“Get rid of your only daughter?” they answered, in surprise. “But why?” “Because she has eaten what she ought not to have eaten. She has touched the sacred tree which belongs to her mother and me alone.” And, turning his back, he called to Thakane to follow him, and they went down the road which led to the dwelling of an ogre. They were passing along some fields where the corn was ripening, when a rabbit suddenly sprang out at their feet, and standing on its hind legs, it sang: Why do you give to the ogre Your child, so fair, so fair? “You had better ask her,” replied the man, “she is old enough to give you an answer.” Then, in her turn, Thakane sang: I gave Koumongoé to Koane, Koumongoé to the keeper of beasts; For without Koumongoé they could not go to the meadows: Without Koumongoé they would starve in the hut; That was why I gave him the Koumongoé of my father. And when the rabbit heard that, he cried: “Wretched man! it is you whom the ogre should eat, and not your beautiful daughter.” But the father paid no heed to what the rabbit said, and only walked on the faster, bidding Thakane to keep close behind him. By-and-by they met with a troop of great deer, called elands, and they stopped when they saw Thakane and sang: Why do you give to the ogre Your child, so fair, so fair? “You had better ask her, replied the man, “she is old enough to give you an answer.” Then, in her turn, Thakane sang: I gave Koumongoé to Koane, Koumongoé to the keeper of beasts; For without Koumongoé they could not go to the meadows: Without Koumongoé they would starve in the hut; That was why I gave him the Koumongoé of my father. And the elands all cried: “Wretched man! it is you whom the ogre should eat, and not your beautiful daughter.” By this time it was nearly dark, and the father said they could travel no further that night, and must go to sleep where they were. Thakane was thankful indeed when she heard this, for she was very tired, and found the two skins fastened round her almost too heavy to carry. So, in spite of her dread of the ogre, she slept till dawn, when her father woke her, and told her roughly that he was ready to continue their journey. Crossing the plain, the girl and her father passed a herd of gazelles feeding. They lifted their heads, wondering who was out so early, and when they caught sight of Thakane, they sang: Why do you give to the ogre Your child, so fair, so fair? “You had better ask her, replied the man, “she is old enough to answer for herself.” Then, in her turn, Thakane sang: I gave Koumongoé to Koane, Koumongoé to the keeper of beasts; For without Koumongoé they could not go to the meadows: Without Koumongoé they would starve in the hut; That was why I gave him the Koumongoé of my father. And the gazelles all cried: “Wretched man! it is you whom the ogre should eat, and not your beautiful daughter.”