Page:The International Folk-Lore Congress of the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, July, 1893.djvu/345

 Rh his form into that of an octopus, in order to escape being bitten.)

As soon as Tamaro found himself inside the belly of the monster, he took firm hold of the shark's tooth with which he had provided himself and slashed the intestines of the foe. The helpless shark writhed in agony, and repeatedly leaped out of the sea, in the vain hope of getting relief. The inhabitants of that land crowded to the sandy beach to watch the strange behavior of the dreaded enemy. In a short time the shark died, and lo! Tamaro stood upon the shelving coral none the worse for his adventure and shouted in triumph, "The foe is no more!" From thenceforth mankind fished and bathed in peace.

TAMARO DESTROYS THE DEMON EEL.

A woman kept a pet eel in a crevice of the reef, secured by strong sennit cord. She fed it regularly; in the early morning, at mid-day, and in the evening. But one morning she had to go a distance and forgot to look after her pet. She got back in the afternoon and at once took up her basket of food to feed the eel. On arriving at the place where the eel was kept captive, to her astonishment the angry pet refused to eat, severed the sennit cord with its sharp teeth and sought to devour the woman. In its rage it came ashore and swallowed stones and sticks.

The poor woman now knew that it was a demon in the form of an eel that she had nurtured. In her terror she ran to Tamaro for help. As soon as she had told her story, Tamaro set fire to a heap of dry leaves and sticks close by. On the top of this heap he threw some blocks of coral. By the time the stones were thoroughly heated the demon eel had arrived in search of the woman. Tamaro instantly threw the hot stones to the foe, who swallowed them without hesitation. In a little while its belly burst, and so the woman was saved.

TAMAKO KILLS A DEMON ROBBER CRAB.

A robber crab lived in a dense forest of Pandanus trees. So closely did these trees grow that no one could thread his