RAT A AM BONG. 
A MALAY FAIRY TALE. 
[ This is the third of M1R HAssAN’s Cheritras. The other two—“ SRI 
RAMA” and “ RAJA DONAN”—havye been printed in the two preceding numbers 
of this Journal. | 
RUPA were brother and sister and lived together 
at Tanjong Bima, over which country the former 
reigned. They had been left orphans at an early 
age, and had been brought up by the Chiefs of the 
State, who had put Raja AMBONG on the throne, 
there being no other heir of the royal stock. When 
Raja AMBONG had reigned for seven years and nine months, 
he had a dream one night, and in his dream he travelled into 
the interior of the country of Bima until he arrived at a plain 
ever so many yojanas in extent. Advancing to the centre of 
it, he saw there a large ant-hill (dusu¢ detina) and on it another 
ant-hill (dusu¢ gantan) on which stood on one leg (tang 
tunggal) an old man dressed in yellow, who held in his hand a 
Malacca cane (samambu bunting) ornamented with gold and 
having a diamond on the top of it. As he drew near to the 
old man, the latter addressed him saying :—‘‘Raja AMBONG, 
what is the good of going on like this? What are you learn- 
ing here under the Chiefs and under the care of the women 
of the palace?” and a great deal more to the same effect. 
Raja AMBONG said in reply that he had no means of travel- 
ling about the world to gather experience, for he had no 
_ship. The old man then told him to go to a certain place 
where a magic merdau tree was growing, and instructed him 
to cut it down and make of it a ship, which he was to call 
“Batara Saludang Mayang.’”’ Raja AMBONG mentioned the 
want of workmen, when the old man at once told him to give 
