Page:Papuan Fairy Tales.djvu/34

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PAPUAN FAIRY TALES

one," and the men went with him and they searched until he was found under a bush where his mother had hidden him. Then said the owner, "This is my pig," and took the little one in his arms and carried him home. And the old pig, being now alone, followed to the village, and cared for her young as she had done in the bush.

Now it came to pass when the boy was now grown that on a day he heard his mother crying for food, and he resolved to make a garden that he might grow food to give her when she was hungry. So he called to the men of the village, and asked them to help him make his garden. And the lad, whose name was Dabedabe, set out with many men for the plantation. Soon had they cleared the ground, and then they made a fence about it. Now while they were fencing the garden, the owner of the pigs, who was there also, went back to the village, and made ready food, that the men who had helped Dabedabe might eat in the evening when they returned. And as he desired that they should eat and be full he killed the old pig whose son was Dabedabe, and cooked her flesh with the taro. Then when the men returned from the garden he said, "Sit ye down and eat, for supper is ready." And he laid a portion of flesh and taro on the green leaves which were spread before each man.

Now Dabedabe watched while the man did this, and he said, "What is the flesh in the pot?"

"It is pig's flesh, my son," said the man.