The baby ngina was just beginning to learn the language of the nginas from his father and mother, who taught him to speak, and he was making good progress.
As the nginas were enjoying their nuts, they were suddenly disturbed by the sharp whistling buzz of an ibolai fly, which was trying to alight upon their bodies and bite them. “Bother the ibolai fly!” said the big ngina; “it bites so hard.” At the same time his eyes were watching for a chance to catch it, but the ibolai was so quick in its motion that he could not follow it.
The ibolai is cunning, and succeeded, unknown to him, in getting on the ngina’s back, and gave him a most painful bite. The pain made the ngina cry out. At that very time a fly called the nchouna, which makes no noise at all and which is very cunning and sly, alighted on the face of his mate, inserted its bill in her cheek so gently that she did not feel it, and, after having had its fill of blood, left without its presence being known. Soon after, the itching began, giving at times sharp stings of pain.
“Bother the nchouna!” she cried angrily; “they are so sly that one never knows when they alight upon one and the pain is only felt after the fly has left. I wish all the nchounas were dead.”
A short time afterward the nginas heard a sharp whistle made by an iboco fly, as it flew round them with such rapidity that their eyes could not follow it in its course. The iboco would at times go far away and then come back. At last it succeeded in alighting on the back of the big ngina, who suddenly uttered a howl of pain.
“What is the matter, dear?” inquired her mate.
“Don’t speak of it; an iboco has given me a fearful bite. These ibocos are the worst flies I know of. Let us get out of the way of the nchouna, the ibolai, and the iboco, and go into the thickest part of the jungle. There they will have no room to fly around us in.” And they immediately moved into the thick jungle.
After they were comfortably seated in the jungle, the big ngina said to his mate: “We have to roam continually, far and wide in the forest, to get our living, and we eat so much every day that we cannot stay long in one place. It is about time for us to travel toward the land of pineapples. These must be good to eat now, for it is the moon of thunder, great heat and rain. That land is a long way off, but we will manage to get a living as we journey along. The tondos Toward sunset, when it was time for the nginas to go to sleep, they came to a fine tree, and the huge fellow said to his mate, “Here is a good place for us to spend the night.” Then Mamma Ngina ascended the tree with her baby hanging to her, and seated herself on a heavy cross branch, and placed her back against the trunk of the tree. After she was comfortably settled, she looked down and said to her mate, “I know, dear, that you will let no animal climb this tree, even if it is a njego, and that you will fight to the death to protect us, for we do not fight.” “Surely,” answered her mate, with roars of defiance, “I will protect you and our little one.”