Page:The Melanesians Studies in their Anthropology and Folklore.djvu/410

388 his fish up together and goes out, and goes out down to the beach, and sits down, and dips his fish into a little pool of salt-water, and eats them by themselves without any vegetable food. After this on another day they went again; and the Little Orphan says, I will go with you; and they say, No, we have already said that you the Little Orphan are not to come. If you come with us, and you catch fish, what have you to eat with them? you have no food to eat your fish with. And they went before and he went after; and they went to their place, and he to his. And he fishes with his hook and line and keeps his eye upon them; and when he sees them mount up inland, he also mounts up himself. And they say to him, Don't, we tell you, be coming along with us; if you come here who is there to give you food? you have no father and no mother to give you food to eat your fish with. And they go on into the village, and he stops short, and roasts again his fish and eats them without vegetable food. After this on another day again they went; and he said, Let me go with you; but they said, You are not to go, we only shall go who have fathers and have mothers, you are not to come, a little orphan. And they went again before, and he behind, and they to their place and he to his. And as he stood down there, a fish comes on his hook first, and he runs up on the rocks and takes it off the hook; and runs and lets down his hook into the water, and a tapanau is caught, and he takes it up, and runs up and puts it down into a little pool. And he runs over again and lets down his hook and a nongpitpit is caught; and he runs up and puts it down into the pool; and runs over and lets down his hook and a gavaru is caught, and he goes with it and puts it down into the pool, and runs over and lets down his hook, and a plaited hibiscus line (gavanu) is caught by him; and he goes up with it and puts it down. And he runs over to let down his hook, and a woman and her child come up out of the sea to him; and their name is Ho Som (Money), and he puts them down on the reef. Then Ro Som says to him, Let us three go together. And the Little Orphan says, E-o-o! not you two; I will go by