Africana; or, the heart of heathen Africa, Volume 2 (of 2)

The time has now come when Folk Lore is considered valuable for its own sake. It is hoped, too, that these simple African Tales will throw some light on the native mind. But it must be remembered that when rendered by a native reciter they have a character which no translation can reproduce; moreover, tales that appear quite pointless to a European, will make an old native laugh till tears run down his cheeks.

Originally, some of these Tales may have been an account of actions that really happened, and which floated down the stream of time long after the agents had sunk in oblivion. Then as now, the name of each native was significant, and as these actions kept afloat they drew to themselves appropriate names. If the action was clever, it was attributed to a Mr. Rabbit (who corresponds to the Fox of European tales): while every hero remarkable for gluttony—a trait of character likely to be noted in those primitive days—is a Mr. Hyæna (who corresponds to the Wolf of our Western tales).

As might be expected there is a great difference between African Folk Lore and European. After seeing African habitations, we scarcely expect to be told of a damsel “shut up in a tower” or “peering into a forbidden room,” and after meeting natives in their ordinary costume, we should be surprised to find Tales of “beautiful dresses and slippers of gold”. Again, in African Legends we seldom encounter statements like the following which meet us almost everywhere in Grimm’s Fairy Tales:—“A poor peasant was so destitute that he did not possess a foot of land”. “It was with difficulty they could maintain themselves, at length matters became worse, they had no longer even bread to eat.” “A poor man had twelve children, and was obliged to work day and night to obtain even bread for them.” “What will become of us? How can we feed these poor children when we have nothing for ourselves?” Except in days of famine sad pictures like these would have no meaning for the African. But at the same time there are pleasant pictures in the European Tales that the African cannot appreciate. Rarely does the Bard of Central Africa go into raptures over a “handsome virgin” or a “maiden of rare beauty”. He knows nothing of such a personage. But this is not the fault of the negro woman. The enormous ring in the upper lip and the deep tatoos that mark her face, chest, and arms shew how desirous she is to please and to attract attention. Yet, although she carries small stones in her mouth to improve her speech (which has no defect like that of Demosthenes), she does not induce any poet to sing that “her voice is low and sweet”. She certainly does not merit all this neglect, and it is chiefly on account of African marriage customs that it falls upon her.

It will be perceived that the style of these stories is very primitive compared with English. The sentence, “He proposed to go back, and on arriving at his home he gave meat to the nurse, and asked after his children,” would in the mouth of the African become:—He said, “Let us go back” (and they replied, “Very well, let us go”). Then they set out to go back. When they arrived at the village he (stood on the path and) called and said, “Nurse”. The latter said, “Yes, I am here”. Then he said, “Take this meat”. He said also, “Now, are the children all well,” and the nurse said, “Yes, all are well”. So when our pupils wrote on Scripture subjects they did not hesitate to attribute to speakers a conversation which was not recorded. For instance, if the third verse of Genesis had really been, “And God created light,” they would have rendered it, “And God said, Let there be light, and there was light”. We often felt that their peculiarity might illustrate questions about the Verbal Inspiration of the Scriptures.

These tales have been selected and literally translated from my Manuscript Collection of Tales, Songs, Enigmas and Itagu. Number 54 was communicated by Mr. John Buchanan, F.L.S.

31. THE DEAD CHIEF AND HIS YOUNGER BROTHER.

There was a chief that built his village large, and he had many women, and he had a younger brother who did not come to his chief. The chief became ill and died, his brother was left, and went to inherit the title (97). Then arose a great war in order to capture those women. The (new) village chief had tied up bundles of beans. And the people that wanted war came and sat in the forum, and he hid himself and peered at them as they sat there. Then he said, “These people are many, I will consult the chief at the grave” (14). So he went and clapped[17] his hands and told the chief who was dead. The latter said, “It is long since you visited me when I was alive, what is the matter now?” He replied, “Alas! O chief, I have seen enemies, yea, many are at the village (here), and I said, ‘I will go to ask of the chief’”. The latter said, “Go and salute these people”. Then he went to salute them, and the people that wanted war, said, “In this land many plants have yielded fruit which are tied in bundles”. So they said to themselves, “He (the chief) is a very wise[18] man, and knows about a relish stored in bundles”.

They returned, and went home and met the king of their own home, who was called Manjelele, and said, “O king, you are very stupid. That man is exceedingly wise”. He said, “Nonsense—go away again, capture in war all the women and bring them”. Then the army went back and caught all the women. The chief himself also ran away, and again he went to the grave and said (to his dead brother), “Chief, I have come on account of my women, they are all carried off by war”. Then his brother gave him four small bags, and said, “Well, follow the army to their village”: and he added, “Should you find a large tree unloose one little bag”. So he took them, and he found the large tree put in his way, and he opened, and a wood-moth came forth and entered the tree and gnawed, and a passage was made, and the chief passed through with his attendant. Again he followed on in the track of the army, and he found that a stone had been put in his way farther on, and he opened another bag and there came out a manis (mbawe) and dug under the stone; and he passed through with his attendant. Again he followed the tracks of the army, and beyond that he found the river, which the army had passed in a boat. Then he opened (the third bag), and there came forth a spider and went to the other side, and he crossed with his attendant and arrived at the village whence the war had come, and he sat down at the road to the village to wait till darkness came on. As soon as it was dark, he opened the other bag also, and a rat set off for that village and went to a basket, and it slept there. By and by the king that had begun the war came to sleep, and on going to sleep he took away his eyes[19] and put in the basket, and the rat took the king’s eyes. At dawn he called his men, and said, “Let all assemble with their captives that I may see them”. The men assembled, and said, “Now, tell the king to come and see his prisoners”.

The king came and took a chair to sit on, and called for his eyes, saying, “Fetch my eyes from the basket,” and they looked in the basket and found that his eyes were not there. The king cried, saying, “What shall I see my prisoners with?” The other chief stood across the stream and said, “Let me go back with my people. I also have captured in war, I followed you. The eyes of the king I have carried off.”

And the king cried, saying, “My men, give up his people”. Then his men said to him, “We told you, O king, that we must not go yonder to capture in war. Lo! the people will return without being seen with your eyes,” and they restored all the people. Then the chief at the grave said, “I told you to follow the army. Lo! all the people have returned.”

