Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 27, 1916.djvu/180

152 them, "Why have you come? Did you not see the bones lying round this place? You were fools." They said, "We did not know," and they wept. The Lions said, "We are going out now; later we shall return and eat you." The boys wept again. Then the skeleton said, "I will show you how to escape." So he gave each of them two bottles, and said, "When I have helped you to escape you will be pursued by a flock of birds: throw down the one bottle and break it, and ants will come out and the birds will settle down to eat them. Then the Lions will come after you, and you must break the other bottle. A great lake will come up and divide you from the Lions."

So they went from there and now they saw a flock of birds pursuing them. They threw down the one bottle and broke it and a swarm of ants came out. The birds settled and stayed behind eating the ants. They went on and now they saw the Lions coming after them. They threw down the second bottle and broke it. A great lake came between them and the Lions and so the Lions remained behind. By and bye they came to the river where the Frog was. It had come down in flood and they were not able to cross. The Frog said, "What do you want?" They said, "We want to cross. We are afraid the birds will soon pursue us through the air." He said, "Did I not tell you not to strike me? Now I will not help you to cross over." They remained there until it grew late and the sun set; they did not know where to go. Then the Frog swam across and swallowed them both. Then he swam back and went back to their home and made them come out of his mouth. They told their relations and their relations gave the Frog a goat.

There was a boy and his mother died. He went to live in his brother's house. The brother did not want him.