Mbungi reached his town, and his wife’s family asked him: “Where is your wife?” “Oh, she is coming on behind,” he replied. They accused him of killing her, but this he strongly denied. While he was denying the charge of murder the head came right into the town; and when the family saw it they immediately tied up Mbungi and killed him.
This was how murder was first introduced into the world.
Story V
Why the Fowl and Dog are abused by the Birds
There was a time when all the birds and animals lived in the sky. One day it was very rainy and cold—so cold that they were all shivering. The birds said to the Dog: “Go down and fetch us some fire to warm ourselves.”
The Dog descended, but seeing plenty of bones and pieces of fish lying about on the ground he forgot to take the fire to the shivering birds.
The birds and animals waited, and the Dog not returning they sent the Fowl to hasten him with the fire.
The Fowl, however, on arriving below, beheld plenty of palm nuts, pea nuts, maize, and other good things, so he did not tell the Dog to take up the fire, and did not take any himself.
This is the reason why you can hear of an evening a bird that sings with notes like this, “Nsusu akende bombo! nsusu akende bombo!” which means, The Fowl has become a slave! the Fowl has become a slave!
And the Heron sometimes sits on a tree near a village and cries, “Mbwa owa! mbwa owa!” = Dog, you die! dog, you die![[28]]