Khmer Folktales
There was a man called CHAU CHAK SMOK whose name means the man who weaves boxes with palm leaves. One day he went to weave boxes at the top of the palm tree. He cut strips of the leaves and then he planned to make the boxes. While he wove the boxes, he thought " When I make a lot of boxes, I will sell them to the store, then I shall buy a hen. Later the hen will give chickens, then I will sell the chickens. So I will get five hundred riels. With, this, I will buy a pig.
When the pig has young ones, I will sell them, I will thus earn two hundred riels, then I will buy a colt. When I sell it, I will make a lot of money, about two or three hundred riels, then I will buy fields and cultivate them. When the field crops, I will sell them and I will have a good deal of money, then I will find a pretty girl to be my wife. Later I will became a rich man and I will buy slaves to toke care of my children. When my slaves cannot take care of my children I will hit them. "
While the man was daydreaming, he kicked at the palm leaves. The leaf was broken so the man fell, but he caught himself under the palm leaves. When the wind blew, he swung like a swing, but he could not climb up to the top of the tree. Meanwhile, there was a man who rode on an elephant coming near the palm tree, then Chau Chak Smok asked the man for help " Please save me. Please take me down. I will serve you all my life. "
When the elephant-driver brought the elephant to the palm tree, he stood up on the elephant's back, his toes seemed to let the elephant go, so the elephant-driver was hanging under the man, then the elephant-driver begged the man not to let go of the palm leaf and he said " Please do not let go of the leaf and I will be your servant all my life. "
The man's hands were very weary, then he told the elephant-driver to let go of his legs, but the elephant-driver did not let go, and then he said again " If you do not let go of my legs, I will fall from the leaf and drop my body on your and kill you. " The elephant-driver begged the man to hold the leaf very strongly, and he said " I fear to let go and drop my body down. Please hold on. If you save my life, I will be your servant. "
While they spoke to each other, there were four bald men who came by that way, and brought a large net. When the men who swung under the palm branch saw them come by, they called for help, but they told the two men " How can we help you down, because you are swinging below each other " then they begged them to help and said " If you save us, we will serve you all our life. Please spread your net and tie it around your necks, and we will drop in the net. "
The four bald men spread the net in a square, then they said " Please drop one after one. " But the men did not drop one after one, they dropped at the same time into the net, so the four bald men were dragged to hit each other's heads and crushed their skulls.
When the two men were saved, they saw four bald men die, then they discussed with each other about burning them, but one said " If we burn them at the same time, some one will think that we killed the men, and the government will put us in jail. So we had better bury them, and we will pardon them, because they died for us. "
