One afternoon there was a fox that was walking through the forest and spotted a bunch of grapes hanging from over a lofty branch. “Just the thing to quench my thirst,” quoted the fox. Taking a few steps backward, the fox jumped but unfortunately he missed the hanging grapes. Again the fox took a few paces backward, ran, and tried to reach them but he still failed.
Finally, giving up, the fox turned up his nose and said, “They’re probably sour anyway,” and proceeded to walk away.
Moral Value: it’s easy to despise what you cannot have.
Rubah dan Anggur
Suatu sore hari, ada seekor rubah yang sedang berjalan melewati hutan dan melihat sekelompok anggur tergantung di cabang yang tinggi. “Hanya ini yang bisa memuaskan dahaga saya”, kata si rubah. Kemudian mundur beberapa langkah, rubah tersebut melompat tapi sayangnya dia gagal mendapatkan buah anggur yang menggantung tersebut. Sekali lagi rubah mundur beberapa langkah, berlari, dan mencoba untuk menjangkaunya tapi dia masih gagal.
Akhirnya, menyerah, rubah menunjuk hidungnya dan berkata, “Mereka mungkin asam”, dan kemudian pergi.
One hot day, an ant was seeking for some water. After walking around for a moment, she came to a spring. To reach the spring, she had to climb up a blade of grass. While making her way up, she slipped and fell unintentionally into the water.
She could have sunk if a dove up a nearby tree had not seen her. Seeing that the ant was in trouble, the dove quickly put off a leaf from a tree and dropped it immediately into the water near the struggling ant. Then the ant moved towards the leaf and climbed up there. Soon it carried her safely to dry ground.
Not long after at that, there was a hunter nearby who was throwing out his net towards the dove, hoping to trap it in this way.
Guessing what he should do, the ant quickly bit him on the heel. Feeling the pain, the hunter dropped his net and the dove flew away quickly from this net.
The morality: One good turn deserves another.
Semut dan Merpati
Suatu hari yang panas, seekor semut sedang mencari air. Setelah beberapa saat berkeliling, dia sampai ke sebuah mata air. Untuk mencapai mata air itu, dia harus memanjat rumput terlebih dahulu. Saat dia memanjat ke atas, dia terpeleset dan secara tidak sengaja jatuh ke dalam air.
Dia mungkin bisa saja tenggelam jika burung merpati yang sedang di atas pohon di dekatnya itu tidak melihatnya. Karena melihat si semut sedang dalam kesulitan, burung merpati pun cepat memetik daun dari pohon dan langsung menjatuhkannya ke dalam air dekat si semut yang mencoba menyelamatkan diri itu. Kemudian si semut pun bergerak menuju daun dan kemudian naik ke atasnya. Daun itu membawanya ke darat dengan selamat.
Tidak lama kemudian, ada seorang pemburu yang membuang jaring ke arah burung merpati, berharap dengan cara ini bisa menjebak si burung merpati.
Berpikir sejenak tentang apa yang harus dia lakukan, kemudian semut cepat menggigit tumit orang tersebut. Karena merasa sakit, si pemburu akhirnya menjatuhkan jaringnya dan kemudian burung merpati terbang keluar dari jaring tersebut dengan cepat.
Pesan Moral: Satu perbuatan baik layak mendapat kebaikan yang lain.
A long time ago, there were two animals, Sura and Baya. Sura was the name of a shark and Baya was a crocodile. They lived in a sea.
Once Sura and Baya were looking for some food. Suddenly, Baya saw a goat “Yummy, this is my lunch,” said Baya. “No way! This is my lunch. You are greedy” said Sura. Then they fought for the goat. After several hours, they were very tired.
Feeling tired of fighting, they lived in the different places. Sura lived in the water and Baya lived in the land. The border was the beach, so they would never fight again.
One day, Sura went to the land and looked for some food in the river. He was very hungry and there was not much food in the sea. Baya was very angry when he knew that Sura broke the promise. They fought again.
They both hit each other. Sura bit Baya’s tail. Baya did the same thing to Sura. He bit very hard until Sura finally gave up and went back to the sea. Baya was happy.
Contoh Teks Narrative Bahasa Inggris – The Story of Toba Lake
youtube.com Selanjutnya adalah contoh teks narrative bahasa Inggris yang masih menceritakan tentang legenda. Judul dari text narrative ini adalah The Story of Toba Lake atau Cerita Danau Toba.
The Story of Toba Lake
Once upon a time, there was a man who was living in north Sumatra. He lived in a simple hut in a farming field. The did some gardening and fishing for his daily life.
One day, while the man was do fishing, he caught a big golden fish in his trap. It was the biggest catch which he ever had in his life. Surprisingly, this fish turned into a beautiful princess. He felt in love with her and proposed her to be his wife. She said; “Yes, but you have to promise not to tell anyone about the secret that I was once a fish, otherwise there will be a huge disaster”. The man made the deal and they got married, lived happily and had a daughter.
Few years later, this daughter would help bringing lunch to her father out in the fields. One day, his daughter was so hungry and she ate his father’s lunch. Unfortunately, he found out and got furious, and shouted; “You damned daughter of a fish”. The daughter ran home and asked her mother. The mother started crying, felt sad that her husband had broken his promise.
Then she told her daughter to run up the hills because a huge disaster was about to come. When her daughter left, she prayed. Soon there was a big earthquake followed by non-stop pouring rain. The whole area got flooded and became Toba Lake. She turned into a fish again and the man became the island of Samosir.
A long time ago, in a small village near the beach in West Sumatra, a woman and her son lived. They were Malin Kundang and her mother. Her mother was a single parent because Malin Kundang’s father had passed away when he was a baby. Malin Kundang had to live hard with his mother.
Malin Kundang was a healthy, dilligent, and strong boy. He usually went to sea to catch fish. After getting fish he would bring it to his mother, or sold the caught fish in the town.
One day, when Malin Kundang was sailing, he saw a merchant’s ship which was being raided by a small band of pirates. He helped the merchant. With his brave and power, Malin Kundang defeated the pirates. The merchant was so happy and thanked to him. In return the merchant asked Malin Kundang to sail with him. To get a better life, Malin Kundang agreed. He left his mother alone.
Many years later, Malin Kundang became wealthy. He had a huge ship and was helped by many ship crews loading trading goods. Perfectly he had a beautiful wife too. When he was sailing his trading journey, his ship landed on a beach near a small village. The villagers recognized him. The news ran fast in the town; “Malin Kundang has become rich and now he is here”.
An old woman ran to the beach to meet the new rich merchant. She was Malin Kundang’s mother. She wanted to hug him, released her sadness of being lonely after so long time. Unfortunately, when the mother came, Malin Kundang who was in front of his well-dressed wife and his ship crews denied meeting that old lonely woman. For three times her mother begged Malin Kundang and for three times he yelled at her. At last Malin Kundang said to her “Enough, old woman! I have never had a mother like you, a dirty and ugly woman!” After that he ordered his crews to set sail. He would leave the old mother again, but in that time, she was full of both sadness and angriness.
Finally, enraged, she cursed Malin Kundang that he would turn into a stone if he didn’t apologize. Malin Kundang just laughed and really set sail.
In the quiet sea, suddenly a thunderstorm came. His huge ship was wrecked and it was too late for Malin Kundang to apologize. He was thrown by the wave out of his ship. He fell on a small island. It was really too late for him to avoid his curse. Suddenly, he turned into a stone.
One day, there was a queen sitting near a very beautiful window while tailoring and seeing the snow. Accidentally, her finger was pierced by a sewing needle so that three drops of blood dripped out. The drops of blood fell down on the snow. The red color of the blood which was stuck in the white of the snow looked very pretty. Suddenly the queen thought “If only i had a child whose skin were as white as snow and whose lips were as red as blood”.
As the time went by, finally a queen gave birth of a very pretty princess whose skin was as white as snow and whose lips were as red as blood. The queen grew up as a very pretty and kind-hearted girl. She was called Snow White. However, when Snow White was about teenager, the queen died because of an illness. After the queen’s death, the king married again. This new queen was wicked and hated Snow white. The queen gave orders that Snow White was to be treated as a servant.
Everyday the queen stood in front of her magic mirror while asking “Who is the most beautiful woman in the land?” and the mirror always answered, “You are the most beautiful one of all.” The new queen asked the same question everyday and the mirror always answered the same thing. But one day the mirror answered that the queen was so beautiful but Snow White was much more beautiful than the queen. It made the queen so angry that she gave orders to one of her Huntsmen to take Snow White into the woods and kill her.
The Huntsman had such a kind heart that he couldn’t do the deed. He told her to run away. In her fleeing into the woods, she found a place in which seven dwarfs lived. Their house was small and strange. Snow White entered the little house and found it very untidy. Then, she started to clean up the entire house. In the upstairs she found seven little beds. She was so exhausted that she stretched out on one of the beds. Not long after that, she was asleep on the bed.
When the Dwarfs came home they were surprised to find Snow White and after some argument, decided to let her stay. She promised to cook and look after them. She lived there together happily.
Unfortunately, The Queen discovered the place where Snow White was living and disguising herself as a witch. She then took a poisoned apple and set out for the Dwarfs cottage. She gave Snow White the poisoned apple to eat and as soon as she bit the apple, she sank into unconsciousness.
Thinking she was dead, the Dwarfs built a glass coffin and put her in it. For days she lay in the forest in her glass coffin. One day, the Prince was riding through the forest looking for Snow White and found her. He leaned over and kissed her. She opened her eyes and sat up with a smile. Everyone was happy at that time. The Prince took Snow White to his palace where they were married and lived happily ever after.
Putri Salju
Pada suatu hari, ada seorang Ratu yang sedang duduk di balik jendela yang sangat indah sambil menjahit dan melihat salju yang turun. Secara tidak sengaja, jarinya tertusuk oleh jarum jahit hingga mengeluarkan tiga tetes darah dari jarinya. Darah tersebut jatuh di atas salju, dan warna merah pun menempel di atas salju yang putih, sehingga terlihat sangat cantik. Ratu pun berpikir “’Andai saja aku punya anak dengan kulit seputih salju dan bibir semerah darah”.
Beberapa waktu kemudian, akhirnya Ratu pun melahirkan seorang Putri yang sangat cantik jelita yang memiliki kulit seputih salju dan bibir merah semerah darah. Sang putri pun tumbuh menjadi gadis yang sangat cantik dan juga baik hati. Ia kemudian dipanggil dengan nama Putri Salju. Namun, ketika Putri Salju tumbuh menjadi gadis remaja, Sang Ratu meninggal karena mempunyai penyakit. Setelah Sang Ratu meninggal, Sang Raja pun menikah lagi. Ratu baru yang ini sangat jahat dan sangat benci kepada Putri Salju. Sang Ratu memberi perintah agar Putri Salju diperlakukan sebagai seorang pembantu.
Long time ago in the island of Java, Indonesia, lived a couple of farmer. They had married for some years but they had no children. So they prayed to a monster called Buta Ijo to give them children. Buta Ijo was a ferocious and powerful monster. He granted their wish on one condition. When their children had grown up, they had to sacrifice them to Buta Ijo. He liked eating fresh meat of human being. The farmers agreed to his condition. Several months later the wife was pregnant.
She gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. They named her Timun Emas. The farmers were happy. Timun Emas was very healthy and a very smart girl. She was also very diligent. When she was a teenager Buta Ijo came to their house. Timun Emas was frightened so she ran away to hide. The farmers then told Buta Ijo that Timun Emas was still a child. They asked him to postpone. Buta Ijo agreed. He promised to come again. The following year Buta Ijo came again. But again and again their parents said that Timun Emas was still a child.
When the third time Buta Ijo came their parents had prepared something for him. They gave Timun Emas several bamboo needles, seeds of cucumber, dressing and salt.
‘Timun, take these things’
‘What are these things?’
‘These are your weapons. Buta Ijo will chase you. He will eat you alive. So run as fast as you can. And if he will catch you spread this to the ground. Now go!’
Timun Emas was scared so she ran as quickly as she could. When Buta Ijo arrived she was far from home. He was very angry when he realized that his prey had left. So he ran to chase her. He had a sharp nose so he knew what direction his prey ran.
Timun Emas was just a girl while Buta Ijo was a monster so he could easily catch her up. When he was just several steps behind Timun Emas quickly spread the seeds of cucumber. In seconds they turned into many vines of cucumber. The exhausted Buta Ijo was very thirsty so he grabbed and ate them. When Buta Ijo was busy eating cucumber Timun Emas could run away.
But soon Buta Ijo realized and started running again. When he was just several steps behind Timun Emas threw her bamboo needles. Soon they turned into dense bamboo trees. Buta Ijo found it hard to pass. It took him some time to break the dense bamboo forest. Meanwhile Timun Emas could run farther.
Buta Ijo chased her again. When he almost catch her again and again Timun Emas threw her dressing. This time it turned into a lake. Buta Ijo was busy to save himself so Timun Emas ran way. But Buta Ijo could overcome it and continued chasing her.
Finally when Timun Emas was almost caught she threw her salt. Soon the land where Buta Ijo stood turned into ocean. Buta Ijo was drowned and died instantly. Timun Emas was thankful to god and came back to her home.
In the town of Verona there lived two families, the Capulets and the Montagues. They engaged in a bitter feud. Among the Montagues was Romeo, a hot-blooded young man with an eye for the ladies. One day, Romeo attended the feast of the Capulets’, a costume party where he expected to meet his love, Rosaline, a haughty beauty from a well-to-do family. Once there, however, Romeo’s eyes felt upon Juliet, and he thought of Rosaline no more.
The vision of Juliet had been invading his every thought. Unable to sleep, Romeo returned late that night to the Juliet’s bedroom window. There, he was surprised to find Juliet on the balcony, professing her love for him and wishing that he were not a “Montague”, a name behind his own. “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Romeo was ready to deny his name and professed his love. The two agreed to meet at nine o-clock the next morning to be married.
Early the next morning, Romeo came to Friar Lawrence begging the friar to marry him to Juliet. The Friar performed the ceremony, praying that the union might someday put an end to the feud between the two families. He advised Romeo kept the marriage a secret for a time.
On the way home, Romeo chanced upon his friend Mercutio arguing with Tybalt, a member of the Capulet clan. That quarreling last caused Merquito died. Romeo was reluctant no longer. He drew his sword and slew Tybalt died. Romeo realized he had made a terrible mistake. Then Friar Lawrence advised Romeo to travel to Mantua until things cool down. He promised to inform Juliet.
In the other hand, Juliet’s father had decided the time for her to marry with Paris. Juliet consulted Friar Lawrence and made a plot to take a sleeping potion for Juliet which would simulate death for three days. The plot proceeded according to the plan. Juliet was sleeping in death.
Unfortunately, The Friar’s letter failed to reach Romeo. Under the cover of darkness, he broke into Juliet’s tomb. Romeo kissed the lips of his Juliet one last time and drank the poison. Meanwhile, the effects of the sleeping potion wear off. Juliet woke up calling for Romeo. She found her love next to her but was lying dead, with a cup of poison in his hand. She tried to kiss the poison from his lips, but failed. Then Juliet put out his dagger and plunged it into her breast. She died
In the past, there was a puppeteer whose name is Geppetto. He eager to have a son very much but his wife passed away several years ago. One day, he got an idea to make a puppet in order not to be lonely again. He made a puppet all day long. Finally, in the morning he had finished his work and he named the puppet Pinocchio. Soon he felt lonely again since Pinocchio couldn’t walk or talk by itself. One night, Geppetto prayed to the God to become a real boy. He always thought it on his mind in his dream.
In the next morning, he was surprised that Pinocchio was alive. He taught Pinocchio how to walk, how to read, how to speak and to do other things as human. He then studied at an elementary school. One day, Pinocchio felt bored and it made him go home late. When Pinocchio finally came home, Geppetto asked him. He said that he was on school but he wasn’t. Instantly, Pinocchio’s nose grew longer and longer and it meant that Pinocchio has lied.
The next morning, Pinocchio was kidnaped by the owner of circus. Pinocchio soon became a slave for the circus. He was so famous because he was a puppet which can talk. Geppetto worried about him because Pinocchio had not been going home for almost two days. He tried to find Pinocchio everywhere but he found nothing. When he searched him on the sea, big wave smashed him. He was then in whale’s stomach when he awoke. He couldn’t find the way to go out.
In the other side, Pinocchio finally could escape out from the circus. He came home but nobody was there. Latter on, he searched Geppetto in the sea. He got the same accident like Geppetto and he met Geppetto in whale’s stomach. Both of them got out from its stomach by making a fire. In the end of the story, they went home together and lived happily ever after.
When he was awakened by a tiny Mouse running across his body, a mighty Lion was sleeping in his lair. The lion then grabbed the frightened mouse with his huge paws and opened his mouth to swallow him directly. “Please, King,” begged the Mouse, “Spare me this time and of course I will never forget your kindness. Someday I may be able to repay you. “The Lion thought that it was such an amusing idea that he let the poor creature go.
Sometimes later the Lion was caught in a net laid by some hunters. Despite his great strength, the Lion could not break free. Soon the forest echoed with angry load roars.
The Little Mouse heard the Lion and ran to see what was wrong. As soon as he succeeded to make the Lion free “There!” said the Mouse proudly, ” You laughed at me when I promised to repay your kindness, but now you know that even a tiny Mouse can help a mighty Lion.”
Moral Value:
Little friends may prove to be great friends. Friend in need is friend indeed.
Singa dan Tikus
Pada saat ia terbangun oleh tikus kecil yang berjalan di tubuhnya, singa perkasa itu sedang tertidur di sarangnya. Kemudian Singa itu menangkap tikus yang sedang ketakutan dengan cakar besar dan sekaligus membuka mulutnya untuk menelannya langsung. “Tolong, Raja”, kata tikus, “Bebaskan saya kali ini dan tentu saja saya tidak akan pernah melupakan kebaikan mu, suatu hari nanti aku mungkin bisa membayar kebaikanmu ini”. Singa pun berpikir bahwa itu adalah hal yang baik sehingga ia membiarkan makhluk lemah itu pergi dari cengkeramannya.
Beberapa waktu kemudian singa itu terperangkap dalam jaring yang diletakkan oleh beberapa pemburu. Meskipun memiliki kekuatan yang besar, singa tersebut tetap tidak bisa membebaskan dirinya. Kemudian hutan pun bergema dengan auman singa yang sedang marah tersebut.
Tikus kecil mendengar auman singa tersebut dan kemudian berlari untuk melihat apa yang sedang terjadi. Begitu si tikus kecil berhasil membuat singa bebas, “Itulah!” kata tikus dengan perasaan bangganya, “Engkau tertawa padaku saat aku berjanji untuk membalas kebaikanmu, tetapi sekarang engkau tahu bahwa meski hanya tikus kecil tapi bisa membantu singa yang perkasa untuk bebas dari perangkap”.
One beautiful morning Kancil decided to fish in a certain river. On the way he met his friend, Swine, who stopped him for a chat. When Swine heard that Kancil wanted to go fishing, he asked whether he could join him, Kancil did not object, as Swine promised to help him with the work. The two of them went on together and soon they met Tiger and Elephant. When they heard that Kancil and Swine were going to the river, they decide to go along, too. And so the four animals went together to the river to fish. Narrative Text Fable - Kancil and the giant Story
Kancil and the giant story When they arrived at the river bank, Kancil immediately began to give orders left and right. Elephant had to dam the river with stones and tree trunks. Tiger and Swine had to throw away the river water while Kancil himself set out to catch the fish left on the dry river bed. There were, however, few fish, so they decided to go further down the river to try their lick again. Kancil ordered Swine to stay behind with their catch. He himself went with Tiger and Elephant further downstream where the tree of them began their work all over again. Narrative Text Fable - Kancil and the giant Story
Meanwhile, a giant came to the place where Swine sat. As soon as he saw the glittering fish, he grabbed them greedily and stuffied them what into his mouth. It was useless for Swine to protect and the giant did not even listen to him. Swine ran toward his friends and told them had happened. Of course, the three others were bot very pleased. Narrative Text Fable - Kancil and the giant Story The second time, too, they did not catch enough fish. did not even listen to him. Ordered Tiger to stay behind with their second catch, while he, Swine and Elephant went further away to dam the river at another place. As soon as the three of them were out of sight, the hungry giant came from behind the bushes and ate up all the fish. Tiger snarled angrily, but he did not dare to fight the giant. Narrative Text Fable - Kancil and the giant Story When the other animals came back with their catch they found a very ashamed Tiger without a single fish. Kancil scolded him until he became red in the face. Now it was Elephant’s turn to play guard. “You are so big. Friend Elephant. Certainly, we can trust you to defend our fish,” said Kancil. For the third time the giant came to eat the fish. When Elephant saw how big he was, he became afraid and let the giant steal their fish. Kancil and the others came back, they found the basket empty again. Kancil was very angry with his three friends. He shouted, “What’s the use of having such big and strong bodies, if you can’t even chase away one single giant. This time I will stay here myself. Do you think I am too small to do this job? Go away , the three of you, and catch as a many fish as you can. When you come back, you will find that robber lying here in front of me, bound and helpless.” Narrative Text Fable - Kancil and the giant Story After Swine, Tiger and Elephant had gone away, Kancil plucked a big bunch of reeds from the river side. He tied these reeds around his body. Then lying down under the nearest tree, he bound the reed ends to the roots of the tree. He was very busy tying himself when the giant came. Kancil pretended not to see him and went on with his work. The giant became curious and instead of grabbing the fish he stopped to look sown at Kancil and asked what he was doing. “Well. Well. Don’t you know what is going happen today?” asked Kancil in a surprised tone. “What is going to happen today?” asked the giant curiously. “I thought everybody knew about it,” answered Kancil. “You must have been asleep when Nabi Sulaiman came into the forest to warn all the animals about the big flood. The big flood will carry everybody away to the see, unless he takes precaution to be safe.” “Oh, I have not heard about this flood,” answered the giant, who believe every word Kancil said, “Tell me, what do you do to avoid being carried away?”
