IN LEGEND AND HISTORY 67 



The next tale is one which is told by the 

 natives of a small island far away on the 

 southern coast of Africa. They too believe 

 in the good sense and foresight of the little 

 bird. 



The Swallow and the Monkey 



A Fable of the Island of Mauritius 



Once upon a time a swallow formed a 

 friendship with a monkey and together they 

 opened a drug store. One day the swallow 

 bought a citron and sat down and ate half 

 of it with a neighbor. The other half she 

 hollowed out so it would float like a canoe. 

 Then the swallow and the monkey got into 

 the citron and began to sail. By and by 

 the monkey became hungry and took a bite 

 out of the side of the boat. The prudent 

 swallow warned him of the danger they both 

 would be in should the rind of the citron 

 become too thin. After sailing a little 

 farther, there was more hunger on the 

 monkey's part, more eating of the boat, 



