Categories
Folktales

How Leopard Lost His Chiefdom

One day a woman was gathering palm nuts in the forest then she fell from a tree and hurt herself so badly she could not walk. As she lay on the ground in pain Green Pigeon alighted on a nearby branch.

“Pigeon,” cried the woman, “fly to my village and tell my people I lie here, hurt and unable to move.”

“I am too busy,” Green Pigeon answered, and flew away.

Hawk saw her lying there, and came close.

“Hawk,” said the woman, “I give you these palm nuts. Eat them, and then go to my village and tell my husband to come. I have broken bones and cannot move.”

Hawk ate the nuts, but then laughed and flew away, saying he had no time to carry messages for foolish woman. Then Fisher-bird came. In those days he was a plain and ordinary bird without any bright colors.

“I see you are hurt, Woman,” he said at once. And bring a friendly creature he added: “I will fly to your village, and tell your people to come.”

He flew to the village, and the woman’s relatives came to fetch her. Some days later, when the woman was almost well again, Fisher-bird came to see how she was.

“O Fisher-bird,” declared the grateful woman, “you are the best and most courteous of birds. I shall give you colors befitting your noble heart, so that all men know and love you.”

With dyes she used for dying cloth she painted the delighted bird in royal colors of purple, emerald and blue, and Fisher-bird wears those colors to this day. But Hawk and Green Pigeon are hunted and killed.

Categories
Folktales

The Tale of Dove and Thunderdevil

Dove and Thunderdevil were once the best of friends, but Dove could not understand why Thunderdevil never laughed. No matter how excited and amusing the conversation might be, he would merely smile a little and then stop. Dove asked him what the reasons was for this.

“I rarely laugh,” Thunderdevil said, “because my laugh is coarse and mush too noisy. If I laughed you would be terrified — you would think the world was bursting open.”

“You are my friend,” said Dove, “and I am your friend; I would be happy if you laughed.”

Thunderdevil never laughed. There came a time when Dove invited him to dine in his home, and when preparing the meal he remembered he had a quantity of palm wine.

“Ha!” he thought. “If I can persuade Thunderdevil to drink palm wine, I’m sure I can make him laugh.”

He brought the palm wine and poured it into an old cooling jar his grandmother had as a girl, and stirred it with a golden spear. Dove’s grandfather had owned the golden spear, and with it he had conquered all his enemies.

On the appointed day Thunderdevil came; the two friends dined well, and made merry with large quantities of palm wine. The conversation became unusually exciting and amusing, and Thunderbird was happy with the wine. He eyed the gleaming golden spear and asked:

“Dove, where did you get that golden spear?”

“Oh, it belonged to my grandfather,” Dove said proudly. “He made it out of pure gold, and with it he conquered all his enemies.”

The idea of a Dove conquering anyone — and with a golden spear — was too much for Thunderdevil. He burst out laughing. The house exploded. Dove found himself enveloped in a violent burst of noise, and was hurled through the air to some distant place. He fell to earth in a foreign land and lay swooning on the ground for seven days.

From that time until now Dove has never built another house, and he has never talked again to Thunderdevil. All night and often during daylight hours he may be found on forest trails and roads, searching always and everywhere for his grandfather’s golden spear.

Categories
Folktales

How Piso Lake Began

In the days of Long Ago there was a certain small watering hole where doves went to bathe, and the Vai people who lived near that place called it Piling See, or Doves’ Hole. More and more doves came to sing and splash, so that the pool became crowded and other holes were made.

Every time the Big Rains came the holes would become larger, and at length they were all joined together as a lake. Through many generations the name Piling See has turned into Piso.

The lake has several islands. The smallest one is known as Poo, meaning Pigeon, for the colony of pigeons which lives there.

Kafatin Island is in the middle of the lake; a certain Vai source states that when canoes coming down to the sea reached this island the crews would rejoice, for half the trip was done; they would exclaim ‘Kafa’, meaning ‘Halfway’. However, the Bureau of Folkways points out that Kaifa in Vai means ‘over and above’, or ‘to cheat a person’, so this theory of name-origin is open to doubt.

The father of the islands is a sacred island named Boeba, ‘Owner of the World’. Boeba moves about the lake as it wishes, and if a canoe chances to be on the lake when the island moves, canoe and crew are lost forever in the waters.

If anyone points a finger at this sacred island he dies at once. No canoes go to it, and anyone who defiles the waters near it disappears immediately. Boeba is feared and respected, and left very much alone.

Masatin Island is the largest of all and his name is from Masa, the first woman to farm on it.

