Feather Woman of the Jungle (9 page)

While she was still talking to me, when the senior attendant was coming to the court, then she left me as hastily as
possible
. In the following morning, this beautiful lady, Sela, wrapped a nice food, hid it under her dress and brought it to me and I thanked her greatly as she was returning to the
court as quickly as possible so that the other attendants might not suspect her. But as soon as I understood through her free will and the interest she had in me and which proved that she liked me whole-heartedly, therefore, I was always talking to her cheerfully whenever she came to me. I
wondered
greatly to meet this kind of a lady in this remote place although their race was quite different from my own. Because she was so kind to me that each time she visited me, she brought wrapped food to me which I was eating. And I was saved through her help because the goddess did not bother whether I ate or not.

One day, I told her with fear and trembling voice that I should be happy if she would let me marry her. I thought she would not agree or to become annoy with me. But as she was already expecting to hear this from me. So she agreed with pleasure at the same time, but she explained that it was impossible for me to marry her and then stay in that town for the goddess was going to kill me soon as a trespasser because many people whose canoes had sunk in the sea had come to that town for help but the goddess had killed all of them.

Having spent about five months in the guardroom, one morning, I was brought before the goddess in her court to try my case. But as she tried so many cases that morning, so she postponed my own for one month. But of course, I had no rest of mind since when that lady had hinted me that the penalty for a trespasser like me was death. So one midnight, when she brought wrapped food to me, I told her to be get ready to let us escape from that town to my village in the following midnight and she agreed. This was very risky
because
the goddess had never allowed any of her attendants to marry to any man and she had never allowed any of them to go out of that town.

Anyhow, before that night, she had packed plenty of
diamonds
in a big bag and kept it in a deep pit. She tied one
healthy and fast-moving camel, to one tree which was near that pit. So when it was twelve o’clock of the following night, Sela woke up from her room, having noticed well that there was nobody woke that time, she came to me cautiously. She opened the door of the guardroom and I came out. I went to the room in which the diamond blocks were kept. I put one block in my hunting-bag and after that I broke the head of one of the diamond figures of men which were also kept in that room and were worshipped by the goddess and her people. I tied it up with a rope and hung it on my shoulder together with my gun, hunting-bag and matchet. After that Sela took one lamp which was hung near the entrance of the court.

Then both of us walked cautiously to that pit. We took the heavy bag out and tied it to the back of that camel and my gun and hunting-bag, which was also full of diamonds, were tied to the back of the camel as well. But my matchet and the rest diamonds were on my shoulder. After that we mounted that camel. Sela who knew the road, sat in the front holding that lamp and I sat at the back nearly to touch her. Then we rode to the outside of the town.

Having travelled a short distance to the town, we stopped and the lamp was lit up because there was dark. She hung it on the neck of the camel and it was shining to the front. After that we kept galloping down the mountain. We did all these things so cautiously that none of the rest people woke from sleep. But we were unable to travel so far when it was the dawn, because of the rocks, holes, big fallen trees, etc., all these things were great hinderances to our travel. We were unable to travel as fast as we had wanted to.

When it was about three o’clock a.m. we left the top of the mountain and we began to descend. It was so steep that we were rolling with the camel to a short distance several times in a few minutes. As we were disturbing by the deep pits, it
was so we were disturbing by the big fallen trees and rocks. And it was so we were disturbing as well by the wild animals like lions, wolves, tigers, etc. and the snakes of all kinds. But with bravery, we were still galloping down the mountain as fast as the camel could.

After a while, when the troubles were too much for us, I began to blame myself that if I had known that to descend the mountain was so dangerous and troublesome like this, I should had not attempted to leave that town at all but to
surrender
myself to the Goddess of Diamonds to be killed. As I was still blaming myself, several lions, tigers and wolves were rushing to us from every part of the mountain to kill us.
Having
seen them in that fearful attitudes, then I took my gun and I began to shoot those wolves to death so that we might be freed from the lions and tigers when they ate their bodies. Luckily, when they ate some of them and were satisfied, they left us and went away.

But as we were just freed from that wild animals, and we were still descending the mountain. There we heard a horrible shout from the top of the mountain. When we looked at the top very far off, we saw the goddess on the steeple of the tower which was in her town. As she stood on it, and as we were still within her sight, she shouted greatly: “Bring Sela back to me now! Bring my diamonds back to me now!” But we did not go back to her. And as we continued to gallop down and down, she shouted very terribly again: “If you don’t bring Sela back to me now, I shall send my men soon to bring her back but put in mind that the day I shall send my men to your village will be very bad and unfortunate to you and your people as well!”

