Page:Swahili tales.djvu/393

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THE HARE AND THE LION.
373

And the lion said, "Come down then." And he came down. And he caught hold of him, and said, "Who were you with up there?" And he said, "I and the hare. Did you not see him here when I threw him down?" And he said, "I did not see him." And he ate the buku. And the lion set out and went seeking the hare, without finding him.

Till the third day after, the hare went and called the tortoise, and said to him, "Let us go and eat some honey." And he asked, "Whose?" And he said, "My father's." And he said, "Let us go." And they arrived and climbed up with their burning straw, and they put fire to the bees and they flew away, and they sat down and ate.

All at once the lion came out, and that lion was the owner of the honey. And he asked, "Who are you up there?" And the hare said to the tortoise, "Keep quiet." And the lion asked again. And the tortoise was afraid, and said, "I shall speak. You told me this honey was yours: what then, is it not yours, does it belong to the lion?" And the lion asked again, "Who are you." And he said, "We are here." And he said, "Come down then." And he said, "We are coming." And the lion had sought for the hare many days, and he said, "I have got the hare to-day."

And the hare said to the tortoise, "Take me and put me among the straw, and tell the lion, 'Get out of the way, that I may throw down the straw;' and I will go. Wait for me below." And he said, "Very well." And the tortoise said to himself, "This fellow wants to run away, leaving me to be eaten by the lion: he shall eat him first." And he took him and put him among the straw. And he said to the lion, "The hare is coming."

And the lion caught him, and laid hold of him with his paw, and said, "What am I to do to you to-day?" And