In former times Piso Lake had a fine strong voice for singing songs; on peaceful evenings it would sing a soft and gentle song, but when the winds roared and lightning fired the sky the waves of Piso Lake boomed against the shore with rich bass overtones and lesser waves drummed mellow modulations.

There came a day when the Sea Goddess and the sea, which had no voice, begged the nearby lake to lend its song so that the Goddess might be properly mourned. The lake consented, and her song was transferred to the sea.

But the song was so sweet and beautiful it revived the ailing Sea Goddess, and then the cunning sea refused to give it back, declaring she had borrowed it to mourn the death of the Goddess and would not give it back until the Goddess died.

So Piso Lake sings no more, but her song is heard throughout the breadth of oceans, causing men to wonder at the multitude of doves which swam and sang in the water-hole so long ago.

Categories
Folktales

How Hare Made a Fool of Leopard

Leopard and Hare each fell in love with lady-Deer, and sought her hand in marriage. Hare was walking with lady-Deer in the forest when Leopard came along; and lady-Deer, who thought Hare was a rather small and unimportant animal, said:

“Oh, I see my lover coming.”

“Then what of me?” cried Hare. “Do you not love me?”

“No,” said lady-Deer, “I do not. Leopard is a gallant and daring animal, you are not.”

“Leopard is a horse! Would you marry a beast of burden, a slave-animal?”

“How is he a horse?”

“He is my horse. He carries me about. He is my slave.”

Lady-Deer did not believe him. Hare went away and bent his head with Leopard in a secret conversation. “I have been talking with lady-Deer,” he said, “and she admits she loves you, but says she could not marry such a fierce, proud animal. She fears you. I told her you had a gentle and tender heart, and that I would prove it.”

“I see,” said Leopard. “Then we must prove that I am not what I am. Go on.”

“My plan is this: you must be my horse and carry me through the town. Lady-Deer will see us, and she will think ‘Oh, what a kind and gentle animal Leopard is.’ Then she will agree to marry you.

Leopard thought about this, and then decided:

“Hare, what you say is true. It is a good idea. For one day I shall be your horse.”

“First you must give me a hamper of cassavas,” Hare said. Leopard gave him a hamper of cassavas, and then carried him around the town. Hare pretended to whip him, and pulled a rope tied around his nose. Next day Leopard went to lady-Deer, but she said:

“O Leopard, go from me. Foolish animal! Hare told me you were his horse, his slave-animal, but I refused to believe him until I saw him riding you through the town upon your back, and whipping you. Shame upon you, Leopard! I shall never speak to you again.”

Leopard was very vexed. He rushed away to find Hare. Hare ran and ran, but still Leopard followed him, and after two days he grew tired of being chased. He entered a cave he knew, and stood there with his hands pressed against the rock which formed the ceiling. He waited until Leopard entered, then cried out:

“Take care, Leopard! The ceiling is falling down. Hold up this rock a minute while I go for help, or we shall die.”

Foolish Leopard pressed his paws against the ceiling with all his strength and Hare ran away. Two raccoons came along and was Leopard there.

“Brother Leopard, why are you holding up a rock which was placed by God? Leave it be and come with us.”

Leopard saw that he had been tricked again, and went with the two raccoons. A week later Hare and his brother, Opossum (Giant Rat), captured the two raccoons. They took off their skins and tied the two naked animals to a tree, and in disguise Hare and Opossum went to Leopard’s house. Here they were received as guests, and after they had feasted Leopard gave them a sleeping room.

A rat had her babies in this room and she asked the guests to bring her some of Leopard’s food; Hare was willing to do this, but Opossum protested against such foolishness. Lady-Rat went hungry, and that night she ate the two raccoon skins while the guests were sleeping.

In the morning Leopard knocked on the door of the guest room. No one opened the door, but he heard sounds of excitement inside. He peered through a crack in the door, and he saw a strange and unexpected sight.

There was Hare dashing frantically about the room looking inside pots, tipping baskets upside down and searching everywhere for something which he could not find. And there was Opossum too, halfway down a hole which he was scrabbling in the floor. The two raccoons had disappeared. Leopard drew back from the door and held a conversation with himself.

“I put two raccoons in that room last night,” he muttered. Two raccoons. And during the night they have become something else. They have turned into Hare and Opossum. A strange thing.”

He remembered that he did not like Opossum very much, and that he did not like Hare at all. He growled a fearful “Wraagh!” and began attacking the door.