Long long ago, Mr. Fish, Mr. Fly, Mr. Wasp and Mr. snail lived together in a small house. They divided the work among themselves. Mr. fish was the biggest and strongest. He was made the head of the house and his job was to find food. Mr. Fly, who could fly very fast, was made a messenger. Mr. Wasp was made a guard because of his painful sting. And Mr. Snail, who could only move slowly, looked after the house. Fable for kids Early one day, Mr. Fish went out to look for food. He swam slowly in a nearby river. Suddenly, he saw something moving in the water. It was a big frog. “What a lovely meal.” He thought. He quickly seized the frog in his mouth and started to swim home. But he did not know there was a hook inside the frog which was tied to a string. Someone pulled the string and soon Mr. Fish found himself inside a fisherman’s basket. The fisherman took him home and ate him. Fable for kids Of course, his friends did not know what had happened to him. They waited for him for several days. By this time, they all felt very hungry. Then Mr. Fly was sent out to look for Mr. Fish. Suddenly, he saw something moving in the water below. It was a fish whose lips moved in and out on the surface of the water. Mr. Fly was angry. He thought the fish was laughing at him. Fable for kids “Don’t laugh me!” he cried, “I’m looking for my friend Mr. Fish, have you seen him?” Fable for kids But the fish still seemed to laugh at him. Mr. Fly flew lower and lower as he wanted to bite the fish. Suddenly, he felt very weak. He had not eaten any food for such a long time. His wings became heavier and heavier. “Plop!” he fell into the water and the fish swallowed him in a second. Fable for kids Mr. Wasp and Mr. Snail were still waiting for Mr. Fish and Mr. Fly to return. Although they were both hungry, Mr. Snail was not as hungry as Mr. Wasp. He could eat mud while Mr. wasp could only tighten his belt. At last, Mr. wasp could not stand it any longer. Fable for kids He flew out of the house to look for Mr. Fish and Mr. Fly. While he was flying, his hunger became worse. He tightened his belt again and again until finally he broke into two. That was the end of Mr. Wasp. Fable for kids Now only Mr. Snail was left. He left the house to look for his three friends. He was crying because he felt so lonely. Whenever he found some grass, he would climb up it to look around for his friends. Even today snails still cry, and whenever they see any grass they will climb up it and look around for their old friends. Fable for kids
A long time ago, there was an old crab who liked to sleep. But there were some frogs living nearby who made a loud noise. They kept him awake at night. One night, the crab became very angry. “Don’t make so much noise!” he shouted. “we can’t help it,” said the king of the frogs. “We’re talking about our friend the turtle.”
Narrative text fable “What’s wrong with the turtle?” “Don’t you know?” asked the king of the frogs. “he carries his house on his back.” The crab then asked the turtle, “Why do you carry your house on your back?” “Because I’m afraid the firefly will set light to it,” answered the turtle. The crab then asked the firefly, “Why do you want to set fire to the poor turtle’s house?” “Because the fire will keep away the mosquitoes,: said the firefly. “And why do you want to give so much trouble to the firefly?” the crab asked the mosquito. “I don’t,” replied the mosquito. At the same time, the mosquito bit the king of the frogs who had first spoken to the crab. He jumped at least six inches in the air. “Ooch!” he cried. “Don’t bite me! It’s painful!” But the mosquito dived at him again. He was very angry. The king of the frogs stuck out his tongue and caught him. That was the end of the mosquito. Since then, frogs and mosquitoes have been enemies. Even now, mosquitoes always chase frogs and bite them whenever they have the chance.
The kinka is a small lizard with a red ring around its neck. This story is about a kinka that lived in the king’s garden. One day the king took a walk through his garden. He looked at the birds and the flowers. He looked at the trees. Suddenly he noticed a kinkas do when they are frightened. “Look at this,” said the king. “this lizard is very clever. He knows how to behave before the king. He is certainly the most polite animal I have ever seen.”
virtualdj.com The king called his gardener. “I want you to feed this kinka. Give him some meat each day. Here is a bag of gold coins to pay for the meat.” And so, each day the gardener used two gold coins to buy meat for the kinka. The kinka grew fat and lazy. He no longer ran through the garden. One day the gardener was too busy to buy meat. Instead, he hung the two gold coins around the kinka’s neck. The kinka climbed to the top of the garden gate. Soon the king came along on his daily walk. He saw the kinka. This time the kinka did not nod its head because the coins around its neck were so heavy. It simply looked down on the king. “What a proud kinka you are,” said the king. “You are too proud to be polite.” After that the king refused to buy any special meat for the kinka. Like other animals, the kinka once again had to find its own fo
Chao was going to attack Yen. When the king of Yen heard about it, he sent for his senior officers. “Can you tell me what to do?” he asked them. Su Tai said, “I have a plan. Let me go and speak to the king of Chao,” The king of Yen agreed. When Su Tai arrived at Chao, he saw the king. Your Majesty,” he said, “When I was coming here this morning, I passed the River Yi. There I saw a clam lying in the sun. Suddenly, a crane came along and tried to open its shell and eat it up. The clam caught the crane’s beak in it shell. The crane tried to free itself but was unable to do so.” “ ‘You can try as hard as you like,’ the clam said, ‘but you cannot escape.” “ ‘Unless you let me go,’ the crane answered, ‘you will not be able to return to the river.’” “Neither of them wanted to give way. Not long afterwards, a fisherman passed by. He stopped and caught them both without any trouble.” The king of Chao asked Su Tai, “What is the meaning of this story?” “Your Majesty,” Su Tai replied, “if Chao and Yen fight each other they: will both become weak. there are many countries around us waiting to be the fisherman. I hope Your Majesty will think twice before doing anything.” “Very well,” the King replied. Nothing more was heard after that of Chao attacking Yen.
Long ago a weasel came to a forest near Phakchong. He saw many mice there. Weasels like to eat mice, so the weasel decided to stay in the forest. First, the weasel found a place to sleep in a hole beneath a bush. The next day he walked to the top of a small hill. On the hilltop was a rock. The weasel decided to sit on the rock. “Who’s there? Asked the rock. “Whoever you are, don’t sit on me.” “I’ll sit here as long as I like,” said the weasel. “After all, you’re not going anywhere.” The rock sighed, for there was nothing he could do. The weasel sat back on his hind legs. He raised his forelegs in front of him, looked at the sky, and pretended to pray. At sunset the weasel walked down the hill to his home. He did the same thing the next day, and the next day, and the next day after that. Soon the mice became curious about the weasel. They watched him for several days. Finally they chose one brave mouse to ask the weasel what he was doing. The brave mouse climbed the hill. “What are you doing?” asked the mouse. “I’m praying,” replied the weasel. The mouse ran back down the hill. He told the other mice that the weasel was praying. The mice decided that the weasel was a very great animal. They also thought he must be a very good animal. That evening they waited for him at the bottom of the hill. “We want to pay our respects’ to you,” said their leader.
The weasel and the mice The mice walked around the weasel three times. Then they went home. They did not notice that one mouse was missing. Each night after that the mice waited for the weasel. Each night he came down from the hilltop. Each night the mice walked around him three times, and each night the weasel ate one mouse. This went on for several months. Finally the leader of the mice noticed something. The forest had fewer mice than before. He called a meeting of all the mice. “Something is wrong,” said the leader. “Mice are disappearing, I thing the weasel is eating our friends and relations. The mice decided to look at the weasel’s home. They went the next day, while the weasel was on the rock. In the weasel’s hole they found a large pile of mouse bone. The mice ran back to the leader who told them what to do. That evening most of the mice waited at the bottom of the hill. Some of the stronger mice walked up behind the hill. At the sundown the weasel stepped off the rock, and it began to move. The rock rolled down the hill, but the weasel didn’t hear it coming. He was thinking about his dinner. The rock landed on the weasel. “Get off,” cried the weasel. “Don’t sit on me.” “I’ll sit here as long as I like,” said the rock. “After all, I’m not going anywhere.”
Another enemy of Kancil was tiger. But just like Crocodile, Tiger not a clever fellow. One day tiger saw Kancil sitting dreamily under a big shady tree. He did not even look up when tiger approached him. He just sat there, playing with a stick which he held in his front paws. Contoh Narrative text “What are you doing there, Kancil?” asket Tiger curiously. “Shhh, don’t disturb me, tiger,” answered Kancil, “I am thinking of my reward.” “Your reward?” said the tiger more curiously than ever. “Who will give you a reward, and why should you get a reward?” Contoh Narrative text
Kancil and tiger story “Ah, one can’t even think in peace for one moment without being disturbed,” Grumble Kancil. “Well if you want to know, it is Nabi Sulaiman himself who will give me a reward,” Contoh Narrative text “Ah why should Nabi Sulaeman give you a reward. Kancil?” asked the tiger again. Contoh Narrative text “My goodness, you are really a busy-body,” said Kancil impatiently. “I suppose I have to tell you everything, otherwise you won’t leave me in peace. You see, Nabi Sulaeman has asked me to guard his drum during his absence, so that nobody will play on it. If I do my task well, he will be, but it will certainly be something precious, as Nabi Sulaeman is both rich and generous. You know that as well as I do.” Contoh Narrative text “You are indeed lucky, Kancil,” said Tiger enviously, “but where is that drum you are guarding?” “Up there in the tree,” answered Kancil, pointing upwards with his stich. Tiger looked up and saw a round dark object hanging from one of the lower branches. Contoh Narrative text “That looks like a beehive to me,” said tiger amazed. “A beehive! Tiger, if the Nabi could hear you! How dare you compare his holy drum with a beehive!” said Kancil in a shocked tone. Contoh Narrative text “Well,” said the tiger hastily, “I think it has a very unusual shape.” For a moment Kancil and Tiger sat silently under tree, each absorbed in his own thoughts. Then Tiger said again, “Kancil, what will happen when somebody plays the drum?” Contoh Narrative text “Only Nabi Sulaeman may play the drum,” said Kancil quickly. “I have to prevent anybody from playing that drum.” Contoh Narrative text “Yes, but what will happen when Nabi sulaeman plays that drum?” Tiger insisted, not put off by Kancil’s gruff tone. Contoh Narrative text “According to what I have from my grandfather,” answered Kancil putting on a seriously face, “the person who plays that drum will hear beautiful music all around him. All the animals in the forest will come to listen, but they will be so afraid of the power of the player that they will hide their faces from him in awe. Nobody will dare to come near. Everybody will stay at a respectful distance. That’s what happens when Nabi sulaeman plays the drum.” Contoh Narrative text Kancil’s story made a deep impression on tiger. Suddenly he was seized with a great desire to play the drum, to hear the beautiful music Kancil had talked about and to enjoy the sight of the awestruck animals of the forest. Contoh Narrative text “Kancil,” he said, “lease, let me play just one little note on that drum. The Nabi will never hear it. I shall play softly.” Contoh Narrative text “Tiger, are you out of your mind?” shouted Kancil. “I have promised the great Nabi not to let anyone come near that drum?” Contoh Narrative text “Please, Kancil, dear friend, I long so much to hear that music and to see all the animals of the forest coming to me. If you let me do it, I shall tell you about a place where you can find the juiciest cucumbers in the world,” begged tiger.
Cucumbers! Hmm, I do happen to be thirsty at the moment,” said kancil pensively. “Well … if you tell me where I can find there nice cucumbers, I shall pass my task on to you for a moment until I have quenched my thirst. The Nabi sulaeman not object to that, I think.” Contoh Narrative text “That’s a good idea!” tiger exclaimed. “but remember, if the Nabi sulaeman finds out and punished you, you must not blame me.” Warned Kancil. Contoh Narrative text “Of course, Kancil, of course. Now, if you go straight along this path and turn to the left, you will find a little creek. Just follow the creek you will find the cucumber field.” Contoh Narrative text Tiger was very impatient to get Kancil going so that he could play the mysterious drum. Knacil gave him the stick and ran away as lighting. Contoh Narrative text Tiger picked up the stick expectantly and tapped lightly on the drum. Immediately, a soft humming sound was heard from inside the object. But nothing else happened. Tiger did not see a single animal approaching and soon afterward the humming stopped. Contoh Narrative text “I have to play a little louder,” he thought, and picking up the stick again he pounded in the drum. To his alarm the drum fell to pieces and before he realized exactly what he had done a great bunch of furious wasps fell upon him, stinging him everywhere. Tiger ran for his life, howling an roaring with all his might. Contoh Narrative text From all sides of the forest animals came running to see what all the noise was about. But as soon as they saw the wasps around tiger they covered their faces and ran away. Tiger ran on and on, until he reached the river. He plunged into the water and dives as deeply as he could. Only then did the wasps leave him. Contoh Narrative text Kancil meanwhile sat in the cucumber field wasps and stuffed himself with cucumbers until he nearly burst. Naturally, he was cautious not to come near Tiger to the next few weeks. Contoh Narrative text Unknown
Kancil, the small but clever mousedeer, had many enemies in the forest. Fortunately, he was quick-witted, so that every time his life was threatened, he managed to escape.
One of his greatest enemies was Crocodile, who lived in the river that bordered the forest. Many times Crocodile had tried to capture the small mousedeer. Crocodile was big, but he was not very clever. Kancil was able to trick him every time.
One day it was very hot. There was no wind at all to refresh the thirsty plants and trees of the forest. It was in the middle of the dry season. For many weeks no rain had fallen so that the little creeks where the small animals used to drink had dried up. Kancil was walking alone in the forest; he was very thirsty. He had walked a long way; looking for a brook where he could quench his thirst, but he had found only dry mud in the once gay rippling brooks. It was very quiet in the forest. All the animals seemed to sleep. Even the birds did not sing in the trees. Kancil finally decided to go to the river that bordered the forest. Usually he avoided going there as he knew that Crocodile was always on the look-out for him, waiting for an opportunity to catch him.
When he arrived at the river. Kancil looked cautiously around him. There was no body to be seen. The clear river water mirrored blidingly the rays of the sun. step by step Kancil approached the water. His sharp eyes looked right and left; his pointed ears strained to catch the slightest sound. But no danger seemed to threaten him this time. Relieved, he bent his head to enjoy the cool water. Suddenly, his glance fell upon an object that was floating not far away from where he stood. It was a blackish thing. It looked like a fallen branch ………. Or, like the back of crocodile! Kancil jumped back, surprised and thoughtful. But he was also very thirsty. How could he possibly know whether the thing there in the river was really a log or a crocodile? Then he smiled a little as he hit upon an idea. In a clear voice he shouted, “ Hey! There, you who are in the river. If you are crocodile, don’t answer me, but if you are only a long of wood, tell me your name!” Now it was really Crocodile who was floating in the river. He had seen Kancil approaching and he was waiting for him to bend his head to drink. At the very moment when Kancil did not look. Crocodile would catch him. Without thinking any further, Crocodile answered Kancil in his gruff voice, “Don’t be afraid, I’m only a harmless log!”
Immediately, Kancil ran away as fast as his leg could carry him, while shouting over his shoulder, “O, stupid Crocodile, have you ever heard a log of wood talk?”
A fortnight later, however, Kancil forgot this incident. The dry season was not over yet and it seemed to be hotter than ever. Kancil remembered the cool, fresh river water. How wonderful it would be take a bath in it! He decidec to try his luck once again. This time there was nothing suspicious to be seen, so Kancil went to the water and drank to his heart’s content. It was very quite, and also very hot. Without thinking any further Kancil went down into the river and began to splash himself. In his delight he forgot all about danger. He pick up a dry twig that was floating by and began to beat the water with it. He made so much noise that he woke up….. who else, but old crocodile who was sleeping in the neighbourhood.
“Well, well, this seem to be my lucky day,” thought Crocodile. In a flash he shot out of his hiding place and all of a sudden. Kancil felt sharp teeth biting into one of his legs. It hurt him very much, but though he was shocked and frightened Kancil did not lose his wits. Without hesitation he dipped the dry twig into the water and in a mocking tone he said, “stupid old log of wood, do you really think you have got me? It is only a twig you have in your mouth, not my leg. Here is my leg’ catch it if you can!”
Kancil moved the twig rapidly to and in front of Crocodile’s eyes. Crocodile could not see very
There was a tiger whose greatest friend was a monkey. One day, the tiger went away fo a holyday and told the monkey to look after his cave. A mousedeer, his wife and family came to live in the cave. “you can’t do that,” said the monkey. “This cave belongs to the King of the Forest.” “Oh, does it?” the mousedeer replied. “My father lived here long before the tiger come. Anyway, I’m not afraid of the tiger, he’s only a paper tiger to me.” He told his wife what to do when the tiger returned. “You must make our babies cry. I’ll then ask you why they’re crying. You must say that they want to eat tiger meat,” A few days later, the monkey heard that the tiger was coming home. He ran to meet him. “The mousedeer’s living in your cave.” He told him. “He says he’s not afraid of you and that you’re only a paper tiger.” “Is that so?” growled the tiger. “I’ll soon teach hi a lesson.” The tiger did not believe that the small mousedeer could be so brave. He crept up to the cave. The mousedeer’s children were crying loudly, “Keep quiet,” said Mrs. Mousedeer ”Your father will soon get some tiger meat for you.” Then tiger heard this and ran back to the monkey. “I thought that mousedeer only ate grass and vegetables,” he said. “But Mrs. Mousedeer said that her husband would soon get some tiger meat to feed their children. Perhaps the mousedeer has changed?” “Don’t worry,” the monkey replied, “They’re only saying that to frightened you. The mousedeer is not big and strong. He can’t fight.” The next day, the tiger went to the cave again. The mousedeer’s children were again crying. “Tell them to kept quiet,” said the mousedeer to his wife. “We shall certainly get some tiger meat today. The monkey has promised to send the tiger here.” When the tiger heard this, he became very angry with his friend, he quickly run after the monkey and killed him. The tiger did not go back to the cave, and the mousedeer and his family lived there happily ever after.
A mousedeer was walking along the bank of river. He could see several crocodiles lying in the mud a t the side of the river. “Hey, friends!” he called out. “You are really very big and strong! You could easily conguer any country if you want to.” “Of course, Mr. mousedeer,” answered the crocodiles. “Even men are afraid of us. Look how well are armed.” They showed the mousedeer their sharp claws and teeth, and waved their tails slowly backwards and forwards. “With one blow we can knock a man down. ”Everything you say is true,” said the mousedeer, “but I would like to know how many of you there are. Can you please form a line across the river so that I can count you?” The crocodiles did as they were told. They formed a line from one side of the river to the other. The mousedeer jumped down lightly on the back of the nearest crocodile. “One, two, three,” he counted as he walked across the river on their backs. When he reached the other side, he jumped quickly on to the bank. “Thank you very much gentlemen,” he called out. “I didn’t want to get my feet wet crossing the river.” The crocodiles roared in anger. “Don’t forget, mousedeer.” They shouted “we can live on land as well as in the water. On day we shall catch you and teach you a good lesson.” “Ha, ha, ha!” laughed the mousedeer. He run away into the forest. But he did not go near the river again after that. Whenever he wanted to drink, he look for water elsewhere. One day it was very hot. The mousedeer was very thirsty. He could not find water anywhere. He had to return to the river. “O river,” he cried, “Are there any crocodiles there?” there was no reply. He repeated the question several times but received no answer. “Oh well,” he said “there must be crocodiles there otherwise the river would say something.” “There are no crocodiles here,” came the answer from the crocodiles, who were grinding their teeth in anger. “Thanks for letting me know that you’re there,” the mousedeer said. “I don’t think I want to go near the river today.” The crocodiles rushed up the river bank towards the mousedeer but he ran swiftly into the jungle. “The mousedeer thinks he’s very clever,” said the crocodiles. “Let’s wait for him near those papaya trees over there. He always goes there to eat.” They waited for several hours. Feeling very hot and uncomfortable under the sun. Suddenly the mousedeer arrived. “O papaya tree, are there any crocodiles there?” As there was no reply, he repeated the question several times. There was silence. “Ho, ho papaya tree! I’m sure there are crocodiles there. They must have told you to keep quiet.” “No we didn’t,” shouted the crocodiles. The mousedeer immediately ran away but the crocodiles were too slow to catch him. Before long, the mousedeer felt thirsty and hungry. He went back to the river. While he was searching for food and drink, a crocodile seized him by the leg. “Hey what are you doing?” asked mousedeer. “That’s not my leg. It’s a branch of a tree.” The crocodile let go of his leg to take another bite. The mousedeer leapt away as fast as he could. When he reached as safe distance, he stopped and called out. “My friends, I know you are still waiting for me in the river, if you want to kill me, why don’t we have a fair fight? I shall call all of my friends and you can call yours. In one week’s time. We’ll meet on the river bank and fight it out.” The crocodiles agreed that it would be the best way to settle the matter once and for all. Every night after that, while the crocodiles were asleep, the mousedeer made as many footprints as he could in the soft mud at the side of the river. On the seventh day, a large army of crocodiles appeared. But they could find no sign of the mousedeer and his army. All they could see were hundreds of footprints in the mud. “What a pity!” they exclaimed. “It’s our fault, we are too late. The mousedeer’s army could not wait for us.” The mousedeer called out to them from the other side of the river. “Do you think I am so stupid
One day while a mousedeer was walking in the forest, he saw a big, black snake sleeping under the tree. When he saw the snake, the mousedeer was frightened. When he wanted to run away from the snake, he suddenly fell on top of a tiger which was sleeping not far from the snake. The tiger woke up and took hold of the mousedeer. He told the mousedeer that he was going to eat him for lunch. “please don’t eat me now,” said the mousedeer. “I have something important to do.” “look,” said the mousedeer. “that is the king’s belt. He asked me to stay here and watch it while he was away in the forest.” The tiger looked at the snake and said, “that is a beautiful belt. I need a belt like that. Can I wear it?” asked the mousedeer. “Oh all right,” said the mousedeer. So he picked up the snake and winded it around the tiger. The snake twisted itself tighter and tighter until the tiger couldn’t breathe. The tiger asked The mousedeer to help him. But the mousedeer turned and ran away into the forest.