32. THE CHIEF THAT HOED AT THE GRAVES.

There was a woman that had a little child, and she hoed a garden at the graves, and there came a little man from the graves—little Amlele. The woman wished to hoe, and she loosed the child, and made the stump of a tree bear him (tied him to a tree). Then rose Amlele and said “To make the stump bear him rather than a person’s side!” and he took care of the child and carried him to the graves. Then she hoed till she was tired. And she said, “Now I will call for my child,” and she called for him, saying, “Amlele, give me my child”. And he gave him to the mother herself. Then she went to the village, but did not tell that she hoed at the graves and that there was a spirit nursing her child.

When she went on the morrow to hoe, she saw that little Amlele was come again; again he began to call for the child. Again he went with him to the graves, and cut open his skin and put him in the sand (beside the water). And the woman hoed and was tired again, and she called Amlele without success—he did not bring back the child again.

And she went to call those at the village, saying, “My son was carried away to the graves by one that did not come back with him”. Then the people ran and went to the graves there, and they found him put down in the sand, and they cleaned off the sand, and returned from the graves to the village, mourning. And they went away to the oracle of the Humble-bee,[20] and he spoke with a low voice, and said, “But the chief is the man that wants to destroy us out of the country”.

All the people ran away because of witchcraft. The oracle has caught the chief of the village, because he hoed at the graves and bewitched his child in order that Amlele should eat it (106).

The chief said, “Now I am left alone. I will make friendship with the guinea-fowl,” and he did so. And he said, “Go away, pick up many masukus and their stones, and sleep in a plain without trees”. It picked for him ten baskets, and he said, “Sow everywhere,” and it sowed in the whole plain. He himself slept in the middle of the plain. Next day he awoke and found many houses, the masukus had become men.

Then he brewed beer, saying, “Now, I have found another village”. And he called the guinea-fowl, saying, “Friend, come now, there are many people”. And they went together (the guinea-fowl and Simwe[21]) to drink beer. And it said, “But do you, my friend, leave off speaking evil, lest the people be startled at you”.

Then they drank beer, and Simwe became drunk, and said, “I am the chief, these are my own people, I picked up ten baskets of masukus, I sowed in the plain, and the masukus became men”. Then his friend ran away from him, saying, “His words are bad, he cannot stay with people”. So he slept again, and he awoke—his people were not, because (said they) he takes us for masukus[22]: so he was alone. Then he clothed himself with the skin of a civet (?) (ngwime) (a creature which sleeps on an ant-hill), and whenever he saw a person he called him, saying, “You there! come near,” and the person ran away. When the person ran away, he said, “I am bad. I cannot stay with my fellow men.” Then he went away journeying in the great bush. He asked for a village, and the tolo (a small mole) responded and said, “Come to my home and dwell there. I have built a stone house.” So he accompanied (the tolo); let the man look at its house! it is not good! its door is the heads of cockroaches! And he said, “Ay! you deceiver of me: I enter a small hole!” And Simwe said, “I will bring the nyingalwe against you”. And he brought against him his friend (the nyingalwe), who said, “You are a great liar—a rascal—a deceiver of the chief, saying to him, ‘Come let us enter a stone house,’ which was just a little hole, but may you never thrive”.

But the tolo cursed the nyingalwe, saying, “But may you never cross the road except you die,” and the nyingalwe crossed the road and died. [As the natives believe strongly in charms we need not wonder that they invoke a sorcerer to curse their enemies, in the same way as did Balak the son of Zippor.]

33. THE FOX AND THE HYENA.

The hyena made friendship; two days after, he set out, and he said, “But let an attendant go with me”. They said, “Let him go with the mbendu,” (a creature with little spots like the njusi[23]).

They were going along the road and the hyena said, “If we meet with women washing grains of millet, you will ask for water, and I shall ask for millet!” As they went on they met the women washing the millet and the mbendu said, “Give me water,” while the hyena said, “Give me millet”. The women took millet in a plate to give the hyena, and they give the mbendu water in a cup.

The latter said, “Come let us wash it that it may become soft,” but the hyena refused and said, “Why did you not beg your own for yourself?” and he chewed it alone[24] without giving to his attendant.

Farther on he began to tell him again saying, “If we meet with the women cutting sugar cane, you will beg the leaves, I shall beg the canes, we shall tie them up”. They went forward and met with the women cutting sugar cane. The hyena said, “Give me the canes,” the mbendu said, “Give me the leaves”. They cut four canes and gave the hyena, and they took leaves and gave the mbendu. The mbendu said, “Let us tie them”. The hyena was fierce and said, “Ah! for whom?” and did not give him.

And they went beyond that and came to another place and found a lake, and he said, “The village we go to is there. If we have porridge cooked for us and tie it up in a leaf,[25] then if you hear at the lake lino-lino-lino-lino-lino you ought to run away and throw down the leaf of porridge.”

Farther on the hyena said, “This is medicine, if we get porridge, you will come to dig it”.

He went on and arrived at the village of his friend, and the latter said, “My friend has come,” and he killed fowls, and cooked, and made porridge, and said, “Let us give the strangers,” and porridge was put down: when the hyena began, “Bring that medicine that we may eat it to the porridge”. The mbendu went off running. After that the hyena cut leaves to set down everywhere and he ate up all the porridge. When the mbendu returned, he said, “There came a great party, look at the leaves (which were used as plates) here sat some, here sat others, here sat others”.

The hyena said, “Let us go home to-morrow”. The mbendu said, “Yes, let us go;” the mbendu was starving. Next day there was porridge cooked for them, and he said, “Tie it all up, tie it in leaves”. The mbendu tied up the porridge and carried it. On the way the hyena said, “I will pass this way, let us meet farther on”. The mbendu kept going just on the path, the hyena went to the pool and dived, and put out his mouth, and said, “Lino-lino-lino-lino-lino!” The mbendu was afraid, and threw the leaf with the porridge into the lake. The hyena took it out and went to devour it.

When he came farther on he met with the mbendu who had nothing to carry. He asked him saying, “You have thrown away that leaf? Quite right! you were wise, the wild beast would have bitten you.” When they reached their home the villagers said, “You are thin, mbendu, you are thin!” He said, “Umph! hunger”.

They staid five days at home. The hyena said, “I will go to my friend’s again. Who shall I go with to-day?” Then the Mbendu refused, and he said, “Come, fox,[26] let us go together”. The fox said, “Yes, chief, come”. So they went together.

When arrived at the road, the hyena gave instructions, “You, fox, if we meet with women—you will beg water, I shall beg grain”. They came to the women. The hyena said, “Give me grain”. The fox said, “Give me grain and the water also”. The hyena took grain, and it was given him on a plate, the fox also took grain, and it was given him in his hands, and water also in a cup. The hyena said, “Give the hyena that water”. The fox said, “Why did you not beg your own?” Then the fox refused to give him.

