Page:Swahili tales.djvu/185

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MOHAMMED THE LANGUID.
165

"And I got myself back to my house, and my condition was just the same, lying down and being fed, and having water given to me to drink.

"And the Sheikh set out, and went his way to the land of China. And they did their trading, and then set out, and went two days' journey. And he forgot my dirhems and had bought me nothing. And he remembered them after two days. And he told the merchants his companions, 'We must go back, I have forgotten the trust of Mohammed the Languid.' And the merchants his companions answered and said to him, 'Will you go back for the sake of five dirhems, when we have put so many goods on board the ship?' And he said, 'If you will not go back, let each one of you make up for him something certain.' And the merchants consented.

"So they came on their journey and proceeded till they reached an island. And that island was called the island of Sunudi, that was its name. And they landed there, in order to go and rest from the troubles of the sea, and they walked about in the town.

"The Sheikh to whom I had given my deposit passed where there were shops, and saw monkeys tied up, and there was one little one which had all its hair pulled off, and its companions beat it. So when the sheikh saw it, he felt compassion for it, and asked for it from the owner, and bought it with my five dirhems. And the sheikh's idea was to bring it to me to play with, for he knew that I was a man without employment.

"And they set out and came on their way to a second island. And that island was called the island of Sodani, for the inhabitants and their companions eat the flesh of men. And when they saw the ship arrive, they went on board and bound the people who were in it, and some they slaughtered, and ate their flesh. And the Sheikh