Текст книги "Сказки / Fairy Tales. Уровень 1"

Adventures of an old Kangaroo

Not always was the Kangaroo like this. It was a different animal with four short legs. He was grey and he was woolly. His pride was inordinate: he danced on an outcrop in the middle of Australia, and he went to the Little God Nqa[17]17
  Nqa – Нка


[Закрыть].

He went to Nqa at six before breakfast and said,

‘Make me different from all other animals by five this afternoon.’

Nqa jumped up from his seat on the sand and shouted,

‘Go away!’

The Kangaroo was grey and he was woolly, and his pride was inordinate: he danced on a rock-ledge in the middle of Australia, and he went to the Middle God Nquing[18]18
  Nquing – Нкинг


[Закрыть].

He went to Nquing at eight after breakfast and said,

‘Make me different from all other animals; make me, also, wonderfully popular by five this afternoon.’

Nquing jumped up from his burrow and shouted,

‘Go away!’

The Kangaroo was grey and he was woolly, and his pride was inordinate: he danced on a sandbank in the middle of Australia, and he went to the Big God Nqong[19]19
  Nqong – Нконг


[Закрыть].

He went to Nqong at ten before dinner-time and said,

‘Make me different from all other animals; make me popular and famous by five this afternoon.’

Nqong jumped up from his bath in the salt-pan[20]20
  salt-pan – соляное озеро


[Закрыть]and shouted,

‘Yes, I will!’

Nqong called Dingo – yellow dog Dingo – always hungry, dusty in the sunshine, and showed him Kangaroo. Nqong said,

‘Dingo! Wake up, Dingo! Do you see that Kangaroo who liked to dance? He wants to be popular and famous. Dingo, make him so!’

Dingo jumped up – yellow dog Dingo – and said,

‘What, that rabbit?’

Dingo ran off – yellow dog Dingo – always hungry – ran after[21]21
  ran after – погнался за


[Закрыть] Kangaroo.

The proud Kangaroo went off on his four little legs like a bunny.

This is the end of the first part of the tale!

The Kangaroo ran through the desert; he ran through the mountains; he ran through the salt-pans. He ran through the forests; he ran through the valleys; he ran till his front legs ached.

Still ran Dingo – yellow dog Dingo – always hungry – ran after Kangaroo.

He had to!

The Kangaroo ran through the trees; he ran through the swaps; he ran through the long grass; he ran through the short grass; he ran through the tropics; he ran till his hind legs ached.

He had to!

Still ran Dingo – yellow dog Dingo – hungrier and hungrier; and they came to the Wollgong River[22]22
  Wollgong River – река Волгонг


[Закрыть].

Now, there wasn’t any bridge, and there wasn’t any ferry-boat, and Kangaroo didn’t know how to get over; so he stood on his legs and hopped.

He had to!

He hopped through the valleys; he hopped through the deserts in the middle of Australia. He hopped like a Kangaroo.

First he hopped one yard; then he hopped three yards; then he hopped five yards. His legs grew stronger; his legs grew longer. He hadn’t any time for rest or refreshment, and he wanted them very much.

Still ran Dingo – yellow dog Dingo – very much bewildered, very much hungry. Dingo was very much surprised. Because the Kangaroo hopped like a cricket; like a pea in a saucepan; or a new rubber ball on a nursery floor.

He had to!

He tucked up his front legs; he hopped on his hind legs. He stuck out his tail for a balance-weight behind him; and he hopped through the plain.

He had to!

Still ran Dingo – tired dog Dingo – hungrier and hungrier, very much bewildered.

Then came Nqong from his bath in the salt-pans, and said,

‘It’s five o’clock.’

Dingo sat down – poor dog Dingo – always hungry, dusky in the sunshine. Dingo hung out his tongue and howled.

Kangaroo sat down – old Kangaroo – stuck out his tail like a stool behind him, and said,

‘Thank goodness that is the end!’

Then said Nqong,

‘Why aren’t you grateful to yellow dog Dingo? Why don’t you thank him?’

Then said Kangaroo – tired Kangaroo,

‘Why thank him? He chased me out of the homes of my childhood. He altered my shape. I’ll never get it back. He distorted my legs. And I can’t eat because of him.’

