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South African Folk-Tales - James A. Honeÿ · William Tell Told Again

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Speaker 1: Section zero of South African folk Tales. This is a
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Speaker 1: LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
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Speaker 1: For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
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Speaker 1: South African folk Tales by James Albert Honey introduction. In
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Speaker 1: presenting these stories, which are of deep interest and value
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Speaker 1: to South Africans, I hope they may prove of some
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Speaker 1: value to those Americans who have either an interest in
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Speaker 1: animals or who appreciate the folklore of other countries. Many
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Speaker 1: of these tales have appeared among English collections previous to
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Speaker 1: eighteen eighty. Others have been translated from the Dutch, and
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Speaker 1: a few have been written from childhood remembrance. Consequently, they
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Speaker 1: do not pretend to be original or unique. Care has
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Speaker 1: been taken not to spoil the ethnological value for the
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Speaker 1: sake of form or structure, and in all cases they
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Speaker 1: are as nearly like the original as a translation from
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Speaker 1: one tongue to another will allow. They are all South
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Speaker 1: African folklore tales and mainly from the bushmen. Some are
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Speaker 1: perverted types from what were originally bushmen tales but have
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Speaker 1: been taken over by hottentots or Zulus, A few are
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Speaker 1: from the Dutch. Most of these last name will show
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Speaker 1: a European influence, especially French. Some of the animal stories
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Speaker 1: have appeared in American magazines under the author's name, but
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Speaker 1: this is the first time that a complete collection has
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Speaker 1: appeared since Doctor Bleek published his stories in eighteen sixty four.
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Speaker 1: The object has been to keep the stories apart from
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Speaker 1: those which have a mythological or religious significance, and especially
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Speaker 1: to keep it an animal collection, free from those in
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Speaker 1: which man appears to take a part. There will be
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Speaker 1: found several versions of the same story, and as far
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Speaker 1: as possible, these will be put in the order of
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Speaker 1: their importance in relation to the original. The author does
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Speaker 1: not pretend to be an authority on South African folklore,
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Speaker 1: but has only a South African born interest in what
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Speaker 1: springs from that country of sunshine. It is a difficult
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Speaker 1: task to attempt to trace the origin of these stories,
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Speaker 1: as there is no country where there have been so
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Speaker 1: many distinct and primitive races dwelling together. The bushmen seem
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Speaker 1: to trace back to the earliest Egyptian days, when dwarfs
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Speaker 1: were pictured on the tombs of the kings and were
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Speaker 1: distinct race from then until now it has been their
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Speaker 1: pride to say that before men were men, they were,
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Speaker 1: or to put it clearer, before Africa was inhabited by
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Speaker 1: other races, they were there, as represented by some of
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Speaker 1: these stories of the bushmen. What races have not then
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Speaker 1: had their influence on the folklore? According to Stow, they
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Speaker 1: were a wandering, primitive race of small men, painters and sculptors,
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Speaker 1: hunters and herdsmen, and withal, a race showing traces of
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Speaker 1: wonderful reasoning and adaptability, with a keen sense of justice
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Speaker 1: and a store of pride. Mythological some of their stories are,
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Speaker 1: but whether this is due to the influence of the Hottentots,
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Speaker 1: a later race, it is difficult to say. And lastly,
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Speaker 1: there are the Kaffirs, spread over the whole of South Africa,
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Speaker 1: domineering but backward. The varied influences which may have affected
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Speaker 1: these stories before they reached us show what enormous possibilities
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Speaker 1: there are for error in tracing the origin of the
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Speaker 1: animal tales here presented. Bleak finds that a greater congeniality
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Speaker 1: exists between the hot and Tot and European mind than
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Speaker 1: is found between the latter and any other of the
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Speaker 1: black races of Africa. Whether he means that this indicates
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Speaker 1: a European origin of the fable, I cannot say. There
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Speaker 1: is no doubt in my mind that the bushmen came
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Speaker 1: from the north and were the primitive race of South
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Speaker 1: and tropical Africa, the dwarfs of Livingstone, Stanley, and other explorers.
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Speaker 1: Considering then the great antiquity of this race, it naturally
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Speaker 1: follows that if these stories are not original with the bushmen,
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Speaker 1: they are at least so modified as to bear no
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Speaker 1: resemblance to Egyptian, Phoenician, or any other ancient race which
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Speaker 1: the Bushmen may have come in contact with. Herodotus described
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Speaker 1: a race on the Upper Nile, which corresponds with later
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Speaker 1: depictions of the bushmen in tropical and southern Africa. I
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Speaker 1: agree with what the South African Folklore Journal stated twenty
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Speaker 1: years or more ago that, with the quote vast stride
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Speaker 1: South Africa is making in the progress of civilization, the
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Speaker 1: native races will either be swept away or so altered
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Speaker 1: as to lose many of their ancient habits, customs, traditions,
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Speaker 1: or at least greatly to modify them. Knowing that by
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Speaker 1: a collection of this kind these stories could best be
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Speaker 1: preserved in feeling that others had not read them. I
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Speaker 1: began this collection ten years ago. There is so much
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Speaker 1: done now to preserve what is still Bushman folklore that
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Speaker 1: I feel this small volume is indeed only a small
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Speaker 1: addition to the folklore world. Quote. South African folklore is
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Speaker 1: the South African Folklore Journal says in its very nature,
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Speaker 1: plain and primitive in its simplicity, not adorned with the
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Speaker 1: wealth of palaces and precious stones to be met within
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Speaker 1: the folklore of more civilized nations, but descriptive in great
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Speaker 1: measure of the events of everyday life among those in
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Speaker 1: a low state of civilization, and with the exception of
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Speaker 1: evidences of moral qualities and of such imagery as is
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Speaker 1: connected with the phenomena of nature, very little that is
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Speaker 1: grand or magnificent must be looked for in it end quote.
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Speaker 1: Bain gives a story related by a Kaffir which shows
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Speaker 1: quote the distribution of animals after the creation end quote.
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Speaker 1: This story could not become typically Kaffir until after the
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Speaker 1: Kaffir came in contact with the European in the last
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Speaker 1: two or three hundred years. However, the story will serve
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Speaker 1: to illustrate the people whose stories appear in this volume,
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Speaker 1: and to close the introduction, Taiko in Kafir is the
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Speaker 1: supreme being. Taiko had every description of stock and property.
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Speaker 1: There were three nations created to wit the whites, the
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Speaker 1: Amahasa or Kaffirs, and the Amalou or hottentots. A day
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Speaker 1: was appointed for them to appear before the Taiko to
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Speaker 1: receive whatever he might apportion to each tribe. While they
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Speaker 1: were assembling, a honey bird or honey guy came fluttering by,
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Speaker 1: and all the hottentots ran after it, whistling and making
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Speaker 1: the peculiar noise they generally do while following this wonderful
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Speaker 1: little bird. The Taco remonstrated with them about their behavior,
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Speaker 1: but to no purpose. He thereupon denounced them as a
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Speaker 1: vagrant race that would have to exist on wild roots
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Speaker 1: and honey beer and possess no stalk whatever. When the
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Speaker 1: fine herds of cattle were brought, the Kaffirs became very
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Speaker 1: much excited, the one exclaiming that black and white cow
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Speaker 1: is mine, and another that red cow and black bull
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Speaker 1: are mine, and so on till at last the Taiko,
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Speaker 1: whose patience had been severely taxed by their shouts and
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Speaker 1: unruly behavior denounced them as a restless people who would
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Speaker 1: only possess cattle. The whites patiently waited until they received cattle, horses, sheep,
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Speaker 1: and all sorts of property. Hence the old Kaffir observed,
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Speaker 1: you whites have got everything. Kaffirs have only cattle, while
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Speaker 1: the amelou or Hottentots have nothing. James A. Hony, Cambridge, Massachusetts,
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Speaker 1: June nineteen ten, end of section zero, read by Laura Gibbs.
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Speaker 1: Section one of South African folk tales by James Albert Honey.
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Speaker 1: This lipriyfox recording is in the public domain. Origin of
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Speaker 1: the difference and modes of life between Hottentots and bushmen.
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Speaker 1: In the beginning, there were two. One was blind, the
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Speaker 1: other was always hunting. This hunter found at last a
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Speaker 1: hole in the earth from which game proceeded and killed
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Speaker 1: the young. The blind man, feeling and smelling them, said
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Speaker 1: they are not game, but cattle. The blind man afterwards
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Speaker 1: recovered his sight, and, going with the hunter to this hole,
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Speaker 1: saw that they were cows with their calves. He then
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Speaker 1: quickly built a crawl fence made of thorns round them,
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Speaker 1: and anointed himself just as hottentots in their native state
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Speaker 1: are still wont to do. When the other, who now
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Speaker 1: with great trouble, had to seek his game, came and
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Speaker 1: saw this, he wanted to anoint himself also. Look here,
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Speaker 1: said the other, you must throw the ointment into the fire,
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Speaker 1: and afterwards use it. He followed this advice, and the flames,
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Speaker 1: flaring up into his face, burnt him most miserably, so
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Speaker 1: that he was glad to make his escape. The other, however,
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Speaker 1: called to him, here, take the kiri a knobstick, and
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Speaker 1: run to the hills to hunt there for honey hints
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Speaker 1: sprung the Race of Bushmen and of Section one read
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Speaker 1: by Lord Gibbs, Section two of South African folk Tales
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Speaker 1: by James Albert Honey. This LibriVox recording is in the
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Speaker 1: public domain. The lost Message the aunt has had from
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Speaker 1: time immemorial many enemies, and because he is small and destructive,
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Speaker 1: there have been a great many slaughters among them. Not
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Speaker 1: only were most of the birds their enemies, but Aunt
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Speaker 1: Eeter lived almost wholly from them, and Centipede beset them
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Speaker 1: every time and at all places when he had the chance.
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Speaker 1: So now there were a few among them who thought
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Speaker 1: it would be well to hold council together and see
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Speaker 1: if they could not come to some arrangement whereby they
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Speaker 1: could retreat to some place of safety when attacked by
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Speaker 1: robber birds and animals. But at the gathering their opinions
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Speaker 1: were most discordant, and they could come to no decision.
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Speaker 1: There was red aunt, rice aunt, black ant, wagtail aunt,
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Speaker 1: gray ant, shining ant, and many other varieties. The discussion
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Speaker 1: was a true babble of diversity, which continued for a
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Speaker 1: long time and came to nothing. A part desired that
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Speaker 1: they should all go into a small hole in the
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Speaker 1: ground and live there. Another part wanted to have a
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Speaker 1: large and strong dwelling built on the ground where nobody
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Speaker 1: could enter but an ant. Still another wanted to dwell
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Speaker 1: in trees so as to get rid of ant eater,
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Speaker 1: forgetting entirely that there they would be the prey of birds.
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Speaker 1: Another part seemed inclined to have wings and fly. And
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Speaker 1: as has already been said, this deliberation amounted to nothing,
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Speaker 1: and each party resolved to go to work in its
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Speaker 1: own way and on its own responsibility. Greater unity than
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Speaker 1: that which existed in each separate faction could be seen
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Speaker 1: nowhere in the world. Each had his appointed task. Each
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Speaker 1: did his work regularly and well, and all worked together
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Speaker 1: in the same way. From among them they chose a king.
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Speaker 1: That is to say, some of the groups did, and
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Speaker 1: they divided the labor so that all went as smoothly
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Speaker 1: as it possibly could. But each group did it in
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Speaker 1: its own way, and not one of them thought of
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Speaker 1: protecting themselves against the onslaught of birds or aunt eater.
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Speaker 1: The red ants built their house on the ground and
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Speaker 1: lived under it, but aunt Eeter leveled to the ground
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Speaker 1: in a minute, what had cost them many days of
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Speaker 1: precious labor. The rice ants lived under the ground, and
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Speaker 1: with them it went no better, for whenever they came out,
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Speaker 1: aunt Eeter visited them and took them out sack and pack.
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Speaker 1: The wagtail ants fled to the trees, but there on
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Speaker 1: many occasions sat centipede waiting for them, or the birds
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Speaker 1: gobbled them up. The gray ants had intended to save
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Speaker 1: themselves from extermination by taking to flight, but this also
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Speaker 1: availed them nothing, because the lizard, the hunting spider, and
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Speaker 1: the birds when a great deal faster than they. When
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Speaker 1: the insect king heard that they could come to no agreement,
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Speaker 1: he sent them the secret of unity and the message
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Speaker 1: of work together. But unfortunately he chose for his messenger
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Speaker 1: the beadle, and he has never yet arrived at the ants,
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Speaker 1: so that they are still to day the embodiment of
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Speaker 1: discord and consequently the prey of enemies and of Section
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Speaker 1: two read by Laura Gibbs, Section three of South African
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Speaker 1: Folk Tales by James Albert Harney. This LibriVox recording is
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Speaker 1: in the public domain. The monkeys fiddle, hunger and want
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Speaker 1: forced monkey one day to forsake his land and to
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Speaker 1: seek elsewhere among strangers for much needed work. Bulbs, earth beings, scorpions,
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Speaker 1: insects and such things were completely exhausted in his own land,
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Speaker 1: but fortunately he received for the time being shelter with
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Speaker 1: a great uncle of his, Orangutang, who lived in another
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Speaker 1: part of the country. When he had worked for quite
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Speaker 1: a while, he wanted to return home and his recompense.
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Speaker 1: His great uncle gave him a fiddle and a bow
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Speaker 1: and an arrow, and told him that with the bow
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Speaker 1: and arrow he could hit and kill anything he desired,
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Speaker 1: and with the fiddle he could force anything to dance.
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Speaker 1: The first he met upon his return to his own
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Speaker 1: land was rare wolf this old fellow told him all
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Speaker 1: the news, and also that he had since early morning
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Speaker 1: been attempting to stalk a deer, but all in vain.
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Speaker 1: Then Monkey laid before him all the wonders of the
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Speaker 1: bow and arrow that he carried on his back, and
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Speaker 1: assured him, if he could but see the deer, he
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Speaker 1: would bring it down for him. When Wolf showed him
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Speaker 1: the deer monk, he was ready, and down fell the deer.
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Speaker 1: They made a good meal together, but instead of Wolf
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Speaker 1: being thankful, jealousy overmastered him, and he begged for the
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Speaker 1: bow and arrow. When Monkey refused to give it to him,
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Speaker 1: He thereupon began to threaten him with his greater strength,
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Speaker 1: And so when Jackal passed by, Wolf told him that
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Speaker 1: Monkey had stolen his bow and arrow. After Jackal had
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Speaker 1: heard both of them, he declared himself unqualified to settle
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Speaker 1: the case alone, and he proposed that they bring the
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Speaker 1: matter to the court of Lion, Tiger and the other animals.
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Speaker 1: In the meantime, he declared he would take possession of
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Speaker 1: what had been the cause of their quarrel, so that
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Speaker 1: it would be safe. As he said, but he immediately
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Speaker 1: brought to earth all that was eatable so there was
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Speaker 1: a long time of slaughter before Monkey and Wolf agreed
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Speaker 1: to have the affair in court. Monkey's evidence was weak,
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Speaker 1: and to make it worse, Jackal's testimony was against him.
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Speaker 1: Jackal thought that in this way it would be easier
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Speaker 1: to obtain the bow and arrow from Wolf for himself,
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Speaker 1: and so fell the sentence against Monkey. Theft was looked
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Speaker 1: upon as a great wrong. He must hang. The fiddle
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Speaker 1: was still at his side, and he received as a
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Speaker 1: last favor from the court the right to play a
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Speaker 1: tune on it. He was a master player of his time,
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Speaker 1: and in addition to this came the wonderful power of
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Speaker 1: his charmed fiddle. Thus, when he struck the first note
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Speaker 1: of cock Crow upon it, the court began at once
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Speaker 1: to show an unusual and spontaneous liveliness, And before he
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Speaker 1: came to the first waltzing turn of the old tune,
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Speaker 1: the whole court was dancing like a whirlwind. Over and over.
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Speaker 1: Quicker and quicker sounded the tune of cock Crow on
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Speaker 1: the charmed fiddle, until some of the dancers, exhausted, fell down,
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Speaker 1: although still keeping their feet in motion. But Monkey position
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Speaker 1: as he was heard and saw nothing of what had
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Speaker 1: happened around him. With his head placed lovingly against the
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Speaker 1: instrument and his eyes half closed, he played on, keeping
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Speaker 1: time ever with his foot. Wolf was the first to
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Speaker 1: cry out, in pleading tones breathlessly, please stop, cousin Monkey,
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Speaker 1: for love's sake, please stop. But Monkey did not even
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Speaker 1: hear him. Over and over sounded the resistless waltz of
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Speaker 1: cock crow. After a while, Lion showed signs of fatigue,
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Speaker 1: and when he had gone the round once more with
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Speaker 1: his young lion wife, he growled as he passed Monkey,
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Speaker 1: my whole kingdom is yours ape. If you just stop playing,
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Speaker 1: I do not want it, answered Monkey, But withdraw the
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Speaker 1: sentence and give me my bow and arrow. And you,
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Speaker 1: Wolf acknowledge that you stole it from me. I acknowledge,
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Speaker 1: I acknowledge, cried Wulf, while Lion cried at the same
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Speaker 1: instant that he would through the sentence. Monkey gave them
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Speaker 1: just a few more turns of the cock Crow gathered
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Speaker 1: up his bow and arrow and seated himself high up
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Speaker 1: in the nearest camelthorn tree. The court and other animals
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Speaker 1: were so afraid that he might begin again that they
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Speaker 1: hastily disbanded to new parts of the World and of
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Speaker 1: section three read by Laura Gibbs, Section four of South
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Speaker 1: African Folk Tales by James Albert Harney. This LibriVox recording
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Speaker 1: is in the public domain. The Tiger, the Ram and
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Speaker 1: the Jackal Tiger Leopard was returning home from hunting on
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Speaker 1: one occasion when he lighted on the crawl of Ram.
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Speaker 1: Now Tiger had never seen Ram before, and accordingly, approaching submissively,
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Speaker 1: he said, good day, friend, what may your name be?
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Speaker 1: The other, in his gruff voice, and striking his breast
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Speaker 1: with his forefoot, said I am Ram. Who are you?
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Speaker 1: Tiger answered the other more dead than alive, and then
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Speaker 1: taking leave of Ram, he ran home as fast as
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Speaker 1: he could. Jackal lived at the same place as Tiger did,
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Speaker 1: and the latter, going to him, said, friend Jackal, I
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Speaker 1: am quite out of breath and am half dead with fright,
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Speaker 1: for I have just seen a terrible looking fellow with
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Speaker 1: a large and thick head, And on my asking him
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Speaker 1: what his name was, he answered, I am Ram. What
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Speaker 1: a foolish fellow you are, cried Jackal. To let such
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Speaker 1: a nice piece of flesh stand? Why did you do so?
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Speaker 1: But we shall go tomorrow and eat it together. Next day,
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Speaker 1: the two set off for the crawl of Ram, and
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Speaker 1: as they appeared over a hill, Ram, who had turned
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Speaker 1: out to look about him and was calculating where he
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Speaker 1: should that day crop a tender salad, saw them, and
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Speaker 1: he immediately went to his wife and said, I fear
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Speaker 1: this is our last day, for Jackal and Tiger are
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Speaker 1: both coming against us. What shall we do. Don't be afraid,
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Speaker 1: said the wife, but take up the child in your arms,
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Speaker 1: go out with it and pinch it to make it
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Speaker 1: cry as if it were hungry. Ram did so. As
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Speaker 1: the confederates came on. No sooner did Tiger cast his
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Speaker 1: eyes on Ram, than fear again took possession of him,
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Speaker 1: and he wished to turn back. Jackal had provided against
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Speaker 1: this and made Tiger fast to himself with a leathern
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Speaker 1: thong and said, come on. When Ram cried in a
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Speaker 1: loud voice and pinching his child at the same time,
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Speaker 1: you have done well, friend, Jackal, to have brought us
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Speaker 1: Tiger to eat for you. Hear how my child is
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Speaker 1: crying for food on these dreadful words. Tiger, notwithstanding the
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Speaker 1: entreaties of Jackal to let him go, to let him loose,
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Speaker 1: set off in the greatest alarm dragged Jackal after him
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Speaker 1: over hill and valley, through bushes and over rocks, and
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Speaker 1: never stopped to look behind him till he brought back
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Speaker 1: himself and half dead Jackal to his place again, and
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Speaker 1: so Rahm escaped and of Section four read by Laura Gibbs,
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Speaker 1: Section five of South African Folk Tales by James Albert Honey.
