{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_75833/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_75833","id":"gutenberg_75833","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/75833","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Fairy tales -- South Africa","Folklore -- South Africa","Tales -- South Africa"],"text":"FAIRY TALES\n                           FROM SOUTH AFRICA\n\n\n                 COLLECTED FROM ORIGINAL NATIVE SOURCES\n                            AND ARRANGED BY\n\n                          Mrs. E. J. BOURHILL\n                                  AND\n                            Mrs. J. B. DRAKE\n\n                         WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY\n\n                          W. HERBERT HOLLOWAY\n\n\n                       MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED\n                      ST. MARTIN\u2019S STREET, LONDON\n\n                                  1908\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTO ALL CHILDREN WHO STILL LOVE FAIRY TALES\n\n\nAll the stories in this book are real Fairy Tales, just as much as\n\u201cJack the Giant-Killer\u201d or \u201cThe Sleeping Beauty.\u201d By this I mean that\nthey are traditional, handed down by word of mouth. Nobody knows how\nold they are, or who told them first. But little Kafir children sit\nround the fire at night and hear them from their old grandmother, and\nsometimes\u2014but very very seldom\u2014white people are allowed to hear them\ntoo. You see, the Kafirs are afraid white people would laugh at them,\nand so they will only begin if they are quite sure you are really\ninterested. Even then they never like to tell the tales by daylight,\nfor they say that if they do so a wicked spirit will cause a horn to\ngrow out of the middle of their forehead, and they will become as ugly\nas an Imbula. [1] Sometimes they can be persuaded, but then they always\ntake a piece of grass and place it in their hair to ward off evil lest\nthey be bewitched. But the best time to hear the tales is in the\nevening when all the work is done. Then a huge fire is made, and when\nall the children have played till they are tired, and sung and danced\ntill they can remember no more songs to sing, they gather in a circle\nand lie upon the ground where they can best see the story-teller. And\nif the Kafir people were quite sure you would be interested and\nwouldn\u2019t laugh, they would give you the best seat of all and let you\nhear the finest tales. All the Kafir children know the tales as we know\nours, but not all can tell them well. When many people are there the\nbest story-teller will be asked to come forward. Most often it is a\nwoman with children and grandchildren of her own, whom everybody knows\nwell. She sits in the firelight, and begins quite quietly. But soon she\ngets excited, and before long she acts the whole story before you. She\ndoes it so well that if I were to tell you just the name of the story\nyou could follow it without knowing a word of the language. One\nfavourite tale is that which we have called \u201cThe Beauty and the Beast,\u201d\nand there are ever so many different versions of this story. Other\nwell-known ones are \u201cNya-nya Bulembu,\u201d \u201cThe Fairy Frog,\u201d and \u201cThe Fairy\nBird.\u201d\n\nThe little black children all open their eyes with horror when the\nmonster appears, and you cannot think how glad they are to remember\nthere are no ogres nowadays who have long red hair and kill and eat\nlittle girls. I don\u2019t think such people ever really existed anywhere,\nnot even in Kafir-land. They are just like our fairies and ogres;\nnobody knows who first thought of them.\n\nBut there used to be many bad Kings, like Semai-mai, who made their\nsubjects unhappy, and much fighting took place in former days. For all\nthese stories come from the olden times, when there were no white\nsettlers in the country, and when the Kafirs lived alone and followed\ntheir own customs. They did not have one great King over all, but were\nbroken up into tribes, and each tribe had its Chief, who was sometimes\ncalled its King. That is why there are so many Kings and Princes and\nPrincesses in the tales. They were much commoner then than in our days.\n\nThese tribes often fought against one another. The great aim of every\nChief was to have plenty of men to do his bidding, and plenty of cattle\nin his kraal; and if his neighbour were better off, he often tried to\nsteal from him. You will notice that the Princes in these tales did not\nthink of conquering new lands to occupy, as we should, but they all\nwanted men to fight for them. It seems as if, in South Africa, there\nwas always plenty of land, but never enough men and women to occupy it.\nThere was no money then, but a man\u2019s riches were counted by the number\nof his cattle and his wives.\n\nIn peaceful times the Kafir men do very little except look after the\ncattle. This the women have nothing to do with; they must not so much\nas touch the bowls in which milk has been placed. In the old times\nfighting was very frequent, so that a Kafir Chief was not so lazy as\nmany people seem to think. Still, to fight, to look after cattle, and\nnow and then to set the foundations of a hut, were the only occupations\nhe had. His women-folk tilled the land, fetched water and wood, and saw\nto the cooking. They also thatched the huts, and made the most\nbeautiful fences of woven reeds. You see, they were often left alone\nfor weeks and months while the men were away hunting or fighting, so\nthey had to be able to help themselves.\n\nA Kafir Chief usually had many wives; this was considered due to his\nposition, but the wife he married first remained the chief lady in his\nkraal and ruled the others. They each had their own hut and managed\ntheir own affairs, but of course there were often many quarrels. Poorer\nmen had one or two wives only. You see, it was expensive to have many;\nfor every woman had to be paid for with a certain number of cattle.\nThis payment was called the \u201clobola,\u201d and no marriage was legal without\nit. This does not sound a very good custom, but it worked well in\npractice. Savage people are often very unkind to baby girls because\nthey cannot fight, but among the Kafirs they were always well treated.\nThe daughters were valuable to their father because of the dowry they\nwould bring him, and the husbands thought all the more of their wives\nbecause they had cost them something.\n\nMost of these stories were told by Swazis, others by Zulus, and two by\nthe tribes which live on the Portuguese border in the low, wooded\ncountry. \u201cThe Shining Princess\u201d came from the Mapoch Kafirs, who\nformerly lived in the north. None of the people who tell them lived on\nwhat is called the high veld. A Kafir loves country with plenty of wood\nand water, and he likes to build his hut in some green valley on a\nwell-drained slope facing the morning sun. Such country is found in\nNatal and the eastern parts of Cape Colony, and again in Swaziland and\nthe Eastern Transvaal. In summer there are marvellous wild flowers and\nabundant green grass, and in every mountain valley there are clear\nstreams bordered with luxuriant ferns and overshadowed with beautiful\nevergreen trees. All the rain falls in summer amidst continuous\nthunderstorms, and it is often very hot. In winter no rain falls for\nfour or five months; the sky is clear and shining and the nights are\ncold, but by day the sun makes everything pleasantly warm.\n\nThe Kafir people still live and flourish in this country. They no\nlonger make war on one another, for the white people oblige them to\ndwell in peace. So now their customs are slowly changing. The women are\ngradually ceasing to hoe the lands in the old fashion, and the men are\nbeginning to plough with oxen; it seems as if in time they will become\ntillers of the soil like men in other lands. These stories may soon be\nforgotten; so we have written them down for your amusement before it is\ntoo late and no one tells them any more.\n\n\n                                                  Barberton, Transvaal,\n                                                            April 1908.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n                                                             PAGE\n    I.     Setuli; or, the King of the Birds                    1\n    II.    The Story of the King\u2019s Son and the Magic Song      18\n    III.   The Story of the Little Birds who lived in a Cave   28\n    IV.    The Story of the Shining Princess                   32\n    V.     The Rabbit Prince                                   43\n    VI.    The Unnatural Mother                                58\n    VII.   The Three Little Eggs                               66\n    VIII.  The Serpent\u2019s Bride\u2014Part I.                         78\n    IX.    The Serpent\u2019s Bride\u2014Part II.                        99\n    X.     The Fairy Bird                                     115\n    XI.    The Cock\u2019s Kraal                                   132\n    XII.   Baboon-Skins                                       139\n    XIII.  The Reward of Industry                             151\n    XIV.   The Story of Semai-mai\u2014Part I.                     160\n    XV.    The Story of Semai-mai\u2014Part II.                    171\n    XVI.   The Fairy Frog                                     187\n    XVII.  Nya-nya Bulembu; or, the Moss-green Princess       198\n    XVIII. The Enchanted Buck                                 212\n    XIX.   The Beauty and the Beast                           224\n    XX.    The White Dove                                     237\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n\u201cThe old woman continued to gaze at Setuli, and said\n  three times in a loud voice, \u2018Speak!\u2019\u201d                   Frontispiece\n\u201cHe turned to the mountain-side and shouted,\n  \u2018Men, appear!\u2019\u201d                                       To face page 17\n\u201cThey climbed and climbed till they were above the clouds\u201d           49\n\u201cShe came in sight of an enormous hut\u201d                               72\n\u201cShe ... threw them down a rocky precipice\u201d                         121\n\u201cSuch was their strength and ferocity that but two or three\n  escaped alive out of the whole regiment\u201d                          137\n\u201cIt was a very old woman, leaning on an immense assegai\u201d            183\n\u201cSuddenly a flock of rock-pigeons ... seized the beautiful\n  Princess and carried her away\u201d                                    204\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nI\n\nSETULI;\nOR, THE KING OF THE BIRDS\n\nA SWAZI TALE\n\n\nMany, many years ago there lived a poor man, named Setuli, who was deaf\nand dumb. He had never been able to speak, or understand anything but\nsigns from his birth, and was despised by all his brothers and sisters.\n\nAlthough he was the son of a powerful Chief, no one so much as looked\nat him, and he could never hope to win a bride or have a home of his\nown. He had but one friend, an elder brother, who gave him food and\nshelter, and was always kind to him. This brother was already old, and\nwas known as a great magician; he knew the properties of every herb,\nand the wonderful powers possessed by birds and beasts. When he went to\nsearch for magic roots he always took Setuli with him, for he found his\neyes were quicker than those of any man in the country-side, and his\nfingers more deft.\n\nOne day in Spring, when the first rains had fallen and green shoots\nwere showing among the dry grass, the two brothers went out to gather\nroots as usual. They travelled far into the mountains till they reached\na narrow valley full of trees just bursting into leaf. A clear stream\nran down one side among great boulders, ferns were just uncurling their\nearly fronds, and in sheltered nooks big scarlet daisies shone like\ntiny suns. The old magician and Setuli set to work at once, for here\nmany rare plants flourished. They had been at work an hour or more when\na swarm of beautiful black birds with long waving tails came towards\nthem, flying in a zigzag course. They settled on the low bushes,\nswinging up and down on the branches, and balancing their long tails.\n\nThe two brothers both looked up, and in a grave voice the old magician\nsaid to the birds, \u201cSakobulas, [2] we go to sleep and we get up as we\nused to do.\u201d This was the magic greeting they expected. I cannot tell\nyou what it meant, but when the sakobulas heard it, they flew away\nquite satisfied. The two brothers went on digging, and moved farther up\nthe stream. Then a great swarm of dear little rooibekkies [3] suddenly\nappeared, tiny little brown birds with pink breasts and bright red\nbills. They fluttered all round, chattering gaily.\n\nThe old magician again looked up. \u201cMantsiane,\u201d [4] said he, \u201cwe go to\nsleep and we get up as we used to do\u201d; and the rooibekkies flew away\nquite satisfied. Then the two brothers went on digging again, and\nworked for a long time. All at once there rushed upon them an immense\nflight of the most beautiful birds, shining from head to foot with\nglorious yellow plumage. Round their necks showed a ring of velvety\nblack, and there were black feathers in their wings.\n\n\u201cFollow us up! Follow us up!\u201d they cried to the two brothers. \u201cThese\nare orioles,\u201d said the old magician; \u201cwithout doubt some great\nadventure is before us.\u201d He signed to his brother to leave the roots\nand follow the birds.\n\nThey travelled over the mountains for three days and three nights,\nfollowing the golden birds. On the morning of the fourth day the birds\nled them down a steep mountain-side to a deep green valley through\nwhich ran a wide stream. The birds followed the stream till they came\nto a deep clear pool under the shadow of great trees. It was very cool\nand very still. Tall reeds and big white lilies grew all round the\nwater\u2019s edge, and over the pool itself were hundreds of water-lilies,\nwhite and purple.\n\nThe golden birds turned to the magician and said, \u201cBring your brother\nhere and tell him on no account to be afraid, no matter what may happen\nto him. He must wait by the edge of the pool amongst the reeds and\nlilies.\u201d\n\nThe elder brother fetched Setuli and made him understand what was\nwanted of him. Then he went away and left his brother alone, wondering\nwhat this new adventure would bring.\n\nNow, though Setuli had always been despised and set aside by all his\nrelations, he was in reality both wise and brave. He sat down at the\nwater\u2019s edge and remained perfectly still. Suddenly the waters moved,\nand up rose a huge alligator. It came straight towards him, lashing its\ngreat tail and opening its huge jaws. Its teeth glistened in the sun,\nand as it walked up the bank it snapped at Setuli and blinked its\nwicked little eyes. But Setuli sat perfectly still and pretended not to\nnotice. The alligator thrust its long nose almost in his face, snapped\nits jaws once more, and then, seeing he showed no sign of fear, turned\ntail and slipped into the pool again.\n\nSetuli remained sitting, waiting to see what would happen next. For a\nlittle while the pool was still; then the whole of the waters moved and\nout came a huge ogre, far more hideous and terrible than the alligator.\nHe was covered with eyes and glared with every one of them at the deaf\nman. Then he roared fiercely and sprang towards him; but still Setuli\ndid not move so much as an eyelid. The ogre shouted again, and then\ndisappeared, like the alligator before him.\n\nAfter that there was no sound or motion for many hours. Setuli sat\nwatching by the pool. Just as he began to think nothing more would\nhappen, the water moved quietly and out came a Fairy in the shape of an\nold woman. She stood in the waters up to her waist and gazed at Setuli.\nOn her right hand there perched a beautiful black sakobula, on her left\nhand a little rooibekkie, and on her head was a most wonderful oriole,\nbright as the rising moon. The old woman continued to gaze at Setuli,\nand said three times in a loud voice, \u201cSpeak!\u201d\n\nWhen she uttered the third word Setuli felt a new power had come to\nhim. He could speak like other people, and he could understand all the\nFairy said.\n\n\u201cGo to your brother,\u201d said she, \u201cand show him you are cured. I have\nknown both of you long and have determined to help you. Whatever you\nwant in the future you shall receive; you have only to ask for it.\u201d The\nFairy vanished, and the three birds flew away.\n\nSetuli soon found his brother, and the old man\u2019s astonishment was great\nwhen he heard the deaf man speak. Setuli in his turn was much surprised\nto find the three swarms of birds again, just as he had left them on\nhis journey out. They flew in three separate companies, and at the head\nof each company was one more beautiful than the others, evidently the\nleader. Setuli soon saw these were the very birds who had accompanied\nthe Fairy; no doubt she had sent them for his use. He thought deeply\nfor a time and then made new plans. The result you shall soon hear.\n\nThe two brothers journeyed on till they saw a great storm rising. The\nsky was blue-black, and a noise could be heard like continuous thunder.\n\n\u201cThat is hail,\u201d cried the magician; \u201cwe shall be caught here in the\nopen. Nothing can save us from death.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not fear,\u201d said Setuli; \u201cwait and you shall see.\u201d He gave a command\nand instantly one thousand huts appeared. His brother gazed in\nastonishment and delight. Then he said, \u201cWhat do we want with so many\nhuts? There is no one to shelter but you and me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI shall want huts for my soldiers and people,\u201d said Setuli. Then he\nturned to the companies of birds and changed them all with one word\ninto warriors. The sakobulas became his first regiment. They were great\ntall men clad in leopard skins, holding in their hands assegais [5] and\nhuge shields of ox-hide. But one thing remained of their former state.\nEach man wore on his head a huge cap of the long tail-feathers of the\nsakobula. They stood in line, saluted their Chief, and marched to their\nhuts. Then came the golden orioles. These were Setuli\u2019s bodyguard, and\nwere even finer than the sakobulas. Their skins were of the silver\njackal; round their knees and arms were bracelets of white ox-tails,\nand on their heads were long black ostrich-plumes. Before them stood\nthe golden oriole, bright as the rising moon, now the general in\ncommand next to Setuli himself. Last of all came the rooibekkies. These\nbecame the little umfaans, the lads who carry all the baggage of the\narmy and wait on the grown men. Setuli sent them all to their huts just\nas the first hailstones struck the ground.\n\nFor an hour no one stirred. The sound of the storm was like continuous\nroaring thunder; the hailstones were as large as great plums, jagged\nand sharp as crystals. Every tree was stripped of its leaves and all\nbirds and beasts who could not find shelter were killed or maimed. When\nthe storm ceased the hail lay in icy heaps in every hollow, and the air\nwas frosty and cold as in mid-winter on the high mountains. A raw mist\nrose from the valleys, but Setuli felt no cold. His heart was great\nwithin him, for now he had proved his powers. He called out his troops\nonce more and reviewed them with joy and pride. \u201cWe shall go forth and\nconquer a great kingdom,\u201d he said to his brother. \u201cI shall yet be a\nrich man.\u201d\n\nThe regiments shouted \u201cBayeta,\u201d the salute which is given only to the\nChief, and swore to follow wherever Setuli led. Generals were appointed\nfor each division of the army, the three leaders being the birds who\nsat on the Fairy\u2019s hands. There was no trouble about provisions or\nshelter, for Setuli had only to ask for food and there was abundance\nfor all.\n\nHe now determined to search for a kingdom to conquer. He left the\ncountry of mountains and wooded valleys, and went up to the great\ntableland to search for new people to overcome. He travelled with his\narmy for a year, but never saw so much as one little hut. The land was\nempty; on every side was waving grass extending as far as eye could\nreach, but no path appeared nor any tree. Great herds of buck sometimes\ncame towards them and then followed fine hunting; but no man or woman\ncould they find though they travelled for many months. At last they\nturned back towards the low country, and at the end of a year they came\nto a range of mountains overlooking an immense plain. Below they saw\ngreat cities surrounded by fields full of mealies. [6] Thousands of\ncattle roamed on the hills; they had but to descend and seize all they\nwanted.\n\nSetuli bade his men camp in a great valley which could not be seen from\nthe plain. Then he sent spies to find out how strong the cities were\nand how big was the King\u2019s army. But first his brother the magician\ngave them a wonderful potion which made them invisible, so that no one\nshould suspect them. In the evening they returned in great fear. \u201cThe\npeople,\u201d cried they, \u201care all deaf and dumb; they have but one arm, and\nwalk on one leg only. Not only that, but as soon as we approached them\nwe found we were becoming deaf and dumb also, so we ran back as quickly\nas possible.\u201d\n\nThis troubled Setuli very much. \u201cDon\u2019t go near these people,\u201d said he.\n\u201cLet us get right away from the towns and go hunting in the mountains.\u201d\n\nNow Setuli was very wise, and had besides the advice of his brother,\nthe great magician. He had determined to take possession of all the\ninhabitants of this country and drive away all their cattle, but he\nfelt sure some powerful monster ruled over them who would first have to\nbe discovered and destroyed. The only thing to do was to devise some\nmeans of attracting him to the camp and killing him unawares. A big\nhunt was arranged, and an immense number of birds were taken of all\nshapes and colours. Setuli drew a feather out of the tail of every bird\nand made a huge many-coloured ball, which he wore as a head-dress and\nas a protection for himself, for magic power was in the feathers. Then\nhe allowed preparations to be made for the great feast which followed\nthe hunt, but gave special directions to his men.\n\n\u201cDo not eat all the birds,\u201d he said. \u201cPlace half of those you have\nkilled in front of the huts. Put first a whole bird, then the head of a\nbird you have eaten, in long rows all round the camp, and then put a\ntreble row about my own hut.\u201d\n\nThe men carried out these commands carefully, and soon the whole camp\nwas surrounded with dead birds of every hue and shape. When all the\nfeasting was over and the camp quite still, Setuli crept out of his hut\nand hid behind the screen which sheltered the entrance. It was full\nmoon, and the country shone like silver. Sharp inky black shadows\nshowed near the river where the bushes grew, and round each hut was a\ndark narrow ring in which no object was visible. Setuli crouched behind\nhis screen of reeds; the camp was absolutely still and deserted.\nTowards midnight he heard heavy footsteps approaching. Every now and\nthen they stopped, then they began again. Setuli stooped lower; without\ndoubt the monster who owned all the cities in the plain was\napproaching. The footsteps were not even; they resembled some one\nhopping very heavily. Presently a huge black figure came in sight,\nholding a long assegai. He had but one leg and one arm, and stopped\ngreedily at every hut to eat the birds which lay there. As he came\nnearer, Setuli saw that he was of unimaginable ugliness. His eyes were\ndivided; one was in the middle of his forehead and the other at the\nback of his head, so that whichever way he stood he saw you, and you\ncould not escape him. At the entrance of Setuli\u2019s hut he stopped, gave\na snarl of delight at the sight of so many birds, and sat down to enjoy\nthem.\n\nHe had but one arm, so he laid his assegai down just before the\ndoor-screen. Setuli asked for no better chance; he rose quickly, seized\nthe assegai and stabbed the monster in the neck. He rolled over with a\ngroan and lay quite still, apparently dead.\n\nWith a joyous heart Setuli roused all his men, and at break of day led\nthem into the great plain. To their surprise they found the people\nwalking on two legs and talking as well as themselves. The death of the\nogre relieved the people from the bonds of a wicked enchantment, and\nthey were only too glad to go with Setuli and his men, they and all\ntheir cattle. By evening all was in order for the march, and at\nearliest dawn the company started for the mountains.\n\nThey had gone a whole day\u2019s journey, and had reached a point high above\nthe great plain, when Setuli discovered that he had lost his ball of\nfeathers. He did not wish to turn his followers back, but neither could\nhe bear to travel farther without his head-dress, for it had magic\npower, and it might be long before he could get such another. So he\nbade his army go on under the leadership of his brother, and went down\nthe mountain-paths as fast as possible till he came to the valley in\nwhich they had camped. There he saw a sight which made his heart stand\nstill. The ogre whom he had left for dead was sitting up alive and\nwell, and round him danced and romped hundreds of little ogres, all\nwith one leg and one arm like their father. They tossed the magic ball\nof feathers from one to another and shouted with glee.\n\nSetuli saw he must risk all and trust to his swift feet to get away. He\nran in suddenly, seized the ball of feathers, and turned quickly away\nup the mountain-path. As he touched the ball, all the little ogres\nvanished like smoke. Only the big one remained, and for a moment he was\ndazed and did not understand what had happened. Then he got up and\nstamped after Setuli with astonishing speed. It was all Setuli could do\nto keep the distance between them, but he was strong and knew the\npaths. They leapt from rock to rock, in and out among the trees, till\nthey came to the grassy slopes which led to the great pass. They\nclimbed all day till the sun began to set. Then at the very top of the\nmountain range Setuli found his army camped along the side of a deep\nravine. Below was a valley many hundreds of feet deep, lined with huge\nrocks and great trees. Beyond, many weary hours away, rose another\nmountain with green slopes marked with the course of many streams.\n\n\u201cBayeta!\u201d cried the army when they saw their Chief. \u201cMy men,\u201d cried\nSetuli, \u201cwe have not a moment to lose. Our enemy is behind us and we\nshall soon be in his hands. Let every man, woman, and child fix his\neyes on the mountain-side opposite and then leap with all his might.\u201d\n\nSetuli could hear his enemy behind him as his people leapt together\ninto the air. He ran forward, touched the cattle with his ball of\nfeathers, and they too jumped with all their might. All landed safely\non the other side, and placed the great ravine between them and the\nterrible ogre. Setuli jumped last, just as the monster, breathless and\nexhausted, reached the edge of the precipice.\n\nTwilight set in, and when the sun rose next morning Setuli and all his\npeople found themselves in perfect safety, and set forth once more on\ntheir journey. They travelled all day, and at sunset came to the most\nbeautiful valley they had ever beheld. It lay far below them, wide,\ngreen, and fertile. Down its centre flowed a clear stream shaded by\ngreat tree-ferns, and bordered with thick green bushes covered with\nscarlet flowers. The valley extended as far as eye could see towards\nthe setting sun; all the hills on either side were closely wooded and\nwell watered. Setuli turned to his brother and said, \u201cThis is the\nfinest country I have ever seen. We will settle here with all our men.\u201d\n\nAt the end of the valley was a very large kraal wherein dwelt the Chief\nof the country. Setuli determined to win him over to his side and make\nhim his man.\n\nSo he took his bodyguard and marched down the mountain-paths to the\ngate of the kraal. Just as they approached the Chief\u2019s hut he struck\nevery one of his men on the leg with his magic assegai. They at once\nbegan to walk every man on one leg.\n\n\u201cNever have I seen such magic power,\u201d said the Chief. \u201cYou shall be our\nKing and protect us against all our enemies.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will show you yet more marvels,\u201d said Setuli. He struck his men once\nmore and they all walked like ordinary human beings. While the Chief\nstill stared in open-mouthed wonder, he turned to the mountain-side and\nshouted, \u201cMen, appear!\u201d\n\nInstantly from top to bottom of the great hill stood line upon line of\nmagnificent warriors, clad in leopard skins and holding white shields.\nThey lifted their right hands and shouted \u201cBayeta!\u201d so that the cry\nechoed like thunder from side to side of the valley.\n\nThen Setuli shouted once more, \u201cMen, disappear!\u201d and at once the\nhillside was empty and silent.\n\n\u201cYou see,\u201d said Setuli, \u201cI have men at my command whenever we need\nthem.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou shall certainly be our King,\u201d cried all the people. So Setuli and\nhis brother and all the men and women who belonged to them stayed in\nthe valley, and lived in great peace and happiness all their lives\nlong.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nII\n\nTHE STORY OF THE KING\u2019S SON AND THE MAGIC SONG\n\nA SWAZI TALE\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived among the mountains a great King; and he\nhad many cattle, which he loved. Among them was a fairy ox, with horns\nwhich curled right across his forehead, and with a voice like thunder;\nthis ox led the herd, and at his call all the cattle followed him. In\nthe day-time they fed in the tall grass in the valley, and at night\nthey were brought home to the big kraal, round which were the huts of\nthe King and all his men, so that they might be safe from any harm. And\nthe fence of the kraal was strong and high, and the men watched so that\nno evil befell the cattle.\n\nNow the King loved the cattle so much that he made one of his own sons\nherdsman. Every morning this boy took the cattle to graze in the\npasture, and at sunset he drove them back to the kraal. All day, in the\nhot sunshine, he watched the herd to see that none strayed and were\nlost, and to take care that no enemy came in to steal. And because the\ngrass in summer grew tall, high above his head, and thick, so that he\ncould not see, he would climb on to one of the great rocks that lay\nscattered about the valley. For the rocks were large, large as a hut,\nand in the shadow beneath them it was cool and the little rock-ferns\ngrew; but on the top, where the sunlight fell, the little lizards lay\nand caught flies.\n\nOften the boy grew tired as he watched the herds, and longed to lie in\nthe warm sun and sleep; but he dared not, for he feared his father\u2019s\nanger if he should lose him an ox.\n\nBut it happened one day that as he watched the cattle a Fairy appeared\nto him in the shape of a very old woman. She came and talked to him,\nand he told her how he had always watched lest the cattle strayed, and\nhow he feared lest his father\u2019s foes should come and kill him and take\nthe cattle.\n\nThen the Fairy pointed to a stone, smooth and large and round, like a\nhut that showed up above the grass of the valley. The boy looked, for\nhe had never seen the stone before. \u201cCome,\u201d she said, \u201cthis is your\nstone. See, it is so smooth that no one can keep his footing on it or\nclimb it. But you shall be able. As you grow the stone will grow, and\nfrom it you can watch all the valley, and no enemy will be able to hurt\nyou, for they could not climb it. But beware that you do not fall\nasleep on it, for then all your cattle will be stolen.\u201d\n\nShe also taught him a magic song, \u201cCome, cattle, come, all you cattle\ncome to me,\u201d the melody of which was so enchanting that all cattle who\nheard it followed the singer. Then the Fairy vanished away.\n\nSo the boy became a splendid herdsman, and none of his cattle were\nlost, for every evening he sang to them and they followed him to the\nkraal, and none strayed. Nor could any be stolen, for on the rock he\nwatched in safety. But at last one hot day he fell asleep on the rock,\nand the enemy who were watching saw him sleeping, and crept down from\nthe hills and drove off all the cattle. When he woke up not one head of\ncattle could he find. He sang \u201cCome, cattle, come,\u201d but it was in vain;\nthey did not hear him. He wandered about the valley looking and singing\ntill the sun began to set, and then in shame and fear went to the kraal\nalone. He went to his father and told him all, but the old King was\nvery angry and drove him from the kraal, saying, \u201cNever come back\nunless you bring my cattle with you.\u201d\n\nSo the poor boy wandered back sadly to the valley, and climbed upon the\nbig stone and lay there in the moonlight crying, for he had lost his\ncattle and he had lost his home. And as he lay some one touched him,\nand he looked up and saw the old woman, the Fairy, who had given him\nthe stone and taught him the charm. \u201cI know what has happened,\u201d she\nsaid; \u201cyou have slept, and what I foretold has come to pass\u2014the cattle\nare gone.\u201d \u201cAnd I am driven from the kraal till I find them,\u201d he said,\nand cried again. \u201cDo not despair,\u201d she said, \u201cbut go to the Chief who\nhas your cattle and ask to be his man.\u201d\n\nSo the boy rose, and all night long under the moon he travelled between\nthe grey mountains, up and down by little winding paths between the\ngrass and rocks, through the streams and bushes, till in the morning,\nwhen the sun rose, he came to his enemy\u2019s kraal, and within it he heard\nhis father\u2019s cattle.\n\nSo he entered the kraal and went to the Chief and offered to be his\nman, and the Chief made him herdsman of his own cattle. Every morning\nhe took them out to pasture and every evening he sang to them the magic\nsong and brought them home, and none strayed and were lost. Thus he\nserved the Chief many years, till he was a man full grown. And always\nhe thought of his father\u2019s kraal, and looked how he might take the\ncattle and return. At last the chance came. The great festival of the\nfirst-fruits was at hand. The women made the beer, placed the\ncalabashes in a row outside the kraal, and on the day appointed the men\nand women went out to gather the first ripe maize and Kafir corn from\nthe lands, and the children went to get wood for the cooking of the\nfeast, and no one was left in the kraal but an old woman and the King\u2019s\nson, who was in charge of the cattle.\n\nWhen all were gone he took some sango, the herb that intoxicates men\nand makes them sleep, and powdered it very fine. Then he went to the\nrow of calabashes in which the beer stood waiting for the evening\u2019s\nfeast, and put some into each calabash, and went away and waited till\nall came back.\n\nWhen the Chief and his people returned there was great rejoicing. A hut\nof green boughs was made for the Chief, in which he sat, and the\nfirst-fruits were all brought to him, and a branch from each offering\nwas tied to his arms or neck. Then his wise men brought him a drink\nmade of herbs and water from the sea, and gave it to all present as a\nsign that the feast was to begin. Every one ate of the new corn and the\nfresh nuts, and drank of the new beer. Only the King\u2019s son drank none,\nand at last all fell asleep; and when the evening came and the moon\nrose not a man or woman was left awake.