Page:Where Animals Talk (West African folk lore tales).djvu/71

 hands until they were white with foam. "Now," said Tortoise, "put your hand into the water to remove the foam." Monkey did so; and his hands were still black.

The rest of the company objected to his black hand going into their food. And he went away ashamed and hungry.

This story evidently dates back to the first introduction of Rum into Africa. Gorilla's "new kind of water" was Rum.

Telinga's cheating did not finally succeed in obtaining him the wife; but was the cause of his now living only in trees; whereas formerly he lived in the long grass. The Telinga are very numerous, and they all look so alike that one cannot be distinguished from another. In the story, he had arranged with all his companions to help him drink.

In the Gorilla Country there are no lions, and there he is readily called the King of Beasts, because of the fearful length and strength of his arms.

How absurd that so horribly ugly a caricature of a human being should be supposed to have a beautiful daughter!