Page:Swahili tales.djvu/101

Rh the town wondered at that gazelle's knowing how to speak, and knowing how to arrange its words elegantly. Then it took away the horse. And the soul of the gazelle was confident. A horse is bigger than a gazelle. As to that horse and that gazelle, if the horse stooped and looked at the gazelle, it would see it as we see an ant on the ground, just so the horse looked down on the gazelle. But we do not recognize all the prudence of that gazelle.

And the Sultan said, "Eh! that gazelle comes from gentle hands, from the doors of a Sultan, he comes from the eyes of people of power; that is why this gazelle is what he is." And it became a person of great consequence with that Sultan.

And so the gazelle went till it arrived where its master was, there where it had told him, "Don't go away from here;" and it found him just there; he had not gone away.

Its master, when he heard the noise, when he cast back his eyes, he saw the gazelle and the horse, and was very glad, till the gazelle arrived and said, "Master, hodi! hodi!" And he said "Hodi, my master!" and he said, "Come near, my benefactor! come near, my orator! come near, my largess-giver!" And it said, "I am seated, my master; I am seated, my lord;" and it said, "I have brought you this sweet food." And he said, "This is the food I like, for food that is only sweet is poisonous food."

And it said, "Get up, master, and bathe." And its master went into the stream. And it said, "Here in the stream there is little water; go there into the pool." And he said, "There in the pool, why I fear is, that there is water exceedingly plenty; and where there is great plenty of water, where there is a pool, there are sure to be noxious animals."

And it said, "What animals, master?" And he said, "First, in lakes there are surely crocodiles, and secondly,