Long, long ago a mousedeer and a tiger were neighbours. The tiger was very fierce. He liked to boast how strong he was. All the animals in the forest were afraid of him. He ate at least one of them for dinner every day. The mousedeer decided to teach him a good lesson. “Why don’t you allow me to bring you your dinner every day? You will then not have to hunt to food,” he asked the tiger. The tiger agreed. The next day the mousedeer took a rat with him to see the tiger. “I’m afraid I could not bring you a bigger animal.” The mousedeer explained. “There’s an animal who looks exactly like you blocking the road. He too has a rat sitting on his head. He said to all animals, “Is there anyone in the world who can fight with me? If so, let him come and try. If there’s no one, then I’m the king of the forest.” “Ho!” said the tiger. “Didn’t you tell him about me?” “Yes I did,” replied the mousedeer. “But it would have been better if I hadn’t. when I told him how strong you were, he laughed and said rude things. He even said he would not accept you as his servant.” The tiger became very angry. “Where is he? Where is he? He shouted. So the mousedeer asked the rat to sit on the tiger’s head while he sat on the tiger’s back. He pointed to a river not far away. “He’s there.” He said. The tiger ran to the river. He looked down at the water. Yes, there was another tiger. As the mousedeer said, he was just like himself. There was also a rat sitting on his head. He shouted loudly his enemy shouted loudly too. The tiger became even more angry. He showed his teeth. So did the other tiger. The tiger jumped into the river to fight with his enemy. He drowned immediately.
A man was hurrying along a river bank. “Help, Help! Please have pity on me.” He looked all around him. Then he stared. It was a crocodile. There were tears streaming down its cheeks. It could not move because a tree had fallen on top of it and pinned its tail to the ground. Folktale from Malaysia The man said, “look, Mr. Crocodile, If I release you, will you eat me up?” “No, no. how could I be so ungrateful?” said the crocodile. The man pulled the tree off the crocodile’s tail. The crocodile quickly twisted round and seized the men by the leg. Folktale from Malaysia “Wait!” the man cried, very frightened. “Let’s ask my friend, Mr. Mousedeer, whether this is the right way for you to repay my kindness.” Folktale from Malaysia When the mousedeer arrived he pretended that he did not believe the story that the man told him. “I can’t believe that you would be so good to Mr. crocodiles,” he said. “Probably you were trying to harm him and he caught hold of you. Er … er, Mr. Crocodile, would you please show me where you were lying when the man came along?” Folktale from Malaysia “Why, certainly,” said the crocodile. “I was here.” Ah he let go of the man, the mousedeer shouted to the man to drop a log on the crocodile. The crocodile could not move. Folktale from Malaysia The man bowed and thanked the clever mousedeer. “Ah,” said the mousedeer, “Don’t try to be too kind. It’s man’s nature to be ungrateful,” He called out to an old sleeping-mat that was floating in midstream. “Hai there, old mat, what’s the reward for those who do kind acts?” Folktale from Malaysia “Mr. Mousedeer,” answered the mat, “just look at me. Once I was bright and new. Now that I am old you can see what has happened to me.” Folktale from Malaysia And then an empty cooking pot floated past. The mousedeer asked it the same question and receive the same reply. Folktale from Malaysia
Many years ago, so long ago that no one knows exactly when a lion lived in a cave in the forest. He was very strong and fierce, with pointed claws and teeth as sharp as knives. All the animal living in the forest were afraid of him. He was lazy and did nothing every day except eat and sleep. Mr. Peacock swept the floor of his cave with his long tail, so that he could have a clean bed to sleep on. While he slept, Mr. Mouse stroked and massaged his body. When he opened his mouth to yamn, Mr. Mouse would jump in to clean and polish his teeth. Mr. Porcupine was the lion’s chief assistant. He was a brave and hard worker. He never tired of obeying the lion’s orders. “I’m feeling hungry.” The lion told him one day. “Go and catch a goat for me.” Mr. Porcupine went and asked Mr. tiger to help him. Mr. Tiger stretched himself. “Ah well,” he said. “If the King of the forest wants a goat for dinner, I’ll have to catch one for him.” He caught a goat and carried it back to the lion’s cave. “Thank’s, Mr. Tiger,” said the lion. “I’m very grateful to you for such a tasty meal.” As soon as all the other animals in the forest heard that Mr. tiger was hunting food for the lion. They hid themselves in the forest.. After a day or so, the lion felt hungry again. “Tell Mr. tiger to catch a deer for me,” he ordered Mr. Porcupine. Mr. Porcupine did as he was told. However, although Mr. tiger searched everywhere, he was unable to find a single animal. Finally, he had to tell the king of the forest that he had not been successful. “What!” roared the lion. “The forest is full of animals, who are all my subjects. Order all of them to come to my cave at once.” Mr. tiger kept quit. He did not know what to do. He returned to the forest to continue his search. At the end of the day. He felt tired and fell asleep. When he awoke, he saw Mr. Mousedeer passing by. “Where are all the other animals?” he asked. “They’re hiding in the forest,” replied Mr. Mousedeer. “Can you show me where they are?” “Why do you want to know?” “The king of the forest’s hungry,” replied Mr. Tiger “All right,” said Mr. Mousedeer. “come with me.” He took Mr. tiger with him to meet the other animals. None of them wanted to go and see the lion. In the end, they decided to draw lots to see who should go. Mr. Mousedeer was the unlucky one who was chosen. All his friends felt sorry for him because they knew what would happen to him. Mr. Mousedeer followed Mr. Tiger back to the lion’s cave. “Who have you brought?” roared the lion. Who was very hungry by this time. “It’s Mr. Mousedeer, Your majesty.” Answered Mr. Tiger. “There’s not much flesh on him,” said the lion. “Your Majesty, he was the best I could find.” “O King of the forest,” said Mr. Mousedeer. “I’ve brought a message for you from your brother.” “From my brother?” asked the lion. “I don’t have a brother,” “But he told me to tell you that he has forbidden all the other animals to come and see you,” The lion shouted in anger, “Ho, ho, ho! We shall see about that. Take me to see him straight away.” Mr. Mousedeer led him into the forest. He pointed into a deep hole which had been dug in the ground by a hunter. The lion jumped into it but was unable to climb out. All the animals came running out of the foreest and dance happily round the hole. “Thank you very much Mr. Mousedeer,” they cried. “you’ve saved our lives. Now, we shan’t have to worry about the King of the Forest any more, and we can live happily ever after.”
Long time ago, there were a camel and a mousedeer. The camel said, “Nothing like being tall! Look how tall I am!” the mousedeer, who heard these words, said, “Nothing like being short! Look how short I am!”. The camel said, “Well, if fail to prove the truth of what I said, I shall give you my hump.” The mousedeer said, “if I fail to prove the truth of what I said, I shall give up my snout.” “Agreed!” said the camel. “Just so!” said the mousedeer. They came to garden, enclosed by a low wall without any opening. The camel stood on this side of the wall, and reaching the plants within by means of his long neck, made a breakfast on them. Then, he turned jeeringly to the mousedeer, who had been standing at the bottom of the wall, without even having a look at the good things in the garden, and said, “Now, would you be tall or short?” Next they came to a garden, enclosed by a high wall, with a wicket gate at one end. The mousedeer entered by the gate, and, after having eaten his fill of the vegetables within, came out, laughing at the poor camel who had had to stay outside because he was too tall to enter the garden by the gate, and said, “Now, would you be tall or short?” Then, they thought the matter over and
Long, long ago. There were many monkeys living in the forest around Chiengmai. Hunters used to go there from Bangkok to catch them. Some were sold to zoos, some to people who wanted them as pets, and others to people who liked monkey soup. One day, a hunter caught many monkeys in his traps. They were all screaming and making a loud noise except one who sat very quite. “He must be a very unusual monkey.” The hunter said to himself, “I’ll keep him for myself.” He sold all the other monkeys and kept this one in a big wooden cage in his house. He was very proud of him. When his friends came to visit him, he showed them the monkey. The monkey always sat very quietly in a corner of the cage. “He’s very polite and well-behaved,” said his friends. “He’s like a human being. Why don’t you let him out of the cage? We’re sure he won’t run away.” The hunter did this. As soon as he opened the door of the cage. The monkey ran away to the jungle at the back of the hunter’s house. He soon met some other monkeys. They were interested in him, as a monkey who had been caught by hunter seldom returned. “What happened?” they asked him. “What was it like living in the monkey hunter’s house?” The monkey scratched his head and ate a banana before replying to them. “I lived in a cage,” he said. “I had a good chance to watch the hunter and his friends very closely. First of all, they talk a lot. They all talked at the same time. Some of them played silly games. They threw away food they didn’t eat and left it lying around.” The monkey’s new friends did not want to hear any more. They expected the monkey would tell them something more interesting. They started chatting among themselves and eating bananas and throwing away the skin. Some chased their own tails and scratched their heads. “Wait,” the monkey called to them. “I haven’t finished yet.” “we don’t want to hear any more,” the other monkeys said. “The hunter and his friends don’t seem to be any different from us.”
A monkey wanted to cross a river to eat some bananas on the other side. Unfortunately, he did not know how to swim. He asked a buffalo to carry him across on his back. “All right,” said the buffalo. “Jump on. I’ll swim across. There’s some very tasty grass on the other side which I would like to eat.” So the monkey rode on the buffalo’s back across the river. When they reached the other side, the monkey jumped off. He ran to eat as many banana as he could. The buffalo was quite happy eating the long grass. After some time, the monkey wanted to return home. He asked the buffalo to take him back. But the buffalo told him to wait a little longer as he had not yet finished eating. The naughty monkey began to sing. He made such a loud noise that a farmer, who was working in a nearby field, came to see what was the matter. He shouted at the buffalo, “Thief! Thief! Why are you eating my grass?” he threw some stones at the buffalo. When the farmer had gone, the monkey came out from where he had been hiding. The buffalo was holding his sore head. He had been hit by a stone. “Oh, oh! Why did you make so much noise? If you had kept quite, the farmer wouldn’t have noticed me.” The monkey did not know what to say. The buffalo asked him to sit on his back to return across the river. When they were half-way across, the buffalo said to the monkey, “I want to roll over and take a bath here.” “Please don’t! the monkey begged. “I can’t swim.” “That’s not my fault.” Replied the buffalo. “You like to sing and make a noise. I always like to roll over in the water. It’s so cool and pleasant and it will cure my headache.” Without saying any more, he rolled over in the water. Luckily, the monkey was holding on tightly otherwise he would have drowned. When they reached the other side, the monkey jumped down from the buffalo’s back. He was very wet and frightened. “I shall never give you trouble again.” He promised. The buffalo. Unknown
Once upon a time, there was a young monkey, named Yoko. He was an active and playful monkey. He lived with his parents and friends in a beautiful mountain. The mountain was covered with huge old trees that grew tall into the sky. Some of the trees bore delicious fruits. Every day, Yoko and the other monkeys would eat fruits from the trees heartily. It was always cool up there in the mountain. When it rained, the water that flowed down the mountain filled the river with Water. Yoko then could see the people from a nearby village come to the river to catch fish. They also bathed and washed their clothes in the river. These people did not disturb the trees ot the animals that lived there. It made Yoko felt secure about his family and friends. One day, one of the monkeys, Tiro, came screaming and jumping hurriedly from tree to tree. “Run!” he screamed. “Run, everyone! A huge monster is coming this way. It is eating all the trees with its large sharp teeth.” All the monkeys, birds and other creatures that lived in the forest ran for their lives. The sound the monster made was very loud and frightening. They ran away as afar as they could. The monkeys stayed where they were until everything was quiet again. When they found their way back, they saw that all the trees were gone. Some people were standing near the monster which was actually a bulldozer. These people were different from the ones who went to the river to fish or bath. Yoko and other monkeys felt very sad. They did not have a home anymore. There was no food left for them. Eventually, they decided to leave the mountain and find another forest to live in.
Monday, February 13, 2012 A proud tiger A proud tiger story
One morning there was a tiger who woke up and just felt great. He felt so good, he went out and cornered a small monkey and roared at him “Who is the mightiest of all the jungle animals?” The poor little monkey replied, “You are of course, no one is mightier than you.” A little while later, this tiger confronted a deer and bellowed out. “Who is the greatest and strongest of all the jungle animal?” The deer was shaking so hard it almost could not speak, but managed to say, “Oh great tiger, you are by far the mightiest animal in the jungle.” The tiger walked proudly to an elephant that was quietly eating some weeds and roared at the top his voice, ““Who is the mightiest of all the jungle animals?” Then this elephant grabbed the tiger with his trunk, picked him up, slammed him down, picked him up again and shook him until the tiger was just a blur of orange and black. Finally, the elephant threw him violently into a nearby tree. The tiger staggered to his feet and looked at the elephant and said, “Man, just because you don’t know the answer, you don’t have to get so angry!”
One day, a dog and a fox were quarreling over a piece of meat. The dog said, “let me eat it!” the fox replied, “No. it belongs to me.” They agreed to ask their friend, Mr. monkey, to decide the matter for them. The monkey listened to what they had to say. “To be fair to both of you,” he said. “I shall divide the meat into two equal pieces and give you one each.” He took a pair of scales and a kitchen knife. He cut the meat into two pieces and weighed each of them on the scales. On was heavier than the other. He bit off a piece from the heavier portion, and weighed the two pieces again. This time, the other portion was heavier. He then bit off a piece from this portion. And weighed the two pieces. Once again, one piece was heavier that the other. He went on like this, weighing and biting off, until all the meat was finished. “If we’d only known this,” the dog said to the fox, “We would never have asked the monkey to be the judge. Really, the old Korean saying is quite true—“It’s better to settle a case out of court than to to court and lose everything.”
Once upon time, a man had a wonderful parrot. There was no other parrot like it. The parrot could say every word, except one word. The parrot would not say the name of the place where it was born. The name of the place was Catano. The man felt excited having the smartest parrot but he could not understand why the parrot would not say Catano. The man tried to teach the bird to say Catano, however the bird did not say the word. At first, the man was very nice to the bird but then he got very angry. “You stupid bird!” pointed the man to the parrot. “Why can’t you say the word? Say Catano! Or I will kill you” the man said angrily. Although he tried hard to teach, the parrot would not say it. Then the man got so angry and shouted to the bird over and over; “Say Catano or I’ll kill you”. The bird kept not to say the word of Catano. One day, after he had been trying so many times to make the bird say Catano, the man really got very angry. He could not bear it. He picked the parrot and threw it into the chicken house. There were four old chickens for next dinner “You are as stupid as the chickens. Just stay with them” Said the man angrily. Then he continued to humble; “You know, I will cut the chicken for my meal. Next it will be your turn, I will eat you too, stupid parrot”. After that he left the chicken house. The next day, the man came back to the chicken house. He opened the door and was very surprised. He could not believe what he saw at the chicken house. There were three death chickens on the floor. At the moment, the parrot was standing proudly and screaming at the last old chicken; “Say Catano or I’ll kill you”.
Long, long ago, in northern Taiwan, there lived a farmer and his wife. They had a ring of gold. They did not know it was a lucky ring. Whoever owned it would have enough to eat. The farmer and his wife sold it to a jeweler. Soon afterwards, they grew poorer and poorer. They did not even have enough money to buy food. The couple had a dog and a cat. They also did not have any food to eat. The animals wanted to help their owners but they did know what to do. “I must sure that must have been a magic ring,” the dog said. “Perhaps,” answered the cat. “But how can we get it back from the jeweler?” After many days, they thought of a plan. “You must catch a mouse,” said the dog. “Then carry it to the jeweller’s shop. The ring is locked up there in a box. The mouse must gnaw a hole in the box and fetch out the ring. If the mouse does not want to help, you must bite him to death.” Soon the cat caught a mouse. The dog followed behind while the cat carried it to the jeweller’s shop. The mouse crept into the shop and gnawed a hole in the box and brought out the ring. The cat put the ring in its mouth and ran home. The dog followed. Now the dog could only run on the ground. He had to go all the way around the houses and through the streets. But the cat was able to run over the house-tops. So the cat arrived home long before the dog. She brought the ring to the farmer and his wife. “This is a magic ring,” said the cat. “You must not part with it otherwise we shall be poor and have nothing to eat. I have brought it back. Please keep it carefully. You will find that we shall now be able to live comfortably again. “What a clever cat!” said the farmer. “We shall look after you as if you were our own child.” Just then the dog ran in. the farmer and his wife beat him for not helping the cat bring home the ring. The cat sat on the lap of the farmer’s wife and purred. So the dog became very angry with the cat. Every time he saw her after that, he chased her and tried to bite her. This is why cats and dogs always fight.
One day a cat and s fox were having a conversation. The fox, who was a conceited creature, boasted how clever she was. “Why, I know at least a hundred tricks to get away from our mutual enemies, the dogs,” she said. “I know only one trick to get away from dogs,” said the cat. “You should teach me some of yours!” “Well, maybe someday, when I have the time, I may teach you a few of the simpler ones.” Replied the fox airily. Just then they heard the barking of a pack of dogs in the distance. The barking grew louder and louder, the dogs were coming in their direction! At once the cat ran to the nearest tree and climbed into its branches, well out of reach of any dog. “This is the trick I told you about, the only one I know,” she called down to the fox. “ Which one of your hundred tricks are you going to use?” The fox sat silently under the tree, wondering which trick she should use. Before she could make up her mind, the dogs arrived. They fell upon the fox and tore her to pieces. A single plan that works is better than a hundred doubtful plans.
