From Fables & Folk-Tales from an Eastern Forest, collected and Translated by Walter Skeat, M.A. illustrated by F. H. Townsend; Cambridge: At the University Press; 1901; pp. 79-84.
Therefore the great King’s wrath was kindled against the Mouse-deer and in the end he too was fain to appear. And when he appeared he was questioned by the King. Why did you not attend at the first when we had summoned hither every kind of beast that lives in the field?” The Mouse-deer replied, “Your slave could not approach your Majesty because of a dream of certain medicine 4 that would make your Majesty well.” The King replied, “What medicine was this of which you dreamed?” ‘Your slave dreamed that the only remedy for your Majesty’s sickness was for you Majesty to seize and devour That which is Nearest your Majesty.”
Immediately on hearing this the Great King of the Tigers seized the Price of the Tigers and devoured him also. And straightway the King was cured, and the Mouse-deer himself became Crown-Prince in turn.
5At this Friend Heron said, “Why does the boat fall off? How is your helm, Friend Mouse-deer?” ‘I was only taking a few winks,” said he. “Bring her up to the wind again,” said the Heron. And the Mouse-deer replied, “All right. I’m ‘on the spot,’” (said he). Presently however he dozed again, and the Heron exclaimed, “Oh, if that’s to be it, you may die and be done with. I’ll peck a hole in this boat of ours and you’ll go to the bottom.”
6But the Mouse-deer said, “Please don’t, I’m such a bad hand at swimming.” So they sailed on. And the Mouse-deer dozed a third time. At this the Heron could contain himself no longer, and said, “Confound you, Friend Mouse-deer, for sleeping at the helm.” And losing his temper he pecked a hole in the boat, and the boat let in the water and Friend Heron flew away. But the Mouse-deer swam struggling with his feet in the midst of the sea.
Presently there came up a young Shark who exclaimed, “I’ll have a meal off you this time at all events.” But the Mouse-deer answered, “What, Friend Shark, you’ll make a meal off me? why, in place of the little flesh I’ve got, if you’ll carry me ashore, I’ll teach you some excellent Magic, which will save you from ever having to hunt for your food again.” To this the Shark replied, “Agreed. If you’ll teach me your ‘excellent Magic’ I’ll carry you ashore.” So the Mouse-deer got upon Friend Shark’s back, and was carried straight ashore.
And on their arrival the Mouse-deer said, “Wait here a bit, while I go and get the simples.” 7 And going aland he hunted up a rattan (cane) creeper and took it back with him and said, “now I’ll give you the simples I spoke of,” and bound it fast to Friend Shark’s tail. And presently the Shark said, “Why have you made the line fast to my tail? Bt the Mouse-deer replied, “Keep quite quiet till I have tied you up properly, and then I’ll give you the simples.” But presently he dragged the Shark up on to the dry beach, and made butcher’s-meat of him. Just then however a Tiger came up, exclaiming, “Here’s really a good meal for Me, for once in a way!” To this, however, the Mouse-deer replied, “What is the use of eating me, when there’s already plenty of butcher’s-meat and to spare?” “Very well, Ill share it with you,” said the Tiger. The Mouse-deer replied, “You may share it with me by all means, if you will only go and get some water to do the cooking.” So the Tiger went off to get water and presently came back with it.
“Wash the meat before you roast it,” said the Mouse-deer. The Tiger took the meat and washed it in the water. “Go and fetch fire and roast it,” said the Mouse-deer. The Tiger fetched 8 fire and came back to do the cooking. And when the meat was done, “now go and fetch some drinking water,” said the Mouse-deer, “and we’ll have our meal together.” So the Tiger went off again to fetch the drinking water. But the Mouse-deer in the meantime made off with the Shark’s meat and climbed up with it to the top of a She-oak Tree. And presently the Tiger came back and found both Mouse-deer and meat missing. At this he exclaimed, “For once in a way, Mr. Mouse-deer, you’ve fairly cheated Me; if we don’t meat again no matter, but if we do, I’ll be the death of you.” And here the story ends.
