The Crying Stone

Once upon a time, in Kalimantan there lived a mother with her daughter. The daughter, named Lisa Yadomaru, was a beautiful girl. However, she had a bad personality. She was an arrogant, lazy girl. She never helped her mother do the housework.

One day, Lisa and her mother wanted to buy something in the market. The location of the market was really a long way from their house, so they had to walk miles away.

Lisa walked in front of her mother. She wore a beautiful dress. Meanwhile, her mother walked behind her. Her dress was dirty and ugly. No one expected that the two people were a mother and her daughter.

Along the journey, people were so impressed with Lisa's beauty. However, they wondered who the old woman walking behind her was. Then, one of them asked Lisa, "Hey, beautiful girl, is that your mother who is walking behind you?"

Lisa arrogantly said, "Of course not. She is my maid."

They continued their journey. And then, a young man met them and asked, "Hey sweetie, is that your mother who is walking behind you?"

"No. She's really different from me. How could you say that she's my mother? She is my maid," replied Lisa.

Every time they walked, Lisa said that the woman walking behind her was her maid. She never admitted that the woman was her mother.

Her mother was really disappointed with Lisa. She couldn't bear it. Lisa's sentences had hurt her. The poor mother finally prayed to God, "Oh, God. I can't stand this. My daughter always humiliates me. I am so disappointed with her. Please give her punishment."   With the power of God, suddenly Lisa's body turned into a stone. Lisa cried and asked for a help, "Please

forgive me, Mom ... please help me.

But, it was too late. All of Lisa's body had turned into a stone.

Although all of Lisa's body had turned into a stone, people could see that the stone was crying. The people called the stone 'The Crying Stone'.

Adopted from: fanfiction.net

The legend of Surabaya

Englishstory12.blogspot.com - Surabaya is the second largest city in Indonesia and what follows is a legend of how the city got its name.

A very long time ago, in the sea near the Javanese coast called Tanjung Perak, there lived a variety of sea animals. They all lived in peace and harmony with the exception of an octopus, called Cumi who could not get along with the other sea creatures. Cumi was very cruel.

One day Cumi went to one of the sea creatures’ home, a fish named Suro. Cumi tells Suro that one of the crocodiles, named Boyo, will soon