Where Animals Talk; West African Folk Lore Tales/Part 2/Tale 2
Crocodile
Persons
| Ngando (Crocodile) | Two Children, and Towns-People |
Two children were bathing in a river; and a crocodile came where they were. It seized one, and, grasping it with its teeth, went with it to its hole in the river bank. It did not kill him, but said to him, "I leave you here, and I go straight back to bring the other one who remained." After the crocodile had left, the one thus put into the hole, turning his eyes about, saw it full of living fish (kept on hand by the crocodile as its food-supply). He saw also that there was another opening in the cavity, above, just over his head. Climbing up and jumping through it, he rapidly went straight away to his village. He related all this incident to the people. Then they gladly fired guns, for welcome of the child.
When the crocodile reached the bathing-place on its return, it did not see the one whom it had left there; and it was angry. While it was thus angry, the people shot at it with guns, but their shots could not even wound it; and it went back again to its hole to seek for and eat the child whom it had seized.
When it again entered into the hole and searched, and did not find him, it was very angry, and pursued him, going up to the very middle of the village. For three days it was there barking in the village, and trying to kill some one.