Our friend pretended to do the same , but in reality he slipped the stones into his pouch , and swallowed the crusts of bread instead . However , as the nyamatsanes did not see this they had no idea that he was not really their grandmother . When they had eaten a great many pebbles they thought they had done enough for that day , and all went home together and curled themselves up to sleep . Next morning when they woke they said , ` Let us go and amuse ourselves by jumping over the ditch , ' and every time they cleared it with a bound . Then they begged their grandmother to jump over it too , end with a tremendous effort she managed to spring right over to the other side . After this they had no doubt at all of its being their true grandmother , and went off to their hunting , leaving our friend at home in the hut . As soon as they had gone out of sight our hero made haste to take the liver from the place where he had hid it , threw off the skin of the old nyamatsane , and ran away as hard as he could , only stopping to pick up a very brilliant and polished little stone , which he put in his bag by the side of the liver . Towards evening the nyamatsanes came back to the hut full of anxiety to know how their grandmother had got on during their absence . The first thing they saw on entering the door was her skin lying on the floor , and then they knew that they had been deceived , and they said to each other , ` So we were right , after all , and it was human flesh we smelt . ' Then they stooped down to find traces of the man 's footsteps , and when they had got them instantly set out in hot pursuit . Meanwhile our friend had journeyed many miles , and was beginning to feel quite safe and comfortable , when , happening to look round , he saw in the distance a thick cloud of dust moving rapidly . His heart stood still within him , and he said to himself , ' I am lost . It is the nyamatsanes , and they will tear me in pieces , ' and indeed the cloud of dust was drawing near with amazing quickness , and the nyamatsanes almost felt as if they were already devouring him . Then as a last hope the man took the little stone that he had picked up out of his bag and flung it on the ground . The moment it touched the soil it became a huge rock , whose steep sides were smooth as glass , and on the top of it our hero hastily seated himself . It was in vain that the nyamatsanes tried to climb up and reach him ; they slid down again much faster than they had gone up ; and by sunset they were quite worn out , and fell asleep at the foot of the rock . No sooner had the nyamatsanes tumbled off to sleep than the man stole softly down and fled away as fast as his legs would carry him , and by the time his enemies were awake he was a very long way off . They sprang quickly to their feet and began to sniff the soil round the rock , in order to discover traces of his footsteps , and they galloped after him with terrific speed . The chase continued for several days and nights ; several times the nyamatsanes almost reached him , and each time he was saved by his little pebble . Between his fright and his hurry he was almost dead of exhaustion when he reached his own village , where the nyamatsanes could not follow him , because of their enemies the dogs , which swarmed over all the roads .
XXXXX they returned home .
Between So after as by for into on that with