Kamis, 19 Desember 2013

THE VAIN JACKDAW

THE VAIN JACKDAW
JUPITER DETERMINED, it is said, to create a sovereign over
the birds, and made proclamation that on a certain day
they should all present themselves before him, when he
would himself choose the most beautiful among them to
be king. The Jackdaw, knowing his own ugliness, searched
through the woods and fields, and collected the feathers
which had fallen from the wings of his companions, and
stuck them in all parts of his body, hoping thereby to make
himself the most beautiful of all. When the appointed day
arrived, and the birds had assembled before Jupiter, the
Jackdaw also made his appearance in his many feathered
finery. But when Jupiter proposed to make him king because
of the beauty of his plumage, the birds indignantly
protested, and each plucked from him his own feathers,
leaving the Jackdaw nothing but a Jackdaw.

Selasa, 17 Desember 2013

THE BEAR AND THE TWO TRAVELERS

THE BEAR AND THE TWO TRAVELERS
TWO MEN were traveling together, when a Bear suddenly
met them on their path. One of them climbed up quickly
into a tree and concealed himself in the branches. The other,
seeing that he must be attacked, fell flat on the ground,
and when the Bear came up and felt him with his snout,
and smelt him all over, he held his breath, and feigned the
appearance of death as much as he could. The Bear soon
left him, for it is said he will not touch a dead body. When
he was quite gone, the other Traveler descended from the
tree, and jocularly inquired of his friend what it was the
Bear had whispered in his ear.
“He gave me this advice,” his companion replied. “Never
travel with a friend who deserts you at the approach of
danger.”
Misfortune tests the sincerity of friends.

THE TORTOISE AND THE EAGLE

THE TORTOISE AND THE EAGLE
A TORTOISE, lazily basking in the sun, complained to the
sea-birds of her hard fate, that no one would teach her to
fly.
An Eagle, hovering near, heard her lamentation and demanded
what reward she would give him if he would take
her aloft and float her in the air.
“I will give you,” she said, “all the riches of the Red Sea.”
“I will teach you to fly then,” said the Eagle; and taking
her up in his talons he carried her almost to the clouds
suddenly he let her go, and she fell on a lofty mountain,
dashing her shell to pieces.
The Tortoise exclaimed in the moment of death: “I have
deserved my present fate; for what had I to do with wings
and clouds, who can with difficulty move about on the
earth?’
If men had all they wished, they would be often ruined.

Selasa, 10 Desember 2013

The Dog and the Shadow

The Dog and the Shadow
It happened that a Dog had got a piece of meat and was
carrying it home in his mouth to eat it in peace. Now on
his way home he had to cross a plank lying across a
running brook. As he crossed, he looked down and saw
his own shadow reflected in the water beneath. Thinking
it was another dog with another piece of meat, he made
up his mind to have that also. So he made a snap at the
shadow in the water, but as he opened his mouth the
piece of meat fell out, dropped into the water and was
never seen more.
Beware lest you lose the substance by grasping at the
shadow.

Minggu, 08 Desember 2013

The Man and His Two Wives

The Man and His Two Wives
In the old days, when men were allowed to have many wives,
a middle-aged Man had one wife that was old and one that
was young; each loved him very much, and desired to see
him like herself. Now the Man’s hair was turning grey,
which the young Wife did not like, as it made him look too
old for her husband. So every night she used to comb his
hair and pick out the white ones. But the elder Wife saw
her husband growing grey with great pleasure, for she did
not like to be mistaken for his mother. So every morning
she used to arrange his hair and pick out as many of the
black ones as she could. The consequence was the Man soon
found himself entirely bald.
Yield to all and you will soon have nothing to yield.

Rabu, 04 Desember 2013

THE LEGEND OF KEMARO ISLAND


THE LEGEND OF KEMARO ISLAND

Folklore from South Sumatra

A long time ago, there was a kingdom in South Sumatra. The king had a very beautiful daughter. her name was Siti Fatimah. She was single. many young man fell in love with her. however, they did not have any courage to propose her. The king wanted his daughter only to marry a rich man.

