As for you, son of Adam, go your way.”
After saying this, the chameleon 29 disappeared,
gone as if by magic; and Hamtoudo, who was watching,
saw a bat 29 and began shouting,
“Ho there! Son of my father! Come here
and see this creature like a spirit,
both like an animal and a giant bird
from among the birds of the kingdom of Kaydara!”
The bat itself called out:
“I am an animal, these teeth prove it.
These wings set me among the birds.
In the branches, I attach myself with these feet.
The light of day hampers me and prevents me from seeing,
but in the darkness of night I can make my way.
I am the second symbol of the country
of the dwarf-spirits, and my secret belongs to Kaydara.
The distant, the nearby Kaydara.
As for you, son of Adam, go your way.”
Having said this, the bat disappeared
even as the chameleon had scuttled off.
Now, the three friends had an intense thirst;
and the immense plain stretched before them as they walked,
as though an invisible hand were pulling it longer:
thirst spread to the carrier-oxen, bellowing.
And their mournful lowing
slowed the trek.
They dropped hot, wet dung
and their fatigue and thirst weighed on them,
slowing down their already creeping pace.
As for the three sons of Adam, they were so weary
that they nearly lost their hold on reality.
They would have accepted death,
and even ardently hoped for it to deliver them.
Of the three, Dembourou was staunchest.
He still had some strength to scan the horizon.

Notes (Lilyan Kesteloot)
29. To respect the rhythm and interest of the tale, the respective meanings of the 11 symbols of Kaydara will not be explained during its presentation; first because the tale will reveal these to them later, and also because to do so would destroy one of the characteristics of initiation which we have already spoken of: the slow progression in knowledge, and the postponement in answering questions that are too pressing.