IN AFRICA WATCHING THE SUN SET 1964

The Queen of Ethiopia

In the days of King Solomon, three thousand years ago,
there lived in Ethiopia a dynasty of queens, who reigned
with great wisdom. One queen, the Malika Habashiya or
Abyssinian Queen of old legends, had a dream in which she
held a kid in her lap.
Sunbirds (Zimbabwe)

The sunbirds are two golden birds, which were found among
the ruins of Zimbabwe about a century ago by one of the
first explorers. They were probably discovered in the
remains of a building which may have been the sun-temple
of the ancient Bantu religion of the Shona people of
Zimbabwe.
AFRICA.
SUNSET IN THE AFRICAN DESERT - 1964

From the veranda of Harambee, which is the Swahili name for the home I lived in during my stay in Kenya. Often I could stand for minutes at a time, watching the sun setting.
The year was nineteen sixty four, with one child, a son, his name David. He, sleeping in the arms of my Ayah and friend Ameena, a Somali tribes-woman, lying comfortably, wrapped in her flowing gown. The two of us just standing, watching the sun herself going to sleep beneath the horizon.

And much more

The King of Lochlin's Three Daughters and the Three Giants who abducted them

THE KING OF LOCHLIN'S THREE DAUGHTERS.

From Neill Gillies, fisherman, near Inverary.

THERE was a king over Lochlin, once upon a time, who had a leash of
daughters; they went out (on) a day to take a walk; and there came
three giants, and they took with them the daughters of the king, and
there was no knowing where they had gone. Then the king sent word for
the sheanachy, and he asked him if he knew where his lot of daughters
had gone. The sheanachy said to the king that three giants had taken
them with them, and they were in the earth down below by them, and
there was no way to get them but by making a ship that would sail on
sea and land; and so it was that the king set out an order, any one who
would build a ship that would sail on sea and on land, that he should
get the king's big daughter to marry. There was a widow there who had a
leash of sons; and the eldest said to his mother on a day that was
there, "Cook for me a bannock, and roast a cock; I am going away to cut
wood, and to build a ship that will go to seek the daughters of the
king." His mother said to him, "Which is better with thee, the big
bannock with my cursing, or a little bannock with my blessing?" "Give
me a big bannock, it will be small enough before I build a ship." He got a bannock and he went away. He arrived where there was
a great wood and a river, and there he sat at the side of the river to
take the bannock. A great Uruisg came out of the river, and she asked a
part of the bannock. He said that he would not give her a morsel, that
it was little enough for himself. He began cutting the wood, and every
tree he cut would be on foot again; and so he was till the night came.

Such a wonderful little story, but oh my, how sad.

A Weary Little Mother, color woodcut, 1914.

A Mother's Lullaby

A big, old tree stands by a road near the city of Hiroshima. Through the years, it has seen many things.
One
summer night the tree heard a lullaby. A mother was singing to her
little girl under the tree. They looked happy, and the song sounded
sweet. But the tree remembered something sad.
"Yes, it was some sixty years ago. I heard a lullaby that night, too."

On
the morning of that day, a big bomb fell on the city of Hiroshima. Many
people lost their lives, and many others were injured. They had burns
all over their bodies. I was very sad when I saw those people.
It
was a very hot day. Some of the people fell down near me. I said to
them, "Come and rest in my shade. You'll be all right soon."


Night came. Some people were already dead. I heard a weak voice. It was a lullaby. A young girl was singing to a little boy.
"Mommy! Mommy!" the boy cried.
"Don't cry," the girl said. "Mommy is here." Then she began to sing again.
She was very weak, but she tried to be a good mother to the poor little boy. She held him in her arms like a real mother.
"Mommy," the boy was still crying.
"Be a good boy," said the girl. "You'll be all right." She held the boy more tightly and began to sing again.
After
a while the boy stopped crying and quietly died. But the little mother
did not stop singing. It was a sad lullaby. The girl's voice became
weaker and weaker.
Morning came and the sun rose, but the girl never moved again.