One day, a ship from China arrived. The captain of the ship was Tan Bun Ann. He was a prince. He came to South Sumatra to do business. He was a merchant. he planned to stay for several months. He came to the palace to meet the king. He wanted to ask the king's permission.

"I will let you stay here and do this business. but remember, you have to share your profit. You have to give half of your profit to the kingdom," said the king.

"I agree, your majesty," said Tan Bun Ann.
Since then, Tan Bun Ann often came to the palace. He met Siti fatimah several times.

He really admired her beauty. He tried to find out more about her. He asked his man to ask the people about her.

After several days, Tan Bun Ann finally got information about Siti Fatimah. He knew that she was single and the king only wanted to have a rich son in law. The information made Tan Bun Ann worked harder. he wanted to be richer.

Tan Bun Ann also approached Siti Fatimah secretly. Siti Fatimah really admired his patience and his spirit to work hard. She also fell in love with him. they secretly had a relationship. After a while, Tan Bun Ann felt it was time for him to propose Siti Fatimah. He talked to the king.

"I will let you marry my daughter. But there is one thing you have to do. Give me nine big jars filled with gold," said the king.

Tan Bun Ann wrote a letter to his parents in China and told them about Siti Fatimah. The parents agreed and sent him nine big jars filled with gold. To cover the gold from the thieves, the parents put some vegetables on top of the gold.

Later, the nine big jars arrived at the pier of Musi River. Tan Bun Ann immediately looked for the jars. He was so surprised. When he opened the cover of the jar, he saw rotten vegetables. He only looked at the top of the jar. he did not search at the bottom of the jars.

"Hmmm...Maybe the gold is in the second jar," thought Tan Bun Ann. Again he did not find the gold. He was so angry. He threw the jars into the river. Every time he did not see any gold in the jar, he always threw it to the river. And finally he opened the last jar. Again, he did not see any gold. This time he was so tired. He did not have any power to throw the jar into the river. Instead he smashed the jar with a big stone.

And when the jar was broken, Tan Bun Ann found the gold! He knew he made a mistake.

He immediately jumped to the river. He wanted to collect the gold.

Siti Fatimah saw what was happening. She waited for Tan Bun Ann at the river bank, but he never showed up. She was impatient. She also wanted to jump and helped him.

Before she jumped, she told her guards a message, "If you see a pile of soil on the river bank, and that means it is my grave." Then she jumped into the river.

The guards waited and waited. And several days the people saw a pile of soil. The soil was getting bigger and bigger. It finally became an island. The people named it Kemaro Island. Kemaro is from the word kemarau, it means drought season. People named it that because the island is never drowned although the level of the water in the Musi River is high.

Selasa, 03 Desember 2013

PUTRI PINANG GADING



PUTRI PINANG GADING
Folklore from Bangka BelitungA long time ago in Belitung, there were a couple of husband and wife. The husband was a fisherman. The husbands name was Pak Inda and the wife’s name was Bu Tumina. They lived alone in their house. They did not have any children.

Pak Inda always went fishing in the morning. And in one morning as always he went to the sea. On the way there, he stumbled on a stick of bamboo.

"This is dangerous. Someone may get hurt with it," said Pak Inda.

He threw the bamboo to the sea. Then he continued walking. Again, he stumbled on a bamboo.

“Why are there a lot of bamboos here?” asked Pak Inda to himself.

He wanted to throw the bamboo to the sea. Before he did that, he looked at the bamboo carefully.

"I think this is the same bamboo I threw awhile ago. How can it be here again? "Pak Inda was confused.

He then threw the bamboo to the sea. Amazingly the bamboo kept on coming back to him. He knew that this bamboo was different from other bamboos so he brought it home. At home, Pak Inda told his wife about the bamboo. Bu Tumina suggested him to put the bamboo in a box. They put the box in their bed room. In the morning, they heard a baby crying. Pak Inda and Bu Tumina looked everywhere to find the baby. Finally they found a baby girl inside the box where they put the bamboo. However the bamboo was gone.

Pak Inda and Bu Tumina were very happy. They named the baby girl Putri Pinang Gading. Pak Inda and Bu Tumina took care of her with great love. Even though Putri Pinang Gading was their only child, they did not spoil her.

