Tortoise cut up the body, and put the pieces in a kettle of water on the fire. Also, he gathered pepper pods, and ground them for the seasoning. He looked for salt, and saw it was up on top of a shelf. So, he took three chairs, putting them on top of one another, by which to climb up. As he was creeping up, the chairs fell over on the ground. As they fell, he tumbled also down, almost into the kettle of hot water, where were boiling the pieces of Dog. But, Tortoise scrambled away, and went off to his end of the town. After a while the children of Dog came back from their play, and not finding their father in his house, they came to the house of his friend Tortoise, and asked, "Where is our father?" Tortoise replied, "As for me, where I was, I did not see him. When he went from here, who sent for him?" When the two women returned, Dog's wife found, but did not recognize, the pieces of meat in her kettle. She wailed and mourned for him as dead. When, by the next day, the people of Dog did not find him, they said, "He is dead." But they suspected Tortoise. The wife of Tortoise also doubted him, and deserting him, returned to the house of her father. So, Tortoise left them all, and went to another place, fearing they would charge him with the death of Dog. TALE 17 A JOURNEY FOR SALT Persons Njâbu (Civet) Mbâmâ (Boa) Ngweya (Hog) Kudu (Tortoise) A Man, and Hunters NOTE Interior tribes formerly obtained their salt from sea-water evaporated by the coast tribes in large shallow brass pans, called "neptunes," imported by foreign traders. All these four Beasts were neighbors, living together in one town. One time, in the evening, about an hour after the regular six o'clock sunset, they all, were sitting conversing in the street. Then Tortoise said to the others, "Here! I have something to say! I wish to talk with you. Tomorrow, let us go on a journey, to take a walk through the forest down to the Sea, to buy salt." They all assented, "Yes! so let it be!" Late at night, they dispersed to their houses, to lie down for sleep. After awhile, the day began to break. Early in the morning, they prepared for their journey. And Tortoise said to them, "I have here another thing to say; my last word. That is: As we go, no one of us is to start any new affair on the way; only steadily down to the Seacoast." They all said, "Yes! we are agreed." So, they started through the forest, going on their journey. They went, and they went, on and on, expecting to go a long way, until they should by evening come to their camping-place for the night. But, on the way, Civet began to say, "Ah! my stomach aches! Ah! my stomach aches!" Tortoise asked, "What do you mean by 'stomach-ache?'" Civet answered, "'Stomach-ache' means that my bowels trouble me, and that I need to go."