out Koumongoe
they would starve in the hut; That was why I gave him the Koumongoe of
my father.

And when the rabbit heard that, he cried: 'Wretched man! it is you whom
the ogre should eat, and not your beautiful daughter.'

But the father paid no heed to what the rabbit said, and only walked on
the faster, bidding Thakane to keep close behind him. By-and-by they met
with a troop of great deer, called elands, and they stopped when they
saw Thakane and sang:

Why do you give to the ogre Your child, so fair, so fair?

'You had better ask her, replied the man, 'she is old enough to give you
an answer.'

Then, in her turn, Thakane sang:

I gave Koumongoe to Koane, Koumongoe to the keeper of beasts; For
without Koumongoe they could not go to the meadows: Without Koumongoe
they would starve in the hut; That was why I gave him the Koumongoe of
my father.

And the elands all cried: 'Wretched man! it is you whom the ogre should
eat, and not your beautiful daughter.'

By this time it was nearly dark, and the father said they could travel
no further that night, and must go to sleep where they were. Thakane was
thankful indeed when she heard this, for she was very tired, and found
the two skins fastened round her almost too heavy to carry. So, in spite
of her dread of the ogre, she slept till dawn, when her father woke her,
and told her roughly that he was ready to continue their journey.

Crossing the plain, the girl and her father passed a herd of gazelles
feeding. They lifted their heads, wondering who was out so early, and
when they caught sight of Thakane, they sang:

Why do you give to the ogre Your child, so fair, so fair?

'You had better ask her, replied the man, 'she is old enough to answer
for herself.'

Then, in her turn, Thakane sang:

I gave Koumongoe to Koane, Koumongoe to the keeper of beasts; For
without Koumongoe they could not go to the meadows: Without Koumongoe
they would starve in the hut; That was why I gave him the Koumongoe of
my father.

And the gazelles all cried: 'Wretched man! it is you whom the ogre
should eat, and not your beautiful daughter.'

At last they arrived at the village where the ogre lived, and they went
straight to his hut. He was nowhere to be seen, but in his place was his
son Masilo, who was not an ogre at all, but a very polite young man. He
ordered his servants to bring a pile of skins for Thakane to sit on, but
told her father he must sit on the ground. Then, catc