Page:Swahili tales.djvu/81

Rh than I. You have no cause now, listen to what I called you for."

And he said, "Good; I shall hear now, and tell me in order that I may understand things."

And it said, "Firstly, I have accepted you for you to be my master; further, you have been at expense for me of what you have, and I see that your state is low; I cannot run away from you, but I will give you a promise, and what I tell you, observe."

And he said, "Please God! Your promise that you shall give me, if it be bad, will be good to me, and if it be good, to me it will be more than good."

And it said, "First, master, I will tell you that you, master, are poor, and your diet, I, master, know it, you yourself can bear it, and your ability is of necessity; now though I am your slave, of those victuals which you eat there is to me distress, and I have no pleasure."

And he said, "Well, what is it you wish?"

And it said, "My master, what I wish is this,—I want you to forgive me, for I shall say words that will not be pleasing to you; they are irritating words."

He says to it, "You are a gazelle no longer, you are become my child, and the weight of a child is on the hip of its mother." And he said, "Well, then, tell me what it all is."

And it said, "I want you to give me leave, and further, forgive me, I want you to give me leave to go and feed until the evening, and to return and come and sleep, if your soul is at rest about this that I am telling you. For that diet of yours is sparing, and for me is little, and this is why I cannot follow you that we may eat together: well, then, I want you to forgive me, and that your soul