Ukanakâdi finally was angry at the child, and said to the mother, “All the food of my plantations is finished, eaten up by your child. We have no more plantains, no more cassava, no more eddoes, nor anything else in our plantations or in our kitchen-gardens. You have brought a curse upon us! Go away to your father’s house!” (He said this, not knowing that a Fetish-Medicine had caused all the trouble.)
So the mother went away with her child to her father’s house. But there too, the boy ate up all the food of the gardens, until there was none left. Then her father said to her, “All my food is done here; go with your child to your grandfather, and find food there.”
So, she went to her grandfather’s. But there the same trouble followed.
After she had been there some time, and the child was now a stout lad, and she saw that they were no longer welcome, she said to herself, “Alas! it is so! All my people are weary of me! I will not longer stay at grandfather’s. I will go wandering into the forest, and, with the child, will see what I can get.”
Taking with her only two ears of corn, she went far off with the lad into the forest. After much wandering, and eating only wild fruits, she selected a spot without having any idea of the locality, and built a shed for a camp in which to stay. At this place, she planted the corn. It quickly sprang up, and bore abundantly. And she planted other gardens. After a time came very many birds; and they began to eat up the corn. She exclaimed, “My son and I alone have come here, and have planted our corn. How is this that all the birds have come so soon to destroy it?” And the son, who by this time had grown to be almost a young man, said to her, “Mother, why do you allow the birds to eat? Why don’t you do something?” She replied, “Why do the birds thus destroy the corn? What can I do?” So he came out of the shed into the yard in front of their house and shouted at the birds, “You birds! who have come here to spoil my corn, with this stick I will kill you all!” But the birds jeered at him, saying, “No! not all! Only one shall die!”
The young man went into the house, took up a magic spear-head he owned, fitted it onto a stick as a shaft; and going out again, he hurled it at the birds. The spear flew at them, pursuing each one, and piercing every one of them in succession. Then it flew on and on, away out into the forest.
The young man took up another medicine-charm that he had with him, and, calling to his spear by name, shouted after it, “Tombeseki-o-o! Come back, back, back, Here! again, again, again, Return!” The spear heard him, and obeyed, and came back. He laid hold of it, and put it again in the shed. So, he and his mother lived there. She planted a very large garden of plantains, cassava, and many other vegetables, a very large quantity. And her gardens grew, and bore fruit in plenty.
Then there came all kinds of small Animals, hogs, and antelopes, and gazelles, very many; and they spoiled the gardens, eating the fruit, and breaking down the stalks. The mother exclaimed, “My son! the animals have finished all my food of the gardens; everything is lost! Why is this?” He replied, “Yes, it is so! And when they come again tomorrow, I know what I will do to them!”
When they came the next day, he went into the house, took the spear, flung it; and it flew from beast to beast, piercing all of them in succession. Then it went off, flying into the forest, as before. He called after it to return. The Spear heard, and obeyed, and came back to the house.
Then he and his mother sat down in the house, complaining of their hunger, and how the animals had spoiled their gardens. So the mother went out, and gathered up what little remained, brought it into the house, and cooked it, leaves and all.