A TALE BY THE WAYSIDE. 235 



ous as the "wily mouse-deer" stories, and the only 

 example will suffice. As a rule, the stories rather 

 remind one of the Arabian tales of the wise Viziers 

 and Kathis. 



In the third class of story the mouse-deer has 

 attained to royal rank and power. By his skill and 

 address he has subjected the other animals of the 

 forest, and all of them elephant and tiger, sladang 

 and rhinoceros acknowledge him as their king. His 

 title is Shah Alam di Rimba (the King of the Forest 

 Universe), and he is addressed in the honorific forms 

 appropriate to a reigning sultan. He has his throne 

 upon a white marble rock under the canopy of a 

 flowering bungor-iree, whose flowers nearest approach 

 the colours of royalty ; and when he travels, rides 

 either upon a white sladang or a white rhinoceros. 

 He is the champion of all the animals against their 

 external foes. 



I should like to tell the story of how he made 

 the peace between the Tigers and the Goats, and con- 

 stituted himself as their king-paramount; and the 

 story of how he slew the Giant of Lake Tenom, after 

 the giant had defeated the bear and the rhinoceros. 

 But the tales are too long to tell here, and I must 

 reserve for myself the pleasure of telling them at 

 some other time. 



In this third class of story the mouse-deer has a 

 heroic side to his character that is denied to Reynard, 

 " B'rer Rabbit," or 'the Jackal. The little champion 

 somehow invites comparison with the hero of the 

 Odyssey. The comparison may appear ridiculous, 

 but in justification I would point out the epithets 