Then said Nqong,

‘Perhaps I’m wrong, but didn’t you ask me to make you different from all other animals? And now it is five o’clock.’

‘Yes,’ said Kangaroo. ‘I waited for your charms and incantations, but you just laughed at me.’

‘Laughed!’ said Nqong from his bath in the blue gums. ‘Say that again and I’ll whistle up Dingo!’

‘No,’ said the Kangaroo. ‘I must apologize. Legs are legs, and I need them. I only mean to explain to You that I have nothing to eat now. I’m very hungry.’

‘Yes,’ said Dingo – yellow dog Dingo,

‘I am just in the same situation. I made him different from all other animals; but what may I have for my tea?’

Then said Nqong from his bath in the salt-pan,

‘Come and ask me about it tomorrow, because I want to bathe.’

So they stayed in the middle of Australia, Old Kangaroo and yellow dog Dingo, and each said, ‘That’s your fault.’

The beginning of the Armadillos

This is another story of the old times. In the very middle of those times was a Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog[23]23
  Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog – Забияка Колючий Ёж


[Закрыть]. He lived on the banks of the turbid Amazon. He ate snails. And he had a friend, a Slow Solid Tortoise, who lived on the banks of the turbid Amazon. This Slow Solid Tortoise ate green lettuces. And that was all right, do you see?

But also, and at the same time, in those old times, there was a Painted Jaguar[24]24
  Painted Jaguar – Пятнистый Ягуар


[Закрыть]. He lived on the banks of the turbid Amazon too; and he ate everything that he could catch. When he could not catch deer or monkeys he ate frogs and beetles. When he could not catch frogs and beetles he went to his Mother Jaguar, and she told him how to eat hedgehogs and tortoises.

She waved her tail and said to him many times,

‘My son, when you find a Hedgehog you must drop him into the water and then he will uncoil. When you catch a Tortoise you must scoop him out of his shell with your paw.’

And that was all right, do you see?

One beautiful night on the banks of the turbid Amazon, Painted Jaguar found Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog and Slow-Solid Tortoise. They sat under the trunk of a fallen tree. They could not run away, and so Stickly-Prickly curled himself up into a ball, because he was a Hedgehog. Slow Solid Tortoise drew in his head and feet into his shell, because he was a Tortoise. And that was all right, do you see?

‘Now listen to me,’ said Painted Jaguar, ‘because this is very important. My mother taught me important lessons. When I meet a Hedgehog I must drop him into the water and then he will uncoil. And when I meet a Tortoise I must scoop him out of his shell with my paw. Now which of you is Hedgehog and which is Tortoise? Because I can’t tell.’

‘Are you sure of what your Mummy told you?’ said Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog. ‘Are you quite sure? Perhaps these are her words: when you uncoil a Tortoise you must shell him out of the water with a scoop. And when you paw a Hedgehog you must drop him on the shell.’

‘Are you sure of what your Mummy told you?’ said Slow Solid Tortoise. ‘Are you quite sure? Perhaps these are her words: when you water a Hedgehog you must drop him into your paw. And when you meet a Tortoise you must shell him till he uncoils.’

‘I don’t think it was like that,’ said Painted Jaguar, but he was a little puzzled; ‘but, please, say it again more distinctly.’

‘When you scoop water with your paw you uncoil it with a Hedgehog,’ said Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog. ‘Remember that, because it’s important.’

‘But,’ said the Slow Solid Tortoise, ‘when you paw your meat you drop it into a Tortoise with a scoop. Why can’t you understand?’

‘You talk nonsense,’ said Painted Jaguar; ‘and besides, I don’t want your advice at all. I only want to know which of you is Hedgehog and which is Tortoise.’

‘I won’t tell you,’ said Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog, ‘but you can scoop me out of my shell if you like.’

‘Aha!’ said Painted Jaguar. ‘Now I know you’re Tortoise. It was easy to guess! Now I will do it.’ Painted Jaguar darted out his paddy-paw just as Stickly-Prickly curled himself up. Of course Jaguar’s paddy-paw was just filled with prickles. Worse than that, he knocked Stickly-Prickly away and away into the woods and the bushes, where it was too dark to find him. Then he put his paddy-paw into his mouth, and of course the prickles hurt him badly. As soon as he could speak he said,

‘Now I know he isn’t Tortoise at all. But’ – and then he scratched his head with his un-prickly paw – ‘how do I know that this other is Tortoise?’

