354 THE EXPLORATION OF THE NIGER all very easily intimidated, but honest and trustworthy. At first Bluzet had a good deal of trouble to 'get any information out of this Mossi, but when he gained a little confidence he got on apace, and used to indulge on occasion in long monologues, as when he treated us to the following little tale, which he related to us all in Mossi in Bluzet's hut.

" One day, a woman going along the road to Say, taking some milk to market, sat down at the foot of a tree and fell asleep.

" Presently three young men came up, and when they saw the woman one of them said to the others — " * Follow me, and imitate everything I do.' "They approached her cautiously, making a detour round the brushwood. * Hu ! hu ! ' cried the leader, when he got close to the sleeper, and the others shouted after him, ' Hu ! hu ! ' " The woman started up terrified, and ran away, leaving the calabash of milk on the ground.

" Then the eldest of the three young men said, * This milk is mine because I am the eldest.' ' No,' said the second, ' it is mine because I thought of crying, Hu ! hu ! * * No, no,' cried the third, ' I mean to drink it, for I am armed with a spear, and you have only sticks.'

"Just then a marabout passed by. 'Let him be the judge!' said the disputants, and they put their case before him.

" ' I know of nothing in the Koran which applies to your difficulty,' said the holy man ; * but show me the milk.* He took the milk, he looked at it, he drank it. 'This is really good milk,' he added, 'but there is nothing about your case in the Koran that I know of.' " With two other vocabularies of Gurma and Bozo expressions, less complete than those of the Songhay and