XVII. TALES OF CHILDREN 



(no. 408—412; ef. Index, Children). 



HOW THE WICKED MAN KILLED THE CHILDREN, AND HOW THE LITTLE 



BOY ESCAPED. 



408. , An nid couple li\-ed by themselves at one end of Salbai Island while the rest of 

 ihe people li\ed at the other end. Once when the people vvent to the bush they left some food 

 with their children and asked them to go and give it to the old man and woman. The old man 

 pretended to be ill, and after a while he made the children believe that he was dead, and his 

 wite cried out, „Oh, man belong me he dead now!" She said to the children, „You take him 

 go on top coconut tree." And the boys and girls caught hold or his limbs and head and dragged 

 him up to the top of the coconut tree. But when they reached the top the old man suddeniy seized 

 and killed them and hurled tliem doun as if they had been as many birds. He came down, and 

 he and his wife cooked the hodies in the earth-o\-en and began to eat them, consuming the feet 

 and hands first. In the e\ening the parents returned home without knowing what had happened, 

 and thought that their children were with the old people. 



The next day the same thing happened. Some children were sent to the old man and 

 woman, and the former pretending to be dead was dragged up into a coconut tree. One liitle 

 boy stayed by himself on account of his bad sores and looked on. „That old man, old woman, 

 what he go do for all boy and girl.'" he wondered. On arriving at the top of the tree the old 

 man Struck out with his hands and feet shouting to the children, „You think me dead? I no dead, 

 I make fool along you, I kaikai you this afternoon!" He flung down the children, and the old 

 woman who was standing at the root of the tree broke their foreheads with a pièce of wood. 

 The little boy looked on in terror and thought, „Oh, more better I run away." Off he ran through 

 the bush, and arriving home darted in by the door. „Oh, mother, father!" he exclaimed, „that 

 boy, girl no more! That old man, old woman he kill him altogether! Yesterday he go — you 

 think he stop there? To-day he go — you think he stop there? He no stop there; all he dead, 

 two fellow kaikai." „Me go kill him to-morrovv," the people all cried and made their weapons 

 ready. „Oh, my god, two fellow all same pig he kaikai all pickaninny! What's the matter two 

 fellow kil! all boy, girl belong me?" 



The next morning they all set out to find the old people. On .seeing the crowd, the latter 

 mistook them to be some more boys and girls coming to them, and thought, „Ch, plenty people 

 N:n 1. -57 



