Ark, and were commenting on the astonishing number 

 and variety of these things, I heard Jantje conveying 

 in high-pitched tones fanciful bits of information to the 

 credulous waggon boys. When he found that we too 

 were listening and Jantje had the storyteller's love for a 

 1 gallery ' he turned our way and dropped into a jargon 

 of broken English, helped out with Hottentot-Dutch, 

 which it is impossible to reproduce in intelligible form. 



He had made some allusion to ' the great battle,' 

 and when I asked for an explanation he told us the 

 story. It is well enough known in South Africa, 

 and similar stories are to be found in the folklore 

 of other countries, but it had a special interest for us 

 in that Jantje gave it as having come to him from his 

 own people. He called it " The Great Battle between 

 the Things of the Earth and the Things of the Air." 



For a long time there had been jealousy between the 

 Things of the Earth and the Things of the Air, each 

 claiming superiority for themselves ; each could do 

 something the others could not do ; and each thought 

 their powers greater and their qualities superior. 

 One day a number of them happened to meet on an 

 open plain near the river's bank, and the game of brag 

 began again as usual. At last the Lion, who was very 

 cross, turned to the old Black Aasvogel, as he sat half 

 asleep on a dead tree, and challenged him. 



" You only eat the dead : you steal where others 

 kill. It is all talk with you ; you will not fight ! " 



The Aasvogel said nothing, but let his bald hea 

 and bare neck settle down between his shoulders, 

 and closed his eyes. 



353 z 



