Think Big and Act Now

Kebo Iwa (Bali)

ONCE upon a time in Bali, a man and his wife were praying. They have been married for a long time but did not have any children. They asked God to give them a child. They prayed and prayed.

God finally answered their prayers. The wife, then, got pregnant and they had a baby boy. They were very happy. The baby was extraordinary. He was very much different from other babies. He ate and drank a lot.

Day after day he ate more and more. His body was getting bigger and bigger. And by the time he was a teenager, his body was as big as a buffalo. People then started to call him Kebo Iwa.

Because of his eating habit, Kebo Iwa’s parents spent a lot of money to buy his food in large amount. They finally went bankrupt. They gave up and asked the villagers to help them provide the food.

The villagers then worked together to cook and build a big house for Kebo Iwa. He was like a giant. He could not stay in his parents’ house anymore because of his big body. Sadly, after a few months, the villagers also could not afford to cook him the food. They then asked Kebo Iwa to cook his own food. The villagers just prepared the raw materials.

Kebo Iwa agreed and as an expression of his gratitude to the villagers, he built a dam, dug wells, and he also protected the villagers from animals and people who wanted to attack their village. He did those things by himself.

Meanwhile, the troops of Majapahit were planning to attack Bali. They knew about Kebo Iwa. And they also knew that they could not conquer Bali with Kebo Iwa there. Kebo Iwa was more powerful than they were.

Gajah Mada, the Maha Patih (Chief Minister) of Majapahit then planned something. They were pretending to invite Kebo Iwa to Majapahit to help them dig some wells. They said that Majapahit was suffering from a long dry season and needed much water. Kebo Iwa did not know the plan, so he went to Majapahit.

When Kebo Iwa was busy digging a very big well, the troops covered the well. Kebo Iwa had difficulty in breathing and buried alive. He died in the well.

After the death of Kebo Iwa, Bali was conquered by Majapahit. Until now, people still remember Kebo Iwa because he had done a lot for Majapahit and Bali. The stone head of legendary Kebo Iwa can be found in Pura Gaduh temple in Blahbatuh. ***

Manik Angkeran (Bali)

A long time ago, lived a very rich family in Bali. The father was Sidi Mantra. He was very famous for his supernatural power. He lived happily with his wife and his only child Manik Angkeran. Manik Angkeran was a spoiled son. He also had a bad habit. He liked to gamble.

Because of his bad habit, his parents soon became poor. They always advised Manik Angkeran to stop his bad habit, but he never listened to them. Instead he kept on begging for his parents to give him a lot of money.

The parents then did not have the heart to see him begging. Sidi Mantra then went to Agung Mountain. There lived a mighty dragon with his great supernatural power. He could provide jewelries to those who could say the right prayers and ring the bell. Sidi Mantra had the bell and he also knew the prayers.

"My name is Sidi Mantra. I have a problem. My son likes to gamble. He made me poor. And now he asks a lot of money. I want to give him some, but now I want him to promise to stop his bad behavior," explained Sidi Mantra after he met the dragon.

Sidi Mantra then said the prayers and rang the bell. Suddenly, jewelries came out from the dragon's body. He was very happy and immediately brought the jewelries home. This time Sidi Mantra wanted Manik Angkeran really to stop gambling.

The son then promised. But soon he broke the promise and he did not have any money again. He heard that his father got the jewelries from the dragon living in Agung Mountain. So he stole his father's bell then went there.

After arriving at Agung Mountain, Manik Angkeran rang the bell. The dragon knew him.

"I will give you anything you want but you have to promise to stop gambling. Remember the karma!" then the dragon gave him the jewelries.

Manik Angkeran was very happy. Suddenly he had a bad idea. He wanted to kill the dragon and stole all his jewelries. The dragon knew his plan and with his great power he killed Manik Angkeran. Sidi Mantra was very sad. He asked the dragon to bring his son back to life. The dragon agreed but they had to live in different places.

After a few moments, Manik Angkeran lived again. Then Sidi Mantra used a stick to make a big line between them on the ground.

From the line, water flowed. Soon it became a river. Finally it became a strait. It separated Java and Bali. People then named the strait as Bali Strait.

Kelingking (Bangka Belitung)

A long time ago in Bangka Belitung lived a husband and a wife. They were poor and they did not have any children yet. Days and nights they prayed to God. They really wanted to have a child.

