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So they both returned sadly to the house, taking back with them the water-gourds which Siu's wife had left at the well. Early the next day Seragunting and his father went in search of her. They took with them only a little food, as they expected to find her not far off. But they wandered the whole day, and saw no signs of her. They spent the night under a large tree in the jungle.
The story of how he came to know this article of food, and how he and his son, Seragunting, introduced it among the Dyaks is here set forth. Siu was the son of a great Dyak chief. His father died when he was quite a child, and at the time this story begins, he had grown to manhood, and lived with his mother, and was the head of a long Dyak house in which lived some three hundred families.
He asked his father where his mother was, and he told him she had gone to the well to fetch water and would soon be back. But hour after hour passed and she did not return. So Seragunting asked his father to accompany him to the well to look for her. They found the water-vessels there, but saw no signs of her.
I am willing to help you, but I expect due respect to be paid to me, and will not allow my commands to be disobeyed." Siu and Seragunting bade their friends farewell, and started to return. As soon as they had descended the ladder of the house of Singalang Burong, they were swiftly transported through the air by some mysterious power, and in a moment they found themselves at their own house.
He was a fine child, and as befitted the grandson of Singalang Burong, he grew big and strong in a miraculously short time, and when he was three years old, he was taller and stronger than others four times his age. One day as Seragunting was playing with the other boys, a man brought some birds which he had caught in a trap.
They wandered on for several days, and every night the same thing occurred a bundle of food was placed near Seragunting. After journeying many days, they came to the sea-shore. Siu suggested to his son that they should return, but Seragunting, who during the journey had grown up into a strong lad with a will of his own, would not consent to do so, as he was determined to find his mother.
In the meantime, Seragunting, tired with his play, came back in search of his mother. She was very fond indeed of him, and he expected her to come to him as soon as he called out to her. But he was disappointed. No one answered his call, and when he looked into the room, she was not there.
When Siu hung up his sword, his wife pushed open the door and walked in. Siu's mother was very pleased to see her son, whom she had mourned as dead, alive and well, and when told of his marriage, she welcomed his wife with joy. In process of time Siu's wife bore him a son, whom they named Seragunting.
Early the next morning they were surprised to find a small bundle of food, wrapped up in leaves, near Seragunting. The food was evidently meant for him alone, as it was not enough for two, but he gave some of it to his father, who ate sparingly of it, so that his son might not be hungry.
They were told to follow the Spider. They did so. Strange to say, the water became as hard as a sand-bank under their feet. For a long time they were out of sight of land, but towards evening they approached the opposite shore. They saw several houses and one larger and more imposing than the others. To this house the Spider directed Seragunting telling him he would find his mother there.