Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review Volumes 32 and 33.djvu/578

 268 Tanokhul Folk Tales and Azotes on some

The Story of the Bat.

Once upon a time before daylight a bat cried " Chap, Chap." The cock heard this and crowed ; the people heard the cock crow and began to sharpen their daos beside the river. The squirrel, hearing the people sharpening their daos, climbed to the top of the tree and began to eat fruit. One of the fruit fell on the crab and broke his shell. The crab, in agony, scratched up the ants' nest ; the ants rushed out and ran up the nostrils of the wild boar ; the wild boar in his rage shook his head and cut down a plantain tree with his tushes. The moth which lived in the wild plantain tree flew out and went up the trunk of the elephant ; the elephant got angry and killed a man on the road. Then they gathered together to decide about it. " The elephant killed him," they said. " The moth flew up my nose," said the elephant, " and made me angry : and I rushed about and met that man and killed him." " The wild pig cut down my tree ; therefore I flew up the elephant's trunk," said the moth. " Some ants ran up my nose," said the boar, " therefore I cut down the plantain tree." " The crab scratched up our nest," said the ants, " so we ran up the boar's nose." " The squirrel knocked a fruit down and broke my shell, therefore in pain I scratched up the ants' nest," said the crab. " Why did you eat fruit before daylight ? " they asked of the squirrel. " People began sharpening their daos, so I thought it was morning," said the squirrel. " The cock crowed," said the people, " so we thought it was morning." " The bat cried ' Chap, Chap,' so I thought it was morning," said the cock. Then they asked the bat ; and he said, " Yes, I thought it was morning, so cried ' Chap, Chap.' " So to punish him they cut off his foot. Then they consulted who should eat the bat's foot. " We all live by the power of the sun," said they ; " therefore we should give the foot to him as the greatest." But the sun said, " Though I keep you alive by