South African Folklore Tales

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SOUTH AFRICAN
FOLK-LORE
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OUTA KAREL'S STORIES
MACMILLAN AND
LONDON
CO., LIMITED
BOMBAY CALCUTTA MELBOURNE
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

NF.W
YORK DALLAS
BOSTON CHICAGO SAN FRANCISCO
THE MACMILLAN
CO.
OF CANADA,
LTD.
TORONTO
Outa Karcl and
Little Jan
The
Little
Red Tortoise
Frontispiece
OUTA KAREL'S
STORIES
SOUTH AFRICAN FOLK-LORE TALES
BY
SANNI METELERKAMP
WITH ILUjSTKATICNS BY GO.HS1ANCE PENSTONE

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,00
' ,
MACMILLAN AND
ST.
1914
CO.,
LIMITED
MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON
'
COPYRIGHT
TO ALL CHILDREN
YOUNG AND OLD
WHO
LOVE A FOLK-LORE STORY

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11
ii,
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FOREWORD.
MY
thanks are due to Dr. Maitland Park,
Editor of The Cape Times, and Adv. B. K.
Long, M.L.A., Editor of The State, for their kind permission to republish such of these
tales as
have appeared
For the leading idea The "The Stars and the Stars' Road,"
in their papers. " in Sun "

I
and
acknowledge my ment of patient labour and research,
gladly indebtedness to that monu"
Specilate Dr.
mens
of
Bushman
Folk-lore,"
by the
Bleek and Miss Lucy Lloyd. Further, I lay no claim to originality for
any of the
stories in this collection
at best a
very small proportion of a vast store from which the story-teller of the future may draw,
embodying the
ceptions,
superstitions, the crude con-
the
childish
ideas
of a
primitive
and rapidly disappearing people. They are known in some form or other wherever the
viii
FOREWORD
foot,
negro has set

property
Africa.
I
and are the common

in
of every
country child
South
greatly regret that they appear here in

is,
what
to them, a foreign tongue.
No
one
that
who has
not heard them
in
the
Taal
quaint, expressive language of the people-
can have any idea of what they lose through

translation,
first
but,
having been written
in
the
instance
for
English publications, the

out of the question.
original
medium was
Clear cold evenings, with a pleasant tang of frost in the air, figure here and there in
these pages, but as
flit
I
write other scenes, too,
across the lighted screen of

all
Memorythe world
noontides of tropic heat with
sunk
in
a languorous slumber, glowing sunsets,
throbbing
summer
nights
when
the
stars
seemed
to
tremble almost within one's reach,
moonlit spaces filled with soft mystery and the thousand seductive voices of the pulsing
southern night.
And
always, part and parcel
of the passing panorama, the quaint figure of
the old Native with his
little
masters.
FOREWORD
It
is
ix
nearly three years

"
now
since
"Old
Friend Death
took him gently by the hand
led him away to that far, far country of which he had such vague ideas, so he tells no more stories by the firelight in the gloamand his little masters children no ing
;
and
longer
are
claimed
by graver
in the
tasks
and
wider
both
interests.
little
But
hope that others,

of
ones and
find the
children
a larger
in
growth,
may
same pleasure
their
these
tales of a childlike race, they are sent out to
find their
own
level
and take
chance
M.
in
the
workaday world.
S.
CAPE TOWN, January,
1914.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
I.
THE PLACE AND THE PEOPLE
II.
III.
IV.
V.
How WHO WHY WHO
JAKHALS FED
OOM LEEUW
LAME
12
:?9
WAS KING? THE HYENA
is
43
47
WAS THE THIEF?-
VI.
THE SUN THE STARS AND THE

STARS' ROADis
54 63
70 78
VII.
VIII.
IX.
WHY How
THE
THE HARE'S NOSE
SLIT
THE JACKAL GOT HIS STRIPE

ANIMALS'
X.
DAM
88
101
XL
XII. XIII.
SAVED BY HIS TAIL
THE FLYING LION
108
WHY
THE HERON HAS A CROOKED NECK
118
128
XIV.
THE LITTLE RED TORTOISETHE OSTRICH HUNT
XV.
139
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Outa
Karel
and
Little
Jan
The
Little
Red
Frontispiece
Tortoise
"The
"
Stars'
Road"
with
their
64
babies
The women
flew"
on their backs,
81
The punishment
"
'
of Broer Babiaan
little
99
in
Do
you
know,
I
Red
Tortoise,
'
one 136
moment
could swallow you
"The
Ostriches ran faster and faster"
144
GLOSSARY.
Awa-skin, skin slung across the back to carry babies in. Askoekies. cakes baked in
the ash.
Jakhals draaie, tricky turns.

Kaross. skin rug. Kierie, a thick stick.
Klein koning. little king. Kneehaltered, hobbled.
I
Baas, master.
Baasje (pronounced Baasie),

little
Kopdoek, turban.
Kopje, hill. Krantz. precipice.
master.
Babiaan. baboon.
Berg
schilpad.
mountain
tor-
Kraal, enclosure.
toise.
Biltong, strips of sun-dried
meat.
Bolmakissie, head over heels.
Bossies, bushes.
Lammervanger. Leeuw, lion.
eagle.
Maanhaar. mane.
Mensevreter, cannibal.
Neef, nephew. Nooi, lady or mistress.
Broer, brother.
Buchu, an aromatic veld herb.

Carbonaatje, grilled chop.
Dassie. rock-rabbit.
Nonnie, young lady. miss.
Oom.
Eintje,
uncle.
an edible veld
!
root.
Outa, old man. prefix to the name of old natives.
Gezondheid
Haasje,
Your health
hare.
Pronk, show
little
off.
Hamel, wether.
Reijer, heron.
XVI
GLOSSARY.
Taai, tough.
Riem, leathern thong. Rustband, couch.
Tante, aunt.
Tarentaal, Guinea fowl.
Sassaby
or Sessebe, a South
Tover,
toverij, witchcraft.
African antelope.
Schelm, rogue
sly.
Vaabond, vagabond.
Vlakte, plain.
Schilpad, tortoise. Sjambok, whip of rhino or
Voertsed, jumping aside sud-
hippo hide. Skraal windje,

wind.
Skrik, to
fright.
fine
cutting
also
denly and violently. Volk, coloured farm labourers.

Volstruis, ostrich.
be startled
Vrouw, wife. Vrouwmens, woman.

Zandkruiper, sand- crawler.
Slim, cunningly clever.
Smouse, pedlar.
Soopje,
tot.
I.
THE PLACE AND THE PEOPLE.

IT
was winter
in
the Great Karroo.
The
evening air was so crisp and cutting that one seemed to hear the crick-crack of the
frost,
formed on the scant vegetation. skraal windje blew from the distant mounas
it
tains,
bringing with
it
a mingled odour of
karroo-bush, sheep-kraals, and

the Kafir huts
itself,
smoke from
none, perhaps, desirable in
so blent and purified in that rare, clear atmosphere, and so subservient to
but
all
the
exhilarating
freshness,
that
Pietie
van
der
as
Merwe
took several
sniffs
of pleasure
he peered into the pale moonlight over the lower half of the divided door. Then,
with a
little
involuntary shiver, he
closed
the upper portion and turned to the ruddy
warmth of the purring fire, which Willem was feeding with mealie-cobs from the basket
beside him.
Little
Jan
sat in the corner of the wide,
old-fashioned rustbank, his large grey eyes
gazing wistfully into the red heart of the fire, while his hand absently stroked Torry, the
fox terrier, curled up beside him.
her big Madeira chair at the side table, yawned a little over her book
Mother,
in
for,
winter or summer,
the
mistress
of a
karroo farm leads a busy life, and the end of the day finds her ready for a well-earned rest.
Pietie held his
hands towards the
blaze,
turning his
door at
this
head now and again towards the the far end of the room. Presently
if
opened and father appeared, comfortably

leisurely, as
and
such things as shearing, dipping, and ploughing were no part of his Only the healthy tan, the broad day's work.
shoulders, the whole well-developed physique
His proclaimed his strenuous, open-air life. eye rested with pleasure on the scene before
him
the
bright
fire,
throwing gleam and
PLACE AND PEOPLE
shadow on painted wall and polished woodwork, and giving a general air of cosiness to
everything
;
the table spread for the evening

;
meal
the group at the fireside
and
his dear
helpmate who was responsible for the comfort and happiness of his well-appointed home.
He
Their
was followed
in
moment by Cousin
young governess.
stir
Minnie,
the bright-faced
coming
caused
among
withdrew
the
his
children.
Little
Jan
slowly
gaze from the fire, and, with more energy than might have been expected from his
dreamy
look,
pushed and prodded the sleep-
ing terrier along the rustbank so as to
make
room
for
Cousin Minnie.
Pietie
may
" Now sprang to his father's side. " go and call Outa Karel ? he asked
eagerly,
and
at
an acquiescent
figure that
"Yes,
my
boy," away he sped.

It
was a strange
shuffling,
came
at his
bidding,
finally
stooping,
halting,
and
emerging into the firelight. might have been forgiven for

terror, for the
A stranger
fleeing
in
new
arrival looked like nothing
4
so

much
as an ancient
and muscular
gorilla in
its
man's clothes, and walking uncertainly on hind legs.
was not quite four feet in height, with shoulders and hips disproportionately broad,
and long arms, the hands of which reached midway between knee and ankle. His lower
limbs were clothed in nondescript garments fashioned from wildcat and dassie skins a
;
He
faded brown coat, which from
its
size
had
evidently once belonged to his master,

nearly to his
his
knees
felt
while,
hung when he removed
shapeless
hat,
seen to be
wound
a red kopdoek was tightly round his head.
No
his
one had ever seen Outa Karel without
kopdoek, but it was reported that the head it covered was as smooth and devoid of
hair as an ostrich egg.
His yellow-brown face was a network of wrinkles, across which his flat nose sprawled broadly between high cheekbones his eyes,
;
sunk
far
back into
like
his head, glittered

little
dark
and beady
wicked eyes of a snake peeping from the shadow of a hole in

the
PLACE AND PEOPLE

the rocks.
into
5
itself
His wide mouth twisted
an engaging grin, which extended from ear to ear, as, winking and blinking his
bright
little
eyes, he twirled his old hat in his
claw-like hands and tried to

to his master
make obeisance
and
mistress.
The attempt was

failed
unsuccessful on account
of the stiffness of his joints,

to
but
it
never
amuse those who, times without

it
number, had seen

witnessed
to
it
repeated.
To
those
who
for the first
time
it
was something
be
remembered
;
portionate form
grotesque, disprothe ape-like face, that yet

;
the
was so curiously human

eyes,
the
humour and
kindness that gleamed from the cavernous
which seemed designed to express only malevolence and cunning the long waving
;
arms and crooked

for all
fingers
the yellow skin
the world like a crumpled sheet of india-rubber pulled in a dozen different

directions.
That he was a consummate

to put too fine a point
actor, and, not
on
it,
an old humbug
of the
first
water, goes without saying, for
6 these

characteristics
are
inherent
in
the
native nature.
But
his
in spite of this,
and the
uncanniness of
appearance,
there
was
something about Outa Karel that drew one to him. Of his real devotion to his master
and the "beautiful family Van der Merwe," there could be no question while, above
;
everything, was the
feeling that here
was one
of an outcast race,
original
one of the few of the
inhabitants
who had
;
survived
the
who, knowing submerging no law but that of possession, had been scared and chased from their happy hunting grounds,
tide of civilization
by the Hottentots, then by the powerful Bantu, and later by the still more terrifying palefaced tribes from over the seas. Though
first
the origin of the
Bushman
is
lost in the mists
of antiquity, the Hottentot conquest of him

is
a matter of history, and

the
victors
it
is
well
habit,
known
while
that
were
in
the
killing off the
men,
to take unto
themselves
amono the women of the vanO Hence the fact that a perfect quished race. specimen of a Bushman is a rara avis, even
wives from
PLACE AND PEOPLE

in the localities
where the
last
remnants are
known
to linger.
Outa Karel could hardly be

specimen of the original
called a perfect
race, for,
though he
always spoke of himself as wholly Bushman, there was a strong strain of the Hottentot
about him, chiefly noticeable
in his build.
He
spoke
in
Dutch,
in
the curiously ex-
pressive voice belonging to these people, just
now honey-sweet
for his superiors.
with the deference he
felt
"Ach
toch!
Night, Baas.
Night, Nooi.
Night, Nonnie and

that this old
my little
baasjes.
Excuse
Bushman does
is
not bend to greet
you
stiff.
the will
there, but his
knees are too
Thank
you, thank you,
my
baasje," as
dragged a low stool, covered with springbok skin, from under the desk in the
Pietie
recess
tled
and pushed it towards him. He sethimself on it slowly and carefully, with

of joints and
much creaking
many
strange
native ejaculations.
group had arranged itself anew. Cousin Minnie was in the cosy corner of the
little
The

little
rustbank near the wall,
Jan next her with his head against her, and Torry's head on his lap this attention to make up for his
late
seeming unkindness
in
pushing him away.
Pappa, with his magazine, was at the other end of the rustbank where he could, if he
chose, speak to
Mamma
how
in
a low tone, or
peep over
on.
her book was getting Willem had pushed the basket away so
to see
as to settle himself
more comfortably against

floor,
Cousin Minnie's knee as he sat on the
and
Pietie
fire.
was on a
small chair just in front
of the
The
native,
centre of attention was the quaint old
who, having relegated his duties to his children and grandchildren, lived as a
privileged pensioner in the van der
Merwe
family he had served so faithfully for three
played over his quaint figure with the weirdest effect, lighting
generations.
firelight
The
up now one portion of

ing
it,
now
another, show-
up
his
astonishingly small
hands and
crooked
fingers, as
he pointed and gesticulated

people speak as
incessantly
for these
much
PLACE AND PEOPLE

by gesture as by sound gerated shadows on the
wall.
and throwing exag-
This was the hour beloved by the children, when the short wintry day had ended, and,
in the interval
between the coming of dark-
ness
and
Karel
the
Outa
stories.
evening meal, their dear was allowed in to tell them
And
spirits,
weird and wonderful stories they were
tales of
spooks and giants, of good and bad of animals that talked, of birds, beasts
and
insects that exercised marvellous influence
over the destinies of unsuspecting mankind.
But most
thrilling of
all,
perhaps, were Outa
Karel's personal experiences
adventures by
tiger, jackal
fall
veld and krantz with

crocodile, such as
lion,
and
no longer
to the lot of
mortal man.
The
children would listen, wide-eyed and
breathless,
and even
their elders,
sparing a
moment's attention from book or writing, would feel a tremor of excitement, unable to
determine where reality ended
and
fiction
began, so inextricably were they intermingled
io
as

this
old
lago of the desert
wove
his
romances.
"
Now, Outa,
tell
us a nice story, the nicest
you know," said little Jan, nestling closer to Cousin Minnie, and issuing his command as
the autocrat of the "
One Thousand and One

baas,
this
Nights" might have done.

"
Ach
but
klein
stupid
old
black one
knows no new
stories,
only the old
ones of Jakhals and Leeuw, and tell even those when his throat
how can he
is
dry
"
?
ach,
so dry with the dust from the kraals
He
forced a gurgling cough, and his small
Then suddenly eyes glittered expectantly. he started with well-feigned surprise and
beamed on
Pietie,
who
stood beside him with
a soopje in the glass kept for his especial use. This was a nightly performance. The
lubrication
was never
forgotten, but
it
was
what
often purposely delayed in order to see
pretext
Outa would use

its
to call attention to
the fact of
throat,
not having been offered.
Sore
headache,
stomach-ache, cold, heat,

for
rheumatism, old age, a birthday (invented
PLACE AND PEOPLE
the occasion), the killing of a snake or the
breaking-in of a young horse anything served as an excuse for what was a time-
honoured custom.
"
Thank
you, thank you, mij klein koning.

to Baas, Nooi,
Gezondheid
Nonnie, and the
beautiful family
van der Merwe."
He
!
lifted
gulped down the contents, and smacked his lips approvingly. " Ach if a
the
glass,
Bushman
only had a neck like an ostrich

taste all the
;
How
down
good would the soopje

!
way
I
Now
tell
am
strong again
now
am
ready to
the story of Jakhals and
Oom
Leeuw."
" About
his
"
Oom Leeuw
This
carrying Jakhals on
back
"
?
asked Willem.
is
No, baasje.
with
quite
a different
one."
And
imitating
strange every action and
many
gesticulations,
changing
his
voice to suit the various characters, the old
man began
II.
HOW JAKHALS FED OOM

"
LEEUW.
ONE day
in the early
morning, before any
people were
awake,
Jakhals was prowling

for
round and prowling round, looking

thing to eat.
for himself.
some-
Jakhals
is
not fond of hunting

likes to wait
till
Oh, no
he
the
hunt
is
over, so that he can share in the feast
He without having had any of the work. had just dragged himself quietly to the top with his of a kopje so, my baasjes, so
stomach close
moving
little
the ground, and his ears Outa's backwards and forwards"

to
hands, on either side of the kopdoek,
suited the action to the

least sound.
word
"to hear the

here, he looked
!
Then he looked
all
there,
he looked
around, and yes, truly
whom do you
think
he saw
in
the
kloof
JAKHALS FED OOM LEEUW

below
?
13
No
other than
Oom Leeuw
him-
self, clawing a nice big hamel he had just killed a Boer hamel, baasjes, with a beauti-
ful fat tail.
Oh
yes,
Oom Leeuw
had picked
is
out a good one.
'"Arre"!' thought Jakhals, 'this
luck,'
wondering how he could get some of the nice meat for himself. He soon made a plan. A white thing
sat
still
and he
for a minute,
fluttered in a little
bush near him.

picked
'
It
was a
it
piece of paper.
so
He
it
up and folded
and so
and so
the crooked fingers
were very busy "till it looked like a letter. Then he ran down the kopje in a great hurry and called out, Good morning, Oom.'
'
" "
'
'
Morning, Neef.' I see Oom has killed a Boer hamel.'
"
Yes, Neef, a big fat one.' "'Well, here is a letter from Tante,' said
Jakhals, giving the piece of paper to Leeuw.
'
'
As
"
was passing she asked me

it
to give
it
to
Oom.'
Leeuw took
and turned
it
it
this
way,
that way.
He
held
far
from him, he held

make
it
it
close to his eyes, but he couldn't

all.
out at
See, baasjes,
Leeuw was one
of
the old-fashioned sort.
grew up before there were so many schools and good teachers"
He
here Outa's bright eyes winked and blinked flatteringly on Cousin Minnie and her pupils
"he was not

said
"
'
clever;
he could not read.

to
But he didn't want anyone

:
know
it,
so he
Jakhals,
tacles
"
' ;
has forgotten his specyou had better read it out."

hm,' said Jakhals, pretending
kill
'
Oom
Hm, hm,
to read.
fat
Tante says Oom must Boer hamel and send it home
a nice
at
once by
me.
She and the children are hungry.' Here is the very 'Well, that's all right. Tante is not very well. The Jew thing.
"
smouse's donkey she ate the other day disagreed with her, so we must coax her a little.
I
don't want to say anything, but

is
you know a
vrouwmens
in
a dangerous thing
when she
is
a temper.
So you had
better take this
hamel
to her at once,
and then you can have
the offal for your trouble."

