Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 27, 1916.djvu/163

Rh frightened away by the Butterfly. At last the Hare went, and the Butterfly sang:

So the Hare ran away. Then the Tortoise said, "I will go!" The Elephant said, "You are too little!" but he went and was not frightened. The Butterfly sang its song, so it looked for the Butterfly and found it and brought it back to the animals. It said, "This is the person whose voice we heard." So they all killed the Butterfly, and then they went to eat the mealies.

When they had eaten all the mealies they were very thirsty. The Tortoise said, "Let us dig a big water hole," and they all said, "Yes"; but the Hare said, "No, I will go and find my own." So he went; but the others dug and soon had plenty of water. When they had all drunk enough they said, "One must stay by the water and see that the Hare does not come back and take it." So the Rhinoceros said he would wait. The Hare saw what a quantity of water there was and so he came back with honey, crying, "Who wants honey?" The Rhinoceros said, "I want some," so the Hare gave him some in a bottle. The Rhinoceros said, "Give me some more." The Hare had some more in a pot and he said to the Rhinoceros, "All right, put your head in the pot." The Rhinoceros did so, and the Hare pulled a string fastening it round his neck and then he drank as much water as he wanted. Next day the Elephant said he would guard the water. The Hare brought his honey and the Elephant did as the Rhinoceros had done. Other animals came; but the Hare tricked them all. At last the Tortoise went; the Hare came along crying, "Who wants honey?" but the Tortoise stayed in his shell and did not listen. The Hare said, "There is no one here," and went to drink the water; but the Tortoise came quickly out of his shell and caught him.