142 THE MONKEYFOLK OF SOUTH AFRICA 



ATTACKED BY A MAMBA 



I am one of the Vervet monkey tribe. My clan lives 

 on the banks of the White Umfolosi River in Zululand. 

 That country is a delightful place. Everything which we 

 require for food grows there in abundance. The forests 

 are large and magnificent. Everything seems to grow 

 easily, and without any trouble. The wild flowers are 

 gorgeous, and their perfume, which arises during the 

 evening, is delightful. 



But there are serpents in our Garden of Eden. We 

 dread these snakes with a terrible, haunting dread. They 

 are the mambas. There are black and green mambas. 

 The black ones are the worst. They are fierce and bold. 

 One day we were having a game of hide-and-seek amongst 

 the branches, and all of a sudden, with a rush, about a 

 dozen of us collided with a pair of black mambas, who 

 were courting. Hissing with fury they both bit right and 

 left. It all occurred in an instant of time. We retreated to 

 the topmost branches of a distant forest giant. Three of our 

 number had been bitten. They cried and moaned piteously. 

 The deadly venom quickly took effect. They grew giddy, 

 became convulsed, and one by one died miserably. 



THE WHITE ANTS 



One day we were gathered together on the ground, 

 feasting upon what you call " white ants," or Termites. 

 These white ants do a great deal of harm to you humanfolk, 

 because they get into your houses and tunnel the woodwork 

 hollow. They eat the farmer's fencing poles, and anything 

 else they can get hold of in the shape of wood or other 

 vegetable matter. In the forests they serve a good purpose. 

 God has evolved them for the purpose of eating up all 