When she warned me like that and was still squabbling repeatedly, I feared so much that I wanted to leave Sela and then run away for my life. But she told me not to pay heed to her. When it was about three o’clock p.m., we came to the sea
and then we came down from the camel. Having put our loads down, we ate because we had had no time to wait and eat since when we had left that town in the night. And having given food to the camel and we waited for about two hours. Luckily, one big canoe was passing this time. We waved hands to the paddlers and the canoe was paddled to us.

After we put our loads in it and we went in it, then the paddlers continued to paddle it along. But that camel was waiting on the shore until it saw us no more and then it began to return to the town of the Goddess of Diamonds. After a few days’ travel, we came to my village at about seven o’clock in the evening. Then I went direct to my father’s house with the lady, Sela, and the diamonds.

It was not so long when the people of my village knew that I had brought one beautiful lady from my fifth journey when they rushed to my father’s house, to perform the marriage ceremony together with my father and mother. The old men of my father’s age first prayed and then my father advised my wife thus: “I advise you to be ‘a stagnant’ wife and not ‘a flowing away’ wife. A ‘flowing away’ wife always flowing away like the stream of water when it is hard for her husband. Always flowing away when her husband is in difficulties. A ‘flowing away’ wife is flowing away when her husband is in sickness and on death-bed. Bad wife never drink the bitter tea with her husband except the sweet tea. Bad wife always
departs
from her husband when he is hard up but she pretends to be a good wife when her husband is well to do. But ‘a stagnant’ wife always remains whole-heartedly when it is hard for her husband. She never departs when her husband is in troubles or in difficulties. She shares from her husband’s bitterness and not comfort alone.” Then he (my father) turned to me and advised me thus: “Yes, you are my son! When it is time for a son to have his own ‘bow and arrow’ he should have them without delay! So it is time for you to have
a wife and you have it today! But be a good husband to your wife A good husband does not pay heed to all his wife’s
mistakes
, wrong doings, etc., otherwise he will come back to a redundant bachelor or a redundant husband!” Then after my father had advised both of us, my wife Sela, knelt and thanked him greatly. It was like that Sela became my wife that day and the people shouted with joy and then the
merriments
began till the late hour of the night.

According to the custom, I killed many rams and he-goats which when were cooked were served with the drinks as the merriment was still going on.

After a few months, Sela proved to be a good wife, so my people and all the people of the village liked her so much that they were taking great care of her and were giving
presents
to her whenever I went to another village for a few days.

Having sold all the diamonds which I had brought from the town of the Goddess of Diamonds, I had enough money and having built a very beautiful storey which had many flats, then I resigned to go to any journey again, but several young men of the village were advising me always to continue the journey so that they might follow me, of course, I did not pay heed to their advice at all for I was satisfied with all I had that time.

“Now, my people, I thank you greatly for listening to the story of my fifth journey. The entertainment of the journey is not finished yet but as the night is becoming too cold and the moon is becoming deem, so I shall continue to tell you the rest story tomorrow night. Good night, everybody!”

Then my people drank the rest of their palm-wine and
having
danced and sung for a few minutes then they shouted with great joy and then went back to their houses.

It was hardly eight o’clock of the seventh night when the people of my village had gathered in front of my house. All sat quietly as usual and were waiting to hear the rest part of my fifth journey. But as soon as the palm-wine was served to every one of them and the biggest keg was in front of me and as I was enjoying it with my pipe. I sat up in my usual old arm-chair and then the entertainment began as follows:

Now, listen well, my people! But it is a great pity to tell you that in those days. As I was living comfortably with my father, mother, sister, brother and my wife, Sela, in my new storey building. So in the early morning that I completed one year that I had brought Sela to the village, a terrible thing happened, which I had not experienced in my life although I had been to several risky and dangerous towns, villages, forests, jungles and I had been changed into the image for a number of years but this was too terrible to me. It was terrible indeed to the people, animals and trees of the village.

 It was hardly four o’clock of the morning when there were signs all over the village and its surroundings. As I lay on the bed together with my wife and were still enjoying the sleep of that morning. There I woke suddenly by all kinds of powerful and terrible noises. My bed was shaking, the cloth on my body was biting my body and it was so all the walls and roof were shaking as if they were going to fall down very soon.

