The Deer sprang in, and the Mouse-deer made him stand on the back of the Pig; then he himself got on the back of the Deer and jumped out of the pit, leaving the other two to their fate.
The Deer and the Pig were very angry at being tricked in this way by such a small animal as the Mouse-deer. They scratched the side of the pit with their feet until it sloped, and enabled them to scramble out; then they followed the trail of the Mouse-deer, and soon overtook him.
The Mouse-deer saw them coming, and climbed up a tree from the bough of which a large beehive was hanging.
"Come down," said the Pig and Deer angrily. "You have deceived us, and we mean to kill you."
"Deceived you?" said the Mouse-deer in pretended surprise. "When did I deceive you, or do anything to deserve death?"
"Didn't you tell us that the sky was going to fall, and that if we did not hide ourselves in a pit we should be killed?"
"Oh, yes," was the reply. "What I said was perfectly true, only I persuaded the King to postpone the disaster."
"You need not try to put us off with any more lies. You must come down, for we mean to have your blood."
"I cannot," said the Mouse-deer, "because the King has asked me to watch his gong," pointing to the bees' nest.
"Is that the King's gong?" said the Deer. "I should like to strike it to hear what it sounds like."