...... On the morning of the third day, Little Halfbreed came to this spot. He released two oxen and twelve sheep to graze on the grass and then sat under a tree waiting for the black man. The sheep snorted loudly because their muzzles were irritated by beads of dew on the grass. When the sun was just about to come up, the man in black appeared before Little Halfbreed. Little Halfbreed asked, "Have you eaten yet?"

　　The man in black answered, "I've drunk a hive full of honey."

　　"How much is a hive of honey?"

　　"How should I know! Only the devil knows how much a hive of honey is. -- Let me tell you the story about how the young horse crossed over the marsh. A long, long time ago, a group of people drove a mare up from the south. After they entered the marsh, the mare gave birth to a red foal. Soon after, the mare died, leaving behind the foal all by itself. A number of people also died, until there was only one child left, a boy. The boy and the foal embraced each other and began to cry. They cried and cried until tears wouldn't come any more ...

　　Little Halfbreed, who hadn't slept well the night before, began to yawn.

　　The dark man said, "Listen closely, my child!"

Little Halfbreed complained, "This story is no good at all! You tricked me into coming here early in the morning before I had breakfast. You should give me some honey to eat."

　　The black man plucked a flower from the soil and broke off two grass stems. He crushed them in his palms before blowing them into the air. Bees danced in the breeze. In order to brew honey for Little Halfbreed, they made a nest in the grass and then gathered pollen, sea water, and dung -- the sweetest things should be made out of the most foul ingredients. After eating the honey, Little Halfbreed wasn't hungry or tired any longer. He listened while the black man continued his story.

　　......The foal licked the little boy's face and said, "Don't cry, little brother." The foal was a female who had two big, bright blue eyes with double-folded eyelids and long eyelashes. Its lips were as tender and red as rose petals. The boy stroked its face and said to it, 'Little sister, I'll listen to you and stop crying. Why should I cry when I'm older than you?' The boy and the foal found some solid ground and began to eat, the foal munching grass and the boy eating the seeds of the grass. When they were full, they set out together on their journey through the marshland .....

　　Just at that moment, the man in black and Little Halfbreed heard a strange sound in the marsh, much like the roar of a tiger. They were both startled, or rather, they were struck dumb. They turned their heads and stared at the bushes with their mouths wide open.

　　 I remember that, when my grandfather reached this point of the story, I would involuntarily turn my head in fear to look at the clumps of red shrubbery stretching endlessly into the recesses of the marsh. It was dusk then, too. The sun was cool and dense clouds of mist rose from the marsh. There was a sound of branches moving in the bushes, and then all became still. The oxen and sheep, with fear and nervousness in their eyes, had drawn closer .

　　"What bird made that sound?" Little Halfbreed asked the thin black man.

　　As if posing, the thin, dark chap was staring at the marsh, now motionless as a picture, and at the cotton-like mist. His keen eyes, sunk under the protruding ridge of his forehead, were fixed like those of a falcon which had just detected a hare.