Yearning and wondering, Kajsa and I had been looking at the sky-high Tambora volcano from our camp on Satunda. In the middle of the day it lay embedded in dense, white clouds and hidden for our gazes. Early in the morning however, and right before the sunset, the sight was clear and our eyes were drawn towards the jungle-clad mountainside, up to the barren top which made an uneven silhouette, sometimes in the bluest blue, sometimes in violet, purple or gold.

– We will encamp high up there in a few weeks, I said to our boy Duruhama. From there Satunda will look like a small bubble on the sea! Duruhama shook his head, disapprovingly.

– This is no good place, tuan. It is terribly cold on Tambora. And there are large, dangerous dogs – so large that their footprints are as those of tigers. When they bark, something in your ears is damaged, so you become completely deaf. And even worse are the forest people. They live in the trees and are no larger than children, and are mean and horribly ugly. Nay, tuan, it is better to stay here on Satunda!

Had it only been true! How about catching a little forest troll, hairy and with a tail, or a cute puppy, large as a horse! However, vain hope; it is only the folk fantasy which – apart from the same pucks, goblins trolls and fairytale animals as back home – have also created a bunch of others on the Lesser Sunda Islands. Every mountain, every river and lake are populated by curious beings, and when you try to gather data about the animals of the islands, the islanders usually blend fancy with reality and tell about the most hideous fauna.