The Gazelle was angry at this insult, and said: “I’ll unset your trap.”
“Very well,” shouted the Tortoise, “only do it with your head, and not with your hands or your feet, or you will die.”
The Gazelle, however, poked in a stick, and snap went the spring, and out loudly screamed the Gazelle, so the Tortoise thought he was caught, and came out of his hole with his gun to shoot him, but the Gazelle sprang on the Tortoise, took away his gun and killed him, and then, gathering up the meat, he went off to his own town. The Biter is eventually bit, and he who deceives others will himself be deceived.
XVIII
How the Frog collected his Debt from the Hawk
The Hawk lived in sky-land and the Frog lived on the earth. One day the Hawk paid a visit to the Frog, and said to him: “Friend Frog, will you kindly lend me a thousand brass rods, for I am in difficulty for want of money?”
The Frog replied: “Your town is up in the sky, and I cannot fly up there for I have neither feathers nor wings.”
“Oh, you will not need to call for your money, for I will surely bring it to you down here, so please lend me the brass rods.” The Frog counted out the thousand rods and handed them to the Hawk.
For six months the Frog heard nothing from the Hawk, neither was any part of the debt paid, so one day, seeing the Hawk on a low branch he went to ask for his money, but the Hawk flew away as fast as his wings would carry him.
Then the Frog heard that the Hawk went every Nkandu[[72]] and Nkenge[[72]] to market to buy saucepans, so on the following Nkandu the Frog