P. Smith—Birth and Destiny: Iron Children and Butter Children. In some African taies analyzed by D. Paulme, the characters of 'Tom Thumb' and 'Clever Boy' are marked at birth with special traits turning them into 'over-begot-ten' heroes. These traits (in association with several others) are developed in ail the epic legend cycles found from Southern Cameroon to Rwanda to define a figure of the epic hero par excellence. They can be found as well in West African epics and also among the Finn, the Greek, the Khirgiz, etc. These traits can be opposed in every detail to those which define the character of the 'under-begotten' child, as exemplified by the man-made children to be found in Rwandese, Senegalese, Malian, and other myths. This pattern of opposition applies to the contrasting figures of John the Baptist and Jesus, whose special traits at birth foretell their destiny. This throws a new light on some of the motifs in the Gospel and the liturgie tradition. The secret logic of the characters is thus shown to be an essential dimension of narrative art, ail too often neglected in formai analysis. [pp. 329-352]