iM)S SIROXGA FOLKLORE. 



Then the lion stopped and cried out in a loud voice, " Hare, 

 you hare, come near, and walk close to us, I do not want you to 

 walk so far behind." 



"Oh, my master," said the hare, " this piece of meat is 

 too heavy for me. It is a very large piece, and I myself am not 

 big. It IS too heavy for me to carry. If 1 must catTy it I cannot 

 walk fast enough to keep near you. It is too heavy for me." 



So the lion gave the large piece of flesh to one of the other 

 animals to carry, and gave the hare a little piece that he could 

 carry better. 



But soon the hare was walking a long way behind the other 

 animals again, crying and saying, " They have killed my friend 

 the elephant. ^I weep for my friend the elephant. They have 

 killed him, although he had no fault. He did not eat the tree of 

 our master the lion. It was I, the hare, who ate the tree. The 

 elephant had no fault." 



Then the lion found that the hare was again walking a long 

 way behind. He heard the hare talking, but he could not hear 

 what he said, he was so far behind in the path. 



So the lion again called to the hare, saying, " Come near, 

 you hare, whv do you walk so far behind in the patli '.' Come 

 close and walk near the other animals, my servants." 



And the hare said, " Well, my master, I cannot walk as fast 

 as the other animals, for this piece of meat is too heavy for me." 



Then the chief gave him his assegais to carry, saying, 

 " Hare, carry these assegais; they are not too heavy. Now you 

 must walk with the other animals. I cannot have you walking 

 behind us in the path. Go before me." 



So the hare walked in the path in front of the lion. Now as 

 he was walking in the path in front of the lion, he kept on sing- 

 ing the song that he had made about the elephant, saying, "Oh, 

 they killed my friend the elephant, but he had done no wrong 

 thing. They killed him, but^ he had not eaten the fruit of the 

 tree of our chief. It was I, Nwampfundla the hare, who ate the 

 tree of the chief." 



Now the lion heard what the hare was singing, and he began 

 to ask the hare about it. 



" What! " said the lion, " was it you that ate my tree? 



" Yes, chief," said the hare. " I am very sorry because 

 you have killed my poor friend the elephant, who had no fault 

 at all. Ii was I myself, the hare, that ate your tree." 



" Oh, is that so? " cried the lion. " Catch him, you 

 people ! 



But when they tried to catch him, the hare ran away 

 quickly. He ran away as fast as he could run, and all the 

 animals ran after him, trying to catch him. 



Soon the hare saw a hole in the ground, and ran into it, and 

 the animals came to the hole, a'ld they said to the lion, " Chief, 

 the hare is here, in this hole in the ground. We saw him go into 

 It." 