“God, please give us a child, even though he is only as big as a little finger,” prayed the husband.

Their dream came true! The wife was pregnant.

However they were surprised when they saw the baby. He was so small. He was as big as a little finger.

“You prayed to God to give us a child, although he is as big as a little finger right? Be thankful to God. Let’s love him. How will you name him then?” asked the wife.

“You are right. We have to be grateful. Well, I will name him Kelingking,” said the husband. Kelingking means little finger.

Time passed by and Kelingking did not grow much. His body was still physically small compared to other kids. Though he was so small, Kelingking ate like adults. He ate much food. And that made his parents really worried. They were poor and sometimes they could not eat because they had to give their food to Kelingking.

“I cannot hold it anymore. I want to put Kelingking in the jungle. Let him live there. I think he can survive,” said the father.

In the morning, Kelingking and his father went to the jungle. When they arrived, the father asked Kelingking to cut down a very big tree. When Kelingking was busy cutting down the tree, his father silently went home. The father thought that Kelingking could not cut down the big tree. The father was sure that Kelingking would be lost in the jungle. But he was wrong! In the morning Kelingking suddenly showed up in front of the house. And he brought the big tree also!

“Father, where do you want me to put this big tree?” asked Kelingking.

The father was surprised. He asked Kelingking to put the tree in the backyard. Kelingking then went inside the house. As always he ate all the food and that made his father got angry. He then had another idea.

“Kelingking, let’s go to the mountain. I need a big stone from there.”

Kelingking was an obedient kid. He followed his father to go to the mountain. When they arrived, his father pointed a big stone. The stone was as big as their house!

“I want you to bring that big stone to our house,” asked the father.

When Kelingking was trying to bring the stone, the father immediately ran home. At night, when the father was sleeping , suddenly he heard Kelingking’s voice.

“Father, I’m home. Where do you want me to put this big stone?”

This time Kelingking’s father realized his mistake. It was true that Kelingking’s body was small and he ate much food. But he was a nice kid and he had great power. With that power, they could get a job and had a lot of money. The father then apologized to Kelingking. Since then they always worked together.

Baturaden (Central Java)

Suta is a servant in a kingdom in Central Java. His duty is to look after the king's horses. Suta likes to take a walk after doing his chores.

One day, when Suta is walking near a lake, he hears a woman screaming. So, Suta hurries find the source of the scream. Finally, he arrives near a big tree. He sees the king's daughter screaming. Above her, there's a giant snake about a strike.

Suta was afraid, but he is worried about the princess. So he takes a big stick and hit the snake in its head. The snake hisses in pain and finally dies.

"Thank you, Suta. You've saved my life," says the princess.

"No needed for that princess. It's my duty as your father's servant to help you."

Since that day, Suta and the princess become good friends. They even fall in love with each other. So, the princess tells Suta to go to her father and ask his permission to marry her.

The king is furious to hear about their plans.

"Suta is just a servant while you are my daughter, the princess. It is unacceptable for you to marry a servant."

The princess is sad to hear her father's answer, especially after her father throws Suta in jail for having the nerve to ask her to marry him.

In jail, Suta is not given anything to eat or drink. Hearing that, the princess makes a plan to break her lover out of jail. They succeed and they run far away. They rest near the river. There they get married and start a family.

The place where Suta and the princess raise their family is called Baturraden. Batur means servant while raden means noble. Nowadays, Baturaden is very interesting tourism spot. It's located at the foothill of Mount Slamet in Purwokerto, Central Java

Sendang Sani (Central Java)

Once upon a time, Sunan Kalijaga planned to visit Sunan Muria in Pati, Central Java. He asked his friend, Ki Rangga, to go with him. Several servants also joined them to carry their luggage. And they began walking to Sunan Muria’s house. Of course there were no cars or trains, so they walked. Several hours later, Ki Rangga felt tired.

“Are we still far from Sunan Muria’s house?” asked Ki Rangga to Sunan Kalijaga.

Sunan Kalijaga answered, “We are already in Kadipaten Pati Pesantenan. We will arrive at Sunan Muria’s house shortly. Please be patient.”

Ki Rangga was embarrassed to be walking together with Sunan Kalijaga because Sunan Kalijaga did not look tired while Ki Rangga was very tired and thirsty. Finally Sunan Kalijaga asked Ki Rangga to take a rest under a big tree. It was time for Zuhur prayer. But there was no water around for them to clean up or wudu. Ki Rangga was confused.

