In olden days cattle were like human beings; they had men's feet —not hoofs as they have at present—they lived together with men, and they could talk their language.

In course of time a man who lived with his son and a cow made up his mind to kill the cow, but he was afraid to do so openly. He therefore told his son to pretend to be ill, and he went to the cow and said, “My child is ill, he wants some fat to cure him”.

The cow told him to milk her, and after putting the milk in the sun, to shake it, and he would get what he required. The man did as he was bid, and his boy recovered.

He then told the child to pretend to be ill again, and he went to the cow, and said he wanted some blood to cure him. The cow told him to tie a ligature round her neck, and to shoot an arrow into her jugular vein. This the man did, and obtained some blood which he gave to the child who, as on the former occasion, recovered.

Later on, the man told his son to feign sickness again, and he went to the cow and said he wanted some more fat. The cow asked him if the same kind of fat as he had had on the former occasion would do, but the man replied that he wanted marrow-fat. The cow then knew that she must be slaughtered, and she told the man to bring a knife, and to pierce her in the nape of the neck. This was done, and the cow died.

The legs of the cattle then changed, they developed hoofs, and they were unable anymore to converse with men. This is how men learnt to obtain milk and make butter, to draw blood from the living animals, and to butcher their cattle; and it is for this reason that men say that the cattle are their mothers.