Page:Where Animals Talk (West African folk lore tales).djvu/142

 So, he came down the Tree, and left the axe at the foot, saying, "If I go back to the house of this Man, he will kill me. No! I am fleeing."

When he arrived at his town, the other people asked him, "Where's the woman?" He answered, "The woman is a thing easy to marry, but the Tree was a hard thing to cut."

After waiting awhile for the Forest-Rat, Njambo came to the foot of the Tree; and, seeing the axe lying, took it, and went with it to his House.

Then Leopard tried for the woman; and failed in the same way as the two who preceded him.

Next, Elephant tried, and failed in the same way.

So did Ox in the same way.

And all the other Beasts, one after another, in the same way, wearied of the task for obtaining this woman.

But, there was left still one Beast, Tortoise, that had not made the attempt at the marriage. He stood up, and said, "I will go; and I shall marry that woman at Njambo's town!" Ox heard Tortoise say that; and struck him, saying, "Why! even more so we; and the less so you, to attempt to obtain her!" But Elephant said to Ox, "Let Kudu alone! Let us see him marry the woman!"

So, Tortoise made his journey to Njambo's town, and came there late in the afternoon. He said to Njambo, "I have come to marry your child." Njambo replied, "Well! let it be so!"

Tortoise said to Njambo, "First, call your daughter, to see if she shall like me." When she entered the room, Tortoise asked her, "Do you love me?" She answered, "Yes! I love you with all my heart." This made Tortoise glad; for the woman was very beautiful to look upon. Then Njambo told him, "Kudu, I want no goods for her; only the cutting of the Tree." Tortoise assented, "Yes! I will try."

So they all went to sleep that night.

And then the next day broke.

An hour after sunrise, Njambo called Tortoise, and, showing him the axe, said, "This is the axe for the tree." Tortoise took the axe, and went to the foot of the Tree. He looked at its sides closely, and saw there was a difference in them. He also looked very steadily at the top of the tree.