Further on the hyena said, “Now this pool is dreadful”. The fox asked, “Why is it dreadful?” The hyæna said, “If one carry porridge, a wild beast is dreadful”. The fox said, “How does it say when roaring?” The hyæna said, “It says Lino-lino-lino-lino”. The fox said, “Ay!” The hyena said, “If you carry a leaf with porridge you should throw it down”. He said, “Yes”. They advanced and came farther on, and he said, “This is medicine, if porridge is cooked at the village you will come to dig it”. But the fox left his arrow, he went farther on, and said, “Master, I have forgotten that arrow”. He said, “Where?” He said, “Where you showed me the medicine there”. He said, “Fetch it”. The Fox went running and came to the medicine, where he had left his arrow, and he dug and put the medicine in his bag, and returned. And he said, “Have you picked it (your arrow) up?” He said, “Yes, I have”. And he said, “Well, let us go on”.

They went on and arrived. The hyena’s friend said, “My friend has come. Kill a fowl for him.” They killed a fowl for him, and cooked porridge too, and came with it and set it down. The hyena then began saying, “Go and seek that medicine”. But the fox took the medicine out of his bag and said, “Master, this is that medicine”. Then was the hyena very fierce, and said, “You, fox, are clever at evil!” The hyena refused his porridge, saying, “You go on eating”. So the fox ate.

The hyena said, “Let us go away to-morrow”. In the evening a fowl was killed, that they might eat it with their porridge. Next day porridge was cooked and the fowl also and was given. He said, “Fox, tie it up”. The fox then tied it, and went along the road. The hyæna said, “Go on before me, I will go this way, and we shall meet in front”. Then the hyena went stealthily, and arrived in front, and let himself down into the pool, and dived and put out his mouth wide open, and said, “Lino-lino-lino-lino”. The fox said, “Ah! there’s the wild beast”. The fox sat down and took his knife and commenced to cut the bark-cords (which tied the leaves), and he took a stone, then he unloosed the porridge, and ate and finished it, entirely eating it up, reserving only a mouthful, which he plastered on the stone, and threw it into the mouth at the pool, and the hyena died. The fox then ran and cut off his head, and made a little drum and covered it with the hyena’s skin: then he went along the road, and met women digging beans (njama). The fox beat his drum, saying, “Ti, ti, war”. The women fled,[27] the fox picked up the baskets and went home.

At the village they said, “Where did you leave the hyena?” And he said, “We left them brewing beer for him”. They found that it was indeed a stay, the hyena never returned.

35. TAMING MONKEYS AND BUCK.

There was a man that tamed monkeys, while another tamed buck, and they became friends. The owner of the monkeys said, “Come to my home, you will see monkeys”. Then he went to his home and found they had gone out. He said “Friend, where have they gone?” He said, “They have gone to feed”. He said, “Call them”. He went to call them and they came: and he said, “These are my monkeys,” and he said, “If I had seen them, I should have taken them for food”.[28] (The monkeys heard this.) He said, “Friend, don’t say so, you will make my monkeys run away”. Thereupon the monkeys did run away. He (the stranger) said, “Come you to my home, you will see buck that I have tamed”. He went and found the buck, and said, “These are meat to give me to eat?” The buck ran away to go to the jungle. His friend said, “You have made my buck run away”. He said, “You come and answer my accusation, let us go to the forum”. Then the judges came and asked, “Who began it,” then they decided, “You must just pay each other”. So they paid each other in beer. They brewed, and invited each other, and drank, and said, “That case is finished”. Then both were contented. [This exemplifies a popular method of settling small quarrels.]

36. TAMING DOGS.

There was a land with a man.[29] This man used to go to the moors of marsh pigs (?). When this man with his dogs was going near a lake, they started a marsh pig, and it fell into the lake. In the lake was a crocodile, and the man also went down there, and the crocodile caught him, without biting him. The dogs kept searching much for their master: their master was placed in a cavern. Now the dogs in their search sometimes went to smell the earth, and they scented him. The dogs then set to dig in the earth there, and they dug three days. On the fourth they penetrated down, and their master was afraid again when he saw (light). But soon he said, “These are my dogs”. Let him look out, it is all light! “Now my dogs have penetrated!” And he came out and went to the village.

The villagers were mourning, and one child on going round the house met him and returned again, and said, “Mother, be quiet, don’t cry, I saw my father”. Its mother said, “You lie, your father was lost long ago”. It said, “Mother, no, come, let us go to see”.

When she went along with the child she saw him, and said, “Child, you don’t lie,” and she caught her husband by the arm, saying, “Come to my house”.

And she said, “Explain where you went”. He said, “I went to the moors, I was hunting a marsh pig, and it sank in a pond, I also sank there, and my dogs sought me, I came out, so that you see me here. Had it not been my dogs, the crocodiles would have eaten me. Dogs are good. People should keep dogs.” Then many people said, “Yes, yes, yes, let us get dogs. That man’s dogs saved his life.”

And each one there was buying dogs, each one there was buying dogs. Then people got many dogs because dogs had dug their master from the cavern.

37. ON OUR HOME (A YAO’S HISTORY OF HIS TRIBE).

Here is not our home. We lived long ago at Mangochi, a large hill like Zomba. The Walolo lived on the other side of the (river) Lujenda, on the road to Chisanga. The Walolo were capturing the Machinga to carry them to Chisanga and exchange them for cloth. The Walolo were brave, and had many guns. The Machinga dwelt at Mandimbi, and the Walolo made them flee. So the Machinga came to the country of the Wayao, and the Wayao fled. We removed from that place, and went along the road, and the Wanyasa interfered with us, and pierced us with arrows, and we began war, and took their food from them.

The English lived with the Wanyasa. The Wanyasa said, “Help us,” and there began war with the English. They all came to Ulumba (Vol. II. 12). The English read the book and prayed to God. On that day the Wayao fled in all directions, and they returned and found the Machinga following behind them. They said, “Why do you turn back?” They said, “Why! we have encountered white men!” Then the Machinga staid there, without advancing farther. After this all the Wanyasa fled across the river, and the Wayao settled in this land.

The Wayao had many fierce chiefs. The Machinga killed one by treachery, some began to sell their own people and were left alone, their people ran away from them; another was killed by the Mangoni.

War is an evil, it destroys people, there came famine: after that people said, “Now let us go and hoe”. They hoed much food.