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Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. The Jackal
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Speaker 1: and the Wolf. Once on a time, Jackal, who lived
21:48
Speaker 1: on the borders of the colony, saw a wagon returning
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Speaker 1: from the seaside laden with fish. He tried to get
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Speaker 1: into the wagon from behind, but he could not. He
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Speaker 1: then ran on before and lay in the road as
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Speaker 1: if dead. The wagon came up to him, and the
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Speaker 1: leader cried to the driver, here is a fine cross
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Speaker 1: for your wife. Throw it into the wagon, said the driver,
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Speaker 1: and Jackal was thrown in. The wagon traveled on through
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Speaker 1: a moonlight night, and all the while Jackal was throwing
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Speaker 1: out the fish into the road. He then jumped out
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Speaker 1: himself and secured a great prize. But stupid old wolf
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Speaker 1: Hyena coming by, ate more than his share, for which
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Speaker 1: Jackal owed him a grudge and he said to him,
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Speaker 1: you can get plenty of fish too, if you lie
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Speaker 1: in the way of a wagon as I did, and
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Speaker 1: keep quite still whatever happens, so mumbled Wulf. Accordingly, when
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Speaker 1: the next wagon came from the sea, Wolf stretched himself
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Speaker 1: out in the road. What ugly thing is this, cried
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Speaker 1: the leader, and kicked Wolf. He then took a stick
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Speaker 1: and thrashed him within an inch of his life. Wolf,
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Speaker 1: according to the directions of Jackal, lay quiet as long
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Speaker 1: as he could. He then got up and hobbled off
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Speaker 1: to tell his misfortune to Jackal, who pretended to comfort him.
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Speaker 1: What a pity, said Wulf, I have not got such
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Speaker 1: a handsome skin as you have. End of section five
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Speaker 1: read by Laura Gibbs, Section six of South African Folk
23:35
Speaker 1: Tales by James Albert Harney. This LibriVox recording is in
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Speaker 1: the public domain. A jackal and a wolf. Jackal and
23:44
Speaker 1: wolf went and hired themselves to a man to be
23:47
Speaker 1: his servants. In the middle of the night, Jackal rose
23:51
Speaker 1: and smeared Wolfe's tale with some fat, and then ate
23:54
Speaker 1: all the rest of it in the house. In the morning,
23:58
Speaker 1: the man missed the fat, and he immediately accused jackal
24:01
Speaker 1: of having eaten it. Look at wolf's tale, said the rogue,
24:05
Speaker 1: and you will see who is the thief. The man
24:09
Speaker 1: did so, and then thrashed wolf till he was nearly dead.
24:14
Speaker 1: And of Section six read by Lour Gibbs. Section seven
24:25
Speaker 1: of South African Folk Tales by James Albert Honey. This
24:29
Speaker 1: LibriVox recording is in the public domain. The Lion, the Jackal,
24:34
Speaker 1: and the Man. It so happened one day that lion
24:38
Speaker 1: and Jackal came together to converse on affairs of land
24:42
Speaker 1: and state. Jackal, let me say, was the most important
24:45
Speaker 1: adviser to the king of the forest. And after they
24:48
Speaker 1: had spoken about these matters for quite a while, the
24:51
Speaker 1: conversation took a more personal turn. Lion began to boast
24:56
Speaker 1: and talk big about his strength. Jackal had perhaps given
25:01
Speaker 1: him cause for it, because by nature he was a flatterer.
25:05
Speaker 1: But now that Lion began to assume so many heirs,
25:09
Speaker 1: said he see here, Lion, I will show you an
25:12
Speaker 1: animal that is still more powerful than you are. They
25:16
Speaker 1: walked along, Jackal leading the way, and met first a
25:20
Speaker 1: little boy. Is this the strong man, asked Lion. No,
25:25
Speaker 1: answered Jackal. He must still become a man, O King.
25:30
Speaker 1: After a while they found an old man walking with
25:32
Speaker 1: bowed head and supporting his bent figure with a stick.
25:37
Speaker 1: Is this the wonderful strong man, asked Lion. Not yet,
25:41
Speaker 1: O King, was Jackal's answer, He has been a man.
25:46
Speaker 1: Continuing their walk a short distance farther, they came across
25:50
Speaker 1: a young hunter, in the prime of youth, and accompanied
25:54
Speaker 1: by some of his dogs. There you have him now,
25:57
Speaker 1: O King, said Jackal. Your strength against his, and if
26:02
Speaker 1: you win, then truly you are the strength of the earth.
26:06
Speaker 1: Then Jackal made tracks to one side, toward a little
26:10
Speaker 1: rocky copy from which he would be able to see
26:13
Speaker 1: the meeting. Growling, growling, Lion strode forward to meet the man,
26:19
Speaker 1: but when he came close, the dogs beset him. He, however,
26:23
Speaker 1: paid but little attention to the dogs, pushed and separated
26:26
Speaker 1: them on all sides with a few sweeps of his
26:29
Speaker 1: front paws. They howled aloud, beating a hasty retreat toward
26:34
Speaker 1: the man. Thereupon the man fired a charge of shot,
26:39
Speaker 1: hitting him behind the shoulder, But even to this Lion
26:42
Speaker 1: paid but little attention. Thereupon, the hunter pulled out his
26:46
Speaker 1: steel knife and gave him a few good jabs lion retreated,
26:51
Speaker 1: followed by the flying bullets of the hunter. Well are
26:55
Speaker 1: you strong as now? Was Jackal's first question when Lion
26:59
Speaker 1: arrived at his side. No, Jackal answered lyon, let that
27:03
Speaker 1: fellow there keep the name and welcome such as he
27:07
Speaker 1: I have never before seen. In the first place, he
27:10
Speaker 1: had about ten of his bodyguards storm me. I really
27:14
Speaker 1: did not bother myself much about them. But when I
27:17
Speaker 1: attempted to turn him to chaff, he spat and blew
27:21
Speaker 1: fire at me, mostly into my face that burned just
27:25
Speaker 1: a little, but not very badly. And when I again
27:28
Speaker 1: endeavored to pull him to the ground, he jerked out
27:31
Speaker 1: from his body one of his ribs, with which he
27:33
Speaker 1: gave me some very ugly wounds, so bad that I
27:37
Speaker 1: had to make chips fly. And as a parting, he
27:40
Speaker 1: sent some warm bullets after me. No Jackal give him
27:45
Speaker 1: the name and of Section seven read by Laura Gibbs.
27:57
Speaker 1: Section eight of South African folklore tale by James Albert Harney.
28:02
Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain The World's Reward.
28:08
Speaker 1: Once there was a man that had an old dog,
28:11
Speaker 1: so old that the man desired to put him aside.
28:14
Speaker 1: The dog had served him very faithfully when he was
28:16
Speaker 1: still young. But ingratitude is the world's reward, and the
28:21
Speaker 1: man now wanted to dispose of him. The old dumb creature, however,
28:26
Speaker 1: ferreted out the plan of his master, and so at
28:29
Speaker 1: once resolved to go away of his own accord. After
28:33
Speaker 1: he had walked quite away, he met an old bull
28:35
Speaker 1: in the velt. Don't you want to go with me?
28:38
Speaker 1: Asked the dog. Where was the reply to the land
28:42
Speaker 1: of the aged, said the dog, Where troubles don't disturb you,
28:46
Speaker 1: and thanklessness does not deface the deeds of man good,
28:51
Speaker 1: said the bull, I am your companion. The two now
28:55
Speaker 1: walked on and found a ram. The dog laid the
28:58
Speaker 1: plan before him, and all moved off together, until they
29:03
Speaker 1: afterwards came successively upon a donkey, a cat, a cock,
29:08
Speaker 1: and a goose. These joined their company, and the seven
29:12
Speaker 1: set out on their journey. Late one night, they came
29:15
Speaker 1: to a house, and through the open door they saw
29:18
Speaker 1: a table spread with all kinds of nice food, of
29:21
Speaker 1: which some robbers were having their fill. It would help
29:25
Speaker 1: nothing to ask for admittance, and seeing that they were hungry,
29:29
Speaker 1: they must think of something else. Thereupon, the donkey climbed
29:33
Speaker 1: up on the bull, the ram on the donkey, the
29:36
Speaker 1: dog on the ram, the cat on the dog, the
29:39
Speaker 1: goose on the cat, and the cock on the goose,
29:43
Speaker 1: And with one accord they all let out terrible, threatening noises, crying.
29:49
Speaker 1: The bull began to bellow, the donkey to bray, the
29:52
Speaker 1: dog to bark, the ram to bleat, the cat to mew,
29:56
Speaker 1: the goose to giggle, gaggle, and the cock to crow,
30:00
Speaker 1: all without cessation. The people in the house were frightened,
30:04
Speaker 1: perfectly limp they glanced out through the front door, and
30:08
Speaker 1: there they stared on the strange sight. Some of them
30:11
Speaker 1: took to the ropes over the back lower door, some
30:14
Speaker 1: disappeared through the window, and in a few counts the
30:17
Speaker 1: house was empty. Then the seven old animals climbed down
30:21
Speaker 1: from one another, stepped into the house, and satisfied themselves
30:25
Speaker 1: with the delicious food. But when they had finished, there
30:30
Speaker 1: still remained a great deal of food, too much to
30:32
Speaker 1: take with them on their remaining journey, And so together
30:35
Speaker 1: they contrived a plan to hold their position until the
30:38
Speaker 1: next day. After breakfast, the dog said, see here I
30:43
Speaker 1: am accustomed to watch at the front door of my
30:45
Speaker 1: master's house. And thereupon flocked himself down to sleep. The
30:50
Speaker 1: bulls said, I go behind the door, and there he
30:53
Speaker 1: took his position. The ram said, I will go up
30:57
Speaker 1: on to the loft. The donkey I the middle door,
31:01
Speaker 1: the cat I in the fireplace, the goose I in
31:05
Speaker 1: the back door. And the cock said I AM going
31:08
Speaker 1: to sleep on the bed. The captain of the robbers,
31:12
Speaker 1: after a while, sent one of his men back to
31:15
Speaker 1: see if these creatures had yet left the house. The
31:18
Speaker 1: man came very cautiously into the neighborhood, listened and listened,
31:23
Speaker 1: but he heard nothing. He peeped through the window and
31:27
Speaker 1: saw in the grate just two coals, still glimmering, and
31:30
Speaker 1: thereupon started to walk through the front door. There the
31:34
Speaker 1: old dog seized him by the leg. He jumped into
31:38
Speaker 1: the house, but the bull was ready swept him up
31:41
Speaker 1: with his horns and tossed him on to the loft.
31:44
Speaker 1: Here the ram received him and pushed him off the
31:47
Speaker 1: loft again, reaching ground, he made for the middle door,
31:52
Speaker 1: but the donkey set up a terrible braying, and at
31:55
Speaker 1: the same time gave him a kick that landed him
31:57
Speaker 1: in the fireplace, where the cat flew at him and
32:00
Speaker 1: scratched him nearly to pieces. He then jumped out through
32:04
Speaker 1: the back door, and here the goose got him by
32:06
Speaker 1: the trousers. When he was some distance away, the cock crowed.
32:12
Speaker 1: He thereupon ran, so that you could hear the stones
32:15
Speaker 1: rattle in the dark, purple and crimson, and out of breath.
32:18
Speaker 1: He came back to his companions frightful. Frightful was all
32:23
Speaker 1: that they could get from him at first, But after
32:25
Speaker 1: a while he told them. When I looked through the window,
32:29
Speaker 1: I saw in the fireplace two bright coals shining. And
32:32
Speaker 1: when I wanted to go through the front door to
32:34
Speaker 1: go and look, I stepped into an iron trap. I
32:38
Speaker 1: jumped into the house, and there someone seized me with
32:41
Speaker 1: a fork and pitched me up on to the loft.
32:43
Speaker 1: There again someone was ready and threw me down on
32:46
Speaker 1: all fours. I wanted to fly through the middle door,
32:49
Speaker 1: but there someone blew on a trumpet and smote me
32:53
Speaker 1: with a sledge hammer, so that I did not know
32:55
Speaker 1: where I landed. But coming too very quickly, I found
32:58
Speaker 1: I was in the fireplace, and there another flew at
33:01
Speaker 1: me and scratched the eyes almost out of my head.
33:04
Speaker 1: I thereupon fled out of the back door. And lastly,
33:08
Speaker 1: I was attacked on the leg by the six with
33:11
Speaker 1: a pair of fire tongs, And when I was still
33:14
Speaker 1: running away, someone shouted out of the house stop him,
33:18
Speaker 1: Stop him. And of section eight read by Laura Gibbs
33:32
Speaker 1: sech a nine of South African Folk Tales by James
33:36
Speaker 1: Albert Honey. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
33:41
Speaker 1: The Lion and Jackal not because he was exactly the
33:45
Speaker 1: most capable or progressive fellow in the neighborhood, but because
33:49
Speaker 1: he always gave that idea. That is why Jackal slowly
33:53
Speaker 1: acquired among the neighbors the name of a progressive man.
33:58
Speaker 1: The truly well bred people around him, who did not
34:01
Speaker 1: wish to hurt his feelings, seemed to apply this name
34:04
Speaker 1: to him instead of, for instance, cunning scamp or all
34:09
Speaker 1: wise rat trap, as so many others often dubbed him.
34:14
Speaker 1: He obtained this name of a progressive man because he
34:18
Speaker 1: spoke most of the time English, especially if he thought
34:22
Speaker 1: some of them were present who could not understand it,
34:26
Speaker 1: and also because he could always hold his body so
34:29
Speaker 1: much like a judge on public occasions. He had a
34:33
Speaker 1: smooth tongue could make quite a favorable speech, and especially
34:38
Speaker 1: with good effect, could he expatiate on the backwardness of others. Underneath,
34:44
Speaker 1: he really was the most unlettered man in the vicinity,
34:48
Speaker 1: but he had perfect control over his inborn cunningness, which
34:53
Speaker 1: allowed him for a long time to go triumphantly through
34:56
Speaker 1: life as a man of great ability. Time, for instance,
35:01
Speaker 1: he lost his tail in an iron trap. He had
35:04
Speaker 1: long attempted to reach the boar's goose pen, and had
35:08
Speaker 1: framed many good plans. But when he came to his senses,
35:11
Speaker 1: he was sitting in front of the goose pen with
35:13
Speaker 1: his tail and the iron trap, the dogs all the
35:17
Speaker 1: time coming for him. When he realized what it meant,
35:20
Speaker 1: he mustered together all his strength and pulled his tail,
35:24
Speaker 1: which he always thought so much of, clean off. This
35:28
Speaker 1: would immediately have made him the butt of the whole
35:30
Speaker 1: neighborhood had he not thought of a plan. He called
35:34
Speaker 1: together a meeting of the jackals and made them believe
35:37
Speaker 1: that Lion had issued a proclamation to the effect that
35:41
Speaker 1: all jackals in the future should be tailless, because their
35:45
Speaker 1: beautiful tails were a thorn in the eyes of more
35:48
Speaker 1: unfortunate animals. In his smooth way, he told them how
35:52
Speaker 1: He regretted that the king should have the barbaric right
35:55
Speaker 1: to interfere with his subjects, but so it was, and
35:59
Speaker 1: he thought the sooner he paid attention to it, the safer. Therefore,
36:03
Speaker 1: he had had his tail cut off already, and he
36:06
Speaker 1: should advise all his friends to do the same. And
36:09
Speaker 1: so it happened that once all Jackals, for a long
36:12
Speaker 1: time were without tales. Later on they grew again. It
36:17
Speaker 1: was about the same time that Tiger hired Jackal as
36:20
Speaker 1: a schoolmaster. Tiger was, in those days the richest man
36:24
Speaker 1: in the surrounding country, and as he had had to
36:27
Speaker 1: suffer a great deal himself because he was so untutored,
36:31
Speaker 1: he wanted his children to have the best education that
36:34
Speaker 1: could be obtained. It was shortly after a meeting in
36:37
Speaker 1: which it was shown how important a thing an education was,
36:41
Speaker 1: that Tiger approached Jackal and asked him to come and
36:44
Speaker 1: teach his children. Jackal was very ready to do this.
36:48
Speaker 1: It was not exactly his vocation, he said, but he
36:51
Speaker 1: would do it to pass time, and just out of
36:53
Speaker 1: friendship for his neighbor. His and Tiger's farm lands lay
36:57
Speaker 1: next to each other. That he did not teaching his
37:00
Speaker 1: profession and that he possessed no degree was of no
37:04
Speaker 1: account in the eyes of Tiger. Do not praise my
37:07
Speaker 1: goodness so much, cousin, Jackal laughed, he we know you're
37:11
Speaker 1: worth well enough. Much rather would I entrust my offspring
37:14
Speaker 1: to you than to the many so called schoolmasters. For
37:18
Speaker 1: it is especially my wish, as well as that of
37:21
Speaker 1: their mother, to have our children obtain a progressive education,
37:25
Speaker 1: and to make such men and women of them, that,
37:27
Speaker 1: with the same ability as you have, they can take
37:31
Speaker 1: their lawful places in the world. One condition, said Jackal,
37:35
Speaker 1: I must state, it will be very inconvenient for me,
37:39
Speaker 1: almost impossible to come here to your farm and hold school.
37:43
Speaker 1: My own farm would in that case go to pieces,
37:46
Speaker 1: and that I cannot let happen. It would never pay me.
37:49
Speaker 1: Tiger answered that it was not exactly necessary either. In
37:53
Speaker 1: spite of their attachment to the little ones, they saw
37:56
Speaker 1: that it would probably be to their benefit to place
37:59
Speaker 1: them for a while in a stranger's house. Jackal then
38:03
Speaker 1: told of his own bringing up by Wolf. He remembered
38:06
Speaker 1: well how small he was when his father sent him
38:08
Speaker 1: away to study with Wolf. Naturally, since then he had
38:12
Speaker 1: passed through many schools, Wolf was only his first teacher,
38:16
Speaker 1: and only in his later days did he realize how
38:19
Speaker 1: much good it had done him. A man must bend
38:22
Speaker 1: the sapling while it is still young, said he. There
38:25
Speaker 1: is no time that the child is so open to
38:28
Speaker 1: impressions as when he is plastic about the age that
38:32
Speaker 1: most of your children are at present, and I was
38:34
Speaker 1: just thinking you would be doing a wise thing to
38:37
Speaker 1: send them away for quite a while. He had fortunately
38:40
Speaker 1: just then a room in his house that would be
38:42
Speaker 1: suited for a school room, and his wife could easily
38:45
Speaker 1: make some arrangement for their lodging, even if they had
38:48
Speaker 1: to enlarge their dwellings somewhat. It was then and there
38:51
Speaker 1: agreed upon. Tiger's wife was then consulted about one thing
38:55
Speaker 1: and another, and the following day the children were to leave.
38:59
Speaker 1: I've just thought of one one more thing, remarked Jackal.
39:02
Speaker 1: Seven children, besides my little lot, will be quite a
39:06
Speaker 1: care on our hands. So you will have to send
39:08
Speaker 1: over each week a fat lamb. And in order not
39:11
Speaker 1: to disturb their progress, the children will have to relinquish
39:15
Speaker 1: the idea of a vacation spent with you for some time.
39:18
Speaker 1: When I think they've become used to the bit, I
39:21
Speaker 1: will inform you, and then you can come and take
39:23
Speaker 1: them to make you a short visit. But not until then.
39:27
Speaker 1: It is also better, continued he that they do not
39:30
Speaker 1: see you for the first while, but your wife can
39:33
Speaker 1: come and see them every Saturday, and I will see
39:36
Speaker 1: to all else. On the following day, there was an
39:39
Speaker 1: unearthly howling and wailing when the children were to leave,
39:44
Speaker 1: but Tiger and their mother showed them that it was
39:46
Speaker 1: best and that someday they would see that it was
39:48
Speaker 1: all for their good and that their parents were doing
39:51
Speaker 1: it out of kindness. Eventually they were gone. The first
39:56
Speaker 1: Saturday dawned, and early that morning Missus Tiger was on
39:59
Speaker 1: her way to Jackal's dwelling because she could not defer
40:02
Speaker 1: the time any longer. She was still a long way
40:05
Speaker 1: off when Jackal caught sight of her. He always observed
40:09
Speaker 1: neighborly customs and so stepped out to meet her. After
40:13
Speaker 1: they had greeted each other, Missus Tiger's first question was, well,
40:17
Speaker 1: Cousin Jackal, how goes everything with the small team? Are
40:21
Speaker 1: they still all well and happy? And do they not
40:24
Speaker 1: trouble you, cousin Jackal too much? Oh? My goodness, no,
40:28
Speaker 1: Missus Tiger answered Jackal enthusiastically. But don't let us talk
40:32
Speaker 1: so loud, because if they heard you, it certainly would
40:35
Speaker 1: cause them many heartfelt tears, and they might also want
40:39
Speaker 1: to go back with you, and then all our trouble
40:41
Speaker 1: would have been for nothing. But I would like to
40:44
Speaker 1: see them, cousin, Jackal, said Missus Tiger, a little disturbed.
