Chapter IV: Part 4

"Then three escaped," said the Fox. Thus, as often as the Lion repeated his query, the Fox increased the number by one, and said as many escaped. The Lion was vexed, and said: "Why you are telling me nothing new!"

"I wish that your majesty may not forget your royal word," said the Fox. "Each event occurred by itself, and each lot that escaped was different from the rest."

"But wherein is the wonder?" said the Lion.

"Why, your majesty, what can be more wonderful than for Fish to escape in lots, each exceeding the other by one?"

"I am bound by my word," said the Lion, "else I would see your carcass stretched on the ground."

The Fox replied in a whisper: "_If tyrants that desire things impossible are not at least bound by their own word, their subjects can find nothing to bind them_."

The Fox in the Well

A Fox fell into a well, and was holding hard to some roots at the side of it, just above the water. A Wolf who was passing by saw him, and said, "Hollo, Reynard; after all you have fallen into a well!"

"But not without a purpose, and not without the means of getting out of it," said the Fox.

"What do you mean?" said the Wolf.

"Why," said the Fox, "there is a drought all over the country now, and the water in this well is the only means of appeasing the thirst of the thousands that live in this neighbourhood. They held a meeting, and requested me to keep the water from going down lower; so I am holding it up for the public good."

"What will be your reward?" asked the Wolf.

"They will give me a pension, and save me the trouble of going about every day in quest of food, not to speak of innumerable other privileges that will be granted me. Further, I am not to stay here all day. I have asked a kinsman of mine, to whom I have communicated the secret of holding up the water, to relieve me from time to time. Of course he will also get a pension, and have other privileges. I expect him here shortly."

"Ah, Reynard, may I relieve you, then? May I hope to get a pension, and other privileges? You know what a sad lot is mine, especially in winter."

"Certainly," said the Fox, "but you must get a long rope, that I may come up and let you down."

So the Wolf got a rope. Up came the Fox, and down went the Wolf; when the former observed, with a laugh, "My dear sir, you may remain there till doomsday, or till the owner of the well throws up your carcass," and left the place.

"Alas!" said the Wolf, when it was too late, "_greed hath its meed!_"

The Fawn and the Little Tiger

A Fawn met a little Tiger, and said: "What fine stripes you have!"

The little Tiger said: "What fine spots you have!"

Then the Fawn said: "It would be such a nice thing if you and I were to live together as friends. We might then roam through the woods as we like, and be so happy!"

"I think so too," said the Tiger.

The two joined hands, and went out for a long walk. It was breakfast time. The Fawn saw some fine grass in the lawn, and said to himself: "One should first see his friend fed and then feed." So he turned to the Tiger and said, "Will you have some of this fine grass for your breakfast?"

The Tiger put his nose to the grass but could not bring himself to feed upon it, because it was against his nature; so he replied, "I am so sorry, I cannot eat it!"

Then the Fawn said: "Allow me to go home for one moment and ask mamma for something that would suit you for breakfast."

So the Fawn went home and told the Hind of the happy friendship he had formed, and of all that had happened since.

The Hind replied, "Child, how lucky it is that you have come away! You must know the Tiger is the most deadly enemy we have in the woods."

At these words the Fawn drew near to his dam and trembled.

The Hind said: "_It is indeed lucky to get away from the wicked at the first hint!_"

The Fox and the Villagers

A Fox that had long been the dread of the village poultry yard was one day found lying breathless in a field. The report went abroad that, after all, he had been caught and killed by some one. In a moment, everybody in the village came out to see the dead Fox. The village Cock, with all his hens and chicks, was also there, to enjoy the sight.

The Fox then got up, and, shaking off his drowsiness, said: "I ate a number of hens and chicks last night; hence I must have slumbered longer than usual."

The Cock counted his hens and chicks, and found a number wanting. "Alas!" said he, "how is it I did not know of it?"

