MUSANG BERJANGGUT. 125 
ing his arrival. Said his wife, A strange thing has happened: 
while you were away, one night a bearded civet-cat came and 
jumped into this chest in search of betel and I rose and shut 
the lid. Let us take him to the King, and cure his sickness.’ 
So in the morning he took the chest to the king and announced 
his success. The King bide the Temenggong see if it really 
was a bearded civet. The Temenggong peered into the chest 
and exclaimed, Why, it’s.’"To Ka’! And at once the Kathi 
answered from inside, © Yes, it is, and if you’d like to hear of 
your affair of last night, I'll tell you.” The Temenggong retired 
in confusion and informed the King he could not clearly identify 
the animal in the chest. The Manteri; Bendahara and Raja 
Muda were each in turn ordered to see if this really wasa bearded 
civet : to each the same thing happened and each in confusion 
professed ignorance of exact zoological knowledge. The King 
enraged rises and totters to the box stiff-kneed from the horse- 
play of the previous night. ‘‘’To Ka’,” he exclaims. ‘ Don’t 
raise a horse laugh, your majesty,’ answers the Kathi. The 
king furious at this innuendo cries ' Yes it’s the bearded civet : 
-away with it.” The Kathi is taken home by Kemala-al-arifin, 
released and forgiven by him and his wife. Kventually the king 
and his court all make handsome presents to the sorely tried 
young couple. 
Musang Berjanggut. 
Wa-biht Nasta ‘init Bi ’llaht. Ini-lah hikayat chérita 
orang dahulu kala. Sa-bérmula, maka ada-lah sa-buah négéri 
Shahar Desa nama-nya, raja négéri itu bérnama Shah-Ariman 
baharu naik kérajaan ménggantikan ayahanda baginda al- 
marhum yang sudah mangkat itu. Maka ada pun baginda itu 
béristéri émpat orang akan létapi tiada bérputéra kéémpat-nya 
itu. Maka sangat-lah dukachita hati baginda. Maka di-ambil 
baginda sa-orang anak biapéri-nya di-pérbuat anak angkat-nya. 
Maka di-nami oleh baginda kanak-kanak itu Kémala-al-arifin. 
Maka di-suroh baginda péliharakan, di-béri inang péngasoh 
akan dia. Sélang bébérapa lama-nya, makin sa-hari makin 
R. A. Soc., No, 52, 1908, 
