ABDI AND ABDULLAH 
353 
talkative mood, he stopped a while to join in the 
stories of lion hunting. 
After a time he told two of his own that he 
had brought from his boyhood home in Jubaland. 
They were so remarkable that you don’t have to be¬ 
lieve them unless you want to. 
Abdi’s Uncle and the Man-Eaters 
ABDl’s STORY ABOUT HIS UNCLE AND THE LIONS 
‘‘Once upon a time my uncle, who was a great 
runner, encountered six man-eating lions sitting in 
the road. He took his spear and tried to kill them, 
but they divided, three on each side of the road. So 
he took to his heels. To the next town it was twelve 
hours’ march, but he ran it in ten hours, the lions in 
hot pursuit every minute of the time. When he 
reached the town he jumped over the thorn bush 
zareba, and the lions, close behind him, jumped over 
after him and were killed by his spear, one after 
the other.” 
