Gecko’s Complaint

One night a village Chief was awakened out of a deep sleep by fi ve calls of “Geck-o, Geck-o,
Geck-o, Geck-o, Geck-o.” It was, of course, Gecko, the Lizard, and he wanted to see the Chief, a
wise
and kind man, who received him with pleasure, even though it was the middle of the night.
Gecko had come to lodge a complaint. He was very disturbed and unhappy, he said.
To the rest of God’s creatures, it might have seemed that Gecko ought to have no reason at
all to complain. He could do so many things that other creatures could not, such as walk on the
wall, or upside down on the ceiling. He could do this because he had little pads on the tip of each
of his toes. Not only that, if his tail should be lost in a battle with another lizard, he would be able
to grow another one, just as good as, if not better than, the old one. His smaller cousin, Cicak,
was much more active and mobile, darting across the wall as he chased his mate, sometimes
stopping for a short climb up a sideboard to sample some sweet or other, while Gecko expended
a minimum of energy, sitting lazily up in the rafters, going out at night in search of mosquitoes,
fi lling the night with his raucous calls. What would Gecko ever have to complain about?

But now Gecko was upset. For several weeks he had not been able to sleep because of Firefl y.
Night after night the black lightning beetle with red and yellow spots fl ew around and about him,
glowing like sparks of fi re, fl ashing his light into Gecko’s eyes.
The Chief, who really did not like his sleep to be disturbed either, was sympathetic, and
promised to make an investigation. He asked Gecko to come back to see him in a week or so.
The next day the Chief called Firefl y and told him about Gecko’ complaint. “Is it only Gecko
you are disturbing?” he asked, “or is it possible that others are also bothered by your light fl ashing
into their eyes?”

Firefl y’ light was out now, as he spoke very humbly to the Chief. “I meant no harm, sir. In
fact, I thought I was doing something good. I heard the drumming of Woodpecker as he struck
his bill on the tree trunk, and I thought it was a kulkul calling villagers to get up and gather. I was
only fl ashing my light to pass on the message.”
The Chief then decided to ask Woodpecker about this. He found him and told him what
Firefl y had said.
“I too was only passing on a warning, sir,” said Woodpecker. “I heard the kwak-kwak-kwak
of Frog in the rice paddies, and I thought it was a warning that an earthquake was coming. So I
just passed on the message.”
Now the chief went in search of Frog, who meanwhile had heard that he would be interrogated.
“The reason I was kwak-kwak-kwaking more and louder than usual,” he explained, “is
that I saw Black Beetle walking down the road carrying fi lth, which I thought was so dirty and so
unhygienic that I had to stop him.”
“That is indeed bad,” thought the Chief. “I must speak to Beetle at once.”
Black Beetle, plump and gleaming like polished copper, was also very humble and respectful,
as he explained the situation.
“You see, sir, Water Buffalo comes by dropping his pat in the middle of the road, and I just
thought it was my duty to clean it up.”
The Chief was now beginning to lose patience. “Tell Water Buffalo I wish to see him!” he
ordered.
When Water Buffalo appeared, he was polite, but he expressed his displeasure with Beetle’s
report.
“It is clear,” he said, “that I am not appreciated. Rain washes away all the stones in the road,
and I fi ll up the holes. Who else does that, I ask you?”
By this time the Village Chief was tired, but he had to hear Rain’s story. And Rain was angry.
“Complaining about ME?” he asked. “Who asks the gods for Rain, even makes offerings to them
so they will send Rain? Without ME there are no mosquitoes, and if there are no mosquitoes, Gecko
is hungry and unhappy. Don’t speak to me. Speak to Gecko!”
When Gecko returned to the home of the Chief as he had been requested to do, the Chief spoke
to him very sternly indeed.
“Gecko, say no more. We all have our problems. Go home, and live at peace with all your
neighbours!”

