548 REPORT—1899. 
more, shortly came near the young man’s home. As they approached the 
village he said to his wife, ‘Now, I want you to remain here in the wood 
while I go forward and prepare my mother and father for your arrival.’ 
She demurred to this, asking why she could not accompany him. ‘Oh! 
that would never do,’ said he ; ‘my parents must have time to prepare for 
your reception. I will only go forward and inform them that I am 
bringing home a wife and then return for you.’ She continued to demur 
to the arrangement. ‘ Have you any brothers ?’ questioned she presently. 
‘ No,’ he answered, ‘I have no brothers, only two sisters.’ ‘Promise me, 
then,’ said she, ‘that if I let you go you will not let your family kiss you 
before you return to me.’ ‘ Why do you wish me to make that promise ?’ 
asked he. ‘ Because if your sisters or your father and mother kiss you 
before you come back to me you will forget all about me and will not 
return, but leave me here all alone in the woods.’ The young man, who 
was very fond of his wife, declared that was impossible ; but willing to 
gratify her he readily promised to do as she requested, and bidding her 
have no fear of his speedy return he left her there and entered the village. 
He had not got far before his two sisters perceived him coming, and rushed 
in to inform their parents, who no sooner heard of his arrival than they 
ran out to meet him, followed by their two daughters. When they got 
near they embraced him fondly, and he, in the pleasure of meeting them 
again, forgot all about his promise to his wife, and suffered himself to be 
kissed by them. And as they led him into the house all recollection of 
his young wife anxiously waiting for him at the edge of the forest left his 
mind, and he forgot her as completely as if she had never existed. When 
he had been absent some hours and night began to come on without any 
sign of him, she began to fear that he had broken his promise ; and as day 
after day went by she became certain of the fact. So she built herself a 
little house on the edge of the village close to the roadway, and at the 
back of it she added a small lean-to. When she had done this she took a 
lump of clay, and after kneading it she made from it two clay birds. She 
next transformed the clay effigies into real live birds, and placed them in 
the lean-to at the back of her house. Several days had now elapsed since 
she had lost her husband, who, having completely forgotten that he had 
ever been married, at the suggestion of his parents began to look round 
for a wife. Having chosen a maiden that suited his fancy, he asked his 
parents to take the necessary steps to bring about the marriage. Nego- 
tiations were opened, presents accepted and exchanged, and a day was 
fixed for the ceremony. The father of the bride-elect was desirous of 
marking the event in a very conspicuous manner ; so he gave notice that a 
great feast would be held in honour of the occasion, and sent out inyita- 
tions far and wide. He also invited all those who possessed any curious 
or interesting things to come and exhibit them, being determined to make 
the feast a memorable event. The forsaken young wife at the edge of 
the village heard the news of the approaching marriage of her husband in 
some mysterious way, and laid her plans to prevent it accordingly. A 
day or two before the feast a young man chanced to return from the 
forest, whither he had gone to gather roots for the feast, by the path that 
led past her hut. As he passed the door she came out and asked him 
what he had in his basket. ‘They are roots,’ answered he, ‘that I have 
been gathering for the feast.’ ‘Ah!’ said she, ‘that is just what I want 
for my tame birds. Iwill buy them from you.’ ‘ But I cannot sell them, 
returned he ; ‘ they are for the feast. But let me take your birds instead ; 
thane 
