35. Rabbit and Man-eater

35. RABBIT AND MAN-EATER ¹ (65)

Rabbit was traveling westward when he met Man-eater coming toward him. Man-eater said, "Where are you going?" and Rabbit answered, "I am going over yonder to eat someone. How is it with you?" he said, and Man-eater answered, "I am going eastward

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hunting." "You can't find anything in that direction. I ate them all up and left. Turn back and let us travel together," said Rabbit, so he turned back and they started on.

After they had gone along for a while Rabbit said, "Let us sit facing each other with our eyes shut and defecate." So they sat down, and when Man-eater shut his eyes and defecated Rabbit held his hand under him and took his excrements away. He returned his own in exchange. Man-eater's excrement he laid down under himself. He had said to Man-eater, "When I say 'Now' we will get up." So he said "Now" and they got up. "Let us look at our excrements," he said to him, and when they looked Rabbit said, "This excrement of yours looks pitiful." And Man-eater answered, "I never defecated like that before. My life must be nearing its end. Hehā+."

Then the two started on. When evening came they built a fire near a river and sat down to spend the night. "They say that the fire will pepper whoever stays here all night, but I hardly believe that," said Rabbit. Then Man-eater lay down on one side of the fire and Rabbit lay down on the other. "What noise do you make when you are asleep?" said Rabbit, and Man-eater answered, "When I sleep I always say 'dåno'l, dåno'l' (I am asleep, I am asleep). But what do you say when you are asleep?" Rabbit replied, "When I sleep I always say 'lēk, lēk'." Then Man-eater pretended to be asleep and said as he lay, "dåno'l, 'dåno'l." When Rabbit said to him, "Are you asleep?" he lay still. Rabbit also lay snoring, saying "lēk, lēk." When the other said to him, "Are you asleep?" he went on without stopping. So Man-eater thought he had gone to sleep and lay down and slept, making a noise like "lā+k," as he lay. When Rabbit heard that he got up, shoveled up some live coals and sprinkled them about where he himself had lain down. He said, "It has turned out just as I told you they say it does," and he sprinkled his companion. Man-eater jumped up and they both ran off. "It always does that when you are going along," Rabbit said, as he ran on.

As they wore traveling on they jumped across a stream and when Man-eater was across Rabbit jumped back and made the river grow larger. Man-eater walked about on the other side unable to get back. Then he said to a Crane flying along, "Crane, make a foot log for me." So Crane stood on the bank of the river and stretched out his neck, and Man-eater climbed upon it. But when he got halfway over Crane said, "I am almost breaking," so Man-eater turned back. Then he climbed on again and got halfway across. "I am on the point of breaking," Crane said, and Man-eater turned round and got off. After this had happened several times Crane flew away.

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Then Man-eater remained on the other side. Rabbit kept saying, "The river is growing bigger." He whooped and made gobbling noises as he wandered about.

Footnotes

259:1 Called "Lion" by my informant.