"
'
15
Thank
you, noble
Oom, King
of Beasts,'
said Jakhals in a fawning voice, promising himself at the same time that he would have
something more than the

tunate
the
offal.
'
How
for-
am
I,
poor humble creature, to have
King
for
my
uncle,'
and
off
he trotted
with the sheep.

"
Leeuw prowled
tail tail
further
up
the
kloof,
waving his Outa had a

but, as
from side to side."
Had
it,
he would have wagged

fro
he had not, his right arm was slowly
flourished to
description.
and
"
to give point
little
to
his
Here comes a
to a veld
Steen-
bokje on
its
it
way
is
dam
for water.
Ach
little
but
pretty
its
It
looks
here,
it
looks there,
with
large soft eyes.

;
front foot
is in
the air
now
it
is
it
One down
;
the other goes up
down
again.
On
comes,
Outa's hands, bunched up slowly, slowly" to resemble the buck's feet, illustrated each
the children following his " with breathless interest. Now
step,
listen."
movements
it
stops to
Outa was
rigid as
he bent forward
to catch the least sound.
Suddenly he started
16

!
and the children involuntarily did " Hark what was that ? What the same.
violently,
coming ? Ach and shivers A

is
!
how Steenbokje
terrible
skriks
form
eyes
blocks
the
way
with
Great
their
!
eyes
cruel
burn
him
It
is
!
fire.
Now
he knows.
stands
in
LEEUW
LEEUW who
the path
growls and glares at Steenbokje. Steenbokje cannot turn away. They stare at each
other
so
just so
"
He
Outa
"
glares at each
fascinated child in turn.
Steenbokje cannot look away, cannot move. He is stiff with fright. His blood is cold. His eyes
are starting out of his head.
"
And
then
voops
the listeners
jump
as Outa's long
"one arms suddenly swoop towards them Steenbokje spring and Leeuw is on him.
blares
meh, meh,
tears
meh
but
it
is
no good.
Tip,
tip,
it it
Leeuw
tip,
him and claws him.

;
the red blood drips
runs out like a stream,

up.
down s-s-s-s-s, and Leeuw licks

away
There
lies
pretty
little
Steenbokje, dead,
faintly.
dead."
Outa's voice
children
trails
The
heave
big
sighs.
Little

Jan's grey eyes are
full
17
of tears.
native's graphic description has

feel as
The old made them
though they had been watching round
a death-bed.
"Yes,
skr-r-r-r
baasjes,
Leeuw
killed
Steenbokje
there in the kloof.
He
tore the skin off
through the bones skrnch, and ate little Steenbokje for skrnch, skrnch his breakfast. Then he went to the krantzes
bit
and
to
sleep,
for
the day
was coming and the

it
light "
felt
began
to hurt his eyes.
When
he awoke
was evening, and he
refreshed and rather hungry.
My baasjes
know
a Steenbokje
Oom
Leeuw.
nothing for a meal for But before hunting again he

is
thought he would go
home and
see
how
Tante and the children were getting on, and whether they had feasted well on the nice
fat
ham el.
"
But,
dear land
find
?
What
children
did poor
crying,
Oom
Tante
Leeuw
The
spluttering
and scratching with rage, everything upside down, and not even the bones of the hamel to be seen.

'"Ohe! ohe! ohe!'
cried Tante.
'The
bad,
wicked Jakhals
'
Ach, the low, veld
dog!' " But what
is
the matter?' asked Leeuw.
'Where is Jakhals?' "'Where is he?
How
should
fat
know?
He
me
"
has run off with the nice

yes, me, the King's wife
!
hamel, and
has he beaten
'
!
with the entrails

'
Ohe
ohe
' !
And boxed my
'
!
ears
!
cried one of the
cubs.
"
Wah wah wah

!
'
'And pinched my 'Weh! weh! weh

'
!
tail,'
roared the other.
"
'
And
left
us nothing but the
offal.
'
!
Oh,
the cunning, smooth-tongued vagabond " And all three fell to weeping and wailing,
while
"
'
roared aloud in his anger. Wait a bit, I'll get him,' he said.
the
Leeuw
'
Besee
fore
world wakes to-morrow
he'll
who's baas.'
"
He waved
in
his tail to
and
fro
and stuck
out his strong claws.

fire
His eyes glared like a dark kloof when there is no moon,

it
and when he brulled
was very
terrible to

hear
hoor-r-r-r-r,
19
hoor-r-r-r-r,"
and
Outa
gave vent
roars.
"
to
several
deep,
blood-curdling
Very early the next morning, when only a little grey in the sky shewed that the night
was
rolling
round to the other side of the

his strongest
world,
Leeuw took
started off to look for Jakhals.
sjambok and He spied him

by a
fire
on the top of a krantz with his wife and children.

at last
sitting
"'Ah!
thought.
wait,
I'll
there you are,

'
my
'
fine fellow,'
?
he
Well and happy are you soon show you

!
But
began at once to try and climb the krantz, but it was very steep and high, and so smooth that there was nothing for him to
hold
to.
"He
Every time he got up a
little
his claws just scratched along the
way, hard rock

last
and he came
sailing
I
down
again.
At
he
thought, 'Well, as
can't climb up,
I'll
pre-
tend to be nice and friendly, and then perhaps I'll ask him to Jakhals will come down. go
hunting with me.'
'
Here
Outa's
beady
little
eyes
danced
20

"
mischievously.
Baasjes
know,
the
is
only
to
way
to get the better of a schelm

too.
be
schelm,
When
is
anyone
will
cheats,
you
must cheat more, or you

Ach, yes
!
never be baas.
that
the only way."
(Cousin Minnie would not disturb the course of the tale, but she mentally prescribed
and stored up for future use an antidote this pagan and wordly-wise piece of advice
her pupils.)
"
to
to
So Leeuw stood
at the foot of the krantz

'
and called out quite friendly and kind,

morning, Neef Jakhals.'
<:
'
Good
Morning, Oom.'
I
"
'
thought you might

I
like to
go hunting
with me, but
see you are busy.'
"At any
other time Jakhals would have
skipped with delight, for it was very seldom he had the honour of such an invitation,
but
now he was blown up
with conceit at
having cheated
nicely.
"
'
Oom
Oom,
and Tante Leeuw so
Thank
you,
but
am
not in want
of
meat
just now.
I'm busy grilling
some

nice fat mutton chops for breakfast.
21
Won't
you come and have some, too

"
is
'
'
Certainly, with pleasure, but this krantz
so steep
"
'
how can
'
get up
Ach
that's quite easy,
Oom.
I'll
pull
you up
in
an eye-wink.
me
that
a nice thick riem.

is
That
Here, vrouw, give old rotten one
nearly rubbed through,' he said in a
whisper to his wife. " So Mrs. Jakhals,
who was
as slim as her
husband, brought the bad riem, and they set

to
work
' !
to pull
Oom Leeuw
'
up.
Hoo-ha
hoo-ha
away.
"
they sang as they slowly hauled
When
he was about ten

'
feet
!
from the
ground, Jakhals called out, Arre but Oom is heavy,' and he pulled the riem this way
and that way along the sharp edge of the " krantz Outa vigorously demonstrated
"till
broke right through and kabloops down fell Oom Leeuw to the hard ground
it
!
below.
"
I
'Oh!
my
goodness
is
What
a terrible
fall
hope
Oom
not hurt.
How
stupid can a
22

!
vrouwmens be
To
give
!
me an
old riem
is
when
called for the best
Now, here
again,
Oom can try again.' strong one. " So Leeuw tried and
again,
and
again,
many
times over, but each time the
rope broke and each time his fall was greater, because Jakhals always pulled him up a little
higher,
and a
little
higher.
At
last
he called
out
"
'
It's
very kind of you, Jakhals, but

it
must give
"
'
up.'
'
!
Ach
but that's a shame

'
said Jakhals,
The carbonaatjes pretending to be sorry. alle wereld! are done to a turn, and the smell
it's
fine
Shall
'
throw
Oom down
said
a piece
of the meat
"
'
Yes
please,
Jakhals,'
'
Leeuw
fill
eagerly, licking his

inside
nicely.'
lips.
have a big hole

it
me and some
!
carbonaatjes will
"
cunning raked a red-hot carefully stone out of the fire and wrapped a big piece
baasjes,
Ach
my
?
what did
Jakhals do
He
of
fat
round
it.
Then he peered over
the

impatiently.
"
'
23
edge of the krantz and saw Leeuw waiting
Now
I
Oom,' he
I'll
called,
wide and
big one,
"
drop
this in.
'open your mouth It's such a nice
bet you won't want another.'
And when
he said
this,
Jakhals chuckled,
little
while Mrs. Jakhals and the
ones doubled
up with
"
"
his
'
'
silent laughter at the great joke.
Are you
ready,
'
Oom ?
'
Grr-r-r-r-r
gurgled Leeuw.
He
had
mouth wide open
to catch the carbonaatje,

for fear of missing
it.
and he would not speak

"
fell
Jakhals leaned over and took aim.

the
tit-bit
it.
Down
and
sluk
sluk
Leeuw had
swallowed
"And
then,
my
baasjes, there arose such a
roaring and raving and groaning as had not
been heard since the
hills
were made.
The
dassies crept along the rocky ledges far above,
and peeped timidly down
the circling eagles

;
swooped nearer to find out the cause the meerkats and ant-bears, the porcupines and
spring-hares snuggled further into their holes
;
while the frightened springboks and elands
24

over the plain to seek safety
veld.
in
fled swiftly
some other
"
Only wicked Jakhals and his family With their bushy tails waving and rejoiced.
their pointed ears standing up, they
danced
round the
fire,
:
holding hands and singing-
over and over

"
'
Arre
Arre
who is stronger than the King of Beastland ? who sees further than the King of Birdland ?
but thick-tailed Jakhals, but the Silver-maned
Who
One?
He, the small but sly one ; he, the wise Planmaker. King of Beasts would catch him catch him, claw
;
him,
kill
!
him
Ha
ha
ha
would catch him

!
Ha
ha ha
!
would
kill
him
But he finds a way out grills the fat-tailed hamel, Feeds the King of Beastland with the juicy tit-bits; Eats the fat-tailed hamel while the King lies dying;
;
Ha!
ha! ha!
lies
dying!
Ha! ha! ha!
lies
dead
now
'
!
"
Outa crooned the Jakhals' triumph song in a weird monotone, and on the last words his
voice
silence
quavered
among
leaving a momentary the small folk.

out,
Pietie blinked as
though the
firelight
were

too
25
much
for
his
eyes.
Little
Jan sighed
tumultuously.
"
Willem cleared
his throat.
But how did Jakhals know that Leeuw was dead?" he asked suddenly.
Oom
peeped over the krantz every time between the dancing and singing like this,
baasje, just like this."
"He
Outa's eyes, head and

"
The first time he looked, he saw Oom Leeuw rolling over and over the next time Leeuw was scratching,
hands were at work.
;
scratching at the rocky krantz
then he was
;
digging into the ground with his claws he was only blowing himself out so
long slow breaths
lying quite
"
still,
;
then
with
but the last time he was
Oh
and then Jakhals knew" didut want poor Steenbokje
to
die," said little Jan.

little
"He
this
thing.
Outa,
was such a pretty is not one of your

"First
nicest
"
stories."
It's all
about
killing," said Pietie.
poor Steenbokje, who never did him any harm, and then Jakhals killed Oom Leeuw, who never did kirn any harm. It
Leeuw
killed
was very
cruel
and wicked."
26
"

Ach
yes, baasjes," explained Outa, apolo"
getically,
we
don't
know why,
but
it is
so.
Sometimes the good ones are killed and the bad ones grow fat. In this old world it goes
not always so's
goes."
it
must go
it
just
go
so's
it
"But," persisted Pietie, "you oughtn't to have let Jakhals kill Oom Leeuw. Oom
Leeuw was much

have
killed
stronger, so he ought to
naughty Jakhals."
Outa's
eyes
!
gleamed
pityingly.
These
What did they know of the young things ups and downs of a hard world where the
battle
is
not always to the strong, nor the race

?
to the swift "
the
my baasje, Outa He only put in story.

But,
did not
make up
the
little bits, like
newspaper and the spectacles and the Jew But the smouse, that are things of to-day.
real story
was made
long, long ago, perhaps

like
still
when
baasje's people went about in skins the Rooi Kafirs, and Outa's people were
monkeys
been
so,
in
the
it
bushveld.
will
It
has always
in
and
always be so
the

story
27
the
and
in the old
wicked world.
It is
head,
my
baasjes, the head," he tapped his
own, "and not the strong arms and legs and teeth, that makes one animal master over
another.
Ach
yes
if
the Bushman's head

!
had been the same as the white man's, arre what a fight there would have been between
them
"
!
astonishing train of thought called up by this idea, he sat gazing out

lost in the
And
before him with eyes which saw

things.
many
strange
Then, rousing himself, with a quick change of voice and manner, "Ach! please, " Nooi he said in a wheedling tone, " a span
!
of tobacco
just
one
little
span for to-night
and to-morrow."
His mistress laughed indulgently, and, unhooking the bunch of keys from her belt,
handed them
sinner
yet
"
!
to
Cousin Minnie.
"
"
The
old
she said.
We
all
spoil him,
and
who could begin to be strict with him now? Only a small piece, Minnie." " Thank you, thank you, my Nonnie," said
the old man, holding out both
hands, and
28

if it
receiving the coveted span as " That's thing very precious.
were some-
my young lady!
is
Nonnie can have Outa's skeleton when he

dead.
Yes,
to
it
will
be a
fine
skeleton
for
Nonnie
send
far
across the blue water,
where she sent the old long-dead Bushman's bones. Ach foei all of him went into a little
!
soap boxie " boxie

!
just
to
think
of
it
a soap
He
started as a
young coloured
"
girl
made
is
her appearance.
already.
is
mij lieve
here
Lys
How
the time goes
when a person
!
with the baasjes and the noois

;
Night,
little
Baas
night,
Nooi
night,
!
Nonnie and
!
masters.
Sleep well family Van der Merwe
Ach
"
!
the
beautiful
His thanks, farewells and

fainter
flatteries
grew
and
fainter,
and
the distance, as his
away in granddaughter led him
finally died
away.
III.
WHO WAS
"
KING?
a time," began Outa Karel, and his audience of three looked up expectantly. " Once upon a time, Oom Leeuw roared
ONCE upon
and the
forest
shook with the dreadful sound.
Then, from
far
away over
little
the vlakte, floated

lion
another roar, and the
cubs jumped
about and stood on their heads, tumbling over each other in their merriment.
"'Hear/ they
Three
no
"
said,
'it
is
Volstruis,
old
Sticks.
our father.
He tries to imitate the King, He roars well. Truly there is

heard
this
difference.'
he was very angry, so he roared again, louder than ever. Again came back the sound over the veld, as
if it
When Leeuw
had been an echo.
30
"
'

Ach, no!
'
this will
never
do,'
thought
this
Leeuw.
pudence.
imitators
"
must put a stop

I
to
im-
alone
am
King
here,
and
want none.'
forth
So he went
till
and roamed over the

Sticks,
vlakte
Ostrich.
"
he met old Three
the
They
stood glaring at each other.
Leeuw's eyes flamed, his mane rose in a huge mass and he lashed his tail angrily.
Volstruis spread out his beautiful wings and
swayed from
his
it
side to side, his

like a
if
beak open and

!
neck twisting
pretty, but
!
was
Ach whip-snake. baasjes could have seen
Baasjes know, Volstruis's eyes are very soft and beautiful like Nonnie's when she tells the Bible stories but now there was
his eyes
;
only fierceness
that looked like
"
in
them,
and yellow
lights
fire.
But there was no
fight
yet.
It
was
a
is
only their
way
of meeting.
'
step nearer and said,

baas.
We
Leeuw came must see who

to roar a
You, Volstruis, please

Volstruis
'
little.'
"So
throat,
roared,
blowing
'
!
out
It
his
so,
Hoo-hoo-hoor-r-r-r
was a
WHO WAS
fearsome
KING?
of
31
that
sound
feel
the
sort
sound
makes you
ning
streams of cold water run-
down your back when you hear it suddenly and don't know what it is. Yes,
baasjes,
if
you are
in
bed you
curl
up and
over your head, and if you are outside you run in and get close to the Nooi or Nonnie."
pull the blankets
slight
movement, indicative of contra-
passed from one to another of his small hearers, but unless it was a free and
diction,
easy, conversational evening
they
made
it
a point of honour never to interrupt Outa in full career. This, like other things, could
await the finish of the story.

"
Then Leeuw
roared,
and
truly the voices

'
were the same.

a bigger voice,' or
voice.'
No
'
one could
is
say,
This
is
That
a more terrifying
'
No, they were just equal.

said to Volstruis,
"
So Leeuw
alike.
it
Our
in
voices
are
You
so.
are
my
equal
roaring.
Let
then be
I
You
will
be King of the
Birds as
am King
of the Beasts.
Now
let
us go hunting and see
who
is
baas there.'
32
"

Out
in
the vlakte
fat
some sassaby
nice
were
;
feeding,
big
ones, a
klompje
so
Leeuw
started off in one direction
and Vol-
both kept away from the side the wind came from. Wild bucks
struis in the other, but
can smell
little
ach toch
so
good.
is
Just
one
puff
when a hunter
all
sniffis
them, and at once

air
sniff,
creeping up to the heads are in the
sniff,
the wind.
that has
Dust
and they are off like all you see, and when
!
bucks
blown away ach no there are no " the whole veld is empty, empty
!
Outa stretched out them from

expression
of
his
arms and waved
side to side with an exaggerated
nothing but empty space, his voice mournful with a sense of

finding
irreparable loss.
"
But
"
he took up his
"
tale
with renewed
energy
hunters.
Leeuw and Volstruis were old They knew how to get nearer and
letting
nearer
1
without
the
bucks
know.
much
in
Sassaby (also spelt Sesseby) or Bastard Hartebeest are smaller than the Hartebeest proper, and are found
forest country.
open veld near
WHO WAS
Leeuw
trailed himself
KING?
33
along slowly, slowly,
and only when he was moving could you see which was Leeuw and which was sand the colour was just the same.
close to the ground,
:
picked out a big buck, well-grown and fat, but not too old to be juicy, and when he got near enough he hunched himself up
"He
very quietly
so,
my
little
masters, just so
ready to spring, and then before you could whistle, he shot through the air like a stone
from a catapult, and

fastened
fell, fair
and square, on
his
to the sassaby's back, his great tearing claws
on
its
shoulders
and
wicked
teeth meeting in the poor thing's neck.

