MALAY PR0YEBBS. 55 



LZ3 lC-j\*>jJ «*wajJ iy+>Jj rj-"**' -^*i C— *-kW . _ 



Sabab nila sa-titik rosah susu sa-belanga. 

 " One drop of indigo will spoil a whole pot of milk." Kl. 35, 

 Hk. Ab. 124. 



One little fault may cancel great merits. 



Cf. Panas saHahiin d't-hapiis-ltan uleJi hnjan m-liarl. See supra No. 115. 



124- &\j i^S JIl* 



So,' tali tiga wang. 

 " One tafo" equals three wang" 

 " Six to one and half a dozen the other.*' " Ab broad as it is long." 

 The illustration Is taken from the old Dutch coinage formerly in use in 

 Malacca : — 



1 real = 24 wang. 

 \ real = 12 wang. 

 ^ real = 6 wang-. 

 Sa-tali or I of a real = 3 wang. 

 There were ten duits to one wan//. The wang was equal to two cents of a 

 dollar, the wang baliaru to 2\ cents. 



125 cjjJ^j* rpjlS,; J>V ojuI jj u^xj ijl^Jk A&.1) ^J&x* 

 Sedang-Jcan gajah gang hesar itu yang'her-Jcdki amp at lagi ter~ 



\adang-~kadang terser andong. 

 " A] though the elephant is so big and has four legs, still he 

 " stumbles sometimes." Hk. Ab. 76. 



The proverb, as I have heard it quoted in Perak, is : Gajah ampat liald lagi 

 ter-sarok, mi-kanpula mamma dua MM. " The elephant which has four legs 

 " stumbles- nevertheless, so what else can you expect of a mortal who has but 

 " two ? " This is a Siamese proverb, and the Malays have got it second-hand : — 



" L' elephant, quoiqu'il ait quatre pieds peut encore faire un faux pas; ainsi 

 " un docteur peut aussi se tromper." (Palleg-oix — Siam, I, 402.) 



" If the mighty elephant, king of four-footed animals, is liable to stumble 

 " and fall, in like manner the wisest man is apt to slide into error." (Low — ■ 

 " On Siamese Literature" — Asiatic Researches, XX, 373.) 



126 A>^j> aIo vSOjAoai 



Saduit di-belah tujoh. 

 li To divide a quarter-cent into seven." 

 An impossible task ; a miracle. 



