When I was young, my grandmother (Tan Kim Neo) loved to tell us stories. My grandmother has since passed away. Whether this story is true or not, only God knows. Grandma said this was a story told to her many years ago.

A long, long time ago, animals could speak. Buffalo and Cow were very good friends. Where ever they went, they were always together. On a very hot day, the two friends agreed to bathe in the river to cool themselves. Now don’t you laugh but the animals then could take off their hides just like us humans can remove our clothes. After they had taken off their hides, the two friends played in the river. Everyone around could hear them laughing with glee. After they had finished bathing, Buffalo and Cow climbed out of the river.

Cow did not look carefully but grabbed the nearest hide and put it on. It was very comfortable to wear because the hide was really loose. Buffalo put on the remaining hide and found it very tight and uncomfortable, like the jackfruit skin. Buffalo then realised that the hide that Cow was wearing was Buffalo’s hide because Buffalo was larger in size. Buffalo asked Cow to return him his hide but Cow was really stubborn and refused to exchange the hide that he was wearing because it was really loose and comfortable. Buffalo pleaded with Cow many times to return him his hide but Cow refused. Buffalo threatened Cow, “If you do not return me my hide, I will sever our friendship!” Cow was not a goody-two-shoes and pretended not to hear Buffalo’s threats. He kept mum and left Buffalo alone by himself at the river and sauntered back to his pen.

Buffalo was so enraged that he yelled, “Cowwww! Cowwww!” Many people came to see what the commotion at the river was about. Reluctantly, Buffalo put on the hide even though it was tight. If he did not put on the hide, he would have to go around stark naked. Where on earth can he hide himself in shame?

That my friends, is the reason why the buffalo’s hide is tight because it originally belonged to the cow. The cow has a loose hide as the hide originally belonged to the buffalo. To this day, the two animals are not on speaking terms with each other!

Semasa saya kanak-kanak, nenek (Tan Kim Neo) gemar bercerita kepada kami. Malangnya, nenek telah meninggal dunia sekarang. Cerita ini sama ada benar atau tidak, hanya Tuhan sahaja yang tahu. Menurut nenek, cerita ini telah diceritakan kepadanya sudah bertahun-tahun lamanya.

Pada zaman dahulu, haiwan boleh berkata-kata. Kerbau dan lembu bersahabat karib. Kedua-duanya  sentiasa bersama ke mana sahaja. Pada suatu hari yang panas terik, dua sahabat ini bersetuju untuk mandi  bagi menyejukkan badan di sebatang sungai. Satu perkara yang menggelikan hati, bahawa haiwan akan menanggalkan kulit mereka semasa mandi sepertimana manusia menanggalkan pakaian mereka. Selepas kedua-dua sahabat menanggalkan kulit masing-masing, mereka bermain-main di dalam sungai tersebut. Sesiapa yang berhampiran, pasti dapat mendengar gelak ketawa mereka. Selepas selesai mandi, kerbau dan lembu pun keluar dari sungai.

Lembu mengambil kulit yang terdekat dengannya tanpa melihat terlebih dahulu dan terus menyarungkanya. Lembu berasa sangat selesa kerana kulit tersebut longgar. Kerbau pula berasa sangat tidak selesa kerana kulit yang dipakainya sangat sendat seperti sarung nangka. Dengan itu, kerbau menyedari bahawa lembu telah menyarungkan kulitnya kerana saiznya lebih besar. Kerbau pun merayu berkali-kali kepada lembu supaya memulangkan kulit tersebut. Namun, lembu tetap berdegil dan enggan berbuat demikian. Dengan itu, kerbau telah mengugut lembu, "Sekiranya awak tidak mahu memulangkan kulit saya, saya akan putuskan persahabatan kita!" Namun, lembu terus bersikap memekakkan  telinganya dan berpura-pura tidak mendengar ugutan yang dikatakan oleh kerbau. Lembu terus membisu dan meninggalkan kerbau sendirian di tepi sungai itu, dan meneruskan apa yang dilakukan.

Kerbau berasa sangat marah dan memekik, "Lembuuuu! Lembuuuu!" Ramai orang yang datang untuk melihat kegemparan yang sedang berlaku di sungai itu. Walaupun dengan perasaan yang mengkal, kerbau terpaksa menyarungkan kulit yang sendat itu. Sekiranya kerbau tidak berbuat demikian, dia akan berjalan dengan bertelanjang bulat. Sekiranya terjadi sedemikian, di manakah dia mahu meletakkan maruahnya?

Begitulah kisahnya rakan-rakan semua, asal usul kulit kerbau begitu cekang. Hal ini kerana kulit tersebut asalnya kepunyaan lembu. Kulit lembu pula menggelebeh, kerana asalnya milik kepada kerbau. Maka itulah sebabnya juga, kedua-dua haiwan tersebut saling tidak bertegur sapa sehingga hari ini!

Masyarakat: Peranakan Baba

Pengumpul: Kumpulan WOU