"
Ach
the
beautiful
big buck
Never
again would his pointed horns tear open his enemies Never again would he lead the
!
herd, or pronk in the veld in mating time
Never again would

danger
his
soft
nostrils
scent
in the distance,
nor his quick hoofs

!
give the signal for the stampede was really all up with him this time
No,
!
it
When
Oom Leeuw
let
gets hold of a thing, he doesn't
go
till
it is
dead.
34
"

The
rest of the
far
herd
ach, but they ran
Soon they were

distance
killed.
;
away, only specks
in the
all
except those that Volstruis had

!
Truly Volstruis was clever Baasjes know, he can run fast faster even than the
sassaby.
So when he saw Leeuw getting
ready to spring, he raced up-wind as hard as he could, knowing that was what the
herd would do.
for
So there he was waiting them, and didn't he play with them See,
!
baasjes, he stood just so
"
in his
excitement
"
Outa rose and struck an
attitude
and when
they streaked past him he jumped like this, striking at them with the hard, sharp claws
on
like
his
old two toes."
Outa hopped about
a fighting bantam, while the children hugged themselves in silent delight.

"
Voerts
there
was one dead

"
"
!
Outa
was
there
kicked to
the right.
Voerts
left
there
"till
another!"
he kicked to the
was a klomp of bucks lying about the veld Yes, old Two Toes giving their last blare.
did his
"
work
well that day.
When Leeuw came
up and saw
that Vol-
WHO WAS
struis
KING?
made
35
had
killed
more than he had, he was

it
not very pleased, but Volstruis soon

all right.
"
Leeuw
rip
said,
'You have
killed
most, so
you
"
open and begin
to eat.'
'Oh
I
no!' said Volstruis, 'you have cubs
to share the food with, so

eat.
you
rip
open and
he
shall only drink the blood.'

in
"
This put Leeuw

as
said
a good humour
Volstruis
thought Volstruis a noble, unselfish creature.
But
truly,
before,
was
;
clever.
Baasjes see, he couldn't eat meat

teeth.
he had no
to
But he didn't want Leeuw

'
know.
Therefore he
said,
You
eat
will
only drink the blood.'

ripped
"So Leeuw
sk-r-r-r-r
all
open
sk-r-r-r-r,
ate
till
and called the cubs, and they Then Volthey were satisfied.
in
struis
ing,
came along
a careless fashion, peck-
pecking as he walked, and drank the Then he and Leeuw lay down in blood.
the
shade
of
some
trees
and went
to
sleep.
"
The
cubs
played
about,
rolling
and
36

As
they played
lay.
tumbling over each other.

they came
"
'
to the place
'
!
where Volstruis
'
Aha
said
one,
he sleeps with his

Volstruis's
'
mouth
"
'
open.'
He
'
!
peeped
into
mouth.
Aha
'
he said again, I see something.' "Another cub came and peeped. " Alle kracht he said, I see something
'
'
!
too.
Let us go and
'
tell
our
father.'
So they ran off in great excitement and woke Leeuw. Come, come quickly,' they
said.
is
'
"
Volstruis
insults
your equal.
with
his
He
it,
lies
you by saying he sleeping under the
trees
mouth wide open, and we

and behold, he has no
off quick-quick with the
have peeped
teeth !
into
Come and
tail.
see for yourself.'
"
Leeuw bounded
'
cubs at his
"
'
Nier-r-r-r,'
nier-r-r-r.
he growled, waking Volstruis,

is
What
the meaning of this
pretend you are my equal, and you haven't even got teeth.'
"
'
You
Teeth or no teeth/
'
said Volstruis, stand-
ing up wide awake,
killed
more bucks than
WHO WAS
you did to-day. you
"
to
'
KING?
teeth,
I'll
37
fight
Teeth or no
baas.'
show who's
Come
on,' said
Leeuw.
'
Who's
' !
afraid
I'm just ready for you.

"
'
Come on
that
No, wait a
little,'
said Volstruis.
'
I've
got a plan.
there
?
You
see
ant-heap over
it,
Well, you stand on one side of
and
I'll
stand on the other side, and we'll see

it
who can push

come out
"
'
over
first.
After that we'll
into the
That
;
open and fight.' seems an all-right plan,'

'
said
and he thought to himself, I'm heavier and stronger I can easily send the
;
Leeuw
ant-heap flying on to old Three Sticks, and then spring over and kill him.'
"
But wait a
bit!
It
was not as easy as
he thought. Every time he sprang at the ant-heap he clung to it as he was accustomed to cling to his prey. He had no other way
of doing things.
And
then Volstruis would
take the opportunity of kicking high into the air, sending the sand and stones into Leeuw's
face,
and making him howl and splutter with
rage.
38
"

Sometimes he would stand
still
and
roar,
and Volstruis would send a roar back from

the other side.
"
So they went on
till
the top of the ant-
heap was quite loosened by the kicks and Leeuw was getting angrier and blows.
angrier,
and he could hardly see

full
his eyes
were so
of dust.
He
gathered himself
together for a tremendous spring, but, before he could make it, Volstruis bounded into the
air
and kicked the whole top Arre, but the dust was thick
"
off the ant-heap.

!
When
it
cleared away, there lay Leeuw,
groaning and coughing, with the great heap of earth and stones on top of him.
"
my
ohe!' wailed the cubs, 'get up, father. Here he comes, the Toothless
'
!
Ohe
One!
"
He who
has teeth only on his feet!
Get up and
and sprang
full
slay him.'
Leeuw shook
of sand
himself free of the earth
at Volstruis,
;
but his eyes were he could not see properly, so

heavily, Vol-
he missed.
struis
As he came down
out
his
shot
strong
right
leg
and
WHO WAS
caught Leeuw
in
KING?
Sk-r-r-r-r
!
39
!
the side.
!
went
poor
the skin, and goops
goops
over
fell
Oom
him.
"
Leeuw, with
Volstruis's terrible claws
the teeth of old
Two Toes
fastened into
Volstruis danced on him,
flapping and
waving his beautiful black and white wings, and tearing the life out of Oom Leeuw.
"
When
it
was
all
over,
he cleaned his
claws in the sand and waltzed
away slowly over the veld to where his mate sat on the
nest.
Only the cubs were left wailing over the dead King of the Forest."
"
The
Pietie's
usual babel of question and

story,
comment
till
broke out at the close of the
at last
itself
decided young voice detached
from the general chatter.

"
Outa, what
made you say

if
that about pull-
ing the blankets over one's head and running

to get near o
Mammie
?
one heard Volstruis

quite well
bellowing at night
that none of us
You know
it."
would ever do
40
"

Yes, yes,
my
"
I
baasje,
know," said Outa,
soothingly.
never meant anyone who But other belongs to the land of Volstruise.
masters,
little
who
did not
know
the voice of
old
Three Sticks
if
I
mam-mas
"
they would run to their they heard him."

said
"
Pietie,
Oh,
see,"
I apology graciously. not mean a karroo farm boy."
accepting the was sure you could
"Is your story a parable, Outa?" asked little Jan, who had been doing some hard
thinking for the last minute.
"Ach
and what
fable,
is
that,
my little
master?"
"A
"
kind of
Outa."
it is,
Yes, that's what
baasje," said Outa,
gladly seizing on the

"
word he understood,
little
a
"
fable,
a sort of nice
is
fable."
an earthly story with a heavenly meaning, and when Cousin Minnie tells us parables she always finds the meaning for of
this,
But a parable
us.
What
is
the heavenly meaning
Outa?"
grey eyes were earnestly fixed on Outa's face, as though to read

Little Jan's innocent
WHO WAS
from
it
KING?
He
41
the explanation he sought.
For once
rubbed
the old native

his red
fully
was nonplussed.
flat
kopdoek, laid a crooked finger thoughtnose, scratched his sides,
against his
monkey-fashion, and finally once more to the kopdoek.

expedients
failed
had But
recourse
all
these
to
inspire
him with the
heavenly meaning of the story he had just Ach these dear little ones, to think of told.
!
such strange things There they all were, He must get waiting for his next words. out of it somehow.
!
<(
Baasjes," he began, smoothly, "there
is
a beautiful
hasn't
meaning
time
to
to the story, but

tell
it
Outa
got
"
now.
Another
time
"
Outa," broke
in
Willem,
to
reprovingly,
"you know you only want

that
get
away so
where
you can go
No,
to the old tramp-floor,

"
!
the volk are dancing to-night."

"
my
I
baasje, truly
no
"And
wouldn't be surprised to hear that
you had danced, too, after the way you have been jumping about here."
42
" "
is
'

Yes, that was
!
fine," said Pietie,

is
with
!
relish.
Voerts
there
'
!
one dead
Voerts
there
another
stiff,
so
Outa, you always say you are but you can still kick well."
" "
in
Aja, baasje," returned Outa, modestly;
was a great dancer. No one could do the Vastrap better and the Hondekrap and the Valsrivier. Arre, those were
my
day
the times
"
!
gave a little hop at the remembrance of those mad and merry days, and yet another
and another, always towards the passage leading to the kitchen.
"
He
But the meaning,

cried
little
Outa,
Jan.
the
heavenly
haven't
meaning!"
told us."
"You
No, my little baas, not to-night. Ask the Nonnie she will tell you. Here she comes."
;
"
And
as Cousin Minnie entered the room,
the wily old native, with an agility not to
be expected from his cramped and crooked limbs, skipped away, leaving her to bear the
brunt of his inability to explain his
own
story.
IV.
WHY THE HYENA

"
IS
LAME.
was Tante Hyena that Jakhals cheated more than anyone," said Outa. " She always
IT
forgot about the last time he had played a

trick
on her, so she was quite ready to believe him when he came along with another story.
Some
people are
so,
it's
my
baasjes.
P'raps
;
it's
kindness, p'raps
doesn't know.
only stupidness
Outa
Jakhals and Hyena were out walking together when a white cloud came up behind the kopjes and floated over the
veld quite close to them.
cloud, just like white
fat,
"One day
It
was a nice thick
and Jakhals climbed
on
to
it
and
sat looking
down over
it,
the edge.
Then he
"
'
bit pieces
!
out of
and ate them.

he
said.
Arre"
but this white
fat is nice,'
44
'
N-yum, n-yum, n-yum,' and he chewed round
the cloud like a caterpillar chews a leaf. " Hyena licked her lips and looked up at
him.
" "
so
Throw me down some, please,' she said. Ach my Brown Sister, will I then be greedy as to throw you down little bits ?
' '
!
Wait
up
to
till
get down, and then

yourself.
I'll
help you
little
I
eat for
But come a
catch
nearer so that you can
me when
and
jump.'
"
Jakhals such a way that he knocked her jumped into the sand. He fell soft, because he was
ready,
in
So
Hyena
stood
on
top,
but foei
poor
out
of
Hyena had
her and
all
the
breath
knocked
she
was
covered with dust.
"'Ach! but
"
self,
am
now
clumsy!' said Jakhals;

I'll
'but never mind,
help you.'
her-
So when she had got up and dusted
he helped her to climb on to the cloud. There she sat, biting pieces off and eating
'
them,
N-yum, n-yum, n-yum,
it's
just like
white fat!'
WHY THE HYENA

"
IS
LAME
'
45
After
time
she
called
I
out,
Brother, I've had enough.
want
I
to
Grey come
down.
"
'
Please catch
me when
jump.'
Ach, certainly Brown
Sister,
come
on.
Just see
"
how
nicely
I'll
catch you.
So-o-o.'
He
!
held out his arms, but just as

to
Hyena
jumped he sprang
1
one
side,
calling out,
Ola
Ola
I
shall
do
a thorn has pricked me. What what shall I do ? and he hopped

'
about holding one leg up.

"
Woops
fell
Down
it
fell
Brown
left
Sister,
and
as she
she put out her
leg to save
doubled up under her and was She lay in a bundle in the nearly broken. sand, crying, My leg is cracked my leg is
herself, but
'
!
cracked
' !
"Jakhals came along very slowly jump, jump, on three legs. Surely the thorn, that
wasn't there, was hurting him very
"
'
much
Oo
oo
'
!
cried
Hyena, 'help me
leg
is
up,
Grey
"
'
Brother.
My
!
broken.'
it.
And mine
sister
has a thorn in
Foei toch,
my
sick
poor
?
The
can the sick help the only plan is for us to get home
How
46

way we
can.
in the best
will visit
Good-bye, and
if
you to-morrow
off
to see
you are
all
right/ "
jump, jump, on three legs very slowly; but as soon as Old Brown Sister could not see him, he put down the
other one and
veld and got
nice supper of
And
he went
sh-h-h-h
he shot over the

in
home
just
time to have a
that Mrs. Jakhals
at
young ducks
and the children had caught Niekerk's dam.

"
Oubaas van
But poor Brown Sister lay in the sand crying over her sore places, and from that
day she walks lame, because her

foot
1
left
l
hind
is
smaller than the right one."
The Hyena, on
legs
fable.
first starting, appears lame in the hind a fact accounted for by the Hottentots in the foregoing
V.
WHO WAS THE

"
THIEF?
YES,
my
baasjes, so
was
Oom
Jakhals
he
always made as if he forgot all about what he had done, and he made as if he thought
all
the others forgot too, quick-quick.
He
is
maar so schelm."
advantage of the pinch of snuff he held between his right forefinger and thumb, sneezed with evifull
Here Outa took
dent
enjoyment two
:
or
three
times,
and
continued
"When
well, "
'
'
Jakhals thought
visit her.
Hyena was
quite
he went to
It's
very dull here in the veld,' he said, and food is so scarce, so I'm going to hire
He'll give
myself to a farmer.
eat
me
lots
fat
to
I'll
and drink, and when I'm nice and
48

again.
Sister ?"
come home
too, "
Would you
her
lips
like
to
go
Brown
Hyena smacked
about the nice things to eat. a very good plan. So they went to a farm,
when she heard She thought it
and Jakhals talked so nicely that the farmer hired them both to work for him.
"Ach!
it
was a
little
beautiful
place;
lots
of
chickens and
ducks,
fat
tails
and Afrikander
that
sheep with melted out
large
for
could be
soap and candles, and eggs,

all
and doves and pigeons

hals liked.
things that Jak-
He
just felt in his

jolly
stomach that
he was going to have a

"
in
life.
During the day Jakhals peeped all about, this corner, in that corner, and he found
In the
out where the farmer kept the nice fat that
was melted out of the sheep's
tails.
middle of the night, when all the people were fast asleep, he got up and went quietly, my
baasjes, quietly, like a to the place
shadow on the ground,

fat
where the
was.
He
took a
big lump and smeared it all over Brown Then he Sister's tail while she was asleep.
WHO WAS THE

ate
all
THIEF?
49
that
was
left
n-yum, n-yum, n-yum
and went
"
to sleep in the
in the
waggon-house.
morning, when the farmer went out to milk the cows, he missed the fat.
Early
'
"
said.
Lieve land
'
Where
'
is all
my
fat
he
It
But
"
wait,
must be that vagabond Jakhals. I'll get him !'
took a thick riem and his sjambok, and went to the waggon- house to catch Jakhals
He
and give him a beating.

fat,
But when he
in
asked about the

little
Jakhals spoke
little,
voice.
"
'
Ach
no,
Baas
?
Would
look at
then do such
tail.
an ugly thing no fat on it.

is
And
my
There's
of fat
The one whose
tail is full
the
thief.'
"He
turned round and waved his
tail in
the farmer's face, and

that there
"
'
was no
fat
fat
is
anyone could on it.
easily see
'
But the
gone,' said the farmer,

stolen
in
it,'
someone
must
have
and
he
went on hunting, hunting

house.
the
waggon-
"At
last
he came to where Hyena was

D
50

little
:
sleeping, just like a baby, baasjes, so nicely,
and snoring a
like
not the loud snoring
sawing planks gorr-korrr, gorr-korr but nice soft snoring like people do when
they sleep very
the
fast
see-uw, see-uw.
It
is
deepest
sleep
see-uw, see-uw.
chaff,
when a person snores Hyena's head was on some

was sticking out behind
is
and her
tail
!
her, stiff with fat "

'
Aha
here
the
thief,'
said
the
farmer,
her.
"
and he began
to tie the riem
round
Old Brown
'
Sister sat
up and rubbed her

'
eyes.
What's the matter
?
I
she asked.
'
had a beautiful dream.

eating
"
'
dreamt
'
was
fat
the whole night, and so
And
you were
my
fat/
said
the
farmer, and he pulled the rope tighter.
'And
now
"
I'm going to teach you not to steal again.'
Poor old
Brown
Sister
jumped about
to do;
when she found out what he was o a-oinoo
she ran round and round the waggon-house trying to get away she called out, and she
;
called out that she did not
know about
the
WHO WAS THE

fat,
THIEF?
tasted
it,
51
that
she
had
never
it.
and
had never even seen

good.
"
'
But
it
was no
'
Look
at
your
tail,'
said the farmer.
Will
you tell me that your tail went by rubbed itself in the fat ?
'
itself
and
"
So he
tied her to the
waggon wheel and

ach
!
beat her, and beat her

sore
last
she was quite

at
and she screamed and screamed, and

he drove her away from the farm.
"
Poor old Brown Sister

fat
She
didn't
even
have the
from her
tail
to eat,
because,
baasjes see, with the running round and the

beating,
it
was
all
rubbed
off.
But she never

;
went
quite
"
to live
on a farm again
for her."
the veld was
good enough
Is that the end,
Outa?
It's
"
asked Willem.
"
Yes,
my
it.
baasje.
It
a bad end, but Outa
can't help
does maar end so."

all
"And
where was Jakhals
the time?"
enquired Pietie, severely.

"Jakhals,
my
baasje,
was
sitting
on the
waggon saying his prayers so, my baasjes." Outa put his crooked hands together and cast
52
his

twinkling eyes
upwards
till
only
the
yellows showed.
"
'
Bezie, bezie, brame,
Hou jouw
handjes same.'
every time Hyena screamed, Jakhals begged her not to steal again, but to try and behave like a good Christian."
And
But Jakhals was the thief," said little Jan, indignantly. "He was always the wicked How was one, and he was never punished.
that,
"
Outa
"
?
A
man's
whimsical
face,
smile
played
over the old
and though
his eyes
danced as
wickedly as ever, his voice was sober as he answered.

