CHAPTER V

ARRIVAL OF THE NGOZOS AND NKEMAS IN THE LAND OF PLENTY

Flocks of ngozos and troops of nkemas began to enter the Land of Plenty one after another. Many squirrels had also made their appearance.

Among the ngozos that had arrived was the flock which had had a fight with the ndovas. The one whose tail had been plucked, and the other whose feathers had been pulled out between his wings, and who had bitten off the monkey’s finger, had not forgotten the horrid ndovas. Among the monkeys was the troop of ndovas which had attacked the ngozos, and with them the one that had had his finger cut off. He had cause to remember the horrid ngozos.

Day after day the monkeys gradually worked their way toward the guanioniens’ nest. But the ngozos knew of the nest, and when one day they recognized the ndovas that had attacked them, they hoped that the guanioniens would kill many of them.

The time came when, to the great joy of the old birds, three little guanioniens broke through their shells. They looked so cunning with only down on their bodies. Their parents loved them dearly and took great care of them.

The old guanioniens were watching the fruits and nuts every day and said, “These are growing fast, they will soon ripen, and we must expect the arrival of the monkeys very soon.”

One fine morning, just at daybreak, the guanioniens heard for the first time the jabbering of numerous troops of monkeys. “Do you hear the talk of the ndovas, nkagos, mpondais, and mondis?” said the big guanionien to his mate, for they could tell the species they heard talking.

“I hear,” she replied.

Both gave a chuckle of pleasure, for now they knew that they would have food in plenty.

The old birds had worked very hard every day to get food for their young ones, for they were getting bigger and bigger, and their appetites increased in proportion to their size. And Mrs. Guanionien said to her mate, “Now with plenty of food our little ones will grow up quickly and become strong.”

The guanioniens left their tree, and soon after were soaring high in the air above a troop of ndovas, waiting for their opportunity to pounce down upon them. But somehow the ndovas would not go to the top of the trees, but kept in the thick middle part. The two guanioniens circled near each other, and the big one said to his mate: “These ndovas are knowing ones. They do not come to the tops of the trees, and we are not to have our meal as soon as we expected.”

The ndovas, having plucked and eaten the best fruit, moved away a little farther on and soon came to two other trees heavily laden. The fruits were big and ripe, but were all at the top, those on the lower branches having been eaten already by other monkeys. The ndovas chuckled with pleasure at the sight. The temptation was so great that, forgetting to be prudent and all about their enemies, the guanioniens, they ascended the branches and began to eat in silence.

The guanioniens from their great height saw the branches of the trees, upon which the ndovas were, moving, and they came down and soared above the place ready to pounce upon them.

The ndovas were unaware that their great enemies, the guanioniens, were so near them, and were watching them with eyes made sharper by hunger. They were enjoying their feast with great relish, and said to each other, “This is the best fruit we have had for a long time. It is so sweet and so juicy. What luck we have!” “I hope,” said one of them, “that those horrid mondis, who are stronger than we are, will not make their appearance, for they will drive us away. Let us make haste and eat all we can.”

The guanioniens delayed their attack, for they watched their opportunity and wanted to make sure not to miss their prey. The ndovas had not quite reached the very top of the trees, and the birds could not swoop down upon them if they had to go through the branches, for not only would the branches stop their flight, but would break their wings, as they struck with great force against them.

The two guanioniens soared nearer the ndovas, watching with their keen eyes the trees upon which they were feeding. Suddenly they saw several ndovas come to the very top of the trees. They watched with fierce and expectant eyes, swooped down with terrific speed, seized two of the biggest ndovas and rose in the air, each with his talons firmly imbedded in the back and the neck of his victim, so that he could not turn. One of the monkeys was the chief of the troop; the other was the one whose finger had been cut off by the ngozo. The eagles flew with their prey toward their tree, and the first thing they did was to tear their eyes out, and then kill them by disembowelling them. They fed first, and then, tearing off small bits, they fed their young ones with them.

It happened that not far off from where the ndovas had been carried away, on a tall tree, was the flock of ngozos which had been so badly treated by those same ndovas. They were feeding on nuts. Suddenly they heard the cries of pain uttered by the ndovas as the guanioniens rose in the air with them. Looking up, they saw the ndova whose finger had been cut off by one of them, and jabbered with joy. “Good for you, guanioniens, good for you! kill all the monkeys you can;” and in chorus, “We hate the monkeys, we hate the monkeys! we hate the ndovas more than the rest, for they have done us the most harm.”

The troop uttered fearful cries of dismay and dread when they saw that the guanioniens had been among them and had carried away their chief and one of their number. They fled in terror to some safer place.

In the evening they looked at one another with deep sorrow and mourned greatly the loss of their chief and of one of their comrades. One of the ndovas was especially sad, for it was his beloved mate that had been carried away by one of the guanioniens.

Still monkeys, parrots, and guanioniens had a good time in the Land of Plenty, and all became very fat. But the guanioniens made great havoc among the monkeys. At the foot of their trees the ground was covered with a great number of skulls and bones of those they had eaten up.

The time came at last when the fruits, berries, and nuts became scarce. They had either been eaten or had fallen to decay on the ground, and the monkeys and parrots left for other parts of the forest.

The guanioniens and their brood, who had begun to fly, also left. The old ones were going to a partly open country to teach their young how to capture prey, and then the goats and gazelles would have a bad time.

The Land of Plenty became deserted until the following year, when it would become again full of life. After their departure the parrots mated, built their nests in the hollows of the trees, and did not come together again into flocks until their young began to fly. A few flocks came at first to the old meeting-place; the same number of flocks that came in the evening went off in the morning, with the same chief. At first the flocks and their number of ngozos could be easily counted; but in a few days they became so numerous that it was impossible to number them.