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Folktales

How Spider’s Son Was Eaten By a Goblin

A goblin lived in the forest and he had a son called Pei. Pei was a great hunter and killed many animals; but one day when he went to hunt he found there were no animals left. He only saw Spider’s son and carried him home. Father Goblin said:

“Clean him and hang him up to dry. Tomorrow we will eat him.”
Pei hung the dead thing up to dry.

When Spider went home he could not find his son, and he wondered where he was. He said to himself: “I will go and look in Goblin’s house. His son, Pei, kills much game.”

When Spider reached Goblin’s house he saw his son hanging up inside. He said to Pei:

“What kind of game is this?”

“Nothing special,” Pei answered.

“It looks just like my son.”

“Oh! I didn’t know it was our son.”

They began to fight. Eggs were hanging by the door in a basket, and they were Goblin’s private eggs. Spider knocked them down, and in a moment he had swallowed them. Pei was silent for a little time, feeling sad about the eggs.

Then he said: “Spider, this palaver between you and I is finished. You have killed my things, and I have killed yours. Go home.”

The eggs made Spider’s stomach happy, and he went home.