\n\nThen the King\u2019s son stood up and climbed on the wall of the cattle\nkraal, and sang the magic song, \u201cCome, cattle, come to me,\u201d and opened\nthe gate of the kraal. At once the cattle rose up and walked straight\npast the huts and the sleeping men and out into the country, following\nthe King\u2019s son; and as they went the fairy ox with the crumpled horn\nbellowed loudly, and at his call all the cattle came from the east and\nthe west and the south, [7] and followed the King\u2019s son.\n\nAnd he went towards his father\u2019s kraal.\n\nWhen his enemies woke in the morning they could not find one head of\ncattle in their kraal, nor yet in all the surrounding country. The old\nChief felt sure when he heard this that the King\u2019s son had taken them\naway, and he bade all his men arm themselves and follow the culprit. So\nhis men gathered with their shields of ox-hide and their assegais, and,\nfinding the path of the oxen, followed it. It did not take them long to\novertake the King\u2019s son, for the cattle moved slowly; and by the\nevening of the second day they were in sight of the cattle, and\nrejoiced over the thought of their capture.\n\nThe King\u2019s son, who saw his enemies moving on the mountains behind him,\nwas in great fear and knew not what to do, for the cattle could not\ntravel fast. He led them down the mountain along the banks of a little\nstream where the trees grew\u2014tall thick thorns with yellow flowers like\nsmall pincushions, and wild figs with tiny fruit\u2014and tall reeds covered\nthe banks, and from the trees the monkey ropes hung down to the rocks\nand water. And everywhere grew the fern, and the clear water ran and\nraced between the stones, slipping from pool to pool and playing with\nthe leaves and rushes; and the bright flies hung over it in the little\nladders of sunlight slanting through the trees. And there the King\u2019s\nson hid his cattle amongst the bush, and sat in the grass under a big\nfig-tree to think what he should do.\n\nBut he could think of no way to save the cattle. And the evening drew\non, and the shadow rose over the creek [8] and crept up the\nmountain-side; and the frogs began to croak and the crickets to sing,\nand everywhere was the humming of the gnats. And he sat under the\nfig-tree and looked across the valley to the mountain where his enemies\nwere; and he knew that in the morning they would come and kill him and\ntake his cattle.\n\nA bat flitted round him in the darkness, so near that he looked up, and\nthere before him he saw the Fairy. \u201cDo not despair,\u201d she said; \u201cyour\ntask is nearly done. Obey me and all shall be well. Go now and kill a\nwhite ox, skin it, and cut the hide into ten thousand little white\nshields, and I will find you soldiers.\u201d So he slew the ox and skinned\nit and made of the hide ten thousand little white shields.\n\nThen the Fairy cried to the frogs who lived near the stream, sitting\nunder all the stones from the top of the hill to the bottom, and whose\nvoices could be heard all across the valley. \u201cFrogs!\u201d she cried, \u201cwill\nyou take these shields and do as the King\u2019s son bids you?\u201d And from all\nover the valley they cried, \u201cWe will!\u201d So the King\u2019s son gave them the\nshields, and all night long he drilled them in the moonlight. When he\ncalled \u201cWoo-ooh,\u201d they rose up, shouting, with their shields extended;\nand when he cried \u201cBoo-ooh,\u201d they fell down and lay hidden.\n\nBefore the dawn he placed them in a long line on the mountain-side\nwhere the enemy would see them.\n\nAs the first company of the enemy appeared the frogs rose together,\nraised their shields, and croaked \u201cWoo-ooh,\u201d with a sound like thunder;\nso great, indeed, was the sound that the enemy fell back to their Chief\nin terror. \u201cThere is an impi [9] of many thousand men across the\ncreek,\u201d they said; \u201cno one can stand against them.\u201d\n\nThe Chief then sent a larger company, but they returned with the same\ntale.\n\nThen he went himself with all his army; but when he saw the thousands\nof white shields and heard the war-cry, fear seized his heart. \u201cIt is\nbetter to return without our cattle than lose our lives,\u201d he said, and\nordered all to go back home again.\n\nSo the King\u2019s son was safe. He thanked the frogs, gathered his cattle\ntogether and reached his father\u2019s kraal. The King received him with\ngreat honour, gave him a Princess for his wife, and made him Chief of\nall his sons; but every night the King\u2019s son sang his magic song as\nbefore, and kept the cattle in safety.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIII\n\nTHE STORY OF THE LITTLE BIRDS WHO LIVED IN A CAVE\n\nA ZULU NURSERY TALE\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a big cave in a hillside, in which lived\nhundreds of little birds. There were fathers and mothers and lots of\nlittle ones. Each had his little kraal with a hut no bigger than your\nhand, and a fence all round beautifully woven of tiny reeds. One day\nall the mothers went out to get food, and said to their little ones,\n\u201cBe very good and quiet, and make the huts clean and tidy while we hoe\nthe lands.\u201d\n\nThen they went out to see to their tiny fields in which they grew their\nfood\u2014little mealies and tiny sugar-cane, pumpkins no larger than a nut,\nand nuts no bigger than grass seeds. The little birds were very good;\nthey swept the huts out beautifully and tidied them up. Then they\ncleaned little shells ready to cook the food, and got water in tiny\nleaves. When all was done they sat down and waited for their parents to\narrive.\n\nSuddenly a blackbird came to the door of the cave. He had a long sharp\nbeak and very long claws. He put his head in and cried, \u201cFir-r-r-r!\nFir-r-r-r!\u201d first to one side and then to the other in a high clear\nvoice. All the little birds put their heads out of the tiny huts at\nonce to see who the intruder might be.\n\nThe big bird then said, \u201cAll you little birds must turn out at once.\nThis cave belongs to me.\u201d\n\nAt that the little birds were very angry. The boldest of them flew\nstraight at the blackbird to turn him out, but he was pecked right in\nthe neck. A little stream of blood appeared, as black as charcoal, and\nthe little bird fell dead.\n\nThen the big bird attacked many others. He broke the leg of one, he\npicked out the eyes of another, he broke the wing of a third. When he\nhad frightened and scattered them all he flew away.\n\nThat evening the mother birds came home, but could not make out why the\ncave was so silent. \u201cWhat is wrong?\u201d they said. \u201cThere is no\ntwittering, no rustling of wings. Something must have happened.\u201d\n\nGreat was their grief when they found one little bird dead and so many\nothers crippled and hurt. \u201cWhoever has done all this?\u201d they cried. Then\nthe little birds told their tale.\n\n\u201cIt was a wicked bird with black feathers and a long beak. There he is\nagain at the door.\u201d\n\nThe mothers turned round and flew in a body at the marauder. But he\njust cried \u201cFir-r-r-r! Fir-r-r-r!\u201d and flew straight up in the air far\nout of their reach.\n\nThe next day the blackbird came and destroyed all their little lands.\nNot a blade of mealies or sugar-cane remained. The mothers were in\ndespair, and that evening they said they must leave the cave and find a\nsafer home elsewhere.\n\nSuddenly a tiny bird entered the cave, no bigger than your finger-nail.\nHe cried \u201cTweet, Tweet,\u201d ever so sweetly, and flew straight to a little\nbird who was only a hen. \u201cYou,\u201d said he, \u201cshall kill the blackbird.\u201d\n\nEvery one cried out that the little bird was not nearly strong enough.\n\n\u201cYou shall kill him,\u201d said the tiny bird. \u201cFly straight at his head and\npick out his eyes. Then you can easily kill him.\u201d\n\nThe little hen took heart of grace and promised to be brave.\n\nNext morning the big bird, sure that this time the cave would soon be\nhis, put his head in at the door and called in his high wicked voice,\n\u201cFir-r-r-r! Fir-r-r-r!\u201d\n\nOut flew the little hen straight at his head and picked out his eyes\nbefore he knew what had happened. Then the fathers and mothers all\nthrew themselves on him and in a few minutes he was dead.\n\nAfter that all the families lived in much peace and happiness, and were\nnever troubled any more.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIV\n\nTHE STORY OF THE SHINING PRINCESS\n\nA \u2019MSUTO STORY\n\n\nIn a green valley far away among the mountains there was once a most\nbeautiful kraal. The hut was bright green, finely thatched with grass,\nthe floor within of red earth, firm and beautifully polished. All the\ncooking-pots were of red clay, and stood in good order round the walls,\nand with them were shining green calabashes full of milk and cream.\nFine green mats lay on the floor, save in one corner where there was a\nlittle mat woven of mountain-grass the colour of gold. Round the hut\nwas a high green fence, also of exquisite neatness; indeed all was in\nperfect order, and no kraal was kept like it in all the country round.\n\nFor it was the home of a great Chief\u2019s wife. Her husband had been dead\nmany years, and had left her all alone in the world with one little\ngirl named Maholia, who was only three years old. The Queen had been a\nmost beautiful woman in her day, and as the little girl grew up she was\njust as lovely as her mother. The greatest care was taken of her, and\nshe was soon as good and obedient as she was charming. Her mother never\nmarried again; indeed it would not have been fitting, as she had been a\nKing\u2019s wife. She lived only for her child, and they loved one another\ndearly. Maholia was the envy of every little girl in the country.\nEverything she had was the colour of the golden moon, her necklaces,\nher bracelets, and the gold circle she wore round her neck. As she grew\nup she became more and more noted for her beauty and charm; she was so\nlovely that she dazzled the eyes of all beholders, and was known as the\nShining Princess. Time went on, and when she grew to womanhood many\nlovers came forward to ask her in marriage. There was not a Chief\u2019s son\nfor many days\u2019 journey who did not long to make her his wife. But\nneither the Princess herself nor her mother cared for any of them, nor\nwould they hear of marriage.\n\nThen one day came an embassy from a very powerful King. He was\nsearching everywhere for a beautiful girl to be his son\u2019s wife, but\nthough his wise men had travelled far and wide and many girls had been\nbrought to his kraal, not one had been found to his mind. He decided to\nseek yet farther afield, and sent his chief Induna [10] with attendants\nin great state to see all the Princesses in far countries who were\nfamous for their beauty. After many months of travel the Induna began\nto hear talk of the Shining Princess. He decided to visit her, though\nhe feared to be disappointed once more. But at the sight of the green\nkraal his hopes rose. At the door the Princess met him. She was shining\nfrom head to foot in the bright sun. Round her neck were thick bars of\nred-gold copper; copper and brass rings adorned her shapely arms from\nwrist to elbow, and appeared again on her slender ankles, reaching\nalmost to her knees. Round her waist was a girdle of golden beads,\ntwisted into a thick rope behind, and in front hanging in a long,\nglistening fringe over her short apron of skin. This was again\nembroidered in squares with gold and copper beads. Over her pretty\nshoulders hung her cloak, also embroidered in circles of gold and\nbordered with a wide band of shining beads. Even her snuff-calabash was\ngold-coloured, of jackal-skin. Every movement was full of grace, and\nher laughing lips and bright eyes showed the kindness of her heart.\n\nWhen the Induna saw this beautiful woman clad in gold and shining like\nthe rising moon, he said, \u201cThis is the Princess I have been seeking!\nThis is indeed the wife for our great King\u2019s son!\u201d\n\nHe begged to see Maholia\u2019s mother, and formally demanded the hand of\nher daughter. Many days passed in discussion. The Queen was loth to\npart with her child, but the Induna talked so wisely of his master\u2019s\npower and riches, and the bravery and wisdom of the bridegroom, that\nshe at last consented. The embassy then returned home to the King, and\ntold him with great joy of the beauty and goodness of the Shining\nPrincess. The King bade his Chief rest while he gathered together the\nmarriage-gift of cattle for the Queen-mother. These consisted of one\nhundred beautiful animals, at the head of which marched a fairy ox. He\nwas magnificent, the King\u2019s great pride, but he was considered only due\npayment for so fair a Princess. He was black as charcoal, save for two\nlong white horns, and between his shoulders burned a steady light,\nwhich illumined his path by night and gave him magic power.\n\nWhen all was ready the wedding-party set out to fetch the bride and\ndeliver the tribute due to her mother. The Queen was delighted with the\ncattle, and especially with the fairy ox.\n\n\u201cHere,\u201d said she to her daughter, \u201ctake this ox with you. He is my\npresent to you; your journey will be long and you will often be glad\nto ride him.\u201d\n\nThen she turned to the King\u2019s men and said, \u201cDo not leave my daughter\nalone. I am afraid of what may happen to her. If you leave her, I shall\nknow at once, for the corner in which she has always sat at home will\ncrumble away.\u201d\n\nThe wedding-party promised faithfully to guard Maholia with every care.\nThe Princess and her mother parted with bitter tears, and she and her\nattendant maids set forth with the King\u2019s men.\n\nFor two days all went well. But on the third day the men came upon\nhundreds of buck of every kind, large and small, and behind these\nappeared great herds of elephant and giraffe. The country was full of\ngame. The King\u2019s men could not resist the temptation, and started off\nto hunt; such abundance they had never seen in their lives before. In\nthe end even the girls joined their party, and all were soon in hot\npursuit. The Shining Princess was left all alone seated on an ant-heap,\nthe fairy ox by her side. That very moment, as her mother sat in the\nhut thinking anxiously of her absent child, the corner on which the\ngolden mat had lain cracked from end to end and crumbled away.\n\nIn the meantime the wedding-party went on gaily hunting; the farther\nthey went the more fresh buck appeared. They forgot all about the bride\nand continued the chase for days. The poor bride sat alone till she was\ndiscovered by a party of cannibals, who seized her and carried her\naway. They endeavoured also to secure the fairy ox, but he gave one\ngreat leap into the air out of the midst of the enemy, and flew like\nthe wind to the Princess\u2019s mother.\n\nThe poor Queen met him at the kraal gate, for well she knew some evil\nhad befallen her daughter. The great ox stood still while she knelt\nbefore him and heard his tale.\n\n\u201cBut where is she now?\u201d cried the Queen; \u201cwhere have they taken her?\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is all I know,\u201d said the ox. \u201cThe cannibals took her, and so I\ncame with all speed to you. But do not despair; all will yet be well.\u201d\n\nMeanwhile the King and his son waited and waited for the expected\nbride. Weeks and months passed by, and they began to fear some great\ncalamity. Then, one by one, their men straggled in. They told their\nstory in great shame; they had left the Princess and forgotten her.\nThey could not find her again, though they had travelled far and wide.\nThe King had them all put to death. Then he called his Chiefs together\nand asked their advice. They all decided that the bridegroom himself\nmust go with a body of picked men and search for the bride in her\nmother\u2019s home.\n\nThe Queen received them with much joy, but her grief was great when she\nheard they knew nothing of her daughter. She told them of the return of\nthe fairy ox and all his tale.\n\n\u201cBe of good cheer,\u201d said the Prince. \u201cI will take the fairy ox myself\nand will never return till I can bring your daughter with me.\u201d\n\nThen the Prince took the ox and set forth on his journey. He travelled\nfor weeks and months, but no trace of the Princess could he find. One\nday he came to a marula-tree covered with shining yellow fruit.\n\n\u201cThis would be good to make cider,\u201d said the Prince. \u201cI will eat some.\u201d\n\nHe had scarcely eaten a few berries when a deep voice came out of the\ntree.\n\n\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d it asked.\n\n\u201cI seek for the Shining Princess,\u201d said the Prince. \u201cAm I on the right\nway?\u201d\n\n\u201cGo on,\u201d said the marula, \u201ctill you come to the big fig-tree.\u201d\n\nThe Prince journeyed yet farther among country overgrown with bush,\ntill by the side of a stream he came to an immense tree covered with\nlittle red figs. They even grew on the roots, and its leaves were so\nthick that no sun could pierce them. He sat down in its deep shade and\nsaid, \u201cI seek the Shining Princess. Am I on the right way?\u201d\n\n\u201cGo on,\u201d said the fig-tree, \u201ctill you come to a big river. Beyond it\nlies a great forest, and in that forest you will find the Princess.\u201d\n\nThe Prince started forth full of joy, and followed the course of the\nstream. The next day he found himself in full view of a deep river; it\nwas in flood, and so wide that he could not hope to cross it.\n\n\u201cClimb on my back,\u201d said the fairy ox; \u201cI will carry you over.\u201d\n\nThe Prince did as he was told, and the ox plunged into the water, swam\nacross, and then flew like the wind over a huge plain. In the far\ndistance they saw the forest. Every hour it grew larger, till at last\nthey reached its outskirts, when the Prince found the trees were taller\nand thicker than any he had ever seen. He could find no path at all,\nand the trees met over his head so that only a dim light filtered\nthrough. High ferns grew on every side, and here and there he crossed\ntiny streams fringed with maidenhair. He wandered on for hours without\nso much as seeing the sun, always hoping to find some open glade. At\nlast, far away, he saw a shining pool of water. So he went forward,\nguided by the distant shimmer through the trees. As he drew nearer he\nsaw that the pool was surrounded by reeds. One tall reed stood\nquivering in the middle. The gleam of the water grew yet brighter and\nmore golden, till, as he burst through the last thicket, he found it\nwas no pool at all, but the Shining Princess herself seated in a circle\nof tall grass.\n\nThe Prince hailed her with delight, for never had he hoped to find such\nbeauty. As for Maholia, she knew at once that this was her lover; no\none else could have shown such skill and bravery. Besides, the fairy ox\nwas there once more, the light between his shoulders burning bright\nwith joy.\n\nThere they sat for hours among the fern, telling one another of all\ntheir wanderings. Maholia, it seemed, had been taken by the cannibals\nto the edge of the great forest, for they were travelling towards the\ncountry of their King, which lay in that direction. One dark night she\nescaped them and had lived ever since in the midst of the great bush.\nWhen she had told her tale, the Prince had to relate his adventures,\nand then he told the Princess how beautiful she was, and how well worth\nevery danger. And that she wanted to hear over and over again.\n\nIndeed, they might never have left the forest had not the Princess\nsuddenly remembered her mother and her long anxiety.\n\n\u201cBut how am I to take you home?\u201d said the Prince. \u201cI cannot hide you,\nand every one will envy me such a beautiful woman, and try to steal you\nfrom me.\u201d\n\n\u201cI can help you,\u201d said the ox, nuzzling the bride affectionately. \u201cI\nwill change the Princess into an ugly old man. No one will know her\nthen, and we will travel like the wind.\u201d\n\nStraightway the Princess became a little old man. She and the Prince\nmounted on the back of the fairy ox, and they all flew together over\nforest, river, and mountain for seven days, till they reached the very\ndoor of her mother\u2019s home.\n\nThen at last all was safely over. The Shining Princess became a bride,\nand she and her husband went to their own kingdom. They reigned in\ngreat peace and happiness, and the fairy ox was their devoted follower\nand adviser all the days of his life.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nV\n\nTHE RABBIT PRINCE\n\nA SHANGANI TALE\n\n\nMany, many years ago there lived a Rabbit and a Duyker who were great\nfriends. The Rabbit was cunning and wise beyond all animals; the Duyker\nwas just an innocent little antelope, who was fond of men, and so never\nwent far from a kraal.\n\nOne day the Rabbit said to the Duyker, \u201cWhy shouldn\u2019t we have lands and\ngrow our own mealies and calabashes, just like the men who live in\nyonder kraal? I know where there is good ground.\u201d\n\nThe Duyker agreed at once, and the two friends had soon chosen their\npatch of land. They then hoed it well and set their mealies, their\ncalabashes, and their ground-nuts, just as they had seen them done by\nthe wives of the neighbouring Chief. The Duyker had the biggest patch,\nand his mealies were wonderfully tall and fine. When autumn drew near\nthe Rabbit took a bag every day and went to get corn and nuts. But he\nnever got them from his own field, for that still remained untouched.\nOne day the Duyker went to see how his crops were getting on, and found\na great part of them gone. He instantly suspected the Rabbit, and\naccused him of stealing.\n\nThe Rabbit denied the accusation at once with great indignation, and\nsaid, \u201cI have not touched your lands. The King of Kings has done it,\nand you will never catch the thief.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen where do you get your mealies? They do not come from your own\nlands.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhat do you suppose we live near a kraal for?\u201d said the Rabbit\ncheerfully. \u201cI eat the Chief\u2019s mealies.\u201d\n\nThe Duyker was much puzzled, especially when he found only a day later\nthat his crops had been attacked again. \u201cI shall soon have nothing\nleft,\u201d said he to the Rabbit. \u201cDo think of something I can do.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet us make a trap,\u201d said the Rabbit. \u201cPerhaps we may catch the thief\nafter all.\u201d\n\nHe took some hairs out of a horse\u2019s tail and tied the whole length in a\nsuccession of slip-knots. Then he laid it on the ground, fixed it with\ntiny sticks, and sprinkled earth all over, so that no one could see the\nline. Then a few mealies were scattered about lightly, so that birds\nmight be tempted to scratch and entangle their feet in the knots, which\nwould tighten at once when they struggled to free themselves.\n\nNext morning the Rabbit and the Duyker went together to the\nmealie-patch to examine the trap. To their great joy they found a most\nbeautiful bird held tight by the fine black threads. It had very long\nwings, and was beating them ineffectually in great distress. The Rabbit\nseized the knots with his teeth, while the Duyker held the bird; but it\nwas too quick for them. As soon as it felt the knots were loose it\nslipped away from the Duyker with one stroke of its powerful wings, and\nsoared high up into the clouds.\n\n\u201cNever mind,\u201d said the Rabbit; \u201cwe will set the trap again to-night.\u201d\n\nThe next day they found the beautiful bird again caught in the long\nline of knots. She was not alone, but had with her a great swarm of\nbirds as beautiful as herself. They circled round and round, watching\nthe Rabbit and the Duyker as they took the culprit and began to untie\nthe knots. This time they were more careful, and their prey had no\nchance of escape. They carried her to their hut before removing the\nslip-knots, and examined her very carefully. She was very handsome, but\nthe most remarkable thing about her was a very long feather which was\nin one wing only. The wise Rabbit instantly guessed that this was the\nsource of her strength. He pulled it out, but to his astonishment the\nbird at once disappeared, and a beautiful Princess stood before him. He\ninstantly hid the feather, and asked the Princess to remain in the hut.\nHe would treat her well and bring her food every day.\n\nSo the Princess stayed in the hut, for now that she had lost her\nfeather she could no longer go back to her home in the clouds. The\nbirds flew to the door of the hut every day and asked her when she was\ncoming home again.\n\n\u201cHave patience,\u201d said the Princess. \u201cI will return in good time.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere is your long feather?\u201d asked the birds. \u201cHave you lost it?\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is quite safe,\u201d said the Princess; \u201cthe Rabbit has put it away.\u201d\n\nThe Princess lived thus for many days. The more she saw of the Rabbit\nthe more she admired his wisdom and cunning. \u201cWhat a pity,\u201d thought\nshe, \u201cthat he is only a Rabbit! No Chief can compare with him in the\nwhole of my father\u2019s dominions.\u201d And as she was a Fairy and had magic\npower, she determined he should be a Rabbit no longer.\n\nOne day when the Princess and the Rabbit were alone he said to her, \u201cDo\nyou know who took your feather?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the Princess, \u201cyou took it.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are quite right,\u201d said the Rabbit; \u201cdo you know where I put it?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said the Princess, \u201cbut I am quite sure it is safe with you.\nPlease keep it, but just let me see it for one moment.\u201d\n\nThe Rabbit could not resist her, she was so beautiful; so he fetched\nthe feather. The Princess took it in her hand but did not attempt to\nfly away. She just laughed and threw it at the Rabbit.\n\nInstantly he became a handsome Prince, to the Princess\u2019s great joy. The\nRabbit Prince himself saw that this made a great change in his\nprospects. He could now woo the Princess as an equal, but he had no\nlands to give her. Suddenly he remembered the beautiful plot of ground\nwhich belonged to the Duyker. \u201cI am a man now,\u201d said the Rabbit. \u201cI\nwill kill the Duyker and give his lands to the Princess.\u201d He lay in\nwait, slew the little antelope, and brought it home to the hut. They\nhad buck that night for supper, and as they sat eating he said to the\nPrincess, \u201cCome, will you marry me?\u201d\n\nThe Princess said, \u201cYes, I will indeed. But let us keep it secret.\nThese birds who come from my home must never hear of it, for my parents\nwould never allow me to marry a man from the earth.\u201d\n\nIn the meantime the birds got tired of waiting for the Princess, and\nsaid to one another, \u201cIt is all the fault of the Rabbit Prince. We must\nkill him or the Princess will never see home again.\u201d They sought\ncounsel with the Mouse and the Woodpecker, who were reckoned the wisest\nmagicians in the country, and lived near at hand. They told of a safe\npoison to put in the Prince\u2019s food. But the Princess knew her people\nwell, and warned the Prince in good time. He ate nothing, and escaped\nin safety. The Mouse and the Woodpecker in the meantime became so fond\nof him they soon refused to do him any harm, and made their home close\nto his hut, so that they might see him every day.\n\nBut there came a time when the Princess longed to go home again. She\nsaid to the Prince, \u201cWould you like to see my father and mother?\u201d\n\n\u201cVery much,\u201d said the Prince. \u201cWhere are they?\u201d\n\n\u201cThey live in the sky,\u201d said the Princess. \u201cGo and fetch me the feather\nonce more.\u201d\n\nThe Rabbit Prince brought the feather again, and gave it to the\nPrincess. She set the feather on the ground. It instantly began to grow\nand became taller and taller, till at last it reached the very clouds.\n\nThen they began to climb up. The Prince and Princess went first, and\nthe Mouse and the Woodpecker followed, for they said they must be with\nthe Prince, to protect him in case of harm. They climbed and climbed\ntill they were above the clouds. There they came to the mouth of an\nenormous cave, but it was shut by a great big stone. The Princess was\nin despair. \u201cHow ever can we roll this aside?\u201d she cried.\n\n\u201cThere is nothing I cannot nibble through,\u201d said the Mouse. \u201cLet me try\nfor a few minutes.\u201d\n\nHe nibbled hard at the corner of the stone, but had to come back, for\nhe had made no impression whatever.\n\nThen the Woodpecker stepped forward. \u201cLet me try,\u201d said she. \u201cI make my\nlittle nest in wood; the crevice my beak cannot enter has yet to be\nmade.\u201d She tapped carefully all round the edge of the great stone, and\nsuddenly cried: \u201cThis is the way to do it.\u201d She had found a tiny swivel\non one side of the stone, no longer than your finger. This she pulled,\nand the stone rolled back and the cave stood open.\n\nThe Prince was just about to lead his bride in when a huge monster\nappeared. On his head were two horns, and on each horn was the head of\na human being. He had eyes all over his body from head to foot, and\nevery eye glared at the Prince with a green light. But the Princess\njust drew out the long feather once more and dug it right into his\nface; and he vanished away like smoke.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said she, \u201cwe can go forward safely.\u201d They walked through the\ncave and at the other end found an opening, which looked out on just\nsuch another world as ours. There were wide green valleys and flowing\nstreams, and in front was a big kraal with beautifully woven huts. This\nwas the Princess\u2019s home, and she ran towards it joyfully. Her father\nand mother appeared in human form to greet her, and all her friends,\nwhom the Prince had only seen as birds, crowded round her as men and\nwomen, each more full of rejoicing than the other.\n\n\u201cBut where did you get this man you have brought with you?\u201d asked her\nfather when the first greetings were over.\n\n\u201cI have stolen him from below,\u201d said the Princess, laughing merrily.\n\nHer father frowned; he had never had anything to do with the\ninhabitants of earth, and was very angry at the idea of any intercourse\nwith them. When the Princess explained that the Rabbit Prince was her\nchosen husband, her parents and all her friends were much annoyed, and\nsaid that they could never hear of any such marriage. The Princess\nstill pleaded hard for her lover; she told her parents of his wisdom\nand power, and said that no girl ever had so clever or so noble a\nhusband; but the old Chief simply replied that no daughter of the\nclouds had ever married a man from the earth. The Prince must be sent\nback home.\n\nBut as the Princess still clung to the Prince and refused to dismiss\nhim, her people decided that he must be killed. A big feast of welcome\nwas arranged, and many days were spent in preparation. The Mouse was\nnever far from the cooking-pots, and ran in and out all day, picking up\nsavoury morsels. No one saw him, but nothing escaped his little black\neyes. On the morning of the feast-day he saw all the food set out in\ndishes ready for the guests. The Prince\u2019s portion was placed in two\nlittle black pots and decorated with green leaves. When no one was\nlooking, a strangely-dressed old woman came up, a witch for certain,\nand powdered it with some curious stuff, but touched no other pot.\n\nJust as the feast was about to open the Mouse crept up to the Prince,\nran up his back and whispered in his ear: \u201cEat none of the food\nprepared for you; drink the beer\u2014that is the only safe thing.\u201d\n\nThe Prince obeyed, and thus escaped the first danger. But the people of\nthe clouds, much disappointed, assembled all their greatest magicians\nand made fresh plans. \u201cWe will arrange a hailstorm,\u201d said these wise\nmen. \u201cLet the Prince go out on the great plains to-morrow. We will see\nhe does not come back alive.\u201d\n\nNext morning the King of the Sky sent the Rabbit Prince on a journey to\nanother kraal across a wide plain. When he had travelled some three\nhours and was many miles from any shelter, great clouds appeared on the\nhorizon. They were of the deepest blue-black, and every minute they\nspread farther, till the sun was blotted out. And then far away came a\ndistant continuous rumble of thunder. It never ceased for a moment; the\nsound was ever sharper and more threatening, and grew closer and\ncloser. \u201cThat is not thunder,\u201d said the Prince; \u201cit is hail, and there\nis no shelter for miles. I shall never see the Princess again.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not fear,\u201d said a voice at his ear, and he turned and saw the\nWoodpecker. \u201cLie down on the ground. I will protect your head, for I\nalso am a magician.\u201d\n\nSo the Prince lay down, and the little Woodpecker spread out her wings\nand hovered over his head. One great hailstone came as if shot from a\ngun, then another and another, and then they came in hundreds and\nthousands, large as fowls\u2019 eggs, jagged and icy-cold, with a sound like\nthe roar of many torrents over endless precipices. Such a storm had\nnever been known in cloudland.\n\nWhen the Prince returned unhurt and cheerful his enemies were\ndumbfounded and more enraged than ever. But they still persevered. They\nheld a big indaba [11] under a shady tree, attended by their chief men\nand all their magicians. A royal hunt was arranged to last for many\ndays. During their absence from the kraal the Prince was to be killed\nby an assegai, as it were by an accident, for none wanted the Princess\nto think her husband had been murdered. This time they thought they\ncould not fail, for they would be sure to have numberless opportunities\nin the heat of the chase. But the Woodpecker sat unseen in the boughs\nof the tree and heard everything. She was a wise bird and a great\nmagician, and the instant she understood she flew to the empty hut of\nthe first wizard of cloudland and there made a charm. She took the fat\nof the mamba, the most deadly of all snakes, the fat of the python, who\nis the biggest of snakes, and the skin round the lungs of the tiger.\nThese she mixed together and placed in three little bags of\npython-skin, such as could easily be hidden. Then she flew straight to\nthe Rabbit Prince with the bags in her mouth.\n\n\u201cTake these,\u201d said she, \u201cand wear them always. New dangers threaten\nyou.\u201d\n\nThe Prince obeyed and went gaily to the hunt. He was away for many\ndays, and every day some Chief attempted his life, but all the assegais\nfell back powerless. The charms had rendered him invulnerable.\n\nHe returned home safe and sound, but that evening he told the Princess\nit was useless to struggle any longer. Her people would never rest till\nthey had killed him.\n\nThe Princess listened in sorrow. Then she said, \u201cYou are quite right. I\nhad hoped they would see in time how clever and brave you are, but it\nis no use. We must steal away quickly to earth to-night, and seek our\nfortune below. Call the Mouse and the Woodpecker while I make the\nladder ready.\u201d\n\nThe Princess drew out the magic feather and held it point downwards\ntowards the earth. It at once began to grow, and in a few minutes the\npoint rested close to the Rabbit Prince\u2019s hut. Then the four friends\nclimbed down and left the land of clouds for ever.