The Hyena Woman
Part Two
The hyena didn't forget the boy and the girl. She looked for them everywhere. At last she found them, in the forest. She used her magic and changed herself. She wasn't a hyena now. She was a young woman.
One evening, the boy and his friends were sitting together near their fire. The hyena woman came to them. She was very beautiful. All the boys loved her. They all wanted to marry her.
"Look," she said to them. "I have a long stick here. Only my husband can break this stick."
All the boys wanted to be her husband. They all tried to break the stick. Only the girl's brother could do it.
The hyena woman smiled at the boy.
"I will marry you," she said.
The boy was very happy. He looked at her, and he didn't see a hyena. He only saw a beautiful woman.
The hyena woman married the boy, and she began to live with him and his sister. Every day, the hyena woman cooked good food for them, and looked after the house.
One day, the sister went to a friend's house. They talked for a long time.
"It's late," her friend said to her. "It's dark already. You can't go home now. Stay here with me."
So the sister slept in her friend's house that night.
In their house, the boy and his wife went to bed. Soon, the boy was asleep. The hyena woman got up quietly, and put a piece of iron in the fire. The iron became hotter and hotter.
A rat came up out of his hole. He saw the iron in the fire.
"Wake up, wake up, you foolish boy," he called out. "The iron is hot! Your wife is going to kill you!"
The boy didn't hear the rat, but his wife heard him. She woke the boy up.
"Husband, wake up!" she said. "A rat is eating our food. Kill the rat! Kill the rat!"
The boy jumped up and killed the rat. Then he went back to his bed and slept. And the iron grew hotter in the fire.
A chicken by the door saw the hot iron. She walked into the house.
"Wake up, wake up, you foolish boy," she called out. "The iron is hot! And your wife is going to kill you!"
The boy didn't hear the chicken, but his wife heard her. She woke the boy again.
"Husband, wake up!" she said. "A chicken is eating our food. Kill the chicken! Kill the chicken!"
The boy jumped up, and killed the chicken.
The iron was very hot now. It was not black, but red. The hyena woman picked it up, and pushed it into the boy. At once, he died. Then the hyena woman picked up the boy's body, and hid it in the inset field.