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SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS 



VOL. 



123 



large as a sifter. Then Gi Je Gai P'ong said, 

 "My Ngeo Va has been given to Ndzeo Dai 

 to use. My Ngeo Va has been given to Ndzeo 

 Dai for a wife. You say that my Ngeo Va 

 is your servant. You also say that she is your 

 wife. Didn't your wife die in your home? 

 Didn't the woman you were using die in your 

 house.? Then you held memorial services for 

 her three days and three nights before you 

 carried her out and buried her. At that time 

 the older brothers helped you by holding onto 

 the ropes, and the younger helped by lifting 

 the coffin. Now you say Ngeo Va is your 

 servant and your wife. Now in the aged for- 

 est I will make a big nest for you to see." 

 Then he called his son and Ngeo Va and 

 went away. 



Afterward Ngeo Va and Ndzeo Dai went 

 wherever they pleased as companions, and 

 nobody dared to deceive them, and all allowed 

 them to go and visit (play) together as they 

 pleased. 



The Father Changed into a Tiger and Came 

 Bac\ and Secured a Wife for His Son 

 (182) 



There was a father who died and changed 

 into a tiger. He then returned home. 



That night the moon was very bright. The 

 father came back and took his son to the 

 other side of the mountain to the fortress of 

 Yang Bo Tii of Yang Glai (a hillside not 

 very steep) in order to select a wife. When 

 they had arrived the father said to the son, 

 "Both of these homes have daughters. You 

 may look at them and see what family's 

 daughter is best, and then I will get a wife 

 for you." His son then went with him. 



They walked until midnight when the 

 father said, "What family's daughter do you 

 consider best?" The son said, "The daughter 

 of Yang Bo Tii, Nts'ai Min Ntsoh, is the best." 

 The father then helped him to marry her. 



He waited until the girl was actually walk- 

 ing in the moonlight, and then he carried 

 her off to be the wife of his son. He car- 

 ried her away into a cave. The father said, 

 "You two may live here and let me go out- 

 side and find a pig for you so we can use 

 it in calling the people to proclaim the mar- 

 riage." ^- 



At that time the wife and the husband lived 

 in the cave. The tiger father went and killed 

 a big fat pig and brought it back. He put 

 it down at the mouth of the cave and told 



''- The pig will be killed and eaten at the 

 feast. 



his son to clean the hair off and cut it up. He 

 worked half a day and had not finished it. 



The tiger said, "Haven't you any strength? 

 Let me rest a little and I will prepare it." 

 The father went away a little while; then he 

 used his tongue and licked the pig, and the 

 pig was soon cleaned. He also used his sharp 

 teeth and divided the pig into two parts. He 

 then said, "You may take the intestines and 

 throw them beside the creek and let me come 

 and eat them." When he had said this they 

 threw the pig's intestines out for the father 

 to eat. 



The father again said, "You have no rice to 

 eat. Wait until I bring some rice for you to 

 eat." When he had finished saying this he ran 

 into the forest and hid. When those who 

 were selling rice were passing by he leaped 

 forth and scared away the rice merchants. He 

 then carried the bags of rice in his mouth 

 into the cave. He said, "You live here now. 

 Money and clothing are hard to find. Wait 

 until I go again and get these ready for you." 

 After he had finished speaking, he went sev- 

 eral times to find them. He then brought 

 back other people's money and clothing. 

 From this time they had everything they 

 needed. 



The tiger said, "I will now go and carry 

 lumber and close up the mouth of your cave. 

 I will go away again." When he had said this, 

 he went and carried lumber and closed the 

 mouth of the cave, and he went outside. 



Then he said, "If anybody scares you here, 

 you may beat my big iron cooking vessel and 

 thus cause my ear to be warm, and then I 

 will come back and look after you." 



Unexpectedly, when he had been gone only 

 about half a month, another fierce tiger came 

 and tore away the boards at the mouth of 

 the cave. When they saw that a fierce tiger 

 was coming, they took the iron cooking vessel 

 down from the stove and beat it. Then the 

 father's ear became warm and immediately he 

 came leaping and roaring back. 



The fierce tiger knew that he could not 

 oppose the father, so he fled away. When he 

 arrived and saw the danger, he could not let 

 them live long in that cave. He then said, 

 "Now I am old. You may go and live with 

 your wife's parents. I cannot constantly pro- 

 tect you lest some other terror come and 

 frighten you." The father also said, "When 

 you go I will escort you to that home. If the 

 father-in-law (of the son) scolds you, come 

 out and call me." The father said, "You may 

 start. You go in the center of the road. I 

 will go beside the road." 



