The Turtle and the Monkey
There was once a turtle and a monkey who went to make a clearing. The monkey did not work, but the turtle was the one which cleared the land. When one day passed, “Let us go to plant,” said the turtle. They went, and banana was what they went to plant. The turtle planted his in the clearing, but the monkey hung his in a tree when he went to climb. Five days passed. “Let us go to see our planting,” said the turtle. When they arrived where they had planted, the monkey saw that his banana was dry, but that which the turtle had planted bore ripe fruit. When the monkey reached the place where the turtle sat, “I am waiting for you, monkey, for I cannot climb my banana tree.” “Give me fruit, and I will go to climb. My banana which I hung in the tree did not bear fruit,” said the monkey. The turtle laughed and agreed, but when the monkey climbed in the tree he only ate and did not throw down any fruit. “Give me, monkey,” said the turtle. “The thumb still eats,” replied the monkey. Then he pushed a banana up his anus and after that threw it down. The turtle ate it and again asked for fruit. “The little finger still eats,” said the monkey. Then he finished eating the fruit and he slept on the banana tree. The turtle went to search for long sharp shells, and when he had secured them he planted them upright around the tree, and cried, “Bad in the east. Bad in the west.” Then the monkey jumped, and the shells pierced his side so that he died.
The turtle dried his meat and sold it to the other monkeys, and when he had finished selling he went under the house and hid beneath a coconut shell. When all the monkeys had eaten the turtle cried, “They eat their relative.” Then the monkeys heard, but could not see. The turtle called many times until at last they found him beneath the coconut shell. They agreed to kill him with the axe, but the turtle laughed and pointed to the marks on his back.[1] 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 Page 196that. 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.[2]
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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[3] 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 and killed him. Then the turtle went away. Page 197