Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 22, 1911.djvu/496

 460 Collectanea.

wood for her to take and sell and get food. So the girl said, — " Verj' well," and the Elephant said, — " Now always (when) Friday comes you come here." She said, — "Very well." So she (girl) went and came to the town, and went to the mouth of a well whence the chief's water was drawn. Then she saw the chief's slaves drawing water, so she said, — " For God's (sake) will you not give me water to drink?" Then a certain slave of the chief said {term of abuse). Then she said, — " O ugly one (ugliness is with you), who would give you water to drink?" Then her fellow-slave said, — " Come, give her (some) by all means." So she gave her (some), and she drank. She said, — " My elder sister,^ shall I not now obtain a place to hide (myself) in your house ? " Then one of (them) said, — "Oh, what could be done with you?" But the elder one said, — "Ah, I heard that (our) mistress was looking for a girl to stay (with her)." So it happened that they went to the house, and she, the slave, said, — "O, Mistress, here is a girl. Do you want her?" She said, — "Well done. Thank God." So the girl remained. Every (always) Friday she went to the house of her mother, the Elephant, and the mother got wood for the daughter, and she returned home. She, the wife with whom she lived (was) as a daughter, had given birth to (one of the) sons of the chief. He too, the son, when he came to eat food said to bring the girl that he might eat food. Then the girl was hidden. (This went on) until the feast ^ came. When (next day) the eve of the feast would come, the girl ran away and went to the house of her mother. So then the girl came and told her, and said, — " The day after to-morrow is the feast." Then the mother said, — " Very well. Return for the present." So she said, — " Very well." She returned home. When the night of the feast came, she returned to her mother, and the mother took her and swallowed (her), and she brought her up again a bright red, half of her body (being) gold. When she had brought the girl up she examined (her), and then she again swallowed the girl, and brought her up half gold, half silver. So then a metal ^"^ chair was brought

^ Yaruwa means really " elder sister," but it is employed to denote any con- nection, (friend, fellow-slave, etc.).

^ For a description of the salla, see Robinson, Hatisaland, and story 4. '^'^ Ka{r)riji is sometimes used for silver.