‘But I am Tortoise,’ said Slow Solid Tortoise. ‘Your mother is right. She says that you must scoop me out of my shell with your paw. Begin.’

‘You didn’t say she said that a minute ago,’ said Painted Jaguar. He sucked the prickles out of his paddy-paw. ‘You said she said something quite different.’

‘Well, if you say that I said that she said something quite different, I don’t see that it makes any difference. Because if she said what you said I said she said, it’s just the same as if I said what she said she said. On the other hand, if you think she says that you must uncoil me with a scoop, and not paw me into drops with a shell, it’s not my fault.’

‘But you said you wanted to be scooped out of your shell[25]25
  to be scooped out of your shell – быть выцарапанным из-под панциря


[Закрыть] with my paw,’ said Painted Jaguar.

‘If you think again you’ll find that I didn’t say anything about it. I say that your mother says that you must scoop me out of my shell,’ said Slow Solid Tortoise.

‘What will happen if I do?’ said the Jaguar very cautiously.

‘I don’t know, because nobody scooped me out of my shell before. But I tell you truly, if you want to see how I swim away you just need to drop me into the water.’

‘I don’t believe you,’ said Painted Jaguar. ‘You mixed up all the things my mother told me to do with the things you say yourself. Now I don’t know whether I stand on my head or my painted tail! And you come and tell me something I can understand, and it makes me more uncertain than before. What did my mother tell me? I must drop one of you two into the water. As you seem so anxious I think you are afraid of it. So jump into the turbid Amazon and be quick!’

‘I warn you that your Mummy won’t be pleased. Don’t tell her I didn’t warn you,’ said Slow Solid Tortoise.

‘If you say another word about what my mother said – ‘the Jaguar began, but he did not finish the sentence. Slow Solid Tortoise quietly dived into the turbid Amazon, swam under water, and came out on the bank where Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog waited for him.

‘I don’t like that Painted Jaguar,’ said Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog. ‘What did you tell him?’

‘I told him truthfully that I was a truthful Tortoise. But he didn’t believe it. He asked me to jump into the river, and I did it. And he is surprised. I think he will go to tell about that his Mummy. Listen to him!’

They could hear Painted Jaguar. He roared up and down among the trees and the bushes by the side of the turbid Amazon, till his Mummy came.

‘Son, son!’ said his mother many times, ‘what did you do?’

‘I tried to scoop the animal that wanted it. I tried to scoop it out of its shell with my paw. And my paw is full of prickles,’ said Painted Jaguar.

‘Son, son!’ said his mother many times, ‘by the prickles in your paddy-paw I see that that was a Hedgehog. You must drop him into the water.’

‘I did that to the other animal. He said he was a Tortoise, and I didn’t believe him. But it was true, and he dived under the turbid Amazon. He won’t come here again. And now I haven’t anything at all to eat. I think we must find another place to live. These animals here are too clever for me!’

‘Son, son!’ said his mother many times, ‘now listen to me and remember what I say. A Hedgehog curls himself up into a ball and he shows his prickles. By this you may know the Hedgehog.’

‘I don’t like this Mother Jaguar at all,’ said Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog, under the shadow of a large leaf. ‘I wonder what else she knows?’

‘A Tortoise can’t curl himself up,’ Mother Jaguar went on. ‘He only draws his head and legs into

his shell. By this you may know the Tortoise.’

‘I don’t like this Mother Jaguar at all,’ said Slow Solid Tortoise. ‘Even Painted Jaguar can’t forget those directions. It’s a great pity that you can’t swim, Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog.’

‘Don’t talk to me,’ said Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog. ‘Just think how much better it will be if you curl up. This will be great! But Listen to Painted Jaguar.’

Painted Jaguar sat on the banks of the turbid Amazon. He sucked prickles out of his paws and said to himself -

 
‘Can’t curl, but can swim —
That’s the Tortoise, that’s him!
Curls up, but can’t swim —
That’s the Hedgehog, that’s him!’
 

‘He’ll never forget that rhyme,’ said Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog. ‘Hold up my chin, dear Tortoise, I want to try to learn to swim. It may be useful.’

‘Excellent!’ said Slow Solid Tortoise; and he held up Stickly-Prickly’s chin, while Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog kicked in the waters of the turbid Amazon.

