Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 21, 1910.djvu/248

212 seized the Dog, and killed (him), and the Spider said,—"Well done. Eat him yourself, I do not want any." So she ate (him). When this had happened (so it was when), the Leopard came, and the Spider said,—"Here is the place to make the roof." So she (Leopard) went and seized the Hyæna, who (she) was crouching in the grass. So she (Leopard) killed (the Hyæna), and gave (the body to) the Spider, (and) he put (it) by. When, lo! the Lion came upon the Leopard. They began to fight. They fought, and fought, and fought, (and) the Spider took up a big stick and began beating (them), and beating (them), and saying,—"O Lion leave off, O Leopard leave off. Who can decide (enter) a (your) quarrel between great ones?" So the Spider beat and beat them with the stick (until) he killed them. Then he collected all (plenty of) the meat in his house. He ate all the meat. He did not give (any to) the female spider. The greediness of the spider is very great (fills much).

This is about the Tortoise, He and the Spider were going on a trading expedition. (At) each house (where) they stopped he (Spider) said to Tortoise,—"Now, if, when food has been brought, it is said (to be) 'for the strangers,' it is mine. If it is said (to be) 'for the stranger,' it is yours." The Tortoise did not know the language of the town where they were going. In the evening, food was brought; it was said (to be) 'for the strangers.' The Spider said,—"Now, Tortoise, you see it is mine." He (Spider) ate up the food. He left him (Tortoise) hungry. Next morning they went to another town. Food was brought. It was said (to be) 'for the strangers,' so the Spider said,—"It is mine." As for the Tortoise, he was famishing, he got very thin. As he was hungry (wasted away), in the middle of the night he took a calabash belonging to the people of the house and began eating the scraps. Then the owner of the house came out with a stick