Black Tales for White Children. C. H. Stigand
she cooked food for him and said, "Now eat." And he said to her, "Last time I ate here you told me that I was a fool for not getting you the clothes you wanted, now look first in the parcel I have brought and see if they are indeed the clothes you want before I eat."
So his wife looked at the load and was astonished, and the neighbours came and looked and were astonished, for there were the seven heads of Pemba Muhori.
Then that youth thought to himself, "I must now teach my wife a lesson, as she has put me to a lot of trouble and worry;" so he told her to prepare a large feast for the next day, and he invited all his friends to come.
Next day his friends came and they all ate till they were full, and he then said to his wife, "My wife, bring me water that I may drink."
His wife brought him water, and he looked at it and said to her, "Do you call this water, do you think that this is fit for your husband to drink?"
So she went away and brought him milk, and he said to her, "What is this you have brought me? Am I a baby that you think that I can drink this?"
So she went and brought him honey-wine, and he said to her, "Am I a drunkard that when I ask for water you bring me wine?"
So she said to him, "My husband, what kind of water do you want? tell me, that I may get it for you."
So he said, "That water you brought me smelt of frogs. I want water from a lake in which there are no frogs."
So she took a water jar, and putting it on her head went forth, and he, taking his sword and putting it over his shoulder, went after her, and followed at a distance to see what she would do.
And she travelled on and on till she came to a big lake and said to herself, "Perhaps this water will do." So she sang—
"My husband has sent me out to draw
Water no frog has touched with his claw."
And the frogs answered, "K—r—r—r, K—r—r—r."
So she took her water jar and travelled on and on till she came to another big lake and sang again—
"My husband has sent me out to draw
Water no frog has touched with his claw."
"K—r—r—r, K—r—r—r."
So she travelled on and on, and her husband followed, watching from behind, and every lake she came to and sang the frogs only answered, "K—r—r—r, K—r—r—r."
At last she came to a great lake, and there she sang—
"My husband has sent me out to draw
Water no frog has touched with his claw."
All was silent, so she said, "This must indeed be the water my husband wants." So she filled her water jar, and, turning round to go home, she saw a huge demon coming forth saying, "I smell man, I smell man."
Her husband behind, who knew how to talk to demons, called out,
"Demon bwe! bwe! bwe!
Demon bwe! bwe! bwe!
My wife run quickly past me,
Demon bwe! bwe! bwe!"
So his wife ran past him, and as the demon followed after her he cut off his tail, and at that moment he found himself in his house again and his wife found herself on the threshold.
She tried to take the water jar from her head to pass in at the door, but she found that it had stuck there, and she was not able to move it.
Then a neighbour came forward and tried to pull it off, but he could not, then came two men and then five and then twenty, but they could not get the water jar off. Then fifty tried, but failed, and at last five hundred men tried to pull it off, but it was of no avail.
Then came out the husband and said, "My wife, put down that water jar," and he slapped her in the face and at that moment the water jar fell off.
His wife said to him, "What do you strike me for?" and her husband said, "My wife, do you not see that that was the medicine that broke the charm and released you from the water jar? Did you not see that five hundred men were unable to get it off, and that I, by just slapping you, was able to get it off?" But the woman would not be satisfied, so went off to the Sultan and accused her husband before the Sultan of beating her. So the Sultan sent his soldiers to fetch Hapendeki, and when he was brought said to him, "How is this that you have beaten this woman your wife?"
"Demon Bwe! Bwe! Bwe!"
So Hapendeki told him the story from first to last, and the Sultan said to him, "Have you the heads of Pemba Muhori?"
He answered and said, "They are there in my house."
So the Sultan said, "Bring them here that I may know that your story is true."
So Hapendeki said, "I will bring them here at eight o'clock to-night, but I want you to turn out all the lights when I come and only turn them on when I tell you."
So at eight o'clock Hapendeki brought the seven heads, and all the lights were turned out, and he arranged them in front of the Sultan's palace, which was seven storied, one head he put on the roof and one head on every storey.
When the lights were turned on everybody fell back in fear and astonishment, for there, shining and glittering in the light, were the seven heads of Pemba Muhori.
So the trumpets pealed and the cannons roared and there was great rejoicing, and the Sultan gave his daughter in marriage to Hapendeki.
And this is the end of the story, and whether it is good or whether it is bad I do not know, but if it is good, its goodness belongs to all, and if it is bad, its badness belongs to him who tells it alone.
III
THE CAT'S TAIL
AT a place called Lamu lived a woman and her husband. One day, whilst they were at meal, a cat came in and looked at them. Now these two people loved to disagree with each other.
So that woman said to the man, "I say that the tail of a cat is stuck in."
The man said to his wife, "No, it is not stuck in; it sprouts out."
So they wrangled together about this matter for many days. At last they disputed so noisily that their neighbours threatened to drive them out of the village. Then, as neither the husband nor the wife would give in, they decided to seek the wise man who lived at Shela, for sure he would know and could settle this great question.
So they each took a dollar and tied it in the corner of their robes and set out for Shela, quarrelling so hard all the way that everybody turned round to stare at them.
The Wise man who lived at Shela.
At last they arrived at the town of Shela and found the wise man at his house. When he saw the big round dollars bulging out of their clothes he smiled upon them and invited them in.
Then the woman asked him, "Look up for us in your learned books whether a cat's tail is stuck in or whether it sprouts out."
The man said, "No. Look up whether it does not sprout out or whether it is stuck in."
The wise man saw that they were fools, so he replied—
"Give me my fee: one dollar for the answer to the question