Having seen this, and as the cloth on my body was biting every part of my body, I did not know when I threw it away
from my body and I ran to the door to open it and then to peep out and see what was happening at the outside. But the door was so shaking with all its power that I could not touch it with hands. Having seen this again, I hastily left it and ran to the lamp with great fear and trembling body. But I hardly touched it just to light it up when it flung itself far away and then fell down with great noise. Again, without hesitation, I left there with fear and then I ran in to my father’s room. But as it was shaking very terribly as well, I ran out from there with fear and then I ran in back to my own room. But as the shakes were still increasing, I was unable to hesitate but I rushed out to the door of the premises and I forced it open and I hastily jumped out as it was still making great noise and shaking terribly.

And I hardly jumped to the outside when I began to stagger along in the village. Again, I saw that all trees of the village were shaking terribly, the ground was shaking as if it was
going
to sink in that moment. The domestic animals were
shaking
and staggering about in the village. But to my fear again, as I was still staggering along with perplexity, with the hope to hide in anywhere that I might see perhaps that would save me. Unfortunately I saw thousands of people who were staggering about in the village in search for somewhere in which to hide themselves as well. All of them were driving away from their houses by the same thing which was driving me about.

I was so feared this morning that I did not remember to cover my body. Now, neither the people nor the domestic animals could stay in the village or in the bush. The whole of us were rushing here and there in the village and were dashing to each other several times with fear and embarrassment.

At last, when it was about six o’clock in the morning, these strange fearful happenings came to the climax. The shakes and the terrible noises of the invisible people were increasing
alarmingly. This time we were despaired and we had lost all our hope. Because after a while the thunder and lightning
began
to roar continuously. When this was too much for us to bear, then everyone began to shout for help. The dumps who could not speak were murmuring, the deafs raised heads up to their Creator and were expecting help from Him although they could not hear. And with great fear, the cocks crowed, the elephants trumpeted, the lames crept, the dogs barked, the horses neighed, the cats jumped, the goats butted the ewes, the rams scratched the ground to escape into it, the bats scattered all over the sky with fear.

And, willing or not, irons dropped juice by force but yet all these things did not stop. When the thunder was so roaring terribly with lightning that the people could no longer stand or remain at outside, then I staggered back to my house. I lay on the bed with my wife, we held the bed as it was shaking as if it was going to turn upside. And it was not so long when we were holding it when it threw us on to the floor so heavily that some of my ribs were fractured and my wife was
fractured
on the left thigh. So when we stood up at the same time we walked zigzag back to the bed like a crab, and then both of us pretended to be asleep with fear, but it was impossible.

Again, when we could not stay on the bed any longer, I jumped down and my wife hastily did the same thing. Then I ran to the main door, I forced it open and I jumped to the outside again with my wife, father, mother, brother and sister. Then we continued to hurtle to everywhere in the
village
with the rest people. As we were still hurtling about with fear and restlessness of minds, these terrible things stopped suddenly. Then everyone went back to his or her house. In that moment, there was no noise again, everything became quiet at the same time but the quietness was fearful as well. Because the breeze stopped entirely to blow, all of the trees stood still and all of the domestic animals stood still as
well and they did not mind to escape if one came to kill them that moment. Not knowing that all these had happened in respect of my wife, Sela. All happenings were the signs that she was taking back to the Goddess of Diamonds by her men whom she sent.

As we were still wondering at the sudden quietness, there we saw that the thick forg covered the whole village suddenly and we were unable to see ourselves. This forg was so thick that if two persons stood closely to each other, one could not see the second. After a while, as my wife and I peeped from the door and we were thinking of the place to escape to, then this forg gathered into one place under the tree in front of my house. And without hesitation, two strong men appeared immediately the forg disappeared. One of the men was on camel and he was a very strong archer. He held the shield of silver which contained many diamond ornaments. His bow was thick and long. He shielded himself from legs to the neck with ornamented silver. He wore the silver shoes and covered both wrists to the shoulders with diamonds. The hat on his head was high and was full of several skulls of the sea animals and several skulls of the sea fish were tacked to it as well. The front of this hat formed a fearful mask over his face, so his eyes could not be seen to be described.

