The young girl entered the fountain.  The serpent darted toward her, but as soon as he showed his head the young man struck it with his stick and made it fly away.  He did the same to the next head until the serpent was dead.  All the people of the city came to draw water.  The King said: 

“Who has done this?”

“It is he,” they cried, “the stranger who arrived yesterday.”  The King gave him his daughter and named him his lieutenant The wedding-feast lasted seven days.  My story is finished before my resources are exhausted.

* * * * *

HALF-A-COCK

In times past there was a man who had two wives, and one was wise and one was foolish.  They owned a cock in common.  One day they quarrelled about the cock, cut it in two, and each took half.  The foolish wife cooked her part.  The wise one let her part live, and it walked on one foot and had only one wing.  Some days passed thus.  Then the half-a-cock got up early, and started on his pilgrimage.  At the middle of the day he was tired and went toward a brook to rest.  A jackal came there to drink.  Half-a-Cock jumped on his back, stole one of his hairs, which it put under its wing and resumed its journey.  It proceeded until evening and stopped under a tree to pass the night there.  It had not rested long when it saw a lion pass near the tree where it was lying.  As soon as it perceived the lion it jumped on its back and stole one of its hairs, which it put with that of the jackal.  The next morning it got up early and took up its journey again.  Arrived at the middle of a forest, it met a boar and said: 

“Give me a hair from your back, as the king of the animals and the trickiest of them have done—­the jackal and the lion.”

The boar answered, “As these two personages so important among the animals have done this, I will also give you what you request.”  He plucked a hair from his back and gave it to Half-a-Cock.  The latter went on his way and arrived at the palace of a king.  It began to crow and to say: 

“To-morrow the King will die, and I will take his wife.”

Hearing these words the King gave to his negroes the command to seize Half-a-Cock, and cast him into the middle of the sheep and goat-pen to be trampled upon and killed by them, so that the King might get rid of his crowing.  The negroes seized him and cast him into the pen to perish.  When he got there Half-a-Cock took from under his wing the jackal’s hair and burnt it in the fire.  As soon as it was near the fire the jackal came and said: 

“Why are you burning my hair?  As soon as I smelled it, I came running.”

Half-a-Cock replied, “You see what situation I am in.  Get me out of it.”