9(Here the story of What the Otter did stops and the story of What happened when the Woodpecker sounded the war-gong commences.) The Mouse-deer was Chief Dancer of the War-dance, and as he danced, he trod on the Otter’s Babies and crushed them flat. Presently the Otter returned home, bringing a string of fish with him. On arriving he saw that his children had been killed, and exclaimed, “How comes it, Friend Mouse-deer, that my Babies 10 have died?” the Mouse-deer replied, “The Woodpecker came and sounded the war-gong, and I, being Chief War-Dancer, danced; and forgetting about your children I trod upon them and crushed them flat.”
On hearing this the Otter went and made complaint unto King Solomon, prostrating himself and saying, “Your Majesty’s most humble slave craves pardon for presuming to address your Majesty, but Friend Mouse-deer has murdered your slave’s children, and your slave’s children, and your slave desires to learn whether he is guilty or not according to the Law of the Land.” King Solomon replied, saying, “If the Mouse-deer hath done this thing wittingly, assuredly he is guilty of death.” Then he summoned the Mouse-deer before him.
And when the Mouse-deer came into the presence of the King, the King enquired of the Otter, “What is your charge against him?” The Otter replied, “Your slave accuses him of the murder of your slave’s children; your slave would hear the Law of the Land,” Then the King said unto the Mouse-deer, “Was it your doing that the Otter’s children were killed?” The Mouse-deer replied, 11 “Assuredly it was, but I crave pardon for doing so.” “How was it then,” said the King, “that you came to kill them?” The Mouse-deer replied, “Your slave came to kill them because the Woodpecker appeared and sounded the war-gong. Your slave, as your Majesty is aware, is Chief Dancer of the War-dance, therefore your slave danced, and forgetting about the Otter’s children, your slave trod upon them and trounced them flat.” Here the King sent for the Woodpecker also, and the Woodpecker came before him. “Was it you, Woodpecker,” said the King, “who sounded the war-gong?” “Assuredly it was,” said the Woodpecker, — “forasmuch s your slave saw the Great Lizard wearing his sword,” The King replied, “If that is the case, there is no fault to be found in the Woodpecker” (for the Woodpecker was Chief Beater of the War-gong). Then the King commanded the Great Lizard to be summoned, and when he arrived, the King enquired, “Was it you, Lizard, who were wearing your sword?” The Great Lizard replied, “Assuredly it was, your Majesty.” “And why were you wearing your sword?” The Great Lizard replied, 12 “Your slave wore it forasmuch as your slave saw that the Tortoise had donned his coat of mail.” So the Tortoise was summoned likewise. “Why did you Tortoise, don your coat of mail?” The Tortoise replied, “Your slave donned forasmuch as your slave saw the King-crab trailing his three-edged pike.” Then the King-crab was sent for. “Why were you, King-crab, trailing your three-edged pike?” “Because your slave saw that the Crayfish had shouldered his lance.” Then the King sent for the Crayfish and said, “Was it you, Crayfish, who were shouldering your lance?” And the Crayfish replied, “Assuredly it was, your Majesty.” “And why did you shoulder it?” “Because your slave saw the Otter coming down to devour your slave’s own children.” “Oh,” said King Solomon, “if that is the case, you, Otter, are the guilty party and your complaint of your children’s death cannot be sustained against the Mouse-deer by the Law of the Land.” 13
At this juncture the parties to the quarrel went before the prophet Elias, who said, “This matter is too great for me, take ye it before Solomon.” And Solomon said, “Let them fight it out between them, that the rage of their heats may be appeased.” Wherefore there was battle between them for twice seven days. Now Māta Lémbu the ‘Ox-eye’ Tree stood nigh tot watch the battle, and its skin was grazed by bullets (whereof its bark still shows the scars.). But the ‘Pĕrāk’ Shrub on the other hand was filled with fear, and instead of drawing nearer, in order to see the battle, it stood upon tiptoe (wherefore it still grows long and lanky). But ‘Ádram’ the sedge was the most afraid and ran to a place afar off, but as it still heard the noise of battle it plunged into the river (wherefore to this day it grows over the surface of water)>
15And when the twice seven days were ended, the battle being still undecided, the combatants were parted, and a space was set between them by Solomon. And Gādong the Yam made he to sit down, and Dāgun the Liane to lie down. But Jágong the Maize-plant and Káchang the Bean he made to stand together.
