5. [Butcher, butcher] kill ox, ox won’t …
6. [Rope, rope] hang butcher, butcher won’t …
7. [Rat, rat] gnaw rope, rope won’t …
8. Cat, cat, kill rat, rat won’t … Then the cat began to kill the rat, and the rat began to gnaw the rope, and the rope began … etc., and the pig went over the bridge, and so the old woman got home that night.
Dr. Doran gave the following Hebrew “parable’ in Notes and Queries:—
2. [This is] the cat that eat …
3. [This is] the dog that bit …
4. [This is] the stick that beat …
5. [This is] the fire that burnt …
6. [This is] the water that quenched …
7. [This is] the ox that drank …
8. [This is] the butcher that killed …
9. This is the angel, the angel of death, that slew …
While correcting these proofs, a native of South Africa informs me that he has often heard the Kafirs tell their children the same story.