"My dear sir," said the Fox, as he retreated to the wood, "it was last night I had a good meal on your hens and chicks, yet you did not know of it. A moment ago they found me lying in the field, and you knew of it at once. _Ill news travels fast!_"

Tinsel and Lightning

A piece of Tinsel on a rock once said to a Pebble: "You see how bright I am! I am by birth related to the lightning."

"Indeed!" said the Pebble; "then accept my humble respects."

Some time after, a flash of lightning struck the rock, and the Tinsel lost all its brilliancy by the scorching effects of the flash.

"Where is your brilliancy now?" said the Pebble.

"Oh, it is gone to the skies," said the Tinsel, "for I have lent it to the lightning that came down a moment ago to borrow it of me."

"Dear me!" said the Pebble; "_how many fibs doth good bragging need!_"

The Glow-worm and the Daw

A Jackdaw once ran up to a Glow-worm and was about to seize him. "Wait a moment, good friend," said the Worm; "and you shall hear of something to your advantage."

"Ah! what is it?" said the Daw.

"I am but one of the many Glow-worms that live in this forest. If you wish to have them all, follow me," said the Glow-worm.

"Certainly!" said the Daw.

Then the Glow-worm led him to a place in the wood where a fire had been kindled by some woodmen, and pointing to the sparks flying about, said: "There you find the Glow-worms warming themselves around a fire. When you have done with them, I will show you some more, at a distance from this place."

The Daw darted at the sparks, and tried to swallow some of them; but his mouth being burnt by the attempt, he ran away exclaiming, "Ah, the Glow-worm is a dangerous little creature!"

Said the Glow-worm with pride: "_Wickedness yields to wisdom!_"

The Lion and the Gadfly

Once a Lion was sleeping in his den at the foot of a great mountain when a Gadfly that had been sipping the blood from his mouth bit him severely. The Lion started up with a roar, and catching the Fly in his huge paws, cried: "Villain, you are at my mercy! How shall I punish your impudence?"

"Sire," said the Fly, "if you would pardon me now, and let me live, I shall be able to show ere long how grateful I am to you."

"Indeed!" said the Lion; "who ever heard of a Gadfly helping a Lion? But still I admire your presence of mind and grant your life."

Some time after, the Lion, having made great havoc on the cattle of a neighbouring village, was snoring away in his den after a heavy meal. The village hunters approached with the object of surrounding him and putting an end to his depredations.

The Fly saw them, and hurrying into the den, bit the Lion. He started up with a roar as before, and cried: "Villain, you will get no pardon this time!"

"Sire," said the Fly, "the village hunters are on their way to your den; you can't tarry a moment here without being surrounded and killed."

"Saviour of my life!" cried the lion as he ran up the mountain. "_There is nothing like forgiving, for it enables the humblest to help the highest_."

The Sunling

In the good old days a Clown in the East, on a visit to a city kinsman, while at dinner pointed to a burning candle and asked what it was. The city man said, in jest, it was a Sunling, or one of the children of the sun.

The Clown thought that it was something rare; so he waited for an opportunity, and hid it in a chest of drawers close by. Soon the chest caught fire, then the curtains by its side, then the room, then the whole house.

After the flames had been put down, the city man and the Clown went into the burnt building to see what remained. The Clown turned over the embers of the chest of drawers. The city man asked what he was seeking for. The Clown said: "It is in this chest that I hid the bright Sunling; I wish to know if he has survived the flames."

"Alas," said the city man, who now found out the cause of all the mischief, "_Never jest with fools!_"

The Despot and the Wag

A Despot in the East wished to have a great name as a very munificent prince, so he gave large presents to every one of note that came to his court, but at the same time his officers had secret orders to waylay the recipients of his gifts and recover them.

In this manner many a man had been rewarded and plundered. Once a wag came to court, and amused every one by his drolleries. The King gave him a great many presents, including a horse. After taking leave of the King and his courtiers, the Wag bundled up the presents and put them over his shoulders, and mounting the horse, facing the tail, was going out. The King asked him why he acted in that manner.