\n\nNext morning they held a council. \u201cSomething must be done to find men\nto serve under us,\u201d said the Prince. \u201cI want a kingdom and cattle for\nthe Princess; she cannot live in a hut alone.\u201d\n\n\u201cThose three little bags will do all you want,\u201d said the Woodpecker.\n\u201cYou have only to wish and everything will be given you.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen,\u201d said the Prince, \u201clet me have beautiful huts, strong willing\nmaids to wait on the Princess, and a wise woman to advise her.\u201d\n\nStraightway there appeared the most perfect huts you can imagine,\nfilled with everything they could want. Thirty strong cheerful girls\nstood before them, and a dear old Queen, who knew everything a wise\nwoman should, and had the kindest heart in the world.\n\nThen the Rabbit Prince felt his wife would be safe and well cared for,\nso he left her under the special protection of the Woodpecker, and he\nand the Mouse went forth to seek soldiers and cattle.\n\nNor did they seek in vain. They soon heard of a mighty King who\npossessed warriors and cattle in thousands. By the power of the little\nbags the Prince overcame him and took all his warriors and cattle back\nto the Princess.\n\nThen he established a great kingdom, and to reward his two friends he\nmade the Mouse a Prince and the Woodpecker a Princess. He gave the\nMouse soldiers and sent him forth to conquer. I am afraid I have\nforgotten the adventures of the Mouse. All I know is that he became a\ngreat Chief, and that to this day both he and his wife are devoted to\nthe Rabbit Prince.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVI\n\nTHE UNNATURAL MOTHER\n\nA SWAZI TALE\n\n\nMany, many years ago there lived a bride and bridegroom. Now among the\nKafir people a newly-wedded pair always spend their first year with the\nbridegroom\u2019s mother, for there are many important ceremonies to be\ncompleted before the bride can be given a home of her own.\n\nSo the bride and bridegroom lived in a little hut close to the hut of\nthe old mother. Every day they all went out to hoe their land, on which\nthey grew maize, sugar-cane, pumpkins, and calabashes. The calabashes\nare good to eat when they are green, and when they are ripe the skin\nbecomes quite hard, and they make beautiful drinking-vessels. The\nmother worked at her patch, and the young people at a separate one of\ntheir own. And every day before they started the young wife made\nbeautiful food for her husband, and left it in the hut ready for his\nreturn from work, when he would be hungry. There was green\nmealie-porridge flavoured with the juice of sugar-cane, young calabash\nand spinach, all set out neatly in brown clay pots, and cool native\nbeer in a big calabash. All was made ready for the evening, when they\nwould return and her husband would be hungry. But the old mother saw\nthe beautiful food and longed to have it. So when the young people were\nhard at work on their patch she took off her kilt of black ox-skins and\nhung it on the handle of her pick. Then she said to the pick, \u201cPick, go\non working till I return.\u201d This the pick obediently did, and thus\nwhenever the son looked towards his mother\u2019s patch some one appeared to\nbe working there.\n\nWhen all seemed in good order the old mother ran away back to her son\u2019s\nhut, entered in and put on his beautiful kilt of jackal and cat-skins,\nand all his bead ornaments, which the bride had made for him. She took,\ntoo, his long staff carved at the head, such as no woman uses, and hung\nwith tails of many animals. In this way she deceived all who passed,\nand sat down to her meal, singing a gleeful little song to herself:\u2014\n\n\n       \u201cI am the bridegroom,\n        I wear the bridegroom\u2019s clothes,\n        All his beautiful food is for me.\u201d\n\n\nThen she sat down and ate up everything. When she had finished she went\nback to her mealie-patch and hoed busily till it was time to go home.\nThe bride was dreadfully disappointed when she found all the beautiful\nfood gone which she had made for her husband, for she was anxious to\nshow him how clever a cook she was, and so to win the praises of all\nhis family.\n\nSo the next day she tried again, and did yet better. But in the evening\nthe food had disappeared once more. This happened several days in\nsuccession. So at last the bride and bridegroom consulted together, for\nno one knew who the thief was.\n\n\u201cI have a plan,\u201d said the bridegroom. \u201cTo-morrow morning you will make\nthe food as usual, and we will start out together very early and say we\nare going to be out all day. Then in an hour or two I will come back\nsecretly and watch by the hut. In that way I shall be sure to catch the\nthief.\u201d\n\nSo the next morning the bridegroom returned secretly and sat near his\nhut to see what would happen. He could hardly believe his eyes when he\nsaw his own mother come running back from the field. When he saw her\nenter the hut, put on his dress, and begin to eat his food, his horror\nwas such that he could hardly speak. He rose immediately, went into the\nhut, and accused her of being the thief.\n\n\u201cAlas, it is true,\u201d moaned the old mother. \u201cThe food was good, and I\nwas tempted. What can I do to be forgiven?\u201d\n\n\u201cFor this crime,\u201d said the son, \u201cyou deserve to die, for you have\nsinned against nature. But I will not kill you. Only you must go far\naway from here and travel into strange countries, and you must never\ncome back till you have found the water in which there are no frogs, no\nfishes, and no animals of any kind. When you have found it, fill this\ncalabash with it and bring it back to me.\u201d\n\nSo the mother took the calabash and set forth on her journey. She\nwalked for many days over dry and barren country. At last she came to a\nbeautiful clear pool. She went down to the edge of the water and struck\nit with her staff, crying out, \u201cI have been bidden by my son to find\nwater in which there are no frogs, no fish, and no animals of any\nkind.\u201d\n\nInstantly she heard a loud croaking all round the pool, and hundreds of\nfrogs came out to look at her. So then she knew that this was not the\npromised water. She took up her staff and calabash and journeyed on\nonce more.\n\nAnd after many more days she came to another pool. This was beautifully\nclear, and shone bright blue, like the sky itself. But directly she\ncame to the edge and struck it with her staff, hundreds of little\nsilver fishes put their heads out and told her this was not the pool\nshe was seeking.\n\nThen she was very sad, and thought she would never see home any more.\nBut she took up her calabash and started again. And after many days of\ntravel in a dry sandy country she came to a big forest. Here the trees\nwere very tall, with big glossy green leaves, and underneath were thick\nbushes all covered with thorns. But the forest was full of little\npaths, which crossed and recrossed one another, and up and down them\npassed all kinds of animals. On one side of the forest lay a mountain,\nand towards this she journeyed. After a long tramp through the bush she\nreached its foot. There at last she saw the most beautiful water. It\nfell in a cascade right down the mountain-side, and it glittered like\nthe moon. Below it formed a pool clear as crystal, and when the old\nmother struck it with her staff there was no sound or ripple.\n\nThen she knew she had reached her journey\u2019s end. So she sat down to\nrest under a big tree close to the pool, and took snuff. Then she began\nto observe the animals who went and came busily by many paths.\nPresently they approached and sniffed at her, and at last they said,\n\u201cDo you know where you are? This forest and this water belong to a\ngreat King. He allows no one even to set foot in it, and if he finds\nyou here you will die.\u201d\n\nThen the old mother tried to rise and get away quickly. But she found\nshe could not do it. While she had been sitting down the limbs of the\ntree had grown round her and held her fast. She knew then nothing could\nsave her, and burst into tears.\n\nIn the meantime the animals consulted together as to what could be done\nfor the old woman. The Lion, their King, was absent in the depths of\nthe forest, so the Elephant spoke first.\n\n\u201cWe must choose wisely,\u201d said he, \u201cfor she may help us all. Let the\nGiraffe protect her; his neck is so long that he can see through the\ntrees easily.\u201d\n\nBut the Giraffe refused, and suggested that the Tiger was better. He\nwas so strong and his claws so sharp that no one under his care would\nbe touched.\n\n\u201cThat is quite true at night,\u201d said the Tiger, \u201cbut in the day I sit\nwith my eyes half-closed and see nothing. No! let the Rabbit be sent;\nhis eyes are large and bright, and no one in all the forest is half so\nclever as he.\u201d\n\nThe Rabbit consented, and went up to the old mother, saying, \u201cDear old\nmother, why are you crying?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am crying,\u201d she answered, \u201cbecause I shall never see my home again.\nI stole my child\u2019s food, and can never be forgiven till I have found\nwater in which are no frogs, no fish, and no animals of any kind. Here\nI have found the water, but the tree has grown round me and I cannot\nmove.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will help you,\u201d said the Rabbit. He set to work at once with his\npretty little teeth, and soon he had nibbled through the branches which\ngrew round her, and she stood upright again. Then he filled her\ncalabash from the pool and said, \u201cGet out of the forest as fast as ever\nyou can, before the King sees you, and go straight home. Do not stop to\nthank me; your escape will bring us great good fortune.\u201d\n\nThe old mother took the water and hastened away. After many days she\nreached home, and gave the water to her son. At that very moment the\nforest behind her disappeared, and all the animals in it. Instead\nappeared a big, big town full of people. All the little paths became\nwinding streets, and the trees became beautiful round huts, woven with\ngreat skill. The animals became men and women, who lived happily\ntogether in peace and plenty. Many years before a wicked enchanter had\nbewitched them, and they had been freed by the old mother who had\ncarried the water to her son.\n\nAs for her, she was forgiven, and awarded every honour in her own home.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVII\n\nTHE THREE LITTLE EGGS\n\nA SWAZI TALE\n\n\nIt was very early morning in mid-winter. The sun was just rising over\nthe great plains in a silver haze which melted into pale gold as the\nwide stretches of veld came into view, burnt dry with the summer heats.\nThe rains had long ago been over. The sun shone every day and all day,\nwith a pleasant temperate heat in a clear heaven. The whole country\nappeared golden, save where the water-courses ran, and a few great\nevergreen trees stood up in vivid contrast to the bleached summer\ngrasses.\n\nBy the side of a great fig-tree there was one poor little hut\nsurrounded by a plaited fence. Close to it was a little patch of\ncultivated ground, where a few dried mealie-stalks were still standing.\nThe air was very cold and raw, and chilled you through and through, but\nthe sun had barely touched the top of the great tree when a woman came\nout hurriedly from the hut and passed through the kraal gate. You could\nsee she was a married woman by her full kilt of black ox-skins and her\ncurious peaked headdress. Besides, she carried on her back the dearest\nlittle baby girl, wrapt in a goat-skin and half asleep, and by her side\nran a merry little boy. The mother herself was still young and pretty,\nbut her face was worn and thin, and if you had looked close you would\nhave seen that her arms were covered with scars and burns, as if she\nhad been badly used.\n\nShe stood for a few minutes and looked first towards the wide plains.\nThen she turned to the other side, where great hills rose up, ruddy and\ngolden in the early sun. She seemed to hesitate; then she turned to the\nmountains, and was soon on a tiny pathway, which led by many windings\nto a wooded gorge hundreds of feet above the plains. She did not sing\nas she went, and often cast frightened looks behind her. But no one\nfollowed, and after a time, as the hut disappeared from view and the\nsun made all things warm and pleasant, she grew less anxious and went\non her way more quietly.\n\nFor she was running away from her husband. She had been married now\nfour years, and every year he had been more unkind. He not only worked\nher very hard, and gave her scarcely anything to eat, but also often\nbeat her, and had even branded her with hot irons till she screamed\nwith pain. She was good and obedient, and tried hard to please him, but\nhe only became more and more cruel to her and her children. Two days\nbefore he had gone off to a big dance in a far-away kraal. The poor\nwoman so dreaded his return that she decided to run away and beg her\nliving as best she could. She knew there were great Chiefs on the other\nside of the mountains, and big cities; she was a good worker, doubtless\nthey would give her food.\n\nShe walked on and on, and the baby girl woke up and began to laugh and\nplay. They were now following the course of a stream, but only a tiny\ntrickle of water remained, and the ferns were withered, and the thick\nbushes dry and leafless. All at once the mother saw a fluffy white nest\nhanging on a long bough.\n\n\u201cHow pretty!\u201d said she. \u201cThat will be the very thing to amuse baby.\u201d\n\nShe went to the bough and detached the soft white nest, while her\nlittle son looked on with much interest. To her great surprise, for it\nwas yet many months to spring-time, she found it contained three little\neggs.\n\n\u201cHold it fast,\u201d said she to her little one, \u201cand do not smash the\nlittle eggs on any account.\u201d\n\nThen she journeyed on once more. The sun was sinking fast, and the air\ngrew colder and colder, for on the hill-tops there is sharp frost every\nnight. No hut was in sight, though they were now on more level ground,\nand the poor mother had no covering but her one goat-skin, and no food.\n\u201cWhere shall I rest to-night?\u201d said she to herself. \u201cThere is nothing\nto be seen but the open country.\u201d\n\nThen she heard a tiny voice at her ear, \u201cTake the road to the right; it\nwill lead you to a safe place.\u201d\n\nShe turned and looked, and found it was one of the little eggs in the\nfluffy white nest. In very truth she saw there was a tiny pathway to\nthe right, which she had not noticed before. She took it at once, and\njust as the sun disappeared and the white frost began to show, she\nfound a beautiful hut under the side of a great rock. No one seemed to\nlive there, but it was warm and cosy, and all ready for her use.\nBeautiful karosses [12] of ox-skin and goat-skin hung on the walls;\nfood was there all ready prepared in little red pots, crushed mealies\nand monkey-nuts; and in the calabashes was abundance of delicious thick\nmilk. [13] The little boy and baby girl cried with delight, and you can\nimagine how pleased the poor mother was. The little nest was first\ncarefully laid aside. Then both mother and children ate a good meal,\nfor they were very hungry. The little boy fell asleep at once, covered\nwith the warm skins, but his sister cried and would not lie down\nquietly. So her mother tied her on her back once more and sang the\nKafir cradle-song, which is as pretty a thing as you will hear. She\nswung gently to and fro, moving her arms as well in time to the low\nchant:\u2014\n\n\n             \u201cTula, mtwana\n              Binda, mtwana\n              U nina u fulela\n              U nina u fulela\n                    Tula, mtwana.\u201d\n\n             \u201cBe quiet, my baby;\n              Be still, my child;\n        Your mother has gone to get green mealies,\n        Your sisters are all gone gathering wood,\n                  So be quiet, baby, be still.\n        Your father has gone a-walking,\n        He has gone to drink good beer,\n        Your mother is working with a will,\n                  So be quiet, baby, be still.\u201d\n\n\nSoon the tiny black head leaned forward, the little round arms relaxed,\nand baby girl was fast asleep. The tired mother laid her down, and in a\nfew moments was dreaming by her children\u2019s side.\n\nThe next morning they set forth again, much refreshed; they continued\non the same path, and baby girl carried the little eggs as before.\nTowards mid-day they came to a place where two ways met. The mother\nstood looking at the two paths for a long while, uncertain which to\ntake. Then a tiny voice spoke in her ear. It was the second little egg\nthis time. \u201cTake the road to the left,\u201d said he.\n\nSo she turned and followed the left-hand path till she came in sight of\nan enormous hut, three times as big as any she had ever seen before.\nShe went straight up to it and looked in at the door, full of\ncuriosity. It was like no hut she had ever seen. The calabashes and\npots were all blood-red in colour, and very thin; as the breeze came in\nat the door they swayed like bubbles and nearly fell, for they were as\nlight as air. One big pot was blown right across the room, and as the\npoor mother\u2019s eyes followed it she all but screamed aloud. For, on the\nother side, lay a huge monster, fast asleep. He was immensely tall and\nvery stout, his body was covered with tufts of brick-red hair, on his\nhead were two horns, and his long tail lay curled across his knees. He\nwas an Inzimu, [14] without any doubt, and if he awoke he would kill\nthe mother and both her babies and eat them up.\n\n\u201cWhatever shall I do?\u201d cried the mother, as she ran from the door. \u201cMy\nlittle ones will both be killed.\u201d\n\nThen the third little egg spoke up. \u201cDo you see that big stone? Carry\nit with you, and climb on top of the hut.\u201d\n\nThe mother looked around, for many rocks were near. She soon saw a\nround white stone, just of a size to drop through the thatched roof of\nthe hut and kill any one it fell on. But it was far beyond her power to\nlift it.\n\n\u201cHowever can I pick it up?\u201d said the poor woman. \u201cIt is so heavy.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo as I bid you,\u201d said the egg.\n\nSo she stooped down and tried to lift the stone. To her great surprise\nshe found it quite light, and took it to the back of the hut. Then she\nlifted her babies on to the roof, and climbed up herself afterwards,\nwith the stone in her hand.\n\n\u201cNow let the stone drop on top of the monster,\u201d said the egg.\n\nThe mother was just peering through the thatch to find the exact spot\nunder which the monster lay, when the door opened and in came a second\nogre, dragging after him several dead bodies.\n\n\u201cNow we shall certainly be seen,\u201d said the mother; \u201call is over.\u201d But\nshe kept quiet, and did not move. The second Inzimu began to chop up\none of his victims for the evening meal. Once he stopped, sniffed the\nair, and said, \u201cThere is something good hidden in this hut, but I can\u2019t\nmake out where it is.\u201d\n\nHe looked all round carefully, but never thought of the roof, and\npresently put his supper on to boil, and sat down to watch it. Soon\nboth Inzimus were fast asleep. The mother then looked at her stone, and\nsaid, \u201cHere are two Inzimus. I cannot kill both. What am I to do next?\u201d\n\n\u201cCome down as quietly as you can,\u201d said all the little eggs at once,\n\u201cand run with the babies as fast as possible.\u201d\n\nShe slipped quietly down, for the hut was round, and the little boy\nhelped her with the baby. In a few minutes they were away, trembling in\nevery limb, but the Inzimus did not wake up, and soon the big hut was\nout of sight.\n\nThe poor mother breathed again, and hoped that now at last she would\nfind a kraal and human beings to talk to. The path wound in and out\namong bushes. They grew ever thicker and more thorny, great trees began\nto appear, and it was soon impossible to walk save in the one\ndirection. The path gave a sudden turn, and there, under a huge\nevergreen tree, was a horrible ogress. She lay right across the path,\nfast asleep, for the afternoon sun was warm. No doubt she was on her\nway home to the big hut. She was even uglier than the Inzimus, for she\nhad a hideous snout like a wolf\u2019s, and one little horn just between her\neyes. She snored most terribly, so that the branches of the tree shook.\n\nThen the mother thought her last hour had really come, for she could\nnot return, and the bush was too thick on either side for her to\nescape. But the little eggs did not desert her. Two little voices\nsounded together.\n\n\u201cLook on your right: there lies a big axe.\u201d\n\nShe looked, and sure enough a great axe lay winking in the sun. It was\nso large that it must have belonged to the ogress, but the mother\nseized it quickly.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the little eggs again, \u201ctake that in your hand, go softly\nto the tree and lift your babies into the low branches. When they are\nsafe, climb up yourself and creep along the great arm which is over the\nmonster\u2019s head.\u201d\n\nThe mother crept softly to the tree and lifted her little son up into\nthe branches. The trunk was smooth and round like that of a beech at\nhome, and the branches were many and not far from the ground. So the\nlittle boy was able to hold his baby sister when they were safe among\nthe leaves; the mother mounted herself and crept forward right over the\nmonster\u2019s head, the axe in her hand. She nearly fell off with fright,\nbut the little eggs spoke again.\n\n\u201cAim the axe at the monster\u2019s head.\u201d\n\nShe threw it with all her force and hit the ogress just above her horn;\nbut she was only stunned, not killed.\n\n\u201cSlip down from the tree,\u201d said the third little egg, \u201cand chop off the\nmonster\u2019s head quickly before she revives.\u201d\n\nThe mother was down in a moment, ran forward with desperate courage,\nand in a few minutes she had severed the monster\u2019s head from its body.\n\nWhen it was done she stood back to recover herself, but could scarcely\nbelieve her eyes as she looked. For out of the monster came men, women,\nand children, cattle and goats, one after another, till they filled the\npath and had to pass along to open ground. Many hundreds appeared, for\nthe ogress had eaten every kind of animal and whole families of men in\nher wicked life. When all had come there were enough to people a great\nkraal. Each one on his arrival turned to thank the poor mother and her\nchildren, and when all were there the leaders came forward to ask her\nto be their Queen.\n\n\u201cBut I should never have done it without the three little eggs,\u201d said\nshe, and turned to show them the little white nest. She barely touched\nit with her hands when it vanished away, and instead appeared three\nhandsome Princes. The eldest took her hand and said, \u201cYou have freed us\nfrom a wicked enchantress by your courage. Your cruel husband is dead;\nhe was killed in a quarrel the day you fled from home. Be my wife, and\nwe will rule over these people for ever.\u201d\n\nSo the poor mother and her children found a happy home and much honour.\nAnd all the people shouted for joy because they had now both a King and\na Queen.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nVIII\n\nTHE SERPENT\u2019S BRIDE\n\nA SHANGANI STORY\n\nPART I\n\n\nIn the great wooded plains which lie between the mountains and the sea\nthere was once a most wonderful river. It was broad and deep, filling\nits banks from side to side; great fig-trees and white-flowering thorns\nmarked its course; and both winter and summer you could tell it afar\noff by the masses of evergreen foliage which followed its many\nwindings. The land through which it flowed was fertile, and vast herds\nof goat and sheep fed on the neighbouring hills, for the grass was\nsweet and good.\n\nA powerful tribe had settled in these regions and had built themselves\na big city on the side of a hill which sloped up from the river-banks.\nThere was abundance of wood and good water, and the city was well\ndrained and faced the morning sun. Below the great kraal the\nmealie-fields extended almost to the river-side. The people had plenty\nof cattle, and their King was the richest and most powerful in the\nwhole country. He was also a great hunter, for in the wide plains big\ngame abounded, and his lion and tiger skins were wonderful to behold.\nIndeed, he had but one trouble. He and his people depended on the river\nfor their daily supply of water, and every now and then it would\nsuddenly cease to flow. The whole body of the river would dry up,\nsometimes in winter, but quite as often in the height of summer, when\nrain fell daily and the great white clouds rose from the horizon every\nnoon. No one knew why this strange thing should happen; sometimes no\nwater would appear for many days together, and all the women had to\nwalk long hours through the forest to get fresh water from a distant\nstream.\n\nOnly one Princess could always fill her calabash, no matter how dry the\nriver-bed. She was the most beautiful of all the King\u2019s daughters, tall\nand graceful, with a skin like satin and eyes that danced like sun upon\nthe water. But she never went with her sisters to the river, and no one\nknew the source of her supply; they supposed she had found some hidden\npool which never quite dried up, and did not wish to share her secret.\n\nNow the river had flowed steadily for many months; spring had come and\nthen summer; the cornfields were in full ear, and the great tasselled\nmealies stood higher than a man\u2019s head. Every day all the Princesses\nwent down to the river to fetch water and bathe in the great Red Pool.\nOnly Timba still went alone, but her sisters had long ceased to notice\nher love of solitude.\n\nThen one day a strange thing happened. The morning was cool and fresh\nafter a heavy thunderstorm, the tall grass was drenched with rain, and\nall the maidens from the neighbouring kraals came down to the river\nsinging and laughing. There were tall, well-grown women, and slender\ngirls, and even little maids of five and six, each with a calabash on\nher head. They walked in single file, for the paths were narrow, and\nthey shouted gaily to one another across the mealie-fields. Only Timba\nwas silent and walked last of the line behind her sisters.\n\nAt the river-side they all stopped, and cries of dismay broke from\nevery mouth. The bed of the stream was all but empty, and rocks that\nwere only visible at the end of winter stood high and dry. A tiny\ntrickle of water still ran in the great Red Pool, but its banks of\ncrimson earth were bare, and the waving reeds and bulrushes on the\nmargin showed their mud-stained roots. In a few hours the little water\nstill remaining would have disappeared in the heat of the summer sun.\nWith heavy hearts the girls ascended the course of the stream to see if\nclear water still remained, but none could be found. Even the little\nwater-courses lined with fern, which fed the great river, were dry.\n\n\u201cIt is no use,\u201d cried they. \u201cWe must take what water we can to-day, and\nto-morrow we must seek fresh streams.\u201d\n\nThey returned home, their calabashes half full of muddy water, and told\nthe bad news to the King. Only Timba\u2019s water was clear as crystal, and\nher jar was so full that she had placed branches of the white-flowering\nthorn round the brim to prevent its spilling over as she walked.\n\nThe King was much disturbed to find that the river had failed once\nmore. He set all his greatest magicians to work, and promised\nunheard-of rewards to those who would bring water into the river-bed;\nbut no incantations were of any avail. Rain-doctors came from far away\nand cast their magic spells; but though great storms arose and passed\nover the land, the river-bed remained empty, and even the deepest\nwater-holes dried up. But Timba could still get water from the river,\nand every day she went down alone as often as she wished and returned\nwith her brimming calabash crowned with green leaves, her eyes brighter\nthan ever and full of mysterious joy.\n\nThen her sisters asked at last: \u201cWhere do you get your water from?\u201d\n\nAnd Timba made answer: \u201cI get it from the great King of the Waters. He\ncommands the whole river and all the streams which run into it, even\nthe tiniest creeks. He is angry now, and that is why the river is\nempty.\u201d\n\nHer sisters were still puzzled, for none of them had heard of any such\nKing.\n\nIn the meantime winter approached with its unclouded skies. The crops\nwere gathered in; the nights grew cold, and the air all day was fresh\nand crisp. No rain would fall now for many months, and the King and all\nhis wise men knew that the river must remain empty till the spring.\nThey were in great trouble, for they did not know how they would keep\ntheir cattle alive during the winter, and they even feared for\nthemselves.\n\nJudge then of their amazement when they found one morning that the\nriver was full to overflowing as if in the height of the summer floods.\nNo rain had fallen in the whole of the country; the people could only\nrejoice and wonder. That same day the beautiful Princess came running\nup from the river laughing and singing, and called her sisters\ntogether.\n\n\u201cWhat is it? Tell us the news,\u201d said they, for they saw that something\nexciting had happened.\n\n\u201cI am going to be married,\u201d said Timba joyfully.\n\n\u201cBut to whom? No suitor has been here for many months.\u201d\n\n\u201cTo the great King of the Waters,\u201d said she with pride.\n\n\u201cWho is he?\u201d cried her sisters, \u201cand where does he live? It must be far\nfrom here, for no one else has ever spoken of him.\u201d\n\nBut Timba would not tell them. To all their questions she only nodded\nher head mysteriously, and said, \u201cI know.\u201d\n\nThat evening as the sun went down she slipped out of the kraal and went\nto the river-bank. The mealies were long since gathered, and the little\npath was beaten down hard and firm as the floor of a hut, for no rain\nhad fallen this long while. She passed the Red Pool, now full from end\nto end, and followed the course of the river for half an hour or more\ntill she came to a great white thorn-tree surrounded by a tangle of\ncreepers and flowering shrubs. There she stopped and pushed through the\noverhanging branches till she reached the water\u2019s edge. She stood\nthere, knee-deep among green lily leaves, and looked out on a wide\nexpanse of water. It was still and dark and very deep, and the current\nwas barely visible on its smooth surface. The banks enclosing it were\nof black earth, and at the water\u2019s edge grew great clumps of arum\nlilies forming a thick belt of green. In summer the Black Pool was a\nplace of wonderful beauty; now there were no lilies, and scarcely a\nblossom lingered on the bushes. A tiny crescent moon was sinking in the\nwest, and the reflection of its silver horns quivered in mid-stream.\n\nAs Timba waited and watched a tiny ripple broke towards the bank and\nthe head of a great serpent arose. He was velvety black, save for two\nred circles round his glittering eyes, and his neck rose many feet out\nof the water. He swam straight to the Princess, who did not scream and\nrun away but rose to greet him eagerly.\n\nThe serpent coiled himself beside her on the bank, and his eyes shone\nwith joy.\n\n\u201cDo not let us wait any longer,\u201d said he. \u201cMake all preparations for\nour marriage. As mid-winter approaches I will cause the river to rise\ntwice in full flood. Then you will know I am waiting for you, so lose\nno time.\u201d\n\nThey sat and talked till the little moon sank down and all the stars\ncame out. Then the serpent rose up and swam away down stream, his head\nheld high and his huge length extending far behind it.\n\nThis was the King of the Waters, who ruled the whole length of the\ngreat river, and it was he who had courted the Princess night and\nmorning as she came to fetch water. Timba watched him out of sight;\nthen she went home.\n\nThe next day she and all her companions began to get ready for the\nmarriage. Some of them wove mats out of the golden-coloured grasses,\nfine and soft enough to roll up into a tiny space. There were small\nmats to grind corn on, so that no meal should fall on the ground and be\nwasted, and there were other little mats to cut up meat on. Then there\nwere long mats for sleeping on; these were made of bulrushes, and were\nto be put away all day and brought out only at night. The girls also\ntook lengths of thin cloth, bought from far-away traders along the\ncoast in exchange for ivory and horn, and fringed them with strings of\nmany-coloured beads. These were cloaks for the bride, and were as\ngraceful and pretty garments as you could wish to see. Then there were\ngirdles to be made of coloured beads; and many necklaces and all sorts\nof dainty ornaments fashioned with twisted wire. For Timba was a\nPrincess, and she was going to marry a King.\n\nAll this took much time. Timba was at work all day, for in winter the\nsun sets early, and for some weeks she never went to the river at all,\nnor did she see her strange lover once. But one morning towards the\nshortest day a young man came running in from rabbit-hunting in the\nhills shouting that the river was in full flood. Timba\u2019s heart leapt,\nfor this was the first of the promised signs. She worked still harder\nand hurried her maidens, for now only a few days could remain before\nthe appointed time.\n\nAt last all was ready, and she went down to walk by the river. The\nflood had passed, and only a tiny sluggish stream trickled in the midst\nof a wide stony water-course. The Princess walked slowly and looked up\nthe river to see if there were any signs of the second flood. Suddenly\nshe heard a whistling call from a clump of bushes.\n\n\u201cPing! Ping! Ping!\u201d\n\nIt was the call of her bridegroom, but he was nowhere to be seen. She\nthen looked up the river once more and noticed for the first time that\nthe stream was widening. Every moment it became fuller; great boulders\nwhich a minute ago were high and dry were already half covered, and a\ndull roar could be heard far away. The high reaches were already in\nflood, and the King of the Waters was waiting for his bride.\n\nTimba ran home and sought out her bridesmaids.\n\n\u201cCome quickly,\u201d said she, \u201cand bring everything we have made, but do\nnot let any one see us. The great King of the Waters is waiting for me\nat the river.\u201d\n\nThe bridesmaids ran hither and thither collecting all the pretty things\nthey had made, while the bride arrayed herself for the marriage. In the\nShangani country no one wears the kilt of black ox-skins. So Timba put\non a kilt of cotton cloth, striped in red and blue, which reached to\nher knees, and a beautiful girdle of beads. Then she knotted on her\nleft shoulder a cloak of dark blue cloth heavily fringed in red and\nwhite. The cloth was very thin and hung in folds about her graceful\nform. Then she put the most beautiful bead necklaces about her neck,\nand covered her arms with bracelets cunningly woven of shining brass\nand copper wire. When all was done it would have been difficult to find\na prettier or more pleasing sight.\n\nThen the girls met again and ran by hidden paths to the river without\nspeaking a word to any one. There the bridesmaids stopped and called to\none another in astonishment. For the river was in full flood and was\nnow over half-a-mile wide. Great trunks of trees swept past in wild\ndisorder, their branches tossing on the yellow waters; now and then a\ndead buck floated by, and at every moment huge boulders swept past amid\na deafening roar. The girls hurried on to the Black Pool. There the\ngreat thorn-tree still stood out, but the water had already reached its\nlower branches. Overhead the sky was clear and cloudless, and the\nparched veld, dotted with grey mimosa and leafless shrub, extended for\nendless miles to the transparent horizon.