Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 3, 1892.djvu/107

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Folk-lore Tales of Central Africa.
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They went on and crossed a river. The man there turned aside, saying, "I am going this way. Go ye well."

While they were departing from him he stood and called to them, saying, "Hear ye!"

The girls said, "Let us listen; the man is calling after us."

The man said, "I ate your meat."

The girls replied, "Oh, dear! we have been keeping company with a bad man—a very bad man; he ate all our meat."

So they went home and saluted their people.

The end.


The Story of the Coney.

It came to pass on a certain day that the coney was living in the bush, and was eating grass. He got up and went and stayed in a certain village.

On a certain day he said, "I am desirous of taking a girl to wife."

The people agreed, saying, "Take her; but you must first go and show your skill in hunting game."

So the coney agreed, saying, "It is meet that I should first go and hunt game before I take the girl."

He went off to hunt game, and at length arrived in the forest. There he saw a garden of millet. He went into the garden and ate all the millet. He was filled, and went to the river and drank water. Then he went away home and saw a person.

He said to this person, "Go to your garden yonder; I came upon dogs eating your millet." The coney arrived at the village.

The people said to him, "How are you so full?"

The coney said, "I am full with honey."

But the people said, "Let us go and see our garden of millet." They also said, "You must go with us to see it also."