Retyped by Joe Fatrah - taken from:Ujian Nasional Text Unknown
Long ago, the God Heaven spoke to all of the animals in the world. Folktale from Japan “Twelve animals will be chosen to protect the world. Each one will do this for a year at a time. Come to my palace on the twelfth day of the first moon. The first twelve animals to arrive will be chosen. Folktale from Japan All of the animals waited excitedly for the day. The Cat however was very forgetful and could not remember which day it was. So she asked the Rat, “Which day do we go to the palace in Heaven to be chosen to protect the world?” The Rat wanted to be chosen so he said to the Cat, “On the thirteenth day of first moon, we will all go to the palace.” Folktale from Japan The Rat lived in the stable of the Ox. One evening, he heard the Ox getting ready to leave for the palace. “Why are you leaving so early?” asked the Rat. Folktale from Japan “Oh, my feet are so clumsy and slow.” Answered the Ox, “I must go now or I won’t get there in time to be chosen.” As soon as the Ox turned to go, the Rat jumped into the bag on his back. The Ox did not know that he was carrying the Rat and he walked slowly through the night until he reached the palace. There were no other animals in front of him so he thought he must surely be the first. Just then, the Rat jumped out of the bag and ran to the gate. Folktale from Japan “The very first is the Rat,” he called out to the Ox. The Ox was very angry but not as angry as the Cat. She went to the palace on the thirteenth day as she had been told by the Rat. There was nobody about so she thought she must be the first. However, the guard called out to her. Folktale from Japan “You are a day too late, Cat. The animals were chosen yesterday. First the Rat, then Ox, tiger. Hare, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Cock, Dog and last of all, Bear. You shouldn’t be so sleepy, and look how dirty your face is! You shouldn’t was it better than you do. “With that he closed the gates. Folktale from Japan Since then, the Cat has hated the Rat and has always tried to catch him. She also keeps washing her face with her tongue because the guard told her how dirty her face was. Folktale from Japan
Long ago, a big jackal wanted some fish to eat. He went to look for a dried-up pond so that he could catch the fish easily. One day, he found a pond which had only a little water, a lot of mud and many kinds of fish in it. “I’m hungry today,” the jackal thought, “I’m very hungry.” A shrimp in the pond knew what the jackal was thinking. “Brother Jackal,” he said in a kind voice, “You can eat us all up. But look, we’re covered in mud. If you eat us like this, we’ll taste horrible.” “What can I do to make you taste nice?” asked the jackal. “Take us away and wash us,” said the shrimp. “But there are thousands of fish in the pond. Where can I take you all? And how can I wash you all?” “Don’t worry,” said the shrimp. “Just stretch out in the mud. Let some of us hang on to your fur. Then you can get up and take us to pond with a lot of water in it,” The jackal was greedy and stupid. So he did what the shrimp said. He stretched out in the mud. Some of the fish hung on to his fur. Then the jackal got up and went to look for another into it. The fish in his fur jumped off into the water. “Go back,” said the shrimp to the jackal, “and pick up the other fish.” So the jackal went back and got some more of the fish. Again and again, he walked back to the old pond. At last, all the fish were in the pond full of water. When the fish saw they were all together again, they swam away into deep water. When jackal saw they had tricked him, he was very angry. He hurried away to look for big animals, snakes, and birds. He found elephants, tiger, buffaloes, and pigs. He found python and cobras. He found crows, sparrows, and vultures. He said to them, “Please help me to empty all the water out of the pond.” He said to the python, “the animals and birds will take the water out of the pond. Then you can Swallow it.” When the fish in the pond heard this, they were frightened. They said to each other, “What can we do to stop these animals?” A cat-fish said, “People say the hare is very clever animal. He knows how to help animals in trouble. Shall I go and ask him to help us?” The other fish agreed. So the cat-fish left the pond to look for the hare. All day he moved slowly and heavily along the ground—flip flop, flip flop. In the evening, the hare came out to look for some food. When he saw the catfish he asked, “Where are you going?” The cat-fish was happy to see the hare and said, “Oh brother hare, have pity on me. The fish in the pond have asked me to find you. People say you are very clever. You can help animals in trouble. Please help us. All kinds of animals and snakes and birds have come to our pond. They are going to take the water out of the pond. Then the python will swallow the water and the jackal will eat up all the fish! Come and help us.” “all right” said the hare, “Go back and tell the other fish not to be afraid.” The cat –fish then went back to the pond. The next morning, the hare come along. He saw the animals taking out the water. He found a long leaf which some worms had eaten. It was full of little holes. He shouted to the animals, “Brothers! I have a letter to you from the great God Indra,” he looked at the left and pretended to read it. “He says he will come and break the ducks’ leg and crush the eagles. He will cut off the jackal’s head and pull out the elephant’s tusks!” The animals were frightened when they heard this. They climbed on top of each other. Then they climbed on top of the pythons. The pythons burst. All the pond water rushed out of their bodies. The water came out so fast that all the animals drowned. And instead of the animals eating the fish, the fish ate the animals.
Once, a cat and a fox were traveling together. As they went along, picking up provisions on the way – a stray mouse here, a fat chicken there – they began an argument. “you think you are extremely clever, don’t you? “ said the Fox. “Do you pretend to know more than me? Why, I know a whole sack full of tricks!” “Well,” retorted the cat, “I admit I know one trick only, but that one, let me tell you, is worth a thousand of yours!” Just then, close by, they heard a hunter’s horn and the yelping of a pack of hounds. In an instant, the Cat was up a tree, hiding among the leaves. “This is my trick,” he called to the fox. “Now let me see what yours are worth.” But the fox had so many plans for escape that he could not decide which one to try first. He dodged here and there with hounds at his heels. He doubled on his tracks, he ran at top speed, he entered a dozen burrows, but all in vain. The hounds caught him, and soon put an end to the boaster and all his trick.
Once upon a time, a farmer planted a beet. The beet grew and grew. One day the farmer pulled on the beet, but the beet did not come up. “Horse, please help me pull up this beet. I want to eat it for dinner,” said the farmer. “Sure, I’ll help you,” said the horse. But the beet did not come up. Then the farmer went to the cow. “dear cow, please help me pull up this beet. I want to eat it for dinner,” said the farmer. “Sure I’ll help,” said the cow. But the beet did not come up. So the farmer went to a goat. “My lovely goat, please help me pull up this beet. I want to eat it for dinner,” said the farmer.”Sure I’ll help,” said the goat. But the beet did not come up. Next the farmer went to the cat. “Oh my dear cat, please help me pull up this beet. I want to eat it for dinner,” said the farmer.. “Sure I’ll help.” said the cat. But again the beet did not come up. So the farmer went to the mouse. “Lovely mouse, please help me pull up this beet. I want to eat it for dinner,” said the farmer.. “Sure I’ll help.” said the mouse. So the mouse pulled on the cat. The cat pulled on the goat, and the goat pulled on the cow. The cow pulled on the horse, the horse pulled on the farmer, and the farmer pulled on the beet. And the beet came up! “Thank you, horse. Thank you cow. Thank you, goat. Thank you cat. And thank you mouse!” sai the farmer. “Now we can all eat dinner.” And they did.
Once upon a time, the only fire on earth was guarded by two giants. No one dared ask them for any of it. At long last, a brave man thought of a plan. He called together all his animal friends and asked them to help him. He told a frog to wait just outside the village where he was living. A little beyond the frog, he placed a horse; beyond the horse, he placed a cat; beyond the cat, he placed a dog and beyond the dog, he placed a lion. Beyond the lion was the house where the giants lived. The man then went to call on the giants. They were pleased to see him as they felt rather lonely living by themselves. “Can you please let me have some of your fire?” he asked them. “No one else has any fire at all.” The giants shook their heads. “the fire belongs to us and we can’t give any of it away.” They replied. The man then made a sign out of the window to the lion. The lion began to roar; the dog to bark; the cat to meow; the horse to neigh and the frog to croak. The giant rushed out to see what was the matter. As soon as they did so, the man pick up a piece of burning wood from the fire. He ran away with it as fast as he could. The giant saw what had happened and chased after him. The man gave the piece of burning wood to the lion. It was soon passed on from animal to animal until it reached the frog. The frog hopped straight for the village. But the giant caught him by the tail. The poor frog was so frightened that his eyes almost fell out, he jumped once more and landed in the middle of village. Carrying the fire with him. But he left behind his tail in the giants’ hands. So the people in the village were able to obtain fire for the first time. but the poor frog lost his tail and his eyes have bulged ever since.
In Sarawak long ago, there was a beautiful girl called Kumang. She was very hard-working and use to fish from morning to night. One day, although it was nearly time to go home, she had still caught no fish. She tried once more. When she pulled up her net, she found there was a tiny snake in it. It looked so helpless that she decided to Folktale from Borneo take it home with her. She placed it in a jar in the kitchen. Every day she gave it something to eat. As the weeks passed, the tiny snake grew into a large snake. Finally it changed into a dragon. As it was no longer possible to keep it in the jar, Kumang allowed to live in the house. Folktale from Borneo “Why do you eat so much? Asked Kumang. The dragon did not answer but only breathed fire from its mouth. “I’ve sold everything to buy food for you.” This was true. Kumang had sold all the valuable old Chinese jars which she kept in the house, as well as jewelry, clothes, and furniture. She had nothing left to sell. She wondered how she would be able to buy the dragon any more food. Folktale from Borneo Suddenly the dragon spoke, Kumang sat up. She had never heard the dragon speak before… “How big is your heart?” she thought it was a strange question. “It is only the size of a small leaf,” she answered. The next day, the dragon asked her the same question and received the same reply. Folktale from Borneo “I’ sorry,” the dragon said. “I haven’t had anything to eat for several days. I cannot wait any longer, I am so hungry. I must eat your heart.” Folktale from Borneo Kumang almost fainted. She lived alone. She did not know what to do. “Well” she said, “if you want to eat my heart, I shall have to give it to you. But first, please look for a piece of hollow bamboo. Then place my heart in it together with some rice and cook it over a fire. It will taste much better like that.” Folktale from Borneo As soon the dragon had left the house, Kumang said to her dog, “When the dragon returns, tell him I have gone out for a walk and won’t be back for an hour or so.” Folktale from Borneo She ran into the neighbouring rubber estate owned by her friend Danjal. She quickly climbed the tallest tree she could find. She sat on the highest branch and poured a bottle of cooking oil down the trunk of the tree. Folktale from Borneo Not long afterward, the dragon returned home with the bamboo. He had been running and was out of breath. He was angry when he heard what Kumang’s dog said. However, he soon followed Kumang’s footprints to the tall tree where she was hiding. He tried to climb the tree but it was too slippery. He decided to wait at the bottom of the tree. “she can’t stay up there for ever,” he thought. Folktale from Borneo Just a bout that time, Danjal’s friend Juara visited the estate. He heard a small voice calling out to him from the top of a tree. “Please tell Danjal to set fire to the estate. The trees are old and dry. Next year he can plant some young trees.” Folktale from Borneo Then he heard another sound, much deeper and very fierce, “don’t do anything of the sort. If Danjal sets fire to the trees, he’ll cause himself a lot of trouble and lose all his money.” Folktale from Borneo Juara was frightened. He had never heard voices like these before. One sounded like a fairy’s and the other like an evil spirit’s. Folktale from Borneo He ran to Danjal’s house. “What’s wrong?” asked Danjal. “You look as if you have seen a ghost.” Juara told him what had happened. Folktale from Borneo “If a fairy has asked me to burn down the old trees, I’m sure there must be a good reason. I always obey what fairies tell me.” Folktale from Borneo So they set fire to the trees. When they walked round the estate the next day, there were only burnt and blackened tree trunks to be seen. They became tired and sat down to rest on one of the tree trunks. Danjal took out his jungle knife to cut open a coconut he was carrying, as he wanted to drink the coconut juice inside. In doing so, he cut the trunk of the t
greedy dog stole a large piece of tender meat from a butcher’s shop. He grasped the meat tightly between his teeth and ran home with it. On the way home, he came to a small bridge over a stream. As he was crossing the bridge, he looked down and saw his own reflection in the water below; he thought it was another dog that he saw. In this other dog’s mouth he saw another large piece of meat. “If I can get the meat from that other dog, I will have two pieces instead of one,” thought the greedy dog. So, he bent down to get the meat and, as he opened his jaws, the meat fell out and was quickly lost in the water. So, in the end, the dog had nothing. He had been punished by his greed.
In Sarawak long ago, there was a beautiful girl called Kumang. She was very hard-working and use to fish from morning to night. One day, although it was nearly time to go home, she had still caught no fish. She tried once more. When she pulled up her net, she found there was a tiny snake in it. It looked so helpless that she decided to Folktale from Borneo take it home with her. She placed it in a jar in the kitchen. Every day she gave it something to eat. As the weeks passed, the tiny snake grew into a large snake. Finally it changed into a dragon. As it was no longer possible to keep it in the jar, Kumang allowed to live in the house. Folktale from Borneo “Why do you eat so much? Asked Kumang. The dragon did not answer but only breathed fire from its mouth. “I’ve sold everything to buy food for you.” This was true. Kumang had sold all the valuable old Chinese jars which she kept in the house, as well as jewelry, clothes, and furniture. She had nothing left to sell. She wondered how she would be able to buy the dragon any more food. Folktale from Borneo Suddenly the dragon spoke, Kumang sat up. She had never heard the dragon speak before… “How big is your heart?” she thought it was a strange question. “It is only the size of a small leaf,” she answered. The next day, the dragon asked her the same question and received the same reply. Folktale from Borneo “I’ sorry,” the dragon said. “I haven’t had anything to eat for several days. I cannot wait any longer, I am so hungry. I must eat your heart.” Folktale from Borneo Kumang almost fainted. She lived alone. She did not know what to do. “Well” she said, “if you want to eat my heart, I shall have to give it to you. But first, please look for a piece of hollow bamboo. Then place my heart in it together with some rice and cook it over a fire. It will taste much better like that.” Folktale from Borneo As soon the dragon had left the house, Kumang said to her dog, “When the dragon returns, tell him I have gone out for a walk and won’t be back for an hour or so.” Folktale from Borneo She ran into the neighbouring rubber estate owned by her friend Danjal. She quickly climbed the tallest tree she could find. She sat on the highest branch and poured a bottle of cooking oil down the trunk of the tree. Folktale from Borneo Not long afterward, the dragon returned home with the bamboo. He had been running and was out of breath. He was angry when he heard what Kumang’s dog said. However, he soon followed Kumang’s footprints to the tall tree where she was hiding. He tried to climb the tree but it was too slippery. He decided to wait at the bottom of the tree. “she can’t stay up there for ever,” he thought. Folktale from Borneo
must be a good reason. I always obey what fairies tell me.” Folktale They became tired and sat down to rest on one of the tree trunks. Danjal took out his jungle knife to cut open a coconut he was carrying, as he wanted te coconut juice inside. In doing so, he cut the trunk of the tree. He was surprised to see that some blood started to come out from the cut. Folktale from Borneo “What’s this?” he called out in fright. They soon found out that it was not a tree trunk at all but the dragon who had died in the fire! Folktale from Borneo Danjal then saw a strange-looking fruit shining on the top branch of s tree which was still standing. “How strange!” he cried. “A single fruit! I wonder why it was not burnt in the fire? Juara tried to climb the tree. It was difficult as the tree trunk was covered in oil and very slippery. At last, they got the fruit and took it home. “I’ve never seen a fruit like this before,” said Danjal. “It’s so soft and pink.” Folktale from Borneo He placed it on his bed while Juara and he had dinner. While they were eating their dinner, they heard someone singing a sweet song in the bedroom. They crept in. there was a strange golden light coming from the fruit on the bed. “Close your eyes!” said a small timid voice. “And count to twenty.” Folktale from Borneo They did as they were told. When they opened their eyes again, the fruit had split into two. And Kumang was sitting on the bed smiling at them. “Don’t be afraid!” she said. “Let me tell you what happened.” After she had finished, Danbjal said to her, “You are really very lucky. It must have been a terrible nightmare for you. Anyway, now the wicked dargon is dead and won’t cause you any more trouble. But I don’t think you should live alone again. Why don’t you become my wife and live here with me?”
After a while, Kumang agreed to marry Danjal and they lived togetheThen he heard another sound, much deeper and very fierce, “don’t do anything of the sort. If Danjal sets fire to the trees, he’ll cause himself a lot of trouble and lose all his money.” Folktale from Borneo Juara was frightened. He had never heard voices like these before. One sounded like a fairy’s and the other like an evil spirit’s. Folktale from Borneo He ran to Danjal’s house. “What’s wrong?” asked Danjal. “You look as if you have seen a ghost.” Juara told him what had happened. Folktale from Borneo “If a fairy has asked me to burn down the old trees, I’m sure there must be a good reason. I always obey what fairies tell me.” Folktale from Borneo So they set fire to the trees. When they walked round the estate the next day, there were only burnt and blackened tree trunks to be seen. They became tired and sat down to rest on one of the tree trunks. Danjal took out his jungle knife to cut open a coconut he was carrying, as he
A greedy dog stole a large piece of tender meat from a butcher’s shop. He grasped the meat tightly between his teeth and ran home with it. On the way home, he came to a small bridge over a stream. As he was crossing the bridge, he looked down and saw his own reflection in the water below; he thought it was another dog that he saw. In this other dog’s mouth he saw another large piece of meat. “If I can get the meat from that other dog, I will have two pieces instead of one,” thought the greedy dog. So, he bent down to get the meat and, as he opened his jaws, the meat fell out and was quickly lost in the water. So, in the end, the dog had nothing. He had been punished by his greed.
One beautiful morning Kancil decided to fish in a certain river. On the way he met his friend, Swine, who stopped him for a chat. When Swine heard that Kancil wanted to go fishing, he asked whether he could join him, Kancil did not object, as Swine promised to help him with the work. The two of them went on together and soon they met Tiger and Elephant. When they heard that Kancil and Swine were going to the river, they decide to go along, too. And so the four animals went together to the river to fish. Narrative Text Fable - Kancil and the giant Story
Kancil and the giant story When they arrived at the river bank, Kancil immediately began to give orders left and right. Elephant had to dam the river with stones and tree trunks. Tiger and Swine had to throw away the river water while Kancil himself set out to catch the fish left on the dry river bed. There were, however, few fish, so they decided to go further down the river to try their lick again. Kancil ordered Swine to stay behind with their catch. He himself went with Tiger and Elephant further downstream where the tree of them began their work all over again. Narrative Text Fable - Kancil and the giant Story
Meanwhile, a giant came to the place where Swine sat. As soon as he saw the glittering fish, he grabbed them greedily and stuffied them what into his mouth. It was useless for Swine to protect and the giant did not even listen to him. Swine ran toward his friends and told them had happened. Of course, the three others were bot very pleased.
Meanwhile, a giant came to the place where Swine sat. As soon as he saw the glittering fish, he grabbed them greedily and stuffied them what into his mouth. It was useless for Swine to protect and the giant did not even listen to him. Swine ran toward his friends and told them had happened. Of course, the three others were bot very pleased. Narrative Text Fable - Kancil and the giant Story The second time, too, they did not catch enough fish. did not even listen to him. Ordered Tiger to stay behind with their second catch, while he, Swine and Elephant went further away to dam the river at another place. As soon as the three of them were out of sight, the hungry giant came from behind the bushes and ate up all the fish. Tiger snarled angrily, but he did not dare to fight the giant. Narrative Text Fable - Kancil and the giant Story When the other animals came back with their catch they found a very ashamed Tiger without a single fish. Kancil scolded him until he became red in the face. Now it was Elephant’s turn to play guard. “You are so big. Friend Elephant. Certainly, we can trust you to defend our fish,” said Kancil. For the third time the giant came to eat the fish. When Elephant saw how big he was, he became afraid and let the giant steal their fish. Kancil and the others came back, they found the basket empty again. Kancil was very angry with his three friends. He shouted, “What’s the use of having such big and strong bodies, if you can’t even chase away one single giant. This time I will stay here myself. Do you think I am too small to do this job? Go away , the three of you, and catch as a many fish as you can. When you come back, you will find that robber lying here in front of me, bound and helpless.” Narrative Text Fable - Kancil and the giant Story After Swine, Tiger and Elephant had gone away, Kancil plucked a big bunch of reeds from the river side. He tied these reeds around his body. Then lying down under the nearest tree, he bound the reed ends to the roots of the tree. He was very busy tying himself when the giant came. Kancil pretended not to see him and went on with his work. The giant became curious and instead of grabbing the fish he stopped to look sown at Kancil and asked what he was doing. “Well. Well. Don’t you know what is going happen today?” asked Kancil in a surprised tone. “What is going to happen today?” asked the giant curiously. “I thought everybody knew about it,” answered Kancil. “You must have been asleep when Nabi Sulaiman came into the forest to warn all the animals about the big flood. The big flood will carry everybody away to the see, unless he takes precaution to be safe.”
Oh, I have not heard about this flood,” answered the giant, who believe every word Kancil said, “Tell me, what do you do to avoid being carried away?” “Don’t you see what I am doing” said Kancil. “I bind myself to these roots, so that the water will not drag me away Narrative Text Fable - Kancil and the giant Story “That’s a very good idea,” said the stupid giant. “Won’t you help me a little?” “Why not? I am always ready to help somebody in need,” answered Kancil. “But these reeds are not strong enough to hold your heavy body. Why don’t you go into the forest and collect a big bunch of thick rattan? I shall wait for you here. But hurry, we don’t have much time as the flood will come soon after noon.” Narrative Text Fable - Kancil and the giant Story
The stupid giant, afraid of losing his life, ran into the woods and soon came back with a big load of rattan. Kancil told him to bind his own legs tightly together with the rattan, then sit with his back against a big tree so that Kancil could help him tie his body against the tree trunk. The giant did everything Kancil said. Soon he was sitting boud and helpless against the tree. To be completely safe, Kancil wound several more pieces of rattan round him so that the giant could hardly move. Narrative Text Fable - Kancil and the giant Story Then the clever little animal called out to his friends who were still busy catching fish some distance away. Swine, Tiger and Elephant did not have much trouble killing their enemy. Of course, Kancil did not tell them that he had tricked the giant, and the other three animals thought that he had fought with him. They all admired his enormous strength. They gave Kancil the biggest share of the fish, and after having finished their meal each of them went his own way.
One afternoon there was a fox that was walking through the forest and spotted a bunch of grapes hanging from over a lofty branch. “Just the thing to quench my thirst,” quoted the fox. Taking a few steps backward, the fox jumped but unfortunately he missed the hanging grapes. Again the fox took a few paces backward, ran, and tried to reach them but he still failed.
BalasHapusFinally, giving up, the fox turned up his nose and said, “They’re probably sour anyway,” and proceeded to walk away.
Moral Value: it’s easy to despise what you cannot have.
Rubah dan Anggur
Suatu sore hari, ada seekor rubah yang sedang berjalan melewati hutan dan melihat sekelompok anggur tergantung di cabang yang tinggi. “Hanya ini yang bisa memuaskan dahaga saya”, kata si rubah. Kemudian mundur beberapa langkah, rubah tersebut melompat tapi sayangnya dia gagal mendapatkan buah anggur yang menggantung tersebut. Sekali lagi rubah mundur beberapa langkah, berlari, dan mencoba untuk menjangkaunya tapi dia masih gagal.
