es. Our friend pretended to do the same,
but in reality he slipped the stones into his pouch, and swallowed the
crusts of bread instead. However, as the nyamatsanes did not see this
they had no idea that he was not really their grandmother. When they had
eaten a great many pebbles they thought they had done enough for that
day, and all went home together and curled themselves up to sleep. Next
morning when they woke they said, 'Let us go and amuse ourselves by
jumping over the ditch,' and every time they cleared it with a bound.
Then they begged their grandmother to jump over it too, end with a
tremendous effort she managed to spring right over to the other side.
After this they had no doubt at all of its being their true grandmother,
and went off to their hunting, leaving our friend at home in the hut.

As soon as they had gone out of sight our hero made haste to take the
liver from the place where he had hid it, threw off the skin of the old
nyamatsane, and ran away as hard as he could, only stopping to pick up a
very brilliant and polished little stone, which he put in his bag by the
side of the liver.

Towards evening the nyamatsanes came back to the hut full of anxiety to
know how their grandmother had got on during their absence. The first
thing they saw on entering the door was her skin lying on the floor, and
then they knew that they had been deceived, and they said to each other,
'So we were right, after all, and it was human flesh we smelt.' Then
they stooped down to find traces of the man's footsteps, and when they
had got them instantly set out in hot pursuit.

Meanwhile our friend had journeyed many miles, and was beginning to feel
quite safe and comfortable, when, happening to look round, he saw in
the distance a thick cloud of dust moving rapidly. His heart stood still
within him, and he said to himself, 'I am lost. It is the nyamatsanes,
and they will tear me in pieces,' and indeed the cloud of dust was
drawing near with amazing quickness, and the nyamatsanes almost felt as
if they were already devouring him. Then as a last hope the man took the
little stone that he had picked up out of his bag and flung it on the
ground. The moment it touched the soil it became a huge rock, whose
steep sides were smooth as glass, and on the top of it our hero hastily
seated himself. It was in vain that the nyamatsanes tried to climb up
and reach him; they slid down again much faster than they had gone up;
and by sunse