"Sire," said the Wag, "simply to see if your officers were coming behind, that I may at once hand over the bundle to them and go about my business."

The Despot was abashed, and stopped giving any more presents, saying: "_Giving is but giving in vain, when we give to take again_."

The Crane and the Fool

In the East there lived a Fool, who went one day to his fields and said: "I sowed a month ago; should the crops stand two months more, I shall get three hundred bushels of corn. But I am in a hurry, so if I should reap now, I dare say I shall have one hundred bushels at least."

A Crane who heard his words said: "If I were you, I should have all the three hundred bushels this very day."

"How?" said the Fool.

"Why," said the Crane, "you stored up water in the tank to feed the crops for three months. A month has elapsed, so water enough for two months more remains in the tank. Should you open the sluices and let all the water flow into the fields, you will have all the corn at once."

"Are you sure I shall have all the corn at once?" said the Fool.

"Oh, yes," said the Crane, "there is not the slightest doubt. My geographical knowledge is extensive, for I have travelled over a great part of the world; so you may depend on my wide knowledge and experience."

The Fool then let all the water flow into the fields. The Crane invited his kindred, and they together ate all the big fish left in the tank first, and then, hovering over the fields, picked up all the small fish that had gone out with the water. A great portion of the crops was swept away; what remained was soon buried in the mud.

The Fool sat on the bank of the lake and wept, saying: "The Crane's geography ruined me."

"My friend," said the Crane, "my geography was as good as your arithmetic. _It is all the same whether you fall into the ditch from this side or that!_"

The Lion and the Goat

A Lion was eating up one after another the animals of a certain country. One day an old Goat said: "We must put a stop to this. I have a plan by which he may be sent away from this part of the country."

"Pray act up to it at once," said the other animals.

The old Goat laid himself down in a cave on the roadside, with his flowing beard and long curved horns. The Lion on his way to the village saw him, and stopped at the mouth of the cave.

"So you have come, after all," said the Goat.

"What do you mean?" asked the Lion.

"Why, I have long been lying in this cave. I have eaten up one hundred elephants, a hundred tigers, a thousand wolves, and ninety-nine lions. One more lion has been wanting. I have waited long and patiently. Heaven has, after all, been kind to me," said the Goat, and shook his horns and his beard, and made a start as if he were about to spring upon the Lion.

The latter said to himself: "This animal looks like a Goat, but it does not talk like one, so it is very likely some wicked spirit in this shape. Prudence often serves us better than valour, so for the present I shall return to the wood," and he turned back.

The Goat rose up and, advancing to the mouth of the cave, said, "Will you come back to-morrow?"

"Never again," said the Lion.

"Do you think I shall be able to see you, at least, in the wood to-morrow?"

"Neither in the wood, nor in this neighbourhood any more," said the Lion, and running to the forest, soon left it with his kindred.

The animals in the country, not hearing him roar any more, gathered around the Goat, and said: "_The wisdom of one doth save a host_."

The Man and His Piece of Cloth

A Man in the East, where they do not require as much clothing as in colder climates, gave up all worldly concerns and retired to a wood, where he built a hut and lived in it.

His only clothing was a Piece of Cloth which he wore round his waist. But, as ill-luck would have it, rats were plentiful in the wood, so he had to keep a cat. The cat required milk to feed it, so a cow had to be kept. The cow required tending, so a cowboy was employed. The boy required a house to live in, so a house was built for him. To look after the house, a maid had to be engaged. To provide company for the maid, a few more houses had to be built, and people invited to live in them. In this manner a little township sprang up.

The man said: "_The farther we seek to go from the world and its cares, the more they multiply!_"

The Tiger, the Fox, and the Hunters

A Fox was once caught in a trap. A hungry Tiger saw him and said, "So you are here!"

"Only on your account," said the Fox, in a whisper.

"How so?" said the Tiger.

"Why, you were complaining you could not get men to eat, so I got into this net to-day, that you may have the men when they come to take me," said the Fox, and gave a hint that if the Tiger would wait a while in a thicket close by, he would point out the men to him.

