61. The Fasting Trial. [Story]
See number 149, where the bird in the tree starves and Hopping [262]Dick on the ground picks up worms and wins the match. In this story, though incomplete, it is intimated that the bird in the tree wins.
Compare Dayrell, 153–155; Harris, Nights, 370–373; Fortier, 34–37; Parsons, Andros Island, 97—99.
In Dayrell, the birds propose to starve seven days to see which will be king. One leaves a hole out of which he creeps unobserved to feed.
In Harris, as in this Jamaica version, the winning bird takes up his station in the tree; the “fool bud” stays down by the creek.
In Parsons, one bird chooses a fruit tree, the other a “dry” tree. The song sung by the winning bird runs,—
“This day Monday mornin’
Tama tama tam!”
and so on for the remaining days of the week.
In Fortier, the lady-love brings food to her favorite bird. The cooing song in the Jamaica versions suggests this connection.