a thousand
of the finest bulls and cows, and drove them down to the river,
followed by a great crowd wondering what would happen.

Then Thakane stepped forward in front of the cattle and sang:

Bring to me Dilah, Dilah the rejected one,
Dilah, whom her father Masilo cast out!

And Dilah came from the waters holding out her hands to Masilo and
Thakane, and in her place the cattle sank into the lake, and were
driven by the old woman to the great city filled with people, which
lies at the bottom.

[_Contes Populaires des Bassoutos._]

_THE WICKED WOLVERINE_

One day a wolverine was out walking on the hillside, when, on turning
a corner, he suddenly saw a large rock.

'Was that you I heard walking about just now?' he asked, for
wolverines are cautious animals, and always like to know the reasons
of things.

'No, certainly not,' answered the rock; 'I don't know how to walk.'

'But I _saw_ you walking,' continued the wolverine.

'I am afraid that you were not taught to speak the truth,' retorted
the rock.

'You need not speak like that, for I have _seen_ you walking,' replied
the wolverine, 'though I am quite sure that you could never catch
_me_!' and he ran a little distance and then stopped to see if the
rock was pursuing him; but, to his vexation, the rock was still in the
same place. Then the wolverine went up close, and struck the rock a
blow with his paw, saying: 'Well, will you catch me _now_?'

'I can't walk, but I can _roll_,' answered the rock.

And the wolverine laughed and said: 'Oh, that will do just as well';
and began to run down the side of the mountain.

At first he went quite slowly, 'just to give the rock a chance,' he
thought to himself; but soon he quickened his pace, for he found that
the rock was almost at his heels. But the faster the wolverine ran,
the faster the rock rolled, and by-and-by the little creature began to
get very tired, and was sorry he had not left the rock to itself.
Thinking that if he could manage to put on a spurt he would reach the
forest of great trees at the bottom of the mountain, where the rock
could not come, he gathered up all his strength, and instead of
running he leaped over sticks and stones, but, whatever he did, the
rock was always close behind him. At length he grew so weary that he
could not even see where he was going, and catching his foot in a
branch he tripped and fell. The rock stopped at once, but there came a
shriek from the