And the lion said to him, "Have you not heard that this forest belongs to me, and that there is no leave to hunt here? for I am the only person who hunts here, and now, you son of Adam, you have come to hunt in my forest. Do you not know that I have the strength of forty men?"

And the man answered him, "Oh, master, I had not the news that this was your forest, so now make what plan you like, for I can do nothing."

Then the lion said to him, "We will make this arrangement together. You may hunt game here, but of every animal you catch you must give me the heart, the liver and the entrails, but the meat you may take yourself."

So they made this arrangement together, and every day the man set his traps, and of the game he caught he gave the lion the heart, liver and entrails, but the meat he took home, and his wife was glad.

Till one day his wife said to him, "How is it that of all the game you bring here, you bring the meat only, but the entrails you leave there in the bush? Now I am feeling sick, and the liver of game is what I long for."

The man said, "Do you not know that the entrails of all the game belong to the lion, who is, indeed, the master of the forest?"

And his wife said to him, "I know very well that you give the heart and the liver to another woman every day, and if it indeed be the lion who takes them, I will follow you to-morrow and see."

So the man said, "My wife, you must not come with me to the forest, for in the forest are fierce animals and thorns and difficulties and dangers."

So they slept, and in the morning the man went off to his work, and when he had gone his wife followed him in the way and came to the first and the second trap, but she entered into the third trap and was caught.

When the man returned from the woods he did not find his wife, and he looked for her till one of the neighbours said, "I saw your wife follow you in the way this morning."

And the man thought to himself, "My wife must surely have followed me to see where the entrails of the game went to."

So he took the way and came to the first and the second trap, but at the third he saw his wife caught, and beside her sat the lion.

And the lion said, "See what a nice animal you have caught to-day; be quick and cut it up that I may get my share."

The man said, "I cannot cut her up, for she is my wife."

The lion said, "Was not our agreement that I should have the entrails of every animal you caught? Now give me my share or I will kill you."

At that moment there came forth a hare, and when he had heard the case he said to the lion, "This man speaks not truly when he says that this animal is his wife, he only wishes to get all the meat for himself. Now my plan is that you and the man follow me, and I will show you that this is not his wife."

So the man and the lion followed the hare, and the hare and the man passed the second trap, but the lion entered in, and was caught up by the noose in the air.

Then the hare said to the man, "Now take your wife quickly and run away, for if he gets out he will kill us both."

So the man took his wife and ran away quickly.

Now the lion stayed in the trap, but after some time the rope rotted and he got out, but he was weak and maimed and thin. After several days he caught a pala, and then he caught a zebra, and then he grew strong again.

Then he said, "Now I will go and kill that hare who took me in." So he went to the house of the hare, which was under a big rock, and seized the hare.

Now over the rock was a great boulder poised, and the hare said to the lion, "See, that stone is falling, it will kill us both." The lion looked up and saw the boulder and leaped from under it, but when he found that it did not fall he looked for the hare, but the hare had gone.

Then he sought for the hare many days, and at last he found where he lived in a cave, so he went in and sat there to wait for him till he returned.

And as the hare returned he saw the footprints of the lion on the path leading to his house, so he went and stood near the house and said, "Salaam, oh house." But the lion was not to be deceived, and he answered not.

Then the hare said again, "Salaam, house," and again the lion was silent.

So the hare said to himself, "Every day when I pass here and say, 'Salaam, oh house,' the house answers and says, 'And to you salaams,' but to-day it is silent; perhaps there is some one inside."

So the lion answered from inside, "And to you salaams." And the hare said, "Oh, lion, I hear your voice; you have come here to kill me."

Then the hare ran off, and the lion came out and went his way. Some time afterwards the hare met the lion in the way, and seeing that he could not escape he said, "I am tired of running away from you, old lion, so now I will come with you and be your servant."

The lion agreed, and the hare followed the lion.

Shortly afterwards the lion killed a zebra, and he said to the hare, "Now, my servant, cook the fat, that I may eat."

