As he had always been left at home, he had no very clear idea what he was going to hunt for; so he had not gone far beyond the suburbs, when, seeing a very large dog, he concluded that this was the animal he was after; so he killed it, tied a rope to it, and dragged it home, singing,
“Oh, mother, I have killed
The noondah, eater of the people.”
When his mother, who was upstairs, heard him, she looked out of the window, and, seeing what he had brought, said, “My son, this is not the noondah, eater of the people.”
So he left the carcass outside and went in to talk about it, and his mother said, “My dear boy, the noondah is a much larger animal than that; but if I were you, I’d give the business up and stay at home.”
“No, indeed,” he exclaimed; “no staying at home for me until I have met and fought the noondah.”
So he set out again, and went a great deal farther than he had gone on the former day. Presently he saw a civet cat, and, believing it to be the animal he was in search of, he killed it, bound it, and dragged it home, singing,
“Oh, mother, I have killed
The noondah, eater of the people.”
When his mother saw the civet cat, she said, “My son, this is not the noondah, eater of the people.” And he threw it away.