first?" and slipped quickly down and ran to the old woman, and seized the wooden sword from her hand and cut her head off. Then he cooked her body y and left it in the pot in the house, so that the husband might see it when he came back from the gardens. And he climbed into a betel palm near the house, and hid himself under the leaves and waited.
After a little the old woman's husband came home, and being hungry, he waited not to see if his wife would come, but began at once to eat what he found in the pot. While he was thus eating he heard a voice from the betel palm crying, "It is thy wife whose flesh thou art eating!" Then, hearing a voice but seeing no one, he searched to see who this might be who called to him, and soon saw the lad seated in the betel palm above him." It is thou who hast killed my wife!" he cried, and ran into the house and sharpened his stone axe that he might cut down the palm and kill the lad. But as he cut it down the lad leapt to the next, and when that was cut down to yet another, and when that fell he climbed into a bread fruit tree and sat there. The old man had destroyed his betel palms, and now cut down the bread fruit tree, hoping to slay the lad who had killed his wife. But ere the tree was cut through the lad had leapt into a chestnut tree, and the old man well nigh despaired of slaying his enemy. Nevertheless he took heart and laid his axe upon the chestnut, and with many brave strokes he cut through the great trunk. And there were near there no more trees