16Another day Rūan’s wife fell ill and the Medicine-man prescribed the heart of a crocodile, but Rūan likewise had no means of obtaining it. Therefore Tūupai the Squirrel bit a hole in a coconut growing on a palm which overhung the river and crept inside it. And presently he looked out and bit through the stalk of the coconut so that it fell into the river and was swallowed by a crocodile, Tūpai himself lying coiled inside it. And presently he crept out of the coconut into the crocodile’s stomach, and bit out its heart. And the crocodile struggled greatly till it came to the shore and died there. Then the Squirrel crept out of the crocodile’s jaws and gave the heart to Rūan the Fish. And Rūan’s wife recovered immediately also.
18To this Rūan agreed; and Undan carried him over to the pool and back again as stipulated, and the fish liking it informed all his relatives.
Then Undan carried the fish back again to the new pool and returned to fetch the rest of his family. But instead of putting them into the pool, Undan sat in a tree and ate the fish till his droppings reached to the lower branches.
By this time there were no more fish to be 19 eaten and Undan commenced in like manner to cheat the family of Kĕtam the Crab. But as soon as ever Kĕtam caught sight of the droppings he saw through the trick and pinched Undan’s neck so that he died.
20So Rīau went back to snuff round the body, and as he was snuffing his whiskers tickled the man’s nostrils and the man sneezed very violently. And at this Rímau being startled leaped backwards and fell into the river, where he was himself devoured by the Crocodile according to his compact.
24The tigers took counsel together, and one of them said to the other, “You shall be the first to go into the house; Whatever you seize shall therefore be your portion, but Whatever plunges down the steps (to escape) shall be mine.” At this the second tiger ascended the house-ladder and was just crouching upon the topmost rung when one of the men to amuse himself commenced to play the 25 Tune that makes the Tiger Drowsy. As soon as the Tiger heard it he began to grow sleepy, and presently fell plump down the steps to the ground, where he was seized by his companion. And when he objected, his companion exclaimed, “Did we not agree that Whatever plunged down the steps was to be my portion?” and proceeded to devour him at his leisure.
261 According to some accounts of the Malays the Tigers have a regular form of Government and a town of their own, the houses of which have their framework made of human bones and are thatched with women’s hair.
2 “Pong Mor” or Hantu Bĕlian.
28Next day they each set out and met upon the boundary between the Cleared Land the Young Bush. And when they charged down upon each other, the Bull of the Young Bush was slain by the Bull of the Clearing, the Mouse-deer sitting upon an ant-hill to excite them to combat. 31 But during the battle the white ants extended their burrows into the Mouse-deer’s back as he sat on the ant-hill, so that he could not get up again. Therefore he said to the survivor, “If you have the strength, Friend Bull, do me the favour to scatter this ant-hill.” At this the Bull of the Clearing scattered the ant-hill with his horns and scampered off (to escape from the ants). So the Mouse-deer cut the throat of the Bull of the Young Bush (according to the Muhammedan rites) and began to flay the skin from the carcase.
At this moment Rīmau the Tiger appeared and said, “Will you share your meat with me?” And the Mouse-deer said, “By all means.” But when he had finished flaying, rain began to fall, and the Mouse-deer ordered the Tiger to cut him some prickly boughs (with which to make a shelter from the rain) — boughs of the “Rīshe,” and boughs of the “Túnggal dūri.” The Tiger did so and slung them across his shoulder to carry them home, but the river bank was very slippery and his shoulders were smeared all over with blood as he kept trying to clamber on to the raft.
Just then, seeing the Mouse-deer, he asked, 32 “What in the world makes you shiver so, Friend Mouse-deer?” The Mouse-deer replied (in ferocious tones), “I am quivering with anticipation!” and the Tiger, thinking that the Mouse-deer had designs upon himself, became so nervous that he plunged into the river, and left the meat to the Mouse-deer.
1 Sĕladang Chĕrang.
2 Sĕladang B’lūkar.
33“Hullo, you there,” said he, “where do you come from?” “I come from the eddy below the rapids,” said the Water-snail, “and I only 34 want to get as far as the head-waters of this river.” Said the King-crow, “Wait a bit. suppose you go down to the river-mouth as quickly as you can and we will have a water on it.” (Now rivers are the Water-snail’s domain, in which he has many comrades.)