He said, “I don’t see any water nearby. Where should we take wudu?”

Sunan Kalijaga only smiled and said, “We should pray to Allah SWT for water. Now you must guard this big tree, Ki Rangga. It might bring water to us. But remember, everything happens because of Allah SWT. Don't act alone. You must inform me when the water comes out. I will be behind that hill.”

Ki Rangga promised Sunan Kalijaga to inform him when water came out. So Sunan Kalijaga went behind the hill and Ki Rangga with his servants sat under the big tree. They quickly fell asleep.

Suddenly water came out of the big tree. Ki Rangga and his servants became wet. They woke up. They were very happy to see the water because they were very tired and thirsty. They drank and played in the water. Ki Rangga forgot Sunan Kalijaga’s message to inform Sunan Kalijaga when water came out.

Behind the hill, Sunan Kalijaga was worried. So he went to the big tree. He was surprised to see Ki Rangga and his servants were playing in the water.

“You forgot my message to inform me when the water comes out. Instead, you are playing in the water like a turtle,” said Sunan Kalijaga, softly.

A miracle happened. Ki Rangga and his servants turned into turtles. Ki Rangga was sad. He changed into turtles because he did not keep his promise. The water formed a pond. It is now called Sendang Sani, in Pati, Central Java. Many people still visit Sendang Sani now. ***

Siuk Bimbim and Siuk Bambam (Central Kalimantan)

Siuk Bimbim and Siuk Bambam are brothers. They are orphans. Their parents died when Siuk Bimbim was a baby. Siuk Bambam always takes care of his younger brother, Siuk Bimbim. They help each other and never quarrel.

It's the late afternoon. Siuk Bimbim and Siuk Bambam went to the dinner.

"We don't have enough food. I have to go to the barn now," says Siuk Bambam.

"But, don't go too long. Please come back soon," says Siuk Bimbim.

"Don't worry. Lock the door and never open to anyone except me, OK?"

Siuk Bambam then leaves. Actually he wants to take his brother goes with him to the rice barn. But it's very far. He doesn't want his younger brother to be tired. Besides that, he can go there faster by walking quickly.

Meanwhile, Siuk Bimbim is sleeping. He is very tired. Suddenly, he wakes up. He hears someone knocks the door. The sound is very loud. Siuk Bimbim is very scared. When he looks outside through a window, he sees a giant the front of the door. He is shocked. The giant then breaks the door and enters the house. Siuk Bimbim then runs. He runs and runs until he gets very tired. He feels he cannot stand up anymore. Then he fainted.

After a while, Siuk Bambam comes home from the rice barn. He is shocked when he sees the house is in a mess.

He is calling his brother, "Siuk Bimbim, where are you?"

No one answers Siuk Bambam gets more shocked when he sees some footprints. They are not his brother's footprints. They are the giant's footprints!

Siuk Bambam gets much panicked. He looks for his brother everywhere. Suddenly he sees his brother under the tree. Siuk Bimbim is unconscious. Siuk Bambam then takes him to a well. It's a magic well. It can cure any disease. He gives some water to his younger brother. After a while, Siuk Bimbim cured. Siuk Bimbim is very happy. He hugs his younger brother and takes him home

The stupid Dog (Central Sulawesi)

DEER have horns, right? But a long time ago, the deer did not have horns. Instead, dogs had horns. How did the deer get the horns? Here is the story.

It was a very hot day. A couple of deer went to a river to drink. They were husband and wife. After arriving at the lake, they immediately drank some water. Suddenly, the wife saw an animal coming.

“My husband, who is he? Wow! He is very handsome with his horns,” said the female deer.

“Oh, that’s my friend. He is a dog. By the way, did you say he was more handsome than me?” asked the male deer. He was jealous.

“Of course not, you are still more handsome than he is. But I have to admit that his horns are beautiful. If you have those horns, I think you will look very attractive.”

“Ok, then, I have an idea how to take the horns from the dog. Just wait here.”

“Hi, how are you?” asked the stag to the dog.

“I’m just fine,” answered the dog. “How about you?”

“Not really good. You see my wife over there? He thinks that I cannot run fast like other male deer. Do you mind if we have a running match? I really want to practice,” said the stag.

“Don’t worry, my friend. Let’s have the running match now.” After that, the running match began. The stag won. Then, he tried to cheer the dog up.