They taught her to be independent. They also taught her how to protect herself from wild animals. That was why Putri Pinang Gading grew as a great girl. One day, a giant bird attacked their village. The bird was wild. It hurt many people. Nobody dared to kill the giant bird. Putri Pinang Gading knew she had to do something. She wanted to kill the bird.

"Be careful my daughter. We love you very much and we don’t want anything bad happen to you. Here, take this arrow with you. The arrow has poison and it can kill the bird. Just aim it at the bird’s heart," said Pak Inda.

He knew his daughter could do that.

She was skillful with arrows. Putri Pinang Gading then went to the village. She was waiting for the bird. The villagers were scared. They asked her to be careful. Suddenly, the giant bird was flying right above her. The bird tried to attack her. Putri Pinang Gading then prepared her arrow. She aimed at the bird’s heart.

Wooosshhh! The arrow hit the bird’s heart! The bird fell on the ground and died instantly. The villagers were very happy. They thanked Putri Pinang Gading for her great action. On the ground where the giant bird fell, bamboo plants grew. The bamboos were poisonous. Later the villagers named the area as Membalong. It means poisonous bamboos. Membalong is now a district in Bangka Belitung

Minggu, 01 Desember 2013

THE TIGER AND THE CAT


FOLKLORE FROM LAMPUNG

ONCE upon a time, the animals were able to talk to one another. They talked just like humans talk to other humans. All the animals lived peacefully in the jungle. They had a king, and their king was the cat.

All animals chose the cat as their king because he had all the knowledge and the skills. He was the wisest and the cleverest animals in the jungle. Other animals became his students. The cat was a generous and kind animal. He was willing to teach them everything.

One of the cat's students was the tiger. He was the most obedient student. Whatever the teacher asked, the tiger was always, willing to do it. Days and nights, the tiger was with the cat. He wanted to master all the cat's skills. He wanted to be the best animal in the jungle.

"Master, there is one skill you haven't taught me yet," said the tiger. "It’s the skill how to climb trees. You are good at climbing trees, Master. And I want to have that skill," said the tiger.

Actually, the cat had a bad feeling against the tiger. The cat did not really believe the tiger's sincerity in becoming his student. The cat did not want to teach him the skill how to climb trees. He felt the tiger would be a super animal if he mastered the skill.

The cat knew the tiger's potential. Therefore he always prolonged the tiger's request. "You have to wait. You are not ready to study how to climb the tree. Let me teach you another skill.
It's how to sneak," said the cat.

In a very short time, the tiger mastered the skill. He could sneak perfectly. He was very happy. Then he asked his teacher to teach him how to climb the tree. And again the cat prolonged his student's request.

"Wait, you haven't mastered the skill how to swim," said the cat. He hoped the tiger could not study the skill easily. He knew it's very difficult to swim. But the cat was wrong. Indeed, the tiger was a great animal. He could swim in just a minute.

The tiger became restless. He had a feeling his teacher did not want to teach him how to climb trees. However he just kept his feeling in his heart. And when the cat again prolonged his request to teach him how.to climb trees, the tiger became very angry.

"Master, I'm your best student. And not only that, I'm your most obedient student compared to other animals. I'm always next to you days and nights and I'm willing to do anything you asked me.

But why you don't teach me how to climb trees?" asked the tiger. The cat knew he could not always hide it anymore. Sooner or later he had to tell the truth. "My student, I have a reason. I don’t really believe in you. I am afraid you will use the skill to do something bad," explained the cat.

"What?!" the tiger was angry.

"Teach me now! Otherwise I will kill you!"

The tiger attacked the cat. And the fight could not be avoided. The tiger was bigger and had more strengths than the cat. Slowly the cat was cornered, and he had no other choice but to save himself.

The cat ran away and when he found a big tree he immediately climbed it. The tiger chased him, but because he did not know how to climb trees, he just waited under the tree.

The tiger screamed, "Wherever you go, I will chase you. And not only that! When you defecate, I will eat your feces!" The tiger once heard that the cat's power was in his feces.

And it has happened until now. That's why every time cats defecates, they always bury their feces with sand or soil. They are afraid tigers will eat their feces