The Tortoise then set himself to work at making a little hut of bamboo-posts, with a roof and walls of leaves.  The upper ends of the bamboo he sharpened, and let them project through the roof; but the sharp points were concealed by the leaves.  It was like a trap for pigs (sankil).

When the Monkey came down from the banana-tree, the Tortoise said, “You climb this other tall tree, and look around at the sky.  If the sky is dark, you must call to me; for the rain will soon come.  Then you jump down on the roof of our little house here.  Never mind if it breaks in, for we can soon build a stronger one.”

The Monkey accordingly climbed the tree, and looked at the sky.  “It is all very dark!” he exclaimed.  “Jump quick, then!” cried the Tortoise.

So the Monkey jumped; but he got killed from the sharp bamboo-points on which he landed.

Then the Tortoise made a fire, and roasted the Monkey.  He cut off the Monkey’s ears, and they turned into buyo-leaves. [138] He cut out the heart, and it turned into betel-nut.  He took out the brain, and it became lime (apog [139]).  He made the tail into pungaman. [140] The stomach he made into a basket.  He put into the basket the betel and the lime and the pungaman and the buyo, and crawled away.

Soon he heard the noise of many animals gathered together.  He found the monkeys and the deer and the pigs and the wild birds having a big rice-planting.  All the animals were rejoiced to see the Tortoise coming with a basket, for they all wanted to chew betel.  The monkeys ran up, chattering, and tried to snatch the betel-nuts; but the Tortoise held them back, saying, “Wait a minute!  By and by I will give you some.”

Then the monkeys sat around, waiting, while the Tortoise prepared the betel-nut.  He cut the nuts and the pungaman into many small pieces, and the buyo-leaf too, and gave them to the monkeys and the other animals.  Everybody began to chew; and the Tortoise went away to a distance about the length of one field (sebad kinamat), where he could get out of sight, under shelter of some trees.  Then he called to the monkeys, “All of you are eating monkey, just like your own body:  you are chewing up one of your own family.”

At that, all the monkeys were angry, and ran screaming to catch the Tortoise.  But the Tortoise had hid under the felled trunk of an old palma brava tree.  As each monkey passed close by the trunk where the Tortoise lay concealed, the Tortoise said, “Drag your membrum! here’s a felled tree” (Supa tapo! basio’ [141]).

Thus every monkey passed by clear of the trunk, until the last one came by; and he was both blind and deaf.  When he followed the rest, he could not hear the Tortoise call out, “Supa tapo! basio’;” and his membrum struck against the fallen trunk.  He stopped, and became aware of the Tortoise underneath.  Then he screamed to the rest; and all the monkeys came running back, and surrounded the Tortoise, threatening him.