So the hare collected firewood and made a fire, and putting a little fat in the fire, said, "Open your mouth, old lion, and taste."

And the lion tasted the fat and saw that it was sweet and good, and said, "Hurry up and cook the rest, that I may eat."

The hare ran off and fetched a stone and put it in the fire till it was red hot and then, taking hold of it with two sticks, said, "Open your mouth, old lion."

The lion opened his mouth and the hare popped the stone in; the lion gulped it down and it burnt his inside and killed him.

The hare then skinned the lion, and taking the skin he went his way till he came to a cave where thirty hyaenas were holding a dance.

The hare took the lion's skin and propped it up against the entrance to the cave, and tied it with string to one of the hyaena's tail.

When the hyaenas smelt the smell of a lion they looked round and saw a lion crouching at the entrance.

They took counsel together and said, "It were better that we remain inside here, for if we go out we will certainly be killed, and after a little time he will go away."

They waited the first and the second day, but when the third day came and the lion did not go away they took counsel together again, saying, "We will all die of hunger here. It were better that we eat one of our number that the rest may live."

So they ate one of their number, and the next day they did likewise, and so on every day, till at last there was only one left alive, and this was the one with the skin tied to his tail.

And he thought to himself, "If I stay here I shall die of hunger. It would be better if I tried to rush past the lion and get away."

So he rushed out of the cave across the plain, and the skin followed him, till at last the rope broke, and he looked round and saw the hare coming to pick up the skin.

Then was the hyaena very angry, and rushed after the hare and caught him.

The hare said, "I am but a small mouthful. If you leave me, I will show you where a whole rhino has just died."

So the hyaena let go and said to him, "I will follow you and see; but if you have deceived me I will kill you."

So the hare led him down to the stream and said, "He fell in here this morning. If you put your nose in the water you will smell him."

So the hyaena put his nose in the water to smell if the rhino was there, and he was seized by the crocodiles and dragged into the river and eaten.

This is the end of the story of the hunter and the lion and the hare, which ends here.

VI
NUNDA THE SLAYER AND THE ORIGIN OF THE ONE-EYED

So the Sultan said to his son, "You must turn that cat out of the town, as it has eaten all our wealth."

So that cat was turned out and went to live in the bush, and there it grew and grew, and it was called Nunda.

Till one day it came into the town and ate everybody in that town, all the people and the Sultan himself and all his sons; but the Sultan's wife was upstairs, and she shut the door and was saved, but everybody else in the town was eaten.

And when the Nunda thought that he had finished everybody he went again into the bush and there he lived.

And the Sultan's wife stayed in the upper storey, and there she gave birth to a son, and she called him Mohammed.

And Mohammed grew up, till one day he said to his mother, "How is it that we two sit alone and there are no other people here?"

And his mother said to him, "Go and open the window and look out." And he opened the window and looked out.

And she said to him, "What do you see?" And he said, "I see many houses."

Then she said to him, "All those houses were once full of people, but the Nunda has killed and eaten them all, even your father and brothers he has eaten."

So Mohammed said, "Did my father have any weapons?" And his mother said, "He used to go to war, and guns and spears and bows and arrows and shields were the weapons he had."

Mohammed said to her, "Bows and arrows are the weapons I want."

So he took a bow and three hundred arrows and set forth, and travelled through the bush, on and on, till one day he met a rhino.

He said to himself, "This must be the Nunda," so he shot his arrows and shot and shot till he had used all his three hundred arrows and the rhino fell dead.

Then he cut off a leg and set out for home, carrying it with him. When he got near the house he sung, "This is Nunda, this is Nunda who kills people."

And his mother, looking out from the upper storey, sang, "My child, that is not Nunda who kills people."

When he came into the house she said, "My son, that is not Nunda; it is a rhino."

So he said, "I will sleep here to-night, and to-morrow I will set out again."

In the morning he took seven bows and one thousand arrows and set out, and travelled and travelled, through forests and plains, till he came to a garden, and there he sat down.