"May I depend upon your word?" said the Tiger.

"Certainly," said the Fox.

The hunters came, and, seeing the Fox in the net, said: "So you are here!"

"Only on your account," said the Fox, in a whisper.

"How so?" said the men.

"Why, you were complaining you could not get at the Tiger that has been devouring your cattle. I got into this net to-day that you may have him. As I expected, he came to eat me up, and is in yonder thicket," said the Fox, and gave a hint that if they would take him out of the trap he would point out the Tiger. "May we depend upon your word?" said the men.

"Certainly," said the Fox, while the men went with him in a circle to see that he did not escape.

Then the Fox said to the Tiger and the men: "Sir Tiger, here are the men; gentlemen, here is the Tiger."

The men left the Fox and turned to the Tiger. The former beat a hasty retreat to the wood, saying, "I have kept my promise to both; now you may settle it between yourselves."

The Tiger exclaimed, when it was too late: "_Alas! what art for a double part?_"

The Hare and the Pig

A Hare and a Pig once agreed to leap over a ditch. The Hare went a great way, and fell into it, just short by an inch. The Pig went some way and fell into it; but far behind the Hare. Yet they were eager to know which of them leapt more, and was therefore the better animal.

So they said to a Fox, who had been watching the race: "Will you tell us which of us is superior, and which inferior, in the race?"

The Fox said: "_Both in the ditch: can't say which!_"

The Peacock and the Fox

A Fox, who had an eye on a Peacock, was one day standing in a field with his face turned up to the sky.

"Reynard," said the Peacock, "what have you been doing?"

"Oh, I have been counting the stars," said the Fox.

"How many are they?" said the Peacock.

"About as many as the fools on earth," said the Fox.

"But which do you think is the greater, the number of the stars or of the fools?" asked the Peacock.

"If you put it so, I should say the fools are more by one," said the Fox.

"Who is that one?" said the Peacock.

"Why, my own silly self!" said the Fox.

"How are you silly, Reynard?" questioned the Peacock.

"Why, was it not foolish of me to count the stars in the sky, when I could have counted the stars in your brilliant plumage to better advantage?" said the Fox.

"No, Reynard," said the Peacock, "therein is not your folly--although there is neither wit nor wisdom in your prattle--but in the thought that your fine words would make an easy prey of me!"

The Fox quietly left the place, saying: "_The Knave that hath been found out cannot have legs too quick_."

The Tiger and the Giraffe

A Tiger, named Old Guile, who had grown weak with age, was lying under a tree by the side of a lake in quest of some animal off which he could make a meal.

A Giraffe, named Tall Stripes, who came to the lake to quench his thirst, attracted his attention, and Old Guile addressed him as follows: "Oh, what a happy day! I see there the son of my old friend Yellow Haunch, who lived in the great forest near that distant mountain."

Tall Stripes was astonished to hear the words of Old Guile, and asked him how he, a Tiger, could be the friend of his father, a Giraffe.

"I am not surprised at your question," replied Old Guile; "it is a truth known to very few indeed that the Tiger and the Giraffe belong to the same family. Just look at your skin and my own: yours is of a pale yellow colour, mine is very nearly the same; you have stripes, I have them, too. What more proofs do you want?"

Tall Stripes, who was extremely simple and guileless, believed these words, and said: "I am very happy to know that my father was your friend, and that we are of the same family. Can I do anything for you?"

Old Guile replied, "No, thank you; old as I am, I make it a point of relying on myself. Further, a great part of my time is spent in prayer and meditation; for I consider it necessary, at this age, to devote all my attention to spiritual things. It will, however, be a great gratification to me to have your company whenever you should chance to pass by this lake."

Tall Stripes acceded to this request, and was about to go on his Way, when Old Guile observed; "My dear Tall Stripes, you are well aware of the instability of all earthly things. I am old and infirm, and who knows what may happen to me to-morrow. Perhaps I may not see you again; so let me do myself the pleasure of embracing you before you leave me for the present."

