Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 20, 1909.djvu/516

452 answer?—he is a bird. But the man was not speaking to the asiraji, he was speaking to his wife. Makame was angry, and said,—"You, asiraji, I will beat you;—tell me truly which of these three men is the owner of the woman." And he rose up, and was going to strike the bird, when the woman said,—"Leave him alone, master,—why should you strike this bird?" And as soon as the woman had spoken, the people were astonished. And Makame took his wife home to his village, and lived with her many days. One day he said to her,—"Wife, I am going up country to trade." And he said,—"The sultan of this country is a very profligate man who kidnaps men's wives. Do you keep quiet and stay in your house." And Makame started and went his ways up country to trade, and his wife remained behind. One day a slave-lad of the sultan came and entered Makame's house, and asked for fire. And he was told,—"Go on into the upper room," and he went up. And when that lad saw Makame's wife he fell down (with astonishment). And he went to his master, and said,—"Master, I have seen a very beautiful woman in Makame's house,—your wife is very ugly compared with Makame's wife." And the sultan said—"Is it true?" And he said,—"It is true, sir." The sultan sent an old woman to Makame's house, who persuaded his wife to come away with her, and said to her,—"The sultan will give you many clothes of silver and vessels of gold, and you will be a great person." And she went to the sultan's house and stayed there, and he was her husband, and as for Makame's house she forgot it altogether, (literally, she cast it far away from her). And when Makame came back, he cried "hodi" at the door of his house, and found everything silent, and said,—"Perhaps she has gone to my mother's,—her mother-in-law's." And he went to his mother's house, and asked if his wife were there, and his mother said,—"She is not." And Makame went his way home, and entered his house, and thought,—"The sultan has taken away my wife." And he said,—"Never mind." And he called a bird whose name is kurumbiza, and said,—"Go to the sultan's house,—I, Makame, send you to bring back my things: if you get them, we will share them equally, you and I." And the bird went to the sultan's house, and sat on the roof and sang its song, saying,—