M5B. An Ungrateful Rat. 19.20.24.
Therat drowns, has difficulty getting to the shore (usually an aquatic animal takes it), and mocks other animals (usually its savior).
Banks, Araki, Ulithi, Ponape, Truk, Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, Pukapuka (South Cook Islands), Tonga, Samoa, Niue, Wallis (Ouvea), Futuna, Galela.
Melanesia. Banks Islands (Mota) [several different birds are about to sail in a boat made of a large leaf; the hermit crab also asked for it; he is asked not to rub the claw against the boat, but he still rubs, a hole has formed; everyone has swam to the shore, but where is the crab? they began to dive, and he had already climbed ashore to the bottom; everyone began to decorate each other; combing the owl, the rat smeared it with crap and disappeared into the hole; the owl lured her with food, pulled it out and ate it]: Codrington 1891, No. 4:361-364; Vanuatu (Araki) [a rat swims in a boat; several birds successively ask them to take them into the boat too; the boat begins to sink; the rat steals yams from the hawk; for this, the hawk makes it in the boat has a hole; once in the water, the rat asks for help from a shark, turtle, dolphin, but only the octopus agrees; realizing that the rat is mocking him, the octopus tries to destroy it]: http://alex.francois.free.fr/AFtxt_select_e.htm.
Micronesia-Polynesia. Snail [The Rat told the Earth Crab to wait under the pandanus: it would climb and shed its fruit; it eats ripe ones, throw off leftovers and rot; after learning that the Crab loves coconuts, the Rat threw off some good ones fruits, they ate them together; the Crab invited the Rat to go by boat, made a hole, went to the bottom, the Rat asked the Turtle to transport it ashore; put it to sleep on the shore, cut off her head with a shell, cooked meat , ate, smeared her shell with her sewage, called Crab to eat; when she saw the sewage, the Crab asked the Cat to grab the Rat; since then cats have been catching rats]: Lessa 1961, No. 20:69-70; Ponape (oriental Carolins) [Rat, Heron, Plover, and Crab sailed in a boat to look for food to another island (the Rat did not want to take Crab with him at first); they picked up a coconut, only the Crab could split it, but did not receive any juice or mint ; then he made a hole in the boat; the birds refused to pick up the Rat, since it ate one whole half of the coconut; the Turtle picked it up; on the shore, the Rat turned the Turtle over on its back; the Crab helped to drag and bake Turtle; at night, the Rat secretly dragged all the meat into its hole; the Bird demanded to share, otherwise it would tell Crab where the Rat's hole was; the Rat gave all the meat; then the bird called Crab, Heron and Zuyk, they killed the Rat]: Mitchell 1973, No. 13:46-48; Truk [Nikokop made a boat and sailed with the birds, they refused to take the Rat; she climbed in secretly, hid; found a coconut, the Rat drank half of the juice; N. furious, for he made a boat, tried it, the birds flew away, the Rat began to sink; asked the fish to bring it ashore, the Turtle agreed; the Rat asked to swim to the very shore, threw the Turtle into a hole, called others to fry it; she ate everything herself, hid in a hollow; N. found it, the birds killed it with stones]: Bollig 1927:235-236; Marshall Islands: Davenport 1953 [heavenly god Lōva creates the first island, then sends a man to accommodate the rest; Namorik Island fell out of the basket, now aside; a boat with people and animals sailed, sank at the entrance to the lagoon, everyone rushed to the shore; Octopus sent the Rat, and she jumped ashore and relieved him; everyone was tattooed, and the Rat was the last when the soot was completely diluted with water; so the rat is gray, ugly]: 222; Erdland 1914, No. 9.4 ( Voto) [only one breadtree (suitable for making a boat out of a trunk) was found on Muejei; people knocked it down, went to eat; a woman came out of the pandanus bushes, began to dance, told him to chips and the leaves returned to their place, the tree rose and became intact; people cut it down again, made a boat; to push it off the shore into the water, they cursed it with the names of various birds, but only when they named the smallest one, the boat moved; crabs immediately climbed into it, gnawed through all the ropes, the boat fell apart; the rat climbed, gnawed the sail, ended