Presently a great dust arose in the hills and came down into the plains.

So Mohammed climbed a tree and waited, saying, "This indeed must be Nunda."

Presently a great animal came out of the dust and came down to the garden to drink, and he drank from three o'clock in the afternoon to six o'clock in the evening.

And Mohammed, up in the tree, said to himself, "If I am to die I am already dead, and if I am to escape I have already escaped;" so he started shooting his arrows, and when he had shot five hundred the animal looked up from drinking, but he did not yet know that he was hit.

So Mohammed took his other five hundred arrows and shot and shot till he had used them all, and then he threw away his bow.

Then the animal arose and went to the tree where Mohammed sat, and jumped and bounded in his pain, but he did not reach him, and in the morning when Mohammed looked down he saw that the animal was dead. Then he descended and cut off a leg, and taking it started for home.

When he got near home he sang, "This is Nunda, this is Nunda who kills people."

And his mother looked out from the upper storey and sang, "My child, that is he, Nunda who eats people."

And she came down to meet him and said, "Hang the leg up in the verandah, and I will go and get you water to wash with."

So he hung up the leg and went inside to wash himself.

And the leg said, "By Allah, I feel cold here." And his mother called out, "Mohammed." "Yes, mother." "Why is the leg talking there in the verandah?"

So Mohammed came out from the bathroom and took the leg and hung it up at the top of the house, and went back to wash.

Presently the leg said, "I hear some one washing there." And his mother called out, "That leg is still talking upstairs."

And Mohammed came out again and said, "Give me my knife; I will cut it open and see what is inside."

So he took his knife and cut open the leg, and there he found his father and brothers and all the people of that town inside the leg; but in cutting it open he stabbed one man in the face and put out his eye.

And this man, when he came out from the leg, was very angry indeed and said, "Why have you put out my eye? See, you have let all the other people out quite whole; but me, you have put out my eye."

And Mohammed said, "I am very sorry. I did not know what was in the leg, and my knife slipped in cutting it open, so now be content that you have escaped and forgive me."

But the man said, "I will not forgive you. You have put out my eye and now you must let me put out your eye."

Mohammed said, "I do not agree."

The man said, "If you don't agree to my putting out your eye we must fight."

Mohammed said, "I don't want many words, so now listen to what I have got to say. Let one of us take a rifle and five cartridges and the other stones, and let us go down to the shore and fight. So now choose which you will take."

So One-eye chose to take the rifle and five rounds, and Mohammed took a cloth and filled it with stones, and they went down to the shore.

And Mohammed said, "Now, One-eye, you have the rifle, you begin."

So One-eye fired the first round and missed, and the second and missed, and so on all five rounds.

Then Mohammed came near with his bag of stones, and hit him here and there and all over, and came closer and stoned him, and hit him in the other eye, putting that out, till he went down on his knees and said, "I repent; I am satisfied."

And this is the beginning of all one-eyed and blind men in the world, and this is how they began.

They lived like that many months and many days, and they were very, very poor; till one day the woodcutter went out to the forest as usual to cut wood. As he was at work he looked up and saw a number of birds sitting on the top of a tree, with their beaks wide open. And there was a cloud of insects about the tree, and they fell into the birds' mouths.

Then the woodcutter said to himself, "Behold these birds, they sit on the top of a tree with their mouths open, and God feeds them by bringing insects to fall into their mouths. They do not have to work or even to move from their perch; they just open their mouths and are fed. Why should I have to work hard all day and then only get just enough to eat? Why should not God feed me like that?"

So he loaded up his donkey with the wood he had already cut and returned to the town. When he reached his house he went in and got into bed.

His wife went out and sold the wood, and then bought some food and returned home. When she found her husband in bed she said, "My husband, are you ill?"

He replied, "No, my wife, I am waiting for God to feed me as I saw Him feed the birds to-day."

So she cooked the food and then called to him, "The food is ready, my husband."