The Magololo accompanied the English. When the English reached their boat they left them and said, “Now, be friends, war is bad, so leave it off, agree with the Wayao”. The Book of God was brought forth and all assented. The English said, “Now let us go home”.[Livingstone made the natives swear on the Bible that they would live in peace.]

After this the Mangoni came, they crossed by boat, they came in war. The Wayao ran to Ndilande. The Wanyasa ran to the islands. They have many islands. The Machinga ran to Zomba. The Walolo did not run away.

Before those that fled had come down from the mountains, the English came and settled in this land, and the Mangoni went away. The people came down from the mountains and farmed again (Vol. II. 25).

38. KALIKALANJE.[30]

There was a woman who had a husband, and they went to hoe in the garden and the man sneezed, and the woman said, Gwigwigwi.[31] The man asked her saying, “What do you want?” The woman said, “I want the eggs of an ostrich”. The man said, “I want water where frogs do not croak”. They both assented to the bargain. The man went to seek the eggs of an ostrich, and brought five, and gave them to his wife. The woman went to seek water where frogs did not croak. She went far, far away and found water. At that water she met with Namzimu, the owner, who asked, “What do you want?” The woman replied, “I want water, where frogs croak not”. Namzimu said, “What do you give in exchange for it”? The woman bargained with Namzimu saying, “I am with child: when I bear the child I will give it to you”. Then Namzimu said, “Draw water”. So she drew water, and went to the village and gave her husband. The husband said, “That is right, my wife”. After this, Namzimu went to the woman’s, and said, “Give me the child to eat”. The woman said, “No, the child is not born”. Then Namzimu went away. There passed three days, and the child was born, and the woman was roasting[32] castor-oil beans, and the child leapt on the pot-sherd, and said, “I am Kalikalanje”.

He went from the pot-sherd with his bow and his spear and his four dogs. Then Namzimu quickly came and said, “Now, give me the child to eat”. The woman said, “Yes, I will give you him”. So she took Namzimu and hid him in the grain basket, and took bananas and put above him, and at night the woman called her son, Kalikalanje, and said, “O please my son, Kalikalanje, climb up here, and fetch bananas”. Kalikalanje said, “No, I will climb upon the roof where nothing dances (shakes)”. Then the woman told Namzimu saying, “Dance on the roof there”; (because the woman wished to cheat her son). When Namzimu danced, Kalikalanje however stood at the door and said, “Ho! what’s that dancing there? I don’t want to climb now on the roof where there is dancing”. Then Kalikalanje ran away, and Namzimu did not catch him that night.

Next day the woman took Namzimu and went with him to the garden,[33] and hid him in the grass and said, “Stay you here, this night I send Kalikalanje to come and burn grass, and you will see (a lad) whose head is shaved on one side[34] and who wears a black loin cloth. That is Kalikalanje.” That night the woman shaved Kalikalanje on one side of the head, and put on him black cloth and sent him to the garden and said, “Go, burn the grass in the garden”.[35] So Kalikalanje took his shaving knife and black cloth, and his dogs, and his spear, and called his companions and said, “Come, to the garden of my mother, to play”. When they came to the parting of the roads, Kalikalanje told his friends saying, “Come, let me shave your hair on one side, that we may play properly”. When he had shaved his companions’ heads, he put on them pieces of black cloth, and said, “You all—your names are Kalikalanje, and we shall go to the garden, when we burn grass, everyone is Kalikalanje, Kalikalanje”. His comrades assented saying, “Very Good!”

They came to the garden and burned the grass, and all of them said, “Kalikalanje, Kalikalanje, Kalikalanje”. When they came to the large grass Kalikalanje said, “Let us all come, and burn this grass with fire, round and round, and let us hold our bows in our hands”.

Quickly Namzimu came out of the grass and Kalikalanje told his comrades saying, “Come, let us kill him”. So they killed Namzimu with their bows. Then Kalikalanje returned to the village and met with his mother, and spoke to her, saying, “Mother, you wanted a wild beast to eat me, now I kill you”. So Kalikalanje killed his mother.

39. THE MAN AND THE LION.

There was a man that had four dogs for catching meat, and one day the man was very hungry and he said to his wife, “I go to the bush to kill meat”. His wife said, “Yes, go and kill meat, my husband”.

The man took his dogs and his spear and went to the bush. As he hunted he killed five buck.

Suddenly there came a lion and spoke with the man and said,

“Take these buck, give your dogs to eat. When they have eaten you must eat your dogs, then let me eat you.” The man said “No. I do not want to give my meat to the dogs”. Whereupon there arose a great quarrel between the man and the lion. Suddenly there came a rabbit (fox) with his bag, and found them quarrelling. The rabbit asked them saying, “What are you quarrelling over?” The man explained to the rabbit the reason of the quarrelling saying, “We quarrel about meat that I have caught with my dogs”.

Then the rabbit spoke with the lion saying, “Why do you want to eat your fellow-creature without a reason against him.” The lion said, “The reason of it is that this bush is mine, and he has come to kill meat here. Now I want him to give this meat to his dogs, then his dogs will eat the meat, then he must eat his dogs, and I shall eat him.” The rabbit said, “Lion you must not eat your fellow-creature because of his buck. Come here I shall give you good meat, which is in a pit-fall.” The rabbit had seen a great pit-fall where a serpent dwelt, and he said to the lion, “Enter this pit-fall.” When the lion entered, the rabbit called the man and said, “Come with fire, now he who wanted to eat you has gone into a pit, now come and let us kill him”. The rabbit and the man lighted a fire at the pit and killed the lion. After the lion died, the man and the rabbit entered into a compact of eternal friendship.

40. THE ROASTED SEEDS.

There was an elephant and a rabbit that contracted friendship. They agreed saying, “Let us go and hoe our gardens;” so they hoed. Then the rabbit said, “But let us plant roasted seeds”. The rabbit cheated the elephant, and the elephant assented saying, “Yes, we shall roast them,” so he roasted. But the rabbit hid some of his seeds, then he roasted a few and said, “Come let us plant,” and the elephant planted roasted seeds, but the rabbit planted seeds that were not roasted, and ate his roasted seeds.

The rain came; the seeds of the rabbit grew, but those of the elephant did not grow, and he asked the rabbit, “Well, when will my seed grow?” And the rabbit said, “Wait, they will grow”. In the garden of the rabbit many pumpkins bare fruit, and the elephant said, “My friend has deceived me”. Then the elephant went to the garden of the rabbit at night to steal the rabbit’s pumpkins.