‘You’ll be a fine swimmer,’ said Slow Solid Tortoise. ‘Now, if you can unlace my back-plates[26]26
  unlace my back-plates – распустить задние чешуи панциря


[Закрыть] a little, I’ll try to curl up. It may be useful.’

Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog helped Tortoise, so soon Slow Solid Tortoise actually managed to curl up a little.

‘Excellent!’ said Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog; ‘but have a little rest. I see that you are tired. Please lead me into the water once again and I’ll practise more. You say it’s easy.’

And so Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog practised, and Slow Solid Tortoise swam alongside.

‘Excellent!’ said Slow Solid Tortoise. ‘You just need a little more practice. It will make you a wonderful swimmer. Now, may I trouble you to unlace my back and front plates two holes more. I’ll try to curl up again. Painted Jaguar will be surprised!’

‘Excellent!’ said Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog. He was wet from the turbid Amazon. ‘I declare, you are from my family! Two holes, I think, you said? Please, don’t grunt so much, or Painted Jaguar may hear us. After that I want to try to dive, you say it is very easy. Painted Jaguar will be surprised indeed!’

And so Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog dived, and Slow Solid Tortoise dived alongside.

‘Excellent!’ said Slow Solid Tortoise. ‘A little more attention, hold your breath and you will be able to live at the bottom of the turbid Amazon. Now I’ll try to wrap my hind legs round my ears. You say it is peculiarly comfortable. Painted Jaguar will be terribly surprised!’

‘Excellent!’ said Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog. ‘But your back-plates strain a little. They don’t lie side by side.’

‘Oh, that’s the result of exercise,’ said Slow Solid Tortoise. ‘I see that your prickles melt into one another, and that you look rather more like a pine-cone.’

‘Do I?’ said Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog. ‘That is because of the water. Oh, Painted Jaguar be really surprised!’

They went on with their exercises. They practiced till morning; and when the sun was high they rested and dried themselves. Then they saw that they were quite different.

‘Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog,’ said Tortoise after breakfast, ‘I am not what I was yesterday. But I think that I can amuse Painted Jaguar.’

‘Yes,’ said Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog. ‘I think scales are better than prickles. And more useful! Oh, that Painted Jaguar will be much surprised! Let’s go and find him.’

So they found Painted Jaguar. He was so astonished that he fell backward over his own painted tail.

‘Good morning!’ said Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog. ‘And how is your dear Mummy this morning?’

‘She is quite well, thank you,’ said Painted Jaguar; ‘but you must forgive me, I don’t recall your name.’

‘That’s unkind of you,’ said Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog. ‘Yesterday you tried to scoop me out of my shell with your paw.’

‘But you hadn’t any shell. It was all prickles,’ said Painted Jaguar. ‘I know it was. Just look at my paw!’

‘You told me to drop into the turbid Amazon,’ said Slow-Solid Tortoise. ‘Why are you so rude and forgetful today?’

‘Don’t you remember what your mother told you?’ said Stickly-Prickly, -

 
‘Can’t curl, but can swim —
That’s the Tortoise, that’s him!
Curls up, but can’t swim —
That’s the Hedgehog, that’s him!’
 

Then they both curled themselves up and rolled round and round Painted Jaguar.

Then he went to his mother.

‘Mother,’ he said, ‘there are two new animals in the woods today. And the one that you said couldn’t swim, swims! The one that you said couldn’t curl up, curls! I see no one smooth and no one very prickly! Besides that, they roll round and round in circles, and I am afraid of them.’

‘Son, son!’ said Mother Jaguar, ‘a Hedgehog is a Hedgehog, and can’t be anything but a Hedgehog. A Tortoise is a Tortoise, and can never be anything else.’

‘But it isn’t a Hedgehog, and it isn’t a Tortoise. It’s a little bit of both, and I don’t know its proper name.’

‘Nonsense!’ said Mother Jaguar. ‘Everything has its proper name. I will call it “Armadillo”.’

Painted Jaguar left them alone. And the curious thing is that no one on the banks of the turbid Amazon call Stickly-Prickly and Slow-Solid anything except Armadillo. There are Hedgehogs and Tortoises in other places, of course (there are some in my garden); but the Stickly-Prickly Hedgehog and Slow-Solid Tortoise which lived on the banks of the turbid Amazon in the old Days, with their scales one over the other, are always called Armadillos.