"Certainly," said Tall Stripes. Thereupon Old Guile rose up slowly from his seat, like one devoid of all energy, and embracing him, plunged his deadly teeth into his long neck, and stretching him on the ground made a hearty breakfast on him.

_Beware of the crafty professions of the wicked_.

The Man of Luck and the Man of Pluck

A King in the East said to his Minister; "Do you believe in luck?"

"I do," said the Minister.

"Can you prove it?" said the King.

"Yes, I can," said the Minister.

So one night he tied up to the ceiling of a room a parcel containing peas mixed with diamonds, and let in two men, one of whom believed in luck and the other in human effort alone. The former quietly laid himself down on the ground; the latter after a series of efforts reached the parcel, and feeling in the dark the peas and the stones, ate the former, one by one, and threw down the latter at his companion, saying, "Here are the stones for your idleness." The man below received them in his blanket.

In the morning the king and the minister came to the room and bade each take to himself what he had got. The Man of Effort found he had nothing beyond the peas he had eaten. The Man of Luck quietly walked away with the diamonds.

The Minister said to the King: "Sire, there is such a thing as luck; but it is as rare as peas mixed with diamonds. So I would say: '_Let none hope to live by luck_.'"

The Fox and the Crabs

One day a Fox seated himself on a stone by a stream and wept aloud. The Crabs in the holes around came up to him and said: "Friend, why are you wailing so loud?"

"Alas!" said the Fox, "I have been turned by my kindred out of the wood, and do not know what to do."

"Why were you turned out?" asked the Crabs in a tone of pity.

"Because," said the Fox, sobbing, "they said they should go out to-night hunting Crabs by the stream, and I said it would be a pity to lull such pretty little creatures."

"Where will you go hereafter?" said the Crabs.

"Where I can get work," said the Fox; "for I would not go to my kindred again, come what would."

Then the Crabs held a meeting, and came to the conclusion that, as the Fox had been thrown out by his kindred on their account, they could do nothing better than engage his services to defend them. So they told the Fox of their intention. He readily consented, and spent the whole day in amusing the Crabs with all kinds of tricks.

Night came. The moon rose in full splendour. The Fox said: "Have you ever been out for a walk in the moonlight?"

"Never, friend," said the Crabs; "we are such little creatures that we are afraid of going far from our holes."

"Oh, never mind!" said the Fox; "follow me! I can defend you against any foe."

So the Crabs followed him with pleasure. On the way the Fox told them all sorts of delightful things, and cheered them on most heartily. Having thus gone some distance, they reached a plain, where the Fox came to a stand, and made a low moan in the direction of an adjacent wood. Instantly a number of foxes came out of the wood and joined their kinsman, and all of them at once set about hunting the poor Crabs, who fled in all directions for their lives, but were soon caught and devoured.

When the banquet was over, the Foxes said to their friend: "How great thy skill and cunning!"

The heartless villain replied, with a wink: "My friends, _There is cunning in cunning_."

The Camel and the Pig

A Camel said: "Nothing like being tall! Look how tall I am!"

A Pig, who heard these words, said: "Nothing like being short! Look how short I am!"

The Camel said: "Well, if I fail to prove the truth of what I said, I shall give up my hump."

The Pig said: "If I fail to prove the truth of what I have said, I shall give up my snout."

"Agreed!" said the Camel.

"Just so!" said the Pig.

They came to a garden, enclosed by a low wall without any opening. The Camel stood on this side the wall, and reaching the plants within by means of his long neck made a breakfast on them. Then he turned jeeringly to the Pig, who had been standing at the bottom of the wall without even a look at the good things in the garden, and said: "Now, would you be tall, or short?"

Next they came to a garden, enclosed by a high wall, with a wicket gate at one end. The Pig entered by the gate and, after having eaten his fill of the vegetables within, came out, laughing at the poor Camel, who had had to stay outside, because he was too tall to enter the garden by the gate, and said: "Now, would you be tall, or short?"