Akhirnya, menyerah, rubah menunjuk hidungnya dan berkata, “Mereka mungkin asam”, dan kemudian pergi.
One hot day, an ant was seeking for some water. After walking around for a moment, she came to a spring. To reach the spring, she had to climb up a blade of grass. While making her way up, she slipped and fell unintentionally into the water.
BalasHapusShe could have sunk if a dove up a nearby tree had not seen her. Seeing that the ant was in trouble, the dove quickly put off a leaf from a tree and dropped it immediately into the water near the struggling ant. Then the ant moved towards the leaf and climbed up there. Soon it carried her safely to dry ground.
Not long after at that, there was a hunter nearby who was throwing out his net towards the dove, hoping to trap it in this way.
Guessing what he should do, the ant quickly bit him on the heel. Feeling the pain, the hunter dropped his net and the dove flew away quickly from this net.
The morality: One good turn deserves another.
Semut dan Merpati
Suatu hari yang panas, seekor semut sedang mencari air. Setelah beberapa saat berkeliling, dia sampai ke sebuah mata air. Untuk mencapai mata air itu, dia harus memanjat rumput terlebih dahulu. Saat dia memanjat ke atas, dia terpeleset dan secara tidak sengaja jatuh ke dalam air.
Dia mungkin bisa saja tenggelam jika burung merpati yang sedang di atas pohon di dekatnya itu tidak melihatnya. Karena melihat si semut sedang dalam kesulitan, burung merpati pun cepat memetik daun dari pohon dan langsung menjatuhkannya ke dalam air dekat si semut yang mencoba menyelamatkan diri itu. Kemudian si semut pun bergerak menuju daun dan kemudian naik ke atasnya. Daun itu membawanya ke darat dengan selamat.
Tidak lama kemudian, ada seorang pemburu yang membuang jaring ke arah burung merpati, berharap dengan cara ini bisa menjebak si burung merpati.
Berpikir sejenak tentang apa yang harus dia lakukan, kemudian semut cepat menggigit tumit orang tersebut. Karena merasa sakit, si pemburu akhirnya menjatuhkan jaringnya dan kemudian burung merpati terbang keluar dari jaring tersebut dengan cepat.
Pesan Moral: Satu perbuatan baik layak mendapat kebaikan yang lain.
The Legend of Surabaya
BalasHapusA long time ago, there were two animals, Sura and Baya. Sura was the name of a shark and Baya was a crocodile. They lived in a sea.
Once Sura and Baya were looking for some food. Suddenly, Baya saw a goat “Yummy, this is my lunch,” said Baya. “No way! This is my lunch. You are greedy” said Sura. Then they fought for the goat. After several hours, they were very tired.
Feeling tired of fighting, they lived in the different places. Sura lived in the water and Baya lived in the land. The border was the beach, so they would never fight again.
One day, Sura went to the land and looked for some food in the river. He was very hungry and there was not much food in the sea. Baya was very angry when he knew that Sura broke the promise. They fought again.
They both hit each other. Sura bit Baya’s tail. Baya did the same thing to Sura. He bit very hard until Sura finally gave up and went back to the sea. Baya was happy.
Contoh Teks Narrative Bahasa Inggris – The Story of Toba Lake
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Selanjutnya adalah contoh teks narrative bahasa Inggris yang masih menceritakan tentang legenda. Judul dari text narrative ini adalah The Story of Toba Lake atau Cerita Danau Toba.
The Story of Toba Lake
Once upon a time, there was a man who was living in north Sumatra. He lived in a simple hut in a farming field. The did some gardening and fishing for his daily life.
One day, while the man was do fishing, he caught a big golden fish in his trap. It was the biggest catch which he ever had in his life. Surprisingly, this fish turned into a beautiful princess. He felt in love with her and proposed her to be his wife. She said; “Yes, but you have to promise not to tell anyone about the secret that I was once a fish, otherwise there will be a huge disaster”. The man made the deal and they got married, lived happily and had a daughter.
Few years later, this daughter would help bringing lunch to her father out in the fields. One day, his daughter was so hungry and she ate his father’s lunch. Unfortunately, he found out and got furious, and shouted; “You damned daughter of a fish”. The daughter ran home and asked her mother. The mother started crying, felt sad that her husband had broken his promise.
Then she told her daughter to run up the hills because a huge disaster was about to come. When her daughter left, she prayed. Soon there was a big earthquake followed by non-stop pouring rain. The whole area got flooded and became Toba Lake. She turned into a fish again and the man became the island of Samosir.
Malin Kundang
BalasHapusA long time ago, in a small village near the beach in West Sumatra, a woman and her son lived. They were Malin Kundang and her mother. Her mother was a single parent because Malin Kundang’s father had passed away when he was a baby. Malin Kundang had to live hard with his mother.
Malin Kundang was a healthy, dilligent, and strong boy. He usually went to sea to catch fish. After getting fish he would bring it to his mother, or sold the caught fish in the town.
One day, when Malin Kundang was sailing, he saw a merchant’s ship which was being raided by a small band of pirates. He helped the merchant. With his brave and power, Malin Kundang defeated the pirates. The merchant was so happy and thanked to him. In return the merchant asked Malin Kundang to sail with him. To get a better life, Malin Kundang agreed. He left his mother alone.
Many years later, Malin Kundang became wealthy. He had a huge ship and was helped by many ship crews loading trading goods. Perfectly he had a beautiful wife too. When he was sailing his trading journey, his ship landed on a beach near a small village. The villagers recognized him. The news ran fast in the town; “Malin Kundang has become rich and now he is here”.
An old woman ran to the beach to meet the new rich merchant. She was Malin Kundang’s mother. She wanted to hug him, released her sadness of being lonely after so long time. Unfortunately, when the mother came, Malin Kundang who was in front of his well-dressed wife and his ship crews denied meeting that old lonely woman. For three times her mother begged Malin Kundang and for three times he yelled at her. At last Malin Kundang said to her “Enough, old woman! I have never had a mother like you, a dirty and ugly woman!” After that he ordered his crews to set sail. He would leave the old mother again, but in that time, she was full of both sadness and angriness.
Finally, enraged, she cursed Malin Kundang that he would turn into a stone if he didn’t apologize. Malin Kundang just laughed and really set sail.
In the quiet sea, suddenly a thunderstorm came. His huge ship was wrecked and it was too late for Malin Kundang to apologize. He was thrown by the wave out of his ship. He fell on a small island. It was really too late for him to avoid his curse. Suddenly, he turned into a stone.
Snow White
BalasHapusOne day, there was a queen sitting near a very beautiful window while tailoring and seeing the snow. Accidentally, her finger was pierced by a sewing needle so that three drops of blood dripped out. The drops of blood fell down on the snow. The red color of the blood which was stuck in the white of the snow looked very pretty. Suddenly the queen thought “If only i had a child whose skin were as white as snow and whose lips were as red as blood”.
As the time went by, finally a queen gave birth of a very pretty princess whose skin was as white as snow and whose lips were as red as blood. The queen grew up as a very pretty and kind-hearted girl. She was called Snow White. However, when Snow White was about teenager, the queen died because of an illness. After the queen’s death, the king married again. This new queen was wicked and hated Snow white. The queen gave orders that Snow White was to be treated as a servant.
Everyday the queen stood in front of her magic mirror while asking “Who is the most beautiful woman in the land?” and the mirror always answered, “You are the most beautiful one of all.” The new queen asked the same question everyday and the mirror always answered the same thing. But one day the mirror answered that the queen was so beautiful but Snow White was much more beautiful than the queen. It made the queen so angry that she gave orders to one of her Huntsmen to take Snow White into the woods and kill her.
The Huntsman had such a kind heart that he couldn’t do the deed. He told her to run away. In her fleeing into the woods, she found a place in which seven dwarfs lived. Their house was small and strange. Snow White entered the little house and found it very untidy. Then, she started to clean up the entire house. In the upstairs she found seven little beds. She was so exhausted that she stretched out on one of the beds. Not long after that, she was asleep on the bed.
When the Dwarfs came home they were surprised to find Snow White and after some argument, decided to let her stay. She promised to cook and look after them. She lived there together happily.
Unfortunately, The Queen discovered the place where Snow White was living and disguising herself as a witch. She then took a poisoned apple and set out for the Dwarfs cottage. She gave Snow White the poisoned apple to eat and as soon as she bit the apple, she sank into unconsciousness.
Thinking she was dead, the Dwarfs built a glass coffin and put her in it. For days she lay in the forest in her glass coffin. One day, the Prince was riding through the forest looking for Snow White and found her. He leaned over and kissed her. She opened her eyes and sat up with a smile. Everyone was happy at that time. The Prince took Snow White to his palace where they were married and lived happily ever after.
Putri Salju
Pada suatu hari, ada seorang Ratu yang sedang duduk di balik jendela yang sangat indah sambil menjahit dan melihat salju yang turun. Secara tidak sengaja, jarinya tertusuk oleh jarum jahit hingga mengeluarkan tiga tetes darah dari jarinya. Darah tersebut jatuh di atas salju, dan warna merah pun menempel di atas salju yang putih, sehingga terlihat sangat cantik. Ratu pun berpikir “’Andai saja aku punya anak dengan kulit seputih salju dan bibir semerah darah”.
Beberapa waktu kemudian, akhirnya Ratu pun melahirkan seorang Putri yang sangat cantik jelita yang memiliki kulit seputih salju dan bibir merah semerah darah. Sang putri pun tumbuh menjadi gadis yang sangat cantik dan juga baik hati. Ia kemudian dipanggil dengan nama Putri Salju. Namun, ketika Putri Salju tumbuh menjadi gadis remaja, Sang Ratu meninggal karena mempunyai penyakit. Setelah Sang Ratu meninggal, Sang Raja pun menikah lagi. Ratu baru yang ini sangat jahat dan sangat benci kepada Putri Salju. Sang Ratu memberi perintah agar Putri Salju diperlakukan sebagai seorang pembantu.
Long time ago in the island of Java, Indonesia, lived a couple of farmer. They had married for some years but they had no children. So they prayed to a monster called Buta Ijo to give them children. Buta Ijo was a ferocious and powerful monster. He granted their wish on one condition. When their children had grown up, they had to sacrifice them to Buta Ijo. He liked eating fresh meat of human being. The farmers agreed to his condition. Several months later the wife was pregnant.
BalasHapusShe gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. They named her Timun Emas. The farmers were happy. Timun Emas was very healthy and a very smart girl. She was also very diligent. When she was a teenager Buta Ijo came to their house. Timun Emas was frightened so she ran away to hide. The farmers then told Buta Ijo that Timun Emas was still a child. They asked him to postpone. Buta Ijo agreed. He promised to come again. The following year Buta Ijo came again. But again and again their parents said that Timun Emas was still a child.
When the third time Buta Ijo came their parents had prepared something for him. They gave Timun Emas several bamboo needles, seeds of cucumber, dressing and salt.
‘Timun, take these things’
‘What are these things?’
‘These are your weapons. Buta Ijo will chase you. He will eat you alive. So run as fast as you can. And if he will catch you spread this to the ground. Now go!’
Timun Emas was scared so she ran as quickly as she could. When Buta Ijo arrived she was far from home. He was very angry when he realized that his prey had left. So he ran to chase her. He had a sharp nose so he knew what direction his prey ran.
Timun Emas was just a girl while Buta Ijo was a monster so he could easily catch her up. When he was just several steps behind Timun Emas quickly spread the seeds of cucumber. In seconds they turned into many vines of cucumber. The exhausted Buta Ijo was very thirsty so he grabbed and ate them. When Buta Ijo was busy eating cucumber Timun Emas could run away.
But soon Buta Ijo realized and started running again. When he was just several steps behind Timun Emas threw her bamboo needles. Soon they turned into dense bamboo trees. Buta Ijo found it hard to pass. It took him some time to break the dense bamboo forest. Meanwhile Timun Emas could run farther.
Buta Ijo chased her again. When he almost catch her again and again Timun Emas threw her dressing. This time it turned into a lake. Buta Ijo was busy to save himself so Timun Emas ran way. But Buta Ijo could overcome it and continued chasing her.
Finally when Timun Emas was almost caught she threw her salt. Soon the land where Buta Ijo stood turned into ocean. Buta Ijo was drowned and died instantly. Timun Emas was thankful to god and came back to her home.
In the town of Verona there lived two families, the Capulets and the Montagues. They engaged in a bitter feud. Among the Montagues was Romeo, a hot-blooded young man with an eye for the ladies. One day, Romeo attended the feast of the Capulets’, a costume party where he expected to meet his love, Rosaline, a haughty beauty from a well-to-do family. Once there, however, Romeo’s eyes felt upon Juliet, and he thought of Rosaline no more.
BalasHapusThe vision of Juliet had been invading his every thought. Unable to sleep, Romeo returned late that night to the Juliet’s bedroom window. There, he was surprised to find Juliet on the balcony, professing her love for him and wishing that he were not a “Montague”, a name behind his own. “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Romeo was ready to deny his name and professed his love. The two agreed to meet at nine o-clock the next morning to be married.
Early the next morning, Romeo came to Friar Lawrence begging the friar to marry him to Juliet. The Friar performed the ceremony, praying that the union might someday put an end to the feud between the two families. He advised Romeo kept the marriage a secret for a time.
On the way home, Romeo chanced upon his friend Mercutio arguing with Tybalt, a member of the Capulet clan. That quarreling last caused Merquito died. Romeo was reluctant no longer. He drew his sword and slew Tybalt died. Romeo realized he had made a terrible mistake. Then Friar Lawrence advised Romeo to travel to Mantua until things cool down. He promised to inform Juliet.
In the other hand, Juliet’s father had decided the time for her to marry with Paris. Juliet consulted Friar Lawrence and made a plot to take a sleeping potion for Juliet which would simulate death for three days. The plot proceeded according to the plan. Juliet was sleeping in death.
Unfortunately, The Friar’s letter failed to reach Romeo. Under the cover of darkness, he broke into Juliet’s tomb. Romeo kissed the lips of his Juliet one last time and drank the poison. Meanwhile, the effects of the sleeping potion wear off. Juliet woke up calling for Romeo. She found her love next to her but was lying dead, with a cup of poison in his hand. She tried to kiss the poison from his lips, but failed. Then Juliet put out his dagger and plunged it into her breast. She died
In the past, there was a puppeteer whose name is Geppetto. He eager to have a son very much but his wife passed away several years ago. One day, he got an idea to make a puppet in order not to be lonely again. He made a puppet all day long. Finally, in the morning he had finished his work and he named the puppet Pinocchio. Soon he felt lonely again since Pinocchio couldn’t walk or talk by itself. One night, Geppetto prayed to the God to become a real boy. He always thought it on his mind in his dream.
BalasHapusIn the next morning, he was surprised that Pinocchio was alive. He taught Pinocchio how to walk, how to read, how to speak and to do other things as human. He then studied at an elementary school. One day, Pinocchio felt bored and it made him go home late. When Pinocchio finally came home, Geppetto asked him. He said that he was on school but he wasn’t. Instantly, Pinocchio’s nose grew longer and longer and it meant that Pinocchio has lied.
The next morning, Pinocchio was kidnaped by the owner of circus. Pinocchio soon became a slave for the circus. He was so famous because he was a puppet which can talk. Geppetto worried about him because Pinocchio had not been going home for almost two days. He tried to find Pinocchio everywhere but he found nothing. When he searched him on the sea, big wave smashed him. He was then in whale’s stomach when he awoke. He couldn’t find the way to go out.
In the other side, Pinocchio finally could escape out from the circus. He came home but nobody was there. Latter on, he searched Geppetto in the sea. He got the same accident like Geppetto and he met Geppetto in whale’s stomach. Both of them got out from its stomach by making a fire. In the end of the story, they went home together and lived happily ever after.
When he was awakened by a tiny Mouse running across his body, a mighty Lion was sleeping in his lair. The lion then grabbed the frightened mouse with his huge paws and opened his mouth to swallow him directly. “Please, King,” begged the Mouse, “Spare me this time and of course I will never forget your kindness. Someday I may be able to repay you. “The Lion thought that it was such an amusing idea that he let the poor creature go.
BalasHapusSometimes later the Lion was caught in a net laid by some hunters. Despite his great strength, the Lion could not break free. Soon the forest echoed with angry load roars.
The Little Mouse heard the Lion and ran to see what was wrong. As soon as he succeeded to make the Lion free “There!” said the Mouse proudly, ” You laughed at me when I promised to repay your kindness, but now you know that even a tiny Mouse can help a mighty Lion.”
Moral Value:
Little friends may prove to be great friends.
Friend in need is friend indeed.
Singa dan Tikus
Pada saat ia terbangun oleh tikus kecil yang berjalan di tubuhnya, singa perkasa itu sedang tertidur di sarangnya. Kemudian Singa itu menangkap tikus yang sedang ketakutan dengan cakar besar dan sekaligus membuka mulutnya untuk menelannya langsung. “Tolong, Raja”, kata tikus, “Bebaskan saya kali ini dan tentu saja saya tidak akan pernah melupakan kebaikan mu, suatu hari nanti aku mungkin bisa membayar kebaikanmu ini”. Singa pun berpikir bahwa itu adalah hal yang baik sehingga ia membiarkan makhluk lemah itu pergi dari cengkeramannya.
Beberapa waktu kemudian singa itu terperangkap dalam jaring yang diletakkan oleh beberapa pemburu. Meskipun memiliki kekuatan yang besar, singa tersebut tetap tidak bisa membebaskan dirinya. Kemudian hutan pun bergema dengan auman singa yang sedang marah tersebut.
Tikus kecil mendengar auman singa tersebut dan kemudian berlari untuk melihat apa yang sedang terjadi. Begitu si tikus kecil berhasil membuat singa bebas, “Itulah!” kata tikus dengan perasaan bangganya, “Engkau tertawa padaku saat aku berjanji untuk membalas kebaikanmu, tetapi sekarang engkau tahu bahwa meski hanya tikus kecil tapi bisa membantu singa yang perkasa untuk bebas dari perangkap”.
One beautiful morning Kancil decided to fish in a certain river. On the way he met his friend, Swine, who stopped him for a chat. When Swine heard that Kancil wanted to go fishing, he asked whether he could join him, Kancil did not object, as Swine promised to help him with the work. The two of them went on together and soon they met Tiger and Elephant. When they heard that Kancil and Swine were going to the river, they decide to go along, too. And so the four animals went together to the river to fish.
BalasHapusNarrative Text Fable - Kancil and the giant Story
Kancil and the giant story
When they arrived at the river bank, Kancil immediately began to give orders left and right. Elephant had to dam the river with stones and tree trunks. Tiger and Swine had to throw away the river water while Kancil himself set out to catch the fish left on the dry river bed. There were, however, few fish, so they decided to go further down the river to try their lick again. Kancil ordered Swine to stay behind with their catch. He himself went with Tiger and Elephant further downstream where the tree of them began their work all over again.
Narrative Text Fable - Kancil and the giant Story
Meanwhile, a giant came to the place where Swine sat. As soon as he saw the glittering fish, he grabbed them greedily and stuffied them what into his mouth. It was useless for Swine to protect and the giant did not even listen to him. Swine ran toward his friends and told them had happened. Of course, the three others were bot very pleased.
Narrative Text Fable - Kancil and the giant Story
The second time, too, they did not catch enough fish. did not even listen to him. Ordered Tiger to stay behind with their second catch, while he, Swine and Elephant went further away to dam the river at another place. As soon as the three of them were out of sight, the hungry giant came from behind the bushes and ate up all the fish. Tiger snarled angrily, but he did not dare to fight the giant.
Narrative Text Fable - Kancil and the giant Story
When the other animals came back with their catch they found a very ashamed Tiger without a single fish. Kancil scolded him until he became red in the face. Now it was Elephant’s turn to play guard.
“You are so big. Friend Elephant. Certainly, we can trust you to defend our fish,” said Kancil.
For the third time the giant came to eat the fish. When Elephant saw how big he was, he became afraid and let the giant steal their fish. Kancil and the others came back, they found the basket empty again. Kancil was very angry with his three friends. He shouted, “What’s the use of having such big and strong bodies, if you can’t even chase away one single giant. This time I will stay here myself. Do you think I am too small to do this job? Go away , the three of you, and catch as a many fish as you can. When you come back, you will find that robber lying here in front of me, bound and helpless.”
Narrative Text Fable - Kancil and the giant Story
After Swine, Tiger and Elephant had gone away, Kancil plucked a big bunch of reeds from the river side. He tied these reeds around his body. Then lying down under the nearest tree, he bound the reed ends to the roots of the tree. He was very busy tying himself when the giant came. Kancil pretended not to see him and went on with his work. The giant became curious and instead of grabbing the fish he stopped to look sown at Kancil and asked what he was doing.
“Well. Well. Don’t you know what is going happen today?” asked Kancil in a surprised tone.
“What is going to happen today?” asked the giant curiously.
“I thought everybody knew about it,” answered Kancil. “You must have been asleep when Nabi Sulaiman came into the forest to warn all the animals about the big flood. The big flood will carry everybody away to the see, unless he takes precaution to be safe.”
