Hey, wow! This thread has been revived! Cool!

Wilfried -- thank you for relaying the story from your friend... I was leaning toward "Ginea Pig" for the translation, based on our earlier discussions... It just seemed the best fit. Now I have firmer evidence for my choice... would you mind PM'ing this person's name, and where he teaches / studies folklore, so that I can credit him in the introduction to my retelling?

Leenea -- actually, how the queen feels about the creature is important; she has to be pleased with it enough to want to take in in her arms and carry it with her while she looks out the windows. I really doubt she'd want to do that with a water slug...

Bob Bolton -- perhaps the translater of the version I read in college used your theory to come up with the translation of "mongoose"... I just think it would have been more honest of him to talk a little about how he translated the stories in his introduction...