312 A NATURALIST IN CELBBES ch. xii 



fathoms from the basket, joyfully returned to the house with his 

 son. The rope on further investigation proved to be a necklace 

 of golden pearls. In honour of the return of his lost son the 

 father sacrificed a large pig. 



Soon afterwards Kawulusan gave the hook back to his friend, 

 but considered over a means for returning evil for the evil he 

 had received. This soon came to hand. He planted by the 

 bathing-place Marompa a grove of bana.nas, which rapidly grew 

 and produced fine leaves. Some days afterwards Kawulusan 

 saw his friend going to the bathing-place. Then he prayed to 

 the gods, saying, ' If I am worthy in your eyes let fall immedi- 

 ately a heavy rainstorm.' Being still in the bath, his friend 

 cut a large banana leaf for shelter, and ran with it to his house. 

 But, as he passed by Kawulusan's house, the latter said to him, 

 ' Whose leaf is that you are using there ? ' 



' I cut it by the bathing-place,' was the answer. 



' Those bananas,' said Kawulusan, ' belong to me, and I wiU 

 not allow them to be damaged. You must join the leaf to the 

 tree again.' 



Ashamed and afraid, he departed to try to join the leaf to the 

 tree again, but do what he might he could not succeed. Not 

 daring to return he remained there, and his body withered like 

 the banana leaf. 



Many are the stories of apes and crocodiles in Minahassa. 

 Here are some examples : — 



One fine day a monkey was swimming in a river when a 

 crocodile caught him by the leg. ' Oh,' said the monkey, ' you 

 haven't got hold of my leg ; this is my leg,' showing him a piece 

 of wood. The crocodile loosed his hold and seized the piece of 

 wood, so that the monkey escaped. The crocodile was very 

 angry, and vowed that the time would yet come when he would 

 eat him up (41). 



A monkey was accustomed to sleep in a mossy tree. One 

 day, when he was away, a crocodile chmbed up into the tree and 

 lay in wait for him. When the monkey returned he saw the 

 footsteps on the sand, and that the moss was torn away in places, 

 so he cried, ' moss ! moss ! Perhaps my lair is dead. If you 

 are dead I will not climb up, but I will call " Moss ! moss ! " ' 

 The crocodile answered him to show that the moss was not dead, 