40:49
Speaker 1: Why certainly, Missus Tiger was his answer. But I do
40:53
Speaker 1: not think it is wise for them to see you.
40:56
Speaker 1: I will lift them up to the window, one by one,
40:58
Speaker 1: and then you can put your mind at rest concerning
41:01
Speaker 1: their health and progress. After mister and missus Jackal and
41:04
Speaker 1: Missus Tiger had sat together for some time, drinking coffee
41:08
Speaker 1: and talking over one thing and another, Jackal took Tiger's
41:12
Speaker 1: wife to a door and told her to look through
41:14
Speaker 1: it out upon the back yard. There he would show
41:18
Speaker 1: her the children one by one, while they would not
41:21
Speaker 1: be able to see her. Everything was done exactly as
41:24
Speaker 1: Jackal had said, But the sixth little Tiger he picked
41:28
Speaker 1: up twice because the first born he had the day
41:32
Speaker 1: before prepared in pickle for their Sunday meal. And so
41:37
Speaker 1: it happened every Saturday until the last little Tiger, which
41:42
Speaker 1: was the youngest, had to be lifted up seven times
41:46
Speaker 1: in succession. And when Missus Tiger came again the following week,
41:51
Speaker 1: all was still as death, and everything seemed to have
41:55
Speaker 1: a deserted appearance on the estate. She walked straight to
41:59
Speaker 1: the front door, and there she found a letter in
42:01
Speaker 1: the pole grass near the door, which read, thus we
42:05
Speaker 1: have gone for a picnic with the children. From there
42:08
Speaker 1: we will ride by Jackals dance for New Year. This
42:11
Speaker 1: is necessary for the completion of their progressive education Jackal.
42:17
Speaker 1: Saturday after Saturday did Missus Tiger go and look, But
42:22
Speaker 1: every time Jackal's house seemed to look more deserted. And
42:26
Speaker 1: after a while there was a spider's web over the door,
42:29
Speaker 1: and the trail of snake showed that he too had
42:33
Speaker 1: taken up his abode there. And of Section nine read
42:39
Speaker 1: by Laura Gibbs, Section ten of South African Folk Tales
42:49
Speaker 1: by James Albert Honey. This LibriVox recording is in the
42:53
Speaker 1: public domain. Tink, tinky, The birds wanted a king. Men
42:59
Speaker 1: have a king, so have animals, and why shouldn't they
43:03
Speaker 1: all had assembled the Ostrich because he is the largest
43:07
Speaker 1: one called out, no, he can't fly. Eagle on account
43:11
Speaker 1: of his strength. Not he he is too ugly, Vulture,
43:16
Speaker 1: because he can fly the highest. No, vulture is too dirty,
43:21
Speaker 1: his odor is terrible. Peacock, he is so beautiful, his
43:26
Speaker 1: feet are too ugly. And also his voice owl because
43:31
Speaker 1: he can see well. Not owl, he is ashamed of
43:34
Speaker 1: the light. And so they got no further. Then one
43:38
Speaker 1: shouted aloud, he who can fly the highest, will be king. Yes, yes,
43:43
Speaker 1: they all screamed, and at a given signal, they all
43:46
Speaker 1: ascended straight up into the sky. Vulture flew for three
43:51
Speaker 1: whole days without stopping, straight toward the sun. Then he
43:55
Speaker 1: cried aloud, I am the highest. I am King si Zie.
44:01
Speaker 1: He heard above him, there tink Tinki was flying. He
44:05
Speaker 1: had held fast to one of the great wing feathers
44:08
Speaker 1: of vulture and had never been felt. He was so light. SITZITZI,
44:13
Speaker 1: I am the highest. I am King, piped tink Tinki.
44:18
Speaker 1: Vulture flew for another day, still ascending. I am highest,
44:23
Speaker 1: I am King TITSITSI, I am the highest, I am King.
44:28
Speaker 1: Tink Tinkie mocked. There he was again, having crept out
44:31
Speaker 1: from under the wing of vulture. Vulture flew on the
44:34
Speaker 1: fifth day straight up in the air. I am the highest,
44:38
Speaker 1: I am king, he called TITSITSI piped the little fellow
44:43
Speaker 1: above him. I am the highest, I am king. Vulture
44:47
Speaker 1: was tired and now flew direct to earth. The other
44:51
Speaker 1: birds were mad through and through. Tink Tinki must die
44:55
Speaker 1: because he had taken advantage of vulture's feathers and there
44:58
Speaker 1: hidden himself. All flew after him, and he had to
45:02
Speaker 1: take refuge in a mouse hole. But how were they
45:05
Speaker 1: to get him out? Someone must stand guard to seize him.
45:09
Speaker 1: At the moment he put out his head, Al must
45:12
Speaker 1: keep guard. He has the largest eyes. He can see well,
45:15
Speaker 1: they exclaimed. Al went and took up his position before
45:19
Speaker 1: the hole. The sun was warm, and soon Al became sleepy,
45:23
Speaker 1: and presently he was fast asleep. Tink Tinki peeped, saw
45:29
Speaker 1: that Al was asleep, and zip away he went. Shortly afterwards,
45:34
Speaker 1: the other birds came to see if tink Tinki were
45:36
Speaker 1: still in the hole. Tit tit they heard in a tree,
45:39
Speaker 1: and there the little vagabond was sitting. White Crow, perfectly disgusted,
45:46
Speaker 1: turned around and exclaimed, now I won't say a single
45:49
Speaker 1: word more. And from that day to this White Crow
45:53
Speaker 1: has never spoken, even though you strike him. He makes
45:57
Speaker 1: no sound, he utters no cry. End of Section ten
46:03
Speaker 1: read by Laura Gibbs, Section eleven of South African Folk
46:14
Speaker 1: Tales by James Albert Haney. This LibriVox recording is in
46:17
Speaker 1: the public domain. The lion and jackal. Lion had now
46:24
Speaker 1: caught a large eland, which lay dead on the top
46:26
Speaker 1: of a high bank. Lion was thirsty and wanted to
46:30
Speaker 1: go and drink water. Jackal, look after my eland. I'm
46:33
Speaker 1: going to get a drink. Don't you eat any very well?
46:37
Speaker 1: Uncle Lion lyon went to the river, and Jackal quietly
46:40
Speaker 1: removed a stone on which Lion had to step to
46:43
Speaker 1: reach the bank on his return. After that, Jackal and
46:46
Speaker 1: his wife ate heartily of the eland. Lion returned but
46:51
Speaker 1: could not scale the bank. Jackal help me, he shouted, Yes,
46:56
Speaker 1: Uncle Lion, I will let down a rope and then
46:58
Speaker 1: you can climb up. Jackal whispered to his wife, give
47:02
Speaker 1: me one of the old thin hide ropes, and then
47:05
Speaker 1: aloud he added, wife, give me one of the strong
47:08
Speaker 1: buffalo ropes so uncle Lion won't fall. His wife gave
47:13
Speaker 1: him an old rotten rope. Jackal and his wife first
47:16
Speaker 1: ate ravenously of the meat, then gradually let the rope down.
47:21
Speaker 1: Lion seized it and struggled up. When he neared the brink,
47:25
Speaker 1: Jackal gave the rope a jerk. It broke and down.
47:28
Speaker 1: Lion began to roll, rolled the whole way down and
47:32
Speaker 1: finally lay at the foot near the river. Jackal began
47:36
Speaker 1: to beat a dry hide that lay there as he howled,
47:39
Speaker 1: cried and shouted, wife, why did you give me such
47:42
Speaker 1: a bad rope that caused Uncle Lion to fall. Lion
47:46
Speaker 1: heard the row and roared, Jackal, stop beating your wife.
47:51
Speaker 1: I will hurt you if you don't cease help me
47:53
Speaker 1: to climb up, Uncle Lion, I will give you a rope,
47:57
Speaker 1: whispering again to his wife, give me one of the
48:00
Speaker 1: old thin hide ropes and shouting aloud again, give me
48:04
Speaker 1: a strong buffalo rope, wife, that will not break again
48:08
Speaker 1: with lion. Jackal gave out the rope, and when Lion
48:12
Speaker 1: had nearly reached the top, he cut the rope through
48:15
Speaker 1: snap and Lion began to roll to the bottom. Jackal
48:19
Speaker 1: again beat on the hide and shouted, wife, why did
48:22
Speaker 1: you give me such a rotten rope? Didn't I tell
48:25
Speaker 1: you to give me a strong one? Lion roared, Jackal,
48:28
Speaker 1: stop beating your wife at once. Help me instantly, or
48:32
Speaker 1: you will be sorry. Wife. Jackal said aloud, Give me
48:36
Speaker 1: now the strongest rope you have, and decide to her
48:40
Speaker 1: give me the worst rope of the lot. Jackal again
48:44
Speaker 1: let down a rope, but just as lion reached the top,
48:48
Speaker 1: Jackal gave a strong tug and broke the rope. Poor
48:51
Speaker 1: old lion rolled down the side of the hill and
48:54
Speaker 1: lay there, roaring from pain. He had been fatally hurt. Jackalinged, uncle, Lion,
49:02
Speaker 1: have you hurt yourself? Have you much pain? Wait a while,
49:06
Speaker 1: I am coming directly to help you. Jackal and his
49:09
Speaker 1: wife slowly walked away. End of Section eleven read by
49:15
Speaker 1: Lord Gibbs, Section twelve of South African Folk Tales by
49:26
Speaker 1: James Albert Honey. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
49:30
Speaker 1: Lion and Jackal. The lion and the jackal agreed to
49:34
Speaker 1: hunt on shares for the purpose of laying in a
49:37
Speaker 1: stock of meat for the winter months for their families.
49:40
Speaker 1: As the lion was by far the more expert hunter
49:44
Speaker 1: of the two, the jackals suggested that he himself should
49:47
Speaker 1: be employed in transporting the game to their dens, and
49:50
Speaker 1: that Missus Jackal and the little Jackals should prepare and
49:53
Speaker 1: dry the meat, adding that they would take care that
49:56
Speaker 1: Missus Lyon and her family should not want. This was
49:59
Speaker 1: a agreed to by the lion, and the hunt commenced.
50:03
Speaker 1: After a very successful hunt, which lasted for some time,
50:06
Speaker 1: the Lion returned to see his family and also to enjoy,
50:10
Speaker 1: as he thought, a plentiful supply of his spoil, when,
50:13
Speaker 1: to his utter surprise he found Missus Lion and all
50:17
Speaker 1: the young lions on the point of death from sheer
50:19
Speaker 1: hunger and in a mangy state. The Jackal, it appeared,
50:24
Speaker 1: had only given them a few entrails of the game,
50:27
Speaker 1: and in such limited quantities as barely to keep them alive,
50:31
Speaker 1: always telling them that they, that is, the Lion and himself,
50:35
Speaker 1: had been most unsuccessful in their hunting, while his own
50:39
Speaker 1: family was reveling in abundance, and each member of it
50:42
Speaker 1: was sleek and fat. This was too much for the
50:45
Speaker 1: Lion to bear. He immediately started off in a terrible fury,
50:49
Speaker 1: vowing certain death to the Jackal and all his family
50:52
Speaker 1: wherever he should meet them. The Jackal was more or
50:56
Speaker 1: less prepared for a storm, and had taken the precaution
50:59
Speaker 1: to remove all his belongings to the top of Akranz,
51:02
Speaker 1: that is a cliff accessible only by a most difficult
51:06
Speaker 1: and circuitous path, which he alone knew. When the lion
51:10
Speaker 1: saw him on the Krantz, the jackal immediately greeted him
51:13
Speaker 1: by calling out, good morning, uncle, lion. How dare you
51:18
Speaker 1: call me uncle? You impudent scoundrel, roared out the lion
51:22
Speaker 1: in a voice of thunder, after the way in which
51:25
Speaker 1: you have behaved to my family, Oh uncle, how shall
51:28
Speaker 1: I explain matters? That beast of a wife of mine?
51:33
Speaker 1: Whack whack was heard as he beat with a stick
51:36
Speaker 1: on dry hide, which was a mere pretense from Missus
51:39
Speaker 1: Jackals's back, while that lady was pre instructed to scream
51:44
Speaker 1: whenever he operated on the hide, which she did with
51:47
Speaker 1: a vengeance, joined by the little Jackals, who set up
51:50
Speaker 1: a most doleful chorus. That wretch, said the jackal, it
51:54
Speaker 1: is all her doing. I shall kill her straight off
51:58
Speaker 1: and away he again belabored the while his wife and
52:01
Speaker 1: children uttered such a dismal howl that the lion begged
52:05
Speaker 1: of him to leave off logging his wife. After cooling down,
52:08
Speaker 1: a little, he invited uncle Lion to come up and
52:11
Speaker 1: have something to eat. The lion, after several ineffectual attempts
52:15
Speaker 1: to scale the precipice, had to give it up. The jackal,
52:19
Speaker 1: always ready for emergencies, suggested that a rim should be
52:23
Speaker 1: lowered to haul up his uncle. This was agreed to,
52:27
Speaker 1: and when the lion was drawn about half way up
52:29
Speaker 1: by the whole family of jackals, the rim was cleverly
52:32
Speaker 1: cut and down went the lion with a tremendous crash,
52:36
Speaker 1: which hurt him very much. Upon this, the jackal again
52:39
Speaker 1: performed upon the hide with tremendous force for their daring
52:43
Speaker 1: to give him such a rotten rim, and missus Jackal
52:46
Speaker 1: and the little ones responded with some fearful screams and yells.
52:50
Speaker 1: He then called loudly out to his wife for a
52:53
Speaker 1: strong buffalo rim which would support any weight. This again
52:57
Speaker 1: was lowered and fastened to the lion. When all hands
53:00
Speaker 1: pulled away at their uncle, and just when he had
53:03
Speaker 1: reached so far that he could look over the precipice
53:06
Speaker 1: into the pots to see all the fat meat cooking
53:09
Speaker 1: and all the biltongs hanging out to dry, the rim
53:12
Speaker 1: was again cut and the poor lion fell with such
53:15
Speaker 1: force that he was fairly stunned. For some time. After
53:19
Speaker 1: the lion had recovered his senses, the jackal, in a
53:22
Speaker 1: most sympathizing tone, suggested that he was afraid that it
53:26
Speaker 1: was of no use to attempt to haul him up
53:29
Speaker 1: on to the precipice, and recommended instead that a nice
53:33
Speaker 1: fat piece of elin's breast be roasted and dropped into
53:36
Speaker 1: the lion's mouth. The lion, half famished with hunger and
53:40
Speaker 1: much bruised, readily accepted the offer and sat eagerly awaiting
53:45
Speaker 1: the fat morsel. In the meantime, the jackal had a
53:49
Speaker 1: round stone made red hot and wrapped a quantity of
53:53
Speaker 1: inside fat or suet round it to make it appear
53:57
Speaker 1: like a ball of fat. When the lion saw it out,
54:00
Speaker 1: he opened his capacious mouth to the utmost extent, and
54:05
Speaker 1: the wily jackal cleverly dropped the hot ball right into it,
54:08
Speaker 1: which ran through the poor old beast, killing him on
54:12
Speaker 1: the spot. It need hardly be told that there was
54:16
Speaker 1: great rejoicing on the precipice that night. And of Section
54:21
Speaker 1: twelve read by Lord Gibbs. Section thirteen of South African
54:31
Speaker 1: Folk Tales by James Albert Honey. This liprivox recording is
54:36
Speaker 1: in the public domain. The Hunt of Lion and Jackal
54:41
Speaker 1: Lion and Jackal, it is said, were one day lying
54:44
Speaker 1: in wait for eland. Lion shot with a bow and missed,
54:48
Speaker 1: but Jackal hit and sang out ha ha. Lyon said, no,
54:53
Speaker 1: you did not shoot anything. It was I who hit.
54:57
Speaker 1: Jackal answered, yay, my father, thou hast hit. Then they
55:02
Speaker 1: went home in order to return when the eland was
55:04
Speaker 1: dead and cut it up. Jackal, however, turned back, unknown
55:08
Speaker 1: to Lion, hid his nose so that the blood ran
55:11
Speaker 1: on the spoor of the eland and followed their track. Thus,
55:15
Speaker 1: in order to cheat Lion. When he had gone some distance,
55:19
Speaker 1: he returned by another way to the dead eland, and,
55:22
Speaker 1: creeping into its carcass, cut out all the fat. Meanwhile,
55:27
Speaker 1: Lion followed the blood stained spoor of Jackal, thinking that
55:31
Speaker 1: it was eland blood, and only when he had gone
55:34
Speaker 1: some distance did he find out that he had been deceived.
55:37
Speaker 1: He then returned on Jackal's spore and reached the dead eland, where,
55:42
Speaker 1: finding Jackal in its carcass, he seized him by his
55:45
Speaker 1: tail and drew him out with a swing. Lion upbraided
55:49
Speaker 1: Jackal with these words, why do cheat me? Jackal answered, no,
55:54
Speaker 1: my father, I do not cheat you. You may know it.
55:57
Speaker 1: I think I prepared this fat for you. Fo. Lion said,
56:02
Speaker 1: then take the fat and carry it to your mother,
56:04
Speaker 1: the lioness, and he gave him the lungs to take
56:07
Speaker 1: to his own wife and children. When Jackal arrived, he
56:11
Speaker 1: did not give the fat to Lion's wife, but to
56:14
Speaker 1: his own wife and children. He gave, however, the lungs
56:18
Speaker 1: to Lion's wife, and he pelted Lion's little children with
56:21
Speaker 1: the lungs, saying, you children of the big pod one,
56:25
Speaker 1: you big pod ones. He said to Lioness, I go
56:29
Speaker 1: to help my father the lion, but he went far
56:33
Speaker 1: away with his wife and children. End of Section thirteen
56:39
Speaker 1: read by Lord Gibbs, Section fourteen of South African Folk
56:51
Speaker 1: Tales by James Albert Hone. This LibriVox recording is in
56:55
Speaker 1: the public domain. Story of Lion and Little Jackal. Little
57:00
Speaker 1: Jackal one day went out hunting. When he met Lion,
57:03
Speaker 1: Lyon proposed that they should hunt together, on condition that
57:07
Speaker 1: if a small antelope was killed, it was to be
57:10
Speaker 1: Little Jackal's, and if a large one was killed, it
57:13
Speaker 1: was to be Lion's. Little Jackal agreed to this. The
57:17
Speaker 1: first animal killed was a large eland. Lion was very
57:21
Speaker 1: glad and said to little Jackal, I will continue hunting
57:25
Speaker 1: while you go to my house and call my children
57:27
Speaker 1: to carry the meat home. Little Jackal replied, yes, I
57:30
Speaker 1: agree to that. Lion went away to hunt. When he
57:34
Speaker 1: had gone, Little Jackal went to his own house and
57:37
Speaker 1: called his own children to carry away the meat. He said,
57:41
Speaker 1: Lion takes me for a fool if he thinks I
57:43
Speaker 1: will call his children while my own are dying with hunger.
57:48
Speaker 1: So Little Jackal's children carried the meat to their home
57:50
Speaker 1: on the top of a high rock, where the only
57:53
Speaker 1: way to get to their house was by means of
57:55
Speaker 1: a rope. Lyon caught nothing more, and after a time
57:58
Speaker 1: he went home and asked his wife where the meat was.
58:01
Speaker 1: She told him there was no meat. He said, did
58:04
Speaker 1: not little Jackal bring a message to my children to
58:07
Speaker 1: carry meat? His wife replied, no, he was not here.
58:11
Speaker 1: We are still dying with hunger. Lion then went to
58:14
Speaker 1: Little Jackal's house, but he could not get up the
58:17
Speaker 1: rock to it, so he sat down by the water waiting.
58:21
Speaker 1: After a time, Little Jackal went to get some water.
58:24
Speaker 1: He was close to the water when he saw a lion.
58:27
Speaker 1: He at once ran away, and Lion ran after him.
