On the whole, the bird is a friendly spirit, the dog an unfriendly in African story. Here, as in number 28, the dog takes the place of the warning bird. The idea seems to be here that the dog, by calling his master's name, invokes his spirit.
{p. 266}
Compare Junod, 93; Parsons, Andros Island, 165; and "The Hobyahs" in Jacobs, More English Fairy Tales, 127.
In Junod, Dove warns Hippopotamus against Rabbit; Rabbit kills Dove. The feathers give warning; Rabbit burns all the feathers but one and mixes them with dirt; then the one feather gives warning,
In Chatelain, 129, a dog warns of a murder. See note to number 73.
In Callaway, 52, a witch's flesh is ground to powder and thrown into the water in order that it may not come back to life