\n\n\u201cNever have I seen such a flood,\u201d said one; \u201csurely the river is\nbewitched.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere has been no rain these three months,\u201d cried another; \u201cwhere can\nthe waters have come from?\u201d\n\n\u201cGo home quickly,\u201d commanded the Princess. \u201cLeave everything here and\nsay nothing about me at the kraal.\u201d\n\nThe bridesmaids were no sooner out of sight than the Serpent King\nraised his great flat head out of the water. As the Princess watched\nhim he grew taller and taller, till at length he stood upon his tail\nand towered above her. His head reached to the top of the high trees,\nand his body was like a black shining pillar. Then he fixed his bright\neyes upon her and said, \u201cNever be afraid of me, no matter what I do.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will never be afraid of you,\u201d said the Princess.\n\n\u201cAre you quite sure?\u201d said the serpent.\n\n\u201cQuite sure,\u201d answered the Princess.\n\nThen the serpent descended again and coiled himself beside her.\n\n\u201cAnd now,\u201d said he, \u201cwhat of the lobola? [15] I must send that to your\nfather, or our marriage is not complete.\u201d\n\n\u201cThere is plenty of room in the great cattle-kraal,\u201d said Timba. \u201cThey\nwill understand when they see the oxen that my marriage-gift is come.\u201d\n\n\u201cWait here,\u201d said the serpent; \u201cI will return at moonrise.\u201d\n\nThat night he sent the cattle, and at daybreak there was great\ncommotion in the city. The Princess had disappeared and the air was\nfull of strange bellowings, which came from the cattle-kraal in the\ncentre of the town. One hundred splendid oxen were discovered there,\nfiner than any one had ever seen before. No one had seen them enter,\nand no herdsman was with them; for many a long day the mystery remained\nunsolved.\n\nIn the meantime the Princess waited. Darkness fell early, and for a\nlong while only the stars could be seen in the clear sky. Then the long\nline of the eastern plains grew clearer and sharper, and slowly the\nwonderful winter moon arose.\n\nAt that very moment the King of the Waters raised his head from the\npool and darted towards his bride.\n\n\u201cThe lobola is paid,\u201d he cried. \u201cCome, let us go.\u201d\n\nThen Timba rose and the serpent lifted her on his back. She put her\narms round his neck and they started to swim down the river under the\ngreat white moon. They passed the silent kraals and the empty fields,\nand then they came to wide silvery plains stretching as far as eye\ncould see. The river flowed without sound. And all the time the King of\nthe Waters never spoke nor turned his head.\n\nAs the dawn appeared they reached the borders of a forest. For many an\nhour they had seen no kraal nor any human being, and here the bush was\nso thick that no one could hope to get through it. The great serpent\ntook his bride to the bank and set her down.\n\n\u201cNow remember,\u201d said he, \u201cnever be afraid.\u201d\n\nThen he disappeared without another word. All that day Timba waited\nalone. As night approached she expected to see the King once more, but\nno sign of him appeared. She shuddered as she heard the cries of the\nwild beasts searching for their prey. First, just after sundown, came\nthe laughing cry of the jackal; then later the mournful howling of\nwolves; and as the night went on she heard lions roaring close at hand.\nOnce she heard a tiger grunting a few paces away, and it was all she\ncould do not to scream aloud. But nothing hurt her, and at dawn all the\nstrange sounds ceased. The next day she spent alone, thinking with\nterror of the approaching night. You can imagine her relief when, at\nmoonrise, her bridegroom appeared once more.\n\nHe took the Princess again on his back and once more they swam down the\nriver, the dark forest on either side. They journeyed thus in silence\nfor many hours. At dawn they were still in the heart of the forest. The\ntrees were the tallest Timba had ever seen; great festoons of creepers\nhung from their boughs, while below was a tangle of ferns and many\nstrange plants. Then suddenly just as the sun rose they entered a\nmarvellous place. For the river opened out into a wide, still pool,\nsurrounded by walls of dazzling white. The banks were of shining white\nsand and the cliffs above of glittering mica, and in every nook and\ncranny grew the loveliest ferns. There were tree-ferns all along the\nwater\u2019s edge, with wide shady fronds and trunks like those of an\nEastern palm. There were smaller ferns in endless variety, and at the\nvery edge of the pool grew the most beautiful maidenhair. A wide belt\nof green lily-leaves stretched out from the shore, framing the centre\nof the pool, which lay clear and placid as a mirror, reflecting the\ndazzling blue of the winter sky. Timba had never seen such a sight\nbefore. She longed to alight and rest among the ferns in the bright\nsunshine, but the King swam forward to the centre of the pool. There\none could see far below to the white sanded bottom, for the water was\nlike crystal.\n\nHere the serpent turned his head. \u201cFollow me,\u201d he said.\n\nHe glided under the water, and the Princess followed. When she opened\nher eyes she found they were far below in the depths of the water. The\nlight was dim, and at first she could see nothing but the waving stems\nof the water-lilies. Then she found they were standing before a group\nof most beautiful huts. The King took her to the largest and bade her\nenter. Strange to say, it was quite dry and very comfortable. In it she\nfound all the pretty things which she had brought with her sisters to\nthe river-bank, and all was in perfect order. She was very hungry and\nwanted to ask for food, but she did not dare say anything. The great\nserpent turned away and left her, saying: \u201cI will return in the\nevening. Shut the door, but leave a little hole in the side of the hut\nfor me to creep through. Food will appear whenever you desire it.\u201d\n\nAnd Timba found a delicious meal prepared in beautiful little pots. She\nenjoyed it after her long night\u2019s journey, but it was very dull and\nlonely, and there was nothing to do. The day passed, and as night drew\non it became very dark and cold. Timba lit a fire in the hut and shut\nthe door, but remembered to leave a little opening as she had promised.\nThen she lay down to rest, tired and puzzled at her bridegroom\u2019s\nstrange conduct. She was just about to sleep when she heard a snake\u2019s\nscales rustling against the thatch without. For the first time she was\nafraid as she heard him come. A moment later his head appeared at the\nlittle hole. His eyes flamed in the light of the dying fire, as he\nentered and glided towards her. First he touched her feet, then her\nknees, and then passed right over her head, always in absolute silence.\nThen he turned round and slipped out once more by the way he had come.\n\nThe Princess spent the next day alone, and at night lay down again. But\nthis time she could not think of sleep, and for hours she lay awake,\ntending her fire and watching the dark hole in the wall. At midnight\nshe heard the rustling against the reeds outside. She began to tremble,\nbut lay quite still and did not speak. The serpent entered as before,\nlaid his head on her feet and her knees, and again glided over her and\nleft the hut without a word.\n\nWhen he had gone the Princess breathed once more, and composed herself\nto sleep; but as the next day advanced towards evening she became more\nand more troubled.\n\n\u201cMust I spend the end of my days here?\u201d thought she. \u201cMust I always\nlive in this cold dark place, away from the sun? I shall soon die and\nnever see my sisters again, or run with them through the\nmealie-fields.\u201d\n\nThen she began to think of her former life, and remembered the many\ntimes she had met her lover among the tall lilies, and all the kindness\nhe had shown her.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d she said; \u201cI must not despair. He will do me no harm; I must keep\nmy promise and be brave.\u201d\n\nThat night she lay in the hut by her wood fire and watched the hole in\nthe wall. Hour after hour she listened for the familiar rustling, but\nno sound came. She could not sleep; her head ached and she was almost\nsick with fear.\n\nShe threw her last bundle of sticks on the little fire. It was very\ncold; in the world above the dawn must be at hand. The flames leapt up\nfor the last time, and at that very moment a faint sound could be heard\noutside the hut. The King of the Waters was there. He entered, his huge\nflat head erect and his eyes flaming. The Princess nearly screamed, but\nclenched her hands to keep herself quiet. The serpent touched her feet,\nthen her knees, and last of all her head.\n\nTimba closed her eyes and lay exhausted. All at once a light breeze\nseemed to blow on her face, and she looked up again to see what it\nmight be. To her amazement she found she was again in the world above.\nThe door of the hut was open, and before her stretched the enchanted\npool, radiant and dazzling in the early morning sun. She turned to look\nfor the serpent, but he was gone. In his place stood a magnificent man\nin the prime of life. He was very powerful, and so tall that his head\nnearly touched the roof. Glossy leopard-skins hung from his broad\nshoulders, and round his waist were jackal-skins fringed with tails of\nthe mountain-cat. On his arms and at his knees were bracelets of white\nox-tails, and in his hand he held a great staff beautifully carved. At\none end a man\u2019s head was represented, and below it were tails of black\nand white cat-skin. He was a very great Chief indeed; Timba had never\nseen any one so handsome before. Only his eyes seemed familiar; they\nwere very bright and piercing.\n\nThe Princess gazed in wonder. Then the Chief smiled.\n\n\u201cDo not be astonished,\u201d said he. \u201cI am the serpent, the great King of\nthe Waters. Years ago I was deprived of human form by a wicked\nmagician. He belonged to a king who hated my father, but was never able\nto harm him because he was too powerful. One day this wizard met me\nwalking alone by this river. By his black arts he turned me into a\nserpent. My only kingdom should be in the waters, and I was never to\nbecome a man again till I should find a bride without fear. At last I\nmet you; now I am a man once more. My father has long been dead and my\nname is forgotten, so we must seek men and cattle and make a new\nkingdom for ourselves. Take this staff; it will give you the power of a\nmagician. You have only to hold it firmly in your hand and you will\ngain the victory over the most powerful enemy. We will rest here awhile\nand then go forth together and make great conquests.\u201d\n\nThus Timba obtained the reward of her courage, and became renowned and\nmuch beloved. I will tell you in the next story how she and her husband\nwon their kingdom, and how at last she saw her home once more.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIX\n\nTHE SERPENT\u2019S BRIDE\n\nPART II\n\n\nThe King of the Waters and his bride rested by the White Pool for many\nweeks, making plans for the future and talking much together. They\nwaited till the spring came, and then as the early summer advanced they\nset forth on their travels. For there were no tribes near them for many\na day\u2019s journey, and the King needed great numbers of men and women to\npeople his kingdom. It was no longer enough for him to command the wide\nriver and reign alone at the White Pool.\n\nThe wicked king whose magician had transformed him into a serpent was\nlong dead and his nation dispersed, so that there was no one left on\nwhom he might avenge himself. So the King and Queen journeyed for days\nand days through the great forest, and then beyond through open flat\ncountry, till, after many weeks, they came to a new kingdom and people\nwho did not know them. They travelled alone like ordinary folk, for\nthey did not wish to be noticed.\n\nThe first city they reached was small, but beautifully built on the\nside of a hill. Here they entered and talked with the Chief.\n\n\u201cWhose kingdom is this?\u201d asked the King of the Waters.\n\n\u201cThis is the kingdom of Volha-Volha,\u201d said the Induna. \u201cHe is a great\nKing and powerful.\u201d\n\n\u201cDoes he live near here?\u201d asked the King.\n\n\u201cVolha-Volha lives two days\u2019 journey from here,\u201d said the Induna. \u201cYou\nfollow the path over the hill and across two valleys. Then you come to\nour greatest city. But let me warn you; our King does not love\nstrangers.\u201d\n\nThe King of the Waters smiled and thanked the Induna, and then turned\nto his wife. Timba meanwhile had been talking with the women, and as\nsoon as they were alone she said: \u201cThere is something curious about\nthis city. The women seem sad and frightened; they would hardly speak\nto me at all, and made excuses to get away. Did you notice how few\nchildren there are? There is some mystery here.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will go on to-morrow towards the King\u2019s city,\u201d said her husband.\n\u201cWe shall discover what is amiss before long.\u201d\n\nThe next morning they set out by the narrow path which led to the\nKing\u2019s kraal. They left very early in the morning: it was cool and\nbright, for autumn was at hand, and the crops were already ripe in the\nvalleys. They walked till mid-day, the King in front, spear in hand,\ncasting his bright eyes here and there, so as to be ready for any\nenemy, and the Queen behind, holding the magic staff, her blue mantle\nwaving in the wind.\n\nAt noon they came upon a second city, much larger than the first. The\nhuts were neat and strong, and set in little circles surrounded by a\nfence. Little paths ran from one group of huts to another, for there\nwere no wide roads at all, and a strong palisade encircled the whole\ntown. Many people were moving to and fro, and one could see they were\nrich and prosperous, for the cattle-kraal was very large and\nexcellently built. The King and Queen decided to wait here and ask more\nabout the kingdom of Volha-Volha. They came to the chief entrance and\nlooked about them. Instantly every one began to move towards their\nhuts, more especially the women, as if they suspected strangers and\nwere anxious to avoid them.\n\n\u201cWhy do the people look at us in this way?\u201d said the Queen. \u201cWe are\nalone and cannot harm them.\u201d\n\nAt last a man came forward hurriedly, with every mark of fear, and led\nthem to the Induna. There they again asked if they were on the road to\nVolha-Volha\u2019s kraal.\n\n\u201cYes, you are on the right road,\u201d said the Induna briefly. Then he\nadded: \u201cYou have never seen our country?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe are strangers, my wife and I,\u201d said the Serpent King. \u201cOur home is\nmany days\u2019 journey from here.\u201d\n\nThe Induna asked many more questions, and when he was satisfied that\nTimba and her husband really knew nothing of the country, he offered\nthem food and rest. But he did not seem to wish to talk, and the King\nand Queen soon continued their journey, for they wanted to reach the\nsecond valley before nightfall.\n\n\u201cIt is strange,\u201d said Timba. \u201cIn that city also I noticed but few\nchildren, and they were all copper-coloured, none were black. Yet these\npeople are Shanganis like ourselves, and have dark skins.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe shall know soon,\u201d said the King.\n\nThe afternoon was very hot; the morning freshness had gone, and there\nwas a heavy feeling in the air. The narrow path mounted up and up\ntowards a great red cliff, which crowned the hill and extended for more\nthan a mile. The King and Queen followed its windings till they reached\nthe foot of the crags. There the path turned and continued under the\nprecipitous wall.\n\nSuddenly Timba cried out in horror.\n\n\u201cWhat do you see?\u201d said the King.\n\n\u201cI saw white bones in the grass,\u201d said Timba. \u201cLook! There are still\nmore. What can they be? They are not like the bones of animals.\u201d\n\nThe husband and wife peered among the tall dry grass and the great\nboulders. Then they saw that all the ground at the foot of the cliffs\nwas covered with little white bones. They looked like splintered wood,\nfor they had lain there many months. Before long they understood the\nhorror of their discovery, for Timba suddenly saw a tiny skull under a\nthorn-bush.\n\n\u201cNow I know!\u201d she cried. \u201cThese are the bones of tiny children, and\nthat is why we saw so few in the cities. What can it all mean? Some\ndreadful monster must dwell in this land.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will soon find out,\u201d said the King. \u201cLet us move on quickly, for\nthere is thunder in the air.\u201d\n\nThey hurried forward, the King erect and gloomy, Timba in fear and\nsorrow, but grasping her staff firmly, for she felt it might soon be\nneeded. The clouds rose higher and higher, and lightning began to play\non the horizon like the flash of spears. They reached the top of the\npass, and saw a wide valley and, many miles away, a great city set on\nthe ridge of a hill. Farther away to the right the hill broke up into a\nsuccession of kopjes [16] so steep and rough that it was impossible to\nclimb them. The storm drew nearer, and great drops of rain splashed on\nthe red dust.\n\n\u201cWe cannot reach the city to-night,\u201d said the King. \u201cLet us seek\nshelter near at hand.\u201d\n\nThey hurried on down the mountain-side till they came to a gentle slope\non which stood a tiny kraal. It contained but three huts and a small\nenclosure for cattle, but all was very strong and neat. On one side was\na kind of platform supported by poles, and on this stood six immense\nbaskets made of grass rope. These were waiting to be filled with grain\nat the coming harvest; indeed some were already full, for a young woman\nwas anxiously arranging the cone-shaped lids while glancing every now\nand then at the coming rain. As soon as she saw the strangers she ran\nto a hut and crept in quickly, as if to avoid them. But Timba and the\nKing were not surprised; they understood by now that some terror ruled\nthe country, and that the people feared its coming at any moment. They\nwent straight forward and begged for shelter.\n\nThe young woman admitted them as if she dared not refuse. She was\nnearly as tall as Timba herself, and very beautiful, though her skin\nwas as black as ebony. She was quite young, too, but very grave and\nanxious, and started whenever the Queen spoke to her.\n\nThe storm was already upon them; the rain descended in torrents, and\nsoon the entire hillside was seamed with little noisy streams. There\nwas no question of going on till the next day, and presently the King\nand Queen begged to stay the night at the kraal. The young woman, whose\nname was Siapi, took them to her hut. Her husband, she said, was away\nhunting and she was in charge of the kraal. When the evening meal was\nover, she brought some sleeping-mats for her guests; they were very\nstrong and well woven, indeed all about the hut showed great neatness\nand order, and was a credit to its mistress. Then she spread her own\nmat on the floor, the door was closed, and presently all were asleep.\n\nAt midnight Timba woke suddenly to find the door ajar, and the cold\nnight wind blowing in. The fire in the centre of the hut was nearly\nout, but there was enough glow from the dying embers to show that the\ncorner in which the young wife slept was empty. Timba was much puzzled,\nand listened to hear if any one was moving about. Suddenly she heard a\nbaby\u2019s cry, followed by quick hushing and many caresses. Then she\nremembered again the ghastly red cliff and the frightened women she had\nseen the day before. Without doubt the young wife had a baby and was\nhiding it from some danger. Timba arose quickly, determined to know\nall.\n\nThe clouds had not all dispersed, but the moon shone fitfully, and it\nwas easy to see anything near at hand. Timba looked all round the\nlittle kraal, and presently, to her great surprise, she saw the young\nmother standing on the grain store and lifting out of one of the big\nbaskets a beautiful little baby.\n\nTimba ran towards her and poor Siapi screamed.\n\n\u201cOh!\u201d she cried, \u201cdo not betray me, do not tell them about my little\ngirl!\u201d\n\n\u201cI will tell no one,\u201d said Timba. \u201cBut why are you afraid? What is the\nmatter?\u201d\n\n\u201cDo you not know then?\u201d said the poor mother with wide-open eyes.\n\n\u201cHow should I? We are strangers.\u201d\n\n\u201cEvery year Volha-Volha, our King, kills every baby born in this\ncountry who is black. Only copper-coloured babies may live, for he is\ndetermined his people shall be black no longer. The time approaches for\nhis spies to come and seize our little ones. Then his impis kill them\nwith assegais and knobkerries, and throw them over the great red cliff.\nWe have no helper or defender. Volha-Volha is all-powerful. Every year\nhe does bad deeds, but this is the most cruel of all. My little girl\nwas born three months ago; she is as black as can be. I hid her here,\nfor no spy climbs up to the grain stores; but if they find her I will\nnot live; we will die together.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not fear any more,\u201d said the Queen. \u201cI will help you.\u201d\n\nThen she stamped on the ground with her magic staff, and instantly\nthere appeared the kindest old woman you ever saw.\n\n\u201cHere,\u201d said the Queen, \u201cis a very wise Fairy. Give her your baby and\nshe will fly like the wind over hills and dales, and take her wherever\nyou wish, to a place where kings do not kill babies.\u201d\n\nSiapi looked up in wonder and delight. \u201cTake her to my sister,\u201d she\nsaid; \u201cshe will care for her, and I shall have nothing more to fear.\u201d\n\nSo the old Fairy took the baby, who cooed with delight in her arms. A\nmoment later they were gone.\n\n\u201cAnd now,\u201d said Timba, \u201cwe will rest, and to-morrow we will tell the\nKing, my husband.\u201d\n\nThe next day Siapi told the Serpent King of her sad lot and that of all\nher people; how they lived in hourly terror of spies, and thus dreaded\nthe sight of any stranger; and how, no matter what they did,\nVolha-Volha was too clever and too cruel to allow them to escape.\n\nThen the King of the Waters burst into great wrath. \u201cSuch a man should\ndie,\u201d cried he. \u201cHe shall pay with his own life for the tears of all\nthese mothers.\u201d\n\nThat evening, as the sun went down, he called Timba and Siapi, and bade\nthem follow him to a lonely spot out of sight of the kraal. Then he\nturned towards the Queen and said, \u201cHold your staff firmly while I\nsummon my armies.\u201d\n\nHe looked towards the mountain and shouted in a terrific voice:\n\n\n       \u201cVuka panzi, mabutu,\n        Si bulale Volha-Volha.\u201d\n\n       \u201cRise, soldiers,\n        Let us kill Volha-Volha;\n        He has slain every black baby.\n        Rise, impis, rise,\n        The pot is boiling over.\u201d\n\n\nAnd instantly there sprang from the ground a splendid impi of a\nthousand men with flashing spears. Three times did the King repeat the\ncharm, and each time fresh men appeared. Then he placed them in order,\nand bade them march upon Volha-Volha\u2019s city. He then told the Queen to\nstay at the kraal with Siapi, and to hold the magic staff in her hand\nday and night till he returned in triumph.\n\nAs darkness fell he and all his army disappeared like shadows down the\nmountain-side. No one in all the country had seen them; they crossed\nthe valley and climbed the great hill with amazing swiftness. At\ncock-crow they surrounded the city, and fell on it with a sudden shout\nlike thunder. Volha-Volha had no time to place his men in order, and\nfled in panic to his rocky stronghold, calling on his magicians to\nfollow him. In an hour the King of the Waters held the whole of the\nchief city; but he had by no means obtained all he wanted. For his\nenemy was now hidden in the caves and inaccessible rocks which crowned\nthe hill. There he had stored grain sufficient for many months, and\nwith him were his magicians and the most wicked of his soldiers. They\nhad long feared attack, and their stronghold was well prepared.\n\nThen followed a long, tedious fight, which lasted for many a day. Inch\nby inch the King of the Waters advanced into the stronghold, and one by\none he killed all Volha-Volha\u2019s men. The wicked magicians, driven\ndesperate, cast every spell they knew, but Timba sat with her staff in\nher hand day and night and thwarted all their plans. At last the\nSerpent King reached the inmost defence of all, and there among the\nthorns Volha-Volha was discovered crouching at the back of a dark cave.\nHis magicians had all been killed, and he was powerless to do any more\nevil.\n\n\u201cDie like a dog!\u201d cried the warriors of the Serpent King. \u201cDie, you who\nhave killed all the black children!\u201d\n\nAnd they assegaied him at once. His body was thrown over the cliffs and\nhis name wiped out.\n\nThen the King of the Waters returned to his wife with great rejoicing,\nand told her they were now rich and powerful beyond belief. He sent\norders to every city formerly held by Volha-Volha, bidding the\ninhabitants come with him and live in a new country. They all rose up\nwith one accord and thus they journeyed, men, women and children, to\nthe land near the great river. Many thousands of cattle went with them,\nand also large numbers of sheep and goats; such wealth had never been\nseen before in the country.\n\nNow, as soon as the news came that Volha-Volha was really dead and his\npeople free, the Queen sent a messenger to fetch the little baby girl\nshe had rescued. The messenger had far to go, and when he returned with\nthe little maiden the King\u2019s new subjects were already beginning to\nbuild their kraals. The baby was given to the happy mother alive and\nwell, but the messenger had gathered bad news as he travelled. For he\nheard that the people who lived about the Red Pool were coming in armed\nforce to attack the King of the Waters. The river had been dry now for\nnearly a year; the rains had begun, and still the water did not rise,\nso that they feared starvation and ruin.\n\nWhen the King of the Waters heard this he said to the Queen, \u201cCome, let\nus go to the White Pool and give them water.\u201d\n\nSo they both rose up and left their people and travelled through the\nforest till they came to the White Pool. It was now early summer, the\nferns were renewing themselves in tints of tenderest green, the white\nsand and the glittering cliffs shone in the sun. But most beautiful of\nall were the water-lilies. They covered the pool in thousands,\nsilvery-white and pale blue, with buds of delicate mauve. Above them\nhovered myriads of shining flies with wings of rainbow gauze. The air\nwas warm and still, the water clear as could be. For the White Pool was\nnever empty, no matter how long the rains stayed away.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the King to Timba, \u201clift your staff and command the waters\nto rise, and let us return to your people.\u201d\n\nSo Timba lifted her staff, and she and the King turned towards the\nupper streams. Everywhere they met little rivulets of water, which\nseemed to spring from the ground as they advanced. Soon the river was\nin full flood; and the King of the Waters and his bride swam together\ntill they came to the Black Pool. There the lilies stood in thousands,\ncreamy-white and glorious to behold, and there the King and Queen came\nto shore.\n\n\u201cAnd now,\u201d said the King, \u201cwe will visit your father and make peace.\nAnd because of all I owe to you the river shall flow for ever, summer\nand winter, and shall never be empty again.\u201d\n\nThen Timba and her husband went to the kraal and were received with\nmuch rejoicing. And when the old father saw the wonderful power of the\nKing of the Waters, he said that he and all his people wished to live\nunder the protection of such a mighty Chief and thus be free of all\nanxiety. So the two peoples became one, and the King and Queen of the\nWaters lived in joy and honour all their lives long.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nX\n\nTHE FAIRY BIRD\n\nA SWAZI TALE\n\n\nEver so many years ago there lived a little boy and girl called Duma\nand Dumasane. They were brother and sister and lived happily together\nin a tiny kraal at the foot of a great mountain. Duma was four years\nolder than Dumasane, but both were born in summer in the midst of a\ngreat storm, so they were called alike children of Duma, the thunder.\nTheir father and mother were poor, and had but one hut surrounded by a\nfence, and possessed no herds nor cattle of any kind. Their only food\ncame from the fields which they worked themselves, and often at the end\nof the day the father and mother would long for a good calabash of\nthick milk. But they were too poor to buy even a goat, and could only\nsigh and shake their heads over their misfortune.\n\nOne morning they all went forth to hoe their lands, for the sun was\ngrowing warmer every day and the spring rains would soon arrive. \u201cWe\nwill try new ground,\u201d said the father, \u201cthe old lands are getting worn\nout, and there is plenty of good soil farther down the valley.\u201d\n\nHe walked first along the narrow path, then came the mother, and then\nDuma and Dumasane, each with their pick. Presently they reached a\nbeautiful piece of land, smooth and level and free from stones, and\nsoon all were hard at work turning the first sods. At sundown they went\nhome, well satisfied with their day\u2019s work. You can imagine how puzzled\nthey were the next morning when they found all the sods turned back in\ntheir old places, and the ground as smooth as if no one had set foot on\nit.\n\nThey set to work once more, and again prepared a big piece of land for\nsowing. But the following morning the same thing happened again: not a\nsign remained of yesterday\u2019s labour. They persevered for many days, but\nevery night their work was made of no avail.\n\n\u201cThere must be some reason for this,\u201d said the father at last. \u201cI will\nstay behind to-day, and see what happens.\u201d\n\nSo when Duma and Dumasane and their mother went home the father slipped\nbehind a great rock, and watched the newly-turned lands. He had not\nbeen there long when he saw the most beautiful bird come out of the\nbushes and alight on the fresh sods. It was like no bird he had ever\nseen, for its feathers were of every colour; its wings were of vivid\nscarlet, its tail a metallic blue, and its head a bright gold, which\nshaded into a bronze-green on its breast. It shone like a jewel in the\nsun, and seemed to laugh with joy. It flew to the very stone behind\nwhich the father lay hidden, and alighted on the highest point. Then it\nflapped its wings and said in a high clear voice: \u201cChanchasa!\nChanchasa! Kilhisa!\u201d\n\nAt that very moment every sod in the field turned over; you would have\nsaid no one had ever been near the valley. The father kept very quiet\nand waited till the bird was within arm\u2019s reach. Then he caught it\nsuddenly.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said he, \u201cI have got you! You are clever enough to take my food,\nso it is only fair you should now provide me with a meal.\u201d And he\nprepared to wring its neck.\n\n\u201cNo, no! Spare me!\u201d cried the bird. \u201cIf you will only give me my life I\nwill provide you with cream, fresh milk, and curds and whey all your\ndays.\u201d\n\nThe father opened his eyes at this. \u201cI can see you are a fairy bird,\u201d\nsaid he, \u201cand if what you say is true I will keep you alive.\u201d\n\nHe went straight home, holding the bird in his hand. At the kraal gate\nhe bade his wife send the children out while she prepared the evening\nmeal. He then shut the door of the hut and showed her the bird.\n\n\u201cOf what use is the bird to us?\u201d said she.\n\n\u201cYou will soon see,\u201d said her husband. He took the sack of woven grass\nthrough which they strained their beer, placed the bird in it, and hung\nit in the middle of the hut. Then he took a great calabash and held it\nup\u2014for only a man may have anything to do with dairy work\u2014and called on\nthe bird to fulfil its promise.\n\n\u201cChanchasa! Chanchasa! Kilhisa!\u201d called the bird in its high voice,\nflapping its wings.\n\nFirst the calabash was filled with cream, then with sweet milk, and\nthen with thick milk, as much as ever they could use in one day. The\nwife was delighted, for the cream would keep their karosses in the most\nbeautiful condition, and the milk would make the children big and\nstrong.\n\n\u201cDo not let us tell any one about this bird,\u201d said she, \u201che is far too\nwonderful. He must live here, but we will say nothing about him, and\nnot let the children know how we get the milk and cream.\u201d\n\nThat night they feasted well. The next day they went out to hoe their\nlands with a light heart, and sang merry songs:\n\n\n       \u201cNow we have cream and milk,\n        Fresh milk, and curds and whey;\n        Now we go a-working\n        Singing merrily every day.\u201d\n\n\nBut Duma and Dumasane were much puzzled at the big basin of curds which\nthey had every night. Where did it come from? There was neither flock\nnor herd within many miles, and yet there was cream, fresh milk, and\nthick milk every day.\n\n\u201cI know,\u201d said Dumasane to her brother one day. \u201cThey get it in the\nevening when they sit alone in the hut and will not let us in.\u201d\n\n\u201cSuppose we look through the thatch,\u201d said Duma. \u201cI know where there is\na chink.\u201d\n\nThat evening they both watched; they saw the bird come out of his sack,\nflap his wings, and fill each calabash to the brim. The next morning\ntheir parents left them alone in the kraal, for they had far to go.\nThey started merrily enough, singing songs of rejoicing over their\nwonderful prosperity:\n\n\n       \u201cNow we have cream and milk,\n        Fresh milk, and curds and whey.\u201d\n\n\nThe wife sang even louder than her husband, for now she was as rich as\nany of her neighbours and her heart was full of pride. Little did they\nthink of the misfortune which awaited their return.\n\nThey came back at dusk, tired, but eager for their welcome meal. A most\ndreadful sight met their eyes. The whole kraal was swimming in milk and\ncream, and the sack was empty. The little boy and girl were crying at\nthe outer gate, and presently made confession.\n\n\u201cIt is our fault,\u201d they said. \u201cWe always wondered what you did in the\nhut alone, and one day we looked through a chink and saw everything. So\nwe took the bird down this morning and told him to say \u2018Chanchasa.\u2019 But\nthe milk and cream came so fast that we thought we should be drowned,\nand in our fright we let the bird go and he flew away.\u201d\n\nAt this the parents were very, very angry. \u201cYou have brought starvation\nupon us,\u201d cried the mother. \u201cWe can no longer keep you; you must die.