Collectanea. 347
of my elder sister." Then they said, — " This bird (is) a sweet singer (the owner of a sweet song, or singing). When we have eaten our wife, we shall give you the head." So she went and told her elder sister, and said, — "Now your husbands (are) Snakes, they will eat you." Then she (maiden) said, — "Oh, have you begun? When you caine I said you would ruin my happiness." Then she (younger sister) said, — " Well, if you say I am lying, when the sun rises and they have gone to the stream I shall go with you, and we can climb the tree." So she said, — "Very well." When the sun had risen, and the men had gone, she and her younger sister made a detour, and came to the tree on which the younger sister used to stand and used to sing to them. So, when the men had become Snakes, they swallowed frogs. Then the younger sister said, — "Now let me sing to them, and you listen to what they will say." So she said, — " I salute you, husbands of my elder sister." Then they said, — "This bird is a sweet singer. When we have eaten our wife, we shall give you the head." Then she said, — "Now, did you hear what they said?" She said, — "Yes, I have heard." Then she said, — " Let us go home, let us run away." So they went and ran on, and on, and on. They wanted to return home, they the elder and the younger sister. Then the Snakes returned, and did not see them, and said, — " Oh, the meat is gone." So they changed entirely into Snakes, and began to run, and they overtook them. When they had overtaken them, the younger sister hit her elder sister with (her) hand, and she changed and became a stump with roots. Then the friend 1° said, — "Ah, here is a stump with roots." Then he said, — " Let us return home, and get an axe and cut it down." When they had gone back home, her younger sister hit her, and she became a human being again. Before the Snakes had returned, she the elder and the younger sister had crossed the stream at the gate of their town. Then the Snakes saw that they had no chance of getting to them, so they cursed them (sent curses to their place). They said, — "You were choosing. We wanted to eat you." Then the Snakes returned to the forest. The young women entered the town. The elder
■" And, apparently, changed into birds.
1" Apparently the Snake who did not marry her ; both appear to have been regarded as her husband. .
