After they had gone , Thakane returned to the village , which Masilo had managed to reach before her . All the rest of the day he sat in a corner weeping , and his mother who came in asked : ` Why are you weeping so bitterly , my son ? ' ` My head aches , ' he answered ; ` it aches very badly . ' And his mother passed on , and left him alone . In the evening he said to his wife : ' I have seen my daughter , in the place where you told me you had drowned her . Instead , she lives at the bottom of the lake , and has now grown into a young woman . ' ' I do n't know what you are talking about , ' replied Thakane . ' I buried my child under the sand on the beach . ' Then Masilo implored her to give the child back to him ; but she would not listen , and only answered : ` If I were to give her back you would only obey the laws of your country and take her to your father , the ogre , and she would be eaten . ' But Masilo promised that he would never let his father see her , and that now she was a woman no one would try to hurt her ; so Thakane 's heart melted , and she went down to the lake to consult the old woman . ` What am I to do ? ' she asked , when , after clapping her hands , the old woman appeared before her . ` Yesterday Masilo beheld Dilah , and ever since he has entreated me to give him back his daughter . ' ` If I let her go he must pay me a thousand head of cattle in exchange , ' replied the old woman . And Thakane carried her answer back to Masilo . ` Why , I would gladly give her two thousand ! ' cried he , ` for she has saved my daughter . ' And he bade messengers hasten to all the neighbouring villages , and tell his people to send him at once all the cattle he possessed . When they were all assembled he chose a thousand of the finest bulls and cows , and drove them down to the river , followed by a great crowd wondering what would happen . Then Thakane stepped forward in front of the cattle and sang : Bring to me Dilah , Dilah the rejected one , Dilah , whom her father Masilo cast out !
And Dilah came from the waters holding out her hands to Masilo and Thakane , and in her place the cattle sank into the lake , and were driven by the old woman XXXXX the great city filled with people , which lies at the bottom .
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