WEST AFRICAN FOLKLORE. 775 



Then the two walked together, and presently the goblin began 

 singing, as he had done the first time. He sang : 



" O young palm-oil seller, 

 You must now turn back." 



And the little girl sang, 



"I will not turn back." 



And the goblin, 



" You must leave the track." 



And the girl, 



" I will not turn back." 



Then the goblin said, " Very well, come along." And they 

 walked on till they reached the land of dead people. 



The goblin gave the little girl some palm nuts and told her to 

 make palm oil. He said, " When the palm oil is made, eat it your- 

 self, and bring me the ha-ha." And the little girl ate the palm 

 oil and brought the ha-ha to the goblin. And the goblin said, 

 "Very well." 



Then the goblin gave a banana to the little girl and told her to 

 peel it. He said, " Eat the banana yourself, and bring me the skin." 

 And the little girl ate the banana and carried the skin to the goblin. 



Then the goblin said : " Go and pick three ados. Do not pick 

 those which cry, ' Pick me, pick me, pick me/ but pick those 

 which say nothing." 



The little girl went. She found ados which said nothing, and 

 she left them alone. She found others which cried, " Pick me, pick 

 me, pick me," and she picked three of them. 



Then the goblin said to her : " When you are half-way home, 

 break one ado ; when you are at the door, break another ; and 

 break the third when you are inside the house." 



Half-way home the little girl broke one ado, and behold, num- 

 bers of lions and leopards and hyenas and snakes appeared. 

 They ran after her, and harassed her, and bit her, till she reached 

 the door of the house. 



Then she broke the second ado, and behold more ferocious ani- 

 mals came upon her, and bit and tore her at the door. 



The door was shut, and there was only a deaf man in the house. 

 The little girl called to the deaf man to open the door, but he heard 

 her not. And there, upon the threshold, the wild beasts killed the 

 little girl. 



II. THE MAIDEN WHO ALWAYS REFUSED. 



My alo is about a beautiful maiden. 



A man, his wife, and daughter lived in one house, in a certain 

 town. And the girl grew up ; she grew up very beautiful, and 

 her father and mother were rich. 