up in the water; the octopus offered to take it ashore; when she jumped, shouted that his head was dirty (that is, she spoiled the Octopus on his head); he asked again, she said she just shouted that an outrigger was swimming in the water]: 245-246; Tuvalu: David 1899 (Funafuti) [The lark lowers the boat, the Crab, then the Rat is asked to take them with him; they promise that they will be saved in the event of a shipwreck; the boat sinks, the Crab clings to the rock, the Rat swims to the shore, gets tired; The Starfish offers to bring her ashore; the Rat eats the wool from her head; once on the shore, he screams that the Starfish is now bald, hiding in a hollow; the Starfish pulls her out, kills]: 99-100; Kennedy 1931 (Waitupu) [Manumanu invites to his boat, asks what passengers will do if the boat sinks; all birds say they will take off, Crab what will dive to the bottom, Rat - what would sail; the boat sank, the Rat began to sink; the octopus took her to the shore; she tore out all his hair on his head, saying she was looking for insects; from the shore she shouted that the Octopus was now bald; one day he Rat lay in wait, she bit off one of his tentacles, but he climbed into her ear and killed her; if they see an octopus without a tentacle, they say that the rat bit off; they make rat-shaped bait to catch octopuses]: 161- 162; Pukapuka (South Cook Islands) [various birds, crabs and rats sailed in the boat to fish; the boat drowned, the crabs sank, the birds flew away, the Rat had difficulty swimming; Whale, Turtle, Swordfish they refuse to take her ashore, they try to drown her; the Octopus takes her to the shore; before jumping ashore, the Rat left her bowel movements on Octopus's head]: Beaglehole, Beaglehole 1938; Tonga [birds take a rat and a hermit crayfish into the boat; a kingfisher accidentally pierced a hole with its nose; the birds fly away, the hermit crab has reached the reef, stays there; the octopus offers the rat to take it to shores; jumping on the shore, she defecates on his head; now the octopus has two tubercles on its head; octopuses are caught with rat-like bait]: Permyakov 1970, No. 147:370-371; Samoa (Tutuila) [ The Rat and the Hermit Crab built a boat, allowed Zuyk to go with them; a storm hit, the boat drowned, the Plover took off, the Crab sank to the bottom, the Rat swam ashore; the Octopus offered to bring it; when the Rat jumped ashore, shouted to him that she had relieved him on his head; the Octopus called the Owls, one of them took the Rat out of the crack, the Owls tore it apart; the Octopus still hates the Rats]: Krämer 1994:489- 490; Niue [Rat, Land Crab, and Plover are sailing in a boat; it is said that if the boat sinks, each of them will swim, dive, take off accordingly; this is what happened, but when it reaches the reef, the Rat barely alive; the Octopus (Feke) carried her ashore; jumping ashore, the Rat said she had relieved his head; octopuses still hate rats]: Polinskaya 1986, No. 137:287-288 (=Loeb 1926b: 194); Fr. Wallis (Uvea) [The lizard drove the Rat away {first it is said twice as a hermit Cancer}, who asked the Octopus to transport it; defecated on his head, began singing about it; he dived; the clam brought A rat; she offered to get him a coconut; threw off one, he started drinking coconut milk, she killed him second; all the rats ate shellfish]: Burrows 1937:168; Futuna [Rat, Hermit Cancer, Tern and Bird- the shepherdess (râle) sailed in a banana leaf boat, she drowned; the birds flew away, the Cancer sank to the bottom, the Rat began to floundering; Keith offered a ride to the shore; swam, Keith did not notice how the Rat fell into the water, swam away; the same with the Turtle; the octopus drove the Rat to the shore; she climbed onto the palm tree, shouted to the Octopus that she had spoiled his head; the octopus climbed after her onto the palm tree, the Rat jumped, hid in a hole, the Octopus can't reach it]: Nau et al. 2008:3-16.
Malaysia-Indonesia. Galela [the mouse invited the sea slug to fish; they got into the boat; first the slug sat aft, began to spray; then the mouse swapped seats with him, chewed on the boat itself, and the boat drowned; the slug dived, swam out at the shore; the mouse asks the turtle to take it; sitting on the turtle, singing a mocking song; jumping ashore, continues to sing]: Bezemer 1904:393-394.