So that’s all right, do you see?

The Crab that played with the sea

Once upon a time, came the Time of the Very Beginnings; and that was in the days when the Eldest Magician looked around. First he looked at the Earth; then he looked at the Sea; and then he told all the Animals to come out and play. And the Animals said,

‘O Eldest Magician, what game will we play?’

And he said,

‘I will show you.’

He took the Elephant – it was the first Elephant in the world – and said, ‘Play at being the Elephant,’ and the Elephant played. Then the Eldest Magician took the Beaver – it was the first Beaver in the world – and said, ‘Play at being the Beaver,’ and the Beaver played. After that he took the Cow – it was the first Cow in the world – and said, ‘Play at being the Cow,’ and the Cow played. He took the Turtle – it was the first Turtle in the world – and said, ‘Play at being the Turtle,’ and the Turtle played. One by one[27]27
  one by one – одного за другим


[Закрыть] he took all the beasts and birds and fishes and told them to play.

But towards evening, when people and things are restless and tired, the Man with his little daughter came to the Eldest Magician. The little girl sat upon his shoulder, and he said,

‘What is this game, Eldest Magician?’

And the Eldest Magician said,

‘Ho, Son of Adam, this is the game of the Very Beginning; but you are too wise for this game.’

And the Man saluted and said,

‘Yes, I am too wise for this game; but I want to be a master of all the Animals.’

And Pau Amma the Crab[28]28
  Pau Amma the Crab – краб по имени Пау Амма


[Закрыть], who was next in the game, went away and stepped into the sea. The crab said to himself,

‘I will play my own game alone in the deep waters, and I will never be obedient to this son of Adam.’

Nobody saw the crab except the little girl who sat on the Man’s shoulder. Every Animal received the order; and the Eldest Magician wiped the dust off his hands and walked about the world to see how the Animals played.

He went North and he found the first Elephant. The Elephant dug with his tusks and stamped with his feet in the earth. The earth was made for the Elephant.

‘Kun?’ asked the Elephant, which meant, ‘Is this right?’

‘Payah kun,’ said the Eldest Magician, which meant, ‘This is quite right’. And he breathed upon the great rocks and lumps of earth, and they became the great Himalayan Mountains. You can see them on the map.

The Eldest Magician went East, and found the first Cow. The Cow fed in the field. The field was made for the Cow. So the Cow licked her tongue round a whole forest at a time, and swallowed it and sat down to chew her cud.

‘Kun?’ asked the Cow, which meant, ‘Is this right?’

‘Payah kun,’ said the Eldest Magician, which meant, ‘This is quite right’. And he breathed upon the bare patch, and upon the place, and one became the great Indian Desert, and the other became the Desert of Sahara. You can see them on the map.

The Eldest Magician went West, and he found the first Beaver. The Beaver made a beaver-dam

across the mouths of broad rivers. The rivers were made for him.

‘Kun?’ asked the Beaver, which meant, ‘Is this right?’

‘Payah kun,’ said the Eldest Magician, which meant, ‘This is quite right’. And he breathed upon the fallen trees and the still water, and they became the Everglades in Florida[29]29
  Everglades in Florida – девственные леса Флориды


[Закрыть]. You can see them on the map.

Then the Eldest Magician went South and found the first Turtle. The Turtle scratched with his flippers in the sand. The sand was made for him. The sand and the rocks whirled through the air and fell far off into the sea.

‘Kun?’ asked the Turtle, which meant, ‘Is this right?’

‘Payah kun,’ said the Eldest Magician, which meant, ‘This is quite right’. And he breathed upon the sand and the rocks, and they became the most beautiful islands of Borneo, Celebes, Sumatra, Java[30]30
  Borneo, Celebes, Sumatra, Java – Борнео, Целебес, Суматра, Ява


[Закрыть], and the rest of the Malay Archipelago. You can see them on the map, too!

Then the Eldest Magician met the Man on the banks of the Perak river, and said,

‘Ho! Son of Adam, are all the Animals obedient to you?’

‘Yes,’ said the Man.

‘Is all the Earth obedient to you?’

‘Yes,’ said the Man.

‘Is all the Sea obedient to you?’

