At daylight the njokoos entered the big forest, the largest one they had ever seen. After two days’ wanderings, they said: “Never have we seen such a thick forest before: the trees crowd on one another; the foliage is so thick that we cannot see the sky; only flickers of the sun, piercing through the leaves, appear in small spots here and there on the ground. Dark indeed is this forest. The leaves of many of the trees, and of the jungle, are so tender and sweet that we shall thrive in our new home.”
Then there was silence, and a wise njokoo said: “Surely there are no human beings here. We shall be happy for the rest of our lives.”
They advanced farther into the heart of the forest every day. It was a new world to them, and they met creatures they had never seen before, and said, “Strange, indeed, are the animals of this land.”
One day, the new-comers met a herd of their own kin and found out that they spoke the same language; that these had all been born in the forest, as well as their forefathers for many generations, and did not know of any other country but this great land of trees. The new-comers asked of them many questions about their adopted home. They told them that there were great mountains, large and small rivers and lakes; that here and there there were prairies, some large and some small, but always surrounded by the forest; that it rained a great deal and that there was terrific thunder and lightning, and that tornadoes were frequent; that during the rainy season the rivers overflowed their banks; that there were many bogs in which often njokoos lost their lives, and of which they must beware.
The new-comers inquired also if there were any rhinoceroses; and as these njokoos of the forest had never seen them, the new-comers had to explain what sort of animals they were, and were told they did not live in the forest. Also they asked if there were human beings in the forest. They said, “We have run away from the open country, for there were so many of them there. They left us no peace and have killed many of us.”
The njokoos of the forest replied: “Yes, indeed, there are human beings in this forest, and they have made all kind of evil devices, traps, and pits, and snares to kill us. They are the greatest enemies we have, and we have had continually to flee from them and live in the secluded parts; but even there they have hunted and killed us.”
This grieved the others, and all the njokoos uttered trumpetings of sadness and said, “Hard indeed is our life.”
The forest njokoos continued: “We have also another enemy in the forest from whom we have constantly to flee. They are very small, but appear suddenly and in countless numbers. These are the bashikouay ants. Beware of them.”
They told them also of the ngina, of the men of the woods, and of the great numbers of snakes.
Then the forest njokoos and their new friends parted.