t they were quite worn out, and fell asleep at the foot of
the rock.

No sooner had the nyamatsanes tumbled off to sleep than the man stole
softly down and fled away as fast as his legs would carry him, and by
the time his enemies were awake he was a very long way off. They sprang
quickly to their feet and began to sniff the soil round the rock, in
order to discover traces of his footsteps, and they galloped after him
with terrific speed. The chase continued for several days and nights;
several times the nyamatsanes almost reached him, and each time he was
saved by his little pebble.

Between his fright and his hurry he was almost dead of exhaustion when
he reached his own village, where the nyamatsanes could not follow him,
because of their enemies the dogs, which swarmed over all the roads. So
they returned home.

Then our friend staggered into his own hut and called to his wife:
'Ichou! how tired I am! Quick, give me something to drink. Then go and
get fuel and light a fire.'

So she did what she was bid, and then her husband took the nyamatsane's
liver from his pouch and said to her, 'There, I have brought you what
you wanted, and now you know that I love you truly.'

And the wife answered, 'It is well. Now go and take out the children, so
that I may remain alone in the hut,' and as she spoke she lifted down an
old stone pot and put on the liver to cook. Her husband watched her for
a moment, and then said, 'Be sure you eat it all yourself. Do not give
a scrap to any of the children, but eat every morsel up.' So the woman
took the liver and ate it all herself.

Directly the last mouthful had disappeared she was seized with such
violent thirst that she caught up a great pot full of water and drank it
at a single draught. Then, having no more in the house, she ran in next
door and said, 'Neighbour, give me, I pray you, something to drink.' The
neighbour gave her a large vessel quite full, and the woman drank it off
at a single draught, and held it out for more.

But the neighbour pushed her away, saying, 'No, I shall have none left
for my children.'

So the woman went into another house, and drank all the water she could
find; but the more she drank the more thirsty she became. She wandered
in this manner through the whole village till she had drunk every
water-pot dry. Then she rushed off to the nearest spring, and swallowed
that, and when she had finished all the springs and wells about she
drank up first t