‘No,’ said the Man. ‘Once a day and once a night the Sea runs up the Perak river and drives the sweet-water back into the forest[31]31
  drives the sweet-water back into the forest – гонит пресную воду в лес


[Закрыть]. And my house is wet. Once a day and once a night it runs down the river and draws all the water after it. After that there is nothing left but mud, and my canoe is upset. Is that the game you told it to play?’

‘No,’ said the Eldest Magician. ‘That is a new and a bad game.’

‘Look!’ said the Man, and as he spoke the great Sea came up the mouth of the Perak river. The Sea drove the river backwards till it overflowed all the dark forests for miles and miles, and flooded the Man’s house.

‘This is wrong. Launch your canoe and we will find out who plays with the Sea,’ said the Eldest Magician.

They stepped into the canoe; the little girl came with them; and the Man took his dagger with a blade like a flame, and they pushed out on the Perak river. Then the sea began to run back and back, and the canoe was sucked out of the mouth of the Perak river[32]32
  out of the mouth of the Perak river – из устья реки Перак


[Закрыть]. Past Selangor, past Malacca, past Singapore, out and out to the Island of Bingtang.

Then the Eldest Magician stood up and shouted,

‘Ho! beasts, birds, and fishes, that I took between my hands at the Very Beginning and taught the game to play, which one of you plays with the Sea?’

Then all the beasts, birds, and fishes said together,

‘Eldest Magician, we play the games that you taught us to play – we and our children and our children’s children. But not one of us plays with the Sea.’

Then the Moon rose over the water, and the Eldest Magician said to the old hunchbacked fisherman who sits in the Moon, who hopes one day to catch the world,

‘Ho! Fisher of the Moon, do you play with the Sea?’

‘No,’ said the Fisherman, ‘I spin a line with which I will some day catch the world; but I do not play with the Sea.’

Now there is also a Rat up in the Moon who always bites the old Fisherman’s line. And the Eldest Magician said to him,

‘Ho! Rat of the Moon, do you play with the Sea?’

And the Rat said,

‘I am very busy, I bite the old Fisherman’s line. I do not play with the Sea.’

Then the little girl raised her little soft brown arms with the beautiful white shell bracelets and said,

‘O Eldest Magician! When my father talked to you at the Very Beginning, and I leaned upon his

shoulder. All the beasts received the orders, but one beast went away naughtily into the Sea.’

And the Eldest Magician said,

‘How wise are little children who see and are silent! What was the beast like?’

And the little girl said,

‘He was round and he was flat; and his eyes grew upon stalks; and he walked sideways like this. And he was covered with strong armour upon his back.’

And the Eldest Magician said,

‘How wise are little children who speak truth! I know that animal. It is Pau Amma the Crab. Now I know where Pau Amma went. Give me the paddle!’

So he took the paddle; but there was no need to paddle, for the water flowed steadily past all the islands till they came to the place called Pusat Tasek – the Heart of the Sea – where the great hollow is that leads down to the heart of the world. In that hollow grows the Wonderful Tree, Pauh Janggi, that bears the magic nuts. Then the Eldest Magician slid his arm through the deep warm water, and under the roots of the Wonderful Tree he touched the broad back of Pau Amma the Crab. And Pau Amma moved, and all the Sea rose up.

‘Ah!’ said the Eldest Magician. ‘Now I know who plays with the Sea;’ and he called out, ‘What do you do, Pau Amma?’

And Pau Amma answered,

‘Once a day and once a night I go out to look for my food. Once a day and once a night I return. Leave me alone.’

Then the Eldest Magician said,

‘Listen, Pau Amma. When you go out from your cave, the waters of the Sea pour down into Pusat Tasek. All the beaches of all the islands become bare, and the little fish die, and the legs of Raja Moyang Kaban, the King of the Elephants, are muddy.

When you come back and sit in Pusat Tasek, the waters of the Sea rise, and half the little islands are drowned. The Man’s house is flooded, and the mouth of Raja Abdullah, the King of the Crocodiles, is filled with the salt water.’

Then Pau Amma laughed and said,

‘I did not know I was so important. Henceforward I will go out seven times a day, and the waters will never be still.’

And the Eldest Magician said,

‘I cannot tell you your game, Pau Amma, because you escaped me at the Very Beginning. If you are not afraid, come up and we will talk about it.’

