Lumabet

 Soon after people were created on the earth, there was born a child named Lumabet, who lived to be a very, very old man. He could talk when he was but one day old, and all his life he did wonderful things until the people came to believe that he had been sent by Manama, the Great Spirit.

 

When Lumabet was still a young man he had a fine dog, and he enjoyed nothing so much as taking him to the mountains to hunt. One day the dog noticed a white deer. Lumabet and his companions started in pursuit¹, but the deer was very swift² and they could not catch it. On and on they went until they had gone around the world, and still the deer was ahead. One by one his companions dropped out of the chase³, but Lumabet would not give up until he had the deer.

 

All the time he had but one banana and one camote (sweet potato) for food, but each night he planted the skins of these, and in the morning he found a banana tree with ripe fruit and a sweet potato large enough to eat. So he kept on until he had been around the world nine times, and he was an old man and his hair was gray. At last he caught the deer, and then [136]he called all the people to a great feast⁴, to see the animal.

 

While all were making merry, Lumabet told them to take a knife and kill his father. They were greatly surprised, but did as he commanded, and when the old man was dead, Lumabet waved his headband over him and he came to life again. Eight times they killed the old man at Lumabet’s command, and the eighth time he was small like a little boy, for each time they had cut off some of his flesh⁵. They all wondered very much at Lumabet’s power, and they were certain that he was a god.

 

One morning some spirits came to talk with Lumabet, and after they had gone he called the people to come into his house.

 

“We cannot all come in,” said the people, “for your house is small and we are many.”

 

“There is plenty of room,” said he; so all went in and to their surprise it did not seem crowded.

 

Then he told the people that he was going on a long journey and that all who believed he had great power could go with him, while all who remained behind would be changed into animals and buso.13 He started out, many following him, and it was as he said. [137]For those that refused to go were immediately changed into animals and buso.

 

He led the people far away across the ocean to a place where the earth and the sky meet. When they arrived they saw that the sky moved up and down like a man opening and closing his jaws⁶.

 

“Sky, you must go up,” commanded Lumabet.

 

But the sky would not obey. So the people could not go through. Finally Lumabet promised the sky that if he would let all the others through, he might have the last man who tried to pass. Agreeing to this, the sky opened and the people entered. But when near the last the sky shut down so suddenly that he caught not only the last man but also the long knife of the man before.

 

On that same day, Lumabet’s son, who was hunting, did not know that his father had gone to the sky. When he was tired of the chase, he wanted to go to his father, so he leaned⁷ an arrow⁸ against a baliti tree and sat down on it. Slowly it began to go down and carried him to his father’s place, but when he arrived he could find no people. He looked here and there and could find nothing but a gun made of gold.14 This made him very sorrowful and he did not know what to do until some white bees which were in the house said to him:

 

“You must not weep¹⁰, for we can take you to the sky where your father is.” [138]

 

So he did as they bade¹¹, and rode on the gun, and the bees flew away with him, until in three days they reached the sky.

 

Now, although most of the men who followed Lumabet were content to live in the sky, there was one who was very unhappy, and all the time he kept looking down on the land below. The spirits made fun of him and wanted to take out his intestines¹² so that he would be like them and never die, but he was afraid and always begged to be allowed to go back home.

 

Finally Manama told the spirits to allow him to go, so they made a chain of the leaves of the karan grass and tied it to his legs. Then they let him down slowly head first, and when he reached the ground he was no longer a man but an owl⁹.

1 pursuit   

n.追赶，追求，职业，工作

参考例句：

• They set off at once along the lane in pursuit.他们立即出发沿着小巷追赶。
• Life,liberty,and the pursuit of happiness have been called the inalienable rights of man.生命、自由和追求幸福被称为人类不可剥夺的权利。

2 swift   

n.雨燕，大滚筒；adj.迅速的，快的，敏捷的，立刻的；adv.迅速地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He is swift to hear,but slow to speak.他听力敏锐，但不善言辞。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery.他康复得相当快。

3 chase   

vt.追逐，追赶，追求；n.追赶

参考例句：

• The police grabbed the robbers after a long chase.警察经过长距离追赶后逮住了抢劫犯。
• Would you chase me if I did?如果我逃开了，你会来追吗？

4 feast   

n.盛宴，筵席，节日

参考例句：

• After the feast she spent a week dieting to salve her conscience.大吃了一顿之后，她花了一周时间节食以安慰自己。
• You shouldn't have troubled yourself to prepare such a feast!你不该准备这样丰盛的饭菜，这样太麻烦你了！

5 flesh   

n.肉；（供食用的）肉；果肉

参考例句：

• A fat man has much more flesh than a thin man.胖人较瘦人肉多。
• The flesh of the peach was sweet and juicy.桃子的果肉甜而多汁。

6 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

7 leaned   

v.（使）倾斜，屈身( lean的过去式和过去分词 )；倚；依赖；使斜靠

参考例句：

• He leaned forward, his hands clasped tightly together. 他俯身向前，双手十字交错地紧握着。
• He leaned back, exulting at the success of his plan. 他向后一靠，为自己计划成功而得意扬扬。

8 arrow   

n.箭，矢；箭状物，箭头符号

参考例句：

• He was shot in the shoulder with an arrow.他的肩膀被箭射中。
• The letter was nailed to the wall with an arrow.一支箭把信钉在了墙上。

9 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。

10 weep   

n.哭，哭泣，滴下；vi. 哭泣，流泪，哀悼，滴落；vt.哭着使，悲叹，滴下

参考例句：

• Don't weep about me.别为我哭泣。
• Laugh and the world laughs with you,weep and you weep alone.当你笑时，整个世界同你一起欢笑，当你哭泣时，却只有你一人独自悲哀。

11 bade   

v.出价，投标( bid的过去式 )；恳求；命令；说（问候话）

参考例句：

• I bade farewell to all the friends I had made in Paris. 我告别了我在巴黎结交的所有朋友。
• The commander bade his men be undaunted in the face of perils. 指挥员命令他的战士要临危不惧。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 intestines   

n.肠( intestine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Perhaps the most serious problems occur in the stomach and intestines. 最严重的问题或许出现在胃和肠里。 来自辞典例句
• The traps of carnivorous plants function a little like the stomachs and small intestines of animals. 食肉植物的捕蝇器起着动物的胃和小肠的作用。 来自辞典例句