"
It is
Ach my
!
little
master,
how can Outa

It's like
tell?
maar so
in this old world.
the
2
funny thing Baas Willem saw

that runs
in the
Kaap,
it
down
a place so quickly that
just
runs up on the other side, and then it can't stop, but it has to run down again, and
1(<
Berry, berry, blackberry,
Hold your hands

2
together."
The Kaap
Cape Town.
WHO WAS THE

so
it
THIEF?
down,
'
53
keeps
on
up
the
and
up
and
down."
"
You
mean
switchback
asked
Willem.
"
in
Ach, yes baasje, Outa means so. And the world it is the same up and down, up
!
and down.
good ones are down and the bad ones are up. But the
often the
And
thing
Outa
it
can't get the
name
right
goes
on, goes on, and by-and-by the good ones are up and the bad ones are down." " But Jakhals seemed always to be up,"
and
remarked Willem.
"
Yes,
my
"
baasje,"
said
the
old
man,
soberly.
Jakhals seemed always to be up. It goes so sometimes, it goes so," but his eyes suddenly had a far-away look, and one
could not be certain that he was thinking of
Jakhals.
VI.
THE
SUN.
A BUSHMAN LEGEND.
OUTA, having disposed of his nightly tot, held his crooked hands towards the cheerful
blaze
and turned
it
his
engaging smile
alter-
nately on
"
!
and
his little masters.
Ach what it is to keep a bit of the Sun even when the Sun is gone Long ago Outa's people, the Bushmen, did not know about fire. No, my baasjes, when the Big Fire, that makes the world warm and bright,
!
walked across the sky, they were happy. They hunted, and danced, and feasted.
They
shot the fine big bucks with their
little
poisoned arrows, and they tore pieces off and ate the flesh with the red blood dripping from it they had no fire to make it dry up. And
:
THE SUN
the roots and eintjes that they
their sharp stones
55
dug out with
those, too, they ate just
as they were.
did the
They did not cook, for they not know how to make fire. But when white man came, then they learnt. Baasbig bigger than the but that does not help. It's
is
jes see, Outa's
head
Baas's head
the inside that matters, and the white man's
head inside here

forehead
"
"
-Outa tapped
but
it
his wrinkled
lot
!
Alia
can hold a
"In
the olden days,
when Outa's people
were cold they crept into caves and covered themselves with skins, for they had no fire to
sit
by.
Yes, they were sorry
when
the Old
Man
down
in the
sky put down his arms and lay
to sleep."
"What Old Man?"

you mean the Sun?"
"
!
asked
Pietie.
"Do
Aja Don't baasjes then know that the Sun was once a man? It was long, long
ago, before Outa's people lived in the world
:
perhaps in the days of the Early Race that were before even the Flat Bushmen, who
were
the
first
people
we
really
know
56

In those days at a certain
anything about.
ness streamed.
place lived a man, from
whose armpits
he
lifted
bright-
When
one arm, the

;
place on that side of

lifted
him was
light
when he
the other arm, the place on that side of

light
;
him was
but
all
when he
lifted
both arms,
the light shone

it
around about him.
But
only shone
;
around the place where he

to stand
;
lived
"
it
did not reach to other places.
Sometimes the people asked him

his light could
on a stone, so that
go farther and sometimes he climbed on a kopje and up

his
lifted
arms
far, far,
ach
then
the
light
streamed out
for miles
and
miles.
and lighted up the veld For the higher he went,

'
:
the farther the light shone.

"
Then
the people said
We
see now, the
higher he goes the farther his light shines. o o o If only we could put him very high, his light
would go out over the whole

"
world.'
So they
tried to
make
'
a plan, and at last
a wise old
young people You must go to this and said together man from whose armpits the light streams.
:
woman
called the
THE SUN
When
he
is
57
;
asleep,
you must go
and the
strongest of you must take him under the

armpits, and
lift
him
and
fro
so
so
and swing him to and throw him as high as

up,
you can into the sky, so that he

above the kopjes,
light
lifting his
may
be
arms
to let the
stream
down
to
warm
the earth and
make green things to grow in summer.' " So the young men went to the place where the man lay sleeping. Quietly they
went,
my
baasjes, creeping along in the red
sand so as not to wake him.
He
was
in
deep
sleep,
and before he could wake the
strong young
pits
men took him under

fro,
the arm-
and swung him to and old woman had told them.
as the wise
Then, as they
swung him, they threw him

high,
"
into the air, high,
and there he
stuck.
The
next morning, when he awoke and

himself,
lifting
stretched
light
up his arms, the streamed out from under them and

all
brightened
the world,
warming
the earth,
and making the green things grow. And so it went on day after day. When he put up
58

it
his arjns,
was
bright,
it it
he put down one arm, weather was not clear.
was day. When was cloudy, the

put
to
;
And when he
to
:
down both arms and turned over

sleep, there
it
go
was no
light at all
it
was dark
was
night.
But when he awoke and
lifted
his arms, the
day came again and the world was warm and bright.
"
Sometimes he
it
is
far
away from
the earth.
Then
comes
is
cold
it is
winter.
But when he
again
; ;
near, the earth gets
warm
the
green things grow and the fruit ripens it is summer. And so it goes on to this day, my
baasjes
winter,
:
the
all
day and
night,
summer and
and
because the Old
Man
with the
bright armpits was thrown into the sky."

"
But the Sun
is
not a man, Outa," said
downright
arms."
Willem,
"and
he
hasn't
any
"No, my baasje, not now. He is not a man any more. But baasjes must remember how long he has been up in the sky spans,
and spans, and spans of years, always rolling round, and rolling round, from the time he
THE SUN
wakes
in
59
lies
the morning
till
he
down
to
sleep at the other side of the world.
And
all
with
the
rolling,
baasjes,
he has
got
rounder and rounder, and the light that at first came only from under his arms has been
rolled right
of light,
a big ball rolling from one side of the sky to

till
round him,
now he
is
the other."
Cousin Minnie, who had been listening
in
a desultory way to the fireside chatter, as she wrote at the side-table, started and leant
toward the
but a single glance was enough to show that so interested were the children in the personal aspect of the tale
little
group
that there
their
was no
fear of confusion arising in
minds from Outa's decided subversion
of an elementary fact which she had been at
some pains
accept.
to get
them
to
understand and
"And
now
that
^ r
his arms, Outa," inquired
little
Jan,
in his earnest
way,
"do they never come

"
out
Outa beamed upon him proudly.

is
Ach
my
little
master
Always
to ask a
60

Yes, baasje, sometimes they come When it is a dark day, then he has put
!
big thing
out.
his
arms
out.
He
is
holding them down, and

light,
spreading his hands before the

it
so that
can't shine
on the world.
And
at
sometimes,
just before
he gets up
to
in the
morning, and
night,
before he goes
sleep
haven't
baasjes seen long bright stripes coming from " the round ball of light ? o
"Yes, yes," assented

eagerly.
his
little
listeners,
"Those
are the long fingers of the Sun.

rolled
His arms are
up
inside the fiery ball,
but he sticks his long fingers out and they make bright roads into the sky, spreading out all round him. The Old Man is peeping
at the earth
through
they are
his
fingers.
Baasjes
must count them next time he

out,
sticks
them
and see
if
all
there
;
eight long
ones, those are the fingers ones for the thumbs."
and two short
Outa's knowledge of arithmetic was limited

to the
number
of his crooked digits,
and the
smile with which he announced the extent of
THE SUN
his
61
mathematical attainments was a ludicrous
cross
between proud triumph and modest

he
lies
reluctance. "
When
all
down, he
pulls
them
in.
Then
go
"
the world grows dark and the people
to sleep."
But, Outa,
it
isn't
always dark at night,"

"
Pietie
reminded him.
There are the Stars

Stars and the
and the Moon, you know."

"
Ach, yes
The
little
Lady
them
Moon.
Outa
will tell
the baasjes about
another night, but

quick and
let
now he must go quick
When
foei
!
friend
Lys rub his back with buchu. Old Ao-e comes the back bends o
stiff,
and the bones get

but
it
and the rheumatism

!
can
pinch
Therefore,
my
baasjes,
Outa cooks
bossies from the veld to
rub on karroo
buchu and kookamakranka and

bossies.
is
They
best.
are
all
good,
for for
but
the
the
buchu
outside,
the
Yes,
buchu
and the Baas's
fire-water
inside !"
looked longingly at the cupboard, but wood and glass are unresponsive until acted
He
62

;
on by human agency
so,
possessing
no
"Open, Sesame" for that unyielding lock, Outa contented himself by smacking his lips
as he toddled away.
VII.
THE STARS AND THE

DARKLY-BLUE and
of softest velvet,
STARS' ROAD.
illimitable, the arc of the
sky hung over the great Karroo

the
like
a canopy
making a deep, mysterious

myriad
stars,
background
for
which
twinkled brightly at a frosty world.
gathered at the window, pointed out to each other the constellations with which Cousin Minnie had
little
The
three
boys,
made them
stars
familiar,
cussion as to
and were deep in a disthe nature and number of the
composing the Milky

in.
Way when
Outa
shuffled
"
Outa, do you think there are a billion

in
up there Willem.
stars "
the
Milky
Way
"
?
asked
billion,
you know," explained
Pietie,
64

it
"is a thousand million, and
would take
months
"
to
count even one million."
Aja,
baasje," said the old

"
man
readily,
seizing, with native adroitness, the
unknown
will
word and making
it
his
own,
then there
surely be a billion stars up there.
Perhaps,"
he added, judicially considering the matter, "two billion, but no one knows, because no
one can ever count them.
They
are
too
many.
the sky
And
is
to think that that bright road in
made
of
wood
ashes, after all."
He
little
settled
himself on his stool, and his
audience came to attention.
"
Yes,
my
baasjes," he
went
"
on,
long,
long ago, the sky was dark at night when the Old Man with the bright armpits lay down to sleep, but people learned in time to make
fires to light
up the darkness
sat
and one night

by a wood
girl,
who
warming
herself
She took the played with the ashes. ashes in her hands and threw them up to see
fire,
how
the
pretty they were

air.
when they
and
floated in
And
as they floated
fire
away she put

it
green bushes on the
stirred
with a
"The
Stars'
Road"
Face page 64
THE STARS
stick.
65
Bright sparks flew out and went high, high, mixing with the silver ashes, and they all hung in the air and made a bright road
across the sky.
And
there
it is
to this day.
calls
Baasjes
it
call
it
the Milky
Way, but Outa
the Stars' Road.
"Ai! but the
girl
was pleased! She clapped
her hands and danced, shaking herself like Outa's people do when they are happy, and
singing
'
:
The
The tiny stars make a road for other stars. They Ash of wood-fire Dust of the Sun They call the Dawn when Night is done
little stars
!
! ! !
'
!
"
Then she took some
of the roots she had
been eating and threw them into the sky, and there they hung and turned into large stars.
The
old roots turned into stars that
gave a red
and the young roots turned into stars that gave a golden light. There they all hung, winkYes, singing, ing and twinkling and singing.
light,
my
baasjes,
'
and
this is
what they sang

Sun
so
!
We
are children of the
It's
so
It's
so
It's
66

Him we
It's
call
!
when Night
so
!
is
done!
!
so
It's
It's
so
Bright we sail across the sky By the Stars' Road, high, so high;
And
we, twinkling, smile at you,

sail
As we
It's
across the blue

It's
so
so
It's
so
'
!
"
Baasjes know,
when
the stars twinkle up

little
there in the sky they are like
children
nodding
It's
their
It's
so!
heads and saying, 'It's so! so!' At each repetition Outa

children, with
nodded and winked, and the
antics of approval, followed suit. "
Baasjes have sometimes seen a star

little
fall
?"
Three
"
heads nodded
a star
"
it
in concert.
When
falls,"
said the old
man
im-
pressively,
tells
us
someone has
and
died.
For the
fails
star
knows when a
dies,
person's heart
it
and the person

tell
falls
from the
sky to
they
1
those at a distance that someone

died.
1
know has
is
It
both curious and interesting to find the identical
belief obtaining
amongst races so widely different as the Scandinavians of Northern Europe and the Bushmen of South Africa. See Hans Andersen's Little Match Girl:
"
Her Grandmother had
told her that
when a
star
fell
down
a soul mounted up to God."
THE STARS
"
67
One
star
grew and grew
till
he was much
larger than the others.

Star, and, singing,
He
was the Great

stars.
he named the other
one by name, till they all had their names, and in this way they knew that he was the Great Star. No other could have
called each
He
done
all
so.
Then when he had

1
finished, they
sang together and praised the Great who had named them.
"
Star,
Now, when
It
is
the day
is
done, they walk
across the sky on each side of the Stars'
Road.
Night
shows them the way. And when over, they turn back and sail again
by the
Stars'
Road
to call the
Daybreak, that
goes before the Sun. The Star that leads He is called the way is a big bright star.
the Dawn's- Heart Star, and in the dark, dark
hour, before the Stars have called the
Dawn,
of the
he shines
behold
!
ach
baasjes, he
is
beautiful to
child
The
wife
and the
Dawn's- Heart Star are
pretty, too, but not
so big and bright as he.

1
They
sail
all
on
in
"
When
the morning stars sang together, and

for joy."
the sons
of
God shouted
Job
xxxviii. 7.
68
front,
and then they wait wait for the other Stars to turn back and sail along the Stars'
Road,
calling, calling the
Dawn, and
for the
Sun
"
to
come up from under

call
the world, where
he has been lying asleep.
They
and
sing,
twinkling as they
sing :'
We
call across
!
the sky,
!
Dawn
Come, Dawn
You, that are like a
young maid newly

!
risen,
Rubbing the
sleep from your eyes
You, that come stretching bright hands

Pointing the way for the Sun
!
to the sky,
Before whose smile the Stars faint and grow pale,
And the Stars' Road melts Dawn Come Dawn

!
!
away.
We
And
call across the sky,
the Dawn's-Heart Star

so
!
is
'
!
waiting.
It's
It's
so
It's
so
"
So they
sing, baasjes,
because they
know
they are soon going out. " Then slowly the Dawn comes, rubbing her eyes, smiling, stretching out bright fingers,
chasing the darkness away.

faint
The
Stars
grow
and the
Stars'
Road
fades, while the
THE STARS
Dawn makes
At
last
69
a bright pathway for the Sun. he comes with both arms lifted high,
and the brightness, streaming from under them, makes day for the world, and wakes
people to their work and play. " But the little Stars wait till he sleeps Sumagain before they begin their singing.
mer
now,
will
is
if
the time
when they sing
best, but
even
baasjes look out of the
window they
see the Stars, twinkling and singing."

children ran to the
starlit
The
window and gazed
out into the
heavens.
The
last sight
Outa had, as he drained the soopje glass the Baas was just in time to hand him, was of
heads bobbing up and down in time to the immemorial music of the Stars,
three
little
while
"
little
it's
Jan's
excited
treble
rang out
Yes,
quite true, Outa.

It's
They
do say,
'It's
so!
so!
It's
so!'"
VIII.
WHY THE
THE
curtains
HARE'S NOSE
IS SLIT.
had not yet been drawn nor the shutters closed, and little Jan looked with
wide serious eyes
serenely
in
at
the
full
moon
sailing
the cold sky.
Then he sighed
as
though thoughts too big for expression stirred within him, and turned absently towards the
purring
"
fire.
does the big man make such "It is like a sighing?" asked Outa Karel. the wind in the mealie land at sun-under."
eyes slowly withdrew their gaze from some inward vision and became o " conscious of the old native. Outa," he
Little
And why
Jan's
said,
"why
!
is
the
moon
so far away, and

"
?
so beautiful, and so golden

"
Ach
to hear
him now
How
can Outa
WHY
tell ?
HARE'S NOSE
maar
so.
IS
SLIT
is
71
It is
Just like grass
green
and
fire is hot,
so the
Moon
it
is
far
away and
is
beautiful
and golden.
But she
is
a cruel
through her that the poor Little Hare runs about with a slit in his nose to-day."
"Tell
us,
lady sometimes, too, and
Outa."
Little
Jan dropped on
to the rug beside the basket of mealie-cobs,
and the others edged nearer. " And why do you call the Moon a lady
asked Pietie of the inquiring mind. " But doesn't baasje know that the
is
"
?
Moon
a lady ? yes, and for all her beauty she can be cross and cruel sometimes like other
ladies, as "
you
will hear."
Long, long ago, when the world was quite young, the Lady Moon wanted some-
one to take a message to Men. She tried first one creature and then another, but no
!
they were all too busy, they couldn't go. At last she called the Crocodile. He is very slow and not much good, but the Lady Moon
thought she would pinch his tail and him go quickly. So she said to him
make
'
:
Go
72

to
:
down
shall
"
Men
"
at
I
once and give them
this
message
As
die and, dying, live, so also
you
die, and, dying, live."
Baasjes know how the Moon is some" times big and round so and Outa's
diminutive hands described a wide circle and
remained suspended
in the air
"like she
is
now
till
in the sky.
Then every
so
smaller and smaller, so

"
night she gets so so so
clap
the crooked fingers
come
to-
"there's no more Moon: gether with a bang she is dead. Then one night a silver horn
hangs
in the
sky
thin,
very thin.
It is
the
new Moon
beautiful
that grows,
and grows, and gets
and golden." By the aid of the small claw-like hands the moon grew to the
full
before
so
it
the
children's
interested
living,
eyes.
"
And
So
goes on, always
and grow-
ing, "
and dying, and

the
living again.
Lady Moon
tail,
Crocodile's
pinched old Oom and he gave one jump and off

the
he
started
with
message.
He
went
quickly while the
Moon watched
in the road.
him, but
soon he came to a bend
Round
WHY
HARE'S NOSE
IS
SLIT
73
he went with a great turn, for a Crocodile's back is stiff like a plank, he can't bend it
;
and then, when he thought he was out of drif-drafsight, he went slower and slower
drippity-drif-draf,
like
lazy. "
drif-draf-drippity-drif-draf,
a knee-haltered horse.
He was
toch too
All of a
sudden there was a noise

Little
sh-h-h-h-h
and there was the

laughed,
Hare.
is
'Ha! ha! ha!' he

meaning of
this
'what
the
drif-draf-drippity-drif-draf?
Where
"
'
are you going in such a hurry,

'
Oom
Neef
Crocodile
I
can't
stop
to
speak
'
to
you,
Haasje,' said
Oom
Crocodile, trying to look
The Lady busy and to hurry up. has sent me with a message to Men.'
"
'
Moon
Cro-
And what
'
is
the message,
Oom
"As
I
codile
"'It's a very important one:
die
and, dying,
dying, live."
"
'
live,
so also shall you die and,
Ach, but that
is
a stupid message.
And
you
can't ever run,
Oom, you
are so slow.
74
can only go drif-draf-drippity-drif-draf like a knee-haltered horse, but I go sh-h-h-h-h

like the wind.
I
You
Give the message

said
it
to
me and
will
take
it.'
"
'
'
Very
well,'
the
lazy
first
Crocodile,
but you must say

