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. 5-8, 74-75.
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,’ ” (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.”d 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? 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.
II. “But presently he dragged the Shark up on to the dry beach, and made butcher’s-meat of him.”
“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.e 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.
a The Mouse-deer‘s shipwreck.
This again was one of the tales told me by Che Busu.
b Of the bird which I have translated Heron all I could ascertain was that it was a species of Heron distinguished by the roundness of its tail-parts. The Malays call it burong kuntul [in Patāni and Kelantan ‘kutu’].
c the wind blew from the North. This would of course be a most favourable wind for anyone who wanted to sail to Java from any part of the Malay Peninsula.
d I’m such a bad hand at swimming. The thin legs and deeply cloven hoofs of the Mouse-deer would be sufficient in themselves to account for this.
e climbed up with it to the top of a She-oak tree. The She-oak is the name given (I believe) in Australia to Casuarina litorea or the ‘long-shore’ casuarina-tree. The 75 name of she-oak was given to this tree on account of the wood which was thought to resemble oak in appearance though it was really hardly fit even for fire-wood. It has needle-like leaves, and hence from a distance looks very like fir or larch. It is to be found as a rule in the Malay Peninsula wherever there is a sandy sea-board. The Malays call it ’Ru (short for Aru or Ĕru) which name they also apply to a kind of fir which grows in the mountains.