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A Whip Out of a Cow's Tail
The sons gave him his old gun, and they went home together. At home he washed himself, cut
his hair (the people who come back from the Land of the Dead must cut their hair), had his
dinner and then rested for some days. All the family was very happy. And so were his
neighbours. Ogalussa called his neighbours to a feast and killed a cow. His wife cooked the
meat for the feast, and Ogalussa made a whip out of the cow's tail. He put some bright beads
on it, and the whip was very nice.
The feast began. All the people came dressed in their best clothes. Musicians played, the
people danced and sang. All were very happy.
Ogalussa showed his new whip to the guests.
"This is the nicest of all the whips," they said.
Many of the guests asked Ogalussa to give them the whip. But Ogalussa did not give it to the
guests. Then he began to speak: "Long, long ago I went to the forest to hunt. A strong lion
killed me. I was dead for a long time. Then my sons found my bones and brought me back to
life. Now I am here among you. I am very thankful to my sons! Look here, my dear guests! I
have a whip, and you say it is the nicest of all the whips. But I have only one whip! I shall give it
to the son who helped me most of all to come back from the Land of the Dead."
Then all the people began to think.
Who helped most of all?
It was not so easy to tell! At last Ogalussa said: "I shall give the whip to little Puli. His first words
were: 'Where is my father?' Thanks to him my sons went to the forest to look for me. Thanks to
Puli I am here with you and my family."
And he kissed the little boy. All the people said: "Ogalussa, you are right!"
And even today people say: "A man is alive as long as you remember him."
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[ A Cat and Her Strong Friends ] [ The Chicken at the Well ] [ Why the Kite Eats Chickens ]
[ The Frog and His Wives ] [ Why the Hare Has No Tail ] [ The Wise Dog ]
[ How the Dog and the Hen Became Domestic Animals ] [ Why the Chameleon Shakes His Head ]
[ Why the Hawk Carries Off Chickens ] [ How the Hare Got the Sheep ]
[ Why the Crocodile Does Not Eat Hens ] [ The Lion's Dinner ] [ Why The Dog is a Friend of Man ]
[ Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky ] [ Why Fire and Rain are Enemies ] [ The Two Friends ]
[ The Fire Festival ] [ Sacred Pythons ] [ The Small Red Feather ] [ The Feast ] [ The Fire on the Hill ]
[ A House in the Sky ] [ Which is Better? ] [ The Magic Pot ] [ The Longest Story in the World ]
[ The Two Strangers ] [ Three Hairs of a Lion ] [ The Happy Man ] [ The Money in the Pot of Butter ]
[ The Story of the Twins ] [ The Rubber Man ] [ Greedy Anansi ] [ The Monkey's Heart ] [ The King's Fool ]
[ The Handkerchief ] [ A Whip Out of a Cow's Tail ] [ A Tale About a Jackal ] [ The Magic Crocodile ]
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