BOTH] THE SPIRITS OF THE BTTSH 195 



126. And so, when all is said and done, it is just as well that we 

 should be circumspect in our conduct and not incur the enmity, 

 with all its attendant consequences, of these denizens of the forest. 

 Indeed, it is far better to keep out of the clutches of these Spirits 

 altogether, and give them a wide berth. Just consider, for instance, 

 what happened to the Warrau who would insist on associating 

 with them. 



The Danger of Associating with Spirits (W) 



Thore were two brothers living together, both of whom iiseci to go hunting. During 

 the rourse of the day, when deep in the heart of the forest, they heard the sounds 

 and revelry of a drinking-party, and this made the elder one say, "Come, let us go 

 sport with those people." But the younger one replied, "No! It can not be a real 

 party out here in the bush away from everybody: it can not possibly be proper people 

 who are sporting; they must be Spirit.s of some sort." Now the big brother insisted, 

 and, proceeding in the direction whence the sounds came, they reached a house 

 where a]ijiarently real people were much enjoying themselves. The \'isitors were 

 made to wit down and drinks were handed to them. The elder one indulged and 

 was happy; the younger refused because he was afraid of what might happen to him. 

 As a matter of fact, the latter's suspicions were correct, because the people at the 

 house who were sporting were really not people after all but the Spirits of the Warekki, 

 or large Rain-frogs, who had taken on human shapes.' After awhile, both the men 

 came away, and as night was fast approaching they made themselves a banab, and 

 the elder sent the younger to fetch firewood ; he did so. \\Tien the banab had been 

 built and the lire lighted, they slung their hammocks. By and by, the elder brother 

 told the younger to put some more wood on the fire, and when he had done so, told 

 him that it was not enough: again he told him the same thing, and still once more 

 the same, so that with all the extra fuel there was an immense lire blazing away now. 

 After some time the younger man smelt a \'ery peculiar strong odor, and looking around, 

 saw his brother's legs hanging from out his hammock close over the fire. "Look out! 

 your legs are getting scorched." But all his brother did was to say, Akka'l Ahka'!'' 

 and draw his feet into the hammock. And it was not long before he again put his 

 feet into danger, a fact which, considering that he had not been drunk at the 

 party, led the \'igilant brother to know that it was a token of some e\dl about 

 to befall them. At any rate, the latter, seeing that his warning was disregarded, 

 bothered no more about the matter, but let his brother's feet continue burning. 

 After a while, their owner realized for himself that his lower limbs were pretty 

 well charred, and. looking down, saw that both feet were entirely gone, and most 

 of the flesh around the shin-bones destroyed. All he did was to clean the flesh off 

 in its entirety, and then, with his knife, scrape both shin-bones down to sharp 

 points {cf. Sect. 125). There he lay helpless in his hammock. He could not hunt 

 any more, though it is true that now and again when a bird flew past, or any little 

 animal ran along, he woidd cock out a leg and spear it with the pointed tip, a trick 

 in which he soon got very expert.' 



127. His younger brother would sometimes carrj' him carefully to the shade of 

 some bullet tree, and then climb the trunk and shake the branches, so as to enable him 



' These Rain-frogs are peculiar in that they make an especially loud noise at the time of the first rainy 

 season, after which they cea.se. 



3 This i-s an exclamation denoting astonishment or surprise. 



« In a Carib version of the story, it is a Yurokon by name of Araiyokfi who gives the brother his pointed 

 feet, by way of punishment. 