\u201d\n\nShe carried them away there and then to a big ravine in the\nmountain-side and threw them down a rocky precipice. The little girl\nwas nearly killed, but the boy was not so much hurt, for a tree broke\nhis fall and he was only bruised. He soon came to himself and found\nthey were in a deep narrow valley or creek, which penetrated into the\nheart of the mountains. Great trees in full leaf almost shut out the\nsun, and a clear stream ran down the bottom of the valley among tall\nferns and flowering bushes. Duma lay there two days; then he was able\nto walk to the mouth of the creek and search for food. He found some\ndelicious berries and great elephant leaves, which he filled with water\nand carried to his sister; and thus he fed her every day till she also\nrecovered.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said he, for he was the elder, \u201cwe must seek a new home. Our\nparents are wicked, and we dare not go back to them. Let us walk right\nup this valley; perhaps we shall find a kraal among the mountains where\nwe can get food.\u201d\n\nDumasane agreed, and they set forth up the creek, following the bed of\nthe stream and singing as they went:\n\n\n       \u201cWe are the foolish children,\n        Who lost the fairy bird\n        Which gave our father cream,\n        Fresh milk, and curds and whey.\n                  Alack-a-day.\u201d\n\n\nThe words went to a sad little tune, and the little girl wept bitterly\nto think of the pleasant home she had lost. They mounted higher and\nhigher till they came to the top of the creek. There they saw a great\ntree covered with black-berries. They stopped singing and ran to pick\nthem, but they had scarcely eaten one when all the berries turned into\na flock of tiny blackbirds, who flew out of the tree with shrill cries.\nAmong them, bright as a flower and gay as ever, was the fairy bird\nhimself.\n\nDirectly he saw the children he stopped and perched on a bough to talk\nto them.\n\n\u201cI see you are in trouble,\u201d said he, \u201cbecause you gave me my liberty.\u201d\nHere he snapped a twig off the tree and gave it to them. \u201cTake this,\u201d\nsaid he, \u201cand go straight on till you come to a huge rock. Walk round\nit, striking it with this stick, and say:\n\n\n       \u2018My father\u2019s and mother\u2019s cattle were killed.\n        They say we have done great wrong,\n        For we have lost the fairy bird\n        Which gave us cream and milk,\n        Fresh milk, and curds and whey.\n              Stone, Stone, open in two,\n              So that we can go in.\n        Father and mother have cast us out,\n        There is no milk, no curds and whey.\n        We have done wrong, we have done wrong.\n              Stone, Stone, open in two.\n                  Vula, Etye.\u2019\n\n\nAt the end, cry \u2018Chanchasa! Chanchasa! Kilhisa!\u2019 with every blow till\nyou come to the right spot. There a door will fly open, and you will\nfind a home in which you can live till you are grown up. Everything is\nthere which you can possibly want to eat, but remember one thing. Never\nleave a morsel of fat on the fire, or evil will come of it.\u201d\n\nThe children took the stick with sparkling eyes. Duma held it and\nDumasane followed him, her tears all forgotten. Soon they came in sight\nof an immense rock standing by itself in the tall green grass, the\nbiggest they had ever seen. They walked round it, singing the appointed\nsong and striking it with the fairy stick. All at once a door flew\nopen, and they looked inside into a huge cave. It was more beautifully\nfurnished than any hut they had ever seen; a king might have lived in\nit. There were finely plaited mats to sleep on, little wooden pillows\nmost daintily carved, and great fur rugs or karosses to keep the cold\naway. There were beautiful bead necklaces and girdles for Dumasane, and\nfor each of them a skin cloak worked with beads, while for Duma there\nwas a bow and arrows, the bow strung with python-skin, a long curly\nkoodoo [17] horn to blow on, and the most perfect little assegais. And\nall round the walls stood pots and calabashes in shining red and black,\ncontaining cream, fresh milk and thick milk, and delicious porridge\nalready cooked. There were besides three great baskets, one full of\ncorn, another full of nuts, and the third full of maize. There was\nabundance of food for months to come.\n\nThe two children both said at once: \u201cThis is the most lovely place we\nhave ever seen. Now we shall be quite happy.\u201d\n\nAnd there they lived for many years, till at last Duma had become a\nfine young man and Dumasane the prettiest girl you can imagine. There\nwas always plenty to eat, for every day the calabashes and baskets were\nfilled as fast as Dumasane emptied them. They had no troubles and led a\nfree and happy life. Dumasane learnt to cook and keep house, and Duma\npractised daily with bow and arrow till he became an expert huntsman.\nThen one day they found that their stores of food were no longer being\nreplenished. The baskets were gradually growing empty.\n\n\u201cIt is time we worked for ourselves,\u201d said Dumasane to her brother. \u201cI\nwill see to the house while you go out hunting and bring me some meat\nto cook.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d he said. \u201cBut if I bring you meat remember not to leave\nany fat on the fire, for the fairy bird said if we left any fat burning\nharm would certainly come of it.\u201d\n\nThe first day Dumasane was very careful, and the second day. But the\nthird day a little tiny piece of fat was left smouldering on the\nflames. Duma went out to hunt and she was left alone. She set to work\nto arrange the cave, and was just placing the cooking-pots in order\nwhen she heard heavy footsteps coming along the path and two voices\nsaying \u201cHum, hoom! Hum, hoom!\u201d in deep bass notes. Her heart was filled\nwith terror at the sound. Next minute the door flew open and there\nstood an Inzimu and his wife. They were monsters dreadful to behold.\nThey stood upright, and had hands and feet like a human being, but\ntheir flesh was covered with big lumps and they had long scanty red\nhair all over their bodies. Their eyes were tiny and close-set, and\ntheir mouths extended from ear to ear, and were filled with sharp,\npointed teeth set wide apart. Their hands had very short fat fingers,\nand their feet resembled their hands exactly. The woman was even uglier\nthan the man, for while he had two horns growing out of his head she\nhad one in the middle of her forehead, and a long snout just like that\nof a wolf. Each of them had a long tail like an elephant\u2019s trunk, which\nhad the power of sucking up all they wanted.\n\nDumasane was terribly frightened when she saw them, for she knew they\nwere cannibals. The monsters walked straight into the cave, twinkling\ntheir little eyes and grunting at every step.\n\n\u201cTake everything in the cave,\u201d said Dumasane, \u201cbut leave me here.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, no,\u201d said they, \u201cif we have you we shall be able to get all these\nthings as often as we want them, for you have magic power.\u201d\n\nAnd in spite of her entreaties they carried her away. In the afternoon\nher brother returned and found everything gone, the cave empty and no\nsign of his sister. He sat down in despair, for he thought she was\ndead.\n\nSuddenly, gorgeous in gold and scarlet, in flew the fairy bird holding\na stick in his mouth.\n\n\u201cDo not despair,\u201d said he. \u201cTake this stick and a big bag and go into\nthe bush. Wave the stick before you as you walk and every reptile and\nevery stinging insect you meet will instantly enter the bag. When it is\nfull come back here and hang the bag in the middle of the cave.\u201d\n\nDuma sallied forth bravely, bag in hand, and sang a fairy song as he\nwalked into the forest. Instantly every deadly thing within call came\nand took its place in the sack. There were two great black mambas,\nthere were scorpions and big hairy spiders, fierce little black bees,\ngreat yellow wasps and hornets, and clouds of poisonous mosquitoes,\nnewly hatched and venomous as could be. When the bag was quite full\nDuma returned and hung it in the middle of the cave. Then he sat down\nto await events.\n\nPresently he heard the Inzimus singing \u201cHum, hoom! Hum, hoom!\u201d and\ntrampling heavily. The door flew open and they walked in.\n\n\u201cAh, we will take the boy,\u201d said the Inzimu, \u201che will be useful to us.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet us take the bag too,\u201d said the wife. \u201cNo doubt it is full of good\nthings.\u201d\n\nSo they took the bag and opened it to see what was inside. The animals\nall came out at once and attacked them unmercifully. The snakes and\nscorpions ran along the ground, the bees and mosquitoes circled round\ntheir heads, joined by the wasps, and deafened them with their angry\ncries. The two monsters fled screaming and ran away down the ravine,\nstumbling over thorny bushes and great rocks. They did not stop till\nthey came to a deep pool in the river. There they plunged in to escape\nfrom the stings and bites of the insects, but no sooner did they put\ntheir heads out of the water than they were attacked again. In the end\nthey both were drowned and Duma was safe.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the fairy bird, \u201cgo straight to your father\u2019s kraal, and\nyou will find your sister. These two Inzimus were your father and\nmother. They were changed into monsters as a punishment for their\nwicked conduct. Now they are dead, and you are both free.\u201d\n\nDuma went in haste to his old home, and on the threshold he met his\nsister crying. He took her to the forest, and there they met the fairy\nbird for the last time.\n\n\u201cI will change you both into royal birds,\u201d said he. \u201cIn that way you\nwill both find a better home than I can give you, for you are now no\nlonger children.\u201d\n\nThen he flew away, flashing in the sun, and they never saw him again.\nBut they themselves became two beautiful green lorys, with scarlet and\nblack wings, and a great green crest on their heads edged with white.\nThey were almost as lovely as the fairy bird himself; no one but a King\nhad the right to own them. They lived in the trees on nuts and fruit,\nand bathed in the clear river-pools morning and evening.\n\nNow there was a great King who reigned over all that country. One day\nhis Queen sent out an Induna to cut wood in the forest. The Chief was\nchopping at the foot of a tree when he heard human voices singing in\nthe higher branches. He stopped to listen. The voices sang:\n\n\n       \u201cWe were once a boy and girl;\n        We let our father\u2019s bird go free\n        Which gave us both cream and milk,\n        Fresh milk, and curds and whey.\n        Now we live alone in the trees.\u201d\n\n\nThe Chief looked up and saw that the voices belonged to two beautiful\ngreen lorys, and that no human beings were near. \u201cThose are royal\nbirds,\u201d said he; \u201csome great witchcraft is at work here.\u201d\n\nHe went straight to the King\u2019s kraal and told the whole story.\n\n\u201cSuch a thing is impossible,\u201d said the Queen, \u201cbut we will go and see\nfor ourselves.\u201d\n\nSo the Chief took the Queen and all the Princesses into the forest and\nplaced them at the foot of the tree. Then he started chopping once\nmore. Presently the birds began to sing, and the Queen was soon\nconvinced that these were enchanted creatures. She told the Chief to\ncatch them and bring them to her.\n\nThe Chief climbed up the tree and held his hands out under the broad\ngreen leaves, waiting for the birds to come near. As soon as they were\nwithin reach he seized both and brought them to the Queen.\n\nBut directly the Queen touched them they were changed, and became a\nmost beautiful young man and woman. They were taken to the King, who\nheard all their adventures. \u201cThis is wonderful,\u201d said he. \u201cI will bring\nyou to your uncle, who is a great Chief and lives near here.\u201d\n\nSo Duma and Dumasane found a beautiful home and many friends. The Queen\nwas especially fond of Dumasane, and married her to her own son, while\nDuma married one of her daughters, and became a great Chief.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXI\n\nTHE COCK\u2019S KRAAL\n\nA SWAZI TALE\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a great Chief who ruled over many\nthousands of men. The city in which he dwelt was so large that it would\nhave taken you many hours to walk round it, and no one had yet counted\nthe multitude of his cattle. But in spite of his great wealth he was of\nso grasping a disposition that he never seemed to have enough, nor did\nhe care whether he gained his ends justly. You shall hear the story of\nthe misfortunes he incurred through this same passion of greed.\n\nOne day he sent out a party of men headed by his chief Induna to hunt\nfor otter-skins for the royal body-guard. This regiment was the finest\nof his army, and he prided himself on its perfect equipment. To show\nhow highly he esteemed the men belonging to it, he allowed them to wear\notter-skins, the royal fur, and long waving head-dresses of ostrich\nfeathers. His bravest son was their commander; no soldiers equalled\nthem in all the land.\n\nThe hunting-party had good sport, travelling for many miles down the\nriver, and attacking the otters by night, when they assemble under the\ngreat rocks. The nights were warm and pleasant, and day after day they\nfollowed their quarry till they were far from home and found themselves\nin a new country. Then in a few hours the weather changed. Clouds came\nup and covered the hills; and then followed a cold misty rain. It grew\ncolder and colder, and they had no shelter and were drenched to the\nbone. They tried to light a fire by rubbing two pieces of wood\ntogether, but the wood was damp and no spark came. They tried\nflint-stones, but the rain had spoilt their tinder. They then thought\nof going to a neighbouring kraal and there obtaining fire, but the\ncountry round was bare and empty, not a soul was to be seen. And the\nrain continued to fall heavily.\n\nAt last they decided to mount a hill and see if any habitation could be\nfound. They ascended the highest point within reach, and far away, in\nthe middle of a great plain on the other side, they saw a single column\nof smoke. They all set out at once in the new direction, and at the end\nof some hours arrived at the gate of a big kraal. Many hundreds of huts\nstood round the cattle-pen, and there were oxen in plenty and large\nherds of goats and sheep, but not a single human being could they see.\nThe men walked round the whole city, but the only occupants of the huts\nwere fowls of every size and colour. They walked in and out of the\ndoors, and seemed busy and occupied on important affairs. The Induna\ngrew more and more puzzled. At last they reached the great entrance of\nthe cattle-kraal, and there a magnificent golden Cock stood on the\nfence, whence he could survey the whole city. He did not move at their\napproach, but surveyed them boldly with his bright yellow eyes.\n\n\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d he asked in the tones of a man.\n\nThe Induna and his warriors were so surprised that they could not\nanswer for a moment.\n\n\u201cDo you seek shelter?\u201d repeated the Cock. \u201cIf so, my people will help\nyou.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe thank you,\u201d said the Induna; \u201cwe only want fire. We are far from\nhome, and have no means of warming ourselves or cooking food.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou shall have all you want,\u201d said the Cock. \u201cI am a man like\nyourselves, but a wicked King who was stronger than I has bewitched me\nand all my people. He was a cannibal, and actually asked for the hand\nof my daughters in marriage for his sons. I refused to allow them to\nhave anything to do with such a wicked race, whereupon his magicians\nchanged me and all my subjects into cocks and hens.\u201d\n\n\u201cCan you not win back your old form?\u201d asked the Induna.\n\n\u201cOnly if I overcome a more powerful Chief than myself, and that I shall\nfind difficult in my present shape,\u201d said the Cock sadly.\n\nThen he took the Induna and his men to two beautiful huts, gave them\nfood and drink of the best, and when they departed provided them with a\nthin stick lighted in the fire, which would smoulder for many hours.\nThe hunting-party went back to their otter-skins, lighted a fire, and\npresently returned home with their booty.\n\nThey related all their adventures to the King, and gave him a full\naccount of the enchanted Cock, his beautiful kraal, and his great\nflocks and herds. The King\u2019s greed awoke at once, and he cried, \u201cWhat\nfools serve me! Why did not you take the cattle and come back with them\nat once? Could you not overcome a few cocks and hens?\u201d\n\n\u201cGreat King,\u201d said the Induna, \u201cthere was no order to conquer. Why\nshould we steal from the Cock, who gave us all we wanted freely?\u201d\n\n\u201cHow could you possibly miss such a chance?\u201d said the King. \u201cI will see\nto the matter myself at once.\u201d\n\nThen he ordered one of his regiments to start for the Cock\u2019s kraal\nforthwith, and waited at home for the expected spoil.\n\nHis men soon found the path, and after a few days\u2019 travelling arrived\nwithin sight of the enchanted city.\n\nThe golden Cock was at his usual post at the gate of the cattle-kraal.\nAs he saw the regiment approach in battle array he called all his sheep\nand cattle, and sent them into the kraal. Then he flew to the chief hut\nand called to all the fowls who lived in the city:\n\n\u201cCome out, come out! Here are warriors who have come to take your\ncattle. Come out, come out, and defend your homes.\u201d\n\nThe fowls flew in from their lands in hundreds and thousands, and stood\neach at the door of his hut. Directly the regiment set foot in the city\neach picked out his man and flew towards him, flapping his wings around\nhis enemy\u2019s head. In a few minutes each bird had pecked out the eyes of\nhis opponent, and such was their strength and ferocity that but two or\nthree escaped alive out of the whole regiment.\n\nThe King was greatly incensed when he heard the news. His blood was up,\nand he instantly sent forth his royal body-guard, the flower of his\narmy, under the command of his favourite son. They set out, clad in\nrich otter-skins and crowned with long black feathers, each man a\nperfect warrior.\n\nMany long days passed. Every evening at sundown the King looked for the\nvictorious army driving before them great herds of lowing cattle,\nthemselves scarcely visible in the clouds of golden dust. But no one\ncame, and the days grew into weeks. At length one night at dusk a\nwretched fugitive arrived, footsore and scarcely able to drag himself\nalong. His plumes were gone, a fragment of otter-skin was still about\nhis loins.\n\n\u201cGreat King,\u201d said he with many groans, \u201cI am all that remains of the\nroyal body-guard.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs my son also dead?\u201d cried the King in horror.\n\n\u201cGreat King, the Prince is dead and all our men; no one can stand\nagainst the assault of the enchanted fowls. The golden Cock spared me\nalone so that the fate of our warriors might be known. He bade me say\nhe is still ready for you.\u201d\n\nBut the King owned himself beaten. \u201cHow can I fight any more?\u201d he said.\n\u201cMy body-guard is destroyed and my bravest son killed. Let the Cock\nkeep his city and his cattle.\u201d\n\nAs the words fell from his lips the golden Cock and all his men\nregained once more their rightful shape. They had conquered in fair\nfight, and now ruled over a great land in happiness and peace.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXII\n\nBABOON-SKINS\n\nA SWAZI TALE\n\n\nNow in this story there is neither Fairy nor Inzimu, nor does any one\nwin a kingdom by secret spells. Some little bags of python-skin are\nindeed just mentioned, but you will see that they have no effect on any\none. The only magic used in this story is a woman\u2019s wit and kindness of\nheart, the oldest charms in the world.\n\nLong years ago there lived a Chief who had many wives. Two of these\nwere more distinguished than the others, for each had a most beautiful\ndaughter. Indeed their families were exactly alike, for each had a son\nand two daughters, one very pretty and the other plain. I cannot tell\nyou what became of the plain daughters. No doubt they each had a\nhistory, but this tale concerns only the two beauties. The name of one\nwas Inkosesana, which means \u201cthe Young Lady.\u201d Her mother was very proud\nof her from the first, and expected her to marry a very great Chief,\nand Inkosesana was as conceited as possible in consequence. The name of\nthe other was Lalhiwe, which only means \u201cThrown Away.\u201d As you may\nsuppose from her name, she was a much quieter and more modest girl than\nInkosesana. But as time went on and both girls grew up to womanhood\nsuitors began to arrive, and each mother hoped for great things for her\ndaughter. The rivalry between the two families became more and more\nbitter, till at last it was all they could do to keep the constant\nquarrels from coming to the ear of the Chief.\n\nOne morning Lalhiwe\u2019s mother awoke and went to see about the Kafir corn\nfor the day\u2019s provisions. To her horror she found under the\ngrinding-stone the blood of some animal and several little bags of\npython-skin filled with charms.\n\n\u201cLalhiwe!\u201d cried the mother, \u201ccome and look at these!\u201d\n\nLalhiwe nearly fainted with fright. \u201cIt is witchcraft,\u201d said she, \u201cit\nmust be some wickedness devised by Inkosesana and her mother. They will\nnever rest till we are ruined. Those charms are meant to cast a spell\nover us, so that we may fall ill and die.\u201d\n\nLalhiwe then ran quickly to a neighbour who was a Wise Woman, and\nbegged her to come and give charms to counteract the evil influence of\nher rivals. When all was done she sat down and said, \u201cDear mother, I am\ntired of all this. What do I care about beauty? It has only brought us\nendless quarrels and wretched jealousy. Give me some baboon-skins. They\nare the ugliest disguise of all, and I will wrap myself up in them and\nretire from life till Inkosesana is married. In that way we shall all\nhave peace.\u201d\n\nThat very day she asked her brother to get two baboon-skins for her,\nand to bring them with the heads and limbs still on them. As soon as\nthey were ready she made herself a complete disguise. She joined the\ntwo skins at the shoulders and again at the heads. Then she slipped\nthem on so that the two baboons\u2019 heads covered her face and hair before\nand behind. Her bright eyes peeped through the two eye-holes, but her\nface was completely hidden. All that was visible was the mask of a\ngrinning ape. The two skins hung from her shoulder to her knee, back\nand front. One could still see that her limbs were pretty and well\nturned, but her laughing face and ivory teeth were hidden completely,\nand so were her graceful shoulders. In fact she looked like a girl\nafflicted with some great deformity, who is obliged to hide herself\nfrom the gaze of men.\n\nAs soon as her rival\u2019s mother heard of her decision, she laughed\nheartily and said, \u201cThis is the best news I have heard for many a long\nday. What a fool that girl is, to be sure! She must be mad.\u201d\n\nAll the women in the kraal were of the same opinion. They had never\nheard of any one hiding a pretty face before, and could not believe\nthat Lalhiwe did it all to have peace and save her family from\ncalamity. In spite of all the remarks that were made she never\nfaltered, but wore her ugly baboon-skins every day, and never once\nshowed her face even to her girl friends. Great peace reigned in the\nkraal after the first few days; there were no more quarrels, every one\nwas quite happy, and Inkosesana remained the undisputed beauty of the\ncountry-side.\n\nBut one day, when Lalhiwe had worn the baboon-skins many months, there\nwas a great stir in the kraal. Two councillors had arrived from a very\nmighty Chief, seeking not one bride but two for their master. Both must\nbe beautiful; the Chief was very rich, and would make a magnificent\nmarriage-gift to the father of a really lovely maiden. The two\ncouncillors sat long in conversation with the head of the kraal, while\nthe women stood in little knots and talked excitedly. Presently they\nwere asked to come forward and the demand of the great Chief was made\nknown. The mother of Inkosesana at once advanced with an air of\ntriumph. \u201cHere,\u201d said she, \u201cis the bride you are looking for,\u201d and she\nshowed them Inkosesana, who did indeed look charming. She had thrown\naside her cloak and appeared decked in all her prettiest beads, which\nset off her beautiful skin and graceful figure to full advantage. The\ncouncillors both said at once: \u201cThis is the most beautiful girl we have\nyet seen. We accept her with pleasure; our King could not wish for a\nmore lovely woman.\u201d Then turning to the father they said, \u201cHave you\nanother pretty daughter, so that we may see her?\u201d\n\nThe father said nothing, but the mother of Inkosesana, mad with\ngratified pride and longing to triumph yet further, called out, \u201cYes,\nthere is another daughter, but she is always wrapped in baboon-skins,\nand is of no consequence at all.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet us see her,\u201d said the councillors, who felt curious at once.\n\nLalhiwe stepped forward very reluctantly, holding her skins tightly\nround her. But nothing could take away from the grace of her pretty\nlimbs, and the councillors walked round her and longed to see her face.\n\n\u201cWhat are you hiding under those skins?\u201d said they. \u201cYou have very\npretty limbs and you walk gracefully. What is wrong with you? We beg\nyou to show us your face.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said Lalhiwe. \u201cHe who marries me must marry me for myself alone,\nnot for my beauty.\u201d\n\n\u201cAre you deformed, then? Or are you very ugly?\u201d\n\n\u201cI did not say so,\u201d answered Lalhiwe quietly. \u201cAll I said was that he\nwho marries me must marry me for myself alone.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut why do you do this strange thing?\u201d\n\n\u201cTo please myself,\u201d said Lalhiwe.\n\n\u201cYou must be deformed,\u201d said one councillor, hoping to make her angry.\n\n\u201cI did not say so,\u201d answered the girl; and although the councillors did\nall they could to provoke her and make her throw off her skins, she did\nnot get angry or speak rudely to them.\n\nThey confessed themselves beaten, and held a long consultation. Should\nthey take Lalhiwe as well as the beautiful Inkosesana and risk it? Both\nof them admired her wit and her good temper, and at last they decided\nto ask for her also, in the hope that all would be well. Before they\nwent back to their master they saw the brothers from the two families.\nThey told the brother of Inkosesana to make a big kraal to receive the\ncattle in payment for his sister, as there was no doubt their master\nwould be delighted with her. To Lalhiwe\u2019s brother they said nothing;\nand he, fearing his sister would not be welcomed, made only a little\nkraal, sufficient for some twenty cattle.\n\nThe councillors then returned to the King. He was pleased with the\nreports they brought of Inkosesana, but when he heard the tale of the\nsecond bride who wore baboon-skins, he was very angry indeed. \u201cNo\ngirl,\u201d said he, \u201cwho had a pretty face would hide it. Without doubt she\nis absolutely hideous; and remember, if that is the case, you pay the\npenalty of death. To think that I should have sent such fools!\u201d\n\nThe councillors were very sad, and awaited the coming of the brides\nwith much fear, for they could not be sure they had guessed rightly,\nand the King always kept his word. As a precaution the King only sent\ntwenty cattle for each bride. \u201cWe can easily send more if both are\nacceptable,\u201d said he; \u201cand if there is trouble (for I will not have an\nugly wife on any account), then we need not ask for a return of the\nmarriage-gift. These forty cattle will then be the due payment for\nInkosesana.\u201d\n\nAt the appointed time the two brides said farewell to the kraal, and\nset out on their long journey. They walked for many days, each attended\nby her bridesmaids. At length they reached their future home and\nappeared before the great Chief. He was pleased at once with\nInkosesana, but looked with puzzled eyes on Lalhiwe, who still remained\nmuffled in her baboon-skins. He admired her graceful bearing, and\nlonged the more to know her secret.\n\n\u201cI beg of you,\u201d said he, \u201clet me see your face.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, great King,\u201d said Lalhiwe in her usual quiet voice; \u201cI show my\nface to no one until the wedding morning.\u201d\n\nThe two brides then retired with their maids, each to her own hut,\nuntil the preparations for the wedding-feast were made. You can imagine\nhow eagerly they were discussed among the women of the kraal.\nInkosesana was much admired, but Lalhiwe found no supporters. \u201cShe must\ncertainly be hideous,\u201d they said, \u201cor she would show her face.\u201d\n\nWhen the great day arrived the brides each left her hut and went down\nto the river to bathe. They went to separate pools, and neither saw the\nother.\n\nLalhiwe descended with her maids to a deep pool under a great rock. The\nsun just touched the top of the highest tree, tall white lilies grew on\nthe banks, and in every cranny and nook were great clusters of green\nfern, fresh with dew. Lalhiwe slipped off her skins, rolled them in a\ntight bundle and buried them deep in a great ant-bear hole. Then she\nand her maidens bathed in the clear pool, laughing and chattering, till\nit was time to array themselves for the great day. The bridesmaids\ndecked themselves out in all their most wonderful bead-work, but\nLalhiwe, as befitted a bride on her wedding-morning, wore the deep\nblack kilt of ox-skins which is the dress of married women only, and\nfor ornament just a girdle of white beads round her waist and an\nassegai in her hand. But when she stood in the sun, surrounded by her\nmaids, they all cried, \u201cLalhiwe, you are more beautiful than ever! You\nare far more lovely than Inkosesana!\u201d\n\nAnd indeed it was true. All these months Lalhiwe had been hidden from\nthe sun she had grown in beauty, her skin was as smooth and soft as\nsatin, and every movement was a joy to behold.\n\nThe bridesmaids placed her at their head, and all together they\nascended the path towards the kraal. They sang a song as they went, but\nthe song was sad. It was their farewell to a friend who would play with\nthem no more in the old home, and who had come to a strange life in a\ndistant land.\n\nAt the gate of the kraal they met Inkosesana, who proudly stepped\nbefore them and was the first to meet the glances of the\nwedding-guests. All clapped and greeted her with great approval, but\ntheir eager eyes looked beyond her to the mysterious sister. When\nLalhiwe appeared in all her perfect grace, shouts of joy and surprise\nwere heard on all sides.\n\n\u201cShe is lovely!\u201d cried all the guests. \u201cThere is no one so beautiful in\nall our land!\u201d\n\nWhen the two brides appeared before the King and danced in the great\ncattle-kraal according to custom, he was struck dumb with amazement,\nand never took his eyes from Lalhiwe. When the wedding was over he\ncalled the two councillors and gave them each twenty beautiful oxen.\n\u201cYou have shown yourselves wise and trusty councillors,\u201d said he.\n\u201cLalhiwe is beautiful beyond belief. Choose all my finest cattle, let\nthem all be young, and send them as a marriage-gift to her father\u2019s\nkraal. Let the first herd be the marriage-gift for Inkosesana, but let\nLalhiwe have such a dowry as has never been seen before in our land.\u201d\n\nThe King\u2019s commands were carried out. Great was the rejoicing and\nwonder of Lalhiwe\u2019s mother when the marvellous herd of cattle arrived.\nShe had never expected such honour to come upon her child. But her\nrival hid herself in her hut, filled with bitter disappointment. She\nsulked alone for months, nor did she ever recover her old position in\nthe kraal.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXIII\n\nTHE REWARD OF INDUSTRY\n\nA ZULU TALE\n\n\nAt the foot of the great hills which lie on the borders of Swaziland a\nriver flows among wide grassy plains. Trees line its banks throughout\nits course, and great herds of buck come down to the water to drink at\nnight. It is a rich and beautiful country, and there, long years ago,\nlived a young Chief and his wife. They were very happy, and had\neverything they wanted. Two lovely little girls were born to them, and\nthen, one sad day, the father died, and his wife was left all alone.\nHer husband had no brother who would take her to his kraal and provide\nfor her, so she was thrown on her own resources, and had nothing but\nwhat she could find herself. For a while she worked hard, and tilled\nher lands with the help of the two little girls, but when autumn came\nher crops were poor. There was not enough grain to last till the next\nharvest.\n\nSo when the spring rains fell and the seed was set, she turned to her\nchildren and said, \u201cThere will soon be no more corn for us to eat. We\nmust leave the kraal and go to grandmother. She will give us corn and\nmealies to last till harvest-time.\u201d\n\nThe little girls were delighted, for they loved a journey, and all set\nforth along the path which led towards the mountains. It was very\nnarrow, so they went one behind another, the mother leading the way.\n\nIt was a beautiful spring morning. Great white clouds shone in the blue\nsky, the grass was getting greener every day, and the plain was\ncarpeted with clusters of the most lovely flowers. First came whole\ncompanies of scarlet lynx-ear, then followed great patches of a tiny\nbright blue flower, and then again nothing but white blossoms, which\nturned inky-black as they faded. The little girls laughed and\nchattered, and sometimes sang a song of travel, for it was a holiday,\nand they were happy.\n\nThen they left the flat plains and began to ascend the course of a tiny\nstream which came down from the hills. The path led in and out among\nhuge rocks and tall trees hung with creepers. Little ferns were\nbeginning to show their fronds, and here and there nodded a brilliant\nscarlet daisy. The mother still walked first, and the bushes grew\nthicker and thicker.\n\nThe path gave a sharp turn, and there, right before them, lay an\nenormous snake. He was coiled in the very middle of the narrow road,\nand his wicked head was poised ready to attack them. In truth, he was\nan ogre in disguise, for he looked at the mother and said at once in a\ndeep voice, \u201cWhere are you going to?\u201d\n\nThe poor mother fled shrieking into the thorny bush, but the snake was\nmuch quicker than she. He threw himself round her in great folds, and\nin a few minutes he had eaten her up. The two little girls ran on as\nhard as ever they could and plunged in among the bushes till they came\nto a great rock. There they hid themselves, shaking in every limb, and\nnot daring even to look for food.\n\nMany hours passed by and the sun was getting low. The children were\nfaint with hunger, and began to cry bitterly at the thought of their\nmother. Then they heard footsteps coming through the grass. They sat up\nand listened; this was no snake. Presently an old woman came in sight\ncarrying a little pot of food on her head. She had a kind face, and\ndirectly she saw the little girls she stopped and said, \u201cWhy do you\nhide right under the rock, and why are you crying?\u201d\n\n\u201cOur father and mother are both dead,\u201d said the little girls, \u201cand we\ndon\u2019t know where our grandmother lives.