Page:Swahili tales.djvu/13

Rh There are specimens of several styles of Swahili. The best and purest language of Zanzibar is represented by the tales told to me by Hamisi wa Kayi, as he is commonly called, though his name is written Khamis bin Abubekr. They are 'The Washerman's Donkey' (p, 1), 'An Indian Story' (p. 139), 'Hasseebu Kareem ed deen' (p. 331), 'The Kites and the Crows' (p. 363), 'The Hare and the Lion' (p. 369), 'The Spirit and the Sultan's Son,' (p. 379), 'Blessing or Property' (p. 391), and the 'Story of Liongo' (p. 439); to these may be added the short tale (p. 411), 'The Cheat and the Porter,' told to me by Mohammed bin Khamis.

The dialect spoken by a class less refined and educated, less exact in its style and with more Arabic words, is represented by the tales told me by Masazo, who was for a long time our cook and house steward. They are 'Sultan Darai'(p. 11), 'Sultan Majnun '(p. 197), and 'Sell Dear' (p. 295).

A third style is that represented by the story of 'Mohammed the Languid,' which was begun by Mohammed bin Abdallah bin Ali, and taken up at p. 160 by another Mohammed, who unfortunately died when he had got as far as p. 180. It was completed by Mohammed bin Abdallah. This tale may be said to be in the court dialect, which is more Arabic in its forms and vocabulary than the rest, and is characteristically represented by a strict translation of an Arab story.

The dialect of Mombas has furnished only two short pieces, 'Goso the Teacher' (p. 286), and 'The Hare, the Lion, and the Hyæna' (p. 325). They were written out for me by Mohammed bin Abd en Nuri, commonly known as Kathi, who is on his mother's side a grandson of the great Sheikh Mohe ed din, of whom Captain Burton said