Then they thought the matter over, and came to the conclusion that the Camel should keep his hump and the Pig his snout, observing: "_Tall is good, where tall would do; if short, again, 'tis also true!_"

MALAYAN FABLES

"He who is not possessed of such a book as will dispel many doubts, point out hidden treasures, and is, as it were, a mirror of all things, is even an ignorant man."

MALAYAN FABLES

Father "Lime-stick" and the Flower-pecker

Old Father Lime-stick once limed a tree for birds and caught a Flower-pecker. He was just about to kill and eat it when the bird cried out, "O Grandfather, surely you are not going to eat me? Why, flesh, feathers and all, I am no bigger than your thumb!" "What!" said the old man; "do you expect me then to let you go?" "Yes," said the bird, "only let me go, and I will fetch you such a talisman as never was--a Bezoar-stone as big as a cocoanut and worth at least a thousand." Said the old man, "Do you really mean it?" "Really, I do," replied the bird. "Just let me go, and I'll bring it to you." Then, on being released, he flew off and perched on a tree, and began to preen his feathers, to get rid of the bird-lime.

Presently the old man said: "Where has that bird got to? Bird, where is the Bezoar-stone you promised to bring me, the one that was worth at least a thousand?" "Out-on-you," was the reply, "this is really _too_ ridiculous. Just think of me, with my body as big as your thumb, carrying a Bezoar-stone as big as a cocoanut! It really is too absurd. Why, have I even got the strength to lift it?" At this the old man held his peace. "Well," continued the bird, "you will gain nothing by repenting that you set me free. Only remember in future not to undertake an affair quite out of keeping with your own powers. Neither try to get your arms round a tree too big for your embrace, nor attempt to climb one higher than your strength permits you."

The Mouse-deer's Shipwreck

"Come," said the Mouse-deer to the Stump-tailed Heron, "come and sail with me to Java." So they set sail, and Friend Mouse-deer held the tiller and Friend Heron spread the sail, and the wind blew from the north. Soon however Friend Mouse-deer got drowsy, and let the boat fall out of the wind.

At 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.'" 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."

But 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." And going a-land he hunted up a rattan 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?" But 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, I'll 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 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 meet again no matter, but if we do, I'll be the death of you." And here the story ends.

The Tiger Gets His Deserts

A Tiger which had been caught in a trap, seeing a man, begged to be released. The man said to the Tiger: "If I let you out of the trap will you promise not to attack me?" "Certainly," said the Tiger, and the man therefore let the Tiger go; but the moment the Tiger was loose it sprang upon the man and caught him. At this the man begged the Tiger to wait until he had inquired how the law stood with reference to their contract, and the Tiger agreed to do so. The man and the Tiger therefore set out together; and on coming to a Road the man said: "O Road, Road, is it lawful to requite evil for good, or good for good only?" The Road replied: "I do good to mankind, but they requite me with evil, defiling my surface as they go." Then they came to a Tree, of which the man asked the same question. The Tree replied: "I do good to mankind, but they requite me with evil, lopping off my branches and cutting me down." At last they came to the Mouse-deer and the man made the same inquiry as before. The Mouse-deer replied: "I must really go into the question thoroughly before I answer it; let us go back together to the trap." On reaching the trap, he requested the Tiger to "Step inside," and the Tiger entering the trap, the Mouse-deer let down the door of the trap, and exclaimed, "Accursed Brute, you have returned evil for good and now you shall die for it." He then called in the neighbours and had the Tiger killed.

The Tune That Makes the Tiger Drowsy

There is a tune which when played upon the "Kerotong" (a two-stringed bamboo harp) makes Rimau the Tiger drowsy, but only a few old people know it. One evening two men were sitting together and playing in a hut in the jungle when two tigers overheard them.

The 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 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. When he objected his companion exclaimed, "Did we not agree that Whatever plunged down the steps was to be my portion?" and, so saying, he proceeded to devour him at his leisure.

