And the Eldest Magician said, 'I will give it back, Pau Amma, for
eleven months of the year; but on the twelfth month of every year
it shall grow soft again, to remind you and all your children
that I can make magics, and to keep you humble, Pau Amma; for I
see that if you can run both under the water and on land, you
will grow too bold; and if you can climb trees and crack nuts and
dig holes with your scissors, you will grow too greedy, Pau
Amma.'

Then Pau Amma thought a little and said, 'I have made my choice.
I will take all the gifts.'

Then the Eldest Magician made a Magic with the right hand, with
all five fingers of his right hand, and lo and behold, Best
Beloved, Pau Amma grew smaller and smaller and smaller, till at
last there was only a little green crab swimming in the water
alongside the canoe, crying in a very small voice, 'Give me the
scissors!'

And the girl-daughter picked him up on the palm of her little
brown hand, and sat him in the bottom of the canoe and gave him
her scissors, and he waved them in his little arms, and opened
them and shut them and snapped them, and said, 'I can eat nuts. I
can crack shells. I can dig holes. I can climb trees. I can
breathe in the dry air, and I can find a safe Pusat Tasek under
every stone. I did not know I was so important. Kun?' (Is this
right?)

'Payah-kun,' said the Eldest Magician, and he laughed and gave