he marks on his back. [378]
The monkeys believed him when he said he had often been cut by his
father and grandfather; so they did not cut, but went to get fire. "You
cannot kill me with that. Do you not see that my back is almost black
from burning." "Ay-ay," said the monkeys, "let us tie a stone to his
waist and drown him in the lake." The turtle cried and begged them to
spare him, but the monkeys did not know that the water was the cause
of his living, for it was his home. They threw him in the lake and
when they had watched a long time, they saw him float on the water
and he was holding a large fish. Then all the monkeys tied stones
to their waists and dived in the lake to catch fish. They did not
float in the lake, but they died. Only a pregnant monkey was left,
but the turtle came and drowned her also. [379]

78

A turtle and a big lizard went to the field of Gotgotapa to steal
ginger. When they got there the turtle told the lizard he must be
very still; but when the lizard tasted the ginger, he exclaimed,
"The ginger of Gotgotapa is very good." "Be still," said the turtle;
but again the lizard shouted louder than before. Then the man heard
and came out of his house to catch the robbers. The turtle could
not run fast, so he lay very still, and the man did not see him;
but the lizard ran and the man chased him. When they were very far,
the turtle went into the house. Now, the man had a coconut shell
which he used to sit on, and the turtle hid under it.

The man could not catch the lizard, so in a while he came back
to his house and sat on the shell. Bye and bye, the turtle called
"Kook." Then the man jumped up and looked all around to find where
the noise came from, but he could not find. The turtle called "Kook"
again and the man tried very hard to find what made the noise. The
turtle called a third time more loudly and then the man thought it was
his testicles which made the noise, so he took a stone and hit them;
then he died and the turtle ran away.

When the turtle got a long way, he met the lizard again and they
saw some honey on the branch of a tree. "I run first to get,"
said the turtle; but the big lizard ran fast and seized the honey;
then the bees stung him and he ran back to the turtle. On their
road they saw a bird snare. The turtle said, "That is the _paliget_
[380] of my grandfather." Then the lizard ran very fast to get it,
but it caught his neck and held him until the man who owned it came