“What is to be the stake?” asked the Water-snail. “If I am beaten I will be your slave, and look after your aroids1 and wild calladiums2” on which the Water-snails feed). Then the King-crow asked, “And what will you stake?” The Water-snail replied, “If I am beaten, the river shall be handed over to you and you shall be King of the River.” But the Water-snail begged for a delay of twice seven days, saying that he felt knocked up after ascending the rapids. And the delay was granted accordingly.”
Meanwhile however the Water-snail hunted up a great number of his friends and instructed them to conceal themselves in each of the higher reaches of the river, and to reply immediately when the King-crow challenged them.
35The day arrived, and the King-crow flew off, and in each of the higher reaches the Water-snail’s friends replied to the challenge. And at the river-mouth the Water-snail replied in person. So the King-crow was defeated and has ever since remained the slave of the Water-snail.
1 Birah.
2 Kĕmahang.
36“If you try to get down that way, you’ll inevitably fall and kill yourself,” was the caution given by the Yellow-Robes, and they forthwith proceeded to spread out one of their Yellow Robes to catch him in, each of the four Priests holding it by one corner.
Father ‘Follow-my-nose’ however threw himself down without a moment’s warning, and the heads of the four Priests wee violently dashed together so that they all four immediately broke their own pates.
37Old Father Follow-my-nose himself, however, took no sort of harm, and so without turning aside he went on till he reached the hut of an aged crone dwelling on the outskirts of a village. Here he halted while the crone went out to pick up the bodies of the four Priests and bring them back with her to the hut. And presently an opium-eater passed, and the crone called out to him, “Hullo, Mr. Opium-Eater, if you’ll bury me this ‘Yellow-Robe’ here, I’ll give you a dollar.” To this the opium-eater agreed and took the body away to bury it. But when he came back for his money he found the second Priest’s body awaiting him, and said to himself “The fellow must have come to life again,” and took it away to bury it. Twice again this same thing happened, and so the bodies of all the four Priests were buried. But by the time the last was buried it was broad daylight, and the opium-eater was afraid to go back again for his money.
38Presently, therefore, the Tiger asked the Elephant, “Well, Friend Elephant, would you like to try your luck again?” But the Elephant said, “No, thank you. It shall be your turn now; and if he falls to you, you shall eat me — if you really can make him fall!” Then the Tiger went and roared his longest and loudest, and shortened his body as for a spring and growled and menace the Monkey thrice. And the Monkey leaped and fell at the Tiger’s feet, for his feet and hands were paralysed and would not grip the branches any more. Then the Tiger said, “Well, Friend Elephant, I suppose I may eat you now.” But the Elephant said, “you have, I admit, won the wager; but I beg you to grant me just seven days’ respite, to enable me to visit my wife and children and to make my will.” The Tiger granted the request, and the Elephant went home, bellowing and sobbing every foot of the way.
Now the Elephant’s wife heard the sound of her husband’s voice, and said to her children, “What can be the matter with your Father that he keeps 43 sobbing so?” And the children listened to make sure and said, “Yes, it really is Father’s voice, the sobbing, and not that of anybody else.” Presently Father Elephant arrived, and Mother Elephant asked, “What were you sobbing for, Father? What have you done to yourself?” Father Elephant replied, “I made a wager with Friend Tiger about shaking down a Monkey, and Friend Tiger beat me; I menaced the Monkey, but he did not fall; if he had fallen to me, I was to have eaten Friend Tiger but if he fell to Friend Tiger, Friend Tiger was to eat me. I was beaten, and now Friend tiger says he is going to eat me. So I begged leave to come home and see you, and he has given me just seven days’ respite.”
Now for the seven days Father Elephant kept sobbing aloud, and neither ate not slept. And the thing came to the hearing of Friend Mouse-deer. “What can be the matter with Friend Elephant that he keeps bellowing and bellowing, neither does he sleep, so that night is turned into day, and day into night? What on earth is the matter with him? Suppose I go and 44 see” (said the Mouse-deer). Then the Mouse-deer went to see what was wrong, and asked, “What is the matter with you, Friend Elephant, that we hear you bellowing and bellowing every single day and every single night, just now, too, when the Rains are upon us? You are far too noisy.”
