A PELANDOK TALE. 31 



The pelandok said, " If you want to eat me please swal- 

 low me whole without crunching me. If you crunch me up 

 I will live, but if you swallow me, I will die. Then too you must 

 swallow me head foremost. If you swallow me tail first I will 

 live, but if head first I will die." 



The tiger said, " Very well." Thereafter he swallowed the 

 pelandok whole, head first. After he had been swallowed, the 

 pelandok worked its way through the tiger's stomach and pro- 

 ceeded to stick his head out of the tiger's fundament. The 

 tiger rejoiced greatly at having disposed of the pelandok and 

 went on seeking for his food. He came across a pig. He 

 crouched down to wait for it. The pelandok knew that the 

 tiger was lurking for that pig so he called out, " Ho, pig, pig, 

 pig, run away. This tiger is going to spring on you." 



When the pig heard that he ran away. The tiger said, 

 " Curse this fundament of mine. It is making a noise every 

 day. It never used to do that." 



So he searched for a tree stump and rubbed himself 

 against it till his back was all bloody. In fact after the tiger 

 swallowed the pelandok he never got a thing to eat and so he 

 became very hungry. When he had been several days without 

 food, and was ravenously hungry, the tiger went after a man 

 who was making" a clearing in the jungle, and lay in wait to 

 catch him. The pelandok knew that the tiger wanted to 

 catch the man who was busy in the clearing so he called out, 

 " Ho you there in the clearing, run away, the tiger wants to 

 catch you." 



When the man heard a voice like that he ran off. The 

 tiger was very astonished that his hindquarters should speak 

 like that. He was very angry indeed with his back. So he 

 scratched himself against every tree until he was covered 

 with blood. Finally his back became flyblown and covered 

 with a great many large maggots. Also he became unable to 

 walk owing to the length of time that he had been unable to 

 get anything to eat. At last he died. The pelandok also was 

 very hungry, for for a long time he too had had no food. He 

 was tremendously thirsty. So he got out and went hither and 



R. A. Soc, No. 48, 1907. 



