down. And they asked one another, "Well! have we hit the beast?" And each man said, "We have hit it, master." "Let us lie down then, and in the morning let us look."
And they slept till the morning, and cooked rice and ate, and drank water. And they went, and went round to the back of the mountain, and found the nunda dead. And they went down, and when they reached the bottom they saw it was dead. The lad rejoiced much, and his slaves rejoiced. And he said to them, "I am hungry, cook again and let us eat." And they took out some cleaned rice and cooked it. And they cooked plenty of rice, and ate rice till what was left they threw away.
And he said, "Tie it up and let us drag it." And they dragged it the first day through forest and wilderness, and the second day, forest and wilderness, and the third day, forest and wilderness, and the fourth day, the beast is stinking. His slave said to him, "It stinks, let us leave it." And he said, "We will drag it as long as a single bone shall remain, and take it home with us." And when half the way was ended the lad sang—
"Mother, I have killed
The Nunda, eater of people." (Twelve times.)
And they went on, till as he drew near the town—
"Mother, mother, mother,
I come from the evil spirits, to sing.
Mother, mother, mother,
I come from the evil spirits, to sing,
From the evil spirits, to sing,
Mother, I have killed
The Nunda, eater of people." (Many times.)
"My son, this is he,
The Nunda, eater of people." (Many times, as if answering one another.)
