o beautiful young women, dressed as I told you, who came into his
house, and asked for some of his fish. It is the fashion in the islands
always to give what is asked, and never to ask folks' names. So the man
gave them fish, and talked to them in the island jesting way. Presently
he asked one of the women for her red necklace; which is good manners
and their way: he had given the fish, and he had a right to ask for
something back. "I will give it you by and by," said the woman, and she
and her companion went away; but he thought they were gone very
suddenly, and the truth is they had vanished. The night was nearly come,
when the man heard the voice of the woman crying that he should come to
her, and she would give the necklace. He looked out, and behold! she was
standing calling him from the top of the sea, on which she stood as you
might stand on the table. At that, fear came on the man; he fell on his
knees and prayed, and the woman disappeared.

It was said afterward that this was once a woman, indeed, but she should
have died a thousand years ago, and has lived all that while as an evil
spirit in the woods beside the spring of a river. Sau-mai-afe[14] is her
name, in case you want to write to her.

Ever your friend (for whom I thank the stars),

TUSITALA (Tale-writer).

II

TO MISS B...

_Vailima Plantation, 14 Aug._ 1892.

... The lean man is exceedingly ashamed of himself, and offers his
apologies to the little girls in the cellar just above. If they will be
so good as to knock three times upon the floor, he will hear it on the
other side of his floor, and will understand that he is forgiven.

I left you and the children still on the road to the lean man's house,
where a great part of the forest has now been cleared away. It comes
back again pretty quick, though not quite so high; but everywhere,
except where the weeders have been kept busy, young trees have sprouted
up, and the cattle and the horses cannot be seen as they feed. In this
clearing there are two or three houses scattered about, and between the
two biggest I think the little girls in the cellar would first notice a
sort of thing like a gridiron on legs, made of logs of wood. Sometimes
it has a flag flying on it, made of rags of old clothes. It is a fort
(as I am told) built by the person here who would be much the most
interesting to the girls in the cellar. This is a young gentleman of
eleven years of age, answering to the