By the time he broke through the door Hare had already escaped, by pulling Opossum out of the hole by his tail and going first, under the wall and out into the forest. Leopard just managed to grasp Opossum’s tail as Opossum was about to leave, and the tail lost half it’s skin as the owner struggled free. That is why Opossum has a two-colored tail today.

When lady-Deer heard of Hare’s adventures she laughed too much, and since he was such a clever and amusing animal she agreed to marry him. Since that time Deer, Hare and Opossum have been Leopard’s enemies.

Categories
Ethnic Origin

The Rise and Fall of Zolu Dumah

Gorn is a town in the Vai-Koneh chiefdom of Grand Cape Mount County; and in recent years, within the compass of four life-spans, a man called Zolu Dumah was Chief of the town of Gorn.

The task of protecting his people concerned Chief Zolu deeply, for although he had no serious rival and his lands were unmolested, yet hostile spears beyond his borders were as sands on a sandy shore.

All peoples from the Mano River to the Junk River were included in his chiefdom, and during his reign none of his people ever rebelled against him; but he was uneasy, and finally revised a plan to make the safety of his chiefdom doubly certain.

A Muslim priest, or Imam, was invited to appear before the Chief, and when he came the Chief demanded of him:

“Can you make magic to preserve my power? There are enemies about me, inside my borders and without, and they may do some evil thing against me. Can you make magic to prevent this thing?”

The Imam nodded thoughtfully. “O Chief, it can be done.”

“And can you make magic so that I may overpower any rival who appears? If you can do this, then I shall give you the greatest reward that any man can ask.”

The priest was pleased to hear this, but though eaten with desire to know what his reward might be he dared not ask. He nodded head again, and announced:

“O Chief, with my skill and knowledge I can do this thing.”

Chief Zolu smiled hugely when he heard this and praised himself in his own heart, saying : Indeed, I am the cleverest of chiefs, and for my cleverness my sons will rule a mighty kingdom. I will die with the blessings of my sons in my ears.

The priest went away, and being an ardent and capable exponent of his art he labored long and earnestly and succeeded in preparing the necessary magic; he wondered greatly what his fabulous reward might be. On the appointed day he took Chief Zolu deep into the forest, and stood him in a shallow basket such as is used to winnow grain, called a fanner.

Certain magic formulae which he uttered caused the fanner to rise up in the air to such a height that Chief Zolu could gaze across great distances of forest and fertile farmland, from river to river and from the mountains to the sea.

“O Chief,” the priest cried up to him, “know that you will rule, till the end of your days, over all the land which you have see; and hostile spears will lose their power to hurt you.”

On returning to the ground the Chief exulted at his fortune, praised the priest, and declared:

“O best of Imams, you have done a fine and loyal deed; for this you have my gratitude, and the devotion of my sons. But you must understand I fear you may do some such thing for another chief, and work me harm. Therefore I must kill you.”

He grasped his lance. The Imam proudly stood his ground, returning the Chief’s gaze steadily.

“O faithless Chief,” he said, “has all honor left you? Or have you forgotten that you promised me the greatest reward that man can ask?”

“The greatest reward that any man can ask,” the Chief replied, “is a sudden and clean death. What has gone before is lost; what comes ahead, unknown. A clean death is a painless birth into another life.”

The Imam bowed his head in grief and disappointment; but was both a brave and holy man, and craved a boon of the Chief.

“What is this boon?” the Chief demanded.

“O Chief, I wish to pray.”

“Then pray.”

The Imam prayed to Allah the All-Highest; he prayed that Zolu might die slowly, slowly, and that no son of his might ever be a chief.

Then Chief Zolu killed him.

And in truth no son of Zolu ever became a chief, and no chief has come out of Gorn since that day.

Categories
Folktales

The Land Where No Vultures Fly

Two vultures in the east heard of the fertile lands which are Liberia today, and decided they would come and settle here. They flew west and west and further west, over rivers and mountains and plains, and in time they arrived at a town in this country.

They sat in a tree at the edge of the town, craning their naked necks to see what manner of people lived below, and how such food they had.

The well-built housed and handsome fields suggested prosperity, and when they say a woman throw a dead chicken from her window they thought it must be a prosperous place indeed. They knew that people in other lands could never afford to waste food in that way.

But as they watched a man passed by, and seeing the chicken there he picked it up and put it in his bag; and this, to the two vultures, was an evil omen.

“This would be a bad place for us to live,” said the second bird. “People are too thrifty to waste scraps.”

The two vultures passed on further west. Such birds infest the lands on every side, but have never settled on Liberian soil. 

