11
A TALE OF ABUNAWAS.
Abunawas was very clever.  And when the chief of his country heard of his cleverness, he sent messengers to him saying: 'Tell him: The chief speaks thus to thee: 'Come to me quickly [and] in a hurry.  But do not come to me when the sun shines; nor come to me when there is shadow.  Again do not come to me walking with thy feet; nor come to me riding on a beast.  If thou comest to me in one of these ways, fear for thy life!" And the messengers brought this word to Abunawas. [Then] Abunawas took a large netbag, and he sat in it and tied it up.  And he said: 'Fasten the net-bag, in which I am sitting tied up, loosely with a rope to the neck of a camel!" When they had fastened it he went to the chief swinging on the camel's neck.  And the chief was
astonished at his cleverness. [This is what] they say.

12
THE TALE OF THE PARTING OF THE BROTHERS.
Two brothers were living together, and they had all their property in common.  But all the time the brothers quarrelled with each other.  Now the people of old did not know dividing and parting, so that they did not separate from each other. 
Once upon a time, the one of them took his weapons in order to kill his brother and went to his brother.  But he did not find him; and on his way back he saw a wild olive tree [that was] forked.  After he had returned, he took his weapons another time in order to kill his brother.  And he came to the place of the tree which he had scen before. Now looking closely at the tree he saw that each of the two branches, although separated from the other, was growing on its own side.  The man thought: 'Instead of my killing my brother, it will be better, if we, I and he, part from each other like these two branches of the tree, and each one of us live on his side.  Thereupon when he came to his brother, he said to him: 'Let us part, and divide all our property." So they divided their property, and each of them was living safely on his side.  And they say that from that time on parting was know to them.  And the two branches of the tree are growing and sprouting each on its side until the present day.  And the place of the forked tree was called 'the parting of the brothers." (1)

(1)This tree is found on the road from Gäläb to Asmara, not far from the stone nientioned on p. 19

 13
A TALE [KNOWN TO] THE TIGRE AND TIGRINA [SPEAKING] PEOPLES, TO ALL THE LAND OF H

 RESEMBLING A RIDDLE IN FIGURES.
When way-farers are travelling and divert themselves at their resting-place, they form two parties and ask each other; that is to say, (it is) when they pass the night out of doors, (that) they divert theinselves in this way.  In the village, however, the men do not tell the like. (1) Now one party asks the other about the explanation of  this tale.'There was a man who had married three wives.  And he went to the market-place in order to buy cloth for them. 
And he had taken with him nine camels on which to load the cloth.  And after he had bought the cloth he loaded the camels: on the first camel he put one load of cloth, on the second caniel two loads of cloth.  Doing thus he put on cach one of them as many loads of cloth as his number [indicated]; and he returned with his camels to his village.  Now then, if he wants to divide the nine camels with their loads, without unloading them, among his three wives in equal parts, what shall he do?  And how much falls to the share of each wife?  And all the loads, how many are they? "The interpreter explains in this way: 'His first wife receives the first camel with his one load, and the sixth with his six, and the eighth with his eight.  And his second wife receives the second camel with his two loads, and the fourth with his four, and the ninth with his nine.  And his third wife receives the third camel with his three loads, and the fifth with his five, and the seventh with his seven. And there falls to the share of every one of them: three camels each and fifteen loads each.  And all the loads of cloth that were carried by them are fourty-five." And his companion says to him: 'Thou art right; thou hast guessed it."
(1) In the village only women and children amuse themselves with riddles.

14
A TALE RESEMBLING A RIDDLE.
Another one asks his companion in this way: 'There was a man with a boat, who had a leopard, a goat and a leaf.  And he wanted to ferry them over from the shore where he was to the other shore.  But his boat was small, and it carried, at one crossing, (only) him and one of the three [things] that he had.  And he could not ferry them over singly: for if the leopard stayed with the goat, he would kill and eat it (away from him); and if he left the goat with the leaf, the goat would eat the leaf (away from him).  Now then, how doest thou think that he was able to cross with them ?"The other one explains in this way: 'The owner of the boat crosses first taking the goat.  Then he returns, takes the leopard and crosses again; and he leaves him there.  But with the goat he returns and leaves it on the shore.  Now he takes the leaf and goes over to the other shore.  Thereupon he leaves the leaf with the leopard. [Finally] he goes back, takes the
goat and crosses.  In this way he ferries all ,of them over."
And his companion says to him: 'Well, thou hast guessed it."

15
A TALE RESEMBLING A RIDDLE.
The first one asks the other about the explanation of this [tale]:'There were on a shore three men With their three wives.  And they wanted to cross fro m the shore where they were to the
other shore.They had one  boat, and it carried only two [persons].  And the men did not trust each other that they would not commit adultery with each other's wives.  And each one of them could not cross with his wife [and stay]: for there was nobody to return the boat to his companions.  And none of them wished to leave his wife with his conipanion.  Now then, how doest thou think that they were able to cross?" The other one explains in this way: 'First two women cross in the boat; and one of them remains on the other shore, whereas one returns in the boat.  The latter
takes the third woman with her and crosses.  And one of the three women returns in the boat to the men.  Now two of the men, those whose wives have crossed before, cross in the boat to their wives.  Thereupon one of them returns with his wife in the boat to their companions who have stayed behind.  And when they have crossed back, the two women stay there.  And the man crosses with his companion who has stayed behind.  After that the woman who is with the men returns in the boat and ferries the two women over, one by one.  And in this way no one of them leaves his wife with another man, [yet] they all cross in safety."And his companion says to him: 'Thou art right.  In no other way but this would they have been able to cross."