58:31
Speaker 1: He ran into a hole under a tree, but Lyon
58:33
Speaker 1: caught his tail before he got far in. He said
58:37
Speaker 1: to him that is not my tail you have hold of.
58:40
Speaker 1: It is a root of the tree. If you do
58:43
Speaker 1: not believe me, take a stone and strike it and
58:45
Speaker 1: see if any blood comes. Lion let go of the
58:48
Speaker 1: tail and went for a stone to prove what it was.
58:52
Speaker 1: While he was gone for the stone, little Jackal went
58:55
Speaker 1: far into the hole. When Lyon returned, he could not
58:58
Speaker 1: be found. Lion lay down by the hole and waited.
59:02
Speaker 1: After a long time, little Jackal wanted to come out.
59:05
Speaker 1: He went to the entrance and looked around, but he
59:08
Speaker 1: could not see Lion. To make sure, he said, O,
59:11
Speaker 1: I see you, my master, although you are in hiding.
59:15
Speaker 1: Lion did not move from the place where he lay concealed.
59:18
Speaker 1: Then Little Jackal went out and Lion pursued him, but
59:21
Speaker 1: he got away. Lion watched for him, and one day,
59:25
Speaker 1: when Little Jackal was out hunting, he came upon him
59:28
Speaker 1: in a place where he could not escape. Lion was
59:31
Speaker 1: just about to spring upon him, when Little Jackal said softly,
59:34
Speaker 1: be still, Do you not see that bushbuck on the
59:37
Speaker 1: other side of the rock. I am glad you have
59:40
Speaker 1: come to help me. Just remain here while I run
59:43
Speaker 1: round and drive him toward you. Lion did so, and
59:46
Speaker 1: Little Jackal made his escape. At another time, there was
59:50
Speaker 1: a meeting of the animals, and Lion was the chief.
59:53
Speaker 1: At the meeting, Little Jackal wanted to attend, but there
59:57
Speaker 1: was a lawn maid that no one should be present
59:59
Speaker 1: unless he horns. So Little Jackal took wax out of
1:00:03
Speaker 1: a nest of bees and made horns for himself with it.
1:00:07
Speaker 1: He fastened the horns on his head and went to
1:00:09
Speaker 1: the meeting. Lion did not know him on account of
1:00:12
Speaker 1: the horns, but he sat near the fire and went
1:00:15
Speaker 1: to sleep. When the horns melted, Lion looked at him
1:00:19
Speaker 1: and saw who it was. He immediately tried to catch him,
1:00:22
Speaker 1: but Little Jackal was quick and springing away. He ran
1:00:25
Speaker 1: under an overhanging rock and sang out, help help, this
1:00:29
Speaker 1: rock is falling upon me. Lion went for a pole
1:00:32
Speaker 1: to prop up the rock that he might get at
1:00:34
Speaker 1: Little Jackal while he was away. Little Jackal escaped. After that,
1:00:39
Speaker 1: they became companions again and went hunting. Another time. They
1:00:43
Speaker 1: killed an ox. Lion said, I will watch it while
1:00:47
Speaker 1: you carry the pieces away. Lion gave him the breast
1:00:50
Speaker 1: and said, take this to my wife. Little Jackal took
1:00:53
Speaker 1: it to his own wife. When he returned, Lion gave
1:00:57
Speaker 1: him a shin and said, take this to your wife.
1:01:00
Speaker 1: Little Jackal took the shin to Lion's house. Lion's wife said,
1:01:05
Speaker 1: I cannot take this because it should not come here.
1:01:09
Speaker 1: Little Jackal thereupon struck Lion's wife in the face and
1:01:12
Speaker 1: went back to the place where the ox was killed.
1:01:15
Speaker 1: Lion gave him a large piece of meat and said,
1:01:18
Speaker 1: take this to my wife. Little Jackal took it to
1:01:21
Speaker 1: his own wife. This continued till the ox was finished.
1:01:25
Speaker 1: Then they both went home. When Lion arrived at his house,
1:01:29
Speaker 1: he found there was weeping in his family. His wife said,
1:01:32
Speaker 1: is it you who sent little Jackal to beat me
1:01:35
Speaker 1: and my children? And is it you who sent this shin?
1:01:39
Speaker 1: Did I ever eat a shin? When Lion heard this,
1:01:43
Speaker 1: he was very angry and at once went to Little
1:01:45
Speaker 1: Jackal's house. When he reached the rock, little Jackal looked
1:01:49
Speaker 1: down and said, who are you and what is your name?
1:01:52
Speaker 1: And whose son are you? And where are you from?
1:01:54
Speaker 1: And where are you going to? And whom do you want?
1:01:57
Speaker 1: And what do you want him for? Lion replied, I
1:02:01
Speaker 1: have merely come to see you. I wish you to
1:02:04
Speaker 1: let down the rope. Little jackal let down a rope
1:02:07
Speaker 1: made of mouse skins, and when Lion climbed a little
1:02:10
Speaker 1: way up, the rope broke, and he fell and was hurt.
1:02:14
Speaker 1: He then went home. End of Section fourteen read by
1:02:19
Speaker 1: Laura Gibbs. Section fifteen of South African Folk Tales by
1:02:29
Speaker 1: James Albert Honey. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
1:02:34
Speaker 1: The Lioness and the Ostrich, it is said, once a
1:02:39
Speaker 1: lioness roared, and the ostrich also roared. The lioness went
1:02:43
Speaker 1: toward the place where the ostrich was. They met. The
1:02:46
Speaker 1: lioness said to the ostrich, please to roar. The Ostrich roared,
1:02:51
Speaker 1: then the lioness roared. Their voices were equal. The lioness
1:02:56
Speaker 1: said to the ostrich, you are my match. Then the
1:02:59
Speaker 1: lions said to the ostrich, let us hunt game together.
1:03:03
Speaker 1: They saw eland and made toward it. The lioness caught
1:03:07
Speaker 1: only one, the Ostrich killed a great many by striking
1:03:10
Speaker 1: them with the claw which was on his leg, but
1:03:13
Speaker 1: the lioness killed only one. When they had met. After
1:03:17
Speaker 1: the hunting, they went to the game, and the lioness
1:03:19
Speaker 1: saw that the Ostrich had killed a great deal. Now
1:03:23
Speaker 1: the lioness also had young cubs. They went to the
1:03:26
Speaker 1: shade to rest themselves. The lioness said to the Ostrich,
1:03:30
Speaker 1: get up and rip open. Let us eat. Said the Ostrich,
1:03:34
Speaker 1: go and rip open, I shall eat the blood. The
1:03:38
Speaker 1: lioness stood up and ripped open and ate with the cubs.
1:03:42
Speaker 1: And when she had eaten, the Ostrich got up and
1:03:45
Speaker 1: ate the blood. They went to sleep. The cubs played about.
1:03:50
Speaker 1: While they were playing, they went to the Ostrich, who
1:03:52
Speaker 1: was asleep. When he went to sleep, he also opened
1:03:55
Speaker 1: his mouth. The young lion saw that the Ostrich had
1:03:59
Speaker 1: no tea. They went to their mother and said, this
1:04:02
Speaker 1: fellow who says he is your equal has no teeth.
1:04:06
Speaker 1: He is insulting you. Then the lioness went to wake
1:04:09
Speaker 1: the Ostrich and said, get up, let us fight. And
1:04:12
Speaker 1: they fought, and the Ostrich said, go to that side
1:04:16
Speaker 1: of the ant hill, and I will go to this
1:04:18
Speaker 1: side of it. The Ostrich struck the ant hill and
1:04:21
Speaker 1: sent it toward the lioness. But the second time he
1:04:24
Speaker 1: struck the lioness in a vulnerable spot near the liver
1:04:28
Speaker 1: and killed her. End of Section fifteen read by Laura Gibbs,
1:04:40
Speaker 1: Section sixteen of South African Folk Tales by James Albert Hone.
1:04:45
Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Crocodile's Treason.
1:04:50
Speaker 1: Crocodile was in the days when animals still could talk,
1:04:54
Speaker 1: the acknowledged foreman of all water creatures, and if one
1:04:58
Speaker 1: should judge from appearances, would say that he still is.
1:05:02
Speaker 1: But in those days it was his especial duty to
1:05:04
Speaker 1: have a general care of all water animals. And when
1:05:07
Speaker 1: one year it was exceedingly dry and the water of
1:05:10
Speaker 1: the river where they had lived dried up and became scarce,
1:05:14
Speaker 1: he was forced to make a plan to trek over
1:05:16
Speaker 1: to another river a short distance from there. He first
1:05:20
Speaker 1: sent Otter out to spy. He stayed away two days
1:05:24
Speaker 1: and brought back a report that there was still good
1:05:26
Speaker 1: water in the other river, real sea cow holes, that
1:05:30
Speaker 1: not even a drought of several years could dry up.
1:05:34
Speaker 1: After he had ascertained this, Crocodile called to his side
1:05:37
Speaker 1: tortoise an alligator. Look here, said he. I need you
1:05:42
Speaker 1: to to night to carry a report to Lion. So
1:05:44
Speaker 1: then get ready. The velt is dry, and you will
1:05:47
Speaker 1: probably have to travel for a few days without any water.
1:05:51
Speaker 1: We must make peace with Lion in his subjects, otherwise
1:05:55
Speaker 1: we utterly perished this year, and he must help us
1:05:58
Speaker 1: to trek over to the other river, especially past the
1:06:01
Speaker 1: boer's farm that lies in between, and to travel unmolested
1:06:05
Speaker 1: by any of the animals of the velt, so long
1:06:08
Speaker 1: as the trek lasts. A fish on land is sometimes
1:06:11
Speaker 1: a very helpless thing, as you all know. The two
1:06:15
Speaker 1: had it mighty heart in the burning sun and on
1:06:17
Speaker 1: the dry velt, but eventually they reached Lion and handed
1:06:21
Speaker 1: him the treaty. What is going on now, thought lyon
1:06:24
Speaker 1: to himself when he had read it. I must consult
1:06:27
Speaker 1: Jackal first, said he. But to the commissioners. He gave
1:06:30
Speaker 1: back an answer that he would be the following evening
1:06:33
Speaker 1: with his advisers at the appointed place, at the big
1:06:36
Speaker 1: varland willow tree, at the farthest end of the whole
1:06:39
Speaker 1: of water, where crocodile had his headquarters. When tortoise and
1:06:43
Speaker 1: alligator came back Crocodile was exceedingly pleased with himself at
1:06:48
Speaker 1: the turn the case had taken. He allowed Otter and
1:06:51
Speaker 1: a few others to be present, and ordered them on
1:06:54
Speaker 1: that evening to have ready plenty of fish and other
1:06:56
Speaker 1: eatables for their guests under the varland willow. That evening,
1:07:01
Speaker 1: as it grew dark, Lion appeared with wolf, jackal, Baboon,
1:07:05
Speaker 1: and a few other important animals at the appointed place,
1:07:09
Speaker 1: and they were received in the most open hearted manner
1:07:11
Speaker 1: by Crocodile and the other water creatures. Crocodile was so
1:07:15
Speaker 1: glad at the meeting of the animals that he now
1:07:18
Speaker 1: and then let fall a great tear of joy that
1:07:20
Speaker 1: disappeared into the sand. After the other animals had done
1:07:24
Speaker 1: well by the fish, Crocodile laid bare to them the
1:07:27
Speaker 1: condition of the fairs and opened up his plan. He
1:07:31
Speaker 1: wanted only peace among all animals, for they not only
1:07:34
Speaker 1: destroyed one another, but the boar too, would in time
1:07:37
Speaker 1: destroy them all. The boar had already stationed at the
1:07:41
Speaker 1: source of the river no less than three steam pumps
1:07:44
Speaker 1: to irrigate his land, and the water was becoming scarcer
1:07:48
Speaker 1: every day. More than this, he took advantage of their
1:07:51
Speaker 1: unfortunate position by making them sit in the shallow water,
1:07:55
Speaker 1: and then one after the other, bringing about their death.
1:07:59
Speaker 1: As Lion was on this account inclined to make peace,
1:08:02
Speaker 1: it was to his glory to take this opportunity and
1:08:05
Speaker 1: give his hand to these peace making water creatures and
1:08:08
Speaker 1: carry out their part of the contract, namely, escort them
1:08:11
Speaker 1: from the dried up water, past the boar's farm and
1:08:15
Speaker 1: to the long sea cow pools. And what benefit shall
1:08:19
Speaker 1: we receive from it, asked Jackal, Well answered Crocodile, the
1:08:24
Speaker 1: piece made is of great benefit to both signes. We
1:08:27
Speaker 1: will not exterminate each other. If you desire to come
1:08:30
Speaker 1: and drink water, you can do so with an easy mind,
1:08:33
Speaker 1: and not be the least bit nervous that I or
1:08:36
Speaker 1: any one of us will seize you by the nose.
1:08:38
Speaker 1: And so also with all the other animals. And from
1:08:41
Speaker 1: your side we are to be freed from elephant, who
1:08:44
Speaker 1: has the habit whenever he gets the opportunity of tossing
1:08:48
Speaker 1: us with his trunk up into some open and narrow
1:08:50
Speaker 1: fork of a tree, and there allowing us to become biltong.
1:08:55
Speaker 1: Lion and Jackal stepped aside to consult with one another,
1:08:58
Speaker 1: and then Lion wanted to know what form of security
1:09:01
Speaker 1: he would have that Crocodile would keep to his part
1:09:04
Speaker 1: of the contract. I stake my word of honor, was
1:09:07
Speaker 1: the prompt answer from Crocodile, and he let drop a
1:09:10
Speaker 1: few more long tears of honesty into the sand. Baboon
1:09:15
Speaker 1: then said it was all square and honest as far
1:09:17
Speaker 1: as he could see. Into the case, he thought it
1:09:19
Speaker 1: was nonsense to attempt to dig pitfalls for one another,
1:09:23
Speaker 1: because he personally was well aware that his race would
1:09:26
Speaker 1: benefit somewhat from this contract of peace and friendship. And
1:09:29
Speaker 1: more than this, they must consider that use must be
1:09:32
Speaker 1: made of the fast disappearing water, for even in the
1:09:35
Speaker 1: best of times, it was an unpleasant thing to be
1:09:38
Speaker 1: always carrying your life about in your hands. He would, however,
1:09:42
Speaker 1: like to suggest to the King that it would be
1:09:44
Speaker 1: well to have everything put down in writing, so that
1:09:47
Speaker 1: there would be nothing to regret in case it was needed.
1:09:50
Speaker 1: Jackal did not want to listen to the agreement. He
1:09:53
Speaker 1: could not see that it would benefit the animals of
1:09:56
Speaker 1: the belt. But Wolf, who had fully satisfied himself with
1:09:59
Speaker 1: the fis, was in an exceptionally peace loving mood, and
1:10:03
Speaker 1: he advised Lion again to close the agreement. After Lion
1:10:07
Speaker 1: had listened to all his advisers and also the pleading
1:10:10
Speaker 1: tones of Crocodile's followers, he held forth in a speech
1:10:14
Speaker 1: in which he said that he was inclined to enter
1:10:16
Speaker 1: into the agreement, seeing that it was clear that Crocodile
1:10:19
Speaker 1: and his subjects were in a very tight place there.
1:10:23
Speaker 1: And then a document was drawn up and it was
1:10:25
Speaker 1: resolved before midnight to begin the trek. Crocodile's messenger swam
1:10:30
Speaker 1: in all directions to summon together the water animals for
1:10:33
Speaker 1: the trek. Frogs croaked, and crickets chirped in the long
1:10:37
Speaker 1: water grass. It was not long before all the animals
1:10:40
Speaker 1: had assembled at the Varland Willow. In the meantime, Lion
1:10:44
Speaker 1: had sent out a few dispatch writers to his subjects
1:10:47
Speaker 1: to raise a commando for an escort and long air midnight.
1:10:51
Speaker 1: These also were at the Varland Willow in the moonlight.
1:10:54
Speaker 1: The trek then was regulated by Lion and Jackal. Jackal
1:10:58
Speaker 1: was to take the lead to act as spot, and
1:11:00
Speaker 1: when he was able to draw Lion to one side,
1:11:03
Speaker 1: he said to him, see here I do not trust
1:11:06
Speaker 1: this affair one bit, and I want to tell you
1:11:08
Speaker 1: straight out, I am going to make tracks. I will
1:11:12
Speaker 1: spy for you until you reach the sea cowpool, but
1:11:15
Speaker 1: I am not going to be the one to await
1:11:16
Speaker 1: your arrival. There. Elephant had to act as advance guard
1:11:21
Speaker 1: because he could walk so softly and could hear and
1:11:23
Speaker 1: smell so well. Then came Lion with one division of
1:11:27
Speaker 1: the animals, Then Crocodile's trek with a flank protection of
1:11:30
Speaker 1: both sides, and wolf received orders to bring up the rear. Meanwhile,
1:11:35
Speaker 1: while all this was being arranged, Crocodile was smoothly preparing
1:11:39
Speaker 1: his treeson. He called Yellow Snake to one side and
1:11:43
Speaker 1: said to him, it is to our advantage to have
1:11:46
Speaker 1: these animals, who go among us every day, and who
1:11:49
Speaker 1: will continue to do so, fall into the hands of
1:11:52
Speaker 1: the boar. Listen, now, you remain behind unnoticed, and when
1:11:57
Speaker 1: you hear me shout, you will know that we have
1:12:00
Speaker 1: arrived safely at the sea cow pool. Then you must
1:12:04
Speaker 1: harass the boar's dogs as much as you can, and
1:12:07
Speaker 1: the rest will look out for themselves. Thereupon, the trek
1:12:11
Speaker 1: moved on. It was necessary to go very slowly, as
1:12:14
Speaker 1: many of the water animals were not accustomed to the
1:12:17
Speaker 1: journey on land. But they treked past the boar's farm
1:12:21
Speaker 1: in safety, and toward break of day they were all
1:12:24
Speaker 1: safely at the sea cow pool. There most of the
1:12:27
Speaker 1: water animals disappeared suddenly into the deep water, and crocodile
1:12:31
Speaker 1: also began to make preparations to follow their example. With
1:12:35
Speaker 1: tearful eyes, he said to Lion that he was oh
1:12:38
Speaker 1: so thankful for the help, that from pure relief and joy,
1:12:42
Speaker 1: he must first give vent to his feelings by a
1:12:45
Speaker 1: few screams. Thereupon he suited his words to action, so
1:12:49
Speaker 1: that even the mountains echoed, And then thanked Lion on
1:12:53
Speaker 1: behalf of his subjects, and purposely continued with a long speech,
1:12:58
Speaker 1: dwelling on all the benefits both so would derive from
1:13:01
Speaker 1: the agreement of peace. Lyme was just about to say
1:13:04
Speaker 1: good day and take his departure when the first shot fell,
1:13:08
Speaker 1: and with it elephant and a few other animals. I
1:13:11
Speaker 1: told you all, so, shouted Jackal from the other side
1:13:14
Speaker 1: of the sea cowpool. Why did you allow yourselves to
1:13:17
Speaker 1: be misled by a few crocodile tears? Crocodile had disappeared
1:13:22
Speaker 1: long ago into the water. All one saw was just
1:13:26
Speaker 1: a lot of bubbles, and on the banks there was
1:13:28
Speaker 1: an actual war against the animals. It simply crackled the
1:13:32
Speaker 1: way the boers shot them, but most of them fortunately
1:13:36
Speaker 1: came out of it alive. Shortly after, they say crocodile
1:13:40
Speaker 1: received his well earned reward when he met a driver
1:13:44
Speaker 1: with a load of dynamite. And even now when the
1:13:47
Speaker 1: elephant against the chance, he pitches them up into the
1:13:50
Speaker 1: highest forks of the trees. End of Section sixteen read
1:13:56
Speaker 1: by Lord Gibbs, Section seventeen of South African Folk Tales
1:14:06
Speaker 1: by James Albert Hone. This LibriVox recording is in the
1:14:09
Speaker 1: public domain. The story of a Dam. There was once
1:14:13
Speaker 1: a great drought in the land, and Lyon called together
1:14:16
Speaker 1: a number of animals so that they might devise a
1:14:18
Speaker 1: plan for retaining water when the rains fell. The animals
1:14:22
Speaker 1: which attended at Lyon's summons were baboon, leopard, hyena, jackal, hare,
1:14:27
Speaker 1: and mountain tortoise. It was agreed that they should scratch
1:14:31
Speaker 1: a large hole in some suitable place to hold water,
1:14:34
Speaker 1: and the next day they all began to work, with
1:14:36
Speaker 1: the exception of jackal, who continually hovered about in that
1:14:40
Speaker 1: locality and was overheard to mutter that he was not
1:14:43
Speaker 1: going to scratch his nails off and making water holes.