\u201d\n\n\u201cWipe away your tears,\u201d said the old woman. \u201cI will be your\ngrandmother.\u201d\n\nThen she sat down and spoke kindly to them till they felt comforted and\nhappy. \u201cNow,\u201d said she, \u201cI will provide for you. I will change both you\nand myself into beautiful birds. We will live in the forest, and no one\nshall have any power to harm us.\u201d\n\nAnd immediately all happened as the old woman said, for she was a great\nand powerful Fairy and no old woman at all. And they flew far away into\na big forest where no man ever came. There they lived in perfect ease,\ntwittering gaily all day long, bathing in the clear streams, and flying\nin and out among green ferns and many-coloured lilies.\n\nBut one day the Fairy said to the girls, \u201cYou are grown up now, and can\nno longer live carelessly like birds. Now we must travel and seek our\nfortune.\u201d\n\nSo they left the forest and flew for many days till they came to a big\ncity, where a famous Chief ruled. There they stopped. The Fairy became\nan old woman once more, and she changed the two girls back into their\noriginal form. Only now they were women grown, and as pretty as they\ncould be.\n\nThe next morning she asked to see the King\u2019s chief councillor. As soon\nas she entered the hut she saluted him respectfully, saying:\n\n\u201cI see you, Chief.\u201d\n\n\u201cI see you,\u201d answered the Induna.\n\n\u201cI am come here to ask if I and my two grand-daughters may live here\nunder the protection of the great King.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy do you want to come?\u201d asked the Induna. \u201cHave you no kindred to\nwhom you belong?\u201d\n\n\u201cThe girls have lost both father and mother by witchcraft,\u201d said the\nold Fairy. \u201cI am their only living relation, and I want to find them a\nhome, for I am old.\u201d\n\n\u201cThey are beautiful girls,\u201d said the Induna. \u201cI will give you lands\nwhich you may cultivate, and space within the city on which to build\nyour hut.\u201d\n\nThe Induna then appointed men who should show them the land for their\nhut and help them to set the framework. A Kafir hut, you know, is round\nand thatched with grass, very like an old-fashioned bee-hive. Men set\nthe framework with strong supple boughs; then the women come and thatch\nfrom top to bottom with their clever fingers. As soon as the King\u2019s men\nhad gone, the old Fairy and the two girls set to work. It often takes\nmany days to complete a hut, but so well did they work that by sundown\nthe hut was finished, even to a beautiful little screen before the door\nto keep off the wind. Not only had they been quicker than any women\nbefore known, but the thatch was also finer than any in the whole city.\nThe marvel of their neighbours may be imagined. The next day they\ncleared away the grass before the entrance and put up the neatest and\nmost beautiful fence in the whole country-side.\n\nThen when their home was ready, they set out to hoe their lands. These\nlay at some distance from the kraal, at the outermost border of the\nlands already tilled.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the Fairy, \u201cI am too old to wield a hoe, but you, my\ndaughters, are strong. Each of you must take your pick and work\nstraight ahead without looking behind you. I will follow behind, gather\nthe weeds, and clear everything up.\u201d\n\nIt was early morning, and the mists had barely risen from the hills.\nThe wide veld lay before them, and stretched in long golden lines to\nthe sharp blue mountain peaks on the horizon. The girls did as they\nwere bid. They worked steadily till mid-day, singing gaily all the\nwhile; nor did they once look behind them. When the sun was at its\nheight they stopped to rest. They were amazed to see the extent of\nground they had cleared, and could not believe it possible. The old\nFairy smiled and said, \u201cWe will come again to-morrow and do yet\nbetter.\u201d\n\nThey came the next day, and yet many days. Their lands grew and grew\ntill at length they had hoed more land than the King himself, who could\nhave as many workers as he wished. Their neighbours began to notice\nthem. \u201cThese girls are not only beautiful,\u201d said they, \u201cthey are strong\nand willing, and work like no one we have ever seen. Their lands are\nbetter than those of the King himself.\u201d\n\nThat year the rains came early. The golden hues of winter changed as\nthe young grass sprang up, and hundreds of flowers appeared to delight\nthe eye. Every one had good crops that summer, but the Fairy\u2019s mealies\nwere taller and greener than those of any one in the King\u2019s dominions.\n\nIt was not long before the King was told of these wonderful strangers.\n\u201cI must see for myself,\u201d said the King. \u201cNo doubt it is not so\nwonderful as they say. People talk so much.\u201d\n\nBut when he walked out himself and saw the land hoed by the Fairy and\nher maidens, he was astonished beyond belief; the field was far larger\neven than he had heard, and the mealies taller than himself or any of\nhis men. The next day he commanded the old woman and her\ngrand-daughters to appear before him. An Induna brought them into the\nKing\u2019s presence.\n\n\u201cHow is it,\u201d said the King, \u201cthat you have been able to hoe such\nenormous lands? Your mealies and corn are better than mine, though I\ncan have hundreds of men to work for me.\u201d\n\n\u201cKing of Kings,\u201d said the wise old Fairy, \u201cI am the daughter of a very\nmighty King, and these girls are my daughter\u2019s children. A mighty King,\nas you know, has great power, and can do more than other men.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am indeed pleased,\u201d said the King, \u201cto see that your daughters are\nsuch beautiful girls. I am too old to marry them myself, but I have two\nfine young Princes who are just of an age to wed. I should not like\nyour daughters to marry any one else, for such maidens are the ones who\nshould marry great Chiefs. They are not only beautiful, but industrious\nand strong beyond all other women.\u201d\n\nSo the marriages were arranged, and the two maidens, who had lost both\nfather and mother, became the wives of the bravest and finest of all\nthe King\u2019s sons. Many hundreds of cattle were given to the Fairy\ngrandmother in exchange for her daughters, and great were the\nrejoicings throughout the whole city.\n\nThe Fairy stayed till she saw that both her adopted children were happy\nand well-beloved. Then one day she divided her cattle between them,\nkissed them farewell, and disappeared.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXIV\n\nTHE STORY OF SEMAI-MAI\n\nA SWAZI TALE\n\nPART I\n\nSEMAI-MAI THE CANNIBAL KING\n\n\nAmong all the people of the Kafirs there was never a King more feared\nand hated than Semai-mai. He was known for his bad deeds far and wide,\nand was the terror of every tribe within many days\u2019 journey of his\nkingdom. It is true he was a splendid warrior and had never once\nsuffered defeat, but he was unjust and cruel beyond belief. His people\nwere numerous and powerful, for Semai-mai ruled over many great kraals,\nand had thousands of warriors at his command. Though their Chief was\nwicked they were a kind and just people, and often hated their lord\u2019s\ndeeds. But what could they do? The first duty of every man is to be\nloyal to his ruler, and as yet no one had dared to disobey. Semai-mai\nwas known far and wide as the \u201cWicked King,\u201d and every day he grew in\niniquity.\n\nYou shall hear how at last he destroyed himself by his own lawlessness,\nand lost his human form.\n\nOne day he called his greatest magicians together and said, \u201cMake\nstrong potions and magic draughts for my army, so that they may be able\nto conquer any enemy. I go to fight a great King who lives in a very\ndistant country.\u201d\n\nThe potions were prepared and the impis called out; the wizards treated\nevery man with magic spells used only in time of war, and gave him the\nwonderful drink which confers bravery and turns away the weapons of the\nenemy. Then they told Semai-mai that all was ready. The impis stood in\nline, each company in its place, every man complete with shield and\nassegai, and magnificently adorned with the velvety-brown otter-skin or\nthe golden leopard. They waited in silence for their orders, but no\norders came.\n\nSemai-mai sent word by his chief general that he intended to lead them\nhimself, but no mention was made of the enemy\u2019s name, and their\ndestination remained secret. The next day he appeared, gloomier and\nfiercer than ever before, and placed himself at the head of his\nbody-guard, who marched behind their Chief in silent terror.\n\nHe led them right up the mountains into a wide desolate valley. Two\npillars of rock guarded the entrance; within were huge red boulders\ninterspersed with trees. On either side rose tall cliffs, which glowed\nin the mid-day sun. The men knew the valley well, and never willingly\nentered it. A great and powerful Fairy was said to live there whom it\nwas well not to offend. Many men had entered it when hunting, and had\nnever returned or been seen again. At the gate of the valley strange\nspirits answered if one spoke in the merest whisper; it was a place\nbetter avoided by all right-thinking men, and every warrior had a\nfeeling of vague discomfort as he passed the mighty pillars and knew he\nwas on haunted ground.\n\nSemai-mai went forward to a clear space among the great boulders, and\nthere ordered his regiments to stand in ranks before him.\n\nHe was an immense man, a head and shoulders above any warrior in his\narmy, deep in the chest, with an arm so strong he could fell an ox with\na blow of his knobkerrie. [18] He stood in the fierce sunlight, sullen\nand magnificent, and surveyed his men. Then he spoke.\n\n\u201cYou have not yet had your orders for this raid,\u201d said he. \u201cNow, hear\nthem! From henceforth I have resolved to live on human flesh. Those\nthat join me shall see glorious fighting and great conquests. As for\nthose that refuse, they shall die, and their carcases shall be embalmed\nby my magicians. I shall expose them on these great rocks, and all men\nshall see the wretches who dared to disobey their King.\u201d\n\nThe whole army held their breath with amazement and horror. They had\nnever supposed that their King would thus dare to cast off all\nrestraint. No one spoke. The King looked around with gloomy fierceness.\nThen, raising his spear and speaking in an immense voice, he shouted:\n\n\u201cLet those that love me stand on one side. Those that hate me may sit\ndown.\u201d\n\nMore than half the men sat down. Semai-mai scowled yet more deeply, but\ncontinued firm in his wicked purpose, though he saw it would cost him\nmore than half his army. He turned to his remaining followers and said:\n\n\u201cOur motto shall be henceforth, \u2018We live on human flesh and belong to\nthe alligators.\u2019 Kill these disobedient dogs, and set their bodies on\nthe rocks.\u201d\n\nHis men at once fell on the rebels, who did not resist them. Each man\ndied where he sat, for the King was great, and his orders must be\nobeyed. Then the wizards prepared strange potions and ointments, and\nevery body was embalmed, so that time should not destroy it, but that\nit should remain a witness for ever. Last of all, the dead warriors\nwere taken and placed on every great rock and along the ledges in the\ntall red cliffs. The sun blazed down on them; in the quivering air\nevery man could be seen, deep brown against the glowing rocks.\n\nWhen all was done Semai-mai marshalled his forces, looked on the dead\nwith joy, and bade his men go forward. They ranged themselves in the\naccustomed order, but as they filed up the mountain-path each man\nnoticed for the first time that his neighbour\u2019s hair was brick-red.\nThey instantly feared witchcraft, and remembered the tales of the great\nFairy who ruled over the valley. But Semai-mai laughed at their fears,\nand bade them show courage. He gave orders that they were to kill and\nspare none, neither women nor children. Only cattle and sheep might be\nbrought away.\n\nThey travelled across the mountains till they came to a wide fertile\nvalley, in which was a great city. Semai-mai sent spies to view the\nland. They reported that the people were peaceful and unsuspecting, and\nthat great success might be expected from an attack. They were ruled by\na King named Sobuso, who appeared to be much beloved. One strange thing\nthey had observed; all the women were beautiful, but the men were\nabsolutely hideous.\n\n\u201cWell, we shall kill them all, so it is of no consequence,\u201d said\nSemai-mai, and he bade an impi attack the very next day. The men crept\nup to the city in the early dawn, rushed in at the gate, and began\nkilling all they could see. But to their amazement, no sooner had they\nfelled a man to the ground than he rose to his feet again. As fast as\nthey killed one man another came to life. Not only that, but they found\nthat they themselves were becoming as thin as reeds and as light as\ndust; their blows carried no weight, and they were as ghosts beating\nthe air ineffectually.\n\nGreat fear came into their hearts, and they wavered and turned to fly.\n\u201cYou cowards!\u201d shouted Semai-mai, appearing at the gate. \u201cLet me come\nand kill.\u201d He rushed forward and attacked the foremost of the enemy.\nBut as his assegai pierced the foe he found his own huge form shrinking\ninto nothing, his arm was weak and nerveless, and as his opponent rose\nagain to attack him, he fled shrieking, followed by all his men.\n\nThe enemy rushed after them, brandishing their assegais, and shouting\nhoarse war-cries: \u201cShi-sha-she! Si-me-pe! Si-ko-mo! Si! Pe! The Cattle!\nWhere are they? The Cattle!\u201d\n\nWith every hissing cry a man fell, and the mountain-side was strewn\nwith their bodies. On and on they fled, till all were killed but\nSemai-mai. Only he still held out, and ran, panting but alive, to the\nvery gates of the great valley where the dead men sat in the sunshine.\n\nThere both he and his pursuers stopped, for before them stood a most\nbeautiful woman.\n\nWith one look of command she bade them all follow her, for this was the\nFairy of the valley. \u201cI have been waiting for you,\u201d said she. \u201cCome and\nsee what this wicked King has done.\u201d\n\nThen she led them down among the great rocks, King Sobuso and all his\nmen, but Semai-mai she bound by invisible power on the top of a huge\nboulder, where he must see all and could not move.\n\nSlowly she led the warriors into the very centre of the great valley.\nThere she bade them look up. In the red glow of the setting sun they\nsaw the black forms of the men who refused to follow the cannibal King.\nEach sat propped against his ledge of glowing stone; they looked still\nas if they were sitting in council.\n\n\u201cNight will soon be here,\u201d said the Fairy. \u201cYou shall see what I can\ndo.\u201d\n\nThen she bade the warriors sit down and wait, and began to brew a magic\npotion. And Semai-mai sat too and waited on the rocks above, for he\ncould not stir hand or foot. Cold fear came into his soul as he saw the\nfires lit in the valley below, and watched the wonderful woman at work.\nShe was still busy when night fell and the stars came out in the purple\nsky. Then she got torches ready, sprinkled them with her wonderful\nliquid, and lit them at the fire. She gave one to Sobuso, and then to\nall his generals in turn. Lastly she took one herself, and signed to\nthe men to follow. They leapt from rock to rock throughout the valley,\ncarrying the torches along every ledge, till every man was visible. As\nthe magic fire approached him, each dead warrior sprang to life, and in\na few moments a living army filled the valley. Then the Fairy bade them\nall descend to the open space below, and tell their story to Sobuso.\nThe chief Induna spoke, and all listened in silence.\n\n\u201cYou did right,\u201d said Sobuso at length. \u201cYour wicked King is powerless\nnow. Come to me; I will give you wives and lands, for such men are\nthose I want.\u201d\n\nGreat was the joy of every man when he heard these words, for Sobuso\nwas known as the best and wisest King in all the mountain country. They\nwere about to depart when the Fairy stopped them once more.\n\n\u201cAnd now,\u201d said she, in a high clear voice, which echoed many times in\nthe darkness, \u201clet Semai-mai, the cannibal King, descend and see his\nmen.\u201d\n\nAnd Semai-mai found his chains loosed, but a power he could not resist\ndrew him down till he stood in the very centre, in the full light of\nthe blazing fires. His former subjects closed in round him; at one end\nstood Sobuso and his generals, at the other the Fairy of the valley.\n\n\u201cYou see here,\u201d said the Fairy, \u201cSemai-mai, the wicked King. Because he\nhas done injustice all his life and rejoiced in cruelty, I judge him no\nlonger worthy to remain a man. He shall become a dog and live as a dog\nlives. Only, as he was a great King and a brave warrior, I give him\nmagic powers and one powerful weapon. He shall have a long nail on one\nfoot, bright and sharp as a sword. And if he is a faithful dog and true\nto his master he may one day become a man again. But if he continues\ncruel and unjust a still greater curse shall fall on him.\u201d\n\nEven as she spoke the horror-stricken army saw their great Chief fall\nforward and touch the ground with his hands. In the red firelight his\nform changed, and in a minute a great brown dog stood in the place of\nthe superb Semai-mai. It looked round with a furtive air, and then\nturned in silence. The men all sprang aside to let it through, and a\nmoment later it trotted into the darkness.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXV\n\nTHE STORY OF SEMAI-MAI\n\nPART II\n\nTHE FAIRY DOG\n\n\nAll that night and the whole of the next day Semai-mai trotted steadily\nup and down the mountain-paths. No man saw him, for he avoided every\nvalley which seemed to be inhabited. He was determined to get as far as\npossible from the scene of his defeat, into a country where the name of\nSemai-mai had never been heard. He travelled for three days, and had\nthen covered as much ground as a man would traverse in seven. He began\nto feel safer and more himself again, and turned over the situation in\nhis mind. His shame and rage had at first been great, but he now saw\nthat all was not lost. It is true he was but a dog, but the wonderful\nnail on his foot was all that the Fairy had promised. It was three feet\nlong and six inches broad, and cut far better than any axe or\nhunting-knife he had ever possessed. Not only this, but he found that\nhe only had to express a wish for food and it instantly appeared. Most\nexcellent food it was, too; never had he tasted better. He also found\nthat he could call down a mist at any moment in which to hide himself\nfrom an enemy, and he felt sure that time would show him yet greater\nmarvels. Life still held enjoyments, and with patience and care he\nmight regain much of his former power.\n\nHe cocked his ears, curled his bushy tail with an air of assurance, and\nwent forward, determined to find a home in the kraal of the nearest\nChief. Before long he came to the end of the mountain country. A great\nplain lay before him, well wooded, and watered by a broad river. Not\nmany miles below was an immense kraal; the tiny brown huts could be\nseen distinctly in the clear air, and the green mealie-fields which\nsurrounded the town. The cattle enclosure was very large; evidently the\nChief was rich.\n\n\u201cI will descend and see what sort of a King this is,\u201d said Semai-mai,\nand in an hour he was standing at the chief gate. Every one saw at once\nthat he was no ordinary dog, and before many days were over he was in\nattendance on the King and was fed from his table. Now this was\nunfortunate, for the King was a cannibal, and Semai-mai was encouraged\nin his wicked tastes instead of learning to forget them. The King kept\nall his prisoners-of-war and fattened them up, and when a great feast\narrived the best were killed and eaten with much rejoicing.\n\nOne day, a few months after Semai-mai\u2019s arrival, the most lovely little\nboy was brought to the kraal. He had been stolen by a band of robbers\nwhile sleeping out in the fields, and they had carried him many days,\nhoping he would be a dainty morsel acceptable to the King. But the boy\nwas so beautiful and his bearing so unusual that the King had him\nexamined by his magicians. They unanimously declared him to be of royal\nblood, and as the King did not usually eat his equals, he said that the\nyoung Prince should be kept alive and brought up with his own sons. He\nalso gave him Semai-mai, the fairy dog, as his servant, and treated him\nwith much kindness.\n\nSemai-mai liked the little boy; he ran his errands, went out hunting\nwith him, chopped the wood for his fire, and slept in his hut at\nnights. The little Prince loved him in return, and they ate together\nfrom the King\u2019s own dishes. By and by the Prince told him all he knew\nabout himself. He was the only son of his father, who was a big Chief,\nand they lived up among the mountains. His mother would look for him\neverywhere; she was directing her maidens in the fields when he was\ncarried away; some day she would be sure to come for him.\n\nSemai-mai soon felt certain that the little boy came from some kingdom\nnear his own, and he also looked eagerly for the boy\u2019s mother when any\nwoman arrived at the kraal, but no news ever came. Years went by. The\nPrince was now a well-grown youth, and Semai-mai continued his faithful\nfriend. But while the Prince always avoided the cannibal repasts which\ncame at the great festivals, Semai-mai enjoyed them, for his heart was\nunchanged.\n\nOne day an old woman came to the kraal to beg the King\u2019s protection.\nShe was poorly dressed and footsore, and her eyes had a wild look. The\nPrince and Semai-mai came to see her, more by habit than because they\nnow expected any one. But the instant the Prince heard her speak he\nrecognised his mother\u2019s voice.\n\n\u201cSay nothing now,\u201d was Semai-mai\u2019s advice when he heard the news. \u201cThe\nKing will doubtless put her in a hut to be fattened with the other\nprisoners, for she is old and useless. Watch your opportunity, and we\nwill all escape and live in wealth elsewhere.\u201d\n\nA few nights later the Prince went to the hut where his old mother was.\nShe nearly died of joy and surprise when she heard his name.\n\n\u201cYour father told me never to appear in his presence till I could bring\nyou with me,\u201d said she. \u201cFor years I have wandered in search of you.\nYour father had no other son; you were the pride of his heart and I his\nfavourite wife till I lost you in the mealie-fields. I had given up all\nhopes of ever seeing home again, and believed you long since dead.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will go home again and rule as before,\u201d said the Prince, smiling\ngaily. \u201cI had forgotten the way to my father\u2019s kingdom, but you will\nshow me. Say no word of our relationship; I must think over a plan of\nescape.\u201d\n\nEvery day a man came to look at the old Queen and see if she was\nfattening well. Presently he announced to the King that the prisoners\nwere all in excellent condition, and a feast-day might be appointed\nwhen it pleased the great Chief. The King then went to inspect the\nprisoners himself, declared them to be ready, and chose a day for the\nrejoicings.\n\nImmediately every one in the kraal, man, woman, and child, went out to\ncollect wood at early dawn, for great fires would be needed. As soon as\nthe city was deserted the Prince and Semai-mai released the old Queen,\ncollected all the cattle they could find in the fields, and started\nhot-foot for the mountains.\n\nThat evening the whole company returned and found the Prince and the\nold woman gone. They tracked them by the footprints of the cattle, and\nsent warriors after them. But as soon as they began to overtake the\nfugitives\u2014for the cattle were slow\u2014Semai-mai threw a beautiful rainbow\nmist all round himself and his friends, so that they could never be\nseen. After many vain attempts the cannibals retired baffled, and gave\nup the chase in despair. All along the road Semai-mai had only to bark\nwhen food was wanted, and a plentiful meal instantly appeared. When\nthey had all had enough he barked again, and not a trace of the food\nremained.\n\nAt the end of many days they came to the outskirts of the Prince\u2019s own\ncountry. But here Semai-mai said, \u201cWe will not make ourselves known as\nyet; we will live alone.\u201d For he was afraid the Prince might hear by\nsome unlucky chance who he really was, and his power would be gone.\n\nSo for a long while the three lived together in a fertile valley by the\nside of a clear stream. Their cattle grew and increased till they\nbecame a noble herd. The Prince was now a man, and both rich and\nhandsome. All went happily till one day he went out hunting and met a\nparty of very pretty girls. They came, they said, from a kingdom among\nthe mountains. The men of their people were ugly, but not a woman among\nthem was plain, and many were far prettier than themselves.\n\nThe Prince longed to see this kingdom, and remembered he was now of an\nage to marry, and had besides many cattle and a beautiful home. So he\nsat by his mother that evening and said, \u201cIt is time I looked for a\nnice little wife. You want help in the house, and would like some one\nto grind the corn and carry water and wood.\u201d The mother was pleased at\nthe idea, but the dog sat still in sullen silence. Who might this wife\nbe? Hitherto he had ruled both the Prince and his mother, but this new\nwoman might spoil all.\n\nThe next day the Prince set out for the kingdom where all the men were\nugly and all the women beautiful; you can guess it was the kingdom of\nSobuso. Before long he had won the heart of a lovely girl, the daughter\nof a great Chief, and niece of the King himself. All arrangements were\nmade for the wedding, and the Prince departed joyously for home, to\ntell his mother of his success.\n\nAll was got into order for the bride, and the appointed number of\ncattle were sent to her father, in accordance with custom. Every day\nSemai-mai grew more and more gloomy. The Prince and his mother thought\nlittle of it, and never once imagined that he disapproved of the\nmarriage. But now that Semai-mai knew that the bride came from Sobuso\u2019s\nkingdom, he determined to make an end of everything. As soon as he knew\nthat the wedding-party was in sight he killed both the Prince and his\nmother with his long bright nail, and ate them right up.\n\nThen he sat down in the sun before the door of the hut, looking very\nbig and important. The Princess came up to the gate with her attendant\nmaids, in all her bravest attire, and looked for the bridegroom and his\nmother. She waited a long time, then ventured forward and looked all\nround the kraal. Not a living thing could be seen save this huge brown\ndog. Presently Semai-mai came up to them and said, \u201cThe Prince is\nwaiting in the big hut, let me show you in.\u201d\n\nThe Princess and her maids followed him, much astonished to find a\ntalking dog. Semai-mai took them into the biggest hut and made them sit\nround. Then he killed and ate them all in turn, beginning at the bride\nand finishing with the youngest bridesmaid. When all was over he went\nout and sat in the sun once more. Only now he was larger than any dog\nthat ever was seen, for after every meal he grew bigger and bigger.\n\nMany weeks passed by, and the bridal party never returned to give news\nof the wedding. The Princess\u2019s father grew anxious, for no one\nappeared, nor was there any message. At last he sent a party of men to\nfind out what had happened. Semai-mai saw them coming, and caught them\nall in the big hut, just as he had caught the bridal party. He ate them\nall but one, who slipped out by a lucky chance. Semai-mai was now\nbigger than an elephant, and the man who escaped ran home and said the\nenemy was an enormous dog, who was a cannibal.\n\nThe Chief cried out, \u201cWhat fools and cowards serve me! I will go and\nkill the monster myself.\u201d So he took a shield and assegais and some\npicked men and set out for the dog\u2019s kraal. When he saw him and\nrealised how huge he was, his surprise was very great. For Semai-mai\nwas now taller and bigger than the largest hut, and could be seen from\nthe entrance of the valley. The Chief advanced bravely, and he and his\nmen let fly their assegais, but not one touched Semai-mai. He simply\nshook himself, sprang on the Chief and ate him, and then killed nearly\nall his men. Only a very few escaped, and they ran back to the kingdom\nof Sobuso in wild terror, declaring that no one could hope to conquer\nthe fairy dog.\n\nSemai-mai in the meantime gathered all his master\u2019s cattle together and\nset out for his former kingdom. Before many days were over he had\nreached the great plain in which his people lived. But now he saw\nnothing but a huge forest extending for many miles; not a single\nhabitation was to be seen where formerly great cities flourished. His\nheart failed him for a moment; then he lifted his head and barked three\ntimes.\n\nInstantly the forest disappeared; then great cities rose in its place,\nand thousands of warriors came out in warlike array to greet him.\nSemai-mai had released his people from enchantment. But he himself\nstill remained an enormous dog; nor, in spite of his great powers, did\nhe find it possible to make any change.\n\nFor a long time no friend of the Princess or her father dared to\nventure within reach of the fairy dog. But the dead Chief was a very\ngreat man, and brother to Sobuso himself, so it was not long before the\nstory came to the latter\u2019s ears. At first he could hardly believe it,\nbut when he found the tale was true, and his relatives had really been\ndestroyed by a cannibal dog, he determined to rid the country of such a\nmonster. So he called out all his army and bade his magicians treat\nthem with every charm they knew. Then he assembled them together.\n\u201cWhatever happens,\u201d said he, \u201cthis dog must die. I myself will be the\nfirst to attack him.\u201d\n\nIt was not long before they found out Semai-mai\u2019s new home. After a\njourney of many weeks across the mountains they came in sight of the\nthree great cities. From the heights above they could see Semai-mai\u2019s\nhut in the middle of the city, close to the cattle-kraal. It was\nimpossible to mistake it, for it was four times as big as any hut they\nhad ever seen. Sobuso sent out spies, and then waited all day for their\nreport. At night they returned, but they brought bad news. \u201cYou have no\nidea how mighty the enemy is,\u201d said they. \u201cNo assegai is big enough to\nkill him, and no man tall enough to throw it. We must return home and\nmake special weapons, or our cause is hopeless.\u201d\n\nSobuso was much depressed. \u201cLeave me alone,\u201d he said. \u201cI must think out\nfresh plans.\u201d\n\nSo he sat alone for many hours. Night came suddenly and quietly, and\nevery man was soon asleep. It was very very still, and the air was\nwarm. Only the frogs could be heard croaking far away along the\nriver-banks. Sobuso thought and thought, but could see no way out save\nretreat. He remembered now his fight long ago with Semai-mai; if this\ndog were no other than that famous Chief only magic could help him, for\nno one had beaten Semai-mai by his own strength.\n\nBefore him lay the great plain and the dim outlines of his enemy\u2019s\nkraals, scarcely to be distinguished in the warm darkness. Then\nsuddenly, at the very outer edge of the world, appeared a line of\namethyst. The line widened and gradually moved forward. A wide circle\nof faint blue mountains then came into view, beneath them great plains\nof silvery green, and last of all the three cities, every hut distinct\nand clear. The moon was rising behind the mountains. A moment later its\nrays touched Sobuso himself. A strange shadow lay on the grass before\nhim. He turned quickly and saw before him a most extraordinary\ncreature.\n\nIt was a very old woman, leaning on an immense assegai, much taller\nthan herself. In her hand she held two calabashes. She had not a tooth\nin her mouth, and her head was covered with long hair, so that you\ncould only see her eyes. She had no feet, only two long toes. She stood\nwith her back to the moon; Sobuso felt her gaze on him, but could\ndistinguish no features.\n\n\u201cGreat King,\u201d she cried, \u201cyou shall kill Semai-mai.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is impossible; I have no assegai big enough.\u201d\n\n\u201cKing of Kings,\u201d said the old woman, \u201ctake these two calabashes of\nmedicine and this assegai. They come to you from the Fairy of the\nvalley; Semai-mai shall now be rendered powerless for ever. In the\nearly morning, when all your men are still asleep, rise up and sprinkle\nthe contents of this first calabash on them. Stand so that the wind\nblows from you towards them and carries the magic drops. Sprinkle it\nthen on yourself, and you and all your army will be invisible. Never\nlet this assegai go out of your hand. Go up to Semai-mai. He will not\nsee you, stab him with the assegai and then throw the contents of the\nsecond calabash over him. You must cut off his big nail, and strike him\nwith it three times; he will then be powerless to harm you.\u201d\n\nA cloud came over the moon, and when it passed away Sobuso found the\nold woman was gone. But the assegai and two calabashes were on the\nground, and he picked them up and went to a spot above his sleeping\nmen. He waited till a tiny breeze sprang up before daybreak. Then he\nsprinkled them with the magic drops, and at dawn he set them in order\nand all marched down to the gates of Semai-mai\u2019s royal city. The sun\nwas fully up, and the huge dog could be seen moving about the kraal\nlike a big house. He had hundreds of wives and many thousands of\ncattle, and he walked about, gloating over his possessions. Sobuso sent\nin a few of his men to make sure that the potion had worked well. They\nreturned, saying that they had moved everywhere freely, and had even\ngone up to the royal hut, but no one had paid them the least attention.\n\nSobuso and his men then entered the gate and marched straight up the\nchief road. No one regarded them, so they were soon within reach of\nSemai-mai. Sobuso took his assegai and aimed it right at the dog\u2019s\nhead. He fell down stunned, with an immense thud. Sobuso rushed\nforward, cut off the long nail at one blow, and threw the second\ncalabash over the monster. Then he struck him three times with the\nshining nail.\n\nStraightway the dog\u2019s side opened and out came first the bridegroom,\nthen his mother, then the bride and her maids, and last of all Sobuso\u2019s\nbrother and all his men. As each appeared in turn Semai-mai grew\nsmaller and smaller, till at last he was no bigger than an ordinary\ndog.\n\nThere was great rejoicing, as you may imagine, and when all were united\nthey held a council as to what they should do with Semai-mai\u2019s\npossessions. Finally, they divided all his property and people into\nthree parts. One part went to the Prince, another to the Princess\u2019s\nfather, and the third to Sobuso himself, who had rescued them from such\ngreat peril.\n\nAs for Semai-mai, when all was over he revived and sprang to his feet\nagain. But the Fairy\u2019s curse had been carried out. He was now just an\nordinary dog. He could not kill his enemy or speak like a man, nor had\nhe any magic power. No one would be in any danger from him again. He\nran far away to the cannibal King who first befriended him, and was fed\nfrom his table for the rest of his life.