He replied, "No. To-day I saw that God fed the birds without them having to move. They just opened their mouths and the food dropped in, so now I am not going to move out of bed, but am just going to wait here in bed to be fed also."

So his wife brought his food in to him there in bed and he ate and slept. Next morning his wife said to him, "Arise, my husband, for it is time that you went to work."

He replied, "No, I am not going to work; I am just going to stop here in bed and wait to be fed."

His wife said, "But, my husband, we have no food and no money in the house. What are we to do if you do not go and work?"

He answered, "Never mind. God is able to feed the birds when they are hungry, and so He is able to feed me."

So he stopped there in bed. Now a neighbour of his had a vision that night that in a certain cave was a great treasure stored. He wanted to go and search for it, and when he heard that the woodcutter was not going to work that day he thought that he would borrow his donkey to bring back the wealth, if his vision came true.

So he came to borrow the donkey; but as he was a very mean man he did not want to tell of his vision or for what purpose he wanted the donkey. He knocked at the door, and the wife came and opened it, and he asked to see the woodcutter.

The wife went to call her husband, but he said, "Tell him to come in here; I will not get up."

So the neighbour came in and asked the woodcutter to lend him his donkey, and said, "If I have a prosperous journey I will give you a few coppers."

The woodcutter agreed, and he took the donkey and went to the place about which he had dreamed. There he found the cave, and when he entered he saw piles of money, gold, silver and copper.

So he gathered up first all the gold and then all the silver and filled the donkey's saddle-bags, till at last they would hold no more.

He was loth to leave the copper, so he left the donkey outside the cave and went back and began to stuff his clothes with the copper coins. Whilst he was doing this the mouth of the cave fell in, and he was unable to get out.

The donkey waited and waited till at last, when evening was near, seeing no one coming, it set off and returned home, and came to the door of the house. The wife heard a noise at the door and said, "My husband, there is some one at the door; get up and open it to see who it is."

He replied, "No, my wife, I am going to stop just here in bed till God brings me my food."

So the wife opened the door, and the donkey walked in to where the woodcutter was lying in bed. When he looked at it he saw that the saddle-bags were stuffed full of gold and silver.

The man and his wife waited for the return of the neighbour, but when he did not come back they made plans together what they should do.

The husband said to his wife, "Behold, my wife, the neighbours all know that we are very poor and have no money in the house. Even if we were to take a little money and buy food to-morrow they will say that we have stolen it, so how are we to spend all this wealth? Even if we go away they will know that we have not the money to expend on a journey, so what shall we do?"

So they planned together, and then they crept out, when everybody was asleep, and put a little money on the doorstep of each house near them. On one they put ten reals, on another five, and so on.

In the morning when every one opened their doors, behold, some silver coins on the doorstep. So the neighbours said to one another, "I got five reals; what did you get?" and so on. Another said, "Surely some Jin must have put all this money here in the night."

Then were the neighbours not surprised when they saw that the woodcutter and his wife had a little money wherewith to buy food. So the woodcutter said to his neighbours, "I found twenty reals on my doorstep this morning, and I and my wife are going to expend this money on travelling to a far country, where perhaps we will meet with better fortune than here."

So they bought the necessaries for a long journey with a little of that money, and then the greater part they packed up on the donkey and journeyed off.

They travelled on and on, till at last they came to a country where they were not known, and there they bought a house and settled down, and the people said, "Behold, these must be some rich folk who have come from a far country."

So they lived there in great splendour, and spent their money and gave praise to God.

This is the story of the woodcutter who had trust in God, and it finishes here.

VIII
KITANGATANGA OF THE SEA

He himself, when he went abroad and returned, used to climb up a ladder and get in at the window, and when he went away he took away the ladder. So that woman stayed in that hut and was not able to go out, not even for a little, and so she was sick of heart.

Now when her mother heard about this she came and dug a hole under the wall, so that she was able to come and see her daughter whenever the husband had gone out. The mouth of that hole the woman covered over with matting, so that that man, her husband, did not get to see it.

