When a chief dies, the tribe cuts
off the heads of his wives and slaves and they are buried with him. The
tribes are wild and cruel. Many of them are cannibals, who eat people. They
spend their lives in fighting, dancing, and drinking. But the way they
treat twins is one of the worst things they do."
"What do they do to twins?" asked Mary.
"They kill them," said Mammy Anderson. "Sometimes they bury the twins
alive and sometimes they just throw them out into the bush to die of
hunger. The mother is driven into the bush. No one will have anything to do
with her. She is left to die in the jungle or to be eaten by the wild
animals."
"But why do they do such cruel, wicked things to harmless babies?" asked
Mary.
"They believe that the father of one of the twins is an evil spirit or
devil. But they don't know which one's father was a devil, so they kill
both to be sure of getting the right one."
"That must be stopped," said Mary. "I will fight it as long as I live. I
will never give up. Jesus loves twins just as much as other children. The
natives must learn that. They must learn that God said, 'Thou shalt not
kill.' I'll teach them."
Mary made many friends, not only among the children whom she taught, but
also among the grown-up natives. One day she heard a chief speaking to his
people about God and His love. He was a Christian.
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