16
THE STORY OF THE AD TAKLES. Their branches:
The branch of 'Ad Geme' wad Galaydos (formerly they kept the chieftainship.)
The branch of 'Ad  Nauraddin wad Galaydos.
'Ad Derar wad Galaydyos.
'Ad Hakin wad Galaydos.
'Ad Temaryam.wad Galaydos.
'Ad Kantubay Naseh.
'Ad Elos wad Galaydos.
'Ad Nasraddin wad Galaydos.

 These seven branches are the sons of Galaydos.  But the cighth branch is that of 'Ad Kantubay Nasheh; and the branch of Kantubay Naseh is connected with these branches by common ancestors, and they are brothers.  Although the branches of the 'Ad Takles are brothers in this way, they always split into parties and warred against each other; they used to be divided into two sides and quarrel and destroy each other.  And sometimes again they united and robbed other
tribes and became their enemies.  But most of all they lived in enmity and war with the Habab.  And although the 'Ad Takles are the smallest in number of the "Three Maflas" (1) they are brave and warlike.  Few as they are, they excel all of them in war.

(1) I. e. Habab,  'Ad Takles and 'Ad Temaryam, the descendants of Maflas wad Asgade; cf. Below No. 125, 3.

17
THE STORY OF THE FIGHT AT BALQAT.
Once the 'Ad Takles were enemies with the Habab.  The head of the Habab party was Kantebay Gaweg wad Fekak; and the head of the 'Ad Takles party was Fekak wad Nauraddin.  At first, the 'Ad Takles had killed a man of the Habab.  And the Habab, mourning for their man, had ceased to shave(1) until they should destroy each other.  Now the armour-bearer of Fekak wad Nauraddin was in the country of the Habab; and Kantubay Gaweg was asking him every day about the
ways of Fekak wad Nauraddin.  And the armour-bearer of Fekak said: 'The ways of the son of Nauraddin are hard, who can resist him ?  When he fights he is valiant; when he jumps, he is a falcon."  And Kantebay  Gaweg said to him: "How doest thou think that he can be reached?" The armour-bearer of Fekak replied: "There is no way to reach him, unless he be reached in one single way: He has two wives, and they sometimes quarrel with [the words]: Make thou his maal for him.'
Now he's an obstinate man, and then refuses the meal and does not take it for three days.  At that time when he, after having fasted, jumps, the strap of his sandal being long may make him stumble. " When Fekak wad Nauraddin was playing fersit (2)  at Balqat near the frontier of the 'Ad Takles country, the Habab party invaded it.  And one of the players seeing the army of the Habab said to Fekak: We are robbed!  An army has come." But Fekak said: 'It is they who are robbed; what are they but an army of men with pubes!" Then he planted his staff in the midst of the pebbles of the
game, so that they should not be mixed up with each other; for he said when he had driven the army back, he was to continue the game.  He swung his sword high up so that its scabbard flew off; and a hawk thinking the scabbard was a piece of meat, plunged down upon it.  And Fekak struck three men of the Habab army, and when he jumped up intending to strike [others], the strap of his sandal made him stumble because he had been fasting, and he fell.  The Habab army
killed him; and at this place the 'Ad Takles and the Habab destroyed each other.  And until the present day their tombs are seen there; and the place has been called "the fight of Balqat."
 

1)  i.e. upper lip and pubes.
(2)  Fersit is a gambling game.  It is played in the following way: Each player has a die of bone; the side where the marrow ('enge'o) has been, and which is dark, is called gas (gash) 'front"; the other, white side is called gera "back." Besides this a larger die is needed, which also has front and back; the larger, common die is called 'em "Mother", the smaller are called welad "children." Each player knows his die by its somewhat different shape.  If the stake is money or prqperty, pebbles (hashes- Hatses) are used while playing; in the play they are called qelat.  If the stake is grain  the piles of grain are taken and won during the play.  Thus, each player has an equal number of pebbles or a pile of grain before him.. The stakes are put up, and some one takes all the dice in his hand and shakes them a little; then he drops them on the ground.  If the "mother" die falls on its back, all the other dice that fall in the same way, have lost (matau "are dead"); those which fall the other way, have won, and vice versa.  Those who have won receive a stake each.  If all the dice fall differently from the "mother" die, nobody wins (dahan-tu "all is safe"). 

The first stage of the game lasts until all stakes are won; those who have won nothing are out of the game.  'The rest play on; each one puts about five pebbles up as a stake.  When there are only two winners left, they play for the whole.  He who has all the pebbles wins what is played for; the others pay in equal parts. - I was told that now the Mänsa do not gamble so much as they used to do.  Formerly they are said to have gambled a great deal and often to have lost their
houses, their cattle and much other property,