Categories
Folktales

How Dog Came to Live With Man

The animals of the forest agreed to hold a feast, and everyone was invited. Now, Leopard has always been the enemy of Dog, and on this occasion he bitterly objected to the idea of Dog being invited to the feast.

“Dog is an eater of dung,” he said. “A wicked and unclean animal. He has no manners, none at all, and will only shame himself if he dines in company with polite people.”

The other animals did not agree, and Dog was invited to attend the feast. When the food was ready and all the distinguished animals had assembled, Leopard slipped out to the kitchen and told the cooks not to give Dog a bone; for he knew that Dog loved bones.

When the food was served everyone was given a handsome bone packed in tender meat: everyone but Dog, who was given a bowl of soup. Dog supped hungrily at his soup, but every now and then he would pause to admire the bones the other animals had; and Leopard, knowing Dog’s weakness, went to sit beside him with a large and juicy bone.

Leopard made pleasant noises as he ate, and when he found Dog was watching he took the chance of publicly disgracing him. He threw his bone in the air. Dog leapt up to catch it. He stepped in various dishes of food, and when he had the bone he scrambled over Possum and Hare to run away and cat his bone alone. The assembled animals were surprised, but Leopard only shrugged and said:

“I told you so. Dog has no manners and has disgraced himself.”

Dog became a social outcast among the animals; they all avoided him, and his life grew so lonely that one day he left the forest and went to live with Man.

Categories
Folktales

The Death of Yarn-Mah

A beautiful little girl called Yarn-Mah lived with her mother in a poor village; the village was on a piece of land between swamps and the thick dark forest.

Yarn-Mah’s mother became old, and she could no longer paddle her canoe and throw the fishing net as she did in her younger days; so she taught Yarn-Mah how to paddle and how to throw the tummah net so cleverly that no fish beneath it could escape.

At some distance from the village was a clear stream where the largest kind of fish could be seen, but people were forbidden to fish there for that part of the land was owned by a devil who devoured humans.

“My daughter,” said Yarn-Mah’s mother, “even before you were born many women were eaten by the devil who lives in the clear stream. The waters there are rich with fish — but if you take one you will die, and if your foot event enters the water there you will never be seen again.

Yarn-Mah promised she would never go there. She would go fishing everywhere else, but never in the clear stream. But one day she searched everywhere for fish without success, and wandering near the clear stream she saw shoals of beautiful blue an black and silver fish there.

No one was about; there was no devil to be seen, and the waters looked quiet and peaceful. She could not resist the temptation to cast her net among them, and her clever net trapped many. Bare legged and breathless with excitement she entered the stream to get more. She was almost in the middle of the stream when the water began to rise. It reached her thighs, then her waist.

Quickly she left her net and tried to wade ashore, but the water rose quickly to her breast, and then her shoulders. Looking up she saw a bat fluttering about in the evening sky, and she felt very sad and lonely now that she knew she must die out here in the swamp. She began to sing to the bat:

“Bat, on your travels tonight, visit my village. Tell my mother you saw me here.”

The water rose to her chin, to her lips, but she sang on:

“Tell her you saw me, and that I said farewell. Her good advice slipped from my foolish head.”

The water covered her face and rose above her head, and thus for her disobedience beautiful little Yarn-Mah died.

Categories
Folktales

The Wrath of Sande-Nyana

Three brothers who were hunters lived in a village near Piso Lake, and their names were Khamah, Voanii, and Zuke.

Early one morning they went into the forest to hunt, taking spears and a little food, and they walked to a distant part of the forest where they had never been before. Here they found a sacred shrine, long abandoned, and lying within the shrine was a bag of gold.

“It is the shrine of Sande-Nyana,” Khamah whispered fearfully, and glanced about. Sande-Nyana was the women’s devil-god, dangerous and cruel.

“He is not here,” said Voanii. “The shrine is old, there is no longer any village here.” But Voanii was nervous too, for Sande-Nyana would kill them if he saw them standing there.

“It is gold, real gold,” murmured Zuke as his eyes stared greedily at the yellow pieces. “Just let us feel it . . .”

Finally they took one coin, and Khamah said to Zuke, the youngest brother:

“Take this piece of gold and buy wine at the nearest village. We will wait under this cotton tree.”

Zuke set off towards a village some distance away, and here he purchased a large calabash gourd of palm wine: but, planning to take possession of all the gold himself, he added poison to the wine before returning.

