THE BEGINNING OF GNATS
HITU PUUN NU LAMUK
ONCE THERE WERE two sister. The adults had made a longhouse from planks. Their mother said, "Go and get some leaves, dear." So one of the girls went to look for leaves. The other one stayed at home and did not go with her sister. 

      This girl was gathering leaves when another girl appeared. 

      "Friend," she  said, "are you collecting leaves?" 

      "Yes," said the first girl. 

      "Come," said the second girl, "come with me." 

      The first girl looked and saw that she was just like a friend of heres - with the same face, and similar built. But it was a Spirit who had changed its appearance. "Come on, let's go. We'll go over there." So the first girl went with her. She realised it was a long way to the house. 

      The spirit girl said, "Look at my mouth." The human girl looked and saw that her mouth was bloody. "She has sucked my blood," said the human girl. She decided to go home. However, before she got to the house she died. 

      The girl's mother looked and looked but could not find her. It was dark. She could not find her daughter so seh finally slept, and the cock crowed at dawn. 

      The mother said to her other daughter, "Get up, dear. The cock is crowing." So the girl got up and got the winnowing tray. "Take what is drying over the fire," said her mother. "It's the rice I put out to dry last night. Pound it." 

      The girl got up and went to pound the rice. As she was pounding, along came the spirit girl. 

      "Are you pounding, Friend?" she asked. 

      "Yes." amswered tje gor;. She looked and was surprised to see that the girl was so very much like a friend of hers. Her built was like that of her friend, too. She thought it was a human being. 

      "Let's pound together," said the spirit girl. 

      "Alright," said the human girl. So they started to pound. 

      "Pound!" said the spirit, and as and begun, she plucked the breast of the human girl. 

      "I did not. I was just pushing the rice back into the hole of the pounding log," she said. 

      They started pounding the second time and the spirit girl again plucked the human girl's others breast, and by now, it had started to bleed.  The human girl was afraid and ran away into the room.
      
      "Mother, my breast  is bleeding. It was scratched by that girl just no," said the girl.
  
      "Which girl?" asked her mother.
  
      "Her face was just like my friend's" said the human girl.
  
      Then her mother, asked the mother of her daughter's friend.
  
      "Did your girl go out to pound?"
  
      "No, she is still asleep," said the mother of the girl's friend.
  
      "It must have been a spirit," said the mother, who had lost her first child. "That's what ate my daughter before, and now she is dead. I told her to go and collect some leaves and she disappeared, and we could not find her body. Let's get some kamanggas wood."
  
      The kamanggas wood was able to kill a spirit. They took some of it and burnt it. The house was filled with smoke and it covered the spirit. The spirit said, "I am dying, but you will not see my body. I shall turn into gnats."
  
      Then they took the body of the spirit and burnt it in the fire. The ashes of the spirit changed into gnats. That is why gnats eat human beings now, because this spirit turned into gnats.
   
      Sino anak am ilo ruo ahaka'. Nanguma' matuo natu ra pahun, pahun asuun, akapapan. Rahu kono nu ina' naatu "Muoi oko akiraun labong", kono. Luat nu ralaa hitu bi no inuoi nakiraun. Am ralaa saumi tu amahun, ikaa inaiya' rio.
  
      Angkatu' ralaa hitu ra raun. Bulah nu anak hitio. "U Irus" kono "angkatu' oko ra raun?" kono. "Ua" kono nu ralaa tu. "Ikon mu", kono nu ralaa hitio rio "maya' ko rakon".
  
      Ilaiyan no ralaa hitu, kono pantalaah natu am bulos no am hili io, inan no hili inan no bonsoi. Lai' ka' alingu hitu io, ansalu iak baal no. "Ikon mu, makou to ruo, muoi to ra hio". Baya' nu ralaa hino rio. Ilai' no am atawoi no ha pahun tu.
  
      Rahu kono nualingu tu "Lai' nga kabang kutu". Ilai' nu ralaa nu ulun tu, alumbak kabang naatu. "Ininta' no ulun tu. Luat no aam bi inuli'. Ikaapo io inatong ra pahun tu am inatoi no io.
  
      Uyum-uyum no ilo aam kaando' no io hua. Olondom noyo. Ikaa no io narampa' nilo bangkai nu anak nu ulun tu. Boolong nilo ra londom nali am aningkukuk no ha manuk tu, maarkatawang. Rahu kono nu matuo saumi tu ra anak natu "Lumuat ko labong", kono. "Aningkukuk no manuk tu". Luat nu anak hitu oi, unto' no tapan tu. "Union mu sinalah no", kono nu matuo tu "pari ramai' inuma' ku salaho'. Maan mu tutuo'"
  
      Luat nu ralaa ru rahili, bi sinumamput inuoi nanutu. Anutu io am bulah nu ralaa hitu io, ralaa nu alingu. " Anutu' oko Irus?", kono.
  
      "Ua" kono nu ralaa tu. Ilaiyan no am ralaa pantalaah natu. Hili no inan nu ralaa pantalaah natu. Indus no am ulun hitu io.
  
      "Anggulung to ruo anutu", kono nu rahu nu alingu tu.
  
      "Ua," kono nu ralaa nu ulun tu. Nit nilo ruo nanutu. 
  
      "Tutu," kono nu alingu tu sinumaur. Not kono toworo' titi nu ralaa nu ulun tu.
  
      "Haiyo. Toworn mu ha au Irus", kono nu ralaa ulun tu.
  
      "Ikaa hua," kono nu rahu nu alingu tu. "Anapil au ra paari tu, apaunsop ra luang nu tutuan tu," kono.
  
      Am tutu kono pa anginduo alingu hitu, nit kono toworo' titi nu ralaa tu, titi no sangkibab, am nalumbak no hitu io. Nalaa' no ralaa nu ulun tu, am pahiru' no io, sop ra sulap tu.
  
      "Aun naaku ka ulun hini li?" kono.
  
      Hili matuo hitu angkimoot ra matuo bokon tu. "Ikaa iLabong sinumamput inuoi nanutu?"
  
      "Ikaa", kono nu matuo bokon tu, "oolong iLabong" kono.
  
      "Alingu no nahi hini li," rahu kono nu matuo nalawo ra anak tu.
  
      "Hini li no nahi nanggakan ri iLabong nili. Naando' noyo". "Si nusub ku io inuoi nakiraun, am lawo iaak. Ikaa nanakito inan nali. Maan, taka unto taun soro", kono nu matuo nu ralaa tu, kinarat ra titi tu.
  
      Taun hili io kamanggas, akapatoi ra alingu. Unto'nilo taun hitu, solobo' ra apui tu. Alisun no pahun nilo tu. Naub alingu tu ra kamanggas li. Rahu kono nu alingu tu "Matoi au no", kono. "Ali' raino" kono "ikaa no akito mi inan kutu. Sumauk au no ra lamuk", kono nu alingu tu mindahu.
  
      Unto' nilo bangkai nu alingu li, solobo' ra apui. Isu' nu lolong nu bangkai nu alingu li inangun ra lamuk. Am hitu nga ra lamuk tu aangkan ra ulun nga bangun hua nu alingu li.     


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