Page:Swahili tales.djvu/89

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SULTAN DARAI.
69

held the diamond in its mouth; and it ran far through the forest, and found no town that day. And it slept in the forest; and the second morning it arose before the morning was quite light, and ran till about ten o'clock, and rested till the sun had ceased to be overhead, and ran very fast, with its diamond in its mouth, till when the sun went down it slept on the way. In the morning, when it was light, it ran off and exerted itself in running till when eight o'clock was past it rested, it saw signs of a town near, and ran off and ran hard till as the sun inclined from overhead, seeing signs of great houses and of a town, it could not stop again, and ran very hard and went until it arrived in the main road of that town, and that road lead up to the Sultan's house. And it went until the Sultan's house lay open before it. And it went the harder; and as it was passing in the road, people stood staring, seeing a gazelle running and something wrapped in leaves between its teeth in its mouth, and it going towards the Sultan's house.

The people who were in the town stood staring till the gazelle arrived at the Sultan's door; and the Sultan was sitting before his door. The gazelle cried, "Hodi! Hodi!" It had thrown down the diamond, and sat there in the road panting. And the second time it cried, "Hodi! Hodi!" And the Sultan said, "Listen to this cry of 'Hodi!'" And they said, "Master, it is a gazelle that is crying 'Hodi!'" And he said, "Invite it to come near! invite it to come near!" Three people went running and said to it, "Come, get up! you are called; come near." The gazelle got up and took up its diamond till where the Sultan was, and laid it at the Sultan's feet.

And it said, "Master, Masalkheri." The Sultan replied, "Allah masik bilkheri, come near." "I am seated, master." The Sultan ordered the soldiers, "Bring also a carpet, and