“Well, don’t be sad. You cannot run fast because you have your horns on your head. What if you let me wear the horns,” asked the stag.

“OK, but please wear the horns carefully. I don’t want them to be broken.”

“Don’t worry. I will be very careful,” replied the stag. And then he immediately put the horns on his head.

“Wow! My wife is right. I really look great with these horns,” said the stag to himself. Then, they started the running match again. The male deer ran as fast as he could. He ran very fast and did not stop. He was trying to steal the dog’s horns.

“Hey come back! Bring back my horns!” the dog was very angry. Until now, dogs always try to catch deer. The dogs want to get their horns back

Mother (Maluku)

Maluku, a fisherman and his wife lived with their two children, a daughter and a son. The children are naughty. They never listen to their parent's advice. But the parents still love their children very much.

One day, the father goes fishing as usual. Before he goes, he tells his children not to eat the fish-egg.

"If you are hungry, eat something else. Do not eat this fish-egg."

The children are just laughing. They do not pay attention to their father.

The mother has to leave the house to do something. Once again, she remains the children about the fish-egg.

"Your father asked you not to eat the fish egg. So please, don't eat it."

Again, the children do not listen to their mother. They continue playing. After they finish playing, the children have lunch. The son eats the fish-egg. His sister reminds him, "Hey...don't eat the fish-egg. Father forbids us to eat that."

"But father is not here...so I can eat this fish egg."

Not longer after that, the mother comes home. She is so surprised when the fish-egg is gone.

The mother is suspicious. On the son's teeth there is some fish-egg left. She knows that her son just ate it. She is very angry.

"We have told you not to eat the fish-egg. But why do you still eat that? Why have you never listened to us?"

The mother runs. She goes to sea.

The children run after her. They scream, "Mother...Mother...please don’t leave us!"

The mother then stops in front of the big stone. She says, "Open up!"

The big stone opens up. The mother then goes into the big stone. After that the big stone closes.

The children shout, "Mother please forgive us!" But their mother never returns home.

Abo and The Giant (North Sulawesi)

ABO Mamongkuroit and his wife, Monondeaga, lived in a jungle. Even though they were poor, they lived very happily. They loved each other. One day Abo had to go the village. He asked his wife's permission.

"Don't go too long. Please come back soon," said Monondeaga.

Abo then left their house. Actually, he did not want to leave his wife alone, he had heard the Tulap was hungry. Tulap was a giant. He ate humans!

Not long after Abo left, Monondeaga heard heavy footsteps. She then remembered Abo's message. She had to hide under the bed. But it was too late. Suddenly, Tulap was breaking the front door.

"Ha ha ha... Come here. I want to take you to my place," said Tulap.

Monondeaga was so scared. However, she finally had an idea.

"Don't take me now. I haven't taken a bath yet. Come back tomorrow."

On the following day, Tulap was impatient.

"I don't want to hear your excuses again!"

He then grabbed Monondeaga and took her to his place.

Later, Abo went home. He called out his wife's name. But he could not find her. He then had a bad feeling. He was afraid that Tulap had taken her. He immediately rushed to Tulap place.

After several days, he finally arrived at Tulap's place. It was a big cave.

"Tulap! Get out! Bring back my wife!" screamed Abo.

Tulap then got out of his cave. He was so happy because there was a human came to his cave. He did not have to hunt him.

Abo was ready with his weapons and he immediately attacked him. Tulap was not ready with the attack. He though Abo did not have any guts to fight him.

Abo did very hard to kill Tulap. Finally, he succeeded. Tulap was dead! Abo hurried entering Tulap's cave. He saw many people were inside the big cage. One of them was his beloved wife, Monondeaga.

Abo immediately opened the cage. Everybody inside the cage was so happy. They thanked Abo for his great courage. Abo and Monondeaga then went home. Now people could live peacefully. The giant was dead. ***

Glutinous Rice (North Sumatra)

Olih and her mother live in a village in North Sumatra. They are poor. Their neighbors love them because they are kind and always help other people.

In the evening, seven old women come to Olih’s house. Those women look dirty, and they are wearing ragged clothes. They are also very hungry.

“Good evening. We are hungry. Could you please give us some food?” ask one of the old women.

“Don’t worry, Ma’am. We have some food for you. Just wait for a moment.”

Olih then goes to his house. He opens the cupboard then takes some food. A moment later he gives the food to those old women.

