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SEPTEMBER, 1921]
FOLK-TALES OF THE CAR NICOBARESE
FOLK-TALES OF THE CAR NICOBARESE. COLLECTED BY THE REV. G. WHITEHEAD.
(Continued from p. 240.)
X.-A VOYAGE TO THE MOON.
249
There was once a widow who had four children. Three of them were grown up to be quite big girls, but the youngest was a baby; its name was Tö-mi-röök. The names of the others were Tö-kon ("Industrious"), the eldest; Tö-pêt-ngen ("One who minds one's own business"), the second; and Va-mi-rô ("Story-teller"), the third-all girls.
Now they had a small garden at some distance from the house; and one day the children were sent by their mother to go and weed it. She herself could not go with them, as there was no one else to mind the baby.
Early in the morning "Industrious" and her two sisters set out for the garden, and when they got there, at once set about to begin the weeding.
But soon the sun got up and it began to get hot, and "Story-teller" got tired and went into the shade to rest. Then she began to sing and to climb up on the boughs of trees (someof which had been chopped down and were lying full length on the ground). There she played and amused herself by swinging and did no more work for the rest of the day... This was the mother's favourite.
The two elder girls kept hard at their work out in the sun, and got very much sun-burnt. "Va-mê-rô, please do come and help us, so that we may get the weeding finished," said Tö-ken to her. But the request was in vain, for Va-mê-rô simply would not do any work.
Then said Tö-pêt-ngen ("One who minded her own business"): "We will tell mother about you when we get home, so that you will get a whipping." But Va-mi-rô would not budge and did not say anything in reply.
When it got well on in the afternoon, Va-mi-rô began to sprinkle rubbish on her head, and then went home before the others, and said to her mother, "I have been the only one to do any work to-day; those other two did nothing but play the whole time. I left them now in the garden, still in the midst of their games."
The mother got extremely angered against the others when she heard "Story-teller's" account of them, and she said, "Wait till they come and I will teach them a lesson. You have your dinner now, for you are tired. You will find it on the shelf."
Then, after a while, the two elder girls came home, and they felt disappointed that there was not a word of welcome for them on their arrival. They merely had some food given to them, which they ate.
Then, after they had finished their dinner, their mother asked them if the food they had had, had been nice, and they replied that it had been good. "I gave you food to eat which I had befouled (cum excremento infantis, fratris vestri); for you two have been lazy to-day; indeed, your never mind anything but play and amusement."
They did not say anything in reply, for they knew that she was repeating one of Va-mirô's fabrications, which she believed.
Then the two elder girls talked over matters together, and determined to run away from home. They got their few things together and put their little box on their shoulders; and off they went. They were anxious to go up to the moon, for they felt that their mother would find them out if they remained anywhere on the island.