‘I am not afraid,’ said Pau Amma, and he rose to the top of the sea in the moonlight.

There was nobody in the world so big as Pau Amma – for he was the King Crab of all Crabs. Not a common Crab, but a King Crab. One side of his great shell touched the beach at Sarawak. The other touched the beach at Pahang. He was taller than the smoke of three volcanoes! As he rose up through the branches of the Wonderful Tree he tore off one of the great fruits – the magic nut that make people young. The little girl saw it, and took it and began to open it with her little golden scissors.

‘Now,’ said the Magician, ‘make a Magic, Pau Amma, to show that you are really important.’

Pau Amma rolled his eyes and waved his legs, but he could only stir up the Sea. Though he was a King Crab, he was nothing more than a Crab. The Eldest Magician laughed.

‘You are not very important, Pau Amma,’ he said. ‘Now I try,’ and he made a Magic with his left hand – with just the little finger of his left hand – and Pau Amma’s hard, blue-green-black shell fell off him. Pau Amma became soft as the little crabs that you sometimes find on the beach.

‘Indeed, you are very important,’ said the Eldest Magician. ‘Shall I ask the Man here to cut you with his dagger? Shall I send for Raja Moyang Kaban, the King of the Elephants, to pierce you with his tusks? Shall I call Raja Abdullah, the King of the Crocodiles, to bite you?’

And Pau Amma said,

‘I am ashamed! Give me back my hard shell and let me go back to Pusat Tasek. I will only stir out once a day and once a night to get my food.’

And the Eldest Magician said,

‘No, Pau Amma, I will not give you back your shell, because you will grow bigger and prouder and stronger, and perhaps you will forget your promise, and you will play with the Sea once more.’

Then Pau Amma said,

‘What shall I do? I am so big that I can only hide in Pusat Tasek, and if I go anywhere else, all soft as I am now, the sharks and the dogfish will eat me. And if I go to Pusat Tasek, all soft

as I am now, though I may be safe, I can never stir out to get my food, and so I’ll die.’

Then he waved his legs and lamented.

‘Listen, Pau Amma,’ said the Eldest Magician. ‘I cannot make you play your game, because you escaped me at the Very Beginning. But if you want, I can make every stone and every hole and

every bunch of weed in all the seas a safe Pusat Tasek for you and your children.’

Then Pau Amma said,

‘That is good, but I can’t choose. Look! there is that Man who talked to you at the Very Beginning. I did not want to wait and ran away. What will he do for me?’

And the Man said,

‘If you want, I will make a Magic, so that both the deep water and the dry ground will be a home for you and your children. You will be able to hide both on the land and in the sea.’

And Pau Amma said,

‘I do not choose yet. Look! there is that girl who saw me at the Very Beginning. She was silent, and she did not call me back. What will she do for me?’

And the little girl said,

‘Look at this nut. If you want, I will make a Magic and I will give you this pair of scissors, very sharp and strong, so that you and your children can eat nuts like this all day long when you come up from the Sea to the land. Or you can dig a Pusat Tasek for yourself with the scissors that belong to you when there is no stone or hole nearby. When the earth is too hard, by the help of these same scissors you can run up a tree.’

And Pau Amma said,

‘I do not choose yet, for these gifts will not help me. Give me back my shell, o Eldest Magician, and then I will play your game.’

And the Eldest Magician said,

‘I will give it back, Pau Amma, for eleven months of the year. But on the twelfth month of every year it will grow soft again, to remind you and all your children that I can make a Magic, and to keep you humble, Pau Amma. I see that if you can run both under the water and on land, you will grow too bold. If you can climb trees and crack nuts and dig holes with your scissors, you will grow too greedy, Pau Amma.’

Then Pau Amma thought a little and said,

‘This is my choice: I will take all the gifts.’

Then the Eldest Magician made a Magic with the right hand, with all five fingers of his right hand, and Pau Amma grew smaller and smaller and smaller, till at last there was only a little green crab in the water alongside the canoe. And the small crab cried,

‘Give me the scissors!’

And the girl picked him up on the palm of her little brown hand, and sat him in the bottom of the canoe and gave him her scissors. He waved them in his little arms, and opened them and shut them and snapped them, and said,