“Oh, I have not heard about this flood,” answered the giant, who believe every word Kancil said, “Tell me, what do you do to avoid being carried away?”
Long long ago, Mr. Fish, Mr. Fly, Mr. Wasp and Mr. snail lived together in a small house. They divided the work among themselves. Mr. fish was the biggest and strongest. He was made the head of the house and his job was to find food. Mr. Fly, who could fly very fast, was made a messenger. Mr. Wasp was made a guard because of his painful sting. And Mr. Snail, who could only move slowly, looked after the house.
BalasHapusFable for kids
Early one day, Mr. Fish went out to look for food. He swam slowly in a nearby river. Suddenly, he saw something moving in the water. It was a big frog. “What a lovely meal.” He thought. He quickly seized the frog in his mouth and started to swim home. But he did not know there was a hook inside the frog which was tied to a string. Someone pulled the string and soon Mr. Fish found himself inside a fisherman’s basket. The fisherman took him home and ate him.
Fable for kids
Of course, his friends did not know what had happened to him. They waited for him for several days. By this time, they all felt very hungry. Then Mr. Fly was sent out to look for Mr. Fish. Suddenly, he saw something moving in the water below. It was a fish whose lips moved in and out on the surface of the water.
Mr. Fly was angry. He thought the fish was laughing at him.
Fable for kids
“Don’t laugh me!” he cried, “I’m looking for my friend Mr. Fish, have you seen him?”
Fable for kids
But the fish still seemed to laugh at him. Mr. Fly flew lower and lower as he wanted to bite the fish. Suddenly, he felt very weak. He had not eaten any food for such a long time. His wings became heavier and heavier. “Plop!” he fell into the water and the fish swallowed him in a second.
Fable for kids
Mr. Wasp and Mr. Snail were still waiting for Mr. Fish and Mr. Fly to return. Although they were both hungry, Mr. Snail was not as hungry as Mr. Wasp. He could eat mud while Mr. wasp could only tighten his belt. At last, Mr. wasp could not stand it any longer.
Fable for kids
He flew out of the house to look for Mr. Fish and Mr. Fly. While he was flying, his hunger became worse. He tightened his belt again and again until finally he broke into two. That was the end of Mr. Wasp.
Fable for kids
Now only Mr. Snail was left. He left the house to look for his three friends. He was crying because he felt so lonely. Whenever he found some grass, he would climb up it to look around for his friends. Even today snails still cry, and whenever they see any grass they will climb up it and look around for their old friends.
Fable for kids
A long time ago, there was an old crab who liked to sleep. But there were some frogs living nearby who made a loud noise. They kept him awake at night.
BalasHapusOne night, the crab became very angry. “Don’t make so much noise!” he shouted.
“we can’t help it,” said the king of the frogs. “We’re talking about our friend the turtle.”
Narrative text fable
“What’s wrong with the turtle?”
“Don’t you know?” asked the king of the frogs. “he carries his house on his back.”
The crab then asked the turtle, “Why do you carry your house on your back?”
“Because I’m afraid the firefly will set light to it,” answered the turtle.
The crab then asked the firefly, “Why do you want to set fire to the poor turtle’s house?”
“Because the fire will keep away the mosquitoes,: said the firefly.
“And why do you want to give so much trouble to the firefly?” the crab asked the mosquito.
“I don’t,” replied the mosquito. At the same time, the mosquito bit the king of the frogs who had first spoken to the crab.
He jumped at least six inches in the air. “Ooch!” he cried. “Don’t bite me! It’s painful!”
But the mosquito dived at him again. He was very angry.
The king of the frogs stuck out his tongue and caught him. That was the end of the mosquito.
Since then, frogs and mosquitoes have been enemies. Even now, mosquitoes always chase frogs and bite them whenever they have the chance.
The kinka is a small lizard with a red ring around its neck. This story is about a kinka that lived in the king’s garden.
BalasHapusOne day the king took a walk through his garden. He looked at the birds and the flowers. He looked at the trees. Suddenly he noticed a kinkas do when they are frightened.
“Look at this,” said the king. “this lizard is very clever. He knows how to behave before the king. He is certainly the most polite animal I have ever seen.”
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The king called his gardener. “I want you to feed this kinka. Give him some meat each day. Here is a bag of gold coins to pay for the meat.”
And so, each day the gardener used two gold coins to buy meat for the kinka. The kinka grew fat and lazy. He no longer ran through the garden.
One day the gardener was too busy to buy meat. Instead, he hung the two gold coins around the kinka’s neck. The kinka climbed to the top of the garden gate. Soon the king came along on his daily walk. He saw the kinka. This time the kinka did not nod its head because the coins around its neck were so heavy. It simply looked down on the king.
“What a proud kinka you are,” said the king. “You are too proud to be polite.”
After that the king refused to buy any special meat for the kinka. Like other animals, the kinka once again had to find its own fo
Chao was going to attack Yen. When the king of Yen heard about it, he sent for his senior officers.
BalasHapus“Can you tell me what to do?” he asked them.
Su Tai said, “I have a plan. Let me go and speak to the king of Chao,” The king of Yen agreed.
When Su Tai arrived at Chao, he saw the king. Your Majesty,” he said, “When I was coming here this morning, I passed the River Yi. There I saw a clam lying in the sun. Suddenly, a crane came along and tried to open its shell and eat it up. The clam caught the crane’s beak in it shell. The crane tried to free itself but was unable to do so.”
“ ‘You can try as hard as you like,’ the clam said, ‘but you cannot escape.”
“ ‘Unless you let me go,’ the crane answered, ‘you will not be able to return to the river.’”
“Neither of them wanted to give way. Not long afterwards, a fisherman passed by. He stopped and caught them both without any trouble.”
The king of Chao asked Su Tai, “What is the meaning of this story?”
“Your Majesty,” Su Tai replied, “if Chao and Yen fight each other they: will both become weak. there are many countries around us waiting to be the fisherman. I hope Your Majesty will think twice before doing anything.”
“Very well,” the King replied. Nothing more was heard after that of Chao attacking Yen.
Long ago a weasel came to a forest near Phakchong. He saw many mice there. Weasels like to eat mice, so the weasel decided to stay in the forest.
BalasHapusFirst, the weasel found a place to sleep in a hole beneath a bush. The next day he walked to the top of a small hill. On the hilltop was a rock. The weasel decided to sit on the rock.
“Who’s there? Asked the rock. “Whoever you are, don’t sit on me.”
“I’ll sit here as long as I like,” said the weasel. “After all, you’re not going anywhere.”
The rock sighed, for there was nothing he could do. The weasel sat back on his hind legs. He raised his forelegs in front of him, looked at the sky, and pretended to pray. At sunset the weasel walked down the hill to his home. He did the same thing the next day, and the next day, and the next day after that.
Soon the mice became curious about the weasel. They watched him for several days. Finally they chose one brave mouse to ask the weasel what he was doing. The brave mouse climbed the hill.
“What are you doing?” asked the mouse.
“I’m praying,” replied the weasel.
The mouse ran back down the hill. He told the other mice that the weasel was praying. The mice decided that the weasel was a very great animal. They also thought he must be a very good animal. That evening they waited for him at the bottom of the hill.
“We want to pay our respects’ to you,” said their leader.
The weasel and the mice
The mice walked around the weasel three times. Then they went home. They did not notice that one mouse was missing.
Each night after that the mice waited for the weasel. Each night he came down from the hilltop. Each night the mice walked around him three times, and each night the weasel ate one mouse.
This went on for several months. Finally the leader of the mice noticed something. The forest had fewer mice than before. He called a meeting of all the mice.
“Something is wrong,” said the leader. “Mice are disappearing, I thing the weasel is eating our friends and relations.
The mice decided to look at the weasel’s home. They went the next day, while the weasel was on the rock. In the weasel’s hole they found a large pile of mouse bone. The mice ran back to the leader who told them what to do.
That evening most of the mice waited at the bottom of the hill. Some of the stronger mice walked up behind the hill. At the sundown the weasel stepped off the rock, and it began to move. The rock rolled down the hill, but the weasel didn’t hear it coming. He was thinking about his dinner.
The rock landed on the weasel.
“Get off,” cried the weasel. “Don’t sit on me.”
“I’ll sit here as long as I like,” said the rock. “After all, I’m not going anywhere.”
Another enemy of Kancil was tiger. But just like Crocodile, Tiger not a clever fellow.
BalasHapusOne day tiger saw Kancil sitting dreamily under a big shady tree. He did not even look up when tiger approached him. He just sat there, playing with a stick which he held in his front paws.
Contoh Narrative text
“What are you doing there, Kancil?” asket Tiger curiously.
“Shhh, don’t disturb me, tiger,” answered Kancil, “I am thinking of my reward.”
“Your reward?” said the tiger more
curiously than ever. “Who will give you a reward, and why should you get a reward?”
Contoh Narrative text
Kancil and tiger story
“Ah, one can’t even think in peace for one moment without being disturbed,” Grumble Kancil. “Well if you want to know, it is Nabi Sulaiman himself who will give me a reward,”
Contoh Narrative text
“Ah why should Nabi Sulaeman give you a reward. Kancil?” asked the tiger again.
Contoh Narrative text
“My goodness, you are really a busy-body,” said Kancil impatiently. “I suppose I have to tell you everything, otherwise you won’t leave me in peace. You see, Nabi Sulaeman has asked me to guard his drum during his absence, so that nobody will play on it. If I do my task well, he will be, but it will certainly be something precious, as Nabi Sulaeman is both rich and generous. You know that as well as I do.”
Contoh Narrative text
“You are indeed lucky, Kancil,” said Tiger enviously, “but where is that drum you are guarding?”
“Up there in the tree,” answered Kancil, pointing upwards with his stich. Tiger looked up and saw a round dark object hanging from one of the lower branches.
Contoh Narrative text
“That looks like a beehive to me,” said tiger amazed.
“A beehive! Tiger, if the Nabi could hear you! How dare you compare his holy drum with a beehive!” said Kancil in a shocked tone.
Contoh Narrative text
“Well,” said the tiger hastily, “I think it has a very unusual shape.”
For a moment Kancil and Tiger sat silently under tree, each absorbed in his own thoughts. Then Tiger said again, “Kancil, what will happen when somebody plays the drum?”
Contoh Narrative text
“Only Nabi Sulaeman may play the drum,” said Kancil quickly. “I have to prevent anybody from playing that drum.”
Contoh Narrative text
“Yes, but what will happen when Nabi sulaeman plays that drum?” Tiger insisted, not put off by Kancil’s gruff tone.
Contoh Narrative text
“According to what I have from my grandfather,” answered Kancil putting on a seriously face, “the person who plays that drum will hear beautiful music all around him. All the animals in the forest will come to listen, but they will be so afraid of the power of the player that they will hide their faces from him in awe. Nobody will dare to come near. Everybody will stay at a respectful distance. That’s what happens when Nabi sulaeman plays the drum.”
Contoh Narrative text
Kancil’s story made a deep impression on tiger. Suddenly he was seized with a great desire to play the drum, to hear the beautiful music Kancil had talked about and to enjoy the sight of the awestruck animals of the forest.
Contoh Narrative text
“Kancil,” he said, “lease, let me play just one little note on that drum. The Nabi will never hear it. I shall play softly.”
Contoh Narrative text
“Tiger, are you out of your mind?” shouted Kancil. “I have promised the great Nabi not to let anyone come near that drum?”
Contoh Narrative text
“Please, Kancil, dear friend, I long so much to hear that music and to see all the animals of the forest coming to me. If you let me do it, I shall tell you about a place where you can find the juiciest cucumbers in the world,” begged tiger.
Cucumbers! Hmm, I do happen to be thirsty at the moment,” said kancil pensively. “Well … if you tell me where I can find there nice cucumbers, I shall pass my task on to you for a moment until I have quenched my thirst. The Nabi sulaeman not object to that, I think.”
BalasHapusContoh Narrative text
“That’s a good idea!” tiger exclaimed.
“but remember, if the Nabi sulaeman finds out and punished you, you must not blame me.” Warned Kancil.
Contoh Narrative text
“Of course, Kancil, of course. Now, if you go straight along this path and turn to the left, you will find a little creek. Just follow the creek you will find the cucumber field.”
Contoh Narrative text
Tiger was very impatient to get Kancil going so that he could play the mysterious drum. Knacil gave him the stick and ran away as lighting.
Contoh Narrative text
Tiger picked up the stick expectantly and tapped lightly on the drum. Immediately, a soft humming sound was heard from inside the object. But nothing else happened. Tiger did not see a single animal approaching and soon afterward the humming stopped.
Contoh Narrative text
“I have to play a little louder,” he thought, and picking up the stick again he pounded in the drum. To his alarm the drum fell to pieces and before he realized exactly what he had done a great bunch of furious wasps fell upon him, stinging him everywhere. Tiger ran for his life, howling an roaring with all his might.
Contoh Narrative text
From all sides of the forest animals came running to see what all the noise was about. But as soon as they saw the wasps around tiger they covered their faces and ran away. Tiger ran on and on, until he reached the river. He plunged into the water and dives as deeply as he could. Only then did the wasps leave him.
Contoh Narrative text
Kancil meanwhile sat in the cucumber field wasps and stuffed himself with cucumbers until he nearly burst. Naturally, he was cautious not to come near Tiger to the next few weeks.
Contoh Narrative text
Unknown
Kancil, the small but clever mousedeer, had many enemies in the forest. Fortunately, he was quick-witted, so that every time his life was threatened, he managed to escape.
BalasHapusOne of his greatest enemies was Crocodile, who lived in the river that bordered the forest. Many times Crocodile had tried to capture the small mousedeer. Crocodile was big, but he was not very clever. Kancil was able to trick him every time.
One day it was very hot. There was no wind at all to refresh the thirsty plants and trees of the forest. It was in the middle of the dry season. For many weeks no rain had fallen so that the little creeks where the small animals used to drink had dried up. Kancil was walking alone in the forest; he was very thirsty. He had walked a long way; looking for a brook where he could quench his thirst, but he had found only dry mud in the once gay rippling brooks. It was very quiet in the forest. All the animals seemed to sleep. Even the birds did not sing in the trees. Kancil finally decided to go to the river that bordered the forest. Usually he avoided going there as he knew that Crocodile was always on the look-out for him, waiting for an opportunity to catch him.
When he arrived at the river. Kancil looked cautiously around him. There was no body to be seen. The clear river water mirrored blidingly the rays of the sun. step by step Kancil approached the water. His sharp eyes looked right and left; his pointed ears strained to catch the slightest sound. But no danger seemed to threaten him this time. Relieved, he bent his head to enjoy the cool water. Suddenly, his glance fell upon an object that was floating not far away from where he stood. It was a blackish thing. It looked like a fallen branch ………. Or, like the back of crocodile! Kancil jumped back, surprised and thoughtful. But he was also very thirsty. How could he possibly know whether the thing there in the river was really a log or a crocodile? Then he smiled a little as he hit upon an idea. In a clear voice he shouted, “ Hey! There, you who are in the river. If you are crocodile, don’t answer me, but if you are only a long of wood, tell me your name!”
Now it was really Crocodile who was floating in the river. He had seen Kancil approaching and he was waiting for him to bend his head to drink. At the very moment when Kancil did not look. Crocodile would catch him. Without thinking any further, Crocodile answered Kancil in his gruff voice, “Don’t be afraid, I’m only a harmless log!”
Immediately, Kancil ran away as fast as his leg could carry him, while shouting over his shoulder, “O, stupid Crocodile, have you ever heard a log of wood talk?”
A fortnight later, however, Kancil forgot this incident. The dry season was not over yet and it seemed to be hotter than ever. Kancil remembered the cool, fresh river water. How wonderful it would be take a bath in it! He decidec to try his luck once again. This time there was nothing suspicious to be seen, so Kancil went to the water and drank to his heart’s content. It was very quite, and also very hot. Without thinking any further Kancil went down into the river and began to splash himself. In his delight he forgot all about danger. He pick up a dry twig that was floating by and began to beat the water with it. He made so much noise that he woke up….. who else, but old crocodile who was sleeping in the neighbourhood.
“Well, well, this seem to be my lucky day,” thought Crocodile. In a flash he shot out of his hiding place and all of a sudden. Kancil felt sharp teeth biting into one of his legs. It hurt him very much, but though he was shocked and frightened Kancil did not lose his wits. Without hesitation he dipped the dry twig into the water and in a mocking tone he said, “stupid old log of wood, do you really think you have got me? It is only a twig you have in your mouth, not my leg. Here is my leg’ catch it if you can!”
Kancil moved the twig rapidly to and in front of Crocodile’s eyes. Crocodile could not see very
There was a tiger whose greatest friend was a monkey. One day, the tiger went away fo a holyday and told the monkey to look after his cave. A mousedeer, his wife and family came to live in the cave.
BalasHapus“you can’t do that,” said the monkey. “This cave belongs to the King of the Forest.”
“Oh, does it?” the mousedeer replied. “My father lived here long before the tiger come. Anyway, I’m not afraid of the tiger, he’s only a paper tiger to me.”
He told his wife what to do when the tiger returned. “You must make our babies cry. I’ll then ask you why they’re crying. You must say that they want to eat tiger meat,”
A few days later, the monkey heard that the tiger was coming home. He ran to meet him. “The mousedeer’s living in your cave.” He told him. “He says he’s not afraid of you and that you’re only a paper tiger.”
“Is that so?” growled the tiger. “I’ll soon teach hi a lesson.”
The tiger did not believe that the small mousedeer could be so brave. He crept up to the cave.
The mousedeer’s children were crying loudly, “Keep quiet,” said Mrs. Mousedeer ”Your father will soon get some tiger meat for you.”
Then tiger heard this and ran back to the monkey.
“I thought that mousedeer only ate grass and vegetables,” he said. “But Mrs. Mousedeer said that her husband would soon get some tiger meat to feed their children. Perhaps the mousedeer has changed?”
“Don’t worry,” the monkey replied, “They’re only saying that to frightened you. The mousedeer is not big and strong. He can’t fight.”
The next day, the tiger went to the cave again. The mousedeer’s children were again crying.
“Tell them to kept quiet,” said the mousedeer to his wife. “We shall certainly get some tiger meat today. The monkey has promised to send the tiger here.”
When the tiger heard this, he became very angry with his friend, he quickly run after the monkey and killed him.
The tiger did not go back to the cave, and the mousedeer and his family lived there happily ever after.
A mousedeer was walking along the bank of river. He could see several crocodiles lying in the mud a t the side of the river.
BalasHapus“Hey, friends!” he called out. “You are really very big and strong! You could easily conguer any country if you want to.”
“Of course, Mr. mousedeer,” answered the crocodiles. “Even men are afraid of us. Look how well are armed.” They showed the mousedeer their sharp claws and
teeth, and waved their tails slowly backwards and forwards. “With one blow we can knock a man down.
”Everything you say is true,” said the mousedeer, “but I would like to know how many of you there are. Can you please form a line across the river so that I can count you?”
The crocodiles did as they were told. They formed a line from one side of the river to the other.
The mousedeer jumped down lightly on the back of the nearest crocodile. “One, two, three,” he counted as he walked across the river on their backs.
When he reached the other side, he jumped quickly on to the bank. “Thank you very much gentlemen,” he called out. “I didn’t want to get my feet wet crossing the river.”
The crocodiles roared in anger.
“Don’t forget, mousedeer.” They shouted “we can live on land as well as in the water. On day we shall catch you and teach you a good lesson.”
“Ha, ha, ha!” laughed the mousedeer. He run away into the forest. But he did not go near the river again after that. Whenever he wanted to drink, he look for water elsewhere.
One day it was very hot. The mousedeer was very thirsty. He could not find water anywhere. He had to return to the river.
“O river,” he cried, “Are there any crocodiles there?” there was no reply. He repeated the question several times but received no answer. “Oh well,” he said “there must be crocodiles there otherwise the river would say something.”
“There are no crocodiles here,” came the answer from the crocodiles, who were grinding their teeth in anger.
“Thanks for letting me know that you’re there,” the mousedeer said. “I don’t think I want to go near the river today.”
The crocodiles rushed up the river bank towards the mousedeer but he ran swiftly into the jungle. “The mousedeer thinks he’s very clever,” said the crocodiles. “Let’s wait for him near those papaya trees over there. He always goes there to eat.”
They waited for several hours. Feeling very hot and uncomfortable under the sun.
Suddenly the mousedeer arrived. “O papaya tree, are there any crocodiles there?”
As there was no reply, he repeated the question several times. There was silence. “Ho, ho papaya tree! I’m sure there are crocodiles there. They must have told you to keep quiet.”
“No we didn’t,” shouted the crocodiles.
The mousedeer immediately ran away but the crocodiles were too slow to catch him.
Before long, the mousedeer felt thirsty and hungry. He went back to the river. While he was searching for food and drink, a crocodile seized him by the leg.
“Hey what are you doing?” asked mousedeer. “That’s not my leg. It’s a branch of a tree.”
The crocodile let go of his leg to take another bite.
The mousedeer leapt away as fast as he could. When he reached as safe distance, he stopped and called out. “My friends, I know you are still waiting for me in the river, if you want to kill me, why don’t we have a fair fight? I shall call all of my friends and you can call yours. In one week’s time. We’ll meet on the river bank and fight it out.”