But the Elephant said, “It is no mere empty noise, Friend Mouse-deer, I have got into a dreadful scrape.” “What sort of a scrape?” enquired the Mouse-deer. “I made a wager with Friend Tiger about shaking down a Monkey, and he beat me.” “What was the stake?” asked the Mouse-deer. “The stake was that Friend Tiger might eat me if Friend Tiger frightened it down; and if I frightened it down, I might eat Friend Tiger. It fell to Friend Tiger, and now Friend Tiger wants to eat me. Any my reason for not eating or sleeping any more is that I have got only just seven days’ respite to go home and visit my wife and children and to make my will.” When the Mouse-deer said, “If it came to Friend Tiger’s eating you, I should feel exceedingly sorrowful, exceedingly distressed: but things being only as you say, I feel neither.” “If you will assist 45 me, I will become your slave, and my descendants shall be your slaves for ever.” “Very well, if that is the case, I will assist you,” said the Mouse-deer. “Go and look for a jar-full of molasses.” Friend Elephant promised to do so, and went to look for it at the house of a maker of Palm-wine. The owner of the house fled for his life, and the jar fell into Friend Elephant’s possession, who bore it back to the Mouse-deer.
Then Friend Mouse-deer said, “When does your promise expire?” and Friend Elephant replied, “To-morrow.” So when next morning arrived they started, and the Mouse-deer said, “now our the molasses over your back and let it spread and spread and run down your legs.” Friend Elephant did as he was ordered. Friend Mouse-deer then instructed the Elephant as follows: “As soon as I begin to lick up the molasses on your back, bellow as loud as you can and make believe to be hurt, and writhe and wriggle this way and that.”
And presently Friend Mouse-deer commenced to lick hard, and Friend Elephant writhed and wriggled and made believe to be hurt, and made a prodigious noise of trumpeting. In this way they 46 proceeded and Friend Mouse-deer got up and sat astride upon Friend Elephant’s back. And the Elephant trumped and trumpeted all the way till they met with Friend Tiger. At this Friend Mouse-deer exclaimed, “A single Elephant is very short commons; if I could only catch that big and fat old Tiger there, it would be just enough to satisfy my hunger.”
Now when Friend Tiger heard these words of the Mouse-deer, he said to himself, “So I suppose if you catch me, you’ll eat me into the bargain, will you?” And Friend Tiger stayed not a moment longer, but fled for his life, fetching very lofty bounds.
And soon he met with the Black Ape, and Friend Ape asked, “Why running so hard, Friend Tiger? Why so much noise, and why, just when the Rains are upon us, too, do you go fetching such lofty bounds?” Friend Tiger replied, “What do you mean by ‘so much noise’? What was the Thing that was got upon Friend Elephant’s back, that had caught Friend Elephant and was devouring him so that he went writhing and wriggling for the pain of it, and the blood went streaming 47 down in floods? Moreover the Thing that was got on Friend Elephant’s back said, to my hearing, that a single Elephant was very short commons: but if It could catch a fat old Tiger like myself that would be just enough to satisfy Its hunger.” Friend Ape said, “What was that Thing, Friend Tiger?” “I don’t know,” said the Tiger. “Ah,” mused the Ape, “I wonder if it could be Friend Mouse-deer!” “Certainly not,” said the Tiger; “why, how in the world could Friend Mouse-deer swallow Me? To say nothing of his not being used to meat food” (said he). “Come and let us go back again.”
Then they went back again to find the Elephant, and first the Ape went the faster, and then the Tiger went the faster, and then the Ape got in front again. But Friend Mouse-deer sitting on Friend Elephant’s back saw them coming and shouted, “Hullo, Father Ape” (said he), “this is a dog’s trick indeed; you promise to bring me two tigers and you only bring me one. I refuse to accept it, Father Ape.”
Now when Friend Tiger heard this, he ran off at first as fast as he could, but presently he 48 slackened his pace and said, “It is too bad of you, Friend Ape, for trying to cozen me, in order to pay your own debts. For shame! Father Ape! It was only through good luck that he refused to accept me; if he had accepted, I should have been dead and done with. Son now, if you come down to the ground, you shall die the death yourself, just for your trying to cheat me.” Thus the Tiger and the Ape were set at enmity,. and to this day the Tiger is very wroth with the Ape for trying to cheat him. And here the story ends.