84- A PELANDOK TALE. 



there the owner made his petition to the king. The king then 

 examined the borrower who answered, " Yes, your highness. 

 I have borrowed it but the axe head has been quite devoured 

 by weevils. And the owner won't allow that it is lost : he 

 wants it." 



The king was puzzled for it was not right that an axe 

 head should be eaten by weevils. So he said, " Hai there 

 you dog, go and call Selang Dirimba, for you know where he 

 is, the others do not know where he lives." 



So the dog travelled for half a day until he met the 

 pelandok. Then he said, " Hai, Selang Dirimba, his highness 

 King Solomon calls you." 



When the pelandok heard what the dog said he at once 

 went to King Solomon's house. When he got there he went 

 up into the house. 



" Selang Dirimba." 



" Your highness." 



" I have sent for you because these men, these two, have 

 been disputing about an axe head. One man is the owner and 

 the other has borrowed it. The borrower says that the axe 

 head is eaten by weevils, but the other will not allow this. 

 So I don't know what to think and I have asked you to decide 

 the case." 



" What you say is very true your highness, will you first 

 allow your slave to go away and bathe ? " 



So the pelandok went away to bathe at the river bank. 

 Then he went off to a patch of lalang grass that had been 

 burnt near the king's garden, there he rolled over and over in 

 the ashes till his body was black. Then he went back to the 

 king's house. It had now become evening. The king saw 

 that the pelandok's body had been blackened by the lalang 

 ashes so he said, " What has happened Toh Selang Dirimba 

 to make your body so black ? You said that you wanted to 

 bathe. What kind of bathing is this ? " 



" Pardon, your majesty is always correct. Your slave 

 went away just now to bathe, but your slave saw that the 

 sea near your majesty's garden was all ablaze, so your slave' 

 went to help to put it out, and when he had put it out your 



Jour. Straits Branch 



