never existed. Moreover, it was comparatively an
easy matter for the writer to take the stories away in his memory, since
many of them gave point to a large collection of notes and unrelated
fragments already in his possession.

Theal, in the preface to his collection of Kaffir Tales,[i_4] lays great
stress upon the fact that the tales he gives "have all undergone a
thorough revision by a circle of natives. They were not only told by
natives, but were copied down by natives." It is more than likely that
his carefulness in this respect has led him to overlook a body of
folk-lore among the Kaffirs precisely similar to that which exists among
the negroes of the Southern States. If comparative evidence is worth
anything,--and it may be worthless in this instance,--the educated
natives have "cooked" the stories to suit themselves. In the "Story of
the Bird that Made Milk," the children of Masilo tell other children
that their father has a bird which makes milk.[i_5] The others asked to
see the bird, whereupon Masilo's children took it from the place where
their father had concealed it, and ordered it to make milk. Of this milk
the other children drank greedily, and then asked to see the bird dance.
The bird was untied, but it said the house was too small, and the
children carried it outside. While they were laughing and enjoying
themselves the bird flew away, to their great dismay. Compare this with
the story of how the little girl catches Brother Rabbit in the garden
(of which several variants are given), and afterwards unties him in
order to see him dance.[i_6] There is still another version of this
story, where Mr. Man puts a bridle on Brother Rabbit and ties him to the
fence. Mr. Man leaves the throat-latch of the bridle unfastened, and so
Brother Rabbit slips his head out, and afterwards induces Brother Fox to
have the bridle put on, taking care to fasten the throat-latch.

The Brother Rabbit of the negroes is the hare, and what is "The Story of
Hlakanyana"[i_7] but the story of the hare and other animals curiously
tangled, and changed, and inverted? Hlakanyana, after some highly
suggestive adventures, kills two cows and smears the blood upon a
sleeping boy.[i_8] The men find the cows dead, and ask who did it. They
then see the blood upon the boy, and kill him, under the impression that
he is the robber. Compare this with the story in the first volume of
Uncle Remus, where Brother Rabbit eats the butter, and then grease