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXVI\n\nTHE FAIRY FROG\n\nA SWAZI TALE\n\n\nTombi-ende was the most beautiful girl in her father\u2019s kingdom. She had\nmilk-white teeth and sparkling eyes, her figure was perfect and very\ngracefully turned, and no one could lead the dance half so well as she.\nBesides, you could not help noticing her the moment she appeared, for\nshe was taller than all her sisters, and carried her head like a true\nPrincess. Her parents looked on her daily with joy and pride. They\ncalled her Tombi-ende, \u201cthe Tall Maiden,\u201d and expected she would one\nday be a mighty Queen.\n\nBut no one has an altogether happy lot. And though Tombi-ende was tall\nand beautiful, and had the gayest and most wonderful handkerchiefs with\nwhich to deck herself, and more beads and bracelets than any other girl\nin the country-side, this only gave her the more trouble. For none of\nher sisters were as pretty as she, or as much admired, and as time went\non they grew more and more jealous. At last they decided that\nTombi-ende must die, or no one would ever notice them at all.\n\nSo they made a plan to kill their sister as if by accident. One day\nthey all came to her and said, \u201cLet us go and get red ochre [19] out of\nthe great pit; there is none left in the kraal at all.\u201d\n\nSo every maiden shouldered her pick, and they walked together, singing\nand laughing, for many miles. At last they reached a great red pit,\nmany feet deep, surrounded by tall grass on every side. There they\nstopped; each girl leapt down in turn, dug out a lump of the precious\nred earth, and then jumped up again. They all stood round the pit\nwaiting for one another. But directly Tombi-ende jumped down, every one\nof those wicked girls seized her pick and threw earth upon her as fast\nas she could, till poor Tombi-ende was buried alive. Then they ran\naway, leaving her for dead, for the red earth is very heavy.\n\nBut Tombi-ende was not dead. The people who passed heard screams coming\nfrom the pit, and sometimes a voice calling:\n\n\n       \u201cI am Tombi-ende,\n        I am not dead,\n        I am like one of yourselves.\u201d\n\n\nTwo men turned out of the path and looked down into the great hole, but\nall they could see was the red earth glistening in the sun, so they\nturned away and walked on.\n\nThe wicked sisters meanwhile went back to their father\u2019s kraal and told\nall whom they met, \u201cTombi-ende is dead. She fell down into the red\nochre pit and was smothered.\u201d But when the King came to question them\nthey grew confused, and could not tell their tale. So he chopped off\ntheir heads there and then with a great battle-axe, and gave their\nbodies to the vultures. And that would have been the end of them had\nnot a dear good old Fairy come along who knew that Tombi-ende was not\ndead, and was sorry to see her sisters so severely punished. She went\nto the bodies and sprinkled them with medicine from her magic calabash.\nThe sisters sat up at once, alive and well, rubbing their eyes. \u201cTake\nthe girls away and keep them out of the King\u2019s sight till Tombi-ende\nreturns,\u201d said the Fairy, and every one was only too glad to obey her.\n\nTombi-ende lay in the red ochre pit for many hours, and thought no one\nwould ever rescue her. But at evening she heard a great croaking above\nher. Looking up she saw an enormous frog blinking his little eyes at\nthe edge of the pit.\n\n\u201cBeautiful Princess,\u201d said he, \u201cwhat are you doing here?\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas!\u201d said Tombi-ende, \u201cmy sisters are jealous of me and hate me, and\nthey have left me here and thrown earth upon me, so that I cannot get\nout.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will help you,\u201d said the frog. He jumped into the pit, opened his\nbig mouth and swallowed the Princess entirely. Then he jumped up again,\nand landed safely on the path above, the Princess still inside him.\n\nForthwith the frog set out on his travels. He hopped all night,\ncarefully avoiding any kraals by the way, for a frog brings bad luck,\nand is not welcome in human dwellings. Whenever he passed a bird he\nsang:\n\n\n       \u201cDo not swallow me,\n        I carry the Princess Tombi-ende,\u201d\n\n\nand no creature touched him. The next morning they narrowly escaped a\ngreat danger, for they met a horrible ogress. She had heard that\nTombi-ende was still alive and defenceless, and had already been to the\nred ochre pit and found it empty. Now she was searching for her\neverywhere in savage haste, but luckily she paid no attention to a big\nfrog, and went her way without heeding its appearance.\n\nAt mid-day the frog stopped, opened his mouth, and let the Princess\nwalk out. Then he said, \u201cWait here and rest. By and by we will go on\nagain.\u201d He also provided food; he merely croaked, and delicious\nporridge appeared in a little brown pot, all ready for the Princess to\neat.\n\nTombi-ende ate and then slept under the bushes, for she was very tired.\nTowards evening the frog swallowed her again, and they set forth once\nmore on their journey. They had decided not to go back to her father\u2019s\nkraal, for fear of her jealous sisters, but journeyed towards the home\nof her grandmother, where she was sure of every welcome. They travelled\nfor days, resting in the heat, but never stopping all night long, and\none morning they arrived at the grandmother\u2019s kraal.\n\nThe frog went up to the door of the chief hut and sang loudly:\n\n\n       \u201cI am carrying Tombi-ende,\n        The Beautiful Princess,\n        Whom they killed in the red pit.\u201d\n\n\nThe old grandmother came out, saying, \u201cWho is this speaking? Who knows\nwhat has become of my darling Tombi-ende?\u201d\n\n\u201cI know all about her,\u201d said the frog. \u201cBring clean mats, spread them\nbefore me, and you will see.\u201d\n\nAll the women brought fine new mats and put them before the frog. When\nall was ready the frog just said, \u201cWoo-oo-oh!\u201d and in a moment\nTombi-ende herself was before them, as tall and beautiful as ever.\n\nGreat was the joy of all, and no one could hear her tale often enough,\nor her praises of the wonderful frog.\n\n\u201cWhat can we do for you as a reward for your kindness?\u201d said the\ngrandmother to the frog. \u201cIs there nothing we can give you?\u201d\n\n\u201cI only ask you to kill two oxen and two bulls,\u201d said the frog, \u201cand\nlet us have a feast.\u201d\n\nSo a great feast was held, and the frog sat by the Princess\u2019s side and\nhad great honour. Next morning he had disappeared, and though the\nPrincess searched for him all round the kraal he could nowhere be\nfound.\n\nThe grandmother knew that Tombi-ende was now in no danger at home, so\nshe sent a message to her father to tell him of his daughter\u2019s safety.\nThe King was much delighted, and at once despatched Tombi-ende\u2019s\nbrother to fetch her home. He rested a few days at the kraal, for the\njourney was long, and then they both set out on their return.\n\nNow the rains had been short that year, and many streams were dry. The\nsun was very hot, and after hours of walking the Princess and her\nbrother were very thirsty. Nowhere could they find the accustomed\nsprings, for the ground was harder than brick dried in an oven, and the\nwater-courses were dry. They went on and on till they were fainting\nwith the heat. Suddenly they met a stranger, an immensely big man, who\nstood right across the path. Except for his size he was like other men,\nand they did not at first distrust him.\n\n\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d said he in a deep bass voice, which rumbled like\nthunder.\n\n\u201cWe are looking for water,\u201d said the Prince; \u201call the springs are dried\nup, and we are yet many days from home.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf I give you water,\u201d said the giant, \u201cwhat will you give me in\nreturn?\u201d\n\n\u201cAsk for anything in my father\u2019s kingdom,\u201d said the Prince.\n\n\u201cGive me this beautiful Princess,\u201d said the giant, with a wicked smile.\n\u201cIf not, you will die of thirst. All the springs are dry within three\ndays\u2019 journey.\u201d\n\nThe brother and sister were in dismay, but although the Prince hated\nthe idea of giving his sister to a stranger, they were both so helpless\nthat he could only consent.\n\nThe giant chuckled, and led the way to a great fig-tree by the side of\nthe dry water-course. He struck his stick upon the ground, and out of\nthe very roots of the tree sprang a fountain clear as the moon and cool\nas the depths of the forest. They all drank eagerly and long, and it\nwas only after some minutes that the Princess lifted her head and\nlooked towards the giant. She shrieked long and loud, for the giant had\nturned to a most terrible Inzimu, monstrous and misshapen, covered with\nred hair, and glaring at her with his little wild eyes. His long tail\nlay behind him on the grass, and his white pointed teeth showed between\nhis thick lips.\n\nThe Prince looked up at once, and he also saw in what great peril his\nsister lay. The ogre was terribly strong, and no fighting could save\nthem. He simply glared at them, his eyes full of evil pleasure.\n\nSuddenly the Princess heard a well-known croak, and right out of the\nwater sprang a great frog.\n\n\u201cThere is my preserver,\u201d said Tombi-ende. \u201cHelp us, frog! No one is so\nclever and wise as you!\u201d\n\nThe frog advanced right in front of the ogre, who looked at him with\ndisdain. He just opened his mouth and said \u201cBoo-oh! Boo-oh!\u201d In one\nminute he had swallowed the ogre right up, tail and all, and then he\ndisappeared into the fountain. There he stayed till the ogre was\ndrowned. When he came out again the water had dried up, and the ogre\nlay buried among the roots of the great fig-tree.\n\n\u201cAh, frog, how can I thank you enough?\u201d said the Princess. \u201cThis time\nyou must not disappear, you must come home with us.\u201d\n\nIn three days they reached her father\u2019s kraal. The King\u2019s guard stood\nin order to greet them, gloriously arrayed in otter-skins, with shields\nand assegais. Her father stood at their head, and hailed them both with\njoy.\n\n\u201cBut what,\u201d said her father, \u201cis that horrible frog at your side? I\nmust have the wretch killed.\u201d\n\n\u201cDo not kill him, father,\u201d said Tombi-ende, \u201che saved my life twice.\u201d\n\nAnd at those very words the frog suddenly grew into a handsome man,\ntaller than Tombi-ende herself. He was in full war-like array, with\nshield and assegai, and a great plume of white ostrich feathers on his\nhead. Any one could see at once that he was a Prince.\n\nAll greeted him with loud shouts; only Tombi-ende was not so very much\nsurprised.\n\n\u201cI am no frog,\u201d said the Prince, \u201cmy father is a great Chief. The ogre\nfrom whom I rescued the Princess overcame me by witchcraft in former\ndays, but now that I have won the love of a maiden I am once more free.\nGive me the hand of your daughter in marriage, and one hundred cattle\nshall be yours.\u201d\n\nA few days later Tombi-ende married the fairy frog, and all will\nacknowledge that it was a reward he well deserved. As for the wicked\nsisters, the King forgave them in his great joy, and Tombi-ende forgot\nall her troubles in a new home.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXVII\n\nNYA-NYA BULEMBU;\nOR, THE MOSS-GREEN PRINCESS\n\nA SWAZI TALE\n\n\nThere was once a little Princess named Kitila, the prettiest and nicest\nchild you could possibly find. She was her mother\u2019s one delight, and\nher father was a very great Chief indeed. But for all that many little\ngirls were far happier than she, for her father hated her mother and\ndid everything he could to show how much he despised her and her child.\nHe did not allow Kitila so much as one necklace of beads, and her\nlittle skin cloak was shabby and poor. He had another daughter,\nMapindane, whose mother was his favourite Queen. He loved her dearly,\nand delighted in her beauty and pretty ways, for she also was a\ncharming child. But so much did he dislike Kitila that he was quite\nannoyed to see that she was pretty and likely to be admired. At last he\ndetermined to humiliate her and her mother for ever by dressing her in\nthe skin of the Nya-nya Bulembu, so that every one might be frightened\nof her and no Prince might ever love her.\n\nNow the Nya-nya Bulembu is a strange beast who lives in the water. He\nhas long teeth and claws, and his skin is covered with bright green\nmoss. No one has anything to do with him who can help it, and his very\nname means \u201cthe Despised One covered with Moss.\u201d The King thus hoped\nthat his little girl would be taken for the monster himself, and would\nbe hated by all as much as he himself disliked her. You will see,\nhowever, that he would have done much better to be kind to his little\ndaughter, for the Nya-nya Bulembu is a fairy beast, and it is not wise\nto meddle with him.\n\nOne day the King called his Chief Councillors and his people together\nand told them of his intentions. \u201cThe little Princess Kitila,\u201d he said,\n\u201cis to be dressed in the skin of the Nya-nya Bulembu. Fetch me an\nanimal which is young, with regular teeth, long claws, and a perfect\nskin well covered with green moss.\u201d\n\nThe King also gave orders for plenty of green mealie-bread to be made\nwith which to entice the animal out of the water. A party of picked men\nthen went out together and came down to the river. They followed its\ncourse till they came to a deep pool, where the water was quite black.\nThe huntsmen stood round in a ring and sang the song of the Nya-nya\nBulembu:\n\n\n       \u201cNya-nya Bulembu, Nya-nya Bulembu,\n        Come out of the water and eat me!\n        The King has sent us for the great Nya-nya Bulembu!\n        Come and let us see you!\n        Laugh and show us your teeth!\u201d\n\n\nOut came a huge old monster, with only two or three teeth left, and no\nmoss on his skin at all.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said the huntsmen at once, \u201cwe don\u2019t want you.\u201d\n\nThey journeyed on again in a great storm of wind and rain. When it had\npassed away, and the sun shone once more, they found themselves at a\nsecond big pool, which was blue as the sky. Here they stopped and sang\nthe song of the Bulembu once more. Out came a vicious-looking creature,\nwith but little moss on his coat, and only one tooth three feet long.\n\n\u201cNo, we don\u2019t want you either,\u201d said the huntsmen, and they travelled\non again till they came to a third pool, which was bright green. Round\nit grew a most beautiful fringe of green moss, and the water itself was\nvivid green, like the grass in spring.\n\nOnce more the huntsmen sang the magic song, and out came a nice green\nBulembu, beautifully covered with moss, and showing all his long white\nteeth. They set big pieces of mealie-bread for him, and as he came out\nto eat they caught him alive. Then they travelled like the wind to the\nKing\u2019s kraal. As they drew near home they sang:\n\n\n       \u201cHave all your assegais ready!\n        The Nya-nya Bulembu is coming!\u201d\n\n\nAll the men in the kraal seized their assegais and hurried to the gate\nby which the Bulembu must enter. They stood in line in front of the\nentrance, and as the green monster rushed upon them he fell on their\nspears and died. Then they took the body to the hut of the despised\nQueen, and began to prepare the skin for use.\n\nFirst they cut the body open, and to their great surprise out came the\nmost lovely bead-work. There were necklaces, bracelets, and girdles of\nevery colour and pattern, the most lovely little embroidered bags, and\nthe most beautifully woven mats. Nothing that a King\u2019s daughter could\nwant was missing, and everything was of the finest workmanship. It\nseemed as if the supply would never come to an end, for the more beads\nthey pulled out the more appeared, till there were enough to last the\nPrincess her life long. But the moment they began to remove the skin no\nmore appeared. They stripped the Bulembu most carefully, preserving the\nnails and all the teeth, and when the skin was quite complete they\nwrapped the little Princess in it. The instant it touched her it fitted\nas if it were a part of her; indeed, she could not get it off again,\nfor it was the skin of a fairy beast, as the old King knew well. You\ncould no longer see that she was a little girl at all, she looked just\nlike a hideous green monster.\n\nKitila and her mother cried most bitterly at this undeserved disgrace,\nbut the Chief Councillor could only say, \u201cIt is the King\u2019s order; we\nmust obey him.\u201d\n\nThe two little Princesses were never allowed to play with the other\nchildren. They sat by themselves every day in the middle of the huts\nnear the cattle-kraal, the one in her green skin with long white teeth,\nthe other in all the prettiest beads imaginable and a lovely little\ncloak of leopard-skin, the finest the King could procure. The two\nlittle girls were great friends, and as they played and ate their food\nhundreds of little birds came every day and picked up the fragments.\n\nMany years passed by, and the girls grew into womanhood. Mapindane was\nnow very lovely, and was a joy to behold as she sat in the sun, but\npoor Kitila was still clothed in her hideous green skin, and looked the\nsame as ever. The feast of the first-fruits was now at hand. The King\u2019s\nwise men had been absent a month travelling to the coast to fetch water\nfrom the great sea, for no other may be used for the potion which\ncleanses the land from all evil. They set their calabashes in the sand\nat low tide, and when they are filled by the magic power of the ocean\nthey return home joyfully. Every day they were expected, and when at\nlast they arrived the King gave orders that all preparations should be\nmade.\n\nThe day before the feast every one went out to gather the first-fruits\nin the fields, and no one remained in the kraal but one old Queen to\nwatch over the two Princesses. The two girls sat in their usual place,\nand the birds flew round them as they ate and picked up all they could.\nSuddenly a flock of rock-pigeons swooped down upon them, and in a\nmoment they had seized the beautiful Princess and carried her away, but\nthe green monster they left alone.\n\nThe old Queen looked up and shrieked, \u201cThere goes the lovely Princess!\nThere goes the King\u2019s favourite child!\u201d She called out all the people\nfrom the fields and sent them after the pigeons. But the birds rose\nhigh into the air, and then headed straight for the North. They carried\nMapindane far far away to a new country, and placed her in the kraal of\na very great King. There she stayed till the King saw her, and made her\nhis wife, and there she lived in great happiness. But she could never\nsend a message home, for no one had even heard the name of her people,\nor knew the way through the thick forests which lay between them.\n\nSo her father and mother never knew of her good fortune, and always\nbelieved that the birds had eaten her. Poor Kitila in her green skin\nwas worse off than ever, for the bereaved Queen was very jealous and\nangry, and as she was all-powerful, Kitila was no longer allowed to\nlive as a Princess, but was set to do all sorts of degrading work. At\nlast the King said to her, \u201cYou are no good at all; you must go and\nscare birds. You are so ugly that every bird who sees you will fly away\nat once.\u201d\n\nFrom that day the Princess was no longer called Kitila, but Nya-nya\nBulembu. She often said to her mother, \u201cHow hard my life is! Why was I\nborn to all this?\u201d\n\nBut her mother always remembered the Bulembu\u2019s magic gifts, and said,\n\u201cDo not despair; all will come right presently.\u201d\n\nAnd so it did; for the first time the Princess went to the fields she\nmet a Fairy in the shape of a very old man. He took pity on her, and\ngave her a stick, saying, \u201cWhen you come to the fields just wave this,\nand call aloud. All the birds will fall down dead at once. When you go\nbathing take the stick with you into the water; it will give you your\ntrue shape again. But remember never to leave go of it, or your power\nwill depart.\u201d\n\nKitila took the stick, and found it quite as powerful as the Fairy\ndeclared. She had no trouble with the birds, but kept the crops in\nsafety as easily as possible. Every day in the hot, still afternoon,\nwhen all creatures are asleep, she went down to the river. As her foot\ntouched the water the green skin floated away, and hundreds of pretty\ngirls came to play with her at her call.\n\nShe stood in the water and sang:\n\n\n       \u201cNya-nya Bulembu, Nya-nya Bulembu,\n        Here I am!\n        I was dressed like a monster,\n        But I am like any girl.\n        To-day they fed me with the dogs.\u201d\n\n\nThen she called for food, and instantly a feast appeared, and she and\nall the Fairies ate and laughed together. But when she came out of the\nriver her green skin reappeared, and she was once more Nya-nya Bulembu.\n\nThe other little boys and girls who were also scaring birds were\ndreadfully afraid of the monster, and never went near her. They never\nasked her to join them in the afternoons when they played together in\nthe water, but they often wondered what she looked like when she bathed\nby herself in a lonely pool. One day they went down to see, but they\nhid behind the trees, so that the Princess never knew. When a beautiful\ngirl appeared instead of the ugly monster, they were so astonished that\nthey ran straight home and told the whole story to the Princess\u2019s\nmother. The despised Queen was very pleased, but she told the children\nnot to say a word to any one. So the moss-green Princess continued to\nscare the birds.\n\nSome months later a great Prince came to visit the King. He was young\nand handsome, but he was noted above all for his wisdom and good\njudgment. His father had sent him to seek a bride; she was to be the\nmost beautiful woman he could find, and every one was anxious to see\nthe girl chosen by so wise a Prince. The young man travelled far and\nwide, but found no maiden whom he could love. At last he came to the\nkraal in which lived the moss-green Princess. He went straight to the\nKing and asked him if he had any daughters.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said the King, \u201cbut I have only one. You shall see her with\npleasure.\u201d\n\n\u201cLet the Prince see the monster,\u201d said Mapindane\u2019s mother, with a\nbitter laugh. So the Prince was taken to the fields where Kitila was\nscaring birds. When he got there the little boys and girls who were at\nwork came to him and said, \u201cDo you want to see Nya-nya Bulembu? She is\nbathing just now, we will take you to the pool she always visits.\u201d\n\nThey took the Prince, and placed him where he could see the moss-green\nPrincess enter the water without being seen by her. When he first saw\nthe green monster appear he held his breath with horror, and thought\nsome trick had been played upon him. But directly this hideous creature\ntouched the water the green skin fell away, and there stood the\nloveliest maiden he had ever beheld. He instantly fell in love with\nher, and vowed to make her his wife, no matter what spell might have\nfallen on her. He watched her all the afternoon playing with the\nFairies in the cool green shadows, and longed to join them, but did not\ndare. He heard Kitila sing the story of her life. Then he went straight\nback to the kraal and asked to see the King.\n\n\u201cI will marry your monster,\u201d he said.\n\nThe King was surprised beyond measure, but he consented, and all\npreparations were made for the wedding. The wonderful presents the\ngreen monster had brought years before were now gathered together and\nmade a royal outfit for the young Princess. The Prince returned to his\nfather, and sent a present of one hundred cows to the King, to show in\nwhat consideration he held the bride, and also a fine head of cattle\nfor her mother.\n\nThen he waited for the moss-green Princess to come to him, for in\nKafir-land the marriage always takes place in the bridegroom\u2019s home.\nAll his people waited, too, in great expectation, for the Prince was\nknown to have chosen the most beautiful girl he could find. Their\nhorror was great when they saw a strange green monster arrive, with\nlong white teeth and claws, attended by four bridesmaids.\n\n\u201cWhat!\u201d said they. \u201cIs this the peerless beauty chosen by so wise a\nPrince? How can he marry such a monster?\u201d\n\nThe poor Princess sat at the door of the chief hut, trembling lest she\nshould be refused admittance, and the Prince repent of so bad a\nbargain. But he kept faith with her in spite of her green skin, and\nreceived her kindly. She was taken to a beautiful hut, and the next day\nwas fixed for the wedding.\n\nVery early in the morning the Princess and her maids went down to a\ndeep pool in the river to bathe. The sun had barely risen, the air was\nfresh and cool. Nya-nya Bulembu took the stick in her hand and stepped\ninto the water. As she touched it the green skin fell away, but instead\nof floating on the water it flew straight up into the air, and was\ncarried many miles, till it fell down right at the door of her mother\u2019s\nhut. Then the despised Queen knew that all was well, and her daughter\nhappy at last.\n\nThe Princess came out of the water in her true form\u2014no longer Nya-nya\nBulembu, but Kitila, the King\u2019s daughter. She returned to the kraal\nwith her bridesmaids, all in their wedding array, and was met by the\nwomen who were to be her friends in her new home, for they were to take\nher to the Prince. Great was their joy and astonishment when they saw\nso lovely a Princess. They declared that such beauty had never been\nseen among them before, and praised the wisdom of the Prince who had\nchosen her.\n\nThe marriage ceremony then took place, and the Princess lived among\nthem ever after in much happiness and honour. The fame of her beauty\nwas such that people came from South, East, and West to see so lovely a\nwoman.\n\nBut the old King was well punished, for while he often heard of the\nhappiness of Nya-nya Bulembu, he never saw his favourite daughter\nagain, and always believed her dead.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXVIII\n\nTHE ENCHANTED BUCK\n\nA SWAZI TALE\n\n\nLungile sat in the sunshine watching her mother put the finishing\nstitches in her sedwaba. It was a great occasion. The sedwaba, you\nknow, is the name of the full kilt of black ox-skins which no girl\nwears till her bridal morning. It takes a long time to make. Lungile\u2019s\nfather had prepared the skins many months ago. He had brayed them on\nthe inner side and dyed them inky-black with charcoal, till they looked\nquite like velvet. And then Lungile\u2019s mother, who sewed better than any\none for miles around, cut out the kilt so that it should fit tightly\nround the waist but fall into cunning folds at the knee, and stitched\nall the pieces together most beautifully. Now the kilt was ready and\nLungile might set out for the home of her betrothed as soon as ever she\npleased.\n\nThat evening she saw all the maids who were to accompany her to the\nwedding, and arranged the day of departure. It was kept a dead secret;\nLungile\u2019s father and mother would not expect to know, for every Kafir\nbride loves to slip away in the early morning without farewells. Two\ndays later, at the first flush of day, Lungile and her maids set out on\ntheir journey. It was early summer; the first rains were over and the\nvalleys and hills were covered with thousands of flowers, vivid scarlet\nor blue like the sky, while here and there were great patches of\ndelicate yellow, the very hue of the English primrose. The air was\nfresh and crystal-clear, and the girls laughed and sang songs of\ntravel. Lungile was full of joy, for her bridegroom was a Chief\u2019s son,\nand she had chosen him out of many wooers. For she was not only\nbeautiful; she was just as good and industrious as she was lovely, and\nmany suitors had asked her in marriage. She hoed all her father\u2019s\nlands, and the beer she made was the best for many miles, so that there\nwas no kraal where she would not have been welcome.\n\nThe girls journeyed together for some days, till at length they reached\nthe bridegroom\u2019s lands, and went straight to his father\u2019s kraal. His\nmother greeted them with every kindness, and showed them a beautiful\nhut in which they might live till all the preparations for the wedding\nwere made. They had been expected for some time, and now that they had\narrived every man and woman in the kraal was kept busy.\n\nWhile the women ground corn or went out to gather wood, the bridegroom\nand his father considered what oxen should be killed for the feast.\n\n\u201cWe will take two of those the Chief Maginde sent as your sister\u2019s\nmarriage-gift,\u201d said the father. \u201cThey are the finest in the herd, but\nyou are my eldest son, and deserve the best we can do.\u201d The first ox\nwas driven up and killed with much ceremony; the bride was delighted to\nsee what fine beasts her father-in-law was giving for her pleasure. All\nthe women in the kraal were now busy getting water and preparing the\nfires; only Lungile and her maidens sat in their hut, thinking of the\nwedding which was so soon approaching.\n\nWhen all was ready for cooking and the guests already nearing the\nkraal, the meat was cut into long strips and set on the fire to roast.\nTo the horror of the bridegroom\u2019s mother, who was watching it, the meat\nbegan to jump about on the fire. It simply would not keep quiet, and\nafter attempting to make it lie still twice, she became frightened.\n\n\u201cThere must be witchcraft here,\u201d said she, and called her husband to\nsee this strange thing. She left the strips of meat on the fire, but\nwhen she returned with all the wedding party at her heels not a vestige\nof the meat remained. All had disappeared, nobody knew where.\n\n\u201cThe animal was undoubtedly bewitched,\u201d said the father. Every one\nlooked at the bride\u2019s hut; she was a stranger, and they already\nexpected all was not well with her.\n\n\u201cBring the white bull,\u201d said the father. \u201cHe is the finest we have;\nperhaps if we kill him it may break the spell.\u201d\n\nThe white bull was brought forward. He was the chief of all the cattle\nthe bridegroom\u2019s father had received on his daughter\u2019s marriage two\nyears before, and because of his colour he was held to be a harbinger\nof peace and good fortune. He was snow-white from head to tail, save\nfor two long black horns of great beauty. All praised the Chief\u2019s\nkindness and generosity in giving him, and felt sure all would now be\nwell.\n\nThe young men soon killed the bull and the meat was cut up. This time\nit was placed in large pots to boil. All stood by and watched; even the\nbride had heard of the trouble and waited anxiously in her hut, for\nwitchcraft at her wedding was indeed a misfortune.\n\nFor a while all seemed quiet. Then the water began to boil in the pot\nin which the bull\u2019s head had been placed. Instantly there leaped out of\nthe pot a beautiful young man, with a bearing like that of a great\nChief. He ran away with incredible speed, and even as he ran changed\ninto a handsome buck with glancing horns. In a moment he was out of\nsight.\n\nThe whole company broke up in horror. \u201cBring the bride here,\u201d said the\nChief; \u201cwithout doubt she is a witch, and has brought trouble on us\nall.\u201d\n\nIn a few minutes poor Lungile was brought out of her hut with her\nattendant maids, trembling and weeping.\n\n\u201cGo back home,\u201d shouted the Chief, \u201cand never let us see your face\nagain. You are no wife for my son, nor would any decent family ever\nreceive you. I send you back to your father and demand my marriage-gift\nof cattle; he may deal with you as he thinks fit.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am innocent of all harm,\u201d cried Lungile. \u201cI have cast no spells and\nwish no evil to any one. I will work hard and be a good daughter to\nyou.\u201d\n\n\u201cGo, go back to your father,\u201d said all the women together. \u201cYou have\nbrought witchcraft here, and are accursed.\u201d\n\nThen they drove her out quickly, nor did she attempt any more to prove\nher innocence, but travelled home with her bridesmaids in bitter tears.\n\nHer father and mother received her back, and were horrified when they\nheard of her treatment. They did not for a moment believe their\ndaughter was a witch, and they were very sorry to send back the cattle;\nbut what could they do? The marriage-gift was returned, and Lungile\ntook her old place in the kraal again and worked as hard and as well as\never. Only no more suitors came for her hand, for no one quite liked\nthe story of the white ox with the black horns. It looked as if the\nkilt of black ox-skins might never be worn.\n\nMore than a whole year went by; Lungile gradually forgot her troubles\nand her bridegroom that was to have been. She went out one day in\nautumn; the air was cool, the sun shone brightly over the great plains.\nShe had been told to gather dried mealie-stalks from her father\u2019s\nlands, and sang gaily as she walked along the narrow path. Just as she\nwas about to turn off towards the fields a beautiful buck came in\nsight. To her great surprise it did not run away, but circled round\nher, running across the path and slipping in and out of the bushes. As\nshe watched it she seemed to recognise its form.\n\n\u201cWhere have I seen this beautiful animal before?\u201d said she, and thought\na minute. \u201cWhy, it is the very same buck that jumped out of the pot at\nmy wedding-feast!\u201d\n\nThe recollection made her very sad for a moment, but she soon threw\nback her head and laughed. \u201cNow he shall really be killed,\u201d said she;\n\u201cit is many days since we had meat. I will see if I can catch him as he\npasses.\u201d\n\nThe buck continued to dance around her, coming nearer and nearer, but\nalways just slipping out of her hands. They had now left her father\u2019s\nlands behind, and were drawing nearer and nearer to the mountains. Once\nshe touched the buck with her hands, but he jumped away. She followed\ntill they came to a stream which flowed down a green valley. There the\nbuck stooped to drink by a great bush covered with heart-shaped leaves,\non which still lingered a few scarlet blossoms. Lungile jumped forward\nand seized him by the horns. He did not seem to mind, but shook his\nhead and made her follow him by a tiny path which ran up the valley,\nfollowing the course of the stream. Lungile found the buck was far\nstronger than she thought. She could not turn him back, and kept\nlooking from left to right to see if any one was coming who would kill\nher game for her.\n\nBut the valley was empty and wild. High waving grass surrounded her on\neither side, extending to the foot of great rocky cliffs; before her\nlay a long narrow valley, closed at the end by a great round mountain.\nAs they went on a huge forest came into view, which clothed the lower\nslopes of the mountain. A blue shadow began to creep across the valley.\nLungile saw it, and thought, \u201cNo one is in sight, I shall hardly reach\nhome before dark. The buck is too strong for me; I must give him up.\u201d\n\nShe let him go with a sigh, and hurried back so as to reach the plains\nagain before sundown. She had not gone far when she turned her head out\nof curiosity to see if the buck were still in sight. To her intense\nsurprise he was following her, walking in a cloud of mist which shone\ngloriously in the sun. She stood still, and in a few minutes the buck\nwas at her side.