Page:Where Animals Talk (West African folk lore tales).djvu/137

 Porcupine returned by sea, and kept the name in his memory, until he was actually entering the town of his home; and, then, he suddenly forgot it. The tribes of All-the-Beasts called out to him, as they saw him coming, "Ngomba! tell us! tell us!" When he informed them that he had forgotten it, they beat him, as they had done to Rat.

They had also in that country, another plant which was thought not proper to be eaten. They did not know that its leaves were really good for food.

On another day, they said to Antelope, "Go you; and tell Mbâmpâ, and ask him which shall we eat, this fruit or these leaves. What shall we Beasts do?"

Antelope went by sea; and came to Boa's town. And he asked Boa, "What do you here eat? Tell us." Boa replied, "I eat leaves of the plants, and I drink water; that is all I do. And the name of the tree that bears that fruit is Bojabi. You, all the Beasts, what are you to eat? I have told you."

Antelope slept there that night. And the next day, he started on his return journey. At his journey's end, as he was about to land on the beach, a wave upset the canoe, and he fell into the sea. In the excitement, he forgot the name. The anxious tribes of All-the-Beasts had come down to the beach to meet him, and were asking, "What is the name? Tell us!" He replied, "Had I not fallen into the water, I would not have forgotten the name." Then, in their anger, they beat him.

Almost all the beasts were thus tried for that journey; and they all failed in the same way, with the name forgotten, even the big beasts like Ox and Elephant. There was no one of them who had succeeded in bringing home the name.

But there was left still, one who had not been tried. That was Tortoise. So, he said, "Let me try to go." They were all vexed with him, at what they thought his audacity and presumption. They began to beat him, saying, "Even the less for us, and more so for you! You will not be able!" But Gazelle interposed, saying, "Let Kudu alone! Why do you beat him? Let him go on the errand. We all have failed; and it is well that he should fail too."

Tortoise went to his mother's hut, and said to her, "I'm going! How shall I do it?" His mother told him, "In your going on this journey, do not drink any water while at