_Kantjil_

Wow.

Just last week I was reading a book which used the same image;
crossing across a crocodile infested river by hopping from back
to back. It was used as a metaphor for how software companies
try to outpace hackers by quickly releasing new versions of
product. (The book was _In the Beginning Was the Command Line_
by Neal Stephenson; pretty entertaining, though parts of it read
like ad copy for Linux and BeOS.) Perhaps Stephenson knew the
story.

Dirk

On Wed, 21 Jun 2000, Roger Mills wrote:

> Si Kantjil (modern Kancil) is a trickster figure.  A story, adapted &
> abbreviated:
>
> One day in the forest, Si Kantjil was being chased by a tiger.  He came to a
> wide river, with Tiger hot on his heels.  Si Kantjil called out:  Hey,
> crocodiles! Come here, the King has ordered me to make a census of you.....
> So all the crocodiles came and lined up in the river, so many they stretched
> from one bank to the other.
> Si Kantjil hopped on their backs, counting, One, two, three.... until he
> reached the other side, where he said, OK, that's finished, you can all go
> now...
>
> Benign ending:  when Tiger reaches the river, the crocs have dispersed, and
> he can only growl in frustration while Kantjil laughs at him from the other
> side.
>
> Non-benign ending:  Tiger also tries to cross via the crocodiles, but being
> heavier, he falls in and gets eaten up.
>
--
Dirk Elzinga
dirk.elzinga@m.cc.utah.edu