Keluhan Gecko
Suatu malam seorang kepala desa terbangun dari tidur nyenyak oleh lima
panggilan "Geck-o, Geck-o,
Geck-o, Geck-o, Geck-o. "Tentu saja, Gecko, si Kadal, dan dia ingin melihat
Chief, seorang bijak
dan pria baik, yang menerimanya dengan senang hati, meski saat itu tengah
malam.
Gecko datang untuk mengajukan keluhan. Dia sangat terganggu dan tidak
bahagia, katanya.
Untuk sisa makhluk Tuhan, sepertinya Gecko seharusnya tidak memiliki alasan
semua mengeluh. Dia bisa melakukan begitu banyak hal yang tidak dimiliki
makhluk lain, seperti berjalan di jalan
dinding, atau terbalik di langit-langit. Dia bisa melakukan ini karena dia
memiliki bantalan kecil di ujung masing-masing
dari jari kakinya. Tidak hanya itu, jika ekornya harus hilang dalam
pertempuran dengan kadal lain, dia akan bisa
untuk menumbuhkan yang lain, sama baiknya dengan, jika tidak lebih baik
dari pada yang lama. Sepupunya yang lebih kecil, Cicak,
Jauh lebih aktif dan mobile, melesat melintasi dinding saat ia mengejar
pasangannya, kadang-kadang
berhenti sebentar untuk memanjat sebuah bufet untuk mencicipi beberapa
manis atau lainnya, sementara Gecko dikeluarkan
Minimal energi, duduk dengan malas di kasau, pergi keluar malam untuk
mencari nyamuk,
mengisi malam dengan seruan seraknya. Apa yang akan diderita Gecko?
Tapi sekarang Gecko kesal. Selama beberapa minggu ia belum bisa tidur
karena kebakaran.
Malam demi malam kumbang petir hitam dengan bintik-bintik merah dan kuning
terbang mengelilingi dan sekitarnya,
bercahaya seperti percikan api, menyorotkan suaranya ke mata Gecko.
Chief yang sama sekali tidak suka tidurnya terganggu juga bersimpati
berjanji untuk melakukan investigasi. Dia meminta Gecko untuk kembali
menemuinya sekitar seminggu atau lebih.
Keesokan harinya Chief memanggil Firefl y dan memberitahunya tentang
keluhan Gecko. "Apakah hanya Tokek
Anda mengganggu? "tanyanya," atau mungkinkah orang lain juga terganggu oleh
cahaya Anda
ke mata mereka?

Cahaya api keluar sekarang, saat dia berbicara dengan sangat rendah hati
kepada Chief. "Maksud saya tidak ada salahnya, pak. Di
Sebenarnya, saya pikir saya sedang melakukan sesuatu yang baik. Kudengar
drum Pelatuk saat dia menyerang
tagihannya di batang pohon, dan saya pikir itu adalah kulkul yang memanggil
penduduk desa untuk bangun dan berkumpul. Saya
hanya menyalakan cahayaku untuk menyampaikan pesannya. "
Chief kemudian memutuskan untuk bertanya kepada Woodpecker tentang ini. Dia
menemukannya dan menceritakan apa
Kata Firefl y.
"Saya juga hanya menyampaikan sebuah peringatan, Sir," kata Pelatuk. "Saya
mendengar kwak-kwak-kwak
Kodok di sawah, dan saya pikir ini adalah peringatan bahwa sebuah gempa
datang. Jadi saya
baru saja menyampaikan pesannya. "
Sekarang sang kepala pergi mencari Katak, yang sementara itu telah
mendengar bahwa dia akan diinterogasi.
"Alasan saya kwak-kwak-kwaking lebih banyak dan lebih keras dari biasanya,"
jelasnya, "ini
Saya melihat Black Beetle berjalan menyusuri jalan yang membawa lonceng,
yang menurut saya sangat kotor dan begitu
Tidak higienis saya harus menghentikannya. "
"Itu memang buruk," pikir Chief. "Saya harus berbicara langsung dengan
Beetle."
Kumbang Hitam, gemuk dan berkilau seperti tembaga yang dipoles, juga sangat
rendah hati dan hormat,
Saat dia menjelaskan situasinya.
"Begini, Sir, Air Kerbau datang dengan menepuk-nepuknya di tengah jalan,
dan saya juga
Kupikir tugasku untuk membersihkannya. "
Chief sekarang mulai kehilangan kesabaran. "Beritahu Air Kerbau Saya ingin
menemuinya!" Dia
dipesan.
Saat Air Kerbau muncul, dia bersikap sopan, tapi dia mengungkapkan
ketidaksenangannya pada Beetle's
melaporkan.
"Sudah jelas," katanya, "bahwa saya tidak dihargai. Hujan membasuh semua
batu di jalan,
dan aku mengisi lubangnya. Siapa lagi yang melakukan itu, saya bertanya? "
Pada saat ini Kepala Desa sudah lelah, tapi dia harus mendengar cerita
Rain. Dan Rain marah.
"Mengeluh tentang AKU?" Tanyanya. "Siapa yang meminta dewa-dewa untuk
Hujan, bahkan memberi persembahan kepada mereka
jadi mereka akan mengirim Rain? Tanpa saya tidak ada nyamuk, dan jika tidak
ada nyamuk, Tokek
lapar dan tidak bahagia Jangan bicara padaku Bicaralah dengan Gecko! "
Ketika Gecko kembali ke rumah Kepala karena dia diminta untuk melakukannya,
Chief berbicara
Baginya sangat tegas banget.
"Tokek, katakan tidak lebih. Kita semua memiliki masalah kita. Pulanglah,
dan tinggallah sejahtera dengan semua tetanggamu! "