They dispersed from the medicine ordeal, and went each to his house. Then that day darkened into night. And they all went to their sleep.
Soon the next day broke. Squirrel and his wife prepared for a journey to the forest to seek food. He said to his wife, “Leave the children in the house.” So the woman shut them in, and closed the doors tight. And he and she went off to the forest.
Later on in the morning, Adder arose from his place, and he said to himself, “I’m going to stroll over to the house of my friend Ihende.” So he came to Squirrel’s house, and found no one there. He tried to break in the door; finally, he succeeded in opening it; and he entered the house. He found the two children of Squirrel lying together asleep. He shook them, and they awoke. He asked them, “Where is my friend?” They answered, “Our father and mother have gone to the forest.”
Then Adder suddenly joined the two children together and swallowed them. (They were both of them lads.) Then he went out of the house, and closed the door. His stomach being distended with what he had swallowed, he went back to his house, and laid down on his bed.
Off in the forest, Squirrel said to his wife, “My heart beats so strangely! I have eaten nothing here; what should disturb my heart?” His wife replied, “Well! let us hasten back to town. Perhaps some affair has happened in our house!”
They hastily gathered their food, to go back rapidly to town. On their arrival, they went at once to their house. Looking at the door, the wife exclaimed, “I did not leave this door so! Who has been at it?” Her husband urged, “Quickly! Open the door! Let us enter at once!” They opened the door; and found no one in the house.
Then Squirrel, fearing evil, said to her, “Stay you here! I will go over to Pe’s house. I know that fellow!” He came to Adder’s house, and found him distended with this stomach. Squirrel asked him, “Chum! have you been at my house?” Adder answered, “Yes, I went to your house; but I have done nothing there.” Squirrel asked him, feeling sure of his guilt, “But, where then are my children? Why did you not leave even one of them? Ah! my friend!” Adder replied, “When we drank the Test, did I not swear the truth that if I met with your children, I would swallow them?” Squirrel answered, “Yes! and you have kept your word well! But you shall see something just now and here!” Adder laughed, and said, “What can you do? You have no strength like mine.”
Close by the house of Adder (which was only a hole in the ground) was a large tree. Squirrel went out of the house, and climbed to the top of the tree. There he began to wail for his dead, and cried out, “Ikundu ja mâ! Ikundu ja mâ!” (A play on words: either an apostrophe to the name of one of his children, or a prayer for vengeance.) Another squirrel, that was a mile or two away, heard the wailing; and it came to where Squirrel was. Also his wife followed Squirrel to that tree; and she wailed too. And other squirrels came; about twenty.
A hunter, living in the town of Mankind, started from his town to go hunting. Coming along the path, he heard Squirrel crying. Looking up, he exclaimed, “O! how many squirrels!” He thought to himself, “Why do these animals make this noise, and keep looking down at the foot of this big tree?”
He approached near to the tree; and they dispersed among the branches. He then said to himself, “I will look around here at the bottom; for, as those squirrels continue their cry, they keep looking down here.” Searching at the foot of the tree, he saw a hole, like the home of some beast. Looking in, he saw the Adder sluggish in his distention. The hunter killed it with his machete. And he took the dead adder with him to the town of Mankind.