"
over
and get
it
right.'
So Neef Haasje
said the
and over, and then

like the wind.
message over sh-h-h-h-h he was off

there he was!
Here he was!
and you could only see the white of his tail and his little behind legs getting small in the
distance.
"
At
last
he came to Men, and he called

said
' :
them together and

Baboon, a wise
"
Listen,
Sons of the
message.
tell
By As
"
the
I
man comes with a Lady Moon I am sent to

and come wholly
to at
you
die and, dying, perish, so shall you
also die
an end."
each other and
Then Men looked
shivered.
All of a sudden the flesh on their

like goose-flesh.
is
'
arms was
do
?
What
shall
we
What
this
?
message that the Lady

"
Moon
has sent
As
die
and, dying,
WHY
to
"
HARE'S NOSE
you
also die
IS
SLIT
75
perish, so shall
and come wholly
an end."
They
shivered again, and the goose-flesh
crept right
up
their
backs and into their

to rise
hair,
and
just
their hair
like
began
ach no,
up on their heads but Outa forgets, these

it is
baasjes don't
the
know how
to feel so."
And
these
wide
smile
which accompanied
sly teasing
words hid the expression of
which
sparkled in Outa's dancing black eyes, for he knew what it was to be taken to task for
impugning
teners.
"
the
courage of his young

care.
lis-
But
Neef Haasje did not
He
danced away on his behind legs, and laughed and laughed to think how he had cheated
Men.
"
Then he
returned again to the Moon,

' :
and she asked
What have you
said
to
Men?'
O, Lady Moon, I have given them your " Like as I die and, dying, perish, message
' :
"
so also shall you die and
come wholly
stiff
to
an end," and they are
all
with
fright.
;6

!
Ha
of
"
ha ha
!
!'
Haasje laughed
cried the
at the
thought
'
it.
'
What
tell
J
!
Lady Moon,
?
what
did you
them
that
Child of the devil's
donkey
"
you must be punished.'

but
the
Ach,
Lady Moon
stick,
was very
a
kierie
to kill
if
angry.
She took a big
much bigger than the one Outa used lions with when he was young and
could have hit him, then"
"
she
his
Outa shook
there would have been head hopelessly no more Little Hare his head would have
:
But he been cracked right through. slim kerel. When he saw the big
is
stick
coming
nose.
"
near, one, two, three, he

it
ducked and
slipped away, and
caught him only on the
Foei
but
it
was sore
Neef Haasje
a
forgot
yelled
that
the
Moon was
;
Lady.
He
and screamed
;
he jumped high into
the
at
1
air
once
he jumped with all his four feet and scratch, scratch, scratch, he
to a Hottentot legend, the hare
is
According
related to
the donkey.
WHY
"
HARE'S NOSE
IS
SLIT
77
was kicking, and hitting and clawing the Moon's face till the pieces flew.
Then he
felt
hard as he could,
with both hands.
"
and ran away as holding his broken nose

better
And
that
is
why
to-day he goes about

face of the
with a
split nose,
and the golden

scars.
is
Lady Moon has long dark

"
Yes,
It
baasjes,
fighting
miserable
thing.
over.
for so
does not end when the fight is Afterwards there is a sore place ach,
long
!
and even when
it
is
well, the
ugly marks remain to show what has happened. The best, my little masters, is not
to fight at all."
IX.
HOW THE JACKAL GOT
HIS STRIPE.
"THE Sun was a strange little child," said " He never had any Pap-pa or MamOuta. ma. No one knew where he came from. He
was
just found
by the roadside.
"In the olden days when the men of the Ancient Race the old, old people that lived
so long ago
were trekking
in
search of game,
It they heard a little voice calling, calling. was not a springbokkie, it was not a tarentaal,
it
was not a
it
little ostrich.
They
couldn't think
what
was.
But
it
Outa's head
tions.
nodded
kept on, it kept on." in time to his repeti"

?
"
Why
They
didn't they
go and look
asked
Willem.
" did,
my
baasje.
They hunted about
HOW JACKAL GOT

brown baby.
HIS STRIPE
79
amongst the milk-bushes by the roadside, and at last under one of them they found a nice
looking about him, not like a baby, baasjes, but like an old child, and sparks of light, as bright as
lying quite
He was
still
the sparks from Outa's tinderbox,

fly
seemed
to
out of his eyes.

"
When
me
!
he saw the men,
he began calling again.

'
Carry me, carry
Pick
me up and
'What
'
carry
me
'
!
"'Arre! he can
a fine
little
talk, 'said
the man.
child
Where have your people
gone ? and why did they leave you here ? " But the little Sun wouldn't answer them.
All he said was,
'
Put
me
in
your awa-skin.
I'm tired
"
can't walk.'
One
of the
men went
said,
to take
'
him
up, but
;
when he got near he

"
'
Soe
but he's hot
the heat comes out of him.
won't take him.'

'
How
'
can you be so
carry him.'
silly
said another
man.
"
7'11
'
But when he got near, he started back. Fire comes out of them.' Alia what eyes
! !
And
he, too, turned
away.
8o

"Then
a third
' ;
small,'
he said
awa-skin.'
He
!
very can easily put him in my stooped and took the little
I
'
man
went.
'He
is
Sun under
"
'
his arms.
ohe"
!
Ohe
ohe"
he
cried,
'
dropping the
is
baby on
toverij
!
to the red sand.

It is like
I
What
this for
fire
under his arms.
He
They
burns
"
me when
others
take him up.'
The
all
came round
to see.
didn't
come
too near,
my
baasjes, because they
were frightened, but they wanted to see the strange brown baby that could talk, and that
burned
like a fire.
"All on a sudden he stretched himself; he

turned his head and put up his little arms. Bright sparks flew from his eyes, and yellow
light
streamed from under his arms, and

the
hierr, skierr
Men
of the Early
Race
fell
over each other as they ran through the milkbushes back to the road. My but they were
!
frightened
"
The women were

on
their
sitting there with their
babies
backs,
waiting
for
their
husbands.
HOW JACKAL GOT

"
'
HIS STRIPE
!
81
See that Hurry hurry along you get away from here/ said the men, with!
Come
out stopping.
"
" "
The women began to run, too. What was it ? What did you
' '
'
find
terrible something,' said the

'
men,
still
running.
It
pretends to be a baby, but
we
the
know
in
it is
a mensevreter.
There
it
lies in
sand, begging one of us to pick

it
it
up and put
if
his
it
awa-skin, but as
tries
soon as we go
near,
to
burn us
and
we
don't
it
make
"
haste and get
away from
here,
will
certainly catch us.'
Then they ran faster than ever. Baasjes know ach no " corrected Outa, with a sly " Outa means baasjes don't know smile
!
how
the
frightenness
people's feet,
makes wings grow on So so that they seem to fly.
Men
of the Early Race, and the
women
with their babies on their backs, flew, and
very soon they were far from the place where

the
"
little
Sun was
lying.
been watching, baasjes, watching from a bush near by.
But someone had
my
It
82
was Jakhals, with his bright eyes and his sharp nose, and his stomach close to the
ground.
When
the
people had
gone,
he
run.
crept out to see what
had made them
Hardly a
so softly
sound was heard, he crept along under the milk-bushes

leaf stirred, not a
little
to
where the
"
'
Sun
'
!
lay.
Ach, what a
fine little child
has been
'
left
is
behind by the
really a
it
men
he
said.
Now
that
shame
that
none of them would put
into his awa-skin.'

"
'
Carry me, carry
me
Put
me
in
your
awa-skin,' said the
little
Sun.
"
'
haven't got an awa-skin, baasje,' said

'but
if
Jakhals,
you can hold
on,
I'll
carry
you on
"
my
back.'
the
So Jakhals lay flat on his stomach, and little Sun caught hold of his maanhaar,
rolled
'
and
"
round on
his back.
'
Where do you want

There, where
it
to
go
asked Jak-
hals.
"
'
far
is,'
said the baby,
sleepily.
"
Jakhals trotted off with his nose to the
HOW JACKAL GOT

to
HIS STRIPE
83
ground and a sly look in his eye. He didn't he was care where the baby wanted to go
;
carry him off to the krantz just going where Xante and the young Jakhalses lived.
If baasjes
could have seen his face
Alle
he was smiling, and when Oom Jakhals smiles, it is the wickedest sight in the
wereld
!
was very pleased to think what he was taking home fat brown babies are
world.
;
He
as nice as fat sheep-tails, so he went along

quite jolly.
"
to
it.
But only at first. Soon his back began burn where the baby's arms went round
The
"
'
heat got worse and worse, until he

it
couldn't hold
out any longer.

!
Soe
Soe
a
Baasje burns me,' he cried.

further, baasje, so that
'
Sail
down
little
my
neck can get

"
cool.'
The
held fast
"
Sun slipped further down and again, and Jakhals trotted on.
little
'
!
But soon he called out again, Soe Now the middle of my back burns. Soe
!
Sail
down
still
little further.'
"The
little
Sun went
further
down and
84

And
so
it
held fast again,
went
on.
Every
time Jakhals called out that he was burning, the baby slipped a little further, and a little
further,
till
the
tail,
he had hold of Jakhals by and then he wouldn't let go. Even

at last
when Jakhals
Jakhals's
tail
!
called
out,
he held on, and
burnt and burnt.
My
' !
it
was
quite black
"'Help! help!' he screamed Get off! Let go devil's child

!
Ach, you
punish
I'll
you
up!
for this!
I'll
bite
you!
I'll
gobble you
Help! Help!' And he jumped, and bucked, and rushed about the
My tail is burning!
till
veld,
at last the
baby had
1
to let go.
"Then
Jakhals voertsed
round, and ran
at the little
Sun
to bite
him and gobble him
up.
But when he got near, a funny thing
Yes truly, just when happened, my baasjes. he was going to bite, he stopped halfway, and shivered back as if someone had beaten
he had growled with crossness, but now he began to whine from frightenness.
him.
first
1
At
to
Voertsed. Evidently a word of Outa's jump round suddenly and violently.
coining,
meaning
HOW JACKAL GOT

"
HIS STRIPE
baasjes
?
85
And why was

hotness,
it,
my
Because
from under the baby's arms streamed brightness and
and
out
of
the
baby's
eyes came streaks of fire, so that Jakhals winked and blinked, and tried to make himself small in the sand.
his eyes a
little,
just
Every time he opened like slits, there was the
baby sitting straight in front of him, staring at him so that he had to shut them again quick,
quick.
"
'
Come and
little
"
'
punish me,' said the baby. said Jakhals No, baasje, ach no
'
!
in
a small,
'
'
voice,
why
should
punish
you
"
"
it.'
?
'
Come and
Jakhals
bite me,' said the baby.

I
'
No, baasje, no,
could never think of

still
made
himself
little
smaller
in the sand.
"
"
'
baby. a yell and tried to Jakhals gave crawl further back.
Come and
gobble
me
up,' said the
Then
"'Such a
to
fine little child,'

'
he
said, trying
make
his voice sweet,

'
who would ever do
such a wicked thing
86
"
'

You
would,' said the
little
Sun.
'
When
you had carried me safely to your krantz, you would have gobbled me up. You are toch so
clever, Jakhals, but
sometimes you
at
will
meet
your match.
"
Now, look
if
me
well.'
Jakhals didn't want to look,

it
my
baasjes,
his eyes
but
was
just as
something made
go open, and he lay there staring and the baby stared at him so,
just so
"
at the baby,
my
baasjes,
-Outa
stretched his eyes to their

fascinated
child
in
utmost and held each

turn.
"
'
You'll
know me again when you

'
see me,'
will
said the baby,
but never, never again
you be able
"
to look
me
in
the
face.
And
now you can go'

Fierce light shot from his eyes, and he blew at Jakhals with all his might his breath
;
burning flame, and Jakhals, half dead with frightenness, gave a great howl
was
like a
and
"
fled
away over
that
the vlakte.
From
tail.
day,
my
baasjes,
his
he has a
to the tip
black stripe right

of his
down
back
And
he cannot bear the Sun,
HOW JACKAL GOT

but hides
HIS STRIPE
87
only at
away all day with shut eyes, and night when the Old Man with the
bright armpits has gone to sleep, does he come out to hunt and look for food, and play tricks on the other animals."
X.
THE ANIMALS' DAM.

"
ACH
it
was dry,"
said Outa,
last
year's springbok biltong. time the Old Man in the sky shot
"as dry as For a long
down
strong light and sucked

the veld.
all
the water out of
From morning
to
down hotness on
rolled
he poured the world, and when he

to night
round
sleep,
a hot
till
wind blew-
and blew
again.
rivers
and blew
he woke to shine
dried
up,
The karroo bushes
the
had no water, and the poor animals began to die from thirst. It was such a drought, my little masters, as you have never
seen. "
At
last
Oom Leeuw
called the animals
together to
"
make a plan. The Sun had gone under, and
the
Lady
THE ANIMALS' DAM

Moon was
she always
world.
sailing in the sky
is,
89
beautiful, as
Oom
and looking down on the hot Leeuw sat under a krantz on

it
the morning side of a kopje, where

little cool,
was a
like
and the others

slice.
sat
round him
watermelon
Leopard, Hyena, Babiaan, Jakhals, Hare and Tortoise were in front The smaller ones, they were the chief ones.
;
like Dassie, Mierkat,
and Hedgehog, were

in
at
the
sides
and Zebra, Springbok, Ostrich

the veld to hear the
to be eating, but
all
and Giraffe waited

news.
They pretended
backwards
to
the time their ears went backwards and for-
wards,
baasjes,
and
forwards
little
so,
my
and
every were ready at the first sign of danger they

to
catch
sound,
race away, kicking up the dust so that
Oom Leeuw
"
would not be able
to see
them.
But they needn't have been afraid. Oom Leeuw was too hot and tired and weak to
catch
He just sat against the anything. krantz with his dry tongue hanging out, and the others just lay round about in the watermelon
slice
with their dry tongues hanging
90
out,

!
and every time they looked at the sky to see if any clouds were coming up. But no
The sky was
just like a big, hot soap-pot
turned over above their heads, with the Lady Moon making a silver road across it, and the
little
stars shining like bits
broken
off the big,
hot
Sun.
There
was
nothing
that
even
looked like a cloud.

"
At
last
Oom Leeuw
it
pulled in his tongue
and
rolled
about
in his
it
mouth
to get the
rattling,
dryness
off.
When
stopped
he
began
"
'
to
talk.
Friends and brothers and nephews,' he

yes, just like that
said
Oom Leeuw
felt
began
he was so miserable that he
friendly with
them
it is
all.
'Friends and brothers and nephews,
time to
make
;
a plan.
You know how
it
with a drought when it is at its worst, the bottom of the clouds falls out, and the water
is
runs
too
is
away fast, fast, to the sea, where there is much water already, and the poor karroo
Even if a landagain without any. rain comes, it just sinks in, because the ground
left
is
too loose and dry to hold
it,
so
we must
THE ANIMALS' DAM

make
is
91
a plan to keep the water, and my plan But it's no use for one or to dig a dam.
to
two
" "
"
work
'
everyone must help.
What do
you say
' '
Certainly,' said Leopard.
Certainly/ said Hyena.
'
Certainly/ said Ant-bear.
Certainly/ said Jakhals, but he winked his eye at the Lady Moon, and then put his
'
"
nose into the

"
warm sand
so that no one could
see his sly smile.

All the other animals
said
'
Certainly/
and then they began
to talk
about the dam.
person would never have said Each one had a their throats were dry.
Dear land
different plan,
and each one talked without

It
listening to the other.
was
like a
Church
bazaar
yes,
baasjes, long
ago when Outa
was young he was on a bazaar in the village, but he was glad, my baasjes, when he could
creep into the veld again and get the noise
out of his ears.
"
At
last the
Water Tortoise
his
he with the
shell
wise
little
head under
patchwork
92
said,

'
Let us go now while
it
is
cool,
and
look for a place for the dam.'
So they hunted about and found a nice place, and soon they began to make the dam.
Baasjes,
"
but those animals worked
They
all
scratched, they dug, they poked, they bored,
they pushed and they rolled

their best, so that the
and they
did
dam
could be ready
when
the rain came.
not work.
the others,
'
Only lazy Jakhals did He just roamed round saying to Why don't you do this ? Why
'
'
don't you do that

'
'
till
at last
'
they asked,
Why
"
don't
you do
it
yourself?
at them.
But Jakhals only laughed

should
I
'And
why
"
'
be so foolish as to scratch
my
nails off for
your old
dam
"
'
he
said.
But you said Certainly," too, when Oom asked us, didn't you ? they asked.
'
'
Jakhals laughed more than ever. Ha-ha-ha! Ha-ha-ha! I then a slave
"
Then
Am
of
my word ?
That was
last night.
Don't
you know yet that a thing is one colour by moonlight, and quite another colour when the
sun shines on
it ?
Ha
ha ha
!
' !
THE ANIMALS' DAM

"
93
So he went about bothering

at
the
poor
animals that were
laughing
tired.
working so hard, and o them when they got hot and
What's the use of working so hard Those who do not work will also drink.'
'
"
" "
'
How
do you know
bit, you'll
?'
they asked.
Jakhals,
'
Wait a
see,' said sly
winking
"
his eye again.

last the
At
dam was
quite
finished,
It
and that
very night the rain began.

on,
till
kept on and
the
dam was
dam
all
full
and the water
began
to run
away over
called
the veld,
down
to the
is
great big
the Sea, that
the
Mother of
water,
and
so
broad,
my
baasjes, that truly
you
can't see the wall at
the other side, even
high kopje.
truth-telling
Yes, so
people.
when you stand on a Outa has heard from
The milk-bushes and
karroo-bushes grew green again, and the little veld flowers burst out of the hard ground, and
opened
like
their white,
and
purple eyes to look at
and pink, and the Sun. They were

blue,
variegated karosses spread out on the
94
veld,
fierce

and the Old
any more
;
sky was not so he did not burn them with

in the
Man
his hotness, but looked at "
them
kindly.
And
odad for the animals were toch so o

!
the water
the "
From
far
and near they came
to
dam
to drink.
But Jakhals was before them all. Soon after the Sun went down baasjes know, the
wild animals sleep in the daytime and hunt in
the night
he went to the
dam and drank
as
much water as he wanted, and filled his clay pot with some to take home. Then he swam
round and round to get cool, making the water muddy and dirty, and when the other
animals came to drink, he slipped over the dam wall and was lost in the veld as if he had
been a large
"
pin.
My
'
but
Oom Leeuw
he
was very angry

'
"
Hoorr-rr-rr,'
is
roared,
hoorr-rr-rr
a thing ? Does the lazy one think he can share with the workers ? Who
this for
What
ever heard of such a thing?
Hoorr-rr-rr!
Here, Broer Babiaan, take

hide yourself by the
this big kierie
and
dam
to-night, so that
THE ANIMALS' DAM

you can catch
stealer.'
95
this
Vagabond,
this
Water-
"
Early that night, there was Jakhals again.
He
peeped
this
way and
that
way
so,
my
baasjes,
and, yes truly, there
was old Broer
Babiaan lying amongst the bushes. But Jakhals was too schelm for him. He made as if
he didn't see him.
hind legs,
at the
all in
He
danced along on
all
his
the round,
in
:
the round,
edge of the dam, singing

'
Hing-ting-ting
Honna-mak-a-ding
'
!
My
"
sweet, sweet water
over and over, and every time he came to the end of a line, he dipped
He
sang
this
his
fingers
into
his
clay
pot
and
sucked
them.
"'Aha! but my honey

licking his lips.
'
is
I
nice.'
he
said,
What do
I
'
!
want with
their
old dirty water,

"
for
when
have a whole potful
of nice sweet water
Baasjes know, baboons will do anything
honey, and when old Broer Babiaan heard Jakhals he forgot he was there to guard the
dam.
He
crept out from his hiding-place, a
96
little

nearer,
and a
little
nearer,
and
at last
he couldn't keep quiet any longer. When Jakhals came dancing along again, he called
out in a great hurry, Please give
too!'
"
' '
!
'
Good
evening, Jakhals
me
little
of your sweet water,
Arre
said
Jakhals,
to
!
jumping
startled.
to
'
one
side
and pretending
be
What
a schrik you gave me here, Broer Babiaan ?'

