THE MONKEYFOLK OF SOUTH AFRICA 53 



after forbidden fruit, and if we get a taste of it, we want more 

 and more. One of you human womenfolk who Hved long 

 ago, andwho dwelt in a garden with a manfolk known as Adam, 

 was allowed to help herself to everything in that garden, 

 except the fruit of one tree. Of course her curiosity was 

 excited, and she hankered after a taste of that forbidden 

 fruit. The desire haunted her, and it grew and grew and 

 grew, until her life became a misery, and a sort of mania 

 got hold of her, and she went and ate a lot of that fruit, 

 and gave some to her friend Adam. When her conscience 

 began to trouble her, she blamed a vile serpent for tempting 

 her, and Adam too tried to sneak out of being blamed 

 by saying that Eve gave him the fruit, and that he didn't 

 take it himself. Well, anyhow, the consequences were 

 banishment to the wilderness for both of them. 



BABOON ADAMS AND EVES 



Well, that's just what has happened with our folk. I 

 don't know whether it was one of our Adam folk or an Eve 

 who first ate of the forbidden fruit, but anyhow that makes 

 no difference, for the consequences would have been the 

 same. Our folk are now banished to the wild, barren 

 wildernesses of South Africa, where we have got to earn 

 our living by the sweat of our brows, in the shape of pain- 

 fully digging the hard ground with our fingers for bulbs, 

 roots, and worms. We have to climb the mimosa trees ^ 

 for gum, and hunt through the bush-veld for wild fruits, 

 berries, and sweet bark. In addition, our lives are not safe 

 for an instant, for we never know when the farmer-men will 

 surprise and kill us. 



All this has befallen us because we partook of forbidden 

 fruit. 



You see, it happened like this, with my particular clan. 

 Farmerfolk came trekking along with their cattle and sheep 