In the morning the rabbit said, “I wonder who has stolen my pumpkins”. The elephant said, “I do not know”. The rabbit made a drum and went secretly to his garden, and entered a large pumpkin[36] with his drum. At night the elephant went and ate pumpkins. Next day the rabbit was in the stomach of the elephant, and he beat his drum; he beat and said, “You were finishing my pumpkins, I have caught you myself”. Then the elephant was very ill and died.

People came and said, “Meat has died for us here,” and they opened the body and said, “Look at this pumpkin!” Others said, “Split it,” and they split it,—it broke—they found the rabbit. The rabbit on seeing people, ran away. And the people said, “Yes! this is what killed the elephant. No wonder the elephant died!”

41. ROMBAO.

There was a man who had a wife and he took his fish trap and went to the water to catch fish, and he caught a large one. The fish said to the man, “Go inside me, and you will find a knife and a bundle of millet, fetch them and come here with them”. So the man went inside the fish and found a knife and a bundle of millet, and he fetched them and came out with them. The fish said, “Cut off my upper lip,” and the man cut it off.

Then the fish said, “Take that meat, give it to your wife that she may eat it alone, while you eat the millet”.

So he went to the village. He found his wife and gave her the meat saying, “My wife eat this meat alone. When you have eaten throw the bones of it out there.” The man went to put the millet in the lake, when it became soft he went and ate it alone, for five days, and his wife ate the fish five days!

After this the woman bare two children with their two dogs, and two spears, and two guns, and their names were the one Rombao, and the other Antonyo.[37] Then they went to the bush and found many birds and many buck, and they began to fire their guns, and the buck ran to one place and the children followed them. On their following there they met the owner, and he asked them saying, “What do you want?” They said, “We want meat”. The owner said, “What do you give me, and I shall give you my meat?” They replied, “We will not give you anything, but come let us fight, and whoever dies, the meat belongs to him that killed him”. They began to fight and the owner of the meat died, and they took the land and built houses and settled there.

One day Rombao talked with his brother, and said,“You stay here, I go yonder to kill meat”. Then he met with a whale. He wanted to drink, and the whale said, “Why should you drink my water?” Rombao said, “I am thirsty”. The whale said, “Pay me a price for my water”. He refused, and said, “Come, let us fight”. Then they began to fight, and the whale died, and Rombao cut off his tongue and put salt on it.

Now at that land there was a celebrated chief, the owner of the country, and he gave up his own daughter to buy water from the whale. The whale was dead, and three days passed without the wind coming as a token (that the girl had been eaten). So the chief sent his captain and his soldiers, and said, “Go and see whether the whale has come to eat my child”. The captain went with his soldiers to see the whale, and came to where it was and found it dead.

Then the captain said to the soldiers, “Come let us fire guns for two days, and go to the village and tell that it was I that killed the whale. Then the chief will give me his daughter to wed, and I will pay you with much goods.” They said, “Yes, what he says is good”. So they fired guns for two days, and went back to the village with the girl and found the chief, and said, “The captain has killed the whale”. The chief said to him, “Very well, I will give you my daughter to wed”.

When the marriage day came Rombao sent his younger brother, saying, “Go and see the wedding”. He returned, and said, “The marriage feast is ready”. Then Rombao went to the village of the chief and found the people all assembled. The girl was speechless, and her mother asked her, “Do you wish that captain to marry you”. The girl did not answer, but continued weeping. Her father said, “But you will marry that captain”. Rombao asked, “Why is the captain going to marry her?” They said, “Because he has killed the whale”. Rombao said, “But where’s the tongue of the whale?” All the people said, “Yes, we want to see its tongue”. So the captain sent his soldiers to bring its tongue, and they went to look for the tongue and found that the tongue was wanting. So they returned, and said, “The whale has not a tongue—it is rotten”. Rombao said, “That’s false, that captain did not kill the whale—it was I. Wait now, I will go and fetch its tongue.” He returned with the tongue to the chief. Then the chief said, “Very well, do you take my daughter to be your wife”. Then the chief took much goods and gave Rombao. Then he killed that captain and his men likewise.

42. THE HYENA AND THE BEES.

A hyena and a fox went a journey; they found honey (lit. bees) on a tree, but at the foot of the tree were the cubs (lit. children) of the fox. The hyena said, “Give me my bag,” and he got it; and the fox climbed the tree to fetch the honey. Then the hyena took the children of the fox, saying, “he would shew them to his brethren,” and he put them in his bag. But the fox quickly observed that the hyena took her children, and the fox took much honey (lit. bees) and came down with it. Then the hyena ate the honey, but the fox said,“Give me the bag to carry for you”. The hyena said, “Take it”. So the fox took the hyena’s bag. Then the fox said, “I have forgotten my knife”. The hyena said, “Go and fetch it”. The fox went back to the foot of the tree, and took out her cubs. Then she took many living bees,[38] and put in the hyena’s bag, and went back to the hyena himself. Then the hyena said, “Have you found your knife?” The fox said, “Yes, I have found it”. But the hyena did not know that she had taken her children out of his bag. Then they came to the village, and he said, “Give me my bag. Good-bye. Now we have reached my village.” The fox gave it him.

The hyena then went to his brethren, and said, “Have you ever seen the children of a fox?” His brethren said, “No”. The hyena said, “There are in my bag here!” His brethren said, “Give it us that we may see them”. The hyena said, “No, we must be in the house”. So they went into the house and shut the door, and then undid the bag. Then his brethren said, “So these are the children of a fox? Are they not bees?” They were stung. The hyena’s brethren roared terribly, and the fox heard their roaring, and came to the door, and said, “What’s the matter?” The hyena’s brethren said, “The hyena has deceived us, saying ‘Come and see a fox’s children’. We said, ‘No’”. The fox said, “Oh, hyena, you took my children, did you? I put living bees in your bag. You knew it not. Now they sting (lit. bite) you!” So the hyena and his brethren died.[39]

43. THE CROCODILE.

There was a man that lived by setting traps, and he set his trap on a meadow by a stream and caught meat. Then came a crocodile and took out (untied) his meat and ate it, and went home. Next morning the owner of the trap found that his meat had been eaten. Then was he sad at heart, and said, “Who is this that has eaten my meat?” He set his trap again and went back to the village. And meat[40] came and was caught (tied) again, and again the crocodile ate it. Next morning the owner was sad at heart.

