But the woman did not believe that it was her husband.  So she hid her comb in a place on the floor, and she said to her comb, “If the Buso calls me, do you answer.  Tell him that I have run away because I have great fear of the Buso.”

Then, when the Buso called, the Comb answered just as the woman had told it.  By and by the Buso went away.  In the morning, the man came back from fishing, because daylight had come.  And he had a fine catch of fish.  Then the woman told him all that had happened, and the man never again let his wife sleep alone in the house.  After that, everything went well; for Buso was afraid of the man, and never again attempted to come there.

The Buso’s Basket

Two children went out into the field to tend their rice-plants.  They said these words to keep the little birds away from the grain:—­

“One, one, maya-bird, [111]
Yonder in the north;
Keep off from eating it,
This my rice.”

Just then they heard the sound of a voice, calling from the great pananag-tree, [112] “Wait a minute, children, until I make a basket for you.”

“What is that?” said the boy to his sister.

“Oh, nothing!” answered the little girl.  “It’s the sound of something.”

Then the children called to their father and mother; but only from the pananag-tree the answer came, “Just wait till I finish this basket to hold you in.”

Down, then, from the tree came the great Buso, with a big, deep basket (such as women carry bananas and camotes [113] in) hanging from his shoulders.  The frightened children did not dare to run away; and Buso sat down near by in the little hut where the rice was kept.  Soon he said to the children, “Please comb out my nice hair.”

But, when they tried to comb his hair, they found it swarming with big lice and worms.

“Well, let’s go on now,” said the Buso.  Then he stuffed the children into his deep burden-basket, and swung the basket upon his back.

On the instant the little girl screamed out, “Wait a minute, Buso!  I’ve dropped my comb.  Let me down to pick it up.”

So the Buso sat down on the ground, and let the girl climb out of the basket.  He sat waiting for her to find her comb; but all the time she was picking up big stones, and putting them into the basket.  Her brother got out of the basket too, and then both girl and boy climbed up into a tall betel-nut tree, [114] leaving Buso with a basket full of stones on his back.

Up to his house in the pananag-tree went Buso with the heavy basket.  When his wife saw him, she laughed and shouted very loud.  She was glad, because she thought there was a man in the basket, all ready to eat.  But, when Buso slipped the basket down from his shoulders, there was no human flesh in it, but only big stones.

Then the angry Buso hurried back to look for the two children.  At last he caught sight of them far up in the betel-nut tree, and wondered how he could get them.  Now, at the foot of the tree there was a growth of the wild plant called “bagkang;” and Buso said words to make the bagkang grow faster and taller:—­