Page:Where Animals Talk (West African folk lore tales).djvu/176

 Then Inyanji and Majanga threw the twins into the pig-pen. And they took two ant-hills (slender conical structures). They smeared them with blood. And they went and showed them to Njambu as the things which Mamĕndi had borne. Njambu said, "Go! and throw those things into the forest."

But Mbwa was going about; and as he went, he was scenting, till he came to the pig-pen; and he saw the twins. He took them, and carried them to his mother in their hut, which was isolated from the town. When the two women had left the twins in the pig-pen, their intention was that the pigs might kill them; and the women did not know that Mbwa had removed them. The twins stayed with Nyangwa-Mbwa, and she fed them and nursed them.

But, when Majanga and Inyanji heard that those children were in the hamlet of Mbwa's mother, they said, "We will go there tomorrow."

Early in the morning, Nyangwa-Mbwa had gone to the forest to her garden. When the two women came; they found the twins lying down. So, they struck them a blow; and they died.

The while that Nyangwa-Mbwa was in the forest, her heart beat with anxiety. She at once picked up her basket, and came to her village, and found the corpses of both the twins. Then she began to cry.

Mbwa also came, and found the dead bodies stretched out. Right away, he knew what had happened. So he went to the Prophet Totode, and inquired what he should do. Totode asked him, "Are you able to go to the town of Doctor Nja-ya-melema-mya-bato? (Hunger-for-the-hearts-of-people)." He agreed "Yes, I will go there." Then he went to the town of the Doctor.

A child of the Doctor spoke to Mbwa, and asked, "What have you come to do?" He answered, "I have come to seek heart-life; because my father's wives have killed from me two children."

Already Nja-ya-melema-mya-bato had gone to kill people for himself. In a little while he returned and suddenly, pieces of meat (from the dead bodies) began to fall, kidi! kidi! being thrown out on the ground in the street. Mbwa, awaiting a chance, hid himself under a bed.

Then came the Doctor bringing in the heart-lives of the