"
'
What
are you doing
Ach no
It's
Jakhals, I'm just taking a
little
walk.
" " "
'
such a fine night.'

kierie ?'
But why have you got that big
'
Only
'
to dig out eintjes.'
Do
'
you
really
want some of
my
sweet
water
"
'
Yes, please, Jakhals,' said Broer Babiaan,
licking his lips. " And what will

'
you give
me
'
for
it ?
"
'
I'll
let
you
fill
your pot with water from

dirty old
the dam.'
"
'
Ach
don't
I
want any of that

let
dam
this
water, but
know how fond you

I'll
are of
sweet water, Broer, so
you drink
THE ANIMALS' DAM

some.
drink.'
"
97
Here,
I'll
hold your kierie while you
such a hurry to get to the honey that he just threw the kierie to Jakhals, but just as he was going to put his
in
Boer Babiaan was
fingers into the pot, Jakhals pulled it away. " I'll No, wait a bit, Broer,' he said.
' '
show you a
nicer "
'
better way.
lie
!
It will taste
much
if
you
down.'
'
Ach no
Yes,
lie
really,
Jakhals
?
'
"
'
really,' said
Jakhals.
And
if
you
don't
down
at once,
you won't get a drop
of
"
my sweet water.' He spoke quite
crossly,
and Babiaan was
so tame by this time that he was ready to

believe anything, so he lay down, and Jakhals
stood over him with his knapsack riem.

"
'
Now,
Brother,
I'll
first
I'll
tie
you with
my
riem,
"
'
and then
feed you with the honey.'
Yes, yes,' said Broer Babiaan quickly.

for the
"His mouth was watering
he couldn't think of anything else, had long ago forgotten all about looking after It goes so, my baasjes, when a the dam.
honey and he
;
98
person thinks only of what he wants and not of what he must. So he let Jakhals tie his
hands and
feet,
and even
his
tail,
and then
he opened his mouth wide. " But Jakhals only danced round and round,
sticking his fingers into the pot
and licking
them, and singing

'
Hing-ting-ting
Honna-mak-a-ding
'
!
My
"
' '
sweet, sweet water

'
Where's mine
said
'
called Broer Babiaan.
You
"
'
you would feed me.

?
Where's
my
sweet water
Here's
me,'
all
the sweet water you'll get

Jakhals,
from
said
and
kraaks
hit
he
with
gave poor Broer Babiaan a hard

the kierie.
"
'
Borgom
Borgom
Help
roll
!'
screamed
away. But there was no one to help him, so he could only scream and roll over, and each time he
rolled over, Jakhals hit
"
Broer Babiaan, and tried to
him again
kraaks
he squeezed the clay pot and baasjes can believe me it had never had any honey in it at all over Broer Babiaan's
At
last
THE ANIMALS' DAM

head, while he ran off and drank as
99
much
water as he wanted, and swam, and stirred
up the mud. and danced

'
Then he took
filled
:
the clay pot off

it
Broer Babiaan's head,

off,
with water,
singing
!
Hing-ting-ting
Honna-mak-a-ding
'
!
My
"
'
sweet, sweet water
Good-bye, Brother/ he called

you'll
out.
'
hope from
Oom
enjoy the sweet water you'll get Leeuw when he sees how well
you have looked after the dam.' " Poor Old Broer Babiaan was, ach
miserable, but he
after
so
Oom
at.
was even more unhappy Leeuw had punished him and set
for the other
him on a large stone
animals to
mock
in
Baasjes,
it
was sad
They came
ones,
a long string, big ones and

in
little
and
each one stopped
front of the big stone
and stuck out and stuck out

to
his tongue, then turned his tail

till
round
yes, so rude they
were
Broer Babiaan,
the poor old animal
got ashameder and ashameder, and sat all in a heap, hanging down his head and trying not to see how they were mocking at him.
ioo
"

When
all
the
animals had
and drunk water, Oom Leeuw Babiaan and let him go, and off he went
the krantzes as fast as he could, with his
passed on untied Broer

to
tail
between
"
It is
his legs.
And
that
is
all
for to-night,
my
baasjes.
too long to finish now.
See, here
comes
Lys with the

hut."
baasjes' supper,
and Outa can
smell that his askoekies are burning by the
Evading the children's detaining hands, Outa sidled away, turning in the passage
doorway
to
paw
the
air
with his crooked
fingers in token of a final farewell.
XI.
SAVED BY HIS
"
TAIL.
little
THE
end, Outa, please," said
"
Jan,
it
the
end of The Animals Dam.

too long to finish last night."
"
You
said
was
Aja,
my
baasje,
it
it's full
of jakkals draaie,
it's
and
"
that's
why
is
so long, but
near the
end now.
The
night was old by the time the animals
had finished with old Broer Babiaan, and the stars were going out. Only the Big Star,
that lasts the longest,
was
travelling quickly
by the
began
that
Stars'
Road
to
call
the
Dawn.
It
to get light already at the place
where
the shining
Old
it
Man
gets up every day, and

for
meant
was time
the animals to
fade
"
away
to their sleeping-places.
Oom Leeuw
looked
round
on
them.
102
'

will
Who
"
'
look after the
dam
'
to-night
he
asked.
I
'
will,'
said a
little
'
voice, quickly.
Peep
peep
'
And who
'
is
this
that speaks from

'
the
this
ground
"
asked
Com.
Let
us
find
brave one.'
They looked about
in the sand,
and
there,
under a milk-bush near the dam, sat the Water

Tortoise.
He
lid
was nice and
big, baasjes, as
big as the
of the soap-pot, and his skinny
legs were very strong.
He
stretched out his
skinny neck and twinkled his little black eyes. "Vll look after the dam, Oom, and 7'11
catch the Water-Spoiler for you.'
"'Ha!
asked
"
'
ha! ha!
How
let
will
you do that?'
Oom Leeuw. If Oom will just

then
someone rub
stuff
will see
my
back with the sticky black

floor of the hives,
will
from the
Oom
what
happen.'
'
"
This
is
a wise
little
man,' said
Oom
hind
Leeuw, and he ordered Old Brown Sister
Hyena
she with the limp in the
left
SAVED BY HIS TAIL

leg
to
103
the
rub the
Water Tortoise with
sticky "
stuff.
That
night,
my
baasjes,
when Jakhals
went
to the
!
dam
to drink, to
he peeped about,
but no
there
was no one
guard the dam
only a large black stone lay near the edge of

the water.
"
'
Arre
this is lucky,' said Jakhals.

!
'
Such
I
a nice large stone

drink.'
"
I'll
stand on
it
while
He
didn't
know
that the stone
had a
strong skinny neck, and, on the end of the neck, a head with little bright eyes that could see everything that was going on. So he
down he came gave a jump, and woops on to the stone with his two front feet, and
!
there they stuck fast to the sticky black
stuff,
and he could not move them.

he
tried,
He
'
tried,
and
but
it
' !
was no
use.
"
'
Toever
'
!
he screamed,
toever
Let
me go
'"Peep! peep!'
be frightened.'
said a
little
voice, 'don't
"'Who
says
I'm
frightened,
you
old
io 4 toever

'
stone
asked
I
'
Jakhals.
Though
my my
"
front feet are fast,
can
still
kick with
hind
'
feet.'
fast,'
Kick, kick, kick, and stick

voice.
said the
little
"
So Jakhals kicked and

fast.
kicked,
and
his
hind feet stuck

"
like
There was a funny sound under the water, It was water bubbling through a reed.
the
"
Water Tortoise
'
laughing.
'
!
Nier-r-r
'
nier-r-r
still
said Jakhals, getting

tail,
very cross you with it.'

;
I've
got a
and
I'll
beat
"
'
Beat,
little
beat,
beat,
and
stick
fast,'
said
the
"
voice.
beat,
So Jakhals beat and

fast.
'
'
and
his
tail
stuck
"
*
Nier-r-r
still
it.'
I've
he said again, very angry got a mouth, and I'll bite you
!
with
"
'
Bite bite, bite,

voice.
and
stick fast,' said the
little
"Jakhals opened his mouth, and

bit,
bit
and
and
his
mouth stuck
fast.
There he
SAVED BY HIS TAIL

was,
all
105
a bundle, sticking altogether fast to the black stone, and the more he tried to
in
get free, the more he stuck

"
' '
fast.
Peep, peep
said the
Water
Tortoise,
poking up marched to
his
head and laughing. Then he the top of the dam-wall where
everyone could see the strange sight, and there he sat, all quiet and good, till the other
animals came.
"
'
Arre
they were glad

to
Jakhals
sticking
the
when they saw Water Tortoise.

him
to
They
be
"
held
Council and ordered
killed,
and
Broer
Hyena
to
old
Brown
Sister's
husband
was
be the
killer.
They loosened
stuff,
Jakhal's
mouth from the
sticky
time.
so that he could talk for the last
His very sorry for himself. voice was thick with sorriness, and he could
He was
hardly get the words out.
"'Thank
you,
Oom,' he
It's
said.
'I
know
I'm a wicked creature.

to die than to live
better for
me
and trouble everyone so
much.'
"
Oom Leeuw
and the other animals were
io6
wondering what kind of death the Waterstealer should die.

"
'
Chop my head
off,'
said Jakhals
'
;
throw
me in the fountain, but please, ach! please don't shave my tail and hit me on the big stone.'
"
Oom Leeuw
'
and the others were
still
putting their heads together.

"
Beat
me
with kieries, drown
me
in the
dam,' said Jakhals, 'but don't, ach! please don't smear my tail with fat and hit me on
the big stone.'
"
Oom Leeuw
'
and the others made as
if
they were taking no notice of him. " Chop me in little pieces, beat
thorn
branches,'
said
'
me
with
Jakhals,
but please,
tail
ach
please don't take

stone.'
me by
the
and
hit
me
" his
fat,
on the big
last
'
"At
Oom Leeuw
it
turned round.
Just as you say,
shall
be done.
Shave
it
tail,'
he said to the others, 'smear

hit his
with
it
and
head on the big stone.
Let
be done.'
"
still
'
was done, and Jakhals stood very and sad while his tail was being shaved
it
So
SAVED BY HIS TAIL

and smeared.
round
!
107
But when Hyena swung him one, two, three, pht away he slipped
fast as
and ran over the veld as
he could.
All
the others ran after him, but they were only
running to catch and he was running to live, so he went like the wind, and soon they were
left far
behind.
never stopped till he came to a mountain where a krantz hung over and made a
kind of cave, and
"
He
come
after
The first to him was Oom Leeuw, who had run

in
he crept.
faster than the others.
Jakhals watched
Oom
crawling
"
in,
and when Oom's head touched the

:
top of the cave, he ran out, calling

'
Oom, Oom,
it
the krantz
is
falling.
If
you
don't hold
I'll
up, you'll
be crushed to death.
run and get a pole to prop it up, but must please wait till I come back.'
Oom
"He
left
Oom
plastering his head against

it
the krantz to
hold
up,
while
till
pht
he
shot away, and never stopped
he got safe home, where he rolled bolmakissie over and

over, laughing to think
all
how he had
cheated
the animals again."
XII.
THE FLYING
"
LION.
ONCE
upon
"
"
!
time,"
remarked
used to
all
Outa,
fly."
thoughtfully, "
Oom Leeuw
O-o-o-oh
their
said the children
together,
and
"
eyes widened with
terror at the
picture called
Yes,
my
up by Outa's words. baasjes, and then nothing could

His wings were not covered they were like the wings of
skin and ribs
;
live before him.
with feathers
Brother Bat,
all
but they were
very big, and very thick, and very strong, and when he wasn't flying they were folded
flat
against his sides.

let
When
to
he was angry
the
he
the
like
points
down
ground
Oubaas Turkey when he gobblegobble-gobbles and struts before his wives

tr-r-r-r
tr-r-r-r,
and when he wanted
to rise
from the
THE FLYING LION
109
ground he spread them out and flapped them up and down slowly at first so, my baasjes
then faster and faster
so,
so,
so
till
he
made
a big wind with them and sailed
away
into the air."
Outa, flapping his crooked arms and puffing out his disproportionate chest, seemed about
to follow suit, but suddenly subsided again to his stool.
"
on
Ach, but
it
was a
terrible sight
Then,
he saw a
when he was high above look down for something
the earth, he would

to
kill.
If
along till he was just over them, and pick out a nice fat one then he would stretch out his iron claws,
herd of springbokke he would
fly
fold his
fall
down he would wings and woops on the poor bokkie before it had time to
!
jump away. Yes, that was the way Leeuw hunted in the olden times.
"
of,
Oom
There was only one thing he was afraid and that was that the bones of the animals
he caught and ate would be broken to pieces. No one knew why, and everyone was too
frightened of
Oom Leeuw to try
and
find out.
no
He
used to keep them all at his home in the krantzes, and he had crows to look after them,
two
at a time
not like the ugly black crows
that build in the willow-trees near the
dam,
but White Crows, the kind that
come only
as a white
once
in
many
years.
As soon
crow baby was found it was taken to Oom Leeuw that was his order then he kept it
;
in the
krantzes of the mountains and

;
let
it
grow big
and when the old White Crows
died the next eldest became watchmen, and

so there were always White
the bones
"
Crows
to
watch
went hunting. But one day while he was away Brother

'
:
when
Oom Leeuw
Big Bullfrog came along, hop-hop-hoppityhop, hop-hop-hoppity-hop, and said
Why
do you
sit
'
here
all
day, you Whitehead
Crows
"
And
'
the
White Crows
bones
for
said
'
:
We sit here
to look after the "
Oom
'
Leeuw.'
Ach, but you must be tired of sitting !' said Brother Big Bullfrog, You fly away a
little
and
stretch your wings.

after the bones.'
will sit
here
and look
THE FLYING LION

"
in
The White Crows looked this way and that way, up and down and all round, but no!
they couldn't see
'
Oom
Leeuw, and
they
thought a fly.'
"
Now
is
our chance to get away for

'
'
So they
said
Cr-r-raw, cr-r-raw
and
stretched out their wings and flew away. " Brother Big Bullfrog called out after
them
you
"
'
'
:
Don't hurry back.

I
Stay as long as
like.
will
take care of the bones.'

:
But as soon as they were gone he said

I
Now
shall find out
why Oom Leeuw keeps
the bones from being broken. see
Now
shall
why men and
And
animals can live no longer.' he went from one end to the other of
Oom
"
Leeuw's house at the bottom of the

all
krantz, breaking
the bones he could find.

!
Ach,
but he worked quickly

!
Crack
crack, crack, crack
Wherever he went he
finished he
broke bones.
Then when he had
hopped away, hop-hop-hoppity-hop, hop-hophoppity-hop, as fast as he could.
When
he
had nearly reached his dam in the veld, the White Crows overtook him. They had been
ii2

all
'
!
to the krantz and, foei
when they saw

"
'
they were frightened the broken bones.

!
Craw, craw
'
they said,
Brother Big
?
Bullfrog,
why
are
you so wicked
Oom
our
be so angry. He nice white heads craw, craw
Leeuw
will
will bite off

!
and without
a head,
"
who can
'
live
But Brother Big Bullfrog pretended he didn't hear. He just hopped on as fast as
he could, and the White Crows went after
him.
"
'
It's
no good hopping
'
away,
Brother
will
Bullfrog,' they said.
Oom Leeuw
find
you wherever you are, and with one blow of his iron claws he will kill you.'
But old Brother Big Bullfrog didn't take any notice. He just hopped on, and when he came to his dam he sat back at the edge
of the water and blinked the beautiful eyes in
his
"
ugly old head, and said

tell
'
:
When Oom
man who
in
Leeuw comes
dam, and
here.'
if
him
Tell
am
him
the
I
broke the bones.
live
this
he wants to see
me
he must come
THE FLYING LION

"
113
The White Crows were very cross. They flew down quickly to peck Brother Big Bullfrog,
soft
but they only dug their beaks into the mud, because Brother Big Bullfrog
wasn't sitting there any longer.
Kabloops
he had dived into the dam, and the White
Crows could only see the

place
water.
"
rings round the

in
where he had made a hole
the
Oom Leeuw
was
far
away
in the veld,
At last he waiting for food, waiting for food. saw a herd of zebras the little striped horses
very fond of and he tried to fly up so that he could fall on one of them, but he
that he
is
couldn't.
He
tried again, but no,
he couldn't.
He
spread out his wings and flapped them,
but they
"
were
quite
weak,
like
baasjes'
umbrella when the ribs are
broken.
there must be
Then Oom Leeuw knew
something wrong
toch too angry.
into
at his house,
and he was
He
struck his iron claws
the
ground
and roared and roared.
Softly he began, like thunder far
away
rolling
through the kloofs, then louder and louder, H
n4
till
OUT A KAREL'S STORIES

hoor-rr-rr-rr,
hoor-rr-rr-rr
the earth
It
beneath him seemed to shake.

terrible "
was a
noise.
all
fly,
But
his roaring did not help him,
he
couldn't
and
at last
he had
the
to get
walk home.
He
found
up and poor White

so they
Crows nearly dead with
fright,
but they soon

fly,
found out that he could no longer were not afraid of him.
"'Hoor-rr-rr-rr, hoor-rr-rr-rr!' he roared.

