"No," said the magician; "that won't do."
"I'll give you half of the towns I own."
"No; that will not satisfy me."
"What do you want, then?"
"When I have made them scholars and bring them back to you, choose
two of them for yourself and give me the third; for I want to have
a companion of my own."
"Agreed," said the sultan.
So the magician took them away, and in a remarkably short time
taught them to read, and to make letters, and made them quite good
scholars. Then he took them back to the sultan and said: "Here are
the children. They are all equally good scholars. Choose."
So the sultan took the two he preferred, and the magician went away
with the third, whose name was Keejaa'naa, to his own house, which
was a very large one.
When they arrived, Mchaa'wee, the magician, gave the youth all the
keys, saying, "Open whatever you wish to." Then he told him that he
was his father, and that he was going away for a month.
When he was gone, Keejaanaa took the keys and went to examine the
house. He opened one door, and saw a room full of liquid gold. He
put his finger in, and the gold stuck to it, and, wipe and rub as
he would, the gold would not come off; so he wrapped a piece of rag
around it, and when his supposed father came home and saw the rag,
and asked him what he had been doing to his finger, he was afraid to
tell him the truth, so he said that he had cut it.
Not very long after, Mchaawee went away again, and the youth took
the keys and continued his investigations.
The first room he opened was filled with the bones of goats, the
next with sheep's bones, the next with the bones of oxen, the fourth
with the bones of donkeys, the fifth with those of horses, the sixth
contained men's skulls, and in the seventh was a live horse.
"Hullo!" said the horse; "where do you come from, you son of Adam?"
"This is my father's house," said Keejaanaa.
"Oh, indeed!" was the reply. "Well, you've got a pretty nice parent! Do
you know that he occupies himself with eating people, and donkeys,
and horses, and oxen and goats and everything he can lay his hands
on? You and I are the only living things left."
This scared the youth pretty badly, and he faltered, "What are we
to do?"
"What's your name?" said the horse.
"Keejaanaa."
"Well, I'm Faaraa'see. Now, Keejaanaa, first of all, come and
unfasten me."
The youth did so at once.
"Now, then, open the door of the room with the gold in it, and I
will swallow it all; then I'll go and wait for you under the big
tree down the road a little way. When the magician comes home,
he will say to you, 'Let us go for firewood;' then you answer,
'I don't understand that work;' and he will go by himself. When he
comes back, he will put a great big pot on the hook and will tell you
to make a fire under it. Tell him you don't know how to make a fire,
and he will make it himself.
"Then he will bring a large quantity of butter, and while it is
getting hot he will put up a swing and say to you, 'Get up there,
and I'll swing you.' But you tell him you never played at that game,
and ask him to swing first, that you may see how it is done. Then
he will get up to show you; and you must push him into the big pot,
and then come to me as quickly as you can."
Then the horse went away.
Now, Mchaawee had invited some of his friends to a feast at his
house that evening; so, returning home early, he said to Keejaanaa,
"Let us go for firewood;" but the youth answered, "I don't understand
that work." So he went by himself and brought the wood.
Then he hung up the big pot and said, "Light the fire;" but the
youth said, "I don't know how to do it." So the magician laid the
wood under the pot and lighted it himself.
Then he said, "Put all that butter in the pot;" but the youth answered,
"I can't lift it; I'm not strong enough." So he put in the butter
himself.
Next Mchaawee said, "Have you seen our country game?" And Keejaanaa
answered, "I think not."
"Well," said the magician, "let's play at it while the butter is
getting hot."
So he tied up the swing and said to Keejaanaa, "Get up here, and learn
the game." But the youth said: "You get up first and show me. I'll
learn quicker that way."
The magician got into the swing, and just as he got started Keejaanaa
gave him a push right into the big pot; and as the butter was by this
time boiling, it not only killed him, but cooked him also.
As soon as the youth had pushed the magician into the big pot, he
ran as fast as he could to the big tree, where the horse was waiting
for him.
"Come on," said Faaraasee; "jump on my back and let's be going."
So he mounted and they started off.
When the magician's guests arrived they looked everywhere for him,
but, of course, could not find him. Then, after waiting a while, they
began to be very hungry; so, looking around for something to eat, they
saw that the stew in the big pot was done, and, saying to each other,
"Let's begin, anyway," they started in and ate the entire contents of
the pot. After they had finished, they searched for Mchaawee again,
and finding lots of provisions in the house, they thought they would
stay there until he came; but after they had waited a couple of days
and eaten all the food in the place, they gave him up and returned
to their homes.
Meanwhile Keejaanaa and the horse continued on their way until they
had gone a great distance, and at last they stopped near a large town.
"Let us stay here," said the youth, "and build a house."
As Faaraasee was agreeable, they did so. The horse coughed up all the
gold he had swallowed, with which they purchased slaves, and cattle,
and everything they needed.
When the people of the town saw the beautiful new house and all the
slaves, and cattle, and riches it contained, they went and told their
sultan, who at once made up his mind that the owner of such a place
must be of sufficient importance to be visited and taken notice of,
as an acquisition to the neighborhood.
So he called on Keejaanaa, and inquired who he was.
"Oh, I'm just an ordinary being, like other people."
"Are you a traveler?"
"Well, I have been; but I like this place, and think I'll settle
down here."
"Why don't you come and walk in our town?"
"I should like to very much, but I need some one to show me around."
"Oh, I'll show you around," said the sultan, eagerly, for he was
quite taken with the young man.
After this Keejaanaa and the sultan became great friends; and in the
course of time the young man married the sultan's daughter, and they
had one son.
They lived very happily together, and Keejaanaa loved Faaraasee as
his own soul.