In his absence Khamah and Voanii talked earnestly together. They decided to kill Zuke and share the gold between themselves; so, when he returned and placed the wine-gourd on the ground, they fell on him with their spears and killed him instantly.

But when they drank the poisoned wine, Khamah and Voanii also died, so that the three wicked brothers lay and rotted together under the cotton tree.

The bag of gold still lies within Sande-Nyana’s shrine.

Categories
Folktales

The Tale of Leopard’s Tail

Leopard delights in eating monkeys, and is forever devising schemes to catch them. One day when he lay in a cool place thinking, he decided to make friends with all the monkeys so that he could quietly eat them one by one.

Leopard was growing old, and could no longer climb trees easily. Therefore he went to a large mango tree where the Monkey Chief sat with his wives and family eating fruit, and began to make his talk.

When Leopard approached the tree the monkeys climbed up to the highest branches, which were too thin to bear Leopard’s weight, and from here they pelted him with rotten fruit and rude words. But Leopard raised a paw, and said:

“I come in peace, People of the Trees. In my youth I was a wild and savage animal; but now I grow old and soon will die, and before I die I wish to make friends with my enemies, and be loved instead of hated. I wish to live with you, my dear friends, and learn your jumping medicine.”

His hungry gaze fell on a plump young wife, and she shivered nervously.

“Your words are sweet,” the Monkey Chief agreed, “but your teeth, if old and yellow, are still sharp. This matter must be considered by our council. Call again tomorrow, and we will see.”

Before Leopard came again the Monkey Chief his smallest son inside a strong cane basket and securely fastened it. He placed the basket beneath the mango tree, and when Leopard came he said:

“O friendly Leopard, take this basket to your house, but do not open it. This is a test to see if we can trust you. Bring the basket here tomorrow, and we will show you our jumping medicine so that you may live with us.”

Leopard took the basket to his home. That night he and his wife talked of nothing but how they would feast on monkey meat, and grow fat in their old age.

The little monkey in the basket heard everything.

When morning came Leopard carried the basket back to the mango tree; the Monkey Chief took it into the tree and learned of the murderous plan his little son had overheard.

The Chief thought deeply for some moments: he had suspected some such trick all along, for Leopard is wicked and has no friends, and never will have any. With two strong wives the Chief descended to a branch quite near the ground, and said:

“O Leopard, if you live with us you must eat the things we eat. Can you eat this banana?”

He tossed a banana to Leopard. Leopard sniffed and knew at once it was not leopard-food, but he managed to swallow it down, skin and all, despite the nasty taste.

The Monkey Chief threw him a mango; Leopard bit the thing and broke a tooth on the nut inside, but he pretended nothing had happened and he swallowed both tooth and mango.

Next there was a chili, a hot red chili which caused poor Leopard’s mouth to burn, as he thought, to red-hot coals of fire. He gasped and choked, and tears rolled from his eyes.

“O Leopard,” the Monkey Chief announced, almost bursting his sides with stifled laughter, “I see you can eat the things we monkey-people eat; now we must show you our jumping medicine. To jump and swing as we monkeys do you must learn to use your tail, so raise your tail and we will show you how this thing is done.”

Leopard raised his tail, and the chief and his two wives firmly grasped it. In a moment they had pulled Leopard up into the air and knotted his tail about a branch: then all of them danced above him hurling rotten fruit and insults, while Leopard gnashed his teeth and swung in helpless fury.

“Swing, O Leopard, swing!” they cried. “Your crooked tale has earned a crooked tail!”

That is why Leopard’s tail swings to and fro when he is angry.

Categories
Folktales

The Riddle of Four Wives

Once upon a time three poor brothers lived at the edge of a forest in poverty and want. Their land was sour and would not yield a crop, and no animals or fruits could be found inside the forest. One day the youngest brother said:

“Let us go to the Chief and ask if he will agree to give us anything we want for five days, and in return we will give our lives to him on the sixth day.”

The three brothers all agreed to do this; for at least five days of their lives they would know happiness. The went to the Chief, and he agreed to give each brother any single thing for five days, on condition that they would give him their lives on the sixth day.

The eldest brother chose wine. For five days he drank wine, and when his life was taken there was little of it left.

The second brother chose food. For five days he stuffed himself, and when his life was taken there was little of it left.

The youngest brother chose cloth. He was a handsome man, and when dressed in rich robes and raiment he was very handsome indeed, and all the young maidens fell in love with him. Now, the Chief had a very lovely daughter who was too beautiful for ordinary men to look upon, and he kept her shut inside a tall fence.

