Here is an Iban legend of comedic hero Apai Saloi being a glutton over smoked deer meat:
One day, Apai Saloi took his wife and children to stay at their farm hut.
There, he went to the edge of his paddy field to catch a deer for its meat. After they caught the deer, they cut up its meat.
He then salted and smoked most of the meat while giving the rest to his wife to cook for dinner.
The salted and smoked deer meat were then preserved in dried telak or bamboos.
Later that night, Apai Saloi took the meat in which he already stored in the bamboo into his mosquito net.
He did this so that the rats would not eat it. Apai Saloi also used the bamboo as his pillow.
The next morning, Indai Saloi asked Apai Saloi to send some of the smoked deer meat to her parents.
Before he went out, Indai Saloi told Apai Saloi what to say if her mother asked where he got the deer meat from.
This was what he was supposed to answer,
“The meat of a deer,
Killed by Apai Saloi,
Because it had eaten the tapioca leaves,
In his paddy field.”
After receiving the instruction from his wife, Apai Saloi went to his in-law’s house. As he handed the deer meat to his mother in-law, he told her as his wife instructed.
Apai Saloi and his midnight snack
He then returned home to his family. During the following night, Apai Saloi went early to bed.
Before he slept, he secretly took the bamboo which contained the deer meat.
Apai Saloi munched on the meat in between his sleep throughout the night. Immediately after midnight, Apai Saloi woke up and began to eat the meat again.
This time, the meat inside the bamboo was almost finished. Determined to have some more, Apai Saloi slipped his hand into the bamboo to take the meat.
Because he had to reach farther in to take the meat, his hand got stuck. Despite all his efforts, he could not free himself of the bamboo.
He had to wake his wife up to help him. Indai Saloi was nothing but furious and scolded Apai Saloi for being greedy.
While scolding her husband, Indai Saloi broke the bamboo into halves releasing Apai Saloi from his agony.
