THE BABOONS AND ||XABBITEN||XABBITEN.

Specimens of Bushman Folklore, by W.H.I. Bleek and L.C. Lloyd, [1911], at sacred-texts.com

The baboons espied ||Xabbiten||Xabbiten. as he was coming away from the white men whom he had been to visit. He was carrying flonr, which the white men gave him. And the baboons said: "Uncle ||Xabbiten||Xabbiten seems to be returning yonder; let us cross his path (?), that we may knock him down."

The baboons did so; ||Xabbiten||Xabbiten thought he would speak to them, he asked them what they were saying. And ||Xabbiten||Xabbiten remarked upon their foreheads' steepness (?).[1] And the baboons angrily came down to ||Xabbiten||Xabbiten; they

[1. "Ye speak to me! ye are ugly! your foreheads resemble overhanging cliffs!" The baboons became angry with him, because he derided them; he said that their foreheads resembled overhanging cliffs. And they broke off sticks, on account of it they went towards ||Xabbiten||Xabbiten.]

broke off sticks, with which they intended to come to beat ||Xabbiten||Xabbiten.

The baboons' children also came; going along, they called out to their parents.about it: "O fathers! ye must give us ||Xabbiten||Xabbiten's head that we may play with it."

||Xabbiten||Xabbiten did as follows, when he heard that the baboons' children were speaking in this manner, he thought to himself, 'What shall I do? for the baboons are not a little numerous.' He thought, 'I will climb a krieboom, that I may sit above in the krieboom; the baboons will have (?) to drag me down from the krieboom.'

And the baboons went up to him, as he sat above in the krieboom; the baboons' children spoke to each other about it, they said: "First look ye at ||Xabbiten||Xabbiten's big head; we should be a Iong while playing there, with ||Xabbiten||Xabbiten's head; for ye are those who see that its bigness is like this; it seems as if it would not quickly break."A baboon, who was grown up,[1] spoke to the baboons' children; he questioned the baboons' children: Did not the baboons' children see that ||Xabbiten||Xabbiten was grown up-that they who were children should think that they could possess the pieces of ||Xabbiten||Xabbiten. They spoke as if he were their little cousin; that they should possess his pieces. Did they not see that those who are grown up would be the ones to get the pieces of ||Xabbiten||Xabbiten those who are grown up?

And ||Xabbiten||Xabbiten thought to himself: 'What shall I do, (in order) that the baboons may

[1. The name of the head baboon, the big, old one, which goes after the rest, is !uhai|ho|kwa, or "Schildwacht"]

leave me? for, they speak angrily about me. it sounds as if they would really attack me.' And 11 e ||Xabbiten||Xabbiten thought to himself: 'Wait, I will first tell about the baboons to the white men. For baboons are not a little afraid of a gun; I shall see whether they will not be afraid, if they hear that I am talking about them to the white men.'

And ||Xabbiten||Xabbiten called out,--while he deceived them,--he said: "O white men! the baboons are here, they are with me, ye must drive them away"(?). And the baboons did thus, when they heard that ||Xabbiten||Xabbiten spoke about them, that the white men should drive them away (?), the baboons looked about, on account of it. And the baboons ran, leaving ||Xabbiten||Xabbiten; and he escaped, at the time when the baboons went away in fear, he quickly descended from the krieboom. He ran away, as he escaped from the baboons; while they ran to the cliffs he ran away.