They were two together, (brother) and sister. And that Luwe used to kill animals of all kinds—kill, kill, kill—great animals, and in addition Shimbiriries [insimbilili is the name of the wild-orange, but here is used of some fabled little creatures with miraculous powers. Natives do not know what is indicated, but believe that some little animal like a mungoose is meant], and he used to tell his relative, “Sister, don’t you eat Shimbiriries, you eat big animals!” In the morning her brother went out hunting to kill some animals; and came back, and found that his sister had not eaten of them. But one day he went into the bush hunting, and then his sister, where she remained, lost her head when she saw how fat the meat was, and took one little one and cut it, and put it into her mouth to eat. Then those dried ones that remained on the stand bustled round and came to life. Thereupon that woman who remained hastily climbed a tree, in fear lest those animals should eat her. And she was frightened of the Shimbiriries. And then it was that that woman sang:
Luwe my brother, the Shimbiriries have come!
Luwe my brother, the Shimbiriries have come!
I have sucked a piece of skin, the Shimbiriries have come!
And eating it has eaten me, the Shimbiriries have come e...!
Then those Shimbiriries began to cut down that tree:
Chop, chop, chop, today I cut you down!
Chop, chop, chop, today I cut you down!
And she sang from the tree to call her brother:
Luwe my brother, the Shimbiriries have come!
Luwe my brother, the Shimbiriries have come!
I have sucked a piece of skin, the Shimbiriries have come!
And eating it has eaten me, the Shimbiriries have come e...!
Where her brother was, his heart fell. Ah! and so her brother came with speed, believing that they had already eaten his sister. And he arrived and found that they had caught tight the tree, and were felling it. And he dashed in with the medicine for those little things in his hand; and sprinkled it on the stand; and they all died. And then he scolded his sister, saying, “There is plenty of meat, don’t greedily eat these little things!” And then he slept.
Again the next morning Luwe went out, and went into the bush to look for animals. And that day she did not eat of those little animals, she feared lest they should kill her. And her brother just came back, and slept. Very early in the morning, he emerged, and went into the bush, as he was accustomed to do. Where she remained she said, “Ach! today too I am going to eat of them, my relative will come, let him fight for me.” And so she cut some meat, and put it in her mouth. Again the little dead things bustled about alive. Again she climbed that same tree. Then those little things began to cut it down as before, saying:
Chop, chop, chop, today I cut you down!
Chop, chop, chop, today I cut you down!
And then she sang:
Luwe my brother, the Shimbiriries have come!
Luwe my brother, the Shimbiriries have come!
I have sucked a piece of skin, the Shimbiriries have come!
And eating it has eaten me, the Shimbiriries have come e...!
Where her brother was, his heart fell, and he said, “My sister has eaten of them today too.” So he came with speed to fight for his sister. And he arrived with medicine, and sprinkled it on the stand, and exorcised them as he always did. And his sister climbed down. And she took the meat she had cut for him, end gave it to him, and he ate.
Again in the morning Luwe went early into the bush. There, where his sister remained, she cut a niece of meat and ate it. Again those little animals bustled round. And again she climbed the tree, and began to sing in the same way:
Luwe my brother, the Shimbiriries have come!
Luwe my brother, the Shimbiriries have come!
I have sucked a piece of skin, the Shimbiriries have come!
And eating it has eaten me, the Shimbiriries have come e...!
Again he came with medicine in his hand, and sprinkled it on the stand. In the morning he went early into the bush. The woman, where she remained, cut (a piece) and ate it; and again the Shimbiriries bustled about. But that day Luwe went very far; and the tree began to quiver. The woman sang, but Luwe didn’t come; and then the tree fell. And those little animals tore that woman to pieces, because there was no one to fight for her. And in that way she died. Just when Luwe arrived, he found that they had already eaten his sister. And he began to cry saying, “My sister they have eaten!”