Then he set the trap at another place, and the crocodile came again to eat the meat, but did not find anything, and he began to search, and was caught in the trap himself. Next morning the owner of the trap came and found the crocodile caught in the trap. So he took a spear and wanted to kill the crocodile, but the crocodile said, “Please don’t kill me, but let me go out, I will go home and pay you because I have been a thief”. Then the crocodile said, “Carry me, we shall go to my home,” and it leapt on the man’s back, its claws (ikalawesa) entering his body.

Then a hare saw them moving in the water and said, “You, man—where are you going?” The man answered, “I set my trap, and caught my buck, and this gentleman (chief) used to come and steal, but to-day he was caught in my trap himself and said, ‘Let me out, I will go home and pay you for your goods’”.

The hare said, “I don’t hear you, what do you say?” Then the man said the same words. Then the hare said, “Are you abusing me? I don’t hear what you say. Come near, come near.”[41] Then the man said to the crocodile, “Chief, listen, the hare says we must go back a little”. Then the man repeated the same words to the hare. The hare said to the crocodile, “Yes, that is right. But first come off his back there.” Then the hare asked the man, “How did you set your trap? Let me see it.” Then the man set it. The hare then asked the crocodile, “And chief, pray, how did you get in? Let me see.” The crocodile said, “I passed here, and I passed here, and I went Gwede!” there the crocodile was caught.[42] The hare said, “Now, do you, O man, kill that vermin. It wanted to eat you.” The man killed the crocodile, but to this day remains a feud between the crocodile and man.

44. THE HARE AND THE BANGLES.

A hyena and a hare went to a village[43] to marry. They found women and said, “We want to marry”. The women assented, but their mother said, “We don’t wear calico,[44] but the skins of lions, leopards and pythons”. The hyena and the hare said, “Very well, give us salt and bangles,” and she gave them.

The hyena and the hare then went away, and on the road they found a dead elephant. The hyena said, “I will stay here,” but the hare said, “No, chief, but let us wait one day (without touching the meat)”. The hyena said, “You are bad, such is your nature. Then you may look for the skins of lions, leopards, and pythons. But the lion is terrible.” The hare said, “I will try to kill a lion that my wife may rejoice and say the hare is strong.”

Then the hare took his bag of salt, and arrived at the lion’s village wearing bangles on his legs.[45] When the chief lion saw the hare disguised like a woman he said, “You are my wife”. The hare consented and said, “Yes, but your chief wife abuses me”. Then the lion killed his chief wife and all her children. The hare said, “Take off their skins”. The lion then took off the skins of his own kindred—and the hare and he were left alone. Then the hare said,[46] “My husband, your eyes terrify me”. The lion said, “Take them out”. The Hare then put out the eyes of the lion, and killed him and took off his skin, and took it and hid it by the road, and then went to the village of the leopard.

When the leopard saw him, he said, “You are my wife”. The hare said, “Very well—but your chief wife abuses me”. The leopard then killed his chief wife and all her children. The hare said “Take off their skins”. So the leopard took off the skins of his relatives. Then the hare said, “My husband, I want pythons’ skins”. The leopard went and killed pythons. The hare said, “That is right, only your eyes terrify me”. The leopard then said, “Put them out,” then the hare put out his eyes, and killed the leopard and took his skin. The hare was then very glad, and said, “I have been clever”. Then he took the skins of the lions, leopards and pythons, and went away and met the hyena. The hyena was astonished, and said, “Ugwi! How have you, O hare, slain ——. The skins of lions, leopards and pythons!” The hare answered, “I have slain them with my bag of salt”.

The hyena said, “I will go to kill my skins”. The hare said, “I am going for my wife”. He said, “Yes, I will meet you there”. The hare went to his wife. She was very glad, and said, “My husband is clever,”[47] and she put on the lions’ skins. The hyena attacked a lion, the lions were angry, and said, “O hyena, is it war that you want?” and they killed the hyena. The hyena’s wife asked the hare, “Where is my husband”? The hare said, “He is dead”.

Then the hare staid at that village and was a great chief.

45. THE HUNTER.

There was a man that used to kill game, and he went to the bush to kill game, and shot a buffalo in the evening. He cut it through the middle and took the two hind legs, and left the other two and its horns, and said, “I will take them to-morrow”. So he went back where his companions were, and found them, and said, “Well, I have killed a buffalo and taken these two legs, I left the other legs and the horns, but we shall go and fetch them to-morrow”. His friends said, “Yes, that is best (good)”. At night there came a hyena and found the buffalo, and went round about it and put his head into the breast (ribs) of the buffalo, and took it and went with it to his village.

Next morning the owner of the meat called his friends, and said, “Come now, let us go and cut up our meat”. They went to the bush and found the meat carried off by a hyena. Then the owner followed after in the track in which the hyena had gone, and at noon he met with the hyena going with his meat. When it heard his tread it sang, “Go in the path where it is pleasant,” and began to try to get out its head, but the meat had dried on its hair. And it sang again the same strain, trying to get out its head but not succeeding.

The owner laid hold of the horns of the buffalo. When the hyena felt that the meat was stuck, it asked, “Who is it that is catching me?” The owner said, “I, the hunter,” and he scolded the hyena, and said, “Where did you take this meat from?” Then the hyena began to speak with him, and said, “Please, hunter, do not kill me, but release me, and I will pay you when I go home”.[48] So the hunter took his knife and cut the ribs of the buffalo, and said, “Now come to your home,” and they went to the cave, and the hyena said, “My wife is with children. Go now to your home, but when this moon has finished, return, come here and I will give you three children[49] because of your meat.” The hunter said, “I understand, I go home”. So he took his meat and went home with it.

After this the hyena went and met with a lion, and said, “Well, chief, if I give you an animal (meat) without hair, what will you pay me?” The lion said, “I will pay you whatever you want”. Then the hyena took the lion and conducted him to his cave, and said, “Do you, lion, go into this cave, and at the end of the moon (month) there shall come an animal without hair”. The lion asked, and said, “Where lives an animal without hair? In the bush here all the animals have hair. But where will the animal without hair come from? Do you mean a man?” The hyena said, “I mean a man”. So the lion entered the cave and waited for his meat.

At the end of the month there came the man to receive payment for his meat, and he found at the cave the footprints of a lion, and he began to be astonished, and said, “Has that hyena changed to a lion?” He was strong in heart and went into the cave: but when he met the lion and his wife in the cave he wanted to go back. The lion began to be fierce, and said, “Why do you go back, my meat?” The man said, “I am not your meat, but you ate my meat, and said, ‘Come at the end of the month and I will pay you with three children’”. The lion said, “No, I did not eat your meat. It was a hyena, and he told me to dwell in this cave, and promised to give me meat without hair.”

