Page:Where Animals Talk (West African folk lore tales).djvu/221

 dropped something into his eyes. His eyes suddenly, kaa! were opened, and he saw everything, and all the people, and the whole street.

Returning to the house, he sat down. Maidens came. Such goodness as you have scarcely known! Forms lovely to see!

The Chief of the town said, "Make ye food!" It was made at once. Then one whom he chose was given him for his wife.

She and this young son-in-law were left sitting in the house. The wife began to weep, saying to herself, "What will be his manner of eating?" (a test to be applied to him as suitor). The Gourd called him with a voice like the stroke of a bell, ngĕng! He went out to the Gourd, and It said to him, "When you shall eat, take one piece of plantain, flesh of the fowl, and then dip one spoonful of the udika (wild-mango gravy), put them in your mouth; and thou shalt say unto her, 'Take; you may remove the food.' You shall see what will happen." He did so. His wife laughed in her heart; and she went and told her mother, "He is a person of sense." The towns-people said to her, "What did he do?" She evasively said to them. "Let us see!"

In the evening, the father-in-law said to him, "You have found us here in the midst of a work of garden-making for your mother-in-law." (A man is always expected to do some work for his wife's mother.) He said. "That's good, Father!"

Gourd called to him, and told him, "It is not a garden; it is an entire forest; it is not planted; it is all wild country. But, tomorrow, at daylight, early, you say to your wife that she must go and show you. You must take one young plantain-set, and a machete, and an axe. When you shall arrive there, then you shall say to her, "Go back!" And she will go back. Then, you will slash with the machete, kwa! and leave it. You take also the axe and cut, ka! and say, 'Ngunga-O! Mekud' O! Makako ma dibakĕ manjeya-O!' You shall see what will happen. Then you insert the plantain-set in the ground. Then you set up a bellows, and work it. And you shall see what will happen."

(All that Garden-Plan was made by the townspeople in order that he might weary of the task, and they then find excuse for killing him. For they were Cannibals.)