Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 13, 1902.djvu/425

Rh purely animal legends of South-eastern Australia. Nganto-warrina, the old Mura-mura who was turned into the moon, has his counterpart in many other moon legends; and it may be noted that we always find that the moon was once a man in the opinion of the Australian aborigine, while the Jack-and-the-Beanstalk incident of the tree growing up to the sky through magic is also frequently encountered.

The tract of country occupied by the Dieri tribe is on the delta of the Cooper, on the east of Lake Eyre. The Wonkanguru and Yaurorka are their immediate neighbours on the north, and the Urabunna occupied a considerable tract on the west side of the lake.

I.—

A Mura-mura was once out by himself hunting in time of great drought, but could find no food. There was no game to be found, and as he sought for it in vain the Mura-mura Kuyimokuna, a clever boy, came to him and asked what he was looking for. "Kapiri and Woma," was the reply. "Follow me," said the boy, walking forward; and all at once he said "Dig there." The man dug deep into the earth and found a woma (carpet-snake), and in like manner the boy showed him other places where woma were hidden. Thus he helped the elder Mura-mura on several days, till the others of his people envied him when they saw him return laden with game each night; so they asked him where he had got it. He told them to come with him, and his boy would show them where to find woma and kapiri (iguana). This they did, and the boy led them hither and thither to dig.

While they were doing this the boy became thirsty and drank out of their water-bag, forgetting to shut it up again, so that the water ran out. The people were all very angry at this and agreed to kill the boy, and did so when his friend and guardian was not there. Now this man felt in his liver that something was wrong with the boy. He could not sleep all night, and in the morning he set about following their tracks, till he came to where his friend lay dead. He wept bitterly for his boy. Then he separated the flesh from the bones, divided these from each