The Folk-Tales of tlie Kivat Papuans. 239 



in the same way as before till the evening vvhen she again planted the stick for a mark. She had 

 no garden and only ate fish and sago. 



Wi'awîa was a beautiful girl with liglit skin, and thie old vvoman on seeing her thought 

 to herself, „My word, by and hy I go kaikai that girl." She vvent to Jesänga and said, „You 

 give me that girl, by and by I bring him back, I take him aiong m\' camp." But she was de- 

 ceiving Jesdnga, for she wanted to eat the girl. Jesänga said, „No, I cannot give you." The old 

 woman persisted, „No, more better you give me, by and by I bring him back," and they kept on 

 arguing. The old woman .said, „I keep him three, four day, I eut him sago, bj' and by I bring 

 him back, give you sago same time." At last Jesänga \-ielded: „All right, you take him, \ou 

 bring him back quick, no stop long time." 



The old woman took the girl to her house, gave her fish and sago and told her to eat. 

 „You kaikai altogether, you no leave him half." In the night she vvent out, carefuUy blocking 

 the door and every small opening. She began making sago outside the house and was talking 

 to herself, „Wiawfa, bj- and by I go cook him, to-morrow morning." The girl woke up and heard 

 what the old vvoman said. „My word," she thought to herselt, „him he want cook me." She 

 tried to open the door but it withstood all her attempts, and the only opening was a small hole 

 above it. She found a pièce of wood and holding it in her hand said to it, „Suppose that old 

 woman come to-morrovv morning and ask you, 'VViawia, j'ou stop?' you teil him, 'Ves, I stop.'"^' 

 When she had said so, she placed the pièce of wood underneath the mat with which she used 

 to cover herself when sleeping. Now the girl had a feather of a small bird called girinicnie, this 

 she put in her mouth and sucked it in, and at the same moment she became this bird. She 

 widened out the small hole över the door, sqeezed herself through, and fiew avvay. The old woman 

 was there outside and the bird alighted near her, crying out, „A7<? nie nie gir i nie nie n/c." The 

 old woman said, „Girinienie, by and by to-morrovv I go cook him Wiavvi'a," „That's me," the 

 bird thought, „you no can cook me to-morrow." The girl fiew to her mother, took out the 

 feather from her mouth and resumed her human form. .She told Jesänga, „Oh, mother, close up 

 he cook me, that old woman. He (she) been shut him house, eut him sago. Bj' and by he 

 come behind. 'S'ou me (vve) cook him kaikai quicL" Jesänga brought food and lighted a fire, 

 and they prepared a meal and ate. 



There was a tree called ziiala (in Dirimo, djivali), and while it was quite small, Jesänga 

 had covered it with an empty coconut-shell. They sat dovvn on the small tree, and Jesänga took 

 off the Shell, and spät out some „medicine" on the tree, and it stretched high up in to the air, 

 lifting up the two women. ^^ 



The old woman shouted from outside the house, „Wiawia, you stop yet?" The pièce 

 of wood answered, „Ves, me stop, me no can run away," and it begged the vvoman, „Please, 

 you open him door quick." The woman opened the door a little and thrust in a sharp digging 

 stick with which she speared the pièce of wood, thinking that it was the girl. She puUed out the 

 stick and put the end of it to her lips so as to try how it tasted: „My word!" she exclaimed, 

 „Oh, that no blood, that no man." Opening the door she found the wood and cried, „Oh, that 

 pièce of wood, he been sing out all same man! Oh, that girl he been run away, go along mother!" 



Jesänga and the girl, sitfing in the tree, awaited with terror the arrivai of the old vvoman. ^» 

 At first the woman sent a strong wind, and mother and daughter hearing the noise said, „Him 

 N:o I. 



