The Rhinoceros Hunt
The Rhinoceros Hunt part 1/4
Editors' Note. This story was originally written in Sundanese, the language of western Java, in 1932. Most of the people there are Muslims and observe
the fast of Ranadan, the month during which
no one eats or smokes between sunrise
and sunset each day. The rhinoceroses of
this story are a rare species with a single horn, found only in Java. The breed is now in danger of extinction and is
being protected by the government.
That morning I woke up late. It was just after eight, and the day was already getting
hot. I was very hungry, but even after
I'd had a bath there was still no sign
of anyone with my breakfast. Curious, I
went out into the garden and walked around
the house to look in the kitchen windows. There wasn't
even the smell of cooking. Wondering
what was the matter, I lit a cigarette.
Just then Momo and Datje came into
the garden. Seeing me, they stopped and Momo said,
as though surprised: "Why are
you smoking?"
"But this is the
first day of Ramadan," he said.
With a start I realized he was right.
"How could I have forgotten?" I said.
"Oh, well," said Momo, "if you forgot, it's
all right. "
"But I really don't feel like
fasting. I'm very hungry, and besides,
I forgot to say my Ramadan prayers
last night."
Dade cut in: "If
you don't feel like fasting, just say so. No use making a fuss
about it."
"Well, as a matter of
fact, I've been longing for breakfast ever since I woke up."
"All right, then,"
said Datje, "let's go see if
there aren’t some leftovers from
yesterday. "
The three of us went
into the deserted kitchen. After
looking around, Datje found some stale
rice and soup, but it didn't seem at all appetizing; so he went to look
in the pantry.
In a minute he came back and said: "All the cupboards
are locked."
"Isn't there
some eating stall nearby?" asked
Momo.
"Now why would
there be a stall open on the first day of Ramadan?" said
Datje. "But we might try looking
in the storage shed."
We left the kitchen and, as we were passing the plantation office, heard old Suanta talking. Other people were laughing.
We turned into
the room, and Datje said: “What's so funny?"
Someone said:
"Suanta is telling one of his
adventures, about being chased by a rhino."
We said we would like
to hear the story too and asked Suanta to start again.
"With pleasure," answered Suanta.
"I was only telling the exciting
part, but now I'll begin at the beginning." And here is his tale:
This was many years
ago when I was still young. There was a
rumor that some rhinos were
in a nearby forest. So our master-Datje's father-sent
a man who knew the forest well to have a look, and also sent two or three hunters to search for the
rhinos' footprints. The men came back and said there was no doubt
about it: the prints the animals had
left around Tjibeureum
Swamp
...Continue..... Read
........................................................
Related Stories
The Rhinoceros Hunt part 1/4 Read
The Rhinoceros Hunt part 2/4 Read
The Rhinoceros Hunt part 3/4 Read
The Rhinoceros Hunt part 4/4 Read
No comments:
Post a Comment