The Door Falls from the Tree upon the Robbers

p. 180

THE DOOR FALLS FROM THE TREE UPON THE ROBBERS ²

An old man and old woman lived far off from everyone. They were afraid of robbers. The man said, "I think we had better go where we will be safe. If someone comes they will kill us here." He told the old woman to take all the clothes and he said, "I will carry our house door." They started south and came to a tree where they sat down to eat. Suddenly they heard a noise. Some soldiers were coming. "Where is there a safe place?" they cried. They climbed the tree. They put the door on the branches and sat on top. The soldiers came close and stopped under the tree to camp. The old woman needed to urinate and said, "What shall I do?" The old man said, "Catch the urine in your hands and sprinkle it over the soldiers." The soldiers were resting after their meal under the tree. The soldiers felt drops falling. "There are birds in this tree," they said. They looked up and saw the old man and the old woman in the tree. They all went to get their guns to shoot them. The old man said, "Let the door fall down." They pushed the door off. The noise frightened the soldiers and they ran. When the old man and the old woman saw that everything was quiet they came down. They found all the soldiers' guns and food left there. They began to eat and were very happy. They started south again. They took some of the soldiers' food along, and left the broken door.

On the way they came to a place where people had been threshing wheat. They found a little boy hunting birds. They asked, "Where is your home?" He took them to his home. Farther south they came to his home. He lived with his grandfather. The old man and the old woman did not go inside. Outside they met an old woman (witch) who said, "Don't go into his house; better mine." So they went to the old woman's house. They stopped there. The old man was suspicious. He thought she was trying to steal from them. He said to his wife, "Better leave this house." The witch wouldn't let them go-she wanted them to stay. The old man said, "We are looking for our little boy who has been lost for many years." The man went out. He met another man who said, "Do not stay in that house; that old lady is a witch. She might kill you to-night." He told the old man how to escape. "When the witch is asleep, steal away and lock her in the house. This is the only way you can get away." The old man did this. They went north. They set out to find a safe place. The man had said, "As soon as she knows you have gone, she will pursue you. Go quickly until you find a safe place." At last they came to a safe place and they lived there.

Footnotes

180:2 Informant 1. Notes, p. 247.