Though so bold in warfare the Masai are not a race of hunters, and big game such as lions, leopards, or the rhinoceros are attacked only when the skin is required, or the animal has become a menace to the herds of cattle. Among the industries, smelting of iron in clay furnaces is very important, as it provides spear-heads and ornaments. These are not moulded by allowing molten metal to run into vessels, but the ore, heated in a charcoal fire, is beaten into shape while resting on a block of hard wood or stone. Clay taken from river beds serves as material for making earthenware vessels, which are baked hard in a fire after being moulded by hand into the shape required. Other vessels are made from gourds, while as a pastime the carving of wooden pipes and ornamenting the bowls is very common. Hut building with such materials as hides, mud, and sticks, likewise the construction of a stone and bush enclosure round the village, take a great deal of time; so also does a complete removal to fresh pastures. Hence in one way or another the time of these people is fully occupied, and it is a great mistake to suppose that all black people are lazy and indolent. There must, of course, be time for leisure, which is sometimes spent in telling the stories given in the next chapter. CHAPTER III MASAI STORIES AND BELIEFS At all periods of the world’s history human beings have been fond of stories concerning animals, and the Masai are no exception to the general rule. Here is a story of the hare and the elephants, one of a number collected by Mr. Hollis, who resided among the Masai for several years: “A hare, that lived near a river, one day saw some elephants going to the kraals of their father-in-law. He said to the biggest one, who was carrying a bag of honey: ‘Father, ferry me across, for I am a poor person.’ The elephant told him to get on his back, and when he had climbed up they started. “While they were crossing the river the hare ate the honey, and as he was eating it he let some of the juice fall on the elephant’s back. On being asked what he was dropping, he replied that he was weeping, and that it was the tears of a poor child that were falling. When they reached the opposite bank the hare asked the elephants to give him some stones to throw at the birds. He was given some stones, which he put into the honey bag. He then asked to be set down, and as soon as he was on the ground again he told the elephants to be off.