Page:The Melanesians Studies in their Anthropology and Folklore.djvu/413

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The Little Orphan.
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the bananas are rotting, and the caladium is rotting, and the tomagos are sprouting. And then he sees a house and says, But whose house is this? and whose gawal is this? And the Little Orphan says, My house and my gamal. And his uncle says, But how is it that you have got these? Who is there who will assist you and give you thatch? And the Little Orphan says to his uncle, Well, let those people give the first money, vene, for the avrik. And his uncle says to the people, Come, give in your money to begin with, I will sar, pay back, to you. And all the people say, You fellows! how is it? What has he got to return with? He has no money. But his uncle makes the first return, sar, payment to them, and when he had paid them all, the Little Orphan gives money for his uncle's property; and he says again, Tata, make payment again to them for the qatagiav. And they vene to his uncle, and he makes the full return to them all, and his nephew returns his property to him, pigs and money. And he says to his uncle again, Pay, sar, them again for the av tagataga, and he pays; and when he has paid them all, his nephew makes the return of his property, gives pigs and money And he says again to his uncle, Tata, let those people again make, vene, their contribution of money for the luwai av; and they make it; and his uncle repays them; and when he has paid them all, his nephew runs up into the house and brings money out on his back, and makes the return of his property to his uncle. And that food that they ate would never come to an end; they made one cooking of it, and they still went on eating it for rank after rank in the suqe; they eat, and they stay at it right through like that. Afterwards he says again to his uncle, Well now, pay them again for the tamasuria, and he pays them again; and his nephew runs up again, and brings out again on his back bags of money, and gives pigs, and makes return of his property to his uncle. And the people still remain; and he says again to his uncle, Tata, pay them again for the tavai suqe; and he pays again; and when he has paid them all, his nephew runs up and goes into the