The crocodiles agreed that it would be the best way to settle the matter once and for all.
Every night after that, while the crocodiles were asleep, the mousedeer made as many footprints as he could in the soft mud at the side of the river.
On the seventh day, a large army of crocodiles appeared. But they could find no sign of the mousedeer and his army. All they could see were hundreds of footprints in the mud.
“What a pity!” they exclaimed. “It’s our fault, we are too late. The mousedeer’s army could not wait for us.”
The mousedeer called out to them from the other side of the river. “Do you think I am so stupid
One day while a mousedeer was walking in the forest, he saw a big, black snake sleeping under the tree. When he saw the snake, the mousedeer was frightened. When he wanted to run away from the snake, he suddenly fell on top of a tiger which was sleeping not far from the snake. The tiger woke up and took hold of the mousedeer. He told the mousedeer that he was going to eat him for lunch. “please don’t eat me now,” said the mousedeer. “I have something important to do.”
BalasHapus“look,” said the mousedeer. “that is the king’s belt. He asked me to stay here and watch it while he was away in the forest.” The tiger looked at the snake and said, “that is a beautiful belt. I need a belt like that. Can I wear it?” asked the mousedeer.
“Oh all right,” said the mousedeer. So he picked up the snake and winded it around the tiger. The snake twisted itself tighter and tighter until the tiger couldn’t breathe. The tiger asked The mousedeer to help him. But the mousedeer turned and ran away into the forest.
Long, long ago a mousedeer and a tiger were neighbours. The tiger was very fierce. He liked to boast how strong he was. All the animals in the forest were afraid of him. He ate at least one of them for dinner every day.
BalasHapusThe mousedeer decided to teach him a good lesson.
“Why don’t you allow me to bring you your dinner every day? You will then not have to hunt to food,” he asked the tiger.
The tiger agreed.
The next day the mousedeer took a rat with him to see the tiger.
“I’m afraid I could not bring you a bigger animal.” The mousedeer explained. “There’s an animal who looks exactly like you blocking the road. He too has a rat sitting on his head. He said to all animals, “Is there anyone in the world who can fight with me? If so, let him come and try. If there’s no one, then I’m the king of the forest.”
“Ho!” said the tiger. “Didn’t you tell him about me?”
“Yes I did,” replied the mousedeer. “But it would have been better if I hadn’t. when I told him how strong you were, he laughed and said rude things. He even said he would not accept you as his servant.”
The tiger became very angry. “Where is he? Where is he? He shouted.
So the mousedeer asked the rat to sit on the tiger’s head while he sat on the tiger’s back. He pointed to a river not far away. “He’s there.” He said.
The tiger ran to the river. He looked down at the water. Yes, there was another tiger. As the mousedeer said, he was just like himself. There was also a rat sitting on his head.
He shouted loudly his enemy shouted loudly too.
The tiger became even more angry. He showed his teeth. So did the other tiger.
The tiger jumped into the river to fight with his enemy. He drowned immediately.
A man was hurrying along a river bank. “Help, Help! Please have pity on me.” He looked all around him. Then he stared. It was a crocodile. There were tears streaming down its cheeks. It could not move because a tree had fallen on top of it and pinned its tail to the ground.
BalasHapusFolktale from Malaysia
The man said, “look, Mr. Crocodile, If I release you, will you eat me up?”
“No, no. how could I be so ungrateful?” said the crocodile.
The man pulled the tree off the crocodile’s tail. The crocodile quickly twisted round and seized the men by the leg.
Folktale from Malaysia
“Wait!” the man cried, very frightened. “Let’s ask my friend, Mr. Mousedeer, whether this is the right way for you to repay my kindness.”
Folktale from Malaysia
When the mousedeer arrived he pretended that he did not believe the story that the man told him.
“I can’t believe that you would be so good to Mr. crocodiles,” he said. “Probably you were trying to harm him and he caught hold of you. Er … er, Mr. Crocodile, would you please show me where you were lying when the man came along?”
Folktale from Malaysia
“Why, certainly,” said the crocodile. “I was here.”
Ah he let go of the man, the mousedeer shouted to the man to drop a log on the crocodile. The crocodile could not move.
Folktale from Malaysia
The man bowed and thanked the clever mousedeer.
“Ah,” said the mousedeer, “Don’t try to be too kind. It’s man’s nature to be ungrateful,”
He called out to an old sleeping-mat that was floating in midstream. “Hai there, old mat, what’s the reward for those who do kind acts?”
Folktale from Malaysia
“Mr. Mousedeer,” answered the mat, “just look at me. Once I was bright and new. Now that I am old you can see what has happened to me.”
Folktale from Malaysia
And then an empty cooking pot floated past. The mousedeer asked it the same question and receive the same reply.
Folktale from Malaysia
Many years ago, so long ago that no one knows exactly when a lion lived in a cave in the forest. He was very strong and fierce, with pointed claws and teeth as sharp as knives. All the animal living in the forest were afraid of him.
BalasHapusHe was lazy and did nothing every day except eat and sleep. Mr. Peacock swept the floor of his cave with
his long tail, so that he could have a clean bed to sleep on. While he slept, Mr. Mouse stroked and massaged his body. When he opened his mouth to yamn, Mr. Mouse would jump in to clean and polish his teeth.
Mr. Porcupine was the lion’s chief assistant. He was a brave and hard worker. He never tired of obeying the lion’s orders.
“I’m feeling hungry.” The lion told him one day. “Go and catch a goat for me.”
Mr. Porcupine went and asked Mr. tiger to help him. Mr. Tiger stretched himself. “Ah well,” he said. “If the King of the forest wants a goat for dinner, I’ll have to catch one for him.” He caught a goat and carried it back to the lion’s cave. “Thank’s, Mr. Tiger,” said the lion. “I’m very grateful to you for such a tasty meal.”
As soon as all the other animals in the forest heard that Mr. tiger was hunting food for the lion. They hid themselves in the forest..
After a day or so, the lion felt hungry again. “Tell Mr. tiger to catch a deer for me,” he ordered Mr. Porcupine. Mr. Porcupine did as he was told. However, although Mr. tiger searched everywhere, he was unable to find a single animal.
Finally, he had to tell the king of the forest that he had not been successful.
“What!” roared the lion. “The forest is full of animals, who are all my subjects. Order all of them to come to my cave at once.”
Mr. tiger kept quit. He did not know what to do.
He returned to the forest to continue his search. At the end of the day. He felt tired and fell asleep.
When he awoke, he saw Mr. Mousedeer passing by.
“Where are all the other animals?” he asked.
“They’re hiding in the forest,” replied Mr. Mousedeer.
“Can you show me where they are?”
“Why do you want to know?”
“The king of the forest’s hungry,” replied Mr. Tiger
“All right,” said Mr. Mousedeer. “come with me.”
He took Mr. tiger with him to meet the other animals.
None of them wanted to go and see the lion. In the end, they decided to draw lots to see who should go.
Mr. Mousedeer was the unlucky one who was chosen. All his friends felt sorry for him because they knew what would happen to him.
Mr. Mousedeer followed Mr. Tiger back to the lion’s cave.
“Who have you brought?” roared the lion. Who was very hungry by this time.
“It’s Mr. Mousedeer, Your majesty.” Answered Mr. Tiger.
“There’s not much flesh on him,” said the lion.
“Your Majesty, he was the best I could find.”
“O King of the forest,” said Mr. Mousedeer. “I’ve brought a message for you from your brother.”
“From my brother?” asked the lion. “I don’t have a brother,”
“But he told me to tell you that he has forbidden all the other animals to come and see you,”
The lion shouted in anger, “Ho, ho, ho! We shall see about that. Take me to see him straight away.”
Mr. Mousedeer led him into the forest. He pointed into a deep hole which had been dug in the ground by a hunter. The lion jumped into it but was unable to climb out. All the animals came running out of the foreest and dance happily round the hole.
“Thank you very much Mr. Mousedeer,” they cried. “you’ve saved our lives. Now, we shan’t have to worry about the King of the Forest any more, and we can live happily ever after.”
Long time ago, there were a camel and a mousedeer. The camel said, “Nothing like being tall! Look how tall I am!” the mousedeer, who heard these words, said, “Nothing like being short! Look how short I am!”.
BalasHapusThe camel said, “Well, if fail to prove the truth of what I said, I shall give you my hump.” The mousedeer said, “if I fail to prove the truth of what I said, I shall give up my snout.” “Agreed!” said the camel. “Just so!” said the mousedeer.
They came to garden, enclosed by a low wall without any opening. The camel stood on this side of the wall, and reaching the plants within by means of his long neck, made a breakfast on them. Then, he turned jeeringly to the mousedeer, who had been standing at the bottom of the wall, without even having a look at the good things in the garden, and said, “Now, would you be tall or short?”
Next they came to a garden, enclosed by a high wall, with a wicket gate at one end. The mousedeer entered by the gate, and, after having eaten his fill of the vegetables within, came out, laughing at the poor camel who had had to stay outside because he was too tall to enter the garden by the gate, and said, “Now, would you be tall or short?”
Then, they thought the matter over and
Long, long ago. There were many monkeys living in the forest around Chiengmai. Hunters used to go there from Bangkok to catch them. Some were sold to zoos, some to people who wanted them as pets, and others to people who liked monkey soup.
BalasHapusOne day, a hunter caught many monkeys in his traps. They were all screaming and making a loud noise except one who sat very quite. “He must be a very unusual monkey.” The hunter said to himself, “I’ll keep him for myself.”
He sold all the other monkeys and kept this one in a big wooden cage in his house. He was very proud of him. When his friends came to visit him, he showed them the monkey. The monkey always sat very quietly in a corner of the cage.
“He’s very polite and well-behaved,” said his friends. “He’s like a human being. Why don’t you let him out of the cage? We’re sure he won’t run away.”
The hunter did this. As soon as he opened the door of the cage. The monkey ran away to the jungle at the back of the hunter’s house. He soon met some other monkeys. They were interested in him, as a monkey who had been caught by hunter seldom returned.
“What happened?” they asked him. “What was it like living in the monkey hunter’s house?”
The monkey scratched his head and ate a banana before replying to them. “I lived in a cage,” he said. “I had a good chance to watch the hunter and his friends very closely. First of all, they talk a lot. They all talked at the same time. Some of them played silly games. They threw away food they didn’t eat and left it lying around.”
The monkey’s new friends did not want to hear any more. They expected the monkey would tell them something more interesting. They started chatting among themselves and eating bananas and throwing away the skin. Some chased their own tails and scratched their heads.
“Wait,” the monkey called to them. “I haven’t finished yet.”
“we don’t want to hear any more,” the other monkeys said.
“The hunter and his friends don’t seem to be any different from us.”
A monkey wanted to cross a river to eat some bananas on the other side. Unfortunately, he did not know how to swim. He asked a buffalo to carry him across on his back.
BalasHapus“All right,” said the buffalo. “Jump on. I’ll swim across. There’s some very tasty grass on the other side which I would like to eat.”
So the monkey rode on the buffalo’s back across the river. When they reached the other side, the monkey jumped off. He ran to eat as many banana as he could. The buffalo was quite happy eating the long grass.
After some time, the monkey wanted to return home. He asked the buffalo to take him back. But the buffalo told him to wait a little longer as he had not yet finished eating.
The naughty monkey began to sing. He made such a loud noise that a farmer, who was working in a nearby field, came to see what was the matter. He shouted at the buffalo, “Thief! Thief! Why are you eating my grass?” he threw some stones at the buffalo.
When the farmer had gone, the monkey came out from where he had been hiding. The buffalo was holding his sore head. He had been hit by a stone.
“Oh, oh! Why did you make so much noise? If you had kept quite, the farmer wouldn’t have noticed me.”
The monkey did not know what to say.
The buffalo asked him to sit on his back to return across the river.
When they were half-way across, the buffalo said to the monkey, “I want to roll over and take a bath here.”
“Please don’t! the monkey begged. “I can’t swim.”
“That’s not my fault.” Replied the buffalo. “You like to sing and make a noise. I always like to roll over in the water. It’s so cool and pleasant and it will cure my headache.”
Without saying any more, he rolled over in the water.
Luckily, the monkey was holding on tightly otherwise he would have drowned.
When they reached the other side, the monkey jumped down from the buffalo’s back. He was very wet and frightened.
“I shall never give you trouble again.” He promised. The buffalo.
Unknown
Once upon a time, there was a young monkey, named Yoko. He was an active and playful monkey. He lived with his parents and friends in a beautiful mountain. The mountain was covered with huge old trees that grew tall into the sky. Some of the trees bore delicious fruits. Every day, Yoko and the other monkeys would eat fruits from the trees heartily. It was always cool up there in the mountain.
BalasHapusWhen it rained, the water that flowed down the mountain filled the river with Water. Yoko then could see the people from a nearby village come to the river to catch fish. They also bathed and washed their clothes in the river. These people did not disturb the trees ot the animals that lived there. It made Yoko felt secure about his family and friends.
One day, one of the monkeys, Tiro, came screaming and jumping hurriedly from tree to tree. “Run!” he screamed. “Run, everyone! A huge monster is coming this way. It is eating all the trees with its large sharp teeth.”
All the monkeys, birds and other creatures that lived in the forest ran for their lives. The sound the monster made was very loud and frightening. They ran away as afar as they could. The monkeys stayed where they were until everything was quiet again. When they found their way back, they saw that all the trees were gone. Some people were standing near the monster which was actually a bulldozer. These people were different from the ones who went to the river to fish or bath.
Yoko and other monkeys felt very sad. They did not have a home anymore. There was no food left for them. Eventually, they decided to leave the mountain and find another forest to live in.
Monday, February 13, 2012
BalasHapusA proud tiger
A proud tiger story
One morning there was a tiger who woke up and just felt great. He felt so good, he went out and cornered a small monkey and roared at him “Who is the mightiest of all the jungle animals?” The poor little monkey replied, “You are of course, no one is mightier than you.”
A little while later, this tiger confronted a deer and bellowed out. “Who is the greatest and strongest of all the jungle animal?” The deer was shaking so hard it almost could not speak, but managed to say, “Oh great tiger, you are by far the mightiest animal in the jungle.”
The tiger walked proudly to an elephant that was quietly eating some weeds and roared at the top his voice, ““Who is the mightiest of all the jungle animals?”
Then this elephant grabbed the tiger with his trunk, picked him up, slammed him down, picked him up again and shook him until the tiger was just a blur of orange and black. Finally, the elephant threw him violently into a nearby tree. The tiger staggered to his feet and looked at the elephant and said, “Man, just because you don’t know the answer, you don’t have to get so angry!”
One day, a dog and a fox were quarreling over a piece of meat. The dog said, “let me eat it!” the fox replied, “No. it belongs to me.”
BalasHapusThey agreed to ask their friend, Mr. monkey, to decide the matter for them.
The monkey listened to what they had to say. “To be fair to both of you,” he said. “I shall divide the meat into two equal pieces and give you one each.”
He took a pair of scales and
a kitchen knife. He cut the meat into two pieces and weighed each of them on the scales.
On was heavier than the other.
He bit off a piece from the heavier portion, and weighed the two pieces again. This time, the other portion was heavier. He then bit off a piece from this portion. And weighed the two pieces. Once again, one piece was heavier that the other. He went on like this, weighing and biting off, until all the meat was finished.
“If we’d only known this,” the dog said to the fox, “We would never have asked the monkey to be the judge. Really, the old Korean saying is quite true—“It’s better to settle a case out of court than to to court and lose everything.”
Once upon time, a man had a wonderful parrot. There was no other parrot like it. The parrot could say every word, except one word. The parrot would not say the name of the place where it was born. The name of the place was Catano.
BalasHapusThe man felt excited having the smartest parrot but he could not understand why the parrot would not say Catano. The man tried to teach the bird to say Catano, however the bird did not say the word.
At first, the man was very nice to the bird but then he got very angry. “You stupid bird!” pointed the man to the parrot. “Why can’t you say the word? Say Catano! Or I will kill you” the man said angrily. Although he tried hard to teach, the parrot would not say it. Then the man got so angry and shouted to the bird over and over; “Say Catano or I’ll kill you”. The bird kept not to say the word of Catano.
One day, after he had been trying so many times to make the bird say Catano, the man really got very angry. He could not bear it. He picked the parrot and threw it into the chicken house. There were four old chickens for next dinner “You are as stupid as the chickens. Just stay with them” Said the man angrily. Then he continued to humble; “You know, I will cut the chicken for my meal. Next it will be your turn, I will eat you too, stupid parrot”. After that he left the chicken house.
The next day, the man came back to the chicken house. He opened the door and was very surprised. He could not believe what he saw at the chicken house. There were three death chickens on the floor. At the moment, the parrot was standing proudly and screaming at the last old chicken; “Say Catano or I’ll kill you”.
Long, long ago, in northern Taiwan, there lived a farmer and his wife. They had a ring of gold. They did not know it was a lucky ring. Whoever owned it would have enough to eat. The farmer and his wife sold it to a jeweler. Soon afterwards, they grew poorer and poorer. They did not even have enough money to buy food.
BalasHapusThe couple had a dog and a cat. They also did not have any food to eat. The animals wanted to help their owners but they did know what to do.
“I must sure that must have been a magic ring,” the dog said.
“Perhaps,” answered the cat. “But how can we get it back from the jeweler?”
After many days, they thought of a plan.
“You must catch a mouse,” said the dog. “Then carry it to the jeweller’s shop. The ring is locked up there in a box. The mouse must gnaw a hole in the box and fetch out the ring. If the mouse does not want to help, you must bite him to death.”
Soon the cat caught a mouse. The dog followed behind while the cat carried it to the jeweller’s shop. The mouse crept into the shop and gnawed a hole in the box and brought out the ring.
The cat put the ring in its mouth and ran home. The dog followed. Now the dog could only run on the ground. He had to go all the way around the houses and through the streets. But the cat was able to run over the house-tops. So the cat arrived home long before the dog. She brought the ring to the farmer and his wife.
“This is a magic ring,” said the cat. “You must not part with it otherwise we shall be poor and have nothing to eat. I have brought it back. Please keep it carefully. You will find that we shall now be able to live comfortably again.
“What a clever cat!” said the farmer. “We shall look after you as if you were our own child.”
Just then the dog ran in. the farmer and his wife beat him for not helping the cat bring home the ring. The cat sat on the lap of the farmer’s wife and purred. So the dog became very angry with the cat. Every time he saw her after that, he chased her and tried to bite her.
This is why cats and dogs always fight.
One day a cat and s fox were having a conversation. The fox, who was a conceited creature, boasted how clever she was. “Why, I know at least a hundred tricks to get away from our mutual enemies, the dogs,” she said.
BalasHapus“I know only one trick to get away from dogs,” said the cat. “You should teach me some of yours!”
“Well, maybe someday, when I have the time, I may teach you a few of the simpler ones.” Replied the fox airily. Just then they heard the barking of a pack of dogs in the distance. The barking grew louder and louder, the dogs were coming in their direction! At once the cat ran to the nearest tree and climbed into its branches, well out of reach of any dog. “This is the trick I told you about, the only one I know,” she called down to the fox. “ Which one of your hundred tricks are you going to use?”
The fox sat silently under the tree, wondering which trick she should use. Before she could make up her mind, the dogs arrived. They fell upon the fox and tore her to pieces.
A single plan that works is better than a hundred doubtful plans.
Retyped by Joe Fatrah - taken from:Ujian Nasional Text
Unknown
Long ago, the God Heaven spoke to all of the animals in the world.
BalasHapusFolktale from Japan
“Twelve animals will be chosen to protect the world. Each one will do this for a year at a time. Come to my palace on the twelfth day of the first moon. The first twelve animals to arrive will be chosen.
Folktale from Japan
All of the animals waited excitedly for
the day. The Cat however was very forgetful and could not remember which day it was. So she asked the Rat, “Which day do we go to the palace in Heaven to be chosen to protect the world?” The Rat wanted to be chosen so he said to the Cat, “On the thirteenth day of first moon, we will all go to the palace.”
Folktale from Japan
The Rat lived in the stable of the Ox. One evening, he heard the Ox getting ready to leave for the palace. “Why are you leaving so early?” asked the Rat.
Folktale from Japan
“Oh, my feet are so clumsy and slow.” Answered the Ox, “I must go now or I won’t get there in time to be chosen.” As soon as the Ox turned to go, the Rat jumped into the bag on his back. The Ox did not know that he was carrying the Rat and he walked slowly through the night until he reached the palace. There were no other animals in front of him so he thought he must surely be the first. Just then, the Rat jumped out of the bag and ran to the gate.
Folktale from Japan
“The very first is the Rat,” he called out to the Ox.
The Ox was very angry but not as angry as the Cat. She went to the palace on the thirteenth day as she had been told by the Rat. There was nobody about so she thought she must be the first. However, the guard called out to her.
Folktale from Japan
“You are a day too late, Cat. The animals were chosen yesterday. First the Rat, then Ox, tiger. Hare, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Cock, Dog and last of all, Bear. You shouldn’t be so sleepy, and look how dirty your face is! You shouldn’t was it better than you do. “With that he closed the gates.