The Tiger and the Shadow

There was a "salt-lick" in the jungle to which all the beasts of the forest resorted, but they were greatly afraid by reason of an old Tiger which killed one of them every day. At length, therefore, P'lando' the Mouse-deer said to the Tiger, "Why not permit me to bring you a beast every day, to save you from hunting for your food?" The Tiger consented and P'lando' went off to make arrangement with the beasts. But he could not persuade any of them to go, and after three days he set off, taking nobody with him but Kuwis the smallest of the Flying Squirrels.

On their arrival P'lando' said to the Tiger: "I could not bring you any of the other beasts because the way was blocked by a fat old Tiger with a Flying Squirrel sitting astride its muzzle." On hearing this the Tiger exclaimed, "Let us go and find it and drive it away." The three therefore set out, the Flying Squirrel perched upon the Tiger's muzzle and the Mouse-deer sitting astride upon its hind quarters. On reaching the river, the Mouse-deer pointed to the Tiger's likeness in the water and exclaimed, "Look there! That is the fat old Tiger that I saw." On hearing this, the Tiger sprang into the river to attack his own shadow, and was drowned immediately.

The King-crow and the Water-snail

A Water-snail was coming up-stream from the lower reaches, when a King-crow heard it. Said the King-crow to himself: "Who can it be coming up-stream that exclaims so loudly at the rapids? One might say it was a man, but that there is nothing to be seen." So the King-crow settled on a tree to watch, but as he could see nothing from his perch on the tree he flew down to the ground, and walked along by the water-side. And when he thought to see some man exclaiming, he caught sight of the Water-snail.

"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 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 wager 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 aroids and wild caladiums on which all 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.

The day arrived, and the King-crow flew off, and in each of the higher reaches the Water-snail's friends replied to the challenge, while 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.

The Elephant Has a Bet with the Tiger

In the beginning Gajah the Elephant and Rimau the Tiger were sworn friends. But one day they came to a clearing and presently encountered Lotong, the long-tailed Spectacle-monkey. And when he saw the Monkey, the Elephant said, "Mr. Lotong yonder is far too noisy; let us try and shake him off; if he falls to me I am to eat you; and if he falls to you, you are to eat me--we will make a wager of it." The Tiger said, "Agreed"; and the Elephant replied, "Agreed." "Very well!" said the Tiger; "you shall try and menace him first." So the Elephant tried to menace the Monkey. "AU! AU! AU!" he trumpeted, and each time he trumpeted the Monkey was scared. But the Monkey went jumping head foremost through the branches and never fell to the ground at all.

Presently, 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 menaced the Monkey thrice. And the Monkey leaped and fell at the Tiger's feet, for his feet and hands were paralyzed 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 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 nor 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 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?" inquired 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. And 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." Then 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 me," said the Elephant, "I will become your slave, and my descendants shall be your slaves forever." "Very well, it 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 pour 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 proceeded and Friend Mouse-deer got up and sat astride upon Friend Elephant's back. And the Elephant trumpeted 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 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." "Come and let us go back again," said the Ape.

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 promised 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 slackened his pace and said, "It is too bad of you, Friend Ape, to try 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. So 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.

MOORISH FABLES

"While watching man in all his phases,
And seeing that, in many cases,
He acts just like the brute creation--
I've thought the lord of all these races
Of no less failings showed the traces
Than do his lieges in relation."

MOORISH FABLES

The Wagtail and the Jackal

At a time when the animals spoke, a Wagtail laid her eggs on the ground. The little ones grew up. A Jackal and a Fox came to them. The Jackal said to the Fox:

"Swear to me that the Wagtail owes me a pound of butter."

The Fox swore to it. The Bird began to weep. A Greyhound came to her and asked her what was the matter. She answered him:

"The Fox has calumniated me."

"Well," said the Hound, "put me in this sack of skin."

She put him in the sack. "Tie up the top well," said the Hound. When the Jackal returned she said to him,

"Come and measure out the butter."

The Jackal advanced and unfastened the sack. He saw the Hound, who stretched out his paws and said to the Fox,

"I am ill; come and measure, Fox."