The second one was on horse, he was older than the first one who was on camel. He armoured himself from the waist to the neck with a thick leather. The ornaments on it were lizards, crocodiles, alligators, heads of sharks, lobsters, etc. He shielded both legs with a rough thick leather of whale and his shoes were silver. The hat on his head had four heads, each represented a kind of wild animal and all faced different direction. The first one which faced frontward was the head of a lion, the second which faced the east was the head of a deer which had several branched horns. The third one which faced the west was the head of a boa constrictor and the
fourth one which faced the south, was the head of a tiger. All these heads were seemed as if they were alive and all were on top of his hat, so by that the top of it was flat and round like a tray. He held a heavy cudgel of diamond. He was very very fearful to see, therefore, I was unable to look at the rest part of his body.

But as I was still recollecting these two men were
resembled
the gods of the Goddess of Diamonds and again I noticed that my wife shrank up that moment when she saw them, then I believed at the same time that the men were sent by the Goddess of Diamonds. But of course, the Goddess of Diamonds had told me that it would be bad for me and for the people, etc. of my village the day she sent her men to bring Sela back to her and it was true at last. Now, when I remembered that these two men were the men of the Goddess of Diamonds and my wife, Sela, knew them too as the men of her mother. So as we were about to rush in and shut the door. The fearful men looked upon her suddenly, but as they shouted: “Ah, this is Sela (waving hands to her)! Come and let us go!” Then both of us rushed in and I hastily slammed the door. Then we went direct to the top floor and we peeped through one of the windows and then we were looking at them.

But when they raised heads up and saw us, they began to wave hands to Sela to come down to them. When she refused to come down, one who was the strong archer began to shoot the arrows to us. Having seen this, we shut that window and we escaped into the room. At last, when they failed to get hold of my wife, then one of them shouted greatly with a kind of a voice. And within a few seconds, a heavy rain together with wind came. As it was raining and everything was then blowing here and there by the wind then we saw a powerful lightning which was coming down from the sky and without hesitation, it broke the window and then entered the house.
And as we were running with fear and embarrassment from one room to the other just to escape the lightning, the whole house caught fire and it was so strong that its flame was burning everything in the house at the same time. As my wife and I and also my people were running here and there with great embarrassment just to escape, the two men began to ride round the house and were watching when the fire would drive us down to them.

At last, when we were nearly burnt with the house and some parts of our dresses had already caught fire, then I shouted greatly for help. Within a few moments, several people came out with ladders and they hastily stretched the longest one on the wall of the back of the house. But before the people came to rescue us, the two men had hidden themselves in
somewhere
near the house. So my father, mother, sister, brother, my wife and I came down by that ladder as hastily as we could because the roof was falling down repeatedly by that time.

But we hardly stepped down from the ladder when these two men rushed out from their hiding place. But
immediately
the people who had come to rescue us saw these two fearful men, they were afraid and then ran back to their houses because they had never seen the kind of these men before.

As they rushed to us, then one held my wife and the second one put one kind of a diamond hat on her head. After that both of them lifted the whole of her from the ground on to the horse. But as they were about to ride away, I hastily snatched her from the horse. And as she fell from the horse on to the ground and then I was pulling her up just to take her away. One who was holding the cudgel of diamond, rushed to me and then struck my left shoulder so heavily that I fell down helplessly within that moment. Then without hesitation he snatched her back from me and he put her back
on the horse and they began to ride along before I got up. Having seen this, I shouted to the people again for help. Then they rushed out in great number. Some held cudgels, some held bows and arrows and some held cutlasses. Then we were chasing them along in the village.

After a while, we overtook them, but as some of us were just snatching my wife from the horse, these two men began to shoot the bow to us. Having seen this, my people began to shoot their bows to them in return. After a while, it turned to a serious war. As we were shooting them and beating them with cudgels it was so they too were beating us with their cudgel of diamond and shooting their bows to us repeatedly. We tried all our efforts to take my wife back from them but all were in vain. At last, when they overpowered us, then they rode furiously away with my wife. It was like that my wife, Sela, who had saved me from the prison of the Goddess of Diamonds, was taken back to her mother.

Then we came back to my house and the people helped me to quench that fire, but it was too late, all my property had burnt into ashes. It was like that all the treasures which I had brought from all my journeys had gone away. But when there was nothing remained with me then I thought over to continue my journey, perhaps I might be as rich as before although I had promised not to go any journey since when I had returned from my fifth journey.

 Then the people of my village wondered greatly when they heard this story of my fifth journey. After they drank, sang and danced with joy for some minutes then they went back to their houses when the moon was becoming dark.