Folktale from Japan
Since then, the Cat has hated the Rat and has always tried to catch him. She also keeps washing her face with her tongue because the guard told her how dirty her face was.
Folktale from Japan
Long ago, a big jackal wanted some fish to eat. He went to look for a dried-up pond so that he could catch the fish easily.
BalasHapusOne day, he found a pond which had only a little water, a lot of mud and many kinds of fish in it.
“I’m hungry today,” the jackal thought, “I’m very hungry.”
A shrimp in the pond knew what the jackal was thinking. “Brother Jackal,” he said in a kind voice, “You can eat us all up. But look, we’re covered in mud. If you eat us like this, we’ll taste horrible.”
“What can I do to make you taste nice?” asked the jackal.
“Take us away and wash us,” said the shrimp.
“But there are thousands of fish in the pond. Where can I take you all? And how can I wash you all?”
“Don’t worry,” said the shrimp. “Just stretch out in the mud. Let some of us hang on to your fur. Then you can get up and take us to pond with a lot of water in it,”
The jackal was greedy and stupid. So he did what the shrimp said. He stretched out in the mud. Some of the fish hung on to his fur. Then the jackal got up and went to look for another into it. The fish in his fur jumped off into the water.
“Go back,” said the shrimp to the jackal, “and pick up the other fish.” So the jackal went back and got some more of the fish. Again and again, he walked back to the old pond. At last, all the fish were in the pond full of water.
When the fish saw they were all together again, they swam away into deep water. When jackal saw they had tricked him, he was very angry.
He hurried away to look for big animals, snakes, and birds. He found elephants, tiger, buffaloes, and pigs. He found python and cobras. He found crows, sparrows, and vultures. He said to them, “Please help me to empty all the water out of the pond.”
He said to the python, “the animals and birds will take the water out of the pond. Then you can Swallow it.”
When the fish in the pond heard this, they were frightened. They said to each other, “What can we do to stop these animals?”
A cat-fish said, “People say the hare is very clever animal. He knows how to help animals in trouble. Shall I go and ask him to help us?”
The other fish agreed. So the cat-fish left the pond to look for the hare. All day he moved slowly and heavily along the ground—flip flop, flip flop. In the evening, the hare came out to look for some food. When he saw the catfish he asked, “Where are you going?”
The cat-fish was happy to see the hare and said, “Oh brother hare, have pity on me. The fish in the pond have asked me to find you. People say you are very clever. You can help animals in trouble. Please help us. All kinds of animals and snakes and birds have come to our pond. They are going to take the water out of the pond. Then the python will swallow the water and the jackal will eat up all the fish! Come and help us.”
“all right” said the hare, “Go back and tell the other fish not to be afraid.” The cat –fish then went back to the pond.
The next morning, the hare come along. He saw the animals taking out the water. He found a long leaf which some worms had eaten. It was full of little holes. He shouted to the animals, “Brothers! I have a letter to you from the great God Indra,” he looked at the left and pretended to read it. “He says he will come and break the ducks’ leg and crush the eagles. He will cut off the jackal’s head and pull out the elephant’s tusks!”
The animals were frightened when they heard this. They climbed on top of each other. Then they climbed on top of the pythons. The pythons burst. All the pond water rushed out of their bodies. The water came out so fast that all the animals drowned.
And instead of the animals eating the fish, the fish ate the animals.
Once, a cat and a fox were traveling together. As they went along, picking up provisions on the way – a stray mouse here, a fat chicken there – they began an argument.
BalasHapus“you think you are extremely clever, don’t you? “ said the Fox. “Do you pretend to know more than me? Why, I know a whole sack full of tricks!”
“Well,” retorted the cat, “I admit I know one trick only, but that one, let me tell you, is worth a thousand of yours!”
Just then, close by, they heard a hunter’s horn and the yelping of a pack of hounds. In an instant, the Cat was up a tree, hiding among the leaves.
“This is my trick,” he called to the fox. “Now let me see what yours are worth.”
But the fox had so many plans for escape that he could not decide which one to try first. He dodged here and there with hounds at his heels. He doubled on his tracks, he ran at top speed, he entered a dozen burrows, but all in vain. The hounds caught him, and soon put an end to the boaster and all his trick.
Once upon a time, a farmer planted a beet. The beet grew and grew.
BalasHapusOne day the farmer pulled on the beet, but the beet did not come up. “Horse, please help me pull up this beet. I want to eat it for dinner,” said the farmer. “Sure, I’ll help you,” said the horse. But the beet did not come up.
Then the farmer went to the cow. “dear cow, please help me pull up this beet. I want to eat it for dinner,” said the farmer. “Sure I’ll help,” said the cow. But the beet did not come up. So the farmer went to a goat. “My lovely goat, please help me pull up this beet. I want to eat it for dinner,” said the farmer.”Sure I’ll help,” said the goat. But the beet did not come up.
Next the farmer went to the cat. “Oh my dear cat, please help me pull up this beet. I want to eat it for dinner,” said the farmer.. “Sure I’ll help.” said the cat. But again the beet did not come up. So the farmer went to the mouse. “Lovely mouse, please help me pull up this beet. I want to eat it for dinner,” said the farmer.. “Sure I’ll help.” said the mouse. So the mouse pulled on the cat. The cat pulled on the goat, and the goat pulled on the cow. The cow pulled on the horse, the horse pulled on the farmer, and the farmer pulled on the beet. And the beet came up! “Thank you, horse. Thank you cow. Thank you, goat. Thank you cat. And thank you mouse!” sai the farmer. “Now we can all eat dinner.” And they did.
Once upon a time, the only fire on earth was guarded by two giants. No one dared ask them for any of it.
BalasHapusAt long last, a brave man thought of a plan. He called together all his animal friends and asked them to help him. He told a frog to wait just outside the village where he was living. A little beyond the frog, he placed a horse; beyond the horse, he placed a cat; beyond the cat, he placed a dog and beyond the dog, he placed a lion. Beyond the lion was the house where the giants lived.
The man then went to call on the giants. They were pleased to see him as they felt rather lonely living by themselves.
“Can you please let me have some of your fire?” he asked them. “No one else has any fire at all.”
The giants shook their heads. “the fire belongs to us and we can’t give any of it away.” They replied.
The man then made a sign out of the window to the lion. The lion began to roar; the dog to bark; the cat to meow; the horse to neigh and the frog to croak. The giant rushed out to see what was the matter.
As soon as they did so, the man pick up a piece of burning wood from the fire. He ran away with it as fast as he could. The giant saw what had happened and chased after him. The man gave the piece of burning wood to the lion. It was soon passed on from animal to animal until it reached the frog. The frog hopped straight for the village. But the giant caught him by the tail. The poor frog was so frightened that his eyes almost fell out, he jumped once more and landed in the middle of village. Carrying the fire with him. But he left behind his tail in the giants’ hands. So the people in the village were able to obtain fire for the first time. but the poor frog lost his tail and his eyes have bulged ever since.
In Sarawak long ago, there was a beautiful girl called Kumang. She was very hard-working and use to fish from morning to night. One day, although it was nearly time to go home, she had still caught no fish. She tried once more. When she pulled up her net, she found there was a tiny snake in it. It looked so helpless that she decided to
BalasHapusFolktale from Borneo
take it home with her. She placed it in a jar in the kitchen. Every day she gave it something to eat. As the weeks passed, the tiny snake grew into a large snake. Finally it changed into a dragon. As it was no longer possible to keep it in the jar, Kumang allowed to live in the house.
Folktale from Borneo
“Why do you eat so much? Asked Kumang. The dragon did not answer but only breathed fire from its mouth. “I’ve sold everything to buy food for you.” This was true. Kumang had sold all the valuable old Chinese jars which she kept in the house, as well as jewelry, clothes, and furniture. She had nothing left to sell. She wondered how she would be able to buy the dragon any more food.
Folktale from Borneo
Suddenly the dragon spoke, Kumang sat up. She had never heard the dragon speak before… “How big is your heart?” she thought it was a strange question. “It is only the size of a small leaf,” she answered. The next day, the dragon asked her the same question and received the same reply.
Folktale from Borneo
“I’ sorry,” the dragon said. “I haven’t had anything to eat for several days. I cannot wait any longer, I am so hungry. I must eat your heart.”
Folktale from Borneo
Kumang almost fainted. She lived alone. She did not know what to do. “Well” she said, “if you want to eat my heart, I shall have to give it to you. But first, please look for a piece of hollow bamboo. Then place my heart in it together with some rice and cook it over a fire. It will taste much better like that.”
Folktale from Borneo
As soon the dragon had left the house, Kumang said to her dog, “When the dragon returns, tell him I have gone out for a walk and won’t be back for an hour or so.”
Folktale from Borneo
She ran into the neighbouring rubber estate owned by her friend Danjal. She quickly climbed the tallest tree she could find. She sat on the highest branch and poured a bottle of cooking oil down the trunk of the tree.
Folktale from Borneo
Not long afterward, the dragon returned home with the bamboo. He had been running and was out of breath. He was angry when he heard what Kumang’s dog said. However, he soon followed Kumang’s footprints to the tall tree where she was hiding. He tried to climb the tree but it was too slippery. He decided to wait at the bottom of the tree. “she can’t stay up there for ever,” he thought.
Folktale from Borneo
Just a bout that time, Danjal’s friend Juara visited the estate. He heard a small voice calling out to him from the top of a tree. “Please tell Danjal to set fire to the estate. The trees are old and dry. Next year he can plant some young trees.”
Folktale from Borneo
Then he heard another sound, much deeper and very fierce, “don’t do anything of the sort. If Danjal sets fire to the trees, he’ll cause himself a lot of trouble and lose all his money.”
Folktale from Borneo
Juara was frightened. He had never heard voices like these before. One sounded like a fairy’s and the other like an evil spirit’s.
Folktale from Borneo
He ran to Danjal’s house. “What’s wrong?” asked Danjal. “You look as if you have seen a ghost.” Juara told him what had happened.
Folktale from Borneo
“If a fairy has asked me to burn down the old trees, I’m sure there must be a good reason. I always obey what fairies tell me.”
Folktale from Borneo
So they set fire to the trees. When they walked round the estate the next day, there were only burnt and blackened tree trunks to be seen. They became tired and sat down to rest on one of the tree trunks. Danjal took out his jungle knife to cut open a coconut he was carrying, as he wanted to drink the coconut juice inside. In doing so, he cut the trunk of the t
greedy dog stole a large piece of tender meat from a butcher’s shop. He grasped the meat tightly between his teeth and ran home with it.
BalasHapusOn the way home, he came to a small bridge over a stream. As he was crossing the bridge, he looked down and saw his own reflection in the water below; he thought it was another dog that he saw.
In this other dog’s mouth he saw another large piece of meat.
“If I can get the meat from that other dog, I will have two pieces instead of one,” thought the greedy dog.
So, he bent down to get the meat and, as he opened his jaws, the meat fell out and was quickly lost in the water. So, in the end, the dog had nothing. He had been punished by his greed.
In Sarawak long ago, there was a beautiful girl called Kumang. She was very hard-working and use to fish from morning to night. One day, although it was nearly time to go home, she had still caught no fish. She tried once more. When she pulled up her net, she found there was a tiny snake in it. It looked so helpless that she decided to
BalasHapusFolktale from Borneo
take it home with her. She placed it in a jar in the kitchen. Every day she gave it something to eat. As the weeks passed, the tiny snake grew into a large snake. Finally it changed into a dragon. As it was no longer possible to keep it in the jar, Kumang allowed to live in the house.
Folktale from Borneo
“Why do you eat so much? Asked Kumang. The dragon did not answer but only breathed fire from its mouth. “I’ve sold everything to buy food for you.” This was true. Kumang had sold all the valuable old Chinese jars which she kept in the house, as well as jewelry, clothes, and furniture. She had nothing left to sell. She wondered how she would be able to buy the dragon any more food.
Folktale from Borneo
Suddenly the dragon spoke, Kumang sat up. She had never heard the dragon speak before… “How big is your heart?” she thought it was a strange question. “It is only the size of a small leaf,” she answered. The next day, the dragon asked her the same question and received the same reply.
Folktale from Borneo
“I’ sorry,” the dragon said. “I haven’t had anything to eat for several days. I cannot wait any longer, I am so hungry. I must eat your heart.”
Folktale from Borneo
Kumang almost fainted. She lived alone. She did not know what to do. “Well” she said, “if you want to eat my heart, I shall have to give it to you. But first, please look for a piece of hollow bamboo. Then place my heart in it together with some rice and cook it over a fire. It will taste much better like that.”
Folktale from Borneo
As soon the dragon had left the house, Kumang said to her dog, “When the dragon returns, tell him I have gone out for a walk and won’t be back for an hour or so.”
Folktale from Borneo
She ran into the neighbouring rubber estate owned by her friend Danjal. She quickly climbed the tallest tree she could find. She sat on the highest branch and poured a bottle of cooking oil down the trunk of the tree.
Folktale from Borneo
Not long afterward, the dragon returned home with the bamboo. He had been running and was out of breath. He was angry when he heard what Kumang’s dog said. However, he soon followed Kumang’s footprints to the tall tree where she was hiding. He tried to climb the tree but it was too slippery. He decided to wait at the bottom of the tree. “she can’t stay up there for ever,” he thought.
Folktale from Borneo
must be a good reason. I always obey what fairies tell me.”
BalasHapusFolktale They became tired and sat down to rest on one of the tree trunks. Danjal took out his jungle knife to cut open a coconut he was carrying, as he wanted te coconut juice inside. In doing so, he cut the trunk of the tree. He was surprised to see that some blood started to come out from the cut.
Folktale from Borneo
“What’s this?” he called out in fright. They soon found out that it was not a tree trunk at all but the dragon who had died in the fire!
Folktale from Borneo
Danjal then saw a strange-looking fruit shining on the top branch of s tree which was still standing. “How strange!” he cried. “A single fruit! I wonder why it was not burnt in the fire?
Juara tried to climb the tree. It was difficult as the tree trunk was covered in oil and very slippery.
At last, they got the fruit and took it home. “I’ve never seen a fruit like this before,” said Danjal. “It’s so soft and pink.”
Folktale from Borneo
He placed it on his bed while Juara and he had dinner. While they were eating their dinner, they heard someone singing a sweet song in the bedroom.
They crept in. there was a strange golden light coming from the fruit on the bed. “Close your eyes!” said a small timid voice. “And count to twenty.”
Folktale from Borneo
They did as they were told. When they opened their eyes again, the fruit had split into two. And Kumang was sitting on the bed smiling at them.
“Don’t be afraid!” she said. “Let me tell you what happened.”
After she had finished, Danbjal said to her, “You are really very lucky. It must have been a terrible nightmare for you. Anyway, now the wicked dargon is dead and won’t cause you any more trouble. But I don’t think you should live alone again. Why don’t you become my wife and live here with me?”
After a while, Kumang agreed to marry Danjal and they lived togetheThen he heard another sound, much deeper and very fierce, “don’t do anything of the sort. If Danjal sets fire to the trees, he’ll cause himself a lot of trouble and lose all his money.”
Folktale from Borneo
Juara was frightened. He had never heard voices like these before. One sounded like a fairy’s and the other like an evil spirit’s.
Folktale from Borneo
He ran to Danjal’s house. “What’s wrong?” asked Danjal. “You look as if you have seen a ghost.” Juara told him what had happened.
Folktale from Borneo
“If a fairy has asked me to burn down the old trees, I’m sure there must be a good reason. I always obey what fairies tell me.”
Folktale from Borneo
So they set fire to the trees. When they walked round the estate the next day, there were only burnt and blackened tree trunks to be seen. They became tired and sat down to rest on one of the tree trunks. Danjal took out his jungle knife to cut open a coconut he was carrying, as he
greedy dog story
BalasHapusA greedy dog stole a large piece of tender meat from a butcher’s shop. He grasped the meat tightly between his teeth and ran home with it.
On the way home, he came to a small bridge over a stream. As he was crossing the bridge, he looked down and saw his own reflection in the water below; he thought it was another dog that he saw.
In this other dog’s mouth he saw another large piece of meat.
“If I can get the meat from that other dog, I will have two pieces instead of one,” thought the greedy dog.
So, he bent down to get the meat and, as he opened his jaws, the meat fell out and was quickly lost in the water. So, in the end, the dog had nothing. He had been punished by his greed.
One beautiful morning Kancil decided to fish in a certain river. On the way he met his friend, Swine, who stopped him for a chat. When Swine heard that Kancil wanted to go fishing, he asked whether he could join him, Kancil did not object, as Swine promised to help him with the work. The two of them went on together and soon they met Tiger and Elephant. When they heard that Kancil and Swine were going to the river, they decide to go along, too. And so the four animals went together to the river to fish.
BalasHapusNarrative Text Fable - Kancil and the giant Story
Kancil and the giant story
When they arrived at the river bank, Kancil immediately began to give orders left and right. Elephant had to dam the river with stones and tree trunks. Tiger and Swine had to throw away the river water while Kancil himself set out to catch the fish left on the dry river bed. There were, however, few fish, so they decided to go further down the river to try their lick again. Kancil ordered Swine to stay behind with their catch. He himself went with Tiger and Elephant further downstream where the tree of them began their work all over again.
Narrative Text Fable - Kancil and the giant Story
Meanwhile, a giant came to the place where Swine sat. As soon as he saw the glittering fish, he grabbed them greedily and stuffied them what into his mouth. It was useless for Swine to protect and the giant did not even listen to him. Swine ran toward his friends and told them had happened. Of course, the three others were bot very pleased.
Meanwhile, a giant came to the place where Swine sat. As soon as he saw the glittering fish, he grabbed them greedily and stuffied them what into his mouth. It was useless for Swine to protect and the giant did not even listen to him. Swine ran toward his friends and told them had happened. Of course, the three others were bot very pleased.
BalasHapusNarrative Text Fable - Kancil and the giant Story
The second time, too, they did not catch enough fish. did not even listen to him. Ordered Tiger to stay behind with their second catch, while he, Swine and Elephant went further away to dam the river at another place. As soon as the three of them were out of sight, the hungry giant came from behind the bushes and ate up all the fish. Tiger snarled angrily, but he did not dare to fight the giant.
Narrative Text Fable - Kancil and the giant Story
When the other animals came back with their catch they found a very ashamed Tiger without a single fish. Kancil scolded him until he became red in the face. Now it was Elephant’s turn to play guard.
“You are so big. Friend Elephant. Certainly, we can trust you to defend our fish,” said Kancil.
For the third time the giant came to eat the fish. When Elephant saw how big he was, he became afraid and let the giant steal their fish. Kancil and the others came back, they found the basket empty again. Kancil was very angry with his three friends. He shouted, “What’s the use of having such big and strong bodies, if you can’t even chase away one single giant. This time I will stay here myself. Do you think I am too small to do this job? Go away , the three of you, and catch as a many fish as you can. When you come back, you will find that robber lying here in front of me, bound and helpless.”
Narrative Text Fable - Kancil and the giant Story
After Swine, Tiger and Elephant had gone away, Kancil plucked a big bunch of reeds from the river side. He tied these reeds around his body. Then lying down under the nearest tree, he bound the reed ends to the roots of the tree. He was very busy tying himself when the giant came. Kancil pretended not to see him and went on with his work. The giant became curious and instead of grabbing the fish he stopped to look sown at Kancil and asked what he was doing.
“Well. Well. Don’t you know what is going happen today?” asked Kancil in a surprised tone.
“What is going to happen today?” asked the giant curiously.
“I thought everybody knew about it,” answered Kancil. “You must have been asleep when Nabi Sulaiman came into the forest to warn all the animals about the big flood. The big flood will carry everybody away to the see, unless he takes precaution to be safe.”
Oh, I have not heard about this flood,” answered the giant, who believe every word Kancil said, “Tell me, what do you do to avoid being carried away?”
BalasHapus“Don’t you see what I am doing” said Kancil. “I bind myself to these roots, so that the water will not drag me away
Narrative Text Fable - Kancil and the giant Story
“That’s a very good idea,” said the stupid giant. “Won’t you help me a little?”
“Why not? I am always ready to help somebody in need,” answered Kancil. “But these reeds are not strong enough to hold your heavy body. Why don’t you go into the forest and collect a big bunch of thick rattan? I shall wait for you here. But hurry, we don’t have much time as the flood will come soon after noon.”
Narrative Text Fable - Kancil and the giant Story
The stupid giant, afraid of losing his life, ran into the woods and soon came back with a big load of rattan. Kancil told him to bind his own legs tightly together with the rattan, then sit with his back against a big tree so that Kancil could help him tie his body against the tree trunk. The giant did everything Kancil said. Soon he was sitting boud and helpless against the tree. To be completely safe, Kancil wound several more pieces of rattan round him so that the giant could hardly move.
Narrative Text Fable - Kancil and the giant Story
Then the clever little animal called out to his friends who were still busy catching fish some distance away. Swine, Tiger and Elephant did not have much trouble killing their enemy.
Of course, Kancil did not tell them that he had tricked the giant, and the other three animals thought that he had fought with him. They all admired his enormous strength. They gave Kancil the biggest share of the fish, and after having finished their meal each of them went his own way.