BOTH] 



THE SPIRITS OF THE BUSH 211 



" Now is an opportunity for trjnng your mettle. I know how well you can thrash 

 your wives. Let me see how well you can thrash a tiger! " This shamed them, and 

 a large number agreed to go, but in direct proportion as they got nearer and nearer 

 to the tiger's lair, the larger and larger became the luimber of deserters. And, indeed, 

 when they reached the spot, the father and ;he champion were again alone. The Tiger 

 was lying down, so the champion called out: " Hallo! A small thing like you. Call 

 yourself a tiger? Let us just see if you can hurt me." Of course, all this vexed the 

 animal, which then raised itself up and showed fight; a poor fight, though, because 

 the champion easily slew him. And when dead, they opened the belly, from which 

 they removed the dead boy's flesh and placed it in a grave.' But they cut up the 

 tiger carcass, "fine, fine, fine." The champion then turned to the father and con- 

 soled him thus: "Grieve no more over your son. His death has been paid for [i. e. 

 revenged] by that of Tiger." 



140. Don't Count your Chickens before they are Hatched (C) 



An Indian went hunting one day far away from his hut, .so far indeed that when he 

 thought of returning night overtook him. Losing his path in the darkness, he lay 

 down to sleep under an overhanging wood-ants' nest. These insects asked him by 

 and by if he were asleep, and he told them '"Not yet! " After a while they repeated 

 their question and received the same answer, and so the game went on all night until 

 early dawn, when they asked him for about the tenth time whether he were asleep, 

 and as before they were told "not yet!"' The insects, who were really only waiting 

 their opportunity for eating him, could restrain theni.selves no longer, but let themselves, 

 together with their nest, fall right on top of him. Fortunately, the man had betaken 

 himself to a safe distance before the .scattered wood-ants had time to se<-ure him, and 

 as they were running hither and thither to learn what road he had taken, a hunuulng- 

 bird kept chirping out, "Give me the head! (jive me the head! " This was somewhat 

 annoying to the little insects who had missed their intended victim, and as the bird 

 continued repeating its request, they shouted. "What is the use of asking for the head 

 when we haven't got even the body?" 



140A. The Biter Bit (C) 



Tawaru-wari was a Carib Indian who one day caught a young eagle, which he took 

 home with him. It became quite tame, and Tawaru-wari had to go out regularly and 

 shoot baboons to feed it with. But the baboons did not like this, so they held a meet- 

 ing among themselves and agreed that if the man were to kill any more of them, 

 they would catch him and tie him up to a tree Tawaru-wari did kill another baboon, 

 however, verj^ shortly afterward. So the.se animals, having surrounded and caught 

 him, collected v^ne ropes with which they tied him to a tree trunk, where, after foul- 

 ing him all over, they left him. Before taking their dei)arture, they said: "That's 

 all right now: the eagles will come a"nd eat him." This was partly true, because 

 soon a big Eagle [ Thrasyaetus harpyia], scenting the man from afar, swooped down 

 close upon him, and asked him why he was tied up in that way. "Only because 

 I shot baboons, " was the reply. When the Eagle asked him what he shot them for, he 

 said it was for the puqjose of feeding the young eagle that he was minding at home. 

 Wien the bird heard this, he loosened the vine ropes, giving Tawaru-wari his liberty, 

 and supplied him with two more baboons for the baby eagle to eat. 



1 Old Warraus have told me thai it was cuslomar\' thus to open the animal and bury the human remains, 

 whenever they succeeded in catching any alligator, camudi, or tiger that had recently sei-ured a human 

 victim.— W. E. R. 