\n\n\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d said Lungile.\n\nThe buck only looked at her with his great brown eyes, and said\nnothing. Lungile spoke again. She was sorry for the buck, and felt sure\nthat he was in trouble.\n\nThis time the buck answered in a soft, low voice, \u201cFollow me to the\nforest yonder.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will come,\u201d said Lungile, and turned once more to the great mountain\nand the forest at its foot.\n\nBefore long they reached the first great trees, and there at the very\nentrance they saw a sight which made Lungile cry out in terror. A huge\nogre seated on a wolf was staring at them. Round his forehead he wore a\nstring of animals\u2019 eyes, which made him look yet more horrible.\n\nLungile turned to run, but the buck said to her calmly, \u201cCome, and you\nwill see what I can do,\u201d and walked straight towards the ogre. The girl\nfollowed, but shivered as she heard the ogre say to the buck, \u201cHa, you\nwill do splendidly for the wolf\u2019s supper, and that fine young girl for\nmine!\u201d\n\nThen he opened his huge mouth, stretched out his long arms, and darted\nforward to catch the buck, who did not move. But the instant his arms\ntouched him the buck changed, and became a most beautiful young man.\nThe wolf, scared to death, ran trembling into the bush, and the ogre,\ntaken at a disadvantage, was strangled forthwith.\n\nWhen he lay dead the young man took the crown of animals\u2019 eyes from the\nmonster\u2019s head and threw them on the ground. Instantly they became\nliving bucks. They all looked at the man with great affection, and\nfollowed his every movement.\n\nThe young man then turned to Lungile and said, \u201cBe kind to these\nanimals, and help them. Remember I also was a buck. Stay here a few\ndays, and do this for me. Gather spinach every morning, and sing this\nfairy song:\n\n\n      \u201c\u2018Once my true love was a buck,\n        Once my true love was a buck;\n        Now he is changed into a fine, strong young man.\n        Now, bucks\u2014Oh, bucks,\n        Change yourselves, and become young men.\u2019\u201d\n\n\n\u201cI will do so,\u201d said Lungile, with love and admiration in her eyes.\n\u201cBut tell me, are you not the white ox who was killed at the wedding\nfeast? And who are these bucks who are all to be transformed?\u201d\n\n\u201cI am indeed that very white ox,\u201d said the young man. \u201cI am a great\nChief, and because my lands were better than the Chief Maginde\u2019s, and I\nhad finer cattle and stronger people, he hated me. One day he bewitched\nme, and turned me into a white ox, and all my people, he said, should\nbe bucks. None should be free till I could change my form and become\nonce more a man. Then he sent me as a marriage-gift to the father of\nyour betrothed, and so I came to be killed. Through me you lost your\nfirst lover, but do not grieve. Now I am once more a great Chief, I can\ngive you all you want if you will be my bride.\u201d\n\nLungile consented with great joy, for the fairy buck was handsomer and\nmore gallant than any youth she had ever beheld. She stayed in the\nforest for many days. Every morning at sunrise she rose when the dew\nwas still heavy and sang the fairy song, gathering spinach up and down\nthe hillside. And every day more and more bucks came in from the\nmountains, and assembled in the forest. They brought with them their\ndoes and their little ones. In seven days many thousands had assembled.\nThen one morning as she sang the magic song they all changed, and at\nsunrise they were men, women, and children.\n\nThus the enchanted buck regained his people, and won a most kind and\nbeautiful bride. He took Lungile back to her father, gave a\nmarriage-gift such as no one had ever seen before, and then made her\nhis wife amid great rejoicing.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXIX\n\nTHE BEAUTY AND THE BEAST\n\nA SWAZI TALE\n\n\nOnce, ever so many years ago, there lived a very pretty maiden whose\nname was Mulha, \u201cthe Fair One.\u201d She dwelt with her father and mother\nand two little sisters in a lonely kraal among the mountains. They\nseldom saw any one, for the land around them was poor and very few\ncared to settle there. Indeed Mulha\u2019s mother grew all her crops in a\nfertile valley some miles away, and was often obliged to be absent many\ndays.\n\nAs spring approached every year she took her hoe, left the kraal in\ncharge of Mulha, and went away to set the new corn. Now it happened\nonce that the father was away on a hunting expedition when the time of\nsowing arrived, and not likely to be back for a long time. So the\nmother had to leave all three children alone; but as Mulha was a big\ngirl and would soon be grown up, she did not fear for their safety. She\ngave all three plenty of corn and many kinds of beans to cook for their\ndaily food.\n\nWhen she had finished providing for them, she called them to a big pot\nwhich lay on one side of the hut.\n\n\u201cChildren,\u201d she said, \u201cnever open this pot. You have plenty to eat and\nwill need nothing. Promise me faithfully to obey. If you are good I\nwill give you all a little feast when I return; we will kill a goat and\nmake beer, and each of you shall ask your little friends.\u201d\n\nThe children promised to be good and not to touch the pot. Then the\nmother bade them farewell and started on her journey. The girls were\nquite happy for a few days. They cooked their food and kept house, and\nthe kraal had not looked so neat and tidy for a long time. Then they\ngrew weary of being alone, and the two younger children said to their\nsister, \u201cWe are tired; our mother stays away too long.\u201d\n\nMulha then got up and said, \u201cDo you know what I am going to do?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said they.\n\n\u201cI am going to open the big pot.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh no, you mustn\u2019t,\u201d said the other two; \u201cwe all promised faithfully\nnot to touch it.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am going to see what is inside,\u201d said Mulha with determination. She\nwent straight to the pot and opened it, but instead of the store of\nfood she expected to see out came a huge ogre, who instantly filled all\nthe hut. There was no room left for any one else, and the little girls\nfled in terror. But the ogre called after them and spoke so nicely that\nthey soon came back.\n\n\u201cI will do you no harm,\u201d said he; \u201cyou two elder girls must go out to\nget water while I keep your youngest sister here to cook the food.\u201d\n\nBut while they were away he killed the little girl, and put her into\nthe big pot to be cooked for dinner. When the two sisters returned they\nfound the pot already boiling, though they could see no fire.\n\n\u201cCome,\u201d said the ogre, \u201cand sit down. I have a nice little dish ready\nfor you. Your sister has not returned yet.\u201d\n\nBut just at that moment a huge bee came in at the door and buzzed all\nround their ears. Soon they distinguished words. \u201cDo not eat anything,\u201d\nit said. \u201cIt is your own little sister who has been killed in your\nabsence.\u201d\n\nSo they answered that they were not hungry and sat still. After that\nMulha made constant plans to escape with her sister, but the ogre\nalways knew of them at once and followed her everywhere. Once they\nthought that they were quite safe and well away when the ogre suddenly\nappeared right in their path and said, \u201cWhere are you going to?\u201d\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said they, \u201cwe are not going far; we are going to play by the\nriver a little while.\u201d\n\nThey ran on a little farther, and though the ogre followed them\nsuspiciously the younger sister managed to slip away through the bushes\nand swim down the river to the bottom of the valley. Thence she made\nher way to the fields in which her mother was at work. There she\nbesought her to come and help Mulha, and rescue her from the horrible\nInzimu.\n\nBut the mother shook her head. \u201cYou are punished,\u201d said she, \u201cfor your\ndisobedience. I can do nothing till the proper time comes; we must wait\nfor your father.\u201d\n\nIn the meantime the ogre kept Mulha alive, for he did not like to eat\nher, as Inzimus always have a stock of provision in reserve, and do not\nuse the last of the store. One day he left her in the hut while he went\nout to search for fresh prey. She took the opportunity to escape, and\nthis time she was successful. She ran on and on by many winding paths,\nkeeping always to the trees which followed the water-courses, till at\nlast she had left her own valley behind and could run straight forward\nto her mother\u2019s lands. There at last she found both her mother and\nsister, and very glad they were to see her.\n\nShe begged her mother to kill the ogre, but her mother only shook her\nhead once more and said, \u201cWhat can we do? Your father is not back yet.\u201d\n\nBut while they were still talking, their father came in sight, to their\ngreat relief and joy. He was told the whole story of their troubles,\nand in great anger and indignation he seized his shield and assegai and\nstarted forth to find the monster and kill him.\n\nThe next day he returned with a sad face. \u201cWe cannot go home any more,\u201d\nsaid he to his wife. \u201cWe must build a new hut here. I threw my assegais\nat the monster with all possible force and skill, but they simply fell\npowerless on the ground. It is useless to think of revenging ourselves,\nthe monster is a magician.\u201d\n\nAt this news the mother called the two girls and told them the Inzimu\nwas not dead, and it would no longer be safe for them to return home.\nAs he would be sure to search, especially for Mulha, who had last\nescaped him, she had decided to send her right away.\n\n\u201cYou shall go to your married sister. She is in a good position and\nwill look after you, and presently, no doubt, some one will want you\nfor his wife. But remember to go straight along the road, and on no\naccount to touch the manumbela [20] which grows by the way.\u201d\n\nThen Mulha put on all her prettiest beads and dressed herself in a\nlength of black stuff gaily striped with green and blue, which she\nknotted round her waist. No girl in all Swaziland was prettier than\nshe, or walked with a freer air. Her mother watched her go with pride,\nand had little doubt that she would soon marry a Chief\u2019s son.\n\nNow you would have expected Mulha to be very careful and obedient after\nher last sad experience, and for a long time she travelled very\nsoberly. But the afternoon was very hot, for it was full summer, and\nshe gradually became very thirsty. There was no water near, and at a\nturn of the path she came in sight of beautiful manumbela covered with\nrich ripe berries. The manumbela is, you know, the Forbidden Fruit.\n\nMulha looked at it longingly, and at last she said, \u201cOh! I am going to\neat it!\u201d and climbed straight up the tree.\n\nDirectly she got up and picked a berry a deep bass voice called out of\nthe trunk: \u201cDear good girl, give me some ripe fruit.\u201d\n\nThe voice was so deep that the whole tree shook. Mulha gathered the\nfruit and came down in a fright. Immediately the tree opened and out\ncame a big ogress, an Imbula, with an ugly snout like a wolf, and long\nred hair all over her body. The ogress took the fruit and said, \u201cYou\nare not safe travelling alone, a pretty girl like you. Give me all your\nthings and I will give you mine, then no one will know you.\u201d\n\nMulha gave her the striped cottons, but did not want to part with all\nher beautiful beads. However, the Imbula insisted on having them, and\npromised to give all back when they approached the married sister\u2019s\nkraal. She then gave Mulha her own skin to wear as a disguise. To her\nhorror the poor girl found that the skin clung to her as tightly as if\nit grew on her. Nothing would remove it. The Imbula, without her horrid\nlumpy skin covered with red hair, looked like a pretty girl; her wolf\u2019s\nsnout had disappeared, and she had the whitest and most even teeth that\never were seen. It was she who was now Mulha, \u201cthe Fair One,\u201d while the\nreal beauty had become a loathsome monster.\n\nJust outside the sister\u2019s kraal Mulha tried to make the ogress give her\nback her dress and ornaments, but the monster absolutely refused. They\nsoon came to the gate; the Imbula went right in, asked for her sister,\nand was welcomed by all and given great honour.\n\n\u201cWhat are we to do with your companion?\u201d asked the married sister, with\na glance of disgust at Mulha.\n\n\u201cOh, just put her anywhere,\u201d said the Imbula. \u201cShe can feed quite well\nwith the dogs in some old hut.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the married sister. \u201cShe can live with the old woman\nover there; no one will see her or be troubled by her.\u201d\n\nSo the ogress passed as a beautiful Princess, and great attention was\npaid her. She looked exactly like a very pretty girl, but she had one\ngreat difficulty. All Imbulas have a tail, just like Inzimus, and this\ntail she could not get rid of. She coiled it round her waist and hid it\nunder her girdle, but every day she feared discovery. However, no one\ndreamt of such a possibility, and for a long time all went well.\n\nMeanwhile the real beauty lived in the hut with the old woman. She was\ndeeply hurt at being treated thus by her own sister, but presently she\ndiscovered that her skin gave her magic powers, so she began to use\nthem.\n\n\u201cTell me,\u201d she said to the old woman, \u201cwould you like to be made young\nagain?\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, indeed,\u201d said the old woman.\n\n\u201cVery well, you shall,\u201d said Mulha. And the next morning every one was\nwondering what had happened to the old woman, for she once more looked\nlike a girl. But Mulha bound her to silence, for she was far too\nindignant to let her sister have any hint of the truth. So the two\nlived together quietly but in much comfort, for Mulha found that she\nwas able to obtain excellent food for them both by a mere command, and\nthey never touched the scraps which were thrown to them.\n\nNow the real monster soon had ever so many lovers, for the fame of her\nbeauty spread far and wide. At last she announced her engagement to a\nvery wealthy and handsome Prince. Her behaviour, however, puzzled every\none very much. She would never allow him so much as to kiss her, and\ndeclared that she was far too modest to allow him even to sit by her.\nThe real beauty knew quite well why this was, but every one else\nthought it very strange.\n\nSoon after the engagement was announced Mulha told the old woman that\nshe was going down to bathe. The married sister heard of this. She said\nto herself, \u201cI should much like to see this strange creature in the\nwater,\u201d and followed the supposed monster to the river.\n\nThere she saw a most wonderful sight. Directly the misshapen being\ntouched the river her skin floated away, and she stood in the sparkling\nwater, the most beautiful maiden that ever was seen. Then she stretched\nout her arms and sang:\n\n\n       \u201cCome, maidens, come,\n        Come and play with me,\n        Come and play in the water.\u201d\n\n\nAnd at once beautiful girls came from all sides and played and laughed\nwith her as their Princess. When Mulha had played long enough she got\nout of the water. The skin fitted on her again as tightly as ever, and\nshe became a hateful beast once more.\n\nThe married sister went home certain that something was wrong, and\nconsulted an aged Princess noted for her wisdom. The next time that the\nsupposed monster bathed they went down to the river together and caught\nher just before she left the water. She soon told them she was the true\nMulha, who had been overcome by an Imbula, but she did not wish to\nchange her condition.\n\n\u201cWhy do you bother me? I have everything I want and do not care to be\ntroubled. You took the Imbula in as your sister; now you can keep her.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is not right that men should be deceived by a monster,\u201d said her\nsister. \u201cI will speak to the King about it.\u201d\n\nThe two women laid the whole story before the King, who soon devised a\nmethod of settling which was the beauty and which the beast.\n\n\u201cDig a big hole in the middle of the kraal, and place in it all kinds\nof food and plenty of fresh milk in a calabash. Then make every woman\nin the kraal walk round the hole alone, and we shall soon see who is\nthe Imbula.\u201d\n\nAll was done as the King commanded, and all the women in the kraal,\nyoung and old, walked round the hole. At last it came to the turn of\nthe supposed Princess.\n\n\u201cThere is no need for me to walk round the hole,\u201d said she. \u201cEvery one\nknows that I am a pretty girl. Besides, I am far too shy to show myself\noff before everybody.\u201d\n\nShe twisted and turned, and spoke in a tiny voice, just as she had done\nwhenever the Prince approached her. But the King would have none of it,\nand commanded her to walk round the hole on pain of death.\n\nSo the Imbula was obliged to come, and started to walk round the hole.\nBut at the sight of the milk all her instincts awoke, and she forgot\neverything. Her tail instantly uncoiled, and leapt down into the hole\nto suck up the milk. No Inzimu, male or female, can control their tail\nwhen milk is on the ground. This the King had counted on when he laid\nthe trap.\n\nDirectly the King saw that the real monster was discovered he sent his\nmen to kill her. When all was over, Mulha came out to see the last of\nher rival. But she was now in her true form, and so radiantly beautiful\nthat the Prince who had been deceived by the Imbula fell in love with\nher at once. The marriage was soon arranged. One hundred cows were paid\nto Mulha\u2019s father at the wedding. He thus became a rich man, and so\nafter many adventures all were made happy.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXX\n\nTHE WHITE DOVE\n\n\nOnce, long ago, there lived a Prince named Sanfu, who was a great\nhunter. It was the sport he loved above all others, and every day\nduring the season he set out from home very early, and hunted till\ndusk. He was young and handsome, and as yet he had no wife, but engaged\nin adventures at every opportunity.\n\nOne day in mid-winter he collected his weapons, called his dogs, and\nset out to hunt. He carried assegais, which he could use either as\nspears or as darts, and knobkerries to knock down the smaller game. The\nair was clear and bright, the country full of wild creatures, yet look\nas he might he could find nothing. He hated to return home\nempty-handed, so he hurried on from bush to bush till he came into a\nstrange country, which he had never before visited. He looked across\nthe valley and saw in the distance two great mountains, whose twin\npeaks stood out against the cloudless sky in glorious tints of\nruddy-gold. The right-hand mountain was clothed in bush almost to the\nsummit, only the topmost crags being bare. There was no sign of man\nanywhere; surely this forest at least must abound in game.\n\nSo Sanfu took up his assegais and kerries and set out to explore the\nnew land. He followed the course of a tiny stream, leaping from rock to\nrock in the dim green light of the forest. The trees were so thick\noverhead that the sun never came through, but below one could walk\nfreely on a carpet of long green moss. Every now and then a cave-rat\ndarted out at the Prince\u2019s very feet, but his knobkerrie always missed\nit; a few minutes later he would see a magnificent buck, with head\nthrown back, standing in front of a thicket. But the moment he came\nwithin striking distance his prey was gone. So he toiled on, always\ndisappointed, but always seeing something worth his pursuit, till at\nlength the trees grew thinner and farther apart. Gradually they\ndwindled down to mere bushes, and Sanfu found himself on the high grass\nslopes above the forest. He left the stream and made straight for the\npass between the two mountain peaks, determined to see what lay beyond.\n\nThe highest point once gained, he looked down into a beautiful wooded\nvalley with several fine streams, the very place for game. Sanfu\nstraightway began the descent, but at closer view he found that the\nslopes were covered with huge boulders, and the grass was so high that\nit would be impossible to see any game. He persevered for some time,\nthen he decided to turn back and try his luck once more in the forest.\n\nBut when he looked round to retrace his steps he found it was\nimpossible. For the twin peaks had suddenly become a precipitous wall\nwithout break or opening, and the grassy slopes had turned to hard\ngranite cliffs without so much as a foot-hold. Sanfu looked once more\nat the valley. Then he found that he was in a sort of basin surrounded\non every side by steep hills crowned with inaccessible rocks. Puzzled\nand weary he went forward, hoping at least to find water and a place to\nrest for the night. For it was now not far from sundown, the air was\ngrowing cold, and it was useless to think of going much farther. But\nthe rocks only seemed to grow higher and higher; he could see no open\nspace, nor was there any sound of water. The whole valley was\nabsolutely silent.\n\nSuddenly he heard footsteps behind him. He turned his head, and was\nastonished to see a human being. It was an old old woman leaning on a\nblack wand, on the top of which perched two black birds.\n\n\u201cTell me, old woman,\u201d said the Prince, \u201cam I near a kraal?\u201d\n\nBut the old woman said nothing. He repeated the question. The old woman\nonly touched her ears and her mouth with one hand, and shook her head.\nThen Sanfu knew that she was deaf and dumb. So he turned and continued\nto thread his way in and out of the tall boulders, the old woman\nfollowing on behind. Presently he heard in the far distance the cooing\nof a dove.\n\n\u201cWhere there are doves,\u201d thought the Prince, \u201cthere are trees and\nperhaps water.\u201d\n\nHe pursued his way, guided by the soft melancholy cry. Soon he could\ndistinguish words, for the dove was singing the lament that all the\ndoves have sung from the beginning of things:\n\n\n       \u201cKu waffa baba\n        Ku waffa mama\n        Ku waffa imfo wetu\n        Ku waffa dado wetu\n        \u2019Ngi hlala etwe\n        Inhleziwe s\u2019ame\u2019 tshon, tshon, tshon, tshon, tshon.\u201d\n\n       \u201cMy father is dead;\n        My mother is dead;\n        My brethren are dead;\n        My sisters are dead;\n        I sit here alone.\n        My heart is sinking, sinking, sinking, sinking, sinking.\u201d\n\n\n\u201cNot much farther now,\u201d thought the Prince, as the singing grew\nclearer, and a minute later he found himself in an open space. Here a\nmost curious sight met his eyes. No trees were to be seen, but on his\nleft hand there rose up an enormous black cliff. You can imagine how\nstrange it looked, for all the boulders and the crags above were red,\nbut this rock was jet black. Below on his right flowed a wide, black\nriver. It was deep and silent; not so much as a speck of foam appeared\non its waters.\n\nAt the base of the cliff were three huge caves, and in one of these,\nright in the middle, sat a pure white dove of exquisite beauty. Two\nravens stood one on either side of her, and the moment they saw the\nPrince they began to dance. They danced faster and faster till at last\nthey lay down exhausted at the feet of the White Dove. Then the\nbeautiful bird spoke.\n\n\u201cWelcome, Prince,\u201d said she. \u201cWe are so glad to see you, we have been\nwaiting here for years.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy are you glad to see me?\u201d replied Sanfu, who knew at once that he\nhad met with a great adventure. \u201cWhat can I possibly do for you?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou can do us the greatest imaginable service,\u201d said the Dove. \u201cLook\nat this cave and repeat the following words three times:\n\n\n       \u201cRiver, river, wonderful river, mighty river,\n        Loose your might and change us into human beings;\n        You it was who bewitched us,\n        Now change us again.\u201d\n\n\nThe Prince obeyed, and a marvellous thing happened. The cave seemed to\nopen out, and suddenly the whole valley was filled with a burst of most\nwonderful song. For within were thousands of beautiful birds of every\nkind there is in the world. They flashed and shone in the\nsunlight\u2014golden orioles and many-coloured lorys, the emerald cuckoo and\nall the exquisite finches. Then there were dainty little black\nhoney-suckers, whose lustre is like mother-of-pearl, and graceful doves\nof every hue. And beyond all these were gorgeous birds from the great\nforests of the far north such as Sanfu had never seen. He gazed in\nwonder and delight for a long time. Then he turned to the White Dove\nand said, \u201cWhat do you want me to do now?\u201d\n\n\u201cRepeat these words once more,\u201d said the White Dove.\n\nHe repeated them again. To his astonishment the second cave opened out\nand thousands of animals appeared\u2014great herds of buck with beautiful\nhorns, both small and great, noble elephants and tall giraffes, and\nlions and tigers with glossy skins. Their cries almost drowned the call\nof the birds, but they appeared to live in peace and did one another no\nharm.\n\n\u201cDo you see those animals?\u201d said the Dove to the amazed Prince. \u201cThose\nare my father\u2019s men.\u201d\n\n\u201cWho then are the birds?\u201d asked Sanfu.\n\n\u201cThey are the beautiful women and the girls who live in his kingdom.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd the third cave? What does that contain?\u201d\n\n\u201cAh!\u201d said the Dove. \u201cThat is the greatest wonder of all. But it cannot\nbe opened yet.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs there nothing else I can do to help you?\u201d said the Prince. \u201cFor you\nappear to be under some terrible enchantment.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou can do everything,\u201d cried the White Dove. \u201cDo not leave this\nvalley. Stay here for one year and we shall be delivered.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat I cannot possibly do,\u201d said the Prince, \u201cfor no one will know\nwhat has become of me.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you refuse,\u201d said the Dove, with a determination you would never\nhave expected of her, \u201cyou yourself will be changed into an enormous\nhairy spider and dwell in a house of dried leaves and moss. Every one\nwho sees you will run away, and you will live a life of loneliness and\nmisery.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou have no consideration for my mother\u2019s tears,\u201d replied Sanfu. \u201cI am\nthe only son of my father. They will both think I am killed.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou shall be fully rewarded,\u201d said the Dove; \u201cif you do this for us\nyou will never regret it. But if you refuse you become a horrible\nspider, and neither your mother nor your father will ever recognise you\nagain.\u201d\n\n\u201cVery well,\u201d said the Prince. \u201cI promise to stay with you and help\nyou.\u201d\n\n\u201cGive me your wand,\u201d said the Dove to the Mute Woman. \u201cThe Prince must\nbe hungry.\u201d\n\nThe old woman gave the wand, and as it left her hand she herself\ndisappeared. The Dove took it and threw it on the ground, but curiously\nenough the two black birds perched on the top did not stir and were\nthrown down with the staff.\n\nDirectly the wand touched the ground there appeared an excellent meal,\nbowls of porridge and thick milk, and strips of meat served on a fine\nmat, and to crown all a big calabash full of good beer. Sanfu was very\nhungry and thirsty. He ate and drank well, and then lay down to sleep\nunder a rock.\n\nHe kept his word and never attempted to leave the valley. The Mute\nWoman did not appear again, and the White Dove sat in front of the cave\nand sang her former melancholy song. She never spoke at all, and might\nhave been nothing more than an ordinary bird. Every day food appeared,\nand although it was winter and the nights bitterly cold, Sanfu never so\nmuch as shivered in spite of having neither a roof to cover him nor\nkarosses in which to wrap himself.\n\n\u201cSo far I have done well,\u201d thought he, \u201cbut what shall I do when the\nrains come and the heavy thunderstorms? I shall be washed away or\nkilled by the hail.\u201d\n\nClouds began to appear every day, and the weather grew oppressively\nhot. At last one evening a tremendous thunderstorm arose, and Sanfu\nthought that his last hour had come. To his astonishment not a drop of\nrain touched him, and the ground on which he slept remained quite dry.\nAfter that he troubled himself no more, but passed his time as best he\ncould in solitude and weariness till the summer was past and the winter\nonce more appeared. At last the year was complete, and on the morning\nof the happy day he went to the Dove.\n\n\u201cThe year is over,\u201d said he, \u201cand now at last I can return to my\nparents. How glad I am to think I can see home once more!\u201d\n\n\u201cYou cannot be more glad than I,\u201d said the Dove, \u201cfor now I too shall\nbe free. Repeat the charm once more.\u201d\n\nThen the Prince repeated the words:\n\n\n       \u201cRiver, river, wonderful river, mighty river,\n        Loose your might and change us into human beings;\n        You it was who bewitched us,\n        Now change us again\u201d\u2014\n\n\nand the cave which had never opened before suddenly began to expand.\nThe whole of the rocky basin melted away and instead appeared open\ncountry, well-wooded and full of good pasture. Great herds of cattle\nroamed on the hills, and countless goats and sheep. The high,\ninaccessible cliffs were gone, and instead appeared the twin mountain\npeaks just as Sanfu had seen them a year ago.\n\n\u201cNow repeat the charm again,\u201d said the Dove.\n\nAt the magic words the other two caves opened and the beautiful birds\nflew out all over the meadows, while the animals came and ranged\nthemselves in ranks. The second time the words were repeated every\ncreature suddenly assumed the head and arms of human beings, and at the\nthird repetition they stood complete men and women. The animals became\nmagnificent warriors in serried ranks, at whose head stood a splendid\nman in leopard-skins, their King. By his side marched two fine Princes,\nand an old and wise magician with a long black wand. They were the two\nravens and the Mute Woman, as you have no doubt guessed already. But\nthe birds had changed to hundreds and thousands of beautiful girls,\nlaughing and singing. They came down the hillside running towards the\nPrince, and at their head was the loveliest woman he had ever beheld.\n\n\u201cI am the White Dove,\u201d said she. \u201cSee what you have done for me! Now\nrepeat the charm for the last time.\u201d\n\nAnd at the wonderful words the Black River and the Black Rock both\ndisappeared. In their place were seen ripe fields of mealies and Kafir\ncorn. Big orange-coloured pumpkins and shining green calabashes lay\namong the corn, and there were well-grown patches of beans and\nground-nuts. All was ready for gathering, the joyous harvest was at\nhand, and the men and women had only to reap.\n\nThen every one greeted the Prince with cries of welcome.\n\n\u201cWe owe you everything,\u201d said the King. \u201cI will give you a hundred fine\ncattle, and goats and sheep without end.\u201d\n\nBut Sanfu was silent and did not reply.\n\n\u201cYou do not seem pleased,\u201d said the King. \u201cIs there anything else we\ncan give you? You have only to ask.\u201d\n\n\u201cAll I want,\u201d answered Sanfu, looking at the White Dove, \u201cis the\nPrincess. I want no cattle, for I am a rich man, and my father a very\ngreat Chief. But I will give hundreds of oxen for the Princess if only\nI may have her for my wife.\u201d\n\nThe Princess looked at him with delight, but the King hesitated and\nsaid he must confer with his chief men. He consulted with them day\nafter day for many weeks\u2014not, I think, because he did not care for\nSanfu, but simply to show that he was a great King, and his daughter\nnot to be had for the mere asking.\n\nAt last, when poor Sanfu was worn out with anxiety, for he loved the\nPrincess dearly, the King said he was ready to receive him.\n\n\u201cThe Princess is yours,\u201d he said, \u201con condition that you stay here and\nlive in our country. Go home first, and bring what men you will as your\nfollowers, but do not leave us altogether.\u201d\n\nThe Prince willingly promised for the sake of the White Dove. He went\nhome, told all his adventures to his father and mother, and in the end\nall his people rose up and came with him. The wedding of Sanfu the\nhunter and the White Dove was celebrated with great festivities, and,\nas you may well believe, was soon followed by many more between his men\nand the beautiful girls who once were many-coloured birds.\n\n\n\n                                THE END\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\n[1] Imbula\u2014an ogre.\n\n[2] Sakobulas\u2014the Kafir name for the black birds just mentioned.\n\n[3] Rooibekkie\u2014Dutch for \u201cred beak.\u201d\n\n[4] Mantsiane\u2014the Kafir name for the rooibekkie.\n\n[5] Assegais\u2014small light spears, of which natives usually carry\nseveral. An assegai can be thrown as a dart or used like a spear at\nclose quarters.\n\n[6] Mealies\u2014the name generally used in South Africa for Indian corn or\nmaize.\n\n[7] This is the order in which Kafirs speak of the points of the\ncompass. The north is not mentioned in such expressions.\n\n[8] Creek.\u2014This word is used in the English-speaking districts of South\nAfrica to denote a narrow gorge in the mountains with a stream running\ndown the middle. As a rule they are thickly wooded and full of the most\nlovely ferns. In the Cape Colony they are called \u201ckloofs.\u201d\n\n[9] Impi\u2014a regiment.\n\n[10] Induna\u2014a head man or leader under the command of a chief.\n\n[11] Indaba\u2014a conference or council.\n\n[12] Karosses\u2014rugs made of skins or of bark, beautifully sewn together.\n\n[13] Thick milk. This is maas or mase, a preparation of sour milk.\nKafirs never drink fresh milk, but let it stand in special pots till\ncurds have formed.\n\n[14] An Inzimu, or Imbula, answers most nearly to the ogre of European\nfairy tales. He is semi-human, and prefers the flesh of man to any\nother. An ogress is called Nzuluqumbi. Both have light-coloured skins\nand red hair.\n\n[15] Lobola\u2014the marriage-gift presented by the bridegroom to the\nbride\u2019s father. This gift, consisting of cattle, gives him his legal\nclaim to his wife.\n\n[16] Kopje\u2014a small hill (pronounced \u201ckoppie\u201d).\n\n[17] Koodoo\u2014a kind of antelope with fine horns.\n\n[18] Knobkerrie\u2014a staff about the length and thickness of a policeman\u2019s\ntruncheon, with a round knob at the end. It can be thrown some distance\nor wielded in the hand, and is a very useful weapon. Native policemen\nunder British rule always carry one.\n\n[19] Red ochre is much prized among Kafirs as a dressing for the hair\nand skin. It is said to protect them from the heat of the sun, and is\nalso thought very becoming.\n\n[20] Manumbela\u2014a bush with bright glossy leaves and silvery stem. The\nfruit is bright red and grows closely round the stem in great\nquantities, a little like the English holly. The berries are the size\nof a small plum and are considered very good to eat.","title":"Fairy tales from South Africa","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":50708}