THE MONKEYFOLK OF SOUTH AFRICA 47 



were cooking in those big, three-legged pots. Our curiosity 

 grew and grew, and besides we hankered after the delicious 

 fruit, which we saw in piles on mats. One day, headed by 

 our leader, we approached much nearer than usual, and 

 barked. We saw the womenfolk seemed afraid. Going 

 nearer, they moved off towards the house. We sat and 

 watched for a time and then went off. Next time the men- 

 folk were away, we again came down from our rocky homes. 

 This time we had made up our minds to see what was in 

 those pots, and secure some of the fruit. So, when the 

 business of cooking was in full swing, we advanced in a 

 compact body, barking and pretending to be very savage 

 and fierce, although most of us felt rather scared. When 

 we saw the womenfolk run screaming into the house and 

 shut up the doors and windows, we grew bolder, and with 

 a rush we were amongst the pots. We never before had 

 been told about fire, or anything so hot that it would 

 burn. In our haste to see what was in the pots, many of 

 us got severely burned. This frightened us a good deal, 

 and some of our number ran off to the rocks. However, 

 our leader didn't give the signal to retire, so most of us 

 remained. We ate up the fruit, and stuffed as much into 

 our cheeks as they would hold. When we made our first 

 rush, we had tipped over the pots, and now the spilt con- 

 tents had cooled, and didn't we just enjoy ourselves. Never 

 before in our wildest dreams had we ever thought there 

 could be anything so delicious. We ate up every scrap, 

 and even the dirt which had got saturated with the liquid. 

 We learned afterwards that the stuff was a mixture of fruit 

 and sugar, which the womenfolk were making into jam. 



The next time the menfolk went off, we didn't hesitate 

 for a moment, but just trooped down the rocks and raided 

 the orchard, and whatever we could lay hold of. We ate 

 all we could, stuffed more into our cheek pouches, and 

 carried away all we could carry in our arms. How we 



