Catherine Muir (asker) Mar 22, 2012:

The rest of the story... I've reproduced here part of my reply to an email from Scott Ophof. "It is indeed amazing the way the network worked to solve the riddle. ... You are also correct that the sentence 'Die het kleine...' does not seem to fit the context in which it appears. I suspect it may be the result of redacting and perhaps there was more text before it or after it before Pramoedya Ananta Toer set about editing the text for publication. Also, because the text was pieced together from bits and pieces found in libraries and private collections all around the world, some bits are lost forever and others are scrambled. I have maintained the sense of the translation by the KudoZ contributors but changed it to say "God knows and cares for even the least of his creatures". It is not accurate but it makes sense in context. I truly suspect that the sentence belonged somewhere else in the text and I actually thought about deleting it, but I like the allusion to God's protection of small creatures, coming as it does right after the tiger turned tail and ran, rather than gobble the boy up. Literary translation is not an exact science; hopefully, my judgment will prove to be correct."

Catherine Muir (asker) Mar 20, 2012:

Context... A boy is traveling alone through the jungle of Central Java, rounds a bend and comes face to face with a huge tiger. He lets out a scream and the tiger, as surprised to see the boy as the boy was to see him, jumps up and takes off into the jungle, smacking the boy in the face with his tail as he does so. The tiger is considered by Javanese to be a guardian or protector, so this act is considered to have supernatural significance. Below is the text in context.
"... Perhaps that tiger was 'sang Kyai', venerated by Javanese as a guardian and protector, which would explain why he did not eat Ari. Die het kleine versmaadt is het groote niet waard. Like an arrow springing from a bow, Ari hurtled down the mountain, flying over the treacherous jungle track, ignoring the signs under his feet of the presence of wild boar and tigers."

Alexander Schleber (X) Mar 20, 2012:

My excuses to Catherine I really don't want to get into trouble. ;-)

philgoddard Mar 20, 2012:

Catherine We still need the Dutch context please. And Alexander: David Cameron recently, and quite rightly, got into hot water for patronising a colleague by calling her "dear".

Catherine Muir (asker) Mar 20, 2012:

Dear??? Alexander, my name is Catherine.

Alexander Schleber (X) Mar 20, 2012:

Well dear ... you might have mentioned that with your question in the first place. Context is alwaysd important! ;-)

Catherine Muir (asker) Mar 20, 2012:

None of these fit in context... While the suggested translations may be accurate, they don't fit the context, which is more about God looking after even the least of his creatures. Any further ideas?

Kitty Brussaard Mar 20, 2012:

Wie het kleine niet eert ... Niet alleen in het Duits (zie bijdrage Alexander) maar ook in het Nederlands beter bekend als 'Wie het kleine niet eert, is het grote niet weerd'.

Alexander Schleber (X) Mar 20, 2012:

Oeps: Wer das Kleine nicht ehrt, ist das Große nicht wert.

Alexander Schleber (X) Mar 20, 2012:

German In German this would be: "Wer das Kleine nicht ehrt ist, das Große nicht wert." But I cannot think of an appropriate English saying. Maybe this helps. ;-)