Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 21, 1910.djvu/400

358 me?" Then the She-ass said,—"I will bring (him) to you." She (She-ass) said,—"Now make nakia." So she made nakia. Those (cakes) worth five cowries each were kneaded separately, those worth ten separately, those worth twenty separately. Then the she-ass swallowed all of them. Then she came near the Spider's fence, and began eating (it). So the Spider said to his wife,—"Go out, you, drive away for me the She-ass. She is eating the fence." When she (Spider) had taken a stalk and had beaten her, she (She-ass) let fall some dung made of cakes of nakia worth five cowries each, and the Spider's wife took them. When she had tasted (them), she liked them (tasted sweetness), so she took (them) to the Spider. When he had eaten (them), he said,—"Here, you, where did you get this?" She said,—"(It is) the dung of the She-ass which was eating our fence." Then he said,—"Give me a stick quickly." Then he went and, (as he) followed her, he beat her, so she let fall (a cake) worth ten (cowries), and he took (it) and ate (it). He again followed her, and she let fall one worth twenty. He followed her (and) beat her until they came to the Ewe's house. The Spider did not know. Then a bound was made, (and) the Spider was captured, (and) he was dashed on the ground. He was broken and scattered on the wall of the house, on trees, (and) on everything. That is the reason why he became so numerous. Formerly there was only one.

A certain woman called a Spider, and said,—"Come and I will teach you more cunning (increase to you cunning)." He came, (and) she said,—"Go and get some Lion's tears." She said,—"Go and get an Elephant's tusk, and the skin of a Dingo." Then the Spider arose and travelled on the trader's road, and lay down, and pretended that he was (made like) dead. He lay down and was silent. Now, when the traders came and passed, they said,—"Hullo, a Spider has died on the road." The traders all passed (were finished). All passed except one man. He went off again at a run, he, the Spider, and made a detour, and got ahead of them on the road, and he lay down again on the road. Now, when the traders came and passed, they said,—"Hullo, to-day a lot of