Page:Where Animals Talk (West African folk lore tales).djvu/103

 me in this race, unless you all help me in my plan. He will follow the sea-beach. You all must line yourselves among the bushes at the top of the beach along the entire route all the way from Campo to Balimba. When Mbalanga, coming along, at any point, looks around to see whether I am following, and calls out, "Kudu! where are you?" the one of you who is nearest that spot must step out from his place, and answer for me, "Here!"

Thus he located all the other tortoises in the bushes on the entire route. Also, he placed a colored mark on all the tortoises, making the face of every one alike. He stationed them clear on to the place where he expected that Antelope would be exhausted. Then he ended, taking his own place there.

Antelope also arranged for himself, and said, to his wife, "My wife! make me food; for, Kudu and I have agreed on a race; and it begins at seven o'clock in the morning."

When all was ready, Antelope said, to (the one whom he supposed was) Kudu, "Come! let us race!" They started. Antelope ran on and on, and came as far as about ten miles to the town of Ubĕnji, among the Igara people. At various spots on the way Tortoise apparently was lost behind; but as constantly he seemed to re-appear, saying, "I'm here!"

At once, Antelope raced forward rapidly, pu! pu! pu! to a town named Ipĕnyĕnyĕ. Then he looked around and said, "Where is Kudu?" A tortoise stepped out of the bushes, saying "Here I am! You haven't raced."

Antelope raced on until he reached the town of Beyâ. Again looking around, he said, "Where is Kudu?" A tortoise stepped out, replying, "I'm here!"

Antelope again raced, until he reached the town Lolabe. Again he asked, "Where is Kudu?" A tortoise saying to himself, "He hasn't heard anything," replied, "Here I am!"

Again Antelope raced on as far as from there to a rocky point by the sea named Ilale-ja-moto; and then he called, "Wherever is Kudu?" A tortoise ready answered, "Here I am!"

From thence, he came on in the race another stretch of about ten miles, clear to the town of Bongahĕli of the Batanga people. At each place on the route, when Antelope, losing