m. After an absence of only a few
minutes, Kalulu returned with a young woman who might have drawn crowds
in London and New York, as the "Great African Giantess."
As he saw the gigantic couple together, Kalulu clapped his hands in high
glee, and danced about them as if he were about to receive a magnificent
gift, and laughed as he burst into a mock rhapsody.
"Lo, Kalulu has seen strange things! he has seen two trees drawn
together from a great distance! he has seen them walk together
arm-in-arm!! Behold how the trees, the sycamore and the mtambu, the
great baobab, and the mbiti, how they nod their heads, and are pleased!!
For they rejoice that two great trees are married, and a forest of
young trees will soon sprout up. As they move, the ground shakes and
the huts reel. Verily this is a great day; both the ground and the huts
have been guzzling pombe--they are drunk, rejoicing over the marriages
Kalulu, the future King of the Watuta, has performed!
"Lamoli, my sweet cousin, daughter of Katalambula--of Katalambula the
great King--was sorrowing for a husband. She was thirsting, like a pool
in the middle of the plain in a long summer. She, the flower of
Katalambula's household, was sick for a husband. But the day came--ah,
happy day! A man from afar--from the island in the sea--he came, he saw
me, I knew him. He was my friend; and in him Katalambula--Katalambula
the great King--found a husband for his daughter--a mate for Lamoli.
"Ah, Lamoli! Lamoli! Lamoli! weep no more; but laugh until thy mouth
reaches from ear to ear, and I, Kalulu, thy cousin, can see the joy
welling from thy throat, like living water springing from a rock!
Laugh, Lamoli, sweet Lamoli! so that the unmarried women of all Ututa
may hear and envy thee; so they may rend their bosoms with rage, or
crush themselves to death with the over-weight of their ornaments.
Laugh, Lamoli, sweet Lamoli! until every foot of man and woman moves to
the sound of thy happy laughter! And thou, tall woman of Ututa! do thou
laugh and sing, until all the tall trees of Ututa will become jealous of
thee! we then may have rain. And thou, Simba, tall man from afar, well
named the Lion! roar for joy, and thou wilt hear the wild lions of the
forest roar in concert with thee, and each will be roused to fury,
roaring for their loving mates. But enough; be happy, and raise
warriors for your tribes. Kalulu is not a singer; he is a young
warrior, who is learning how
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