t,
after they had been married for a long time, the man told his wife
that he would like to go fishing.

"Oh, yes! my husband," said the woman eagerly. "Go, and bring me some
nice fish to-morrow, so that we can have a good meal."

The man went out that same night to fish. And his wife was left alone
in the house.

In the night, while her husband was away, the Buso came, and tried
to pass himself off as her husband, saying, "You see I am back. I
got no fish, because I was afraid in the river." Then the Buso-man
made a great fire, and sat down by it.

But the woman did not believe that it was her husband. So she hid
her comb in a place on the floor, and she said to her comb, "If the
Buso calls me, do you answer. Tell him that I have run away because
I have great fear of the Buso."

Then, when the Buso called, the Comb answered just as the woman
had told it. By and by the Buso went away. In the morning, the man
came back from fishing, because daylight had come. And he had a fine
catch of fish. Then the woman told him all that had happened, and the
man never again let his wife sleep alone in the house. After that,
everything went well; for Buso was afraid of the man, and never again
attempted to come there.

The Buso's Basket

Two children went out into the field to tend their rice-plants. They
said these words to keep the little birds away from the grain:--

"One, one, maya-bird, [111]
Yonder in the north;
Keep off from eating it,
This my rice."

Just then they heard the sound of a voice, calling from the great
pananag-tree, [112] "Wait a minute, children, until I make a basket
for you."

"What is that?" said the boy to his sister.

"Oh, nothing!" answered the little girl. "It's the sound of something."

Then the children called to their father and mother; but only from
the pananag-tree the answer came, "Just wait till I finish this basket
to hold you in."

Down, then, from the tree came the great Buso, with a big, deep basket
(such as women carry bananas and camotes [113] in) hanging from his
shoulders. The frightened children did not dare to run away; and Buso
sat down near by in the little hut where the rice was kept. Soon he
said to the children, "Please comb out my nice hair."

But, when they tried to comb his hair, they found it swarming with
big lice and worms.

"Well, let's go on now," said the Buso. Then he stuffed the children
into his deep burden-basket, and swung the basket upon his