The Crab and the Needlefish

 The Crab and the Needlefish

(A Legend from Nomoi Islands, Chuuk)

Fish is a favorite food in the Pacific Islands. When it has been wrapped in green leaves and baked among hot stones, it is delicious. But the children of the Mortlock Islands, in the Truk District, sometimes will not eat needlefish, for it has a bitter taste.

“Never mind, it’s good food,” their parents say. Then they tell the children why the needlefish tastes bitter.

The needlefish is smooth and slender, and he can swim very fast. He has a long, sharp needle sticking out in front, ready to spear anything that gets in his way.

One day, the needlefish saw a tiny sand crab crawling along the beach. The needlefish made fun of the crab.

"How slow and clumsy you are!” he said. "Watch me. See how fast I move through the water.” He swam and dived and turned about with great speed.

The little crab watched the needlefish for a while, and then he said, “You're fast, needlefish, and I’m very slow, that’s true. But just the same, I feel sure that I can beat you, if we have a race along the shore.”

“Foolish talk!’’ cried the needlefish. “How could you beat me in a race? I go like lightning, and you crawl so slowly.”

The little crab said, "Let's have a race tomorrow morning. We'll start here, beside this rock. I'll race you to the big maras tree that stands at the edge of the water, far down on the beach. You can swim in the water, and Pll crawl along on land.”

The needlefish laughed and laughed, but he agreed to race with the little crab. ‘‘You’re so tiny,” he said. "How shall I know where you are?”

“That will be very easy,” replied the crab. "Just call to me, now and then, and I'll answer you.”

The needlefish swam away, still laughing.

Now the sand crab was small, but he was clever. He crawled along the beach all night long, telling his crab friends about the race. "The needlefish boasts too much. I want to teach him a lesson,” he said.

He asked his friends to sit at different places near the water. They would be a few yards apart from each other, all the way between the rock and the maras tree.

“Tomorrow, the needlefish will call to me,” he said, "to find out where I am. Each time he calls, one of you must answer for me. The needlefish will think that it is I who am ahead of him all the way.”

The crab’s friends thought it was a wonderful idea. They agreed to do what he asked.

Next morning, the little crab and the needlefish met at the rock and began the race. The needlefish swam off like lightning, but the little sand crab sat still. ‘‘It’s my turn to laugh,” he said, and so he laughed.

Before long, the needlefish called out from the water, “Crab, crab, where are you?”

On the shore, a small voice answered, “Here I am, just ahead of you!”

The needlefish was so surprised that he nearly jumped out of the water. He swam faster than ever. After a while, he called out again, “Crab, crab, where are you?” 

Again a crab voice replied, “Here I am, just ahead of you!"

That time, the needlefish nearly broke himself in two, trying to swim still faster in the water. He kept on calling out, “Crab, crab, where are you?”  And always, there was a little voice saying, “Here I am, just ahead of you!”

The needlefish was nearly out of his mind with anger. He raced so fast that the water whirled around him. When he reached the maras tree, there sat a little sand crab with a shell on his back. He was not at all tired.

“Well, needlefish, are you here at last?” said the crab.

The needlefish nearly burst with anger. He sprang out of the water with such force that his long needle stuck in the maras tree. There he hung for a long time. At last, he got the needle out again and dropped back into the water.

He swam away, feeling foolish. He tried to forget about the race, but he couldn’t, for some of the bitter juice of the maras tree was in his mouth. It stayed there, to teach him not to boast too much.

Ever since that day, the flesh of the needlefish has had a bitter taste. As the Trukese people say, “Much me sop me teremeimei,”or, “That’s the end of the story.”

Source

Legends of Micronesia (Book One)

Eve Grey

1951

Pages: 7-9