Now that man was a merchant, and used to trade up and down the coast even as far as Maskat.

One day he came home to his wife and said to her, "My wife, it is time that I went up the coast trading, so in a week's time I will start and will go to Zanzibar and Maskat, and then, after the space of one year, I will return again."

So his wife said to him, "It is well, my husband; may you go and return in safety."

When her husband went away again she got out quickly by her tunnel and came to her mother and said, "My mother, my husband is going to travel away for a year and leave me in my hut. Now you must go quickly and get a fast ship ready for me and tell no one."

Then she returned and sat in the hut, and in the evening her husband returned and climbed in by that window of his.

After a week had passed the husband took leave of his wife and went down to the harbour, got on board his ship and set sail for Zanzibar.

After he had gone, the wife came out quickly and went down to the harbour and got on board the vessel her mother had prepared for her and set sail behind him.

In the middle of the ocean that boat of hers passed his. He looked at it and called out, "Who is that in the ship that is passing me?"

She answered, "It is I, my name is Kitangatanga of the sea."

She arrived at Zanzibar, moored her vessel and went ashore, and found that house where he stayed and entered it and sat down. Presently her husband arrived, moored his boat and went up to that house.

When he saw that woman he was surprised and said to her, "How like you are to my wife whom I left in Kilwa!"

So he talked to her for a while and then asked, "Are you married?"

She replied, "No, I am a widow."

Then he said, "If you will marry me I will settle on you a hundred reals."

So that woman agreed, and they were married, and they stayed together. After two weeks he said to her, "My wife, I must continue my journey to Maskat now; but in the space of six months I will return and stay with you."

She said, "It is well, my husband; go, and return in safety."

So he got in his boat and set sail for Maskat. After he had gone she got in her boat and set sail behind him. In the middle of the sea her vessel passed his, and he called out, "Who is that who is passing me?"

She replied, "It is I, Kitangatanga of the sea." She arrived first in Maskat and found that house where he stopped and went and sat in it. Presently her husband arrived, moored his ship and went up to the house.

When he saw that woman sitting there he was very surprised and said, "How like you are to my wife whom I left in Kilwa, and also to that woman I married in Zanzibar."

Then he asked her, "Are you married?"

She replied, "No, I am a widow." So he said, "I will marry you for one hundred reals."

She agreed, and they were married, and he stayed with her six months there in Maskat. At the end of that time he said, "My wife, I must now return home. I will stay a year, and then I will return to you."

She said, "Go, and return in peace, my husband."

So he set sail from Maskat, and that woman set sail after him. In the midst of the ocean she passed him again, and when he asked who it was, she replied, "It is I, Kitangatanga of the sea."

She arrived at Zanzibar and went up to that house.

Presently her husband arrived, and she said, "Welcome, stranger; what is the news?"

He replied, "The news is that I have made a prosperous journey to Maskat, and that there I met a woman just like the wife I left at Kilwa and also like you, and I married her."

She replied, "It is well, my husband."

After he had stopped several weeks he said to her, "My wife, I must now return home. I will stop one year, and then I will return to you."

So she said, "May your journey be prosperous, my husband, and may you return in safety."

So he set sail for Kilwa, and she set sail after him. In the midst of the ocean she passed him again, and when he asked who it was, she replied, "It is I, Kitangatanga of the sea."

When she arrived in Kilwa she moored her vessel and went up to her house. She entered by her underground doorway and sat down. After a while her husband arrived and climbed in by his window. She said, "Welcome, my husband."

Then she cooked food for him, and when he had eaten she asked him, "What is the news of there where you have been?"

He replied, "I made a good voyage to Zanzibar, and there I met a woman just like you. I married her for one hundred reals, and stayed with her for two weeks. Then I went on to Maskat, and there I met a woman exactly like you and like that woman I married in Zanzibar. I married her, too, for a hundred reals, and stopped with her six months.

"Then I returned to Zanzibar and stayed with my wife there a few weeks, then set out for home, and here I am. Now what is the news here of this place whilst I have been away?"

