The man and the crocodile story

(Folktale from Malaysia)

Folktale from Malaysia

A man was hurrying along a river bank. “Help, Help! Please have pity on me.” He looked all around him. Then he stared. It was a crocodile. There were tears streaming down its cheeks. It could not move because a tree had fallen on top of it and pinned its tail to the ground.
Folktale from Malaysia

The man said, “look, Mr. Crocodile, If I release you, will you eat me up?”

“No, no. how could I be so ungrateful?” said the crocodile.

The man pulled the tree off the crocodile’s tail. The crocodile quickly twisted round and seized the men by the leg.
Folktale from Malaysia

“Wait!” the man cried, very frightened. “Let’s ask my friend, Mr. Mousedeer, whether this is the right way for you to repay my kindness.”
Folktale from Malaysia

When the mousedeer arrived he pretended that he did not believe the story that the man told him.

“I can’t believe that you would be so good to Mr. crocodiles,” he said. “Probably you were trying to harm him and he caught hold of you. Er … er, Mr. Crocodile, would you please show me where you were lying when the man came along?”
Folktale from Malaysia

“Why, certainly,” said the crocodile. “I was here.”

Ah he let go of the man, the mousedeer shouted to the man to drop a log on the crocodile. The crocodile could not move.
Folktale from Malaysia

The man bowed and thanked the clever mousedeer.

“Ah,” said the mousedeer, “Don’t try to be too kind. It’s man’s nature to be ungrateful,”

He called out to an old sleeping-mat that was floating in midstream. “Hai there, old mat, what’s the reward for those who do kind acts?”
Folktale from Malaysia

“Mr. Mousedeer,” answered the mat, “just look at me. Once I was bright and new. Now that I am old you can see what has happened to me.”
Folktale from Malaysia

And then an empty cooking pot floated past. The mousedeer asked it the same question and receive the same reply.