The Rich Man, the Poor Man and 



the Way the Pelandok Squared 



the Score.* 



The story is told that once on a time there was an extre- 

 mely wealthy merchant who lived in his house in the country 

 at his ease eating and drinking every day. Now quite close to 

 his garden there was the house of two people, husband and 

 wife. One day the wife of the poor man was chattering with 

 a friend of the merchant, when she said, 



" Whenever anything is cooked in the merchant's house, 

 whether it is fried or baked or stewed or broiled, then and 

 then only do I eat. For whenever I smell anything being 

 fried or baked or stewed or broiled in the merchant's house I 

 eat with a good appetite. That is how I happen to be so 

 plump, through eating thus. Whenever I want to eat I always 

 make it a practice to wait till there is a smell of cooking in the 

 merchant's house. Then I eat." The merchant's friend told 

 him all that the poor woman had said. As soon as the rich 

 man and his wife heard this, the rich man exclaimed. 



" Of course that is why we never get stout. It seems 

 that all the flavour of our frying and baking and stewing and 

 broiling is quite devoured by these two poor people." The 

 rich man was very angry indeed with the poor man and cursed 

 and abused him up hill and down dale finally demanding that 

 the poor man and his wife should pay the price of anything 

 that had ever been cooked in his house. He went off and com- 

 plained to the raja of the country and sued for all his expenses 

 in frying and baking and stewing and broiling on the ground 

 that the flavour thereof had been devoured by the poor man 

 and his wife. The raja summoned the poor man and his wife 

 before him. When he made enquiries the poor man replied, 



* This tale told by Penghulu Haji Mohamed Nasir bin Kanda 

 Mat Sen of Hutan Melintang, who first learnt it from one Pawang 

 Talip bin Mohamed of Menangkabau. 



Jour. Straits Branch R. A. Soc, Nd 48, 1907. 



