Page:Where Animals Talk (West African folk lore tales).djvu/241

 to Shrew, "Go! and take for us fire from the town of Mankind." Shrew consented, but said, "If I go, do not look, while I am gone, toward any other place except the path on which I go. Do not even wink. Watch for me."

So Shrew went, and came to a Town of Men; and found that the people had all emigrated from that town. Yet, he went on, and on, seeking for fire; and for a long time found none. But, as he continued moving forward from house to house, he at last found a very little fire on a hearth. He began blowing it; and kept on blowing, and blowing; for, the fire did not soon ignite into a flame. He continued so long at this that his mouth extended forward permanently, with the blowing.

Then he went back, and found Lemur faithfully watching with his eyes standing very wide open. Shrew asked him, "What has made your eyes so big?" In return, Lemur asked him, "What has so lengthened your mouth to a snout?"

In former times, in the days of Witchcraft, it was the custom not to bury a corpse until the question was settled who or what had caused the death. This investigation sometimes occupied several days; during which time decomposition was hindered by the application of salt, and even by drying the remains in the smoke of a fire.

Elephant built his own town; and Parrot built also his.

Then the children of Parrot went a-hunting every day; and when they came back, the town had wild meat in abundance, hida! hida!