The man with two pairs of arms and legs

The man with two pairs of arms and legs story

A farmer and his young son were returning to their village from Bandar Seri Begawan. It was dark and they had nowhere to pass the night. “I feel very tired, father,” said the boy. “Let’s stay here for the night.”

So they settled down to sleep under a large tree. They lit a small fire with some sticks to keep away the mosquitoes. They laid down side by side. The farmer covered his son and himself with a blanket.

“I’m not very comfortable,” said his son. “the ground is too hard.”

“Never mind, you’ll soon be asleep.”

Not long after, the boy rested his head on his father’s chest, as if it were a pillow. He soon fell asleep.

In the middle of the night, after the fire had gone out, a tiger passed by. He was looking for a good dinner. He could smell the scent of the man and his son. When he came closer, he was surprised to see that although there was only one head sticking out from the top of the blanket, there were two pairs of arms and legs protruding from the sides. He ran away as fast as he could.

Soon he met his friend Buaya (Mr. Crocodile), and told him what had happened. “You’re silly,” said Buaya. “There are two persons sleeping there. One of them must have covered his head with a blanket. Now please run back and take one for yourself and give the other to me.”

The tiger could not help laughing when he heard what Buaya said.

He ran back to where the farmer and his son were sleeping, he went closer this time to have a good look. His whiskers brushed the nose of the sleeping man. Suddenly, the man gave a loud sneeze  -  “Ah-choou!”

The tiger was startled that he turned around and fled. He ran straight back to Buaya shouting, “Here I come!”

Buaya thought it must be the present that Mr. Tiger had promised him. He opened his mouth wide, and the tiger ran straight inside. In a flash, Buaya swallowed him.

Even to this day, he has never realized that he had swallowed his friend. However, he has often been seen to shake his head and say that some men are very hairy and tough.