The young man, whose name was Talwa, bribed the guards with bundles and bales of the richest cloths, and on the fifth night he crept inside the fence. He found the daughter of the Chief in bed, and Talwa was so handsome she fell in love with him at once: and she was so desirable he made love to her without delay.

After a time they began planning their escape. They gathered riches and fine cloths and put them in a box, then crept away in the shadows of the night of the forest. They walked to a distant place, then beyond and even further, and here there was no food.

Such hunger came upon them that they feared to die, until they met a maiden with a hamper full of rice.

“O maiden, give us rice to eat,” said Talwa, and offered her some gold. But she looked at him, so tall and brave and handsome, and she said:

“I want no gold. Take my rice and eat, and let me be your wife, or I will die.”

Talwa took her as his wife; and the three of them ate and traveled on. they wandered far into a swamp and lost their way, and they were nearly dead when they chanced to meet a maiden who followed a secret path.

“O Maiden, lead us from the swamp,” said Talwa, and offered her fine cloth. But she gazed at him with love and longing in her eyes, and answered:

“I want no cloth. I will lead you from the swamp, but you must take me as your wife, or I will die.”

She led them from the swamp; and now Talwa had three wives.

They came to a certain town and there they slept. the Chief of this town did not like strangers, and any man who came was obliged to pass a test; if he could not, he was killed. The Chief had a hundred boxes of gold, and the test was in choosing which one of the boxes the Chief had owned in his youth.

The daughter of the Chief fell in love with Talwa, and during the night he took her as his wife. She told him which of the boxes her father had owned in his youth. Next morning Talwa was hailed before the Chief and shown the hundred boxes.

“Choose the box I owned in my youth,” the Chief commanded, “or your head will be cut off, and you will die.”

Talwa walked among the boxes pretending to make magic signs, and at length he pointed to a box and said:

“This is the one. I am right, I am not wrong, I know it is the one. It is the box you owned when you were young.”

The old Chief was astonished, for Talwa was correct. He summoned his council and said:

“My people, he will marry my daughter and share my lands.”

And thus it was; Talwa abided in that land with all of his four wives.

The first had abandoned her family for love of him.

The second had saved him from starving to death.

The third had saved him from dying in the swamps.

The fourth had saved him from having his head cut off.

What order would these wives take in Talwa’s household?

Categories
Folktales

How Eagle, Dog, and Otter Wooed a Maiden

Eagle, Dog and Otter fell in love with the same maiden, and begged her mother to decide which one of them should have her. Soon after this the father of the girl disappeared while hunting in the forest; he did not return. The mother of the girl said to the three animals:

“Go find my husband, and bring him back to me. The one of you who does this shall wed my daughter.”

So Eagle, Dog and Otter set off to the hunter’s aid, and although no one knew where he might be Dog’s clever nose followed his trail until they all came to a forest pool. The hunter’s footsteps led into the pool, but did not come out again.

“He has been captured by the Water People,” Otter said. “I will see what I can do.” He dived into the pool, and underwater among the reeds he found the Water People, who held the hunter prisoner.

“What will you do with the hunter?” Otter asked.

“We are about to eat him,” the Water people said.

“Hunters are not good to eat,” Otter said rather firmly.

“Isn’t there something else you would rather have?”

“Well, monkeys are quite nice, but we can never catch them.”

“Why?”

“Because the hunter is a friend of mine. I would prefer you to eat something else.

The Water People talked among themselves, and then said:

“If you bring us a hundred monkeys, we will give you the hunter.”

Otter knew he could never catch a hundred monkeys. He doubted if he could even catch one.

“Would a hundred fish do?” he asked hopefully.

“We’re tired of eating fish. We want monkeys. A hundred.”

Otter sadly climbed out of the pool and told the news to Dog and Eagle. Dog gazed up into the trees and wondered how anyone could catch a hundred bounding, bouncing monkeys. If it had been lizards, or rats, or even cats. . . But Eagle, a powerful bird, took flight and with the aid of his clan hovered about snatching monkeys from the treetops.

This caused quite a disturbance in the forest; groups of monkeys fled chattering excitedly from tree to tree while eagles soared and swooped above them, and one by one a hundred protesting monkeys were dropped.

Splash! Splash! into the pool to the water People. The hunter was rescued, and of course agreed that the person who had rescued him could wed his daughter.

Clever Dog had followed his trail far into the forest to the pool.Otter had found him and arranged his ransom with the Water People.Eagle had arranged the capture of a hundred monkeys.Which of these three animals deserved the hunter’s daughter most?