The man objected, and there arose a great quarrel, and the hare came and found them quarrelling, and said, “Pray, chiefs, leave off this dispute of yours. O lion, your elder brother[50] sent me to go and tell his younger brother not to eat the man.” The lion was angry with the hare, and said, “Get away”. The hare said, “You are angry, but I was sent by your elder brother to ask you not to eat the man”. The lion said, “Well! but what am I to do with the man?” The hare said, “Give him to me, I will conduct him to the path”. Then the hare took out a vessel of honey and snuff (lit. tobacco for the nostrils), and took, and the lion said, “Give me[51] that I may taste your snuff”. The hare gave him, and the lion took (ate) it, and said, “It is good”. The hare then took the honey into his hands and began to eat, and asked the lion, “Do you want these sweets that I am eating”. The lion said, “Yes,” and he gave him a little and told him to lick it. Then the lion licked it, and said, “It is good, give me more”.[52] The hare said, “Well, I am willing to give you, but you must first give me your tails, and I will tie them together”. Then the lion assented, and asked his wife, saying, “Listen, my wife, do you want to eat sweets?” His wife said “Yes”. The hare said, “Come, I will tie your tails together,” and the wife came and gave her tail. Then the hare tied them together. Next he took the man and went out with him. The lion said, “Are you going away without giving me my sweets?” The hare laughed at him, saying, “Ah! I will never give you”. Then he took a stone and threw into the cave and closed it, and the lions died.

46. THE ELEPHANT AND THE HARE.

The elephant and the hare formed a friendship. The elephant said, “Friend let us go and hoe a field”. The hare said, “Come let us cut handles (for our hoes)”. When they had cut the handles they said, “Come let us put on our hoes”.[53] When they had put on the hoes, they said, “Come let us hoe”. As they were hoeing the hoe of the hare came out, and it said, “I am here, my chief, I have come to you to put in my hoe”. The elephant said, “How will you put it in!” The hare said, “I will put it in on your head, I will use it (your head) for a stone. When your hoe comes out, you will come to me”. The elephant said, “Fix it in”. So the hare knocked his hoe in, on the elephant’s head. Soon the hare’s hoe fell out again and the hare came once more to the elephant and said, “O chief, I have come to put in my hoe on your head,” and it put it in on the elephant’s head and then went away.

As they hoed, the hoe of the elephant fell out. The elephant said. “Hare, O chief, my hoe has fallen out! I will fasten it in on your head.”[54] The hare said, “Wait for me a little:” and it ran off. When the elephant went to look he saw no one.

47. THE FISH EAGLE AND THE MNG’OMBA.

A fish eagle and a mng’omba (a large bird that feeds on shells) contracted friendship, and the fish eagle said, “Friend, let us go and marry wives”. They went to a village and found a woman that had two girls. The fish eagle said, “We have come to marry”. The man said, “Very well. You have found girls here.” So the fish eagle married his wife and his comrade married also his wife.

Then the fish eagle said one day to his companion, “Come and let us kill fish”. So they went to a lake to kill fish. The fish eagle killed many fish and the mng’omba killed many shells. At night they said, “Let us go home”. So the fish eagle tied up his fish and the mng’omba his shells, and set out to return to their village.[55] When they were half-way, the mng’omba persuaded the fish eagle saying, “Give me your fish, I will carry them for you”. So the fish eagle gave him his fish while he took his comrade’s shells.

Then the mng’omba went on before[56] and ran fast and arrived at the village and took the fish eagle’s fishes and gave to his mother-in-law. Afterwards the fish eagle came and found that the mng’omba had divided his fishes. But the fish eagle did not speak a word, he preserved silence.[57] His mother-in-law said, “You told us you were going out to catch fish, but where are they?” But the fish eagle did not answer his mother-in-law. Then she kept abusing him and said, “You are not a good husband. I will take my daughter from you and give her to the other man.” The fish eagle went to his house to sleep without speaking a word.

Next morning the fish eagle said to his comrade, “Come again to the lake to catch fish”. They went. The fish eagle killed many fishes, the mng’omba many shells. On their way back[58] when they were half way to the village the mng’omba wished to persuade the fish eagle again. But the fish eagle refused and said, “No. You cheated me yesterday and said, ‘Give me your fish and I will carry them for you,’ and I gave them and you ran away with them and went to the village and gave your mother-in-law saying, ‘I have killed these fishes,’ and my mother-in-law laughed at me yesterday, but to-day I don’t want to give you my fishes, I will carry them myself”. The mng’omba was very angry and said, “You are not good,” and the fish eagle asked, “How?”

Then they came to the village and the fish eagle gave his fishes to his mother-in-law, and she was glad and said, “Now! you are indeed a good son-in-law”. But with the mng’omba she was angry and said, “Yesterday you came with fishes, but to-day where are they?” The mng’omba told a lie and said, “The fish eagle took my fish from me”. The fish eagle heard the words that the mng’omba spake.

Next morning the fish eagle called his father-in-law.[59]“To-day I want five men to go with me to the lake to fetch fish”. His father-in-law said, “Very well,” and gave him five men. The mng’omba said also, “Give me five men to carry fish”. His father-in-law said, “Very well,” and gave him five men. Then they both went to the lake and the fish eagle said to his men, “Put up tents (of grass), let us dry our fishes (in the sun),” and they put up (tied)[60] three tents. The mng’omba told his people saying, “Put up three tents, let us dry our fishes”.

The fish eagle went into the lake and began to kill fishes and killed many. His men opened them up and dried them. The mng’omba went into the lake and began to kill many shell fish, and he called his men and said, “Bring baskets and put in the shellfish”. His men said, “We don’t want to carry shells (or shellfish.[61]) At the village you spoke saying, ‘I go to kill fish,’ but where are your fish?”

Then the mng’omba began to be angry and abused the fish eagle. The fish eagle became angry too, and they began to fight.[62] The fish eagle scratched the mng’omba on the face (eyes) and on the neck, and the mng’omba was ill and cried, saying, “Mh’m mh’m mh’m!”

Then they all went back to the village. The fish eagle gave many fishes to his mother-in-law,[59] but the mng’omba gave nothing. Then his father-in-law[59] drove him away, saying, “Go from our home. I don’t want you.[63] I want the fish eagle.” Then the mng’omba went away and the fish eagle remained.