1:14:47
Speaker 1: When the dam was finished, the rains fell and it
1:14:50
Speaker 1: was soon filled with water, to the great delight of
1:14:52
Speaker 1: those who had worked so hard on it. The first one, however,
1:14:56
Speaker 1: to come and drink there was Jackal, who not only drank,
1:15:00
Speaker 1: but filled his clay pot with water, and then proceeded
1:15:03
Speaker 1: to swim and the rest of the water, making it
1:15:05
Speaker 1: as muddy and dirty as he could. This was brought
1:15:08
Speaker 1: to the knowledge of Lion, who was very angry and
1:15:11
Speaker 1: ordered Baboon to guard the water. The next day, Armed
1:15:14
Speaker 1: with a huge knob currie, Baboon was concealed in a
1:15:18
Speaker 1: bush close to the water, but Jackal soon became aware
1:15:21
Speaker 1: of his presence there and guessed its cause. Knowing the
1:15:25
Speaker 1: fondness of baboons for honey, Jackal at once hit upon
1:15:29
Speaker 1: a plan, and, marching to and fro every now and then,
1:15:32
Speaker 1: dipped his fingers into his clay pot and licked them
1:15:35
Speaker 1: with an expression of intense relish, saying in a low
1:15:38
Speaker 1: voice to himself, I don't want any of their dirty
1:15:42
Speaker 1: water when I have a pot full of delicious honey.
1:15:47
Speaker 1: This was too much for poor Baboon, whose mouth began
1:15:50
Speaker 1: to water. He soon began to beg Jackal to give
1:15:53
Speaker 1: him a little honey, as he had been watching for
1:15:55
Speaker 1: several hours and was very hungry and tired. After taking
1:16:00
Speaker 1: no notice of Baboon at first, Jackal looked round and
1:16:04
Speaker 1: said in a patronizing manner that he pitied such an
1:16:08
Speaker 1: unfortunate creature, and would give him some honey on certain conditions,
1:16:13
Speaker 1: to wit that Baboon should give up his knob cury
1:16:16
Speaker 1: and allow himself to be bound by Jackal. He foolishly agreed,
1:16:21
Speaker 1: and was soon tied in such a manner that he
1:16:23
Speaker 1: could not move hand or foot. Jackal now proceeded to
1:16:27
Speaker 1: drink of the water to fill his pot, and to
1:16:30
Speaker 1: swim in the sight of Baboon from time to time,
1:16:32
Speaker 1: telling him what a foolish fellow he had been to
1:16:35
Speaker 1: be so easily duped, and that he Jackal had no
1:16:39
Speaker 1: honey or anything else to give him, accepting a good
1:16:42
Speaker 1: blow on the head every now and then with his
1:16:45
Speaker 1: own knob cury. The animals soon appeared and found poor
1:16:49
Speaker 1: Baboon in this sorry plight, looking the picture of misery.
1:16:53
Speaker 1: Lion was so exasperated that he caused Baboon to be
1:16:56
Speaker 1: severely punished and to be denounced as a fool. Tortoise
1:17:00
Speaker 1: hereupon stepped forward and offered his services for the capture
1:17:03
Speaker 1: of Jackal. It was at first thought that he was
1:17:06
Speaker 1: merely joking, but when he explained in what manner he
1:17:09
Speaker 1: proposed to catch him, his plan was considered so feasible
1:17:13
Speaker 1: that his offer was accepted. He proposed that a thick
1:17:17
Speaker 1: coating of beenverk, a type of sticky black substance found
1:17:21
Speaker 1: on bee hives, should be spread all over him, and
1:17:25
Speaker 1: that he should then go and stand at the entrance
1:17:27
Speaker 1: of the dam on the water level, so that Jackal
1:17:30
Speaker 1: might tread upon him and stick fast. This was accordingly done,
1:17:35
Speaker 1: and Tortoise posted there. The next day, when Jackal came,
1:17:39
Speaker 1: he approached the water very cautiously and wondered to find
1:17:43
Speaker 1: no one there. He then ventured to the entrance of
1:17:45
Speaker 1: the water and remarked how kind they had been in
1:17:49
Speaker 1: placing there a large black stepping stone for him. As soon, however,
1:17:53
Speaker 1: as he trod upon the supposed stone, he stuck fast
1:17:57
Speaker 1: and saw that he had been tricked. Tortoise now put
1:18:01
Speaker 1: his head out and began to move. Jackal's hind feet
1:18:05
Speaker 1: being still free, he threatened to smash Tortoise with them
1:18:08
Speaker 1: if he did not let him go. Tortoise merely answered,
1:18:12
Speaker 1: do as you like. Jackal thereupon made a violent jump
1:18:16
Speaker 1: and found with horror that his hind feet were now
1:18:19
Speaker 1: also fast. Tortoise said he I have still my mouth
1:18:23
Speaker 1: and teeth left, and will eat you alive if you
1:18:26
Speaker 1: do not let me go. Do as you like, Tortoise
1:18:30
Speaker 1: again replied. Jackal, in his endeavors to free himself, at
1:18:34
Speaker 1: last made a desperate bite at Tortoise and found himself
1:18:37
Speaker 1: fixed both head and feet. Tortoise, feeling proud of his
1:18:42
Speaker 1: successful capture, now marched quietly up to the top of
1:18:46
Speaker 1: the bank with Jackal on his back, so that he
1:18:48
Speaker 1: could easily be seen by the animals as they came
1:18:51
Speaker 1: to the water. They were indeed astonished to find how
1:18:55
Speaker 1: cleverly the crafty Jackal had been caught, and Tortoise was
1:18:59
Speaker 1: much prey, while the unhappy baboon was again reminded of
1:19:03
Speaker 1: his misconduct When set to guard the water. Jackal was
1:19:07
Speaker 1: at once condemned to death by lion, and Hyaena was
1:19:10
Speaker 1: to execute the sentence. Jackal pleaded hard for mercy, But
1:19:15
Speaker 1: finding this useless, he made a last request to Lion,
1:19:19
Speaker 1: always as he said so fair and just in his dealings,
1:19:23
Speaker 1: that he should not have to suffer a lingering death.
1:19:27
Speaker 1: Lion inquired of him in what manner he wished to die,
1:19:31
Speaker 1: and he asked that his tail might be shaved and
1:19:33
Speaker 1: rubbed with a little fat, and that Hyena might then
1:19:37
Speaker 1: swing him round twice and dash his brains out upon
1:19:40
Speaker 1: a stone. This, being considered sufficiently fair by Lion, was
1:19:44
Speaker 1: ordered by him to be carried out in his presence.
1:19:48
Speaker 1: When Jackal's tail had been shaved and greased, Hyaena caught
1:19:52
Speaker 1: hold of him with great force, and before he had
1:19:54
Speaker 1: fairly lifted him from the ground, the cunning Jackal had
1:19:58
Speaker 1: slipped away from Hyena's grasp and was running for his life,
1:20:01
Speaker 1: Pursued by all the animals. Lion was the foremost pursuer,
1:20:06
Speaker 1: and after a great chase, Jackal got under an overhanging precipice, and,
1:20:10
Speaker 1: standing on his hind legs with his shoulders pressed against
1:20:13
Speaker 1: the rock, called loudly to Lion to help him, as
1:20:17
Speaker 1: the rock was falling and would crush them both. Lion
1:20:20
Speaker 1: put his shoulders to the rock and exerted himself to
1:20:23
Speaker 1: the utmost. After some little time, Jackal proposed that he
1:20:27
Speaker 1: should creep slowly out and fetch a large pole to
1:20:30
Speaker 1: prop up the rock, so that Lion could get out
1:20:33
Speaker 1: and save his life. Jackal did creep out and left
1:20:37
Speaker 1: Lion there to starve and die. End of Section seventeen
1:20:43
Speaker 1: read by Lord Gibbs. Section eighteen of South African Folk
1:20:54
Speaker 1: Tales by James Albert Horney. This LibriVox recording is in
1:20:58
Speaker 1: the public domain. The Dance for Water or Rabbit's Triumph
1:21:04
Speaker 1: There was a frightful draft. The rivers after a while
1:21:07
Speaker 1: dried up, and even the springs gave no water. The
1:21:11
Speaker 1: animals wandered around seeking drink, but to no avail. Nowhere
1:21:15
Speaker 1: was water to be found. A great gathering of animals
1:21:18
Speaker 1: was held, lion, tiger, wolf, jackal, elephant. All of them
1:21:23
Speaker 1: came together. What was to be done? That was the question.
1:21:27
Speaker 1: One had this plan and another had that, but no
1:21:30
Speaker 1: plan seemed of value. Finally, one of them suggested, come,
1:21:35
Speaker 1: let all of us go to the dry river bed
1:21:37
Speaker 1: and dance. In that way we can tread out the
1:21:40
Speaker 1: water good. Every one was satisfied and ready to begin
1:21:44
Speaker 1: instantly excepting rabbit, who said, I will not go and dance.
1:21:48
Speaker 1: All of you are mad to attempt to get water
1:21:51
Speaker 1: from the ground by dancing. The other animals danced and danced,
1:21:56
Speaker 1: and ultimately danced the water to the surface. How glad
1:21:59
Speaker 1: they were. Everyone drank as much as he could, but
1:22:03
Speaker 1: Rabbit did not dance with them, so it was decided
1:22:06
Speaker 1: that rabbit should have no water. He laughed at them,
1:22:09
Speaker 1: I will nevertheless drink some of your water. That evening
1:22:14
Speaker 1: he proceeded leisurely to the river bed where the dance
1:22:16
Speaker 1: had been and drank as much as he wanted. The
1:22:19
Speaker 1: following morning, the animals saw the footprints of rabbit in
1:22:22
Speaker 1: the ground, and Rabbit shouted to them, Aha, I did
1:22:26
Speaker 1: have some of the water, and it was most refreshing
1:22:29
Speaker 1: and tasted fine. Quickly, all the animals were called together.
1:22:33
Speaker 1: What were they to do? How were they to get
1:22:36
Speaker 1: rabbit in their hands? All had some means to propose.
1:22:39
Speaker 1: The one suggested this, and the other that. Finally, old
1:22:44
Speaker 1: tortoise moved slowly forward, foot by foot. I will catch rabbit.
1:22:50
Speaker 1: You how what do you think of yourself? Shouted the
1:22:54
Speaker 1: others in unison. Rub my shell with pitch of black
1:22:58
Speaker 1: bees wax, and I will go to the edge of
1:23:00
Speaker 1: the water and lie down. I will then resemble a
1:23:03
Speaker 1: stone so that when rabbit steps on me, his feet
1:23:07
Speaker 1: will stick fast. Yes, yes, that's good. And in a
1:23:12
Speaker 1: one two three tortoise's shell was covered with pitch, and
1:23:16
Speaker 1: foot by foot he moved away to the river. At
1:23:19
Speaker 1: the edge. Close to the water, he lay down and
1:23:22
Speaker 1: drew his head into his shell. Rabbit, during the evening,
1:23:26
Speaker 1: came to get a drink. Ha, he chuckled sarcastically. They are,
1:23:30
Speaker 1: after all quite decent. Here they have placed a stone,
1:23:35
Speaker 1: so now I need not unnecessarily wet my feet. Rabbit
1:23:40
Speaker 1: trod with his left foot on the stone, and there
1:23:42
Speaker 1: it stuck. Tortoise then put his head out. Ha, old tortoise,
1:23:47
Speaker 1: and it's you, is it that's holding me? But here
1:23:50
Speaker 1: I still have another foot. I'll give you a good clout.
1:23:54
Speaker 1: Rabbit gave tortoise what he said he would with his
1:23:56
Speaker 1: right fore foot hard and straight, and there his foot remained.
1:24:02
Speaker 1: I have yet a hindfoot, and with it I'll kick you.
1:24:06
Speaker 1: Rabbit drove his hind foot down. This also rested on
1:24:09
Speaker 1: tortoise where it stuck. But still another foot remains, and
1:24:13
Speaker 1: now I'll tread you. He stamped his foot down, but
1:24:17
Speaker 1: it's stuck like the others. He used his head to
1:24:20
Speaker 1: hammer tortoise, and his tail is a whip, but both
1:24:24
Speaker 1: met the same fate as his feet. So there he
1:24:26
Speaker 1: was tight and fast down to the pitch. Tortoise now
1:24:31
Speaker 1: slowly turned himself round and foot by foot started for
1:24:35
Speaker 1: the other animals with rabbit on his back. Ha ha ha, rabbit,
1:24:40
Speaker 1: how does it look now? Insolence does not pay, after all,
1:24:44
Speaker 1: shouted the animals. Now advice was sought. What should they
1:24:48
Speaker 1: do with rabbit? He certainly must die? But how one said?
1:24:54
Speaker 1: Behead him another some severe penalty? Rabbit, How are we
1:24:59
Speaker 1: to kill you? It does not affect me, Rabbit said,
1:25:03
Speaker 1: only a shameful death. Please do not pronounce. And what
1:25:07
Speaker 1: is that? They all shouted? To take me by my
1:25:10
Speaker 1: tail and dash my head against a stone. That I
1:25:14
Speaker 1: pray and beseech you don't do no, but just so
1:25:18
Speaker 1: you'll die, that is decided. It was decided rabbit should
1:25:22
Speaker 1: die by taking him by his tail and dashing his
1:25:25
Speaker 1: head to pieces against some stone. But who is to
1:25:28
Speaker 1: do it? Lion? Because he is the most powerful one,
1:25:32
Speaker 1: good lion should do it. He stood up, walked to
1:25:36
Speaker 1: the front, and poor rabbit was brought to him. Rabbit
1:25:40
Speaker 1: pleaded and beseeched that he couldn't die such a miserable death.
1:25:44
Speaker 1: Lion took rabbit firmly by the tail and swung him around.
1:25:49
Speaker 1: The white skin slipped off from rabbit, and there lion
1:25:52
Speaker 1: stood with the white bit of skin and hair in
1:25:54
Speaker 1: his paw. Rabbit was free and of Section eighteen read
1:26:01
Speaker 1: by Lord Gibbs, Section nineteen of South African Folk Tales
1:26:11
Speaker 1: by James Albert Honey. This LibriVox recording is in the
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Speaker 1: public domain. Jackal and Monkey. Every evening Jackal went to
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Speaker 1: the Boer's crawl. He crept through the sliding door and
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Speaker 1: stole a fat, young lamb. This clever jackal did several
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Speaker 1: times in succession. Boor set a whip for him at
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Speaker 1: the door. Jackal went again and zip. There he was
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Speaker 1: caught around the body by the noose. He swung and
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Speaker 1: swayed high in the air and couldn't touch ground. The
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Speaker 1: day began to dawn, and Jackal became uneasy on a stone.
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Speaker 1: Copy Monkey sat. When it became light, he could see
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Speaker 1: the whole affair and descended hastily for the purpose of
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Speaker 1: mocking Jackal, he went and sat on the wall. Ha ha,
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Speaker 1: good morning. So there you are hanging now eventually caught
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Speaker 1: what I caught. I am simply swinging for my pleasure.
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Speaker 1: It is enjoyable, You fibber, You are caught in the whip.
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Speaker 1: If you've but realized how nice it was to swing
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Speaker 1: and sway like this, you wouldn't hesitate. Come try it
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Speaker 1: a little. You feel so healthy and strong for the day,
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Speaker 1: and you never tire afterwards. No, I won't. You are caught.
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Speaker 1: After a while, Jackal convinced Monkey. He sprang from the
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Speaker 1: crawl wall and freeing Jackal adjusted the noose around his
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Speaker 1: own body. Jackal quickly let go and began to laugh
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Speaker 1: as Monkey was now swinging high in the air. Ha
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Speaker 1: ha ha, he laughed. Now Monkey is in the whip. Jackal,
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Speaker 1: free me, he screamed. There boar is coming, shouted Jackal. Jackal,
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Speaker 1: free me of this, or I'll break your playthings. No, there,
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Speaker 1: boar is coming with his gun. You rest awhile in
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Speaker 1: the noose. Jackal, quickly make me free. No, here's boor already,
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Speaker 1: and he's got his gun. Good morning, and with these
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Speaker 1: parting words. He ran away as fast as he could.
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Speaker 1: Boor came and saw monkey and the whip. So so monkey,
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Speaker 1: now you are caught. You are the fellow who has
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Speaker 1: been stealing my lambs. Hey, no Boor, no, screamed monkey.
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Speaker 1: Not I but Jackal. No, I know you. You aren't
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Speaker 1: too good for that. No Boor, no, not I but jackal.
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Speaker 1: Monkey stammered, Oh I know you. Just wait a little,
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Speaker 1: and Boor, raising his gun, aimed and shot poor monkey dead.
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Speaker 1: Author's note. Whip a Dutch word for sprinkle, consisting of
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Speaker 1: a bent green stick to which a noose is attached
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Speaker 1: at one end. The trap is delicately adjusted by a
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Speaker 1: cross stick, which, when trod on, releases the bent bow,
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Speaker 1: pulling the noose quickly around the animal and into the air.
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Speaker 1: End of Section nineteen read by Laura Gibbs, Section twenty
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Speaker 1: of South African Folk Tales by James Albert Horne. This
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Speaker 1: librifox recording is in the public domain. Lion's Share Lion
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Speaker 1: and jackal went together a hunting. They shot with arrows.
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Speaker 1: Lion shot first, but his arrow fell short of its aim,
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Speaker 1: but Jackal hit the game and joyfully cried out. It
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Speaker 1: is hit. Lion looked at him with his two large eyes. Jackal, however,
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Speaker 1: did not lose his countenance, but said, no, uncle, I
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Speaker 1: mean to say that you have hit. Then they followed
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Speaker 1: the game, and Jackal passed the arrow of lion without
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Speaker 1: drawing the latter's attention to it. When they arrived at
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Speaker 1: a crossway, Jackal said, dear uncle, you are old and tired.
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Speaker 1: Stay here. Jackal went then on a wrong track, beat
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Speaker 1: his nose, and in returning, let the blood drop from
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Speaker 1: it like traces of game. I could not find anything,
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Speaker 1: he said, but I met with traces of blood. You
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Speaker 1: had better go yourself to look for it. In the meantime,
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Speaker 1: I shall go this other way. Jackal soon found the
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Speaker 1: killed animal, crept inside of it and devoured the best portion,
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Speaker 1: but his tail remained outside, and when lion arrived, he
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Speaker 1: got hold of it, pulled Jackal out and threw him
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Speaker 1: on the ground with these words, you rascal. Jackal rose
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Speaker 1: quickly again, complained of the rough handling, and asked, what
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Speaker 1: have I now done, dear uncle, I was busy cutting
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Speaker 1: out the best part. Now let us go and fetch
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Speaker 1: our wives, said lyon, But Jackal entreated his dear uncle
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Speaker 1: to remain at the place because he was old. Jackal
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Speaker 1: then went away, taking with him two portions of the flesh,
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Speaker 1: one for his own wife, but the best part for
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Speaker 1: the wife of Lion. When Jackal arrived with the flesh,
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Speaker 1: the children of Lion, seeing him, began to jump and
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Speaker 1: clapping their hands, cried out, there comes cousin with flesh.
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Speaker 1: Jackal threw, grumbling, the worst portion to them and said,
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Speaker 1: there you brood of the big eyed one. Then he
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Speaker 1: went to his own house and told his wife immediately
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Speaker 1: to break up the house and to go where the
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Speaker 1: killed game was. Lioness wished to do the same, but
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Speaker 1: he forbade her and said that Lion would himself come
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Speaker 1: to fetch her. When Jackal, with his wife and children
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Speaker 1: arrived in the neighborhood of the killed animal, he ran
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Speaker 1: into a thorn bush, scratched his face so that it bled,
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Speaker 1: and thus made his appearance before Lion, to whom he said, Ah,
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Speaker 1: what a wife you have got. Look here, how she
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Speaker 1: scratched my face when I told her that she should
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Speaker 1: come with us. You must fetch her yourself. I cannot
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Speaker 1: bring her lyon went home, very angry. Then Jackal said, quick,
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Speaker 1: let us build a tower. They heaped stone upon stone,
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Speaker 1: stone upon stone, stone upon stone, and when it was
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Speaker 1: high enough, everything was carried to the top of it.