'
What have you done

'
to
make my wings
so
weak
"
And
they said
'
:
While
all
Oom
'
was away
someone came and broke

"
the bones.'
And Oom Leeuw

and
said
It
You were
your
fault
put
that
here to watch them. they are broken,
is
going to
bite
'
!
you I your stupid white heads
to punish
am
off.
Hoor-rr-rr-rr
sprang towards them, but now that they knew he couldn't fly they were not
afraid of him.
"He
They
flew
away and
sailed
round
over his head, just too high 'Ha! for him to reach, and they called out
in the air
:
THE FLYING LION

ha
!
115
ha
Oom
cannot catch us
The bones
are broken, and his wings are useless.
Now
will fly
men and
away and
"
animals can live again.

tell
We
them the good news.'
sprang into the air, first to one side and then to the other, striking at them, but he couldn't reach them, and when
he found
all
Oom Leeuw
his efforts
were
in vain,
he rolled
on the ground and roared louder than ever. " The White Crows flew round him in
rings,
and
called out
fly
!
'
:
Ha
ha
rolls
ha
he can
!
no longer
He
only
and roars
"
:
If The man who broke the bones said Oom Leeuw wants me he can come and look for me at the dam." Craw, craw,' and
away they " Then
flew.
Wait, I'll thought get hold of the one who broke the bones. I'll So he went to the dam, and get him.'
:
Oom Leeuw
'
there
was old
Brother Bullfrog sitting
in
the sun at the water's edge.
Oom Leeuw
crept up slowly, quietly, like a skelm, behind
Brother Bullfrog.
"
'
Ha now
!
I've got him,'
he thought, and
n6
'

!
made a spring, but Brother Bullfrog said, Ho!' and dived in kabloops and came
up
at the other side of the
dam, and
sat there
blinking in the sun.

"
Oom Leeuw
!
ran round as hard as he

to spring,
could,
and was just going

at
when
in
kabloops
Brother Bullfrog dived

the
again
the
and
dam.
"
came up
other
side
of
And
so
it
went
on.
Each
time, just
had nearly caught him, Brother Bullfrog dived in kabloops and called out 'Ho!' from the other side of the
!
when
Oom Leeuw
dam.
"
Then
at last
Oom Leeuw
if
saw
it
was no
use trying to catch Brother Bullfrog, so he
went home
bones.
to see
he could mend the broken

not,
day he could no longer fly, only walk upon his iron claws. Also, from that day he learned to creep quietly like a skelm after his game,
But he could
and from
that
and though he
them, he
is
fly.
still
catches them and eats
not as dangerous as he was
when
he could
THE FLYING LION

"And
speak.
"
117
the
White Crows can no longer

'
They can
only say,
Craw, craw.'
But old Brother Big Bullfrog still goes hop-hop-hoppity-hop round about the dam,
and whenever he sees

'
says
loops
!
Ho
as
' !
he just and dives into the water kabas
Oom Leeuw
and
fast
he can,
sits
there
roar
laughing when he hears with anger."
Oom Leeuw
XIII.
WHY THE HERON HAS

THE
fireplace,
A CROOKED NECK.
flames leapt gaily upward in the wide
throwing strange shadows on the painted walls and gleaming on the polished wood of floor and beam and cupboard. Little
Jan basked contentedly

dozing
curled
in the
warmth, almost
the
terrier
now
absently
stroking
up beside him, now running
his fingers
through the softer fur of the rug on which It was made of silver-jackal skins he lay.
a dozen of them, to judge from the six bushy
tails
spread out on either side
and as Outa
Karel's gaze rested on them, he remarked
reminiscently"
Arre
but
Oom
Jakhals was a slim kerel
No
one ever got the better of him without

for it."
paying
HERON HAS CROOKED NECK

In an instant
upright, every
little
119
bolt
Jan was
sitting
symptom
the
of sleep
banished
from his face
book from which Willem

to
had been laboriously trying
gain some idea of the physical features of Russia was while flung to the far end of the rustbank
;
Pietie,
suspending
for
a brief
moment
his
the whittling of a catapult stick, slid along floor to get within better sight and sound of the story-teller.
"
Yes,
my
little
masters, sometimes
it it
was
Oom Leeuw
was the poor
he cheated, sometimes
was
it
Oubaas Babiaan or
little
Oom
Wolf, and once
made me
self."
Dove, and that is what think of how he was cheated him-
"
Did the
little
Dove
cheat him ?" asked
Pietie eagerly. " No, baasje, the
Dove
is
too frightened
not stupid, baasje, but like people are when they are too gentle and kind and believe
She was everything other people tell them. sitting on her nest one day singing to her
'
little
children,
Coo-oo, coo-oo coo-oo,'
when
120
Jakhals prowled along under the tree and heard her.

"
'
Oom
Alia
wereld
Now
I'll
have a nice
out,
breakfast/
'
he thought, and he called

Tante.
I
Good morning,
pretty
little
hear you have

Please bring
such
"
children.
to see.'
them down
and
'
for
me
But the Tante was frightened of Jakhals,

said,
I'm sorry,
I
Oom, they
are not well
to-day, "
'
and
must keep them
at home.'
Then
out,
Jakhals lost his temper, and called Nonsense, I'm hungry and want some-
thing to eat, so throw

children at once.' "
down one
of your
little
Baasjes know, sometimes crossness drives away frightenness and Tante was so cross
;
with
Oom
little
her
no,
Jakhals for wanting to eat one of children that she called out, No,
'
you bad Jakhals, I shall do nothing of Go away and look for other food.' the sort.
"
all,'
'
If
you
don't,
I'll
'
said
Jakhals.
up and eat them Throw one down at

fly
once.'
And
he stamped about and made
such a horrible noise that the poor Tante

:
121
thought he was really flying up. She looked at her babies there wasn't one she wanted
to give,
but
it
was better
eaten
;
to lose
one than
have them
all
so she shut her eyes

till it
and
fell
fluttered
out,
about the nest
one of them
in his
and Jakhals caught

it
mouth
and carried
"
off to his hole to eat.

!
Ach
but the poor Tante was sad
She
spread her wings over her other children and never slept all night, but looked about this
way and
every
trying to
"
that
way with her

up
to
soft eyes, thinking
little
noise she heard
was
Oom Jakhals
all
fly
her nest to gobble up
her babies.
The
next morning there was

'
Oom
Jak-
hals again.
Tante, your child was a nice,
juicy
mouthful.
haste,
all.'
Throw me down
do you hear
?
another.
I'll
And make
"
'
or
fly
up
and eat you

'
Coo-oo,
no,
I
coo-oo,
coo-oo,'
said
Tante,
crying,
won't give you one.' But it was no use, and in the end she did what
just shut her eyes
till
she had done before

fluttered
and
out
round and round
a baby
fell
122

it,
of the nest.
for
She thought there was no help and, like some people are, she thought
didn't see the heart wouldn't
what the eye

feel
;
but her heart was very sore, and she
cried
more sadly than

'
ever,
!
and
'
this
time
she said,
Oo-oo, oo-oo, oo-oo
It
'
was very
sad and sorrowful to listen to

'
Oo-oo, oo-oo,
oo-oo
"
Here came
old
Oom
Reijer.
He
is
kind old bird, though he holds his neck so crooked and looks like there was nothing to
smile at in the whole wide world.
"
It
Ach why do you cry so sadly, Tante nearly gives me a stitch in my side.'
'
!
"'Oo-oo!
I'm
very
miserable.
Oom
and
'
Jakhals has eaten two of
my
little
children,
and to-morrow he
soon
"
"
'
will
come
left.'
for another,
shall
have none
'
But why did you let him eat them ? Because he said if I didn't give him one
'
he would
up and eat them all. Oo-oo-oo "Then Oom Reijer was very angry. He flapped his wings, and stretched out his long
fly
!
neck
so,
my
baasjes, just so
"
(the children
123
hugged themselves in silent delight at Outa's " and he opened and shut his fine acting)
long beak to show how he would like to peck out Oom Jakhals's wicked eyes if he could
only catch him.
"
tell
'
That vervlakste Jakhals

lies
!
'
!
he
said.
'
To
fly ?
such
But, Tante,
you are
stupid.
Don't you know Now listen to me.

tell
Oom
Jakhals
can't
When
he comes again,
him you know he can't fly, and that you won't give him any more of your children.' " The next day there came Oom Jakhals
again with his old story, but Tante just laughed at him.
"
'
Ach, no! you story-telling Bushytail

won't give you any more of children, and you needn't say you'll
'
'
!
she said,
little
my
fly
up and eat them, because

'
know you
can't.'
"'Nier-r-r,
'
nier-r-r
said
Oom
that
?
Jakhals,
'
growling,
"
'
how do you know

Reijer told
Oom
'
' !
'
me, so there
just
said
Tante.
And you
can
go
to
your
mother
"
My
but Tante was getting brave
now
i2 4

knew she and her little children were That was the worst insult you can ever
that she
safe.
give a grown-up jakhals, and growled more than ever.

"
'
Oom
'
Jakhals
Never mind,' he said at last, Tante is I won't bother with her only a vrouwmens
;
any more. But wait till I catch Oom Reijer. He'll be sorry he poked his long nose into my business, the old meddler,' and he trotted
off to look for him.
"
He
hunted and hunted, and at
last
he
found him standing on one leg at the side of the river, with his long neck drawn in and his
head resting on
"
'
'
his shoulders.
Good
is
day,
Oom
Reijer,'
'
he said
politely.
How
"
'
Oom
all
to-day
right,'
Reijer without moving an inch. shortly, " Jakhals spoke in a little small voice
I'm
answered
Oom
ach
this
toch so humble.
Oom,
I
please
come
way a
little
I'm so stupid, but you are
so wise and clever, and
want
to ask
your
advice about something.'
"Oom
Reijer began to listen.
It is
maar

so
125
when people hear about themselves. He put down his other leg, stretched out his
neck, and asked over his shoulder,
did you say, eh
'
'
What
mud
I
"'Come
over there
toch this
is
way
little;
the
too soft for
me
to stand on.
want your valuable advice about the wind. The other people all say I must ask you,
because no one
"
is
as wise as you.'
!
Truly Jakhals was a slim kerel

to stroke
He
knew how
Oom
Reijer's
feathers
came slowly over the mud a person mustn't show he is too pleased he
:
the right way. " Oom Reijer
even stopped to swallow a little frog on the way, and then he said, carelesslike, Yes, I
'
you all about the wind and weather. Ask what you like, Jakhals.' His long neck
can
tell
twisted about with pride.
from the west, how must one hold one's head ?

is
'
"
Oom, when
the wind
'"Is that all?' said

so.'
Oom
his
Reijer.
'Just
to
And
he
turned
head
the
east.
126
"
is
'

Thank
So.'
you,
'
Oom.
And when
the wind
from the east

"
'
Oom
you,
Reijer
bent his neck
the
other way.
"
'
Thank
is
Oom/
said the
little
'
small
voice, so grateful
and humble.
But when
there
a storm and the rain beats down,

'
how
"
'
then
?
'
So
said
till
Oom
his
Reijer,
and he bent
his
his
neck down
toes.
head nearly touched
"
My
little
masters, just
as quickly as a
whip-snake shoots into his hole, so Jakhals shot out his arm and caught Oom Reijer on
the bend of his neck
the poor old
bird
crack
and
in
a minute
was
rolling in the
mud
weak
at
with his neck nearly broken, and so

that he couldn't even
lift
his
beak
to
peck
the false wicked eyes that were staring at him.

"
how
till
glad was cruel
laughed screamed
he
couldn't
Jakhals any more.
waved
his
his
and danced with pleasure. bushy tail, and the silver mane on
He He He
back bristled as he jumped about.

"
'
127
Ha! ha! ha!

I'll
Oom
!
thought to do
me
as
a bad turn, but

fere with
teach people not to inter-
me.
Ha
to
ha
ha
No
one
will
is
wise as
find out
Oom
how
Reijer, eh
Then he
soon
mend
his
broken neck.
Ha!
ha! ha!'
"
Jakhals gave one
last
spring right over

off to his
poor
Oom
Reijer,
and danced
tell
den
in the
little
Xante Jakhals and the Jakhalsjes how he had cheated Oom

kopjes to
Reijer. "
And
is
it's
neck
from that day, baasjes, Oom Reijer's crooked he can't hold it straight
:
and
all
Jakhals.
slim kerel. or on
through trying to interfere with That is why I said Jakhals is a
Whether he walks on
the best
is
four legs
two,
maar
to leave
him
alone because he can always make a plan, and no one ever gets the better of him
without paying for
it
in the end."
XIV.
THE LITTLE RED TORTOISE.

"
No
Jakhals story to-night, please, Outa,"

little
said
fire.
Jan, as they gathered round the

all
"
We
think
Jakhals was a cruel

little
horrid creature, eating the poor
Doves
and cracking the good Heron's neck." " " he was always Yes," chimed in Pietie, playing wicked tricks, so no more Jakhals for
us.
What
"
will
you
tell
us to-night,
Outa?"
"
Something really and not unkind."
nice,"
suggested Willem,
Outa's beady black eyes twinkled from one to another of his little masters, while an
affectionate smile spread over his yellow face,
accentuating- the wrinkles which criss-crossed o

it
in
every direction.
"
Ach
the
soft
young
hearts
Outa's
THE LITTLE RED TORTOISE

heart
129
was
his
like
shook
little
head
that "
if
once,
too,
but
"
-he
the heart doesn't get a

7
taai like a biltong-, o

in this old
it
is
of no use to a
person
his
hard world."
He
deposited
shapeless hat
on the
floor,
tapped his
red kopdoek with a clawlike forefinger, and
waited for an inspiration.
It
came from an
unexpected quarter, for suddenly there was a commotion at the end of his old coat, the
tails
of which
hung down nearly

his
to the floor,
and,
"
diving into
pocket,
the
old
man
triumphantly produced a squirming tortoise.
See what Outa caught
for the baasjes
near the Klip

little
Kop
1
this
afternoon
a nice
berg schilpad.
it
Now
still
Baas Willem can
put
it
in
his
kraal with the others

It
is
and
let
young, but it will grow --yes, so big." A cart-wheel might have been comfortably contained in the circle described by Outa's arms.
lay
eggs.
It
was a knobbly, darkly-marked

little
tortoise,
quite unlike those the
boys generally
found
in
the veld near the house, and they

Mountain
I
tortoise.
30
took possession of it with delight and sugAfter discussion, gestions as to a name.
honours were
equally in
favour of " Piet

it
Retief" and " Mrs.
Van Riebeeck,"and
was
decided that the casting vote should be left to Cousin Minnie, the children's governess.
For a long time they had kept tortoises of all sorts and sizes in their schilpad-kraal, and
so tame and intelligent had
some
"
of these
creatures
called,
grown and big

will,
that they would
come when
roamed
old
"
Woltemade
about at
often disappearing for a time,

to his
and returning
days
companions
after a few
in the veld.
Outa turned the new
acquisition
on
its
back on the jackalskin rug, where it lay wriggling and going through the strangest
contortions.
it
"
Ach
the wise
little
man.
Is
mother sprinkled it with buchu, 1 He touched the there, just under its arm ?" skinny under-side of one of its forelegs.
there
its
1
An
Sprinkling buchu under the token of approval.
aromatic veld herb, from which a decoction is made. arm is a Hottentot custom in

"
131
Here,
till
Baas Willem, put

to-morrow.
tortoise,
"
! !
it
in
the soap-
boxie
been a red
Ach if only it had how glad Outa would

echoed Pietie and
little
have been
"
red tortoise
"
!
Jan,
"
while Willem
all
hurried
back from the
passage to hear
about
it.
And have
is
the baasjes then never heard

?
of a red tortoise
Yes, certainly, sometimes

only once in
this
it
a red one
born, but not often
a thousand
the
years
and when
happens
is
news
is
sent round, because

;
such a
wonderful thing and the whole nation of those frogs with bony shields and Schilpads
hard
the
beaks
little
glad because they know red one has come to help them
are
against their enemies.
long time ago a mother Schilpad laid an egg in a shallow hole in the
long,
"
Once a
sand, just where the sun could
warm
it
all
it,
the day, and she scraped a

so that no one could see
it.
little
sand over
See
baasjes, she
was
afraid
of thieves.
It
was white and

felt
round, and so large that she
very proud
32
it,

and she often went
to see
of
how
it
was
getting on.
One
day, as she got near the

little
place she heard a

"
voice
'
Peep
Peep
Mam-ma, mam-ma, come and

So she
called out,
'
find me.'
your mam-ma.'
My
Kindje, kindje, here's but she walked fast

!
Her
short legs just went so
"
-Outa's arms
worked vigorously "and when she got to the karroo-bush where she had put the egg the shell was broken and a little Red Tortoise
was
sitting alongside of
shell
it
!
and you could see everything inside of him, and how the blood went this way and that way but never mind,
soft,
:
"His
was
it
is
maar so with
little
tortoises.
He
was
fine
and healthy, and everything about him

red.
!
was quite was proud

little
Alle wereld
old
all
Mam-ma
see
the
She went and

all
told
her friends,
to
and they came from
sides
Red
Tortoise.
There were
bero- toro
toises,
and vlakte
tortoises,
and even water

they
all
tortoises,
and zand-kruipers, young and old, and
round and praised him and gave him good advice and nice things to eat.
sat

"
nice
133
the
He
listened to everything
and ate
all
and grew bigger and redder and harder, but he didn't talk much, and the Old Ones nodded to each other and
things,
'
said,
Ach, but he
'
'
is
sensible
But the
Ach, but he is stuckand they went away and crawled in the up But it was red clay to make themselves red.
said,
'
!
Young Ones
no good.
"
In a
all
little
while
it all
rubbed
off.
At
last
the visitor
Schilpads
went
home
again.
But the
little
Red Tortoise
stayed with his
Mam-ma, and went on grow!
ing bigger and redder and harder, and his
Mam-ma was toch so proud of him " When he walked in the veld and
young tortoises said to him, show you the way to do things
so,
' ;
the other
Come, we'll you must do

'
and you must do

if
so,'
he
said,
so
you
like,
but
'
I'll
do things
'
You can do my own way

!'
!
And
Wait, Stuck-up Red Thing Giraffe will get you But they left Oubaas
they said
!
him alone, and although they were red, they did not crawl
all
wished they
in the clay
It
more: they knew
it
was no good.
any was
34

it
only from outside, so

the
little
soon rubbed
off,
but
Red One's redness was from
inside;
and baasjes know, for a thing to be any good it must be on the inside." He glanced involuntarily at
the wall-cupboard where

:
his
soopje was safely locked up not be any good, in his

the inside of him.
"
would certainly opinion, till it was on

it
But when the Old Tortoises gave him advice, the little Red Tortoise listened and
thanked them.
He
to
was a wise
little
man.
He knew when
his tongue.
speak and when to hold

baasjes, the
"At
toise
that time,
my
whole Tor-
nation
was having a hard time with

that old horse with the longo
is
x
Oubaas
Giraffe
neck and the unequal legs, who and black like a burnt thornbush
sitting
is
all
white
with crows
on
it.
He
gives blue ashes

is
when he
burnt, therefore
he called the Blue One.
"He
didn't
had taken
to eating tortoises.
to do.
know what
!
They
tried to
They make
a plan, but no
1
they could find no remedy.

is
The Mimosa, which
white
when burnt by
the sun.