The Fox approached. The Hound seized him. The Jackal said:

"Remember your false testimony."

The Wren

A Wren had built its nest on the side of a road. When the eggs were hatched, a Camel passed that way. The little Wrens saw it and said to their father when he returned from the fields:

"O papa, a gigantic animal passed by."

The Wren stretched out his foot. "As big as this, my children?"

"O papa, much bigger."

He stretched out his foot and his wing. "As big as this?"

"O papa, much bigger."

Finally he stretched out fully his feet and legs.

"As big as this then?"

"Much bigger."

"That is a lie; there is no animal bigger than I am."

"Well, wait," said the little ones, "and you will see."

The Camel came back while browsing the grass of the roadside.

The Wren stretched himself out near the nest. The Camel seized the bird, which passed through its teeth safe and sound.

"Truly," he said to them, "the Camel is a gigantic animal, but I am not ashamed of myself."

On the earth it generally happens that the vain are as if they did not exist; but sooner or later a rock falls and crushes them.

Mule, Jackal, and Lion

The Mule, the Jackal, and the Lion went in company.

"We will eat the one whose race is bad," they said to each other.

"Lion, who is your father?"

"My father is a lion, and my mother is a lioness."

"And you, Jackal, what is your father?"

"My father is a jackal, and my mother too."

"And you, Mule, what is your father?"

"My father is an ass, and my mother is a mare."

"Your race is bad; we will eat you."

He answered them: "I will consult an old man. If he says that my race is bad, you may devour me."

He went to a farrier, and said to him, "Shoe my hind feet, and make the nails stick out well."

He went back home. He called the Camel and showed him his feet, saying, "See what is written on this tablet."

"The writing is difficult to decipher," answered the Camel. "I do not understand it, for I only know three words--_outini_, _ouzatini_, _ouazakin_."

He called the Lion, and said to him, "I do not understand these letters; I only know three words--_outini_, _ouzatini_, _ouazakin_."

"Show it to me," said the Lion. He approached. The Mule struck him between the eyes and stretched him out level.

He who goes with a knave is betrayed by him.

AFRICAN FABLES

"The world is old, they say; I don't deny it;
But, infant still
In taste and will,
Whoe'er would teach, must gratify it."

AFRICAN FABLES

The Hen and the Cat

A Cat arose in her house, went to a Hen and said to her: "Let us make friendship!"

The Hen replied to the Cat: "Dost thou like me for a friend?"

The Cat said, "Yes," and went away, and after having been at home for a while, she sent her child to the Hen, saying, "Go and tell the Hen to rise up early to-morrow morning, and to come and accompany me to a neighbouring town."

The child arose, went to the Hen's house and saluted her.

The Hen arose, and asked it: "Thou child of the Cat, dost thou come to me in peace?"

The Cat's child replied, "I come in peace; my mother has sent me to thee."

The Hen said to the Cat's child, "Say what thy mother has sent thee for; let me know."

After the Cat's child had told it to the Hen, it said: "I will go," and set out and went home.

When it was gone the Hen arose, called a child of hers, and said: "Go and ask the Cat at what time we shall go to the neighbouring town?" When the child had already started, she called it back again, saying, "Come back, I will tell thee something."

The child returned, and when it had come to its mother, she said to it, "When thou goest to the Cat, open thy ears and hear well what she says, and come and tell me."

The child went to the Cat, and saluted her, and when the Cat arose and came out to it, the Hen's child was standing there. The Cat asked the Hen's child, "Why did thy mother send thee to me?"

The Hen's child said, "My mother said I must come and ask thee how early shall we go to the neighbouring town?"

The Cat said to the Hen's child, "Go and tell thy mother to arise and come at the cockcrowing; for what should eat her?"

The Hen's child returned to its mother, and said to her, "Behold I went to the Cat's place where thou sentest me, and am come back."

The Hen said to her child, "What did the Cat say? Let me hear what word she spoke?"