“Thank you very much, Kid. It’s very kind of you. We are also very tired. Would you let us stay here to spend the night? Nobody wants to let us stay in their house. We are strangers here, we have no place to go.”

“Don’t worry. You all can stay here,”says Olih’s mother.

“Thank you very mich. You two are very kind to us.”

In the morning, those seven old women are still sleeping. Olih’s mother asks Olih to wake them up to have breakfast.

Suddenly Olih screams! “Mom! Come here!!!”

Olih’s mother then runs to the bedroom. She finds the room full of rice. The old women are gone. But there is one beautiful girl sitting on the bed.

“Don’t be afraid. I am one of the women. My father sent me here. He has a great super natural power. He changed me into an old woman and ask me to deliver this special rice to a family that helped me, “says the girl.

Olih and her mother are very happy. Now they have enough rice to eat. They also share the rice to the neighbors. The rice is so delicious. They call it beras pulut or glutinous rice, it means sticky and delicious rice. ***

The Unhappy Cendrawasih (Papua)

Mr and Mrs Brown Bird lived in a jungle in Papua. Mr Brown always complains about his feathers. He thinks they were ugly. He is jealous with his friend, Mr Green Bird.

"I want to have beautiful feathers like Mr Green Bird. His feathers are not brown like mine. They are very beautiful," says Mr Brown Bird to his wife.

"Honey, you have to be grateful with your feathers. With feathers like this, humans are not interested in us. So they will not hunt us," says Mrs Brown Bird.

Mr Brown Bird then goes to the God of Jungle.

"I want to have beautiful feathers like Mr Green Bird's feathers,” says Mr Brown Bird.

"Don't worry. I can make your wish come true. Just choose one color."

"Hmm I don't know. How about red? Yellow? Green? I'm confused."

The God of Jungle is upset. "Choose now!"

Mr Brown Bird then looks up to the sky. He has an idea.

"Aha! I know which color to choose. I don't want want one color of my feathers. I want many colors. I want my feathers to be colorful like the rainbow in the sky."

Not longer after that, Mr Brown Bird's feathers are colorful. When he goes home, his wife does not recognize him.

"Honey, it's me. I'm your husband."

"No, my husband is not like you! His feathers are brown!" says Mrs brown Bird.

Mr Brown Bird tries very hard to convince his wife realizes that he is really her husband.

"You are very stupid, my husband. With color like these, humans will hunt you. What if they also take our children? Now, please go away! Our lives are in danger if you are still here," says Mrs Brown Bird. She is crying.

Mr Brown Bird is very sad. He knows he just made a very big mistake. He then leaves his house. His name then changes into Cendrawasih. It means a bird of paradise

The Legend of Golog Stone (Nusa Tenggara)

Once upon a time, there was a family of farmers. The father's name was Amaq Lebain and the mother's name was Inaq Lebain. They had two children, a son and a daughter. They lived happily.

The parents really loved their children. Every time they went farming, they always brought they children to the rice fields.

One day the father went to the market to sell their harvest Meanwhile, the mother went to the rice field alone to pound the rice. And as always, she brought the children to the rice field.

"Pllease take care of our children. I won't to be long in the market. I will go to the rice field after I finish selling the harvest," said the father.

"I will be careful," said the mother.

"Okay, Mother," said the children.

Later the mother was busy pounding the rice. It was quite noisy. Strangely, every time the mother pounded the rice, the stone where the children were sitting down was growing. The children were scared. They screamed.

"Mother? The stone is getting taller!" They screamed.

The mother could not hear them well. She thought the children asked her to go home.

"Just the minutes kids, I will finish this soon," said the mother.

"But mom, the stone is getting taller. We were scared," the children were crying.

"Be patient, I will finish pounding the rice soon," said the mother.

Again, she could not hear them well. It was repeated again and again. The golog stone was getting taller and taller and finally it reached the clouds. The children could not be seen it anymore.

When the mother finished pounding the rice, she was shocked! She could not find her children. She was crying. She then prayed to God. She wanted to bring her children down but she did not know how to do it. Somehow God answered her pray. She had to use the rice pounder to cut down the Golog stone.

Then she hit the stone with the rice pounder. Amazingly, the stone broke down into three pieces. The first part fell in an area which later called Gembong Village. The second part fell in area which was later named Dasan Batu, and the last part fell in area which later was named Montong Teker. Unfortunately, the two children could not come back to their mother. They had cha