Part 19 (1/2)

'What is that? People chattering in the hut! Perhaps they have taken my cocoa-nuts,' said Pivi to himself.

In he went, and there he found two pretty, laughing, teasing girls. He hunted for his cocoa-nuts, but none were there.

Down he ran to the river. 'Oh, lady, my nuts have been stolen!' he cried.

'Come with me, Pivi, and there will be nuts for you,' said the woman.

They went back to the hut, where the girls were laughing and playing.

'Nuts for you?' said the woman, 'there are two wives for you, Pivi, take them to your house.'

'Oh, good lady,' cried Pivi, 'how kind you are!'

So they were married and very happy, when in came cross old Kabo.

'Is this Pivi?' said he. 'Yes, it is--no, it isn't. It is not the same Pivi--but there is a kind of likeness. Tell me, _are_ you Pivi?'

'Oh, yes!' said Pivi. 'But I am much better looking, and there are my two wives, are they not beautiful?'

'You are mocking me, Pivi! Your wives? How? Where did you get them?

_You_, with wives!'

Then Pivi told Kabo about the kind woman, and all the wonderful things that had happened to him.

'Well, well!' said Kabo, 'but I want to be handsome too, and to have pretty young wives.'

'But how can we manage that?' asked Pivi.

'Oh, we shall do all the same things over again--play at slinging, and, this time, you shall break my leg, Pivi!'

'With all the pleasure in life,' said Pivi, who was always ready to oblige.

So they went slinging, and Pivi broke Kabo's leg, and Kabo fell into the river, and floated into the bamboo, and the woman blew him out, just as before. Then she picked up Kabo, and put him in the shed, and told him what to do when the Black Ant came, and what to do when the Red Ant came. But he didn't!

When the Black Ant came, he shook himself, and behold, he had a twisted leg, and a hump back, and was as black as the ant.

Then he ran to the woman.

'Look, what a figure I am!' he said; but she only told him to climb the tree, as she had told Pivi.

But Kabo climbed with both hands and feet, and he threw down the nuts, instead of carrying them down, and he put them in the hut. And when he went back for them there he found two horrid old black hags, wrangling, and scolding, and scratching! So back he went to Pivi with his two beautiful wives, and Pivi was very sorry, but what could he do? Nothing, but sit and cry.

So, one day, Kabo came and asked Pivi to sail in his canoe to a place where he knew of a great big sh.e.l.l-fish, enough to feed on for a week.

Pivi went, and deep in the clear water they saw a monstrous sh.e.l.l-fish, like an oyster, as big as a rock, with the sh.e.l.l wide open.

'We shall catch it, and dry it, and kipper it,' said Pivi, 'and give a dinner to all our friends!'

[Ill.u.s.tration: PIVI DIVES FOR THE Sh.e.l.l-FISH]