Mat Janin.* 



The tale is told that once upon a time there was a man 

 called Semordan, who lived in a coconut plantation that he had 

 made, and, thanks to God, he lived at his ease, he and his 

 children eating of the foison of his plantation. 



Now one day he was walking with his children in the 

 garden and he saw that many of the nuts were ripe. Just at 

 that time Semordan met a man who was a past master in the 

 art of climbing coconuts and whose name was Mat Janin. 

 Semordan said to him, " Hai Mat Janin, do you want to earn 

 wages by climbing coconuts ? " 



Mat Janin said, " If the pay is right I would like it. 

 What do you want to pay a tree ? " 



Semordan answered, "Two nuts, and the number of the 

 trees is about twenty five.''' 



Mat Janin said, "Very well then." 



So he began to climb one of the coconuts, and while he 

 was half way up he began to think on this wise : " I am going 

 to climb these twenty five trees, that means fifty nuts. 

 Now I can sell those nuts for a cent apiece, that means 

 half a dollar. Then I shall buy some cheap nuts and I shall 

 get sixty. Then I will boil them and extract the oil. 

 After that I mil sell the oil and get ten cents profit. That is 

 my money has become seven times ten cents. After that I 

 will buy fowls, one cock and one hen, for thirty cents the pair 

 of them. That leaves forty cents. Then I can buy ten 

 gantangs of rice for their food. That will be fifteen cents and 

 will leave me a quarter of a dollar. That will do for my expenses 

 in taking care of the fowls. In time the fowl will lay eggs and 

 hatch chickens. I will take care of those chickens too. Then 

 in time they too will hatch other chickens. And the mother 



* A short tale by Penghulu Mohamed Noordin bin Jaffar of 

 Kota Stia Lower Perak. No, special source can be assigned. The 

 moral is the old one : do not count your chicken before they are 

 hatched. 



Jear, Straits Bc&ncL. R. A. Soc, No. 43, 1907. 