48. THE LAD THAT FED ON AIR.

There was a lad that went to a large village to seek (a girl) in marriage, and he found a woman that had a female child. He asked the woman and said, “Please give me your daughter, that I may marry her”. The woman said, “Yes, I will give her to you”. Then the lad was happy, and built his house and married his wife.

Then his mother-in-law cooked porridge, and gave him, but he refused, saying, “I don’t eat porridge, but air (mp’epo)”. The mother-in-law was surprised, and said, “My son-in-law does not eat porridge, but air!”

One day his mother-in-law sent him to the garden to hoe, and he was seized with hunger, but his mother-in-law did not give him porridge because he never ate porridge.

At midnight he arose and went to the mortar and put in his head and licked all the flour (food) where the women had been pounding. But his head stuck fast in the mortar, and remained there. His (little) wife went outside to seek him, and found him in the mortar, and told her mother, saying, “Mother, come here and see what my husband has done”. Her mother came and found her son-in-law in the mortar, and said, “Son-in-law, why did you refuse to eat porridge, lo! your head has stuck in the mortar, and what am I to do?” The son-in-law was much ashamed and did not speak. The mother-in-law took an axe and split the mortar: the son-in-law came out, and went into the house and did not go out again.

[A similar tale is told of a woman whose husband did not make her a proper mortar. At night she went to lick any flour that might be left in the mortars of the other wives. Her head stuck, but by her efforts to disengage herself she turned the mortar over, when it rolled down the hill, woman and all, greatly to the alarm of the villagers, who all got up to see what could be the matter.]

49. THE GIRL OF CLAY.[64]

There was a woman that took clay and made a child, and clothed her with fine calico, and said, “My child, I have made you of clay, if you see rain, run to the village”. The girl assented to her mother. One day there came other girls, and said to their companion, “Companion, come and play”. They went to play. They came to a lake, and took off their clothing, and began to bathe. They spoke to their companion, and said, “Come and bathe,” she refused. They said, “You are not good. Why do you refuse to bathe? Are you ill?” She said, “I am not ill”.

Next day they went to a distant lake, and took off their clothes, and they said to her, “Come and play in the lake”. Her mother had forbidden her. But she went into the lake, and began to melt with the water, and cried, “O mother, come and take me”. Her mother refused, saying, “I told you long ago not to go into the water, but you have disobeyed”. Then she died.

50. THE PYTHON.

There was a python, and it caught the child of a buck (Ndogolo). It happened that the bush was burning, and a flock of buck passed. The python said, “Hoe to save me at the side here”. The buck said, “What have you fed on? (What are you stuffed with?)” The python said, “I have not fed on anything”. The buck replied, “But we should be burned”. Then the flock of buck passed on.

Then came a man with an axe in his hand. The Python said, “O chief, hoe to save me”.[65] The man said, “Why, if I hoed to save you, you would devour me”. The python said, “No, I would not devour you”. The man came and hoed beside the python. The python then said to the man, “Stay (sleep) four days, on the fifth come back”. He said, “Yes, I understand, I will come back”. So he went home and staid four days; on the fifth he went back, and found that the python had vomited—vomited everything—and had become a young lad. It said, “Draw near, chief, that we may converse over our business”. The man drew near, and the lad said, “Put me on your shoulders”. He put him on his shoulders, then they both entered a hole; in that hole they went on for three days. On the fourth day they came to the home of the python, and he put down the python. The latter said, “I should have died but for this man, he hoed by my side. Those fellows of buck all refused to hoe for me. He came and hoed to save me, else I should have died.” The python then brewed beer, and they set to drinking, and drinking, and drinking. The man then said, “I go home now”. The python said, “Wait,” and he gave him four bales of calico, and also a bottle, saying, “Should you encounter war, turn this bottle upon your enemies, and you will find that they are dead”. The man said, “Stay, friend,” the latter said, “Go”.[66]

When the man arrived at his home, he found that it was deserted—that war had been made against it.[67] On reaching his village he encountered enemies. Then he brought out his bottle, and pointed towards his enemies. They were all pupulu (!)—dead and gone (!) (Wosepe ’wo pupulu! kumala kuwa!)

Then the man went to his fields. While hoeing went on an army had gathered against his village[67]. The enemy pursued him to the fields where he was. When the man saw the army—let him try ever so much to shew his bottle—it happened that he had left it at the village, and the enemy had taken it. Now the enemy caught the man and tied him with ropes (of bark), and took him to their home. The capturers said, “Don’t kill him now, we shall kill to-morrow when the people assemble”. Then they went to put him in the slave-stick. As he lay there, a Rat came, and the man said, “Who is it that is gnawing at my feet?”[68] The Rat answered and said, “I am a Rat”. The man said, “If you are a Rat, go into the house of the chief, and if you find his basket, make a hole in it, when you have made a hole, if you find a bottle bring it and come here”. So the Rat set off and went into the house of the chief and found the basket. It was lying so. Then came the Rat and made a hole in the basket and took the bottle and went with it to the bondman. The bondman said, “I will pay you in the morning”.

In the morning as soon as it was dawn, the king assembled all his people, and went to bring forth the man from his prison. He had his bottle with him. He was set down in the forum. Some said, “Fetch the spear to kill him”. He produced his bottle. The people who sat there when he held it up were dead and gone! The man took all the property and called his friend the Rat and divided it with him.

51. HIDE AND SEEK.

The honey bird and the bat formed a friendship. The honey bird said, “Let us play at hiding”. So the bat went under the trees near the river (or lake)(nyasa). Then came the likuse and swallowed the bat, a crocodile swallowed the likuse, and a hippopotamus swallowed the crocodile.[69] The honey bird was going about in search of his friend, but without finding him. As he was returning from his search he met a hippopotamus and shot it. The hippopotamus died. The honey bird went away to the village to call the people to cut up the meat. Many people collected and went to that meat. As they were cutting it up, they found the crocodile in the inside (chitumbo) of the hippopotamus. On opening the crocodile they found the likuse, on opening the likuse they found the bat. The bat came forth and said, “You have gained”.

Next the honey bird went away. It went into a hole (in a tree) of bees. The bat then went about in search of its friend. In returning from this, it found bees. The bat then said, “I will go away to the village”. Then it took fire and said, “I will fetch my bees (honey) I found there”. It carried the fire to the tree and began to fell the tree, which came down. As it looked at the bees, it found the honey bird there. It said, “Take care, take care, we are going to burn”. So the honey bird came out of the tree. The bat and the honey bird then sang. Both went home to the village laughing. When they arrived porridge[70] was cooked and they feasted.