--- title: The Story of the Glutton. — Kaffir folk-lore · full text with trees description: The Story of the Glutton., «Kaffir folk-lore» by George McCall Theal: the whole chapter, every sentence with its dependency tree and pragmatics. It begins: There was once a man who quarrelled with his wife, so that she left him, and went home to her father’s place. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg71335/22/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/) / [Kaffir folk-lore](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg71335/) / The Story of the Glutton. # The Story of the Glutton. The Story of the Glutton. of «Kaffir folk-lore» by George McCall Theal: the whole text, 44 sentences and 647 words. The small number after every sentence leads to its own page with its syntax tree and pragmatics, parsed by Mova itself. There was once a man who quarrelled with his wife, so that she left him, and went home to her father’s place.[1](1/ "tree and pragmatics") When she got home she found nobody, for all the people had been swallowed by a monster.[2](2/ "tree and pragmatics") She went into the house that used to be her father’s, and noticed that there were footprints of animals and spots of blood all over the floor.[3](3/ "tree and pragmatics") She then got into the top of the hut and hid herself.[4](4/ "tree and pragmatics") She heard the monster coming, saying:[5](5/ "tree and pragmatics") “O man, O man, I have eaten, And I am still living.”[6](6/ "tree and pragmatics") She kept awake.[7](7/ "tree and pragmatics") Shortly the house was filled with all kinds of animals, which made a fire, cooked their food, ate it up, and slept.[8](8/ "tree and pragmatics") Next morning they awoke, and all went out to search for something to eat.[9](9/ "tree and pragmatics") The woman had two children born while the animals were away.[10](10/ "tree and pragmatics") She came down from her hiding-place, and took up a stone used for raising pots above the fire (called isoko), and went again into her hiding-place.[11](11/ "tree and pragmatics") The animals returned in the evening; and while their pots were on the fire, she threw down the stone into one of them.[12](12/ "tree and pragmatics") The animals all rushed out of the house.[13](13/ "tree and pragmatics") Outside they held a consultation, and their chief decided that those living in holes should go to the holes, that those living in forests should go to the forests, and that those living in rivers should go to the rivers.[14](14/ "tree and pragmatics") After this, the woman set a trap, and succeeded in catching a buffalo, but she could not skin it.[15](15/ "tree and pragmatics") She saw a glutton (called an igongqongqo, a fabulous monster, like a man, but capable of devouring enormous quantities of food) coming, and asked him to help her.[16](16/ "tree and pragmatics") He consented.[17](17/ "tree and pragmatics") He pulled out his knife and skinned the buffalo.[18](18/ "tree and pragmatics") She gathered some wood, and kindled a fire for the purpose of roasting the liver.[19](19/ "tree and pragmatics") The glutton roasted it.[20](20/ "tree and pragmatics") She went away and picked up an empty calabash, and when she returned she found the glutton roasting the legs, having already eaten the liver.[21](21/ "tree and pragmatics") She then said: “I am going for water.”[22](22/ "tree and pragmatics") She got behind a bush, and blew the empty calabash.[23](23/ "tree and pragmatics") The glutton wondered what this was, and called her.[24](24/ "tree and pragmatics") She continued blowing, until the glutton was so frightened that he took his bag and put the remainder of the meat into it, and ran away.[25](25/ "tree and pragmatics") She followed him, still blowing, until he threw away the bag containing the meat.[26](26/ "tree and pragmatics") She still followed, blowing.[27](27/ "tree and pragmatics") The glutton stumbled, and fell into a thorny bush, where he was held fast.[28](28/ "tree and pragmatics") The woman then ceased blowing, and heard him blubbering out:[29](29/ "tree and pragmatics") “Let me alone, lu bo bo, Let me alone, lu bo bo.”[30](30/ "tree and pragmatics") She blew again, and he struggled and got free.[31](31/ "tree and pragmatics") He ran away with all his might.[32](32/ "tree and pragmatics") She then took the bag home with her, made a fire, and cooked the meat.[33](33/ "tree and pragmatics") When it was ready, she took it to her hiding-place, and lived on it till her children were able to run about outside.[34](34/ "tree and pragmatics") One day, these twins asked their mother to make bows and arrows for them.[35](35/ "tree and pragmatics") Their mother advised them not to wander away from the house, saying to them: “The glutton will swallow you.”[36](36/ "tree and pragmatics") But at a certain time they left home, and went in the direction where the monster lived.[37](37/ "tree and pragmatics") They found it asleep, and shot it with their arrows in both eyes.[38](38/ "tree and pragmatics") The boys returned home and told their mother.[39](39/ "tree and pragmatics") Next day they went to the place, and found the glutton dead.[40](40/ "tree and pragmatics") The boys heard people talking inside the glutton.[41](41/ "tree and pragmatics") Having told their mother, she took a knife and cut it open, when people came out, and cattle, and dogs.[42](42/ "tree and pragmatics") The people asked: “Who killed the glutton?”[43](43/ "tree and pragmatics") The mother of the twins told them, and they rewarded the boys with a large number of cattle.[44](44/ "tree and pragmatics") - ← previous: [Story of the Wonderful Horns.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg71335/21/) - next →: [Story of the Great Chief of the Animals.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg71335/23/) - ↑ back to [Kaffir folk-lore](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg71335/)