THE FROG CATCHER
Once
upon a time, there was a rich man named Chung who lived in Chang Hua in central
Taiwan. He had three daughters, two of whom married rich men. The third one,
Yi-Chu, did not want to marry a rich man.
“Why
don’t you marry a rich man like your sisters?” her father asked. “You’ll be
able to live a very comfortable life.”
“Thank
you, father.” She said. “But a rich man today may be a poor man tomorrow. In
the same way. A poor man may become a rich man.”
Her
father was very angry. He ordered her to marry a poor man named Lee who was a
frog catcher. So Yi-Chu became Lee’s wife.
One
day, Lee went to the river to catch frogs. However, he could not find any.
Suddenly, he saw a rabbit running by. He followed it and saw it go into a hole
in the ground. He looked into the hole and saw some black stones inside. He
picked one up and took it home.
When
Yi-Chu saw the stone, she cried out in surprise, “Where did you get? It is
black gold,” Lee told her, “Run back quickly and get some more,” his wife said.
Lee
run back to the hole, when he arrived there, he found that all the stones had
gone. An old man, with a long white beard, was standing nearby. “I am looking
for some black stones,” Lee said, “Have you seen any?”
The
old man smiled. “They belong to a man called, Door,” he said.
“Who
is Mr. Door?” Lee asked. But the old man disappeared from sight in a puff of
smoke.
Six
months later, Yi-Chu had a baby son. Lee took the baby to show his
father-in-law. Mr. Chung was very happy to see it. He took it in his arms and
played with it. The baby cried and cried. Finally, Mr. Chung took it outside.
As he passed through the door, the baby stopped crying and smiled. Mr. Chung
named it ‘Door’ because of this.
When
Lee heard of the baby’s name, he remembered what the old man had said. He went
again to the hole in the ground. There were many black stones inside. He took
all the stones away. He was now rich man.
Some
time later, Lee and Yi-Chu went to Mr. Chung’s house for a feast. Everyone was
dressed in fine clothes except Lee. He wore old clothes and no one would talk
to him. They did not know he was a rich man.
One
of his sister-in-law said, “I have some land I would like to sell cheaply.”
“I
will buy from you,” Lee replied.
Everyone
one laughed at him. “How can you afford it?” his sister-in-law asked. “If you
have enough money, I shall be glad to sell it to you at half-price.”
Lee
took out the money straight away from his pocket. His sister-in-law had to keep
her promise.
Soon
Lee became the richest man in town. No one laughed at him any more.
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The Legend of Rawa Pening
Once upon a time, there was a little
poor boy came into a little village. He was very hungry and weak. He knocked at
every door and asked for some food, but nobody cared about him. Nobody wanted
to help the little boy.
Finally, a generous woman helped him.
She gave him shelter and a meal. When the boy wanted to leave, this old woman gave
him a “lesung”, a big wooden mortar for pounding rice. She reminded him,
“please remember, if there is a flood you must save yourself. Use this “lesung”
as a boat”. The “lesung” was happy and thanked the old woman.The little boy
continued his journey. While he was passing through the village, he saw many
people gathering on the field. The boy came closer and saw a stick stuck in the
ground. People challenged each other to pull out that stick. Everybody tried,
but nobody succeeded. “Can I try?” asked the little boy. The crowd laughed
mockingly. The boy wanted to try his luck so he stepped forward and pulled out
the stick. He could do it very easily. Everybody was dumbfounded.
Suddenly,
from the hole left by stick, water spouted out. It did not stop until it
flooded the village. And no one was saved from the water except the little boy
and the generous old woman who gave him shelter and meal. As she told him, he
used the “lesung” as a boat and picked up the old woman. The whole village
became a huge lake. It is now known as Rawa Pening Lake in Salatiga, Central
Java, Indonesia.
Cinderella
Once upon a time, there was a young girl named Cinderella. She lived with her
step mother and two step sisters.
The step mother and sisters were conceited and bad tempered. They treated
Cinderella very badly. Her step mother made Cinderella do the hardest works in
the house; such as scrubbing the floor, cleaning the pot and pan and preparing
the food for the family. The two step sisters, on the other hand, did not work
about the house. Their mother gave them many handsome dresses to wear.
One day, the two step sister received an invitation to the ball that the kings
son was going to give at the palace. They were excited about this and spent so
much time choosing the dresses they would wear. At last, the day of the ball
came, and away went the sisters to it. Cinderella could not help crying after
they had left.
Why are crying, Cinderella? a voice asked. She looked up and saw her fairy
godmother standing beside her, because I want so much to go to the ball said
Cinderella. Well said the godmother,youve been such a cheerful, hardworking,
uncomplaining girl that I am going to see that you do go to the ball.
Magically, the fairy godmother changed a pumpkin into a fine coach and mice
into a coachman and two footmen. Her godmother tapped Cinderellas raged dress
with her wand, and it became a beautiful ball gown. Then she gave her a pair of
pretty glass slippers. Now, Cinderella, she said; You must leave before
midnight. Then away she drove in her beautiful coach.
Cinderella was having a wonderfully good time. She danced again and again with
the kings son. Suddenly the clock began to strike twelve, she ran toward the
door as quickly as she could. In her hurry, one of her glass slipper was left
behind.
A few days later, the king son proclaimed that he would marry the girl whose
feet fitted the glass slipper. Her step sisters tried on the slipper but it was
too small for them, no matter how hard they squeezed their toes into it. In the
end, the kings page let Cinderella try on the slipper. She stuck out her foot
and the page slipped the slipper on. It fitted perfectly.
Finally, she was driven to the palace. The kings son was overjoyed to see her
again. They were married and live happily ever after.
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The Legend of Lake
Toba
There was a fisherman who lived in Batak Land. His name was Batara Guru Sahala.
When he was angling, he caught a fish. He was surprised to find that fish
because the fish could talk and it begged to set it free. He did accordingly.
After getting free, the fish changed into a beautiful woman and Sahala fell in
love with her. Sahala asked her to marry him and the woman received him. However,
she asked his promised not to tell anyone the secret that she was once a fish.
They were very happily married, and got two daughters.
It was a pity on Sahala. One day when he got very angry with his daughters, he
forgot his promise and he broke it. He told his daughters that they were the
daughters of a fish.
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