CH. xn SONGS AXD R02IANCE IN OLD MINAHASSA 321 



to the prince, ' This evening the princess herself will come ; 

 you must therefore sleep in my place outside the door.' The 

 princess came as the slave said, and on being disturbed left be- 

 hind her in like manner her money and her sarong, She had, 

 however, learned from the prince that he and his slave had left 

 their home on a horse, and this was a sufBcient clue for her to 

 guess the conundrum. On the following morning she gave her 

 answer, ' One poisoned horse kiUs two crows, and two poisoned 

 crows kiU forty men.' 



The prince had now forfeited his life, and was ordered to be 

 hanged. When he came to the place of execution he asked per- 

 mission to give his slave Louis a message to take to his parents. 

 Permission was granted, and he said, ' We caught a deer with 

 one copper and one silver horn. Show the horns.' Louis 

 showed the two first sarongs and the two sacks full of money. 

 ' Again we caught a deer with one silver horn and one golden 

 horn. Show the horns.' Louis showed the other two sarongs 

 and bags full of money. Then the four women who had left 

 these fled away, for their husbands were present and they were 

 greatly ashamed. ' Further,' the prince went on, ' we caught a 

 deer with one golden horn and one diamond horn. Show the 

 horns, Louis.' ' Xever mind,' cried the princess. ' I see now 

 that you are destined to be my husband.' 



So the prince came down triumphantly from the place of exe- 

 cution, and became the husband of the rich and beautiful princess. 



Here the story unfortunately ends. We do not know if 

 the princess gave up her bad habit of asking riddles, but 

 at any rate we may presume that they lived happily ever 

 afterwards. 



Closely related to the conundrums are the proverbs. 

 Their meaning is at first sight so obscure that it seems very 

 probable that they were conundrums that, by constant 

 repetition, have come to be regarded as proverbs. Thus : 

 ' Atedu mepe si kooko,' ' The egg breaks open the 

 chicken,' seems at first sight mere nonsense, for our 

 common experience of eggs and chickens is that it is the 

 chicken which breaks open the egg. When used as a 



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