Tehi, see No. 12.
17. SEMANG, THE BAD BOY
(From the Long-Glats; kampong Long Tujo)
A woman called Daietan had one child, Semang, who was a bad boy. He was
lazy, slept day and night, and did not want to make ladang nor plant any
banana nor papaya trees. His mother angrily said to him: "Why don't you
exert yourself to get food?" Semang said: "Well, I will go tomorrow to
search for something to eat."
At sunrise next morning he went away in a prahu, paddling up-stream. He
reached a kampong, and the name of the raja here was Anjangmaran. He could
find no food, so he went on to the next kampong, and to another, but had
no success, so he continued his journey, and then arrived at the fourth
kampong. There were no people here. It was a large kampong with many
houses, and grass was growing everywhere.
He went up into a room and there he found all sorts of goods; salt, gongs,
many tempaians (large Chinese urns) in which paddi was stored, and
tobacco. Semang said to himself, "I am rich. Here is all that I need." And
he lay down to sleep. In the night Deer (rusa) arrived and called out: "Is
there any one here?" He ascended the ladder and lay down near the cooking
place. Semang heard him, but was afraid to move, and slept no more. In the
night he heard Deer talk in his sleep:
