MALAY PROVERBS. 75 



Guru kindling ber-diri analc murid kinching her-lari. 

 " If the master does what is unseemly the school-boys will do 

 ••'much worse." Kl. 149. 



Inculcates the danger of a bad example to the young-. Those who under- 

 stand Malay will probably know what is the native custom the breach of which 

 is alluded to in the proverb. Klinkert and Favre have quite missed the 

 meaning as they have klnchang which does not make sense. 



Langit ber-kelikir, bumi ber-tembirang . 



SalaJi-salah pikir menjadi hamba orang. 



" The heavens are in a ring and the earth is held by stays ; 



" Want of sense makes a man the slave of others." Kl. 147. 

 KeliMr—a, ring of rattan or cord ; tewibiram,^=^hxovA^ stays, rigging. 

 The first line ( after the manner of Malay pantuns ) is not intended to have 

 any special meaning. 



235 V^" U»?J* ffcy 



Layang-layang putus tali-nia. 

 " A kite of which the cord is broken." Kl. 132. 

 At the mercy of fortune. See M. 129 and 242. 



236 AfllS <jj (J^ji a?) 



Lebih puchuk lebih palepali. 

 " The more shoots the more leaves." 

 The mutual support of the palm-shoot and fronds has been the subject of a 

 previous proverb in this collection. See supra No. 173. 



The meaning here is, the more you do for a man the more he will do for you. 



237 CljS Aj jy**£ AJ 0;U/ fi\sjf ^Li) 



Lalcsana penchalang ter-sarat tiada ka-timor tiada ka-barat. 

 " Like a waterlogged boat which will neither steer east nor 

 " west (will not obey the helm)." Kl. 131. 



In difficulties ; not sure in what quarter to look for assistance. 