Whenever Oubaas
tortoise
135
Giraffe
saw a nice young

swallow,
that
it
he
could
easily
he
picked
pulled
its
up in his mouth, and from fright it head and all its feet into its shell,
!
and
goops
sail
one swallow and
it
had sailed
down
the Blue One's long throat, just like
baasjes
"
down
the plank at the side of the
skeer-kraal.
The
little
Red
Tortoise listened to the
plans that were made, and at last he thought of a plan. He was not sure how it would go, L o
but he was a brave

'
by himself,
If
it
and he thought goes wrong, there will be no

little
one,
more
little
Red Tortoise
but
if it
then the whole Tortoise nation

to live again.'
will
goes right, be able
"So what
crawled out
did he do,
far
in
my
One
baasjes?
He
the veld and sat in the

liked to walk.
path where the Old Blue
Soon he heard
and nearer.
little
goof, goof, goof,
coming nearer
Then the noise stopped. The Red One peeped from under his shell.
Yes, there was the great Blue One, standing over him and looking very fierce.
36
"

Do
you know,
I
little
Red
Tortoise, in one
'
moment " The

for this
could trample you to death
little
Red One was very

his plan, but
frightened,
was not
"'Do you know, little moment I could swallow you ? " Ach! how glad was the little Red
'
he said nothing. Red Tortoise, in one
Tortoise
'
But he only said

noble Blue One,
it is
in
I
a small
little
voice,
Yes,
belong
to the nation
whom
the custom to swallow.
Please swallow
me!'
"
Oubaas
Giraffe picked
him up and gave
little
gulp,
and the
little
Red
Tortoise
slipped half-way
oje
!
down
his long throat.
But
here a strange thing happened.
The
little
Red One would go no
further.
Instead
of drawing in his head and legs and slipping
down
like a stone, like all the other tortoises
had done, he wanted

his
nails
to see
where he was
going, so he stuck out his head, and fastened
sharp
little
into
Oubaas
Giraffe's
gullet,
and there he hung
like a bat
on a
wall.
"'Go down, go down,
little
Tortoise!
"
'
Do you know,
little
Red
Tortoise, in
'
one moment
could
swallow you
Face page 136

You choke me
hardly
tortoise.
'
!
137
The Old Blue One

his
could
full
speak
throat
was
so
of
"
'
'
Peep
'
peep
said the
little
Red One,
and held on more

"
kill
'
tightly than ever.

up, little Tortoise
!
Come up, come me The Old

!
You
Blue
One was stamping

little
and gurgling now.

peep and hung on with
!
"
'
'
Peep
said the
his
!
Red One,
well.
hard bent beak as

too
He
'
thought,
No
many
red
of
my
I
nation
have sailed down

let go.'
this
sloot.
won't
"
I
tell
you, baasjes,
Oubaas
;
Giraffe danced
and pranced over the veld he screamed and bellowed he gurgled and swallowed he
; ;
tried to get the little
Red Tortoise down, and

;
he
tried to get
little
him up
but
it
was no
to
use.
till
The
Red One
clunor fast o
him
he was quite choked, and sank down sand and died.

"
in the
Then
killed
the
little
Red Tortoise crawled
out,
and went home
to tell his
Mam-ma
that he
had
Oubaas
Giraffe and that his nation
38

Ach
!
could have peace again.
but she was
proud of him
"
'
It's
not for nothing you were born red,'

'
she said.
I
Come
here,
my
little
Crab, that
may
put buchu under your arm.

little
! '
Come,
my
"
crooked-legged
one, let your mother
sprinkle you with buchu
When
she had sprinkled him with buchu,
they went and told their friends, and all the Tortoise nation rejoiced and went and had a great feast off Oubaas Giraffe as he
lay dead in the veld. "
And
they thought more of the
little
Red
'
Tortoise than ever.
Even
the
Young Ones,
who had been angry is wiser than we are.

he says.
in
P'r'aps, after
with him, said,
He
We
all,
will listen to
what
there
'
is
something
being born a certain colour.'
XV.
THE OSTRICH HUNT. THE

boys
vent
next day
all
the time that was not given

little
to lessons
in
and meals was spent by the
scouring the veld for a red tortoise. Disappointment at their fruitless search found
in
no measured terms when Outa Karel

in
appeared
hour. "
the
dining-room at his usual

"
!
Ach, to hear them now
he
said, regard-
ing
them with
his
wide-mouthed smile of
"
amused
tortoises
tolerance.
?
Does
it
then rain red
they
will
can the baasjes think find at the first shot a thing that
"
?
And how
only comes once in a thousand years
"Well," said Willem,

just
stoutly,
for one.
"it might
have been the time

to
How
were
we
know ?
"
140
"

Outa,"
"
asked
it
little
"
Jan,
earnestly,
do
you know when

again
"
?
will
be red tortoise time
Aja,
baasjes,"
said
Outa
readily,
"it
won't be long now. Let Outa think." performed a tattoo on the red kopdoek
"
He
a
sure sign that he was in the thick of mental
gymnastics.
What comes
"
?
just
before
thousand,
"
my
baasjes
Nine hundred and ninety-nine," answered Pietie, who was good at arithmetic.
Now, yes," said Outa, knew it must be nearly
"
"
triumphantly,
time.
It
is
nine
hundred and ninety-nine years since there was a red tortoise, so next year this time
baasjes can
begin,
begin
to
look
for
it
one.
will
Only
my
baasjes,
because
only be
p'r'aps
far,
creeping out of the egg then.

it
And
won't be in this veld.
It
mi^ht be o
far
away where people

tell
don't
will
know about a
look for him.
"
red tortoise, and so no one
Must Outa
The
another story about him ? sly old man had taken the best way
of escaping
more
questions.
The
little
boys
THE OSTRICH HUNT
141
gathered round and listened wide-eyed as he

told the story of the Tortoises hunting the
Ostriches.
"
After
Oubaas
Giraffe
life
toises
had a nice
was dead, the Torfor a long time, and
then there came into their veld Old Three

Sticks,
the
Ostrich, with his

his
mam-ma and
uncles,
pap-pa,
aunties,
and
and
wives,
and
and
Alia
!
children,
and
friends.
!
there were a lot of Ostriches
The whole
all
veld was
eating
full
of them, and they
began
find
tortoises
It
wherever they could

just
them.
was
the
same
like
when
the
Oubaas
tortoises
Giraffe used to
go about.
thought,
And
and
thought
and
they
talked and talked,
but they couldn't
make
a plan that would drive the Ostriches away.

"
The
little
Red Tortoise was

till
thinking,
too,
but he didn't talk
he had his plan
Then he called all the Tortoises The Old Ones came because they together. wanted to hear what the wise little Red One had to say, and the Young Ones came beready.
cause ever since he had killed Oubaas Giraffe
142

When
they were
too
they had listened to him.

all
together he said,
'
It
now goes on
long, this hunting of the Tortoises
by Old
Three Sticks and

hunt Ostriches.'
his friends.
Let us change
places and let us, the Tortoise people, go and
"'Peep! peep!' cried all the young Tortoises But the Old they were quite ready.
:
Ones
'
said,
Is
is
this
it
the
wise
for
little
Red
hunt
One?
"
'
How
'
possible
us
to
Ostriches
It
is
possible, because Ostriches never
run straight, but always a little in the round, and a little in the round, so that in the end
if
they run long enough they
come again
to
the place they began from.

certain
Now
into
yes,
on a
day
let
us
then go
the veld
where the Ostriches
like to hunt,
and
let
us
make two long

always
outside,
in
rows, not straight out but

;
the round
one
ring,
very large,
and the
one
other, smaller, inside.
when Old Three
Sticks and his friends

to the other
flee
Then come
we
on,
will call
and drive them
and they
will
through the midst of
THE OSTRICH HUNT

us,
flee
143
round and round and round
till
they can
no longer.'
'
said the young Tortoises, Peep peep and the Old Ones joined in. They saw that it was a good plan, so they all went to the
! !
"
'
hunting veld of Old Three Sticks and his friends and spread themselves out, as the
little
Red
Tortoise had said.

the Ostriches came, pecking, peck-
"
Soon
ing, as they "
walked.
still,
The
Tortoises sat very

till
waiting,
my
baasjes, just waiting,
the Ostriches were
right in the middle of the
two
rings.
Then
the
little
'
!
Peep
" "
' '
Tortoise gave the signal, 'Peep! and at once the calling began.
'
Red
Are you there

I
called the first Tortoise.
am
all
here,'
said
the next,
circle,
and so
it
went on
the other.
round the
one calling
to
"'What
one.
"
are you doing?'
called the first
Hunting Ostriches,' said the next, and so it went on all round the circle again, one
calling to the other.
H4
Ostriches could see nothing. They could only hear voices calling. looked They
at
"The
each other and

It
is
'
said,
What
are
these
to
voices?
surely a great
army come
hunt
"
Let us get away.' They were very frightened and began run, and as far as they ran they heard
us.
:
to
" "
'
'Are you there?'
"
"
'
am here.' What are you

I
'
doing
'
"
Hunting Ostriches.' So it went on, over and over again.

the Ostriches ran faster and faster,
till
The
all in
Tortoises never moved, only kept calling out.
And
the round,
at last they
were so
tired they
any more. First one fell, and then another, and another, and another, till
couldn't run
there were heaps of

just
them lying about, and

lay quite
still.
where they fell they were too tired to move.
They
"Then
Sticks and
longo
the Tortoises gathered together
they were very

all
many
his
and they bit Old Three family and friends on their
necks and killed them.
Ui
4>
o
1>
_c
THE OSTRICH HUNT

"Since then the Tortoises have had peace from the Long-necked People OubaasGiraffe
and old Three

of the Air, like
that
still
?
Sticks.
It is
only the Things
Crows and Lammervangers, hunt them, and baasjes know how
they do
They catch a poor Tortoise in their claws and fly away with him, high up over a
kopje,
and then they drop him on the stones and there he lies with his shell kabloops
!
all
broken, and without a shell

?
how can a
Tortoise live
And
then the Thing of the
Air comes and eats him up, and that is the end of the poor Tortoise. But a Red Tortoise
they never touch.
that frightens them.
It
is
his colour, baasjes,
So
the
Young
'
Tortoises
is
were right when they

thing,
colour.'
said,
There
born
some-
after
all,
in
being
a certain
"After the Ostrich hunt, the little Red Tortoise was sprinkled with buchu under
both arms, and his
Mam-ma
I
sang him
this
song
The
little
crook-legged one
Sprinkle
it
with buchu under
its
could sprinkle arms.
it,
146

The
I
little
red crab
The
little
Wise One
sprinkle the
buchu under both arms.

us,
For the Long-necks, they that ate It has found a way to kill them
;
So we sprinkle it, the little Red One, Sprinkle the buchu under both arms."
The
had
to
usual discussion took place
when Outa
" If
I
finished,
and
at last Pietie said,

I'd
had
be a Tortoise,
be a red one."
"Why, my
"
little
master?"
Because the Crows and Lammervangers don't catch it. To be swallowed by an ostrich
or stick in a giraffe's throat would not be so
bad, but I'd hate to be broken on the stones."
"
Ach!
my baasje, no matter how Old
Friend
Death comes, we are never ready for him. When Outa was young he was nearly killed
by a troop of springbucks, and he thought,
'
No, not toch trampled
to
death
to
be
carried
the
down the river is flood came and the
better.'
But when
river carried
life
Outa
was
away, he fought for his
just as hard as
It
when
the
the springbucks were on him.

burnt,
same when the hut was
and when
THE OSTRICH HUNT

the
147
mad
bull
chased Outa across the veld.
Over and over again the same.

another sort of death seems better.
Always
Always
not quite
Old Friend Death

ready
"
for him."
finds
man
And now how would you
find you,
interest.
like him to Outa?" asked Willem with much
A whimsical smile spread over the old man's

face.
"Ach!
to hear
him
Just sitting in the

wall,
sun,
I
my
baasje,
by the skeer-kraal
'
where
many, many years. When he comes I will say, Morning, Old Friend, you have been a long time on the road ach so long, that I am tired of waiting. Let us go
have
sat for so
!
at once.'
person needn't pack up for that

I'll
drop my old sheepskin kaross, and take Old Friend Death's hand and
trek, baasjes.
just
let
him show me the way. It is far, my baasjes, far to that land, and no one ever comes back
it.
from
Then someone
:
else will
tell
the
by the fire there will be no Outa any more to talk to the little masters." His voice had dropped to a musing tone.
stories
48
"

Don't
!
Don't
"
!
cried Pietie in a
choked
voice.
"Outa, you mustn't say such things," said Willem, and they each seized one of Outa's
crooked hands, while
Jan clung to his old coat as though he would never let it go. " " I want He mustn't my Outa," he cried.
little
go away.
want
my Outa
"
Karel
"
!
The old man's eyes glistened with a moisture

not often seen in them.
Still
!
still
my little
baasjes," he said, stroking
first
one and then

to
another.
sad.
"
is
Outa doesn't want

not going yet.
foolish stories
make them
will sit
He
tell
He
for
here
and
yet."
his
many
nights
caressing smile
face.
broke
over his
"
grotesque
to
And do
?
keep
their
Outa
Ach
!
they then want to think of it

!
The
kind
little
if
hearts
But what
will
the
Nooi say
in
the eyes are juicy?
No, Outa
sitting
only said about the skeer-kraal and

the sun because
it
sounds so nice and
friendly.
is
Look how
young
to
lively
:
and well Outa
like a
bull-calf
!'
He
pretended
playfully
toss
them.
"
That's right,
my
THE OSTRICH HUNT

children,
149
now you laugh

must also go
well.
again.
bull-calves
in
But youngthe kraal, and the
hut
is
calling Outa.
Night,
my
baasjes, night,
will tell Sleep them another beautiful story. Ach, the dear little ones So good to their ugly Outa " Followed by a chorus of "good-nights"
night.
To-morrow Outa
from the children, the old
man
shuffled away,
not knowing that he had spoken with prophetic voice, and that Friend Death would
find him,
even as he wished,
sitting in the o
sun by the skeer-kraal.
But that was not yet awhile, and he told many stories before setting out on the Great
Trek
for
the
Unknown Veld whence no
traveller returns.
Lift,
c>
t
;&
co. LTD*
GLASGOW: PKINTED AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS BY ROBERT MACLEHOSE AND
Other Folk-Lore Tales

FAIRY TALES FROM SOUTH AFRICA.
by Mrs. E. J. BOURDRAKE. Illustrated by W. HERBERT HOLLOWAY. Crown 8vo.
33.
Collected and arranged HILL and Mrs. J. B.

6d.
"
ATHENAEUM.
exceedingly good."
"
charming collection
. . .
of stories
capital gift-book for children.
The
illustrations
which would make a by Mr. W. H. Holloway are
OUTLOOK.
Not only are the
interest, as true folk-tales
stories admirably related and of absorbing should be, but they are materially aided by Mr.
Holloway's splendid black-and-whites."
THE CROCK OF GOLD.

Crown
8vo.
53. net.
By JAMES STEPHENS.
EVENING A delicate fairy extravaganza, difficult to class with any other book. It has extraordinary flashes of beauty, any amount of whimsical humour, and ends in an ecstasy that has about it a touch of Borrow and a note from the very flute of Pan."
PUNCH.
"
STANDARD."
fairy fantasy, elvish, grotesque, realistic, allegorical,
humorous,
satirical, idealistic,
and poetical by turns
and very beautiful."
FOLK TALES OF BREFFNY.

Crown
8vo.
33.
By
B.
HUNT.
6d. net.
. . .
SPECTATOR. "Wholly delightful volume. These folk- tales are rich in the qualities of poetry, wit, and intelligence, and though the part which Miss Hunt has played is not that of a creator, her versions are marked by such unfailing charm, such happy and characteristic turns of phrase, that she deserves
to rank with those musicians like Francis Korbay, who have lent fresh lustre to folk tunes by the beauty and picturesqueness of their settings."
LONDON: MACMILLAN AND
CO.,
LTD.

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OUTA

OUTA KAREL'S STORIES

BOMBAY CALCUTTA MELBOURNE

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

BOSTON CHICAGO SAN FRANCISCO

Outa Karcl and

WITH ILUjSTKATICNS BY GO.HS1ANCE PENSTONE

MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON

YOUNG AND OLD

LOVE A FOLK-LORE STORY

in their papers. " in Sun "

acknowledge my ment of patient labour and research,

gladly indebtedness to that monu"

stories in this collection

superstitions, the crude con-

negro has set

and are the common

greatly regret that they appear here in

to them, a foreign tongue.

not heard them

quaint, expressive language of the people-

can have any idea of what they lose through

having been written

English publications, the

write other scenes, too,

across the lighted screen of

noontides of tropic heat with

a languorous slumber, glowing sunsets,

tremble almost within one's reach,

always, part and parcel

of the passing panorama, the quaint figure of

the old Native with his

nearly three years

took him gently by the hand

hope that others,

tales of a childlike race, they are sent out to

CAPE TOWN, January,

THE PLACE AND THE PEOPLE

How WHO WHY WHO

WAS KING? THE HYENA

WAS THE THIEF?-

THE SUN THE STARS AND THE

THE HARE'S NOSE

THE JACKAL GOT HIS STRIPE

SAVED BY HIS TAIL

THE FLYING LION

THE HERON HAS A CROOKED NECK

THE LITTLE RED TORTOISETHE OSTRICH HUNT

could swallow you

Ostriches ran faster and faster"

Jakhals draaie, tricky turns.

Baasje (pronounced Baasie),

Biltong, strips of sun-dried

Lammervanger. Leeuw, lion.

Buchu, an aromatic veld herb.

Nonnie, young lady. miss.

Outa, old man. prefix to the name of old natives.

Riem, leathern thong. Rustband, couch.

Schilpad, tortoise. Sjambok, whip of rhino or

Voertsed, jumping aside sud-

hippo hide. Skraal windje,

denly and violently. Volk, coloured farm labourers.

Vrouw, wife. Vrouwmens, woman.