Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review Volumes 32 and 33.djvu/211

Rh The other Antiguan variant and one of the Jamaica variants have an animal cast. The Jamaican variant is the more complete.

"Once there was a bird in the wood name Man-crow, an' the world was in darkness because of that bird. So the king offer thousands of pounds to kill him to make the world in light again. An' the king have free daughter, an' he promise that, if any one kill Man-crow, he will make them a very rich man an' give one of his daughter to marry. So t'ousands of soldiers go in the wood to kill Man-crow. An' they found him on one of the tallest trees in the woods. An' no one could kill him, an' they come home back. So there was a little yawzy fellah call Soliday. An' he say to his grandmother:—'Gran'mother I am very poor. I am going in the wood to see if I can kill Man-crow.'"...

Soliday sings to the bird and the bird sings back. With every shot from Soliday's bow Man-crow looses two feathers and drops one bough down in the tree. At the sixth arrow Man-crow drops off the tree dead. Soliday takes from the bird his golden tongue and golden teeth, and goes home to his grandmother. Now Annancy, who has been up in a tree looking on, comes down, shoulders the bird and goes to the king's gate claiming to be the man who killed Man-crow. . . . During Annancy's wedding feast Soliday arrives and makes his claim.

"An' they said: 'No, impossible! Mr. Annancy kill Man-crow.' An' he take out the golden tongue an' teeth an' show it to the king, an' ask the question:—'How can a bird live without teeth an' tongue?' So they look in the bird mouth an' found it was true. An' they call Annancy. An' Annancy give answer:—'I will soon be there.' An' they call him again. An' he shut the kitchen door an' said:—'Me no feel well.' All this time Brother Annancy shame, take him own time fe make hole in the shingle get 'way. . . . Annancy lost in the shingle up to to-day. An' the king marry Soliday to his