
where he was sitting. 
Now that day was Friday. Ananse said, "I, who wash the sky-god's soul-
you have taken your hand and pointed it at me, so that I have fallen down 
and got red earth on me." Immediately the attendants seized hold of Akwasi-
the-Jealous-One and made him sacrifice a sheep. When Akwasi-the-Jealous-
One had finished sacrificing the sheep, he said to the sky-god, "Here is the 
woman; let Ananse take her." So Ananse took Aso, but as for the infant, they 
killed it, cut it into pieces, and scattered them about. 
That is how jealousy came among the tribe. 
[AsHANTIl 
III 
The Realm of Man 
41 
The Young Man Who Was Carried Off by a Lion 
A YOU N G MAN of the early race once ascended a hill in order to hunt. As he looked around for game, however, he became sleepy-so sleepy, 
in fact, that he decided to lie down. " ' hat had happened to him? he won-
dered, as he stretched himself out on the ground, near a waterhole. Never 
before had he been thus overcome by sleep. 
As he slept, a lion, exhausted by the noonday heat, came to the pool to 
quench its thirst. The lion espied the man lying there asleep and seized him. 
Startled, the man awoke and, realizing that he had indeed been seized by a 
lion, he decided that it would be best not to stir, lest the lion bite and kill him. 
So he waited to see what the lion would do, for it was clear that the animal 
thought he was dead. 
The lion carried him to a zWart-storm tree. There it laid him in the tree, in 
the lower branches however, and in such fashion that his legs protruded. Ap-
parently the lion thought he would continue to be thirsty if he consumed the 
man's body immediately and ,bat it would be better first to go down to the 
pool and drink some more water. 
Before leaving, the lion pressed the man's head firmly between the branches 
of the z,vart-storm tree. 
No sooner had the lion left than the man moved his head ever so little. 
The lion noticed the movement, however, as he looked back, and was puz-
zled. How could the head move after it had been forced so firmly between 
the branches of rhe tree? Perhaps he had not fastened the man securely 
enough. 
Just then the man fell over. So the lion returned and, once again, pushed 
rhe man's head into the middle of the branches of the zwart-storm tree. As he 
did so, tears came into the man's eyes and the lion licked them away. 
The man lay there in pain, for a stick was pressing into the hollow at the 
back of his head. . He faced the lion steadily with closed eyes and turned his 
head just a little. To the lion it seemed again as if the man had moved, and 
again he licked away the tears from the man's eyes. Puzzled, the lion trod 
once more upon the man's head and pressed it down in order to be certain 
that the head might have moved because the body had not been properly 
confined, and not from any other reason. 
,6, 
The man, now fearing that the lion suspected that he was not dead, re-
mained absolutely motionless, in spite of the fact that the stick was cruelly 
piercing his head. 
The lion, finally satisfied that the body was now firmly and properly 
s€cured, moved a few steps away. Then he looked back. The man opened 
his eyes ever so little and through his eyelashes watched what the lion was 
NATIVE doing. 
AFRICAN The lion then ascended the hill and was about to proceed down to the 
water on the other side. 
FOLKTALES The man, on his part, turned his head gently, in order to see if the lion had 
really departed. But, as he did so, he saw the lion peering from behind the 
top of the hill. He had come back to take one more look at the man, for he 
162 had suspected that the man might possibly be only feigning death. That is 
why he had reascended the hill to take one more look. Since, however, the 
man still lay there immobile, the lion thought he might quickly run to 
the waterhole, drink his fill, and return without delay to consume the body. 
The lion was hungry enough but also not a little thirsty. 
All this time the man lay there quietly watching to see what the lion was 
going to do next. He saw its head and shoulders finally turn and disappear; 
but, before he made the slightest movement, he wanted to be absolutely 
certain that the lion had really gone and would not return to peer again over 
the hill. He knew that the lion is a thing of cunning and that the animal had 
been suspicious of the movement which his head had made. 
The man lay there a long time without moving, and only when he was 
positive that the lion had truly gone did he arise and spring forward to a 
different place. But he did this circumspectly, running in a zigzag direction, 
so that the lion could not smell him out and know where he had gone. 
That is why he ran this way and that and did not run straight toward his own 
house. He knew that when the lion returned and missed him, he would im-
mediately seek for him, following his spoor. 
As soon as the man came to the top of the hill, he called out to his people 
that he had just been "lifted up"-while the sun had stood high, he had been 
"lifted up." More he would not say. They were therefore to gather together 
all the many hartebeest skins they possessed so that they might roll him in 
them, for he had JUSt been " lifted up," while the sun had stood high. He 
wanted his people to do this, for he was certain that the lion, when it re-
turned and missed him, would seek and track him out. It is the way of a 
lion, with anything it has killed, not to leave it until he has eaten it. So in-
sistently the man besought his people to get the hartebeest skins and the mats 
and roll him up in them. 
The people thereupon did this for the young man, for it was their hearts' 
young man who had made the request and they did not wish the lion to eat 
him. Accordingly, they hid him well, in such fashion as to prevent the lion 
from getting hold of him. Indeed, they loved this young man greatly and 
they announced that they would cover him over with the huts ' sheltering 
bushes: all this they would do, to prevent the lion, when he arrived, from 
seizing their hearts' young man. 
Everyone now went out to look for some kuisse and when they found 
some, they dug-it-up, took it home, and baked it. 
At just about this time, an old Bushman, who had gone out to get some 
wood for his wife so that she might make a lire with which to cook the 
kuisse, espied the lion as he came over the top of the hill at the exact place 
T H E R EA LM 
where the young man had appeared. Immediately he told his house fo lk about 
it. Speaking, he said, "Do you see what it is that stands there yonder on the OF MAN 
top of the hill, at the place where the young man came over?" 
Thereupon the young man's mother, looking, exclaimed, "Not on any 
account must you permit that lion to come into our huts' You must shoot 
it and kill it before it ever comes that far!" 
So the people slung on their quivers and went to meet the lion. Again and 
again they shot at him, but he would not die. 
Then another woman addressed the people, saying, "In what manner are 
you shooting at this lion that you cannot manage to ki ll him?" 
But one of the older men replied, "Can you not see that this lion must 
be a sorcerer? It will not die despite our shooting at it, for it insists upon 
having the young man that it carried off." 
The people now threw children for the lion to eat, but the lion merely 
looked at them and left them alone. 
Again and again the people shot at the lion but all to no avail. T he lion re-
mained unharmed and kept looking for the young man. After a while, some 
of the people said, "Bring us some assegais, so that we can spear it." So they 
began spearing it while others continued shooting. But, despite the shooting 
and the spearing, the lion remained unharmed and continued its search for 
the young man, for the young man whose tears it had licked. It wanted that 
man, none other. 
Coming upon the huts, it tore them asunder and broke them to pieces, 
seeking for the young man. The people addressed one another in terror say-
ing, "Do you not see rhat the lion will not eat the children we have thrown 
him? Can you not see that he must be a sorcerer?" 
But some people answered, "Give the lion a girl. Perhaps it will eat her 
and then go away." 
The lion, however, did not touch the girl. It wanted the young man it had 
carried off, none other. 
Everyone was now completely bewildered, for no one knew in what 
manner to act toward the lion to persuade it to leave. It was late in the day 
and the people had been spearing and shooting at it since the morning; yet 
the lion remained unharmed and would not die. It kept walking about, 
searching for the young man. 
"We no longer Imow what to do to induce it to leave," the people said.