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Speaker 1: When Jackal saw Lion approaching with his wife and children,
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Speaker 1: he cried out to him, uncle, whilst you were away,
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Speaker 1: we have built a tower in order to be better
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Speaker 1: able to see game. All right, said Lion. But let
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Speaker 1: me come up to you, certainly, dear uncle, But how
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Speaker 1: will you manage to come up? We must let down
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Speaker 1: a thong for you. Lion tied the thong around his body,
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Speaker 1: and Jackal began drawing him up. But when nearly to
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Speaker 1: the top, Jackal cried to Lion, my uncle, how heavy
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Speaker 1: you are. Then, unseen by Lion, he cut the thong.
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Speaker 1: Lion fell to the ground, while Jackal began loudly and
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Speaker 1: angrily to scold his wife, and then said, go why
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Speaker 1: fetch me a new thong, an old one he set
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Speaker 1: aside to her. Lion again tied himself to the thong,
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Speaker 1: and just as he was near the top, Jackal cut
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Speaker 1: the thong. As before, Lion fell heavily to the bottom,
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Speaker 1: groaning aloud as he had been seriously hurt. No, said Jackal,
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Speaker 1: that will never do you must, however, manage to come
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Speaker 1: up high enough so that you may get a mouthful
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Speaker 1: at least. Then aloud, he ordered his wife to prepare
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Speaker 1: a good piece. But aside he told her to make
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Speaker 1: a stone hot and to cover it with fat. Then
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Speaker 1: he drew Lion up once more, and, complaining how heavy
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Speaker 1: he was to hold, told him to open his mouth,
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Speaker 1: and thereupon threw the hot stone down his throat. Lion
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Speaker 1: fell to the ground and lay there pleading for water,
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Speaker 1: while Jackal climbed down and made his escape. End of
1:33:45
Speaker 1: Section twenty read by Lord Gibbs, Section twenty one of
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Speaker 1: South African Folk Tales by James Albert Harney. This LibriVox
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Speaker 1: recording is in the public domain. Jackal's Bride Jackal, it
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Speaker 1: is said, married hyena and carried off a cow belonging
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Speaker 1: to the ants to slaughter her for the wedding. And
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Speaker 1: when he had slaughtered her, he put the cowskin over
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Speaker 1: his bride, And when he had fixed a pole on
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Speaker 1: which to hang the flesh, he placed on the top
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Speaker 1: of the pole, which was forked, the hearth for the cooking,
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Speaker 1: in order to cook upon it all sorts of delicious food.
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Speaker 1: There came also lion and wished to go up. Jackal
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Speaker 1: therefore asked his little daughter for a thong with which
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Speaker 1: he could pull Lion up. And he began to pull
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Speaker 1: him up, and when his face came near to the
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Speaker 1: cooking pot, he cut the thong in two, so that
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Speaker 1: Lion tumbled down. Then Jackal upbraided his little daughter with
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Speaker 1: these words, why do you give me such an old thong?
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Speaker 1: And he added, give me a fresh thong. She gave
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Speaker 1: him a new thong, and he pulled Lion up again,
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Speaker 1: And when his face came near the pot, which stood
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Speaker 1: on the fire, he said, open your mouth. Then he
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Speaker 1: put into his mouth a hot piece of quartz which
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Speaker 1: had been boiled together with the fat, and the stone
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Speaker 1: went down, burning his throat. Thus died Lion. There came
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Speaker 1: also the ants running after the cow, and when Jackal
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Speaker 1: saw them, he fled. Then they beat the bride in
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Speaker 1: her brook a ross dress hyena, believing that it was Jackal, said,
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Speaker 1: you tawny rogue. Have you not played it beating long enough?
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Speaker 1: Have you no more loving game than this? But when
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Speaker 1: she had bitten a hole through the cowskin, she saw
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Speaker 1: that they were other people. Then she fled, falling here
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Speaker 1: and there yet made her escape. End of section twenty
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Speaker 1: one read by Laura Gibbs, Section twenty two of South
1:35:57
Speaker 1: African Folk Tales by James Albert Harne. This LibriVox recording
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Speaker 1: is in the public domain. The story of Hair. Once
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Speaker 1: upon a time the animals made a crawl and put
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Speaker 1: some fat in it. They agreed that one of their
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Speaker 1: numbers should remain to be the keeper of the gate.
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Speaker 1: The first one that was appointed was the Koni Imbilah.
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Speaker 1: He agreed to take charge, and all the others went away.
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Speaker 1: In a short time, the kony fell asleep when the Inkalimeva,
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Speaker 1: a fabulous animal, went in and ate all the fat.
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Speaker 1: After doing this, he threw a little stone at the kony.
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Speaker 1: The cony started up and cried out, the fat belonging
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Speaker 1: to all the animals has been eaten by the Inkalimeva.
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Speaker 1: It repeated this cry several times, calling out very loudly.
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Speaker 1: The animals at a distance heard it. They ran to
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Speaker 1: the crawl, and when they saw that the fat was gone,
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Speaker 1: they killed the cony. They put fat in the crawl
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Speaker 1: a second time and appointed the the mease hond in
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Speaker 1: Gaga to keep the gate. The mease Hond consented and
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Speaker 1: the animals went away as before. After a little time,
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Speaker 1: the inkalimeva came to the krawl, bringing some honey with it.
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Speaker 1: It invited the keeper of the gate to eat honey,
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Speaker 1: and while the maise Hond was enjoying himself, the inkalimeba
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Speaker 1: went in and stole all the fat. It threw a
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Speaker 1: stone at the maise hon, which caused him to look up.
1:37:27
Speaker 1: The maisan cried out, the fat belonging to all the
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Speaker 1: animals has been eaten by the inkalimeba. As soon as
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Speaker 1: the animals heard the cry, they ran to the krawl
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Speaker 1: and killed the mese Hond. They put fat in the
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Speaker 1: krawl a third time and appointed the Diker in Punzi
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Speaker 1: to be the keeper of the gate. The Diker agreed
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Speaker 1: and the others went away. In a short time, the
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Speaker 1: inkalimeba made its appearance. It proposed to the Diker that
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Speaker 1: they should play hide and look for The diker agreed
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Speaker 1: to this. Then the incalimeba hid itself and the dker
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Speaker 1: looked for it till he was so tired that he
1:38:03
Speaker 1: lay down and went to sleep. When the diker was asleep,
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Speaker 1: the incolimeva ate up all the fat Then it threw
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Speaker 1: a stone at the diker, which caused him to jump
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Speaker 1: up and cry out, the fat belonging to all the
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Speaker 1: animals has been eaten by the incalimeva. The animals, when
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Speaker 1: they heard the cry, ran to the crawl and killed
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Speaker 1: the diker. They put fat in the crawl the fourth
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Speaker 1: time and appointed the blue buck in Puti to be
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Speaker 1: the keeper of the gate. When the animals went away,
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Speaker 1: the incalimeva came as before. It said, what are you
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Speaker 1: doing by yourself? The blue buck answered, I am watching
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Speaker 1: the fat belonging to all the animals. The incalimeva said,
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Speaker 1: I will be your companion. Come let us scratch each
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Speaker 1: other's heads. The blue buck agreed to this. The incolyimeva
1:38:51
Speaker 1: sat down and scratched the head of the other till
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Speaker 1: he went to sleep. Then it arose and ate all
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Speaker 1: the fat. When it had finished, threw a stone at
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Speaker 1: the blue buck and awakened him. The blue buck saw
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Speaker 1: what had happened and cried out, the fat belonging to
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Speaker 1: all the animals has been eaten by the incalimeva. Then
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Speaker 1: the animals ran up and killed the blue buck. Also,
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Speaker 1: they put the fat in the crawl the fifth time
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Speaker 1: and appointed the porcupine in Kanda to be the keeper
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Speaker 1: of the gate. The animals went away, and the inkalimeva
1:39:24
Speaker 1: came as before. It said to the porcupine, let us
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Speaker 1: run a race against each other. It let the porcupine
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Speaker 1: beat in this race. Then it said, I did not
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Speaker 1: think you could run so fast, but let us try again.
1:39:38
Speaker 1: They ran again, and it allowed the porcupine to beat
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Speaker 1: the second time. They ran till the porcupine was so
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Speaker 1: tired that he said, let us rest now. They sat
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Speaker 1: down to rest, and the porcupine went to sleep. Then
1:39:52
Speaker 1: the incalimeva rose up and ate all the fat. When
1:39:56
Speaker 1: it had finished eating, it threw a stone at the porcupine,
1:39:59
Speaker 1: which caused him to jump up. He called out with
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Speaker 1: a loud voice, the fat belonging to all the animals
1:40:05
Speaker 1: has been eaten by the inkalimeva. Then the animals came
1:40:08
Speaker 1: running up and put the porcupine to death. They put
1:40:12
Speaker 1: fat in the crawl the sixth time, and selected the
1:40:15
Speaker 1: hare un Vundlah to be the keeper of the gate.
1:40:19
Speaker 1: At first, the hare would not consent. He said, the
1:40:22
Speaker 1: coney is dead, and the maesse hound is dead, and
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Speaker 1: the dyker is dead, and the blue buck is dead,
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Speaker 1: and the porcupine is dead, and you will kill me also.
1:40:33
Speaker 1: They promised him that they would not kill him, and
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Speaker 1: after a good deal of persuasion, he at last agreed
1:40:39
Speaker 1: to keep the gate. When the animals were gone, he
1:40:42
Speaker 1: laid himself down, but he only pretended to be asleep.
1:40:46
Speaker 1: In a short time, the inkalimeva went in and was
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Speaker 1: just going to take the fat when the hare cried
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Speaker 1: out let the fat alone. The inkalimeva said, please let
1:40:58
Speaker 1: me have this little bit only. The hare answered, mocking,
1:41:02
Speaker 1: please let me have this little bit only. After that
1:41:06
Speaker 1: they became companions. The hair proposed that they should fasten
1:41:10
Speaker 1: each other's tail, and the incolimeva agreed. The incolimeva fastened
1:41:15
Speaker 1: the tail of the hair. First, the hare said, don't
1:41:19
Speaker 1: tie my tail so tight. Then the hair fastened the
1:41:22
Speaker 1: tail of the incolimeva. The incolimeva said, don't tie my
1:41:27
Speaker 1: tail so tight, but the hare made no answer. After
1:41:31
Speaker 1: tying the tail of the incolmeva very fast, the hare
1:41:35
Speaker 1: took his club and killed it. The hair took the
1:41:38
Speaker 1: tail of the incolimeva and ate it all except the
1:41:42
Speaker 1: little piece which he hid in the fence. Then he
1:41:45
Speaker 1: called out, the fat belonging to all the animals has
1:41:48
Speaker 1: been eaten by the incolimeva. The animals came running back,
1:41:53
Speaker 1: and when they saw that the incolmeva was dead, they
1:41:56
Speaker 1: rejoiced greatly. They asked the hare for the tail, which
1:42:00
Speaker 1: be kept for the chief. The hare replied, the one
1:42:03
Speaker 1: I killed had no tail. They said, how can an
1:42:07
Speaker 1: inkalimva be without a tail? They began to search, and
1:42:11
Speaker 1: at length they found a piece of the tail in
1:42:13
Speaker 1: the fence. They told the chief that the hare had
1:42:16
Speaker 1: eaten the tail. He said, bring him to me. All
1:42:20
Speaker 1: the animals ran after the hare, but he fled and
1:42:23
Speaker 1: they could not catch him. The hare ran into a
1:42:26
Speaker 1: hole at the mouth of which the animal set a
1:42:28
Speaker 1: snare and then went away. The hare remained in the
1:42:31
Speaker 1: hole for many days, but at length he managed to
1:42:34
Speaker 1: get out without being caught. He went to a place
1:42:37
Speaker 1: where he found a bush buck Imbaballah building a hut.
1:42:42
Speaker 1: There was a pot with meat in it on the fire.
1:42:45
Speaker 1: He said to the bushbuck, can I take this little
1:42:47
Speaker 1: piece of meat? The bush buck answered, you must not
1:42:51
Speaker 1: do it. But he took the meat and ate it all. Afterwards,
1:42:56
Speaker 1: he whistled in a particular manner, and there fell a
1:42:59
Speaker 1: storm of hail, which killed the bushbuck. Then he took
1:43:03
Speaker 1: the skin of the bushbock and made for himself a mantle.
1:43:07
Speaker 1: After this, the hare went into the forest to procure
1:43:10
Speaker 1: some weapons to fight with. While he was cutting a stick,
1:43:14
Speaker 1: the monkeys threw leaves upon him. He called to them
1:43:17
Speaker 1: to come down and beat him. They came down, but
1:43:20
Speaker 1: he killed them all with his weapons. And of Section
1:43:24
Speaker 1: twenty two read by Laura Gibbs, Section twenty three of
1:43:36
Speaker 1: South African Folk Tales by James Albert Honey. This LibriVox
1:43:40
Speaker 1: recording is in the public domain. The white Man and Snake.
1:43:46
Speaker 1: A white man, it is said, met snake, upon whom
1:43:49
Speaker 1: a large stone had fallen and covered her so that
1:43:52
Speaker 1: she could not rise. The white man lifted the stone
1:43:56
Speaker 1: off snake, but when he had done so, she wanted
1:43:59
Speaker 1: to bite him. The white man said, stop. Let us
1:44:03
Speaker 1: both go first to some wise people. They went to Hyena,
1:44:07
Speaker 1: and the white man asked him, is it right that
1:44:10
Speaker 1: snake should want to bite me when I helped her
1:44:12
Speaker 1: as she lay under a stone and could not rise. Hyena,
1:44:16
Speaker 1: who thought he would get his share of the white
1:44:19
Speaker 1: man's body said, if you were bitten, what would it matter.
1:44:24
Speaker 1: Then snake wanted to bite him, but the white man
1:44:27
Speaker 1: said again, wait a little, and let us go to
1:44:29
Speaker 1: other wise people that I may hear whether this is right.
1:44:33
Speaker 1: They went and met Jackal. The white man said to Jackal,
1:44:37
Speaker 1: is it right for snake to want to bite me?
1:44:40
Speaker 1: When I lifted up the stone which lay upon her.
1:44:43
Speaker 1: Jackal replied, I do not believe that snake could be
1:44:47
Speaker 1: covered by a stone, so she could not rise. Unless
1:44:50
Speaker 1: I saw it with my two eyes, I would not
1:44:53
Speaker 1: believe it. Therefore, come, let us go and see the
1:44:56
Speaker 1: place where you say it happened, whether it can be true.
1:45:00
Speaker 1: They went and arrived at the place where it had happened.
1:45:03
Speaker 1: Jackal said, Snake, lie down and let thyself be covered.
1:45:08
Speaker 1: Snake did so, and the white man covered her with
1:45:10
Speaker 1: the stone, but although she exerted herself very much, she
1:45:14
Speaker 1: could not rise. Then the white man wanted again to
1:45:18
Speaker 1: release snake, but Jackal interfered and said, do not lift
1:45:22
Speaker 1: the stone. She wanted to bite you. Therefore she may
1:45:26
Speaker 1: rise by herself. Then they both went away and left
1:45:30
Speaker 1: snake under the stone. Another version of the same fable
1:45:36
Speaker 1: a dutchman was walking by himself and saw snake lying
1:45:40
Speaker 1: under a large stone. Snake implored his help. But when
1:45:44
Speaker 1: she had become free, she said, now I shall eat you.
1:45:48
Speaker 1: The man answered, that is not right. Let us first
1:45:51
Speaker 1: go to Hare. When Hare had heard the affair, he
1:45:55
Speaker 1: said it is right. No, said the man. Let us
1:45:59
Speaker 1: ask Kyim. Hyena declared the same, saying it is right. Now,
1:46:05
Speaker 1: let us ask Jackal, said the man, in his despair.
1:46:09
Speaker 1: Jackal answered very slowly and considerately, doubting the whole affair,
1:46:13
Speaker 1: and demanding to see first the place and whether the
1:46:17
Speaker 1: man was able to lift the stone. Snake lay down,
1:46:21
Speaker 1: and the man, to prove the truth of his account,
1:46:23
Speaker 1: put the stone again over her. When she was fast,
1:46:27
Speaker 1: Jackal said, now let her lie there. End of Section
1:46:32
Speaker 1: twenty three read by Laura Gibbs, Section twenty four of
1:46:43
Speaker 1: South African Folk Tales by James Albert Honey. This librifox
1:46:48
Speaker 1: recording is in the public domain. Cloud eating Jackal and
1:46:53
Speaker 1: Hyena were together. It is said, when a white cloud rose,
1:46:57
Speaker 1: Jackal descended upon it and ate the cloud as if
1:47:01
Speaker 1: it were fat. When he wanted to come down, he
1:47:04
Speaker 1: said to Hyena, my sister as I am going to
1:47:07
Speaker 1: divide with thee. Catch me well. So she caught him
1:47:10
Speaker 1: and broke his fall. Then she also went up and
1:47:14
Speaker 1: ate there, high up on the top of the cloud.
1:47:17
Speaker 1: When she was satisfied, she said, my grayish brother, now
1:47:21
Speaker 1: catch me well. The grayish rogue said to his friend,
1:47:24
Speaker 1: my sister, I shall catch thee well. Come Therefore down
1:47:28
Speaker 1: he held up his hands, and she came down from
1:47:31
Speaker 1: the cloud. And when she was near, Jackal cried out painfully,
1:47:35
Speaker 1: jumping to one side, My sister, do not take it ill,
1:47:39
Speaker 1: o me o me. A thorn has pricked me and
1:47:43
Speaker 1: sticks in me. Thus she fell down from above and
1:47:47
Speaker 1: was sadly hurt. Since that day it is said that
1:47:51
Speaker 1: Hyena's hind feet have been shorter and smaller than the
1:47:54
Speaker 1: front ones. End of section twenty four read by Lord Gibbs,
1:48:06
Speaker 1: Section twenty five of South African Folk Tales by James
1:48:10
Speaker 1: Albert Hone. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
1:48:14
Speaker 1: Lion's illness. Lion, it is said, was ill, and they
1:48:19
Speaker 1: all went to see him in his suffering, But Jackal
1:48:22
Speaker 1: did not go because the traces of the people who
1:48:25
Speaker 1: went to see him did not turn back. Thereupon, He
1:48:29
Speaker 1: was accused by Hyena, who said, though I go to look,
1:48:33
Speaker 1: yet Jackal does not want to come and look at
1:48:35
Speaker 1: the man's sufferings. Then Lion let Hyena go in order
1:48:39
Speaker 1: that she might catch Jackal, and she did so and
1:48:42
Speaker 1: brought him. Ryon asked Jackal, why did you not come
1:48:46
Speaker 1: here to see me? Jackal said, oh, no. When I
1:48:50
Speaker 1: heard that my uncle was so very ill, I went
1:48:53
Speaker 1: to the witch doctor to consult him whether and what
1:48:56
Speaker 1: medicine would be good for my uncle against the pain.
1:48:59
Speaker 1: The doctor said to me, go and tell your uncle
1:49:02
Speaker 1: to take hold of Hyena and draw off her skin
1:49:06
Speaker 1: and put it on while it is still warm. Then
1:49:09
Speaker 1: he will recover. Hyena is one who does not care
1:49:12
Speaker 1: for my uncle's sufferings. Lion followed his advice, god hold
1:49:17
Speaker 1: of Hyena, drew the skin over her ears while she
1:49:21
Speaker 1: howled with all her might, and put it on. End
1:49:26
Speaker 1: of Section twenty five read by Laura Gibbs, Section twenty
1:49:36
Speaker 1: six of South African Folk Tales by James Albert Honey.
1:49:40
Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Jackal, Dove
1:49:45
Speaker 1: and Heron. Jackal, it is said, came once to Dove,
1:49:50
Speaker 1: who lived on the top of a rock and said,
1:49:53
Speaker 1: give me one of your little ones. Dove answered, I
1:49:56
Speaker 1: shall not do anything of the kind. Jackal said, give
1:50:00
Speaker 1: me it at once, otherwise I shall fly up to you.
1:50:04
Speaker 1: Then she threw one down to him. He came back
1:50:07
Speaker 1: another day and demanded another little one, and she gave
1:50:11
Speaker 1: it to him. After Jackal had gone, Heron came and asked, Dove,
1:50:16
Speaker 1: why do you cry? Dove answered him, Jackal has taken
1:50:20
Speaker 1: away my little ones. It is for this that I cry.
1:50:24
Speaker 1: He asked her in what manner did he take them?
1:50:27
Speaker 1: She answered him. When he asked me, I refused him.
1:50:31
Speaker 1: But when he said I shall at once fly up,
1:50:34
Speaker 1: therefore give me it, I threw it down to him.
1:50:37
Speaker 1: Heron said, are you such a fool as to give
1:50:41
Speaker 1: your young ones to Jackal who cannot fly? Then, with
1:50:45
Speaker 1: the admonition to give no more, he went away. Jackal
1:50:49
Speaker 1: came again and said, Dove, give me a little one.
1:50:52
Speaker 1: Dove refused and told him that Heron had told her
1:50:56
Speaker 1: that he could not fly up. Jackal said, I shall
1:51:00
Speaker 1: catch him. So when Heron came to the banks of
1:51:03
Speaker 1: the water, Jackal asked him, brother, Heron, when the wind
1:51:07
Speaker 1: comes from this side, how will you stand? He turned
1:51:11
Speaker 1: his neck towards him and said, I stand, thus bending
1:51:14
Speaker 1: my neck on one side. Jackal asked him again, when
1:51:18
Speaker 1: a storm comes and when it rains, how do you stand?
1:51:22
Speaker 1: He said to him, I stand, thus indeed bending my
1:51:25
Speaker 1: neck down. Then Jackal beat him on his neck and
1:51:29
Speaker 1: broke his neck in the middle. Since that day, heron's
1:51:34
Speaker 1: neck is bent. End of Section twenty six read by
1:51:39
Speaker 1: Lori Gibbs. Section twenty seven of South African Folk Tales
1:51:49
Speaker 1: by James Albert Horne. This LibriVox recording is in the
1:51:52
Speaker 1: public domain. Cock and Jackal, Cock, it is said, was
1:51:57
Speaker 1: once overtaken by Jackal, and Cox said to Jackal, please
1:52:03
Speaker 1: pray first before you kill me, as the white man does.
1:52:06
Speaker 1: Jackal asked, in what manner does he pray? Tell me
1:52:10
Speaker 1: he folds his hands in praying, said Cock. Jackal folded
1:52:14
Speaker 1: his hands and prayed. Then Cox spoke again, you ought
1:52:18
Speaker 1: not to look about you as you do. You had
1:52:20
Speaker 1: better shut your eyes. He did so, and Cock flew
1:52:24
Speaker 1: away upbraiding at the same time Jackal with these words
1:52:28
Speaker 1: you rogue, do you also pray? There sat Jackal speechless
1:52:34
Speaker 1: because he had been outdone. End of section twenty seven,
1:52:40
Speaker 1: read by Laura Gibbs, Section twenty eight of South African
1:52:49
Speaker 1: Folk Tales by James Albert Harney. This LibriVox recording is
1:52:53
Speaker 1: in the public domain. Elephant and tortoise two powers. Elephant
1:52:59
Speaker 1: and rain had a dispute. Elephant said, if you say
1:53:04
Speaker 1: that you nourish me, in what way is it that
1:53:07
Speaker 1: you say? So? Rain answered, if you say that I
1:53:10
Speaker 1: do not nourish you when I go away, will you
1:53:13
Speaker 1: not die? And rain then departed. Elephant said, vulture cast
1:53:19
Speaker 1: lots to make rain for me. Vulture said, I will
1:53:23
Speaker 1: not cast lots. Then Elephant said to crow cast lots,
1:53:28
Speaker 1: who answered, give the things with which I may cast lots.
1:53:32
Speaker 1: Crow cast lots, and rain fell. It rained at the lagoons,
1:53:36
Speaker 1: but they dried up, and only one lagoon remained. Elephant
1:53:41
Speaker 1: went a hunting. There was, however, tortoise, to whom Elephant said,
1:53:46
Speaker 1: tortoise remain at the water. Thus tortoise was left behind.
1:53:51
Speaker 1: When elephant went a hunting. There came to rath and said,
1:53:55
Speaker 1: to tortoise, give me water. Tortoise answered, the water belongs
1:53:59
Speaker 1: to elephant. There came zebra, who said to tortoise, give
1:54:03
Speaker 1: me water. Tortoise answered, the water belongs to elephant. There
1:54:08
Speaker 1: came gemsbok and said to tortoise, give me water. Tortoise answered,
1:54:14
Speaker 1: the water belongs to elephant. There came wildebeest and said,
1:54:19
Speaker 1: give me water. Tortoise said the water belongs to elephant.
1:54:24
Speaker 1: There came rodibac and said to tortoise, give me water.
1:54:28
Speaker 1: Tortoise answered, the water belongs to elephant. There came spring
1:54:33
Speaker 1: balk and said to tortoise, give me water. Tortoise said,
1:54:37
Speaker 1: the water belongs to elephant. There came jackal and said
1:54:42
Speaker 1: to tortoise, give me water. Tortoise said, the water belongs
1:54:46
Speaker 1: to elephant. There came lion and said, little tortoise, give
1:54:51
Speaker 1: me water. When little tortoise was about to say something,
1:54:55
Speaker 1: lion got hold of him and beat him. Lion drank
1:54:59
Speaker 1: of the water, and since then the animals drink water.
1:55:04
Speaker 1: When elephant came back from the hunting, he said, little tortoise,
1:55:08
Speaker 1: is there water. Tortoise answered, the animals have drunk the water.
1:55:13
Speaker 1: Elephant asked little tortoise, shall I chew you or swallow
1:55:17
Speaker 1: you down. Little tortoise said, swallow me if you please,
1:55:22
Speaker 1: and elephant swallowed him whole. After elephant had swallowed little
1:55:27
Speaker 1: tortoise and he had entered his body, he tore off
1:55:30
Speaker 1: his liver, heart and kidneys. Elephant said, little tortoise, you
1:55:36
Speaker 1: kill me. So elephant died, But little tortoise came out
1:55:41
Speaker 1: of his dead body and went wherever he liked. Another
1:55:46
Speaker 1: version of the same fable Giraffe and tortoise, they say,
1:55:50
Speaker 1: met one day. Giraffe said to tortoise, at once I
1:55:54
Speaker 1: could trample you to death. Tortoise, being afraid, remained silent.
1:55:59
Speaker 1: Then giraffes said, at once I could swallow you. Tortoise
1:56:03
Speaker 1: said in answer to this, well, I just belonged to
1:56:07
Speaker 1: the family of those whom it has always been customary
1:56:10
Speaker 1: to swallow. Then giraffe swallowed tortoise, but when the latter
1:56:16
Speaker 1: was being gulped down, he stuck in Giraffe's throat, and
1:56:20
Speaker 1: as the latter could not get it down, he was
1:56:23
Speaker 1: choked to death. When giraffe was dead, tortoise crawled out
1:56:27
Speaker 1: and went to crab, who was considered as the mother
1:56:30
Speaker 1: of tortoise, and told her what had happened. Then crab
1:56:34
Speaker 1: said the little crab, I could sprinkle it under its
1:56:38
Speaker 1: arm with Wuchu, the crooked legged little one I could
1:56:42
Speaker 1: sprinkle under its arm. Tortoise answered its mother and said,
1:56:46
Speaker 1: have you not always sprinkled me that you want to
1:56:49
Speaker 1: sprinkle me now? Then they went and fed for a
1:56:53
Speaker 1: whole year on the remains of giraffe. Author's note sprinkling
1:56:59
Speaker 1: with huchu a token of approval, according to a hotentalk
1:57:04
Speaker 1: custom end of section twenty eight read by Laura Gibbs,
1:57:17
Speaker 1: Section twenty nine of South African Folk Tales by James
1:57:20
Speaker 1: Albert Honey. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
1:57:24
Speaker 1: Tortoises hunting ostriches. One day, it is said, the tortoises
1:57:29
Speaker 1: held a council how they might hunt ostriches, And they said,
1:57:34
Speaker 1: let us on both sides stand in rows near each other,
1:57:38
Speaker 1: and let one go to hunt the ostriches, so that
1:57:41
Speaker 1: they must flee along through the midst of us. They
1:57:44
Speaker 1: did so, and as they were many, the ostriches were
1:57:48
Speaker 1: obliged to run along through the midst of them. During
1:57:51
Speaker 1: this they did not move, but remaining always in the
1:57:55
Speaker 1: same places, called each to the other are you there?
1:57:59
Speaker 1: And each one answered, I am here. The ostriches, hearing this,
1:58:04
Speaker 1: ran so tremendously that they quite exhausted their strength and
1:58:07
Speaker 1: fell down. Then the tortoises assembled by and bye at
1:58:11
Speaker 1: the place where the ostriches had fallen, and devoured them.
1:58:16
Speaker 1: And of Section twenty nine read by Lord Gibbs, Section
1:58:26
Speaker 1: thirty of South African Folk Tales by James Albert Haney.
1:58:30
Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. The Judgment
1:58:35
Speaker 1: of Baboon one day, it is said the following story happened.
1:58:41
Speaker 1: Mouse had torn the clothes of Kluer, the tailor, who
1:58:45
Speaker 1: then went to Baboon and accused Mause with these words.
1:58:49
Speaker 1: In this manner, I come to thee. Mouse has torn
1:58:52
Speaker 1: my clothes, but will not know anything of it, and
1:58:56
Speaker 1: accuses Kat. Kat protests likewise her innocence and says a
1:59:00
Speaker 1: dog must have done it. But dog denies it also
1:59:03
Speaker 1: and declares Wood has done it. And Wood throws the
1:59:07
Speaker 1: blame on fire and says fire did it. Fire says
1:59:11
Speaker 1: I have not. Water did it? Water says elephant tore
1:59:15
Speaker 1: the clothes? An elephant says Aunt tore them. Thus a
1:59:20
Speaker 1: dispute has arisen among them. Therefore, I Ittkler come to
1:59:25
Speaker 1: thee with this proposition, assemble the people and try them
1:59:29
Speaker 1: in order that I may get satisfaction. Thus he spake,
1:59:33
Speaker 1: and Baboon assembled them for trial. Then they made the
1:59:37
Speaker 1: same excuses which had been mentioned by Ittkler, each one
1:59:41
Speaker 1: putting the blame upon the other. So Baboon did not
1:59:45
Speaker 1: see any other way of punishing them, save through making
1:59:48
Speaker 1: them punish each other. He therefore said, mouse, give Ittgler satisfaction. Mouse, however,
1:59:56
Speaker 1: pleaded not guilty. But Baboon said cat bite mouse. She
2:00:01
Speaker 1: did so. He then put the same question to cat,
2:00:04
Speaker 1: and when she exculpated herself, Baboon called to dog, here
2:00:09
Speaker 1: bite cat. In this manner, Baboon questioned them all one
2:00:14
Speaker 1: after the other, but they each denied the charge. Then
2:00:17
Speaker 1: he addressed the following words to them and said, wood,
2:00:20
Speaker 1: beat dog, fire, burn wood, water, quench fire, elephant, drink water, ant,
2:00:28
Speaker 1: bite elephant in his most tender parts. They did so,
2:00:33
Speaker 1: and since that day they cannot any longer agree with
2:00:37
Speaker 1: each other. Aunt enters into elephant's most tender parts and
2:00:41
Speaker 1: bites him. Elephant swallows water, water, quenches fire, fire, consumes wood,
2:00:47
Speaker 1: wood beats dog, dog bites cat, and cat bites mouse.
2:00:53
Speaker 1: Through this judgment, Itckler got satisfaction and addressed Baboon in
2:00:58
Speaker 1: the following manner. Yes, now I am content since I
2:01:02
Speaker 1: have received satisfaction, And with all my heart I thank
2:01:06
Speaker 1: thee Baboon, because thou hast exercised justice on my behalf
2:01:10
Speaker 1: and given me redress. Then Baboon said, from today I
2:01:14
Speaker 1: will not any longer be called Yon, but Baboon shall
2:01:18
Speaker 1: be my name. Since that time, Baboon walks on all fours,
2:01:22
Speaker 1: having probably lost the privilege of walking erect through this
2:01:26
Speaker 1: foolish judgment. End of section thirty read by Laura Gibbs,
2:01:38
Speaker 1: Section thirty one of South African Folk Tales by James
2:01:41
Speaker 1: Albert Honey. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
2:01:46
Speaker 1: Lion and Baboon Baboon, it is said once worked Bamboos
2:01:52
Speaker 1: sitting on the edge of a precipice, and lions stole
2:01:55
Speaker 1: upon him. Baboon, however, had fixed some round, glistening I
2:02:00
Speaker 1: like plates on the back of his head. When therefore
2:02:04
Speaker 1: lion crept upon him, He thought, when Baboon was looking
2:02:07
Speaker 1: at him, that he sat with his back towards him,
2:02:11
Speaker 1: and crept with all his might upon him. When, however,
2:02:14
Speaker 1: Baboon turned his back towards him. Lion thought that he
2:02:18
Speaker 1: was seen and hid himself. Thus, when Baboon looked at him,
2:02:23
Speaker 1: he crept upon him. Whilst Baboon did this, lion came
2:02:28
Speaker 1: close upon him. When he was near him, Baboon looked up,
2:02:32
Speaker 1: and lion continued to creep upon him. Baboon said, aside,
2:02:37
Speaker 1: whilst I am looking at him, he steals upon me,
2:02:41
Speaker 1: whilst my hollow eyes are on him. When at last
2:02:45
Speaker 1: lion sprung at him, he lay quickly down upon his face,
2:02:49
Speaker 1: and lion jumped over him, falling down the precipice and
2:02:53
Speaker 1: was dashed to pieces. End of Section thirty one read
2:02:59
Speaker 1: by Lord Gibbs, Section thirty two of South African Folk
2:03:08
Speaker 1: Tales by James Albert Honey. This LibriVox recording is in
2:03:12
Speaker 1: the public domain. The Zebra Stallion the Baboons, it is said,
2:03:18
Speaker 1: used to disturb the zebra mares in drinking, but one
2:03:22
Speaker 1: of the mares became the mother of a foal. The
2:03:25
Speaker 1: others then helped her to suckle the young stallion that
2:03:29
Speaker 1: he might soon grow up. When he was grown up
2:03:33
Speaker 1: and they were in want of water, he brought them
2:03:35
Speaker 1: to the water. The baboons, seeing this, came as they
2:03:39
Speaker 1: formerly were used to do, into their way and kept
2:03:42
Speaker 1: them from the water. While the mares stood thus, the
2:03:46
Speaker 1: stallion stepped forward and spoke to one of the baboons,
2:03:50
Speaker 1: thou gum eater's child. The baboon said to the stallion,
2:03:55
Speaker 1: please open thy mouth, that I may see what thou
2:03:58
Speaker 1: livest on. The stallion opened his mouth, and it was milky.
2:04:03
Speaker 1: Then the stallion said to the baboon, please open thy
2:04:06
Speaker 1: mouth also that I may see. The baboon did so,
2:04:10
Speaker 1: and there was some gum in it. But the baboon
2:04:13
Speaker 1: quickly licks some milk off the stallion's tongue. The stallion,
2:04:17
Speaker 1: on this became angry, took the baboon by his shoulders
2:04:21
Speaker 1: and pressed him upon a hot flat rock. Since that
2:04:25
Speaker 1: day the baboon has a bald place on his back.
2:04:29
Speaker 1: The baboon said, lamenting, I my mother's child, I the
2:04:35
Speaker 1: gum eater, am outdone by this milk eater. End of
2:04:41
Speaker 1: section thirty two read by Laura Gibbs, Section thirty three
2:04:52
Speaker 1: of South African Folk Tales by James Albert Horne. This
2:04:56
Speaker 1: LibriVox recording is in the public domain. When lion could fly, lion,
2:05:02
Speaker 1: it is said, used once to fly, and at that
2:05:05
Speaker 1: time nothing could live before him. As he was unwilling
2:05:09
Speaker 1: that the bones of what he caught should be broken
2:05:11
Speaker 1: into pieces, he made a pair of white crows watch
2:05:15
Speaker 1: the bones, leaving them behind at the crawl whilst he
2:05:18
Speaker 1: went a hunting. But one day great Frog came there,
2:05:23
Speaker 1: broke the bones in pieces, and said, why can men
2:05:27
Speaker 1: and animals live no longer? And he added these words
2:05:30
Speaker 1: when he comes, tell him that I live at yonder Pool.
2:05:34
Speaker 1: If he wishes to see me, he must come there. Lion,
2:05:39
Speaker 1: lying in wait for game, wanted to fly up, but
2:05:42
Speaker 1: found he could not fly. Then he got angry, thinking
2:05:46
Speaker 1: that at the crawl something was wrong, and returned home.
2:05:50
Speaker 1: When he arrived, he asked, what have you done that
2:05:53
Speaker 1: I cannot fly? Then they answered, and said some one
2:05:57
Speaker 1: came here, broke the bones into pieces, and said if
2:06:01
Speaker 1: he want me, he may look for me at yonder pool.
2:06:04
Speaker 1: Lion went and arrived while Frog was sitting at the
2:06:07
Speaker 1: water's edge, and he tried to creep stealthily upon him.
2:06:12
Speaker 1: When he was about to get hold of him, Frog
2:06:14
Speaker 1: said ho, and diving, went to the other side of
2:06:18
Speaker 1: the pool and sat there. Lion pursued him, but as
2:06:22
Speaker 1: he could not catch him. He returned home. From that day,
2:06:26
Speaker 1: it is said Lion walked on his feet and also
2:06:30
Speaker 1: began to creep upon his game, and the white crows
2:06:34
Speaker 1: became entirely dumb. Since the day that they said, nothing
2:06:38
Speaker 1: can be said of that matter. And of section thirty
2:06:42
Speaker 1: three read by lor Gibbs, Section thirty four of South
2:06:53
Speaker 1: African Folk Tales by James Albert Honey. This LibriVox recording
2:06:57
Speaker 1: is in the public domain. Lion, who thought himself wiser
2:07:02
Speaker 1: than his mother. It is said that when Lion and
2:07:05
Speaker 1: gury Coisip, the only man, together with Baboon, Buffalo and
2:07:10
Speaker 1: other friends, were playing one day at a certain game,
2:07:13
Speaker 1: there was a thunder storm and rain at a rock
2:07:16
Speaker 1: Salmme's Lion and Greecoisip began to quarrel. I shall run
2:07:21
Speaker 1: to the rainfield, said Lion. Gurycoisip said also, I shall
2:07:25
Speaker 1: run to the rainfield. As neither would concede this to
2:07:29
Speaker 1: the other, they separated angrily. After they had parted, Lion
2:07:33
Speaker 1: went to tell his mother those things which they had
2:07:36
Speaker 1: both said. His mother said to him, my son, that
2:07:40
Speaker 1: man whose head is in a line with his shoulders
2:07:43
Speaker 1: and breast who has pinching weapons, who keeps white dogs,
2:07:48
Speaker 1: who goes about wearing the tuft of a tiger's tail,
2:07:51
Speaker 1: beware of him. Lion, however, said, why need I be
2:07:55
Speaker 1: on my guard against those whom I know. Lioness answered,
2:07:59
Speaker 1: my son, take care of him who has pinching weapons.
2:08:03
Speaker 1: But Lion would not follow his mother's advice, and the
2:08:07
Speaker 1: same morning, when it was still pitch dark, he went
2:08:10
Speaker 1: to Arroksalm's and laid himself in ambush. Gurykoisip went also
2:08:15
Speaker 1: that morning to the same place. When he had arrived,
2:08:19
Speaker 1: he let his dogs drink and then bathe. After they
2:08:22
Speaker 1: had finished, they wallowed. Then also man drank, and when
2:08:27
Speaker 1: he had done drinking, Lion came out of the bush.
2:08:30
Speaker 1: Dogs surrounded him as his mother had foretold, and he
2:08:34
Speaker 1: was speared by Gurikoiesip. Just as he became aware that
2:08:38
Speaker 1: he was speared, the dogs drew him down again. In
2:08:42
Speaker 1: this manner, he grew faint. While he was in this state,
2:08:46
Speaker 1: Gurykoisip said to the dogs, let him alone now that
2:08:49
Speaker 1: he may go and be taught by his mother. So
2:08:53
Speaker 1: the dogs let him go. They left him and went home.
2:08:56
Speaker 1: As he lay there. The same night, he walked towards home,
2:09:01
Speaker 1: but whilst he was on the way, his strength failed him,
2:09:05
Speaker 1: and he lamented, mother, take me up, Grandmother, take me up,
2:09:11
Speaker 1: o me alas. At the dawn of day, his mother
2:09:16
Speaker 1: heard his wailing and said, my son, this is the
2:09:19
Speaker 1: thing which I have told thee the ware of the
2:09:23
Speaker 1: one who has pinching weapons, who wears a tuft of
2:09:26
Speaker 1: tiger's tail, of him who has white dogs. Alas, thou
2:09:31
Speaker 1: son of her, who is short eared, Thou, my short
2:09:35
Speaker 1: eared child, son of her who eats raw flesh, Thou
2:09:39
Speaker 1: flesh devourer, son of her, whose nostrils are red from
2:09:42
Speaker 1: the prey. Thou with blood stained nostrils, son of her
2:09:47
Speaker 1: who drinks pit water, Thou water drinker. End of section
2:09:53
Speaker 1: thirty four read by Laura Gibbs. Section thirty five of
2:10:03
Speaker 1: South African Folk Tales by James Albert Honey. This LibriVox
2:10:07
Speaker 1: recording is in the public domain. Lion who took a
2:10:11
Speaker 1: woman's shape. Some women, it is said, went out to
2:10:15
Speaker 1: seek roots and herbs and other wild food. On their
2:10:19
Speaker 1: way home, they sat down and said, let us taste
2:10:22
Speaker 1: the food of the field. Now, they found that the
2:10:25
Speaker 1: food picked by one of them was sweet, while that
2:10:27
Speaker 1: of the others was bitter. The latter said to each other,
2:10:31
Speaker 1: look here, this woman's herbs are sweet. Then they said
2:10:35
Speaker 1: to the owner of the sweet food, throw it away
2:10:37
Speaker 1: and seek for other. So she threw away the food
2:10:40
Speaker 1: and went to gather more. When she had collected a
2:10:43
Speaker 1: sufficient supply, she returned to join the other women, but
2:10:47
Speaker 1: could not find them. She went therefore down to the
2:10:50
Speaker 1: river where Hare sat lading water, and said to him, Hare,
2:10:55
Speaker 1: give me some water that I may drink. But he replied,
2:10:58
Speaker 1: this is the cup out of which my uncle, Lion,
2:11:01
Speaker 1: and I alone may drink. She asked again, Hare, draw
2:11:06
Speaker 1: water from me that I may drink, but Hare made
2:11:08
Speaker 1: the same reply. Then she snatched the cup from him
2:11:12
Speaker 1: and drank, but he ran home to tell his uncle
2:11:15
Speaker 1: of the outrage which had been committed. The woman meanwhile
2:11:19
Speaker 1: replaced the cup and went away. After she had departed,
2:11:23
Speaker 1: Lion came down, and, seeing her in the distance, pursued
2:11:27
Speaker 1: her on the road. When she turned round and saw
2:11:29
Speaker 1: him coming, she sang, in the following manner, my mother,
2:11:34
Speaker 1: she would not let me seek herbs, herbs of the field,
2:11:37
Speaker 1: food from the field. Who When Lion at last came
2:11:41
Speaker 1: up with the woman. They hunted each other round a shrub.
2:11:45
Speaker 1: She wore many beads and arm rings, and Lion said,
2:11:48
Speaker 1: let me put them on, so she lent them to him,
2:11:52
Speaker 1: but he afterwards refused to return them to her. They
2:11:56
Speaker 1: then hunted each other again round the shrub till lion
2:11:59
Speaker 1: fell down, and the woman jumped upon him and kept
2:12:02
Speaker 1: him there. Lion, uttering a form of conjuration, said, my aunt,
2:12:08
Speaker 1: it is mourning and time to rise. Pray rise from me.
2:12:13
Speaker 1: She then rose from him, and they hunted again after
2:12:15
Speaker 1: each other round the shrub till the woman fell down
2:12:19
Speaker 1: and Lion jumped upon her. She then addressed him, my uncle,
2:12:24
Speaker 1: it is mourning and time to rise. Pray rise from me.
2:12:28
Speaker 1: He rose, of course, and they hunted each other again,
2:12:31
Speaker 1: till lion fell a second time. When she jumped upon him,
2:12:35
Speaker 1: he said, my aunt, it is mourning and time to rise.
2:12:38
Speaker 1: Pray rise from me. They rose again and hunted after
2:12:42
Speaker 1: each other. The woman at last fell down, but this
2:12:46
Speaker 1: time when she repeated the above conjuration, Lion said, hey, haa,
2:12:52
Speaker 1: is it morning and time to rise. He then ate her,
2:12:56
Speaker 1: taking care, however, to leave her skin whole, which he
2:13:00
Speaker 1: put aunt together with her dress and ornaments, so that
2:13:03
Speaker 1: he looked quite like a woman, and then went home
2:13:07
Speaker 1: to her crawl. When this counterfeit woman arrived, her little
2:13:11
Speaker 1: sister crying, said, my sister, pour some milk out for me.
2:13:15
Speaker 1: She answered, I shall not pour you out any Then
2:13:19
Speaker 1: the child addressed their mother, Mamma, do pour out some
2:13:23
Speaker 1: for me. The mother of the crawl said, go to
2:13:26
Speaker 1: your sister and let her give it to you. The
2:13:29
Speaker 1: little child said again to her sister, please pour out
2:13:33
Speaker 1: for me. She, however, repeated her refusal, saying I will
2:13:38
Speaker 1: not do it. Then the mother of the crawl said
2:13:40
Speaker 1: to the little one, I refuse to let her. The
2:13:44
Speaker 1: elder sister seek herbs in the field, and I do
2:13:47
Speaker 1: not know what may have happened. Go therefore to Hare
2:13:50
Speaker 1: and ask him to pour out for you. So then
2:13:53
Speaker 1: Hare gave her some milk, but her elder sister said,
2:13:57
Speaker 1: come and share it with me. The little child then
2:14:00
Speaker 1: went to her sister with her bamboo cup, and they
2:14:03
Speaker 1: both suck the milk out of it. Whilst they were
2:14:06
Speaker 1: doing this, some milk was spilt on the little one's hand,
2:14:10
Speaker 1: and the elder sister licked it up with her tongue.
2:14:13
Speaker 1: The roughness, of which drew blood. This too the woman
2:14:18
Speaker 1: licked up. The little child complained to her mother, Mamma,
2:14:23
Speaker 1: sister pricks holes in me and sucks the blood. The
2:14:26
Speaker 1: mother said, with what lion's nature? Your sister went the
2:14:31
Speaker 1: way that I forbade her and returned. I do not know. Now.
2:14:36
Speaker 1: The cows arrived, and the elder sister cleansed the pails
2:14:39
Speaker 1: in order to milk them. But when she approached the
2:14:42
Speaker 1: cows with a thong in order to tie their fore legs,
2:14:45
Speaker 1: they all refused to be milked by her. Hare said,
2:14:50
Speaker 1: why do not you stand before the cow? She replied, Hare,
2:14:54
Speaker 1: call your brother, and do you two stand before the cow?
2:14:58
Speaker 1: Her husband said, what has come over her that the
2:15:01
Speaker 1: cows refuse her? These are the same cows she always milks.
2:15:06
Speaker 1: The mother of the crawl said, what has happened this evening?
2:15:10
Speaker 1: These are cows which she always milks without assistance. What
2:15:14
Speaker 1: can have affected her that she comes home as a
2:15:16
Speaker 1: woman with a lion's nature. The elder daughter then said
2:15:21
Speaker 1: to her mother, I shall not milk the cows. With
2:15:24
Speaker 1: these words, she sat down. The mother said, there for
2:15:28
Speaker 1: to Hare bring me the bamboos, that I may milk.
2:15:31
Speaker 1: I do not know what has come over the girl.
2:15:34
Speaker 1: So the mother herself milked the cows, and when she
2:15:37
Speaker 1: had done so, hare brought the bamboos to the young
2:15:40
Speaker 1: wife's house, where her husband was. But she the wife
2:15:44
Speaker 1: did not give him her husband, anything to eat. But
2:15:48
Speaker 1: when at night time she fell asleep, they saw some
2:15:51
Speaker 1: of the lion's hair which was hanging out where he
2:15:54
Speaker 1: had slipped on the woman's skin, and they cried verily,
2:15:58
Speaker 1: this is quite another bee. It is for this reason
2:16:01
Speaker 1: that the cows refused to be milked. Then the people
2:16:04
Speaker 1: of the krawl began to break up the hut in
2:16:07
Speaker 1: which lion lay asleep. When they took off the mats,
2:16:10
Speaker 1: they said, conjuring them, if thou art favorably inclined to
2:16:15
Speaker 1: me o mat, give the sound sahwah, meaning making no
2:16:19
Speaker 1: noise to the poles on which the hut rested. They said,
2:16:24
Speaker 1: if thou art favorably inclined to me o poll, thou
2:16:27
Speaker 1: must give the sound ghaara. They addressed also the bamboos
2:16:31
Speaker 1: and the bed skins in a similar manner. Thus, gradually
2:16:35
Speaker 1: and noiselessly, they removed the hut and all its contents.
2:16:40
Speaker 1: Then they took bunches of grass, put them over the lion,
2:16:43
Speaker 1: and lighting them, said, if thou art favorably inclined to
2:16:47
Speaker 1: me o fire, thou must flare up boo boo before
2:16:51
Speaker 1: thou comest to the heart. So the fire flared up
2:16:55
Speaker 1: when it came towards the heart, and the heart of
2:16:57
Speaker 1: the woman jumped upon the ground. The mother of the
2:17:00
Speaker 1: crawl picked it up and put it into a calabash. Lion,
2:17:05
Speaker 1: from his place in the fire said to the mother
2:17:07
Speaker 1: of the krawl, how nicely I have eaten your daughter.
2:17:11
Speaker 1: The woman answered, you have also now a comfortable place. Now.
2:17:16
Speaker 1: The woman took the first milk of as many cows
2:17:19
Speaker 1: as had calves and put it into the calabash where
2:17:22
Speaker 1: her daughter's heart was. The calabash increased in size, and
2:17:26
Speaker 1: in proportion to this the girl grew again inside it.
2:17:31
Speaker 1: One day, when the mother of the krawl went out
2:17:33
Speaker 1: to fetch wood, she said to hare, by the time
2:17:36
Speaker 1: that I come back, you must have everything nice and clean.
2:17:40
Speaker 1: But during her mother's absence, the girl crept out of
2:17:44
Speaker 1: the calabash and put the hut in good order, as
2:17:46
Speaker 1: she had been used to do in former days, and
2:17:49
Speaker 1: said to her when mother comes back and asks, who
2:17:52
Speaker 1: has done these things? You must say I Hare did them.
2:17:57
Speaker 1: After she had done all, she hid her on the stage.
2:18:02
Speaker 1: When the mother of the kraal came home, she said, Hare,
2:18:04
Speaker 1: who has done these things? They look just as they
2:18:08
Speaker 1: used when my daughter did them. Hare said I did
2:18:12
Speaker 1: the things. But the mother would not believe it, and
2:18:15
Speaker 1: looked at the calabash, Seeing it was empty, she searched
2:18:19
Speaker 1: the stage and found her daughter. Then she embraced and
2:18:22
Speaker 1: kissed her. And from that day the girl stayed with
2:18:25
Speaker 1: her mother and did everything as she was wont in
2:18:28
Speaker 1: former times, but she now remained unmarried. And of Section
2:18:33
Speaker 1: thirty five read by Laura Gibbs, Section thirty six of
2:18:44
Speaker 1: South African Folk Tales by James Albert Honey. This LibriVox
2:18:48
Speaker 1: recording is in the public domain. Why has Jackal a
2:18:52
Speaker 1: long black stripe on his back? The sun, it is said,
2:18:56
Speaker 1: was one day on earth, and the men who were
2:18:58
Speaker 1: traveling saw him so sitting by the wayside, but passed
2:19:02
Speaker 1: him without notice. Jackal, however, who came after them and
2:19:06
Speaker 1: saw him also sitting, went to him and said, such
2:19:10
Speaker 1: a fine little child as left behind by the men.
2:19:13
Speaker 1: He then took son up and put it into his
2:19:16
Speaker 1: awa skin on his back. When it burnt him, he said,
2:19:20
Speaker 1: get to down and shook himself, But Son stuck fast
2:19:24
Speaker 1: to his back and burnt Jackal's back black from that day.
2:19:31
Speaker 1: End of Section thirty six read by Lord Gibbs, Section
2:19:41
Speaker 1: thirty seven of South African Folk Tales by James Albert Horne.
2:19:46
Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Horse cursed
2:19:50
Speaker 1: by Son. It is said that once Son was on
2:19:54
Speaker 1: earth and caught horse to ride it, but it was
2:19:57
Speaker 1: unable to bear his weight, and there for Ox took
2:20:00
Speaker 1: the place of horse and carried sun on its back.
2:20:04
Speaker 1: Since that time, horse is cursed in these words because
2:20:08
Speaker 1: it could not carry Son's weight. From today, thou shalt
2:20:12
Speaker 1: have a certain time of dying. This is thy curse,
2:20:16
Speaker 1: that thou hast a certain time of dying, And day
2:20:20
Speaker 1: and night shalt thou eat, but the desire of thy
2:20:23
Speaker 1: heart shall not be at rest, though thou grazest till
2:20:27
Speaker 1: morning and again until sunset. Behold, this is the judgment
2:20:32
Speaker 1: which I pass upon thee said Son. Since that day
2:20:37
Speaker 1: horses certain time of dying commenced. And of section thirty
2:20:42
Speaker 1: seven read by Lord Gibbs, Section thirty eight of South
2:20:52
Speaker 1: African Folk Tales by James Albert Hane. This LibriVox recording
2:20:57
Speaker 1: is in the public domain. Lions Defeat Feet The wild animals,
2:21:02
Speaker 1: it is said, were once assembled at Lion's When Lion
2:21:06
Speaker 1: was asleep. Jackal persuaded little Fox to twist a rope
2:21:10
Speaker 1: of ostrich sinews in order to play Lion a trick.
2:21:14
Speaker 1: They took ostrich sinews, twisted them, and fastened the rope
2:21:18
Speaker 1: to Lion's tail, and the other end of the rope
2:21:20
Speaker 1: they tied to a shrub. When Lion awoke and saw
2:21:24
Speaker 1: that he was tied up, he became angry and called
2:21:27
Speaker 1: the animals together. When they had assembled, Lion said, using
2:21:32
Speaker 1: this form of conjuration, what child of his mother and
2:21:36
Speaker 1: father's love? Whose mother and father's love has tied me?
2:21:41
Speaker 1: Then answered the animal to whom the question was first put,
2:21:45
Speaker 1: I child of my mother and father's love. I mother
2:21:48
Speaker 1: and father's love. I have not done it. All answered
2:21:52
Speaker 1: the same. But when he asked little fox, little fox said,
2:21:57
Speaker 1: I child of my mother and father's love. I mother
2:22:01
Speaker 1: and father's love have tied thee. Then Lion tore the
2:22:05
Speaker 1: rope made of sinews and ran after little Fox. But
2:22:08
Speaker 1: Jackal said, my boy, thou, son of lean missus Fox,
2:22:13
Speaker 1: thou wilt never be caught truly. Lion was thus beaten
2:22:17
Speaker 1: and running by little Fox. End of Section thirty eight
2:22:22
Speaker 1: read by Laura Gibbs, Section thirty nine of South African
2:22:32
Speaker 1: Folk Tales by James Albert Honey. This LibriVox recording is
2:22:36
Speaker 1: in the public domain. The Origin of Death, the Moon,
2:22:41
Speaker 1: it is said, sent once an insect to men, saying,
2:22:45
Speaker 1: go thou to men, and tell them, as I die
2:22:48
Speaker 1: and dying live, so ye shall also die and dying live.
2:22:55
Speaker 1: The insects started with the message, but whilst on his way,
2:22:58
Speaker 1: was overtaken by the hare, who asked on what errand
2:23:02
Speaker 1: art thou bound. The insect answered, I am sent by
2:23:06
Speaker 1: the Moon to men to tell them that as she
2:23:10
Speaker 1: dies and dying lives, they also shall die and dying live.
2:23:16
Speaker 1: The hare said, as thou art an awkward runner, let
2:23:20
Speaker 1: me go to take the message. With these words, he
2:23:23
Speaker 1: ran off, and when he reached men, he said, I
2:23:27
Speaker 1: am sent by the moon to tell you, as I
2:23:30
Speaker 1: die and dying perish in the same manner, ye shall
2:23:34
Speaker 1: also die and come wholly to an end. Then the
2:23:38
Speaker 1: hare returned to the moon and told her what he
2:23:40
Speaker 1: had said to men. The moon reproached him angrily, saying, darest, thou,
2:23:46
Speaker 1: tell the people a thing which I have not said
2:23:50
Speaker 1: with these words, She took up a piece of wood
2:23:53
Speaker 1: and struck him on the nose. Since that day, the
2:23:57
Speaker 1: hare's nose is slit. Another version of the same fable,
2:24:03
Speaker 1: the moon dies and rises to life again. The moon
2:24:07
Speaker 1: said to the hair, go thou to men, and tell them,
2:24:10
Speaker 1: like as I die and rise to life again, so
2:24:13
Speaker 1: you also shall die and rise to life again. The
2:24:17
Speaker 1: hare went to the men and said, like as I
2:24:19
Speaker 1: die and do not rise to life again, so you
2:24:23
Speaker 1: shall also die and not rise to life again. When
2:24:27
Speaker 1: he returned, the Moon asked him, what hast thou said,
2:24:32
Speaker 1: I have told them, like as I die and do
2:24:34
Speaker 1: not rise to life again, so you shall also die
2:24:37
Speaker 1: and not rise to life again. What said the moon?
2:24:41
Speaker 1: Hast thou said that? And she took a stick and
2:24:45
Speaker 1: beat the hair on his mouth, which was slit by
2:24:48
Speaker 1: the blow. The hair fled and is still fleeing. A
2:24:53
Speaker 1: third version of the same fable, the moon on one
2:24:57
Speaker 1: occasion sent the hair to the earth to a four men.
2:25:00
Speaker 1: That is, she the moon died away and rose again,
2:25:04
Speaker 1: so mankind should die and rise again. Instead, however, of
2:25:10
Speaker 1: delivering this messages given the hair, either out of forgetfulness
2:25:15
Speaker 1: or malice, told mankind that as the moon rose and
2:25:19
Speaker 1: died away, so man should die and rise no more.
2:25:24
Speaker 1: The hare, having returned to the moon, was questioned as
2:25:27
Speaker 1: to the message delivered, and the moon, having heard the
2:25:30
Speaker 1: true state of the case, became so enraged with him
2:25:34
Speaker 1: that she took up a hatchet to split his head.
2:25:38
Speaker 1: Falling short. However, of that, the hatchet fell upon the
2:25:41
Speaker 1: upper lip of the hair and cut it severely. Hence
2:25:45
Speaker 1: it is that we see the hair lip. The hair,
2:25:48
Speaker 1: being duly incensed at having received such treatment, raised his
2:25:53
Speaker 1: claws and scratched the Moon's face. And the dark spots
2:25:58
Speaker 1: which we now see on the surface of the moon
2:26:00
Speaker 1: un are the scars which she received on that occasion.
2:26:06
Speaker 1: A fourth version of the same fable. The Moon, they say,
2:26:10
Speaker 1: wished to send a message to men, and the Hare
2:26:13
Speaker 1: said that he would take it. Run. Then said the Moon,
2:26:16
Speaker 1: and tell men that as I die and am renewed,
2:26:20
Speaker 1: so shall they also be renewed. But the hare deceived
2:26:24
Speaker 1: men and said as I die and perish, so shall
2:26:29
Speaker 1: you also. A Zulu version of the legend of the
2:26:34
Speaker 1: Origin of death, God unklun Kun arose from beneath the
2:26:40
Speaker 1: seat of the spiritual world, according to the Zulu idea,
2:26:45
Speaker 1: and created in the beginning men, animals, and all things.
2:26:50
Speaker 1: He then sent for the chameleon and said, go camellon
2:26:54
Speaker 1: and tell men that they shall not die. The chameleon went,
2:26:58
Speaker 1: but it walked slowly and loitered on the way, eating
2:27:02
Speaker 1: of a shrub called buchwe beizane. When it had been
2:27:07
Speaker 1: away some time, God sent the salamander after it, ordering
2:27:11
Speaker 1: him to make haste and tell men that they should die.
2:27:14
Speaker 1: The salamander went on his way with this message, outran
2:27:18
Speaker 1: the chameleon, and, arriving first where the men were, told
2:27:22
Speaker 1: them that they must die. End of section thirty nine,
2:27:27
Speaker 1: read by Laura Gibbs and of South African folk Tales
2:27:31
Speaker 1: by James Albert Harney