Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 1, 1890.djvu/57

Rh not eat the raw fish, but, as before, returned it to her son, who then ate it. At daybreak the bird hulloa’ed again; by this time he had grown to a large size. When out looking for fish he saw a dugong floating; he again brought a fish home to his mother, but with the same result as before.

The following day Kusa Kap hulloa’ed at sunrise; he was now grown a gigantic bird. Bukari took a piece of string and tied a small seed to his leg; he then flew away, caught a dugong, and carrying it by its claws, dropped it at his mother’s feet Bukari said, “We haven’t an upi” (bamboo knife) (5); but the bird stood on the back of the dugong, cut it open with his beak, and removed the bones and viscera, and cut the meat up into small pieces. Leaving the dugong, he flew away and caught another, which he also brought to his mother, who delightedly exclaimed, “Hulloa! got another now—piccaninny along me gets big food now.” Kusa Kap then cut up the second dugong with his beak as before.

Early next morning Bukari told the bird to go to Daudai (the neighbouring coast of New Guinea), to ask two of her uncles living there for some fire with which to cook, and for some water to drink, instructing him, when he found their house, to sit down close beside them, and to catch hold of a burning stick in the fire, and also of a pair of “kusu” (i.e., coco-nut water-bottles) (6), and “when they see the seed on your leg they will know who sent you”.

Away flew Kusa Kap, and all befell as Bukari predicted; the uncles filled up all their water-bottles and slung them over his wings, and gave him a bamboo knife and a burning stick (moiı), which he carried in his claws and brought to his mother, remarking to himself, “Now Bukari will have a better class inside.” Kusa Kap then caught another dugong which was pregnant, gave it to his mother and cut it up for her, and this time she was able to cook the meat and eat as much as she needed.