href="@public@vhost@g@gutenberg@html@files@38992@[email protected]#TRAPPER" class="pginternal" tag="{http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml}a">THE TRAPPER, THE LION AND THE HARE 35

VI NUNDA THE SLAYER AND THE ORIGIN OF THE ONE-EYED 44

VII THE WOODCUTTER AND HIS DONKEY 51

VIII KITANGATANGA OF THE SEA 58

IX THE LION'S TALISMAN 65

X THE STORY OF KIBARAKA AND THE BIRD 66

XI THE STORY OF THE FOOLS 72

XII THE HYAENA AND THE MOONBEAM 82

XIII THE SULTAN'S SNAKE-CHILD 83

XIV THE POOR MAN AND HIS WIFE OF WOOD 93

XV BINTI ALI THE CLEVER 97

XVI SEGU THE HONEY-GUIDE 109

XVII LILA AND FILA 111

XVIII THE STORY OF THE HUNTERS AND THE BIG SNAKE 118

XIX ALI OF THE CROOKED ARM 122

XX FEEDING THE HUNGRY 137

XXI SHANI AND TABAK 140

XXII A MAN AND HIS MOTHER-IN-LAW 150

XXIII THE JACKAL, THE HARE AND THE COCK 153

XXIV THE MAGIC DATE TREES 161

XXV PAKA THE CAT 172

XXVI THE TALE OF THE MERCHANT AND HIS BAG OF GOLD 178

XXVII BATA THE DUCK 190

XXVIII THE SULTAN'S DAUGHTER 196

XXIX THE LION, THE HYAENA AND THE HARE 198

I
THE LION OF MANDA

ONCE upon a time there was a lion who lived on the island called Manda, which is opposite Shela town, and the people of Shela heard it roaring nightly. In Shela was a rich merchant, and one day he gave out in the bazaar: "I will pay one hundred dollars to whosoever will go and sleep alone one night on the opposite shore, in Manda island." But for fear of the lion no man would do this.

Now in that same town was a youth and his wife who were very poor, for they had nothing. When this youth heard the talk of the town, he came to his wife and said, "There is a man who will give a hundred dollars to any one who will sleep on the opposite side one night. I will go and sleep there."

His wife said to him, "Do not go, my husband, the lion will eat you."

He said, "Let me go, for if Allah loves me I will not die, and by this means we will get the wherewithal to buy some food."

Then she said to him, "Go. May Allah preserve you."

So that youth, when evening fell, took a canoe and paddled over to Manda, and there lay down on the shore.

Now, when the youth had gone, his wife there behind him was sad because she had let him go, and her heart was very heavy with fear for her husband. So she took some embers and some sticks of wood and went down on to Shela beach, and there she kindled a little fire and tended it all night, so that her young man on the opposite side might see it and not be afraid.

In the morning he returned safely to Shela and went to claim his hundred dollars. But the merchant said, "You have not earned them, for you saw the fire that your wife made, and so you were not afraid."

The youth, when he heard those words, was very angry, and went to accuse the merchant before the Sultan.

So the Sultan called that merchant and asked him why he had not paid the youth his hundred dollars.

The merchant said, "Truly, I did not pay him the dollars because he did not earn them, for he had a fire to comfort him the whole night long. Now, Sultan, see if my words are not true and judge between us."

The Sultan then asked the youth, "Did you have a fire?" The youth replied that his wife had made a fire, so the Sultan, who wished to favour the rich merchant, said, "Then you did not earn the money."

As that youth went forth from the presence of the Sultan, he jostled against a sage, who asked him his news; so he told him how he had been defrauded of