That wife replied, "The news is this, my husband. I was angered because you put me in a hut without a door, so I made this underground door which you see there.

"Then, when you set sail, I set sail after you, and I passed you in the sea; and when you asked who I was, I replied, 'Kitangatanga of the sea!'

"I came first to Zanzibar, and it was I whom you married there for a hundred reals.

"When you left for Maskat, I set sail behind you, and arrived there first. It was I also whom you married in Maskat for one hundred reals. That is my news, my husband."

When her husband heard that, he said, "Indeed, this is true. Now I will build you a very fine hut with a door in it, so that you may go out when you please."

So he built her a splendid hut with a door and put her into it, and there they lived happily.

IX
THE LION'S TALISMAN

Should a man get it, he becomes possessed of great good fortune. If he wishes he can put it away and keep it, or if he desires he can sell it for much money, or he can make it into a charm and wear it himself. If a man wearing this charm meets with a lion, that lion is unable to do anything to him, by reason of that charm.

One day, after the Sultan and his son had gone to prayer, she called to the slave, "Kibaraka, take these seeds and put them out in the sun." Kibaraka took the grain and spread it out to dry, each kind by itself.

Suddenly a wondrously fine bird came and sat down by the grain and called out—

"Kibaraka! Kibaraka!"

He answered, "Here, lady, here."

Then the bird sang—

At that it flew away.

On the next day and the day after the bird came again and sung the same song.

Till one day Kibaraka told his young master Hasani, "Master, every day at one o'clock, when you are at the mosque, a lovely bird comes here."

Hasani asked, "What kind of bird is this?"

Kibaraka said, "All ordinary wonders are surpassed by this bird, for it sings a very beautiful song," and he told his master of the song.

At these words the Sultan's son perceived that this bird was of the daughters of the Jins, and he fell in love with her.

Then he said to Kibaraka, "See here, I have given you your freedom, you are no longer a slave, and now you must catch this bird for me."

After that Hasani was seized with a grievous illness because of his longing for that bird till, on the third day at one o'clock, the Sultan went out to look for all the wisest of the medicine men to attend to his son.

Whilst he was gone that bird came and sat by the grain and called, "Kibaraka! Kibaraka!"

Kibaraka cut a thin pole and made a noose at the end and set it near the bullrush millet, the grain the bird loved best.

When it had finished eating all the seeds it wished to fly away, but one of its wings caught in the noose.

Then it said to Kibaraka, "Please let me go and do not touch me, for you will injure me. Take this feather of mine and carry it to your master, and let it be my salaams to him."

So Kibaraka brought the feather to the Sultan's son. Hasani was very pleased. Then he said to him, "Kibaraka, my brother, why did not you catch the owner of this feather?"

Kibaraka said, "I was not able to catch it. When I saw it I fell down seven times because of its light, and my wisdom forsook me."

When the Sultan returned, his son said to him, "My father, you must sound the pallaver-horn, that all the people may come before the palace." The Sultan loved his son exceedingly, so he gathered all his people together. Then Hasani said, "Tell the people that they must look for this bird and bring it to me, and if they do not bring it I shall die." So the Sultan gave out the order, "There is no leave to weave or spin, to grind corn or pound grain, until this bird has been brought."

At once all the people of that country went out into the jungles and deserts to look for that bird. Every one who found a fine bird would seize it and bring it to the Sultan's son, but to each he said, "This is not the one."

Till one day, as people were sitting in the Sultan's court holding a pallaver, just after one o'clock had struck, they looked up and saw a dustcloud coming like rain.

Behold, it was that bird coming, and Kibaraka recognised its coming.

When it came it sat down by the grain and ate all the seeds till, as it came to the last, Kibaraka caught it and brought it to his master. When Hasani looked on that bird, behold, it was a beautiful woman.

He said, "Kibaraka, run quickly, go your way to the audience chamber and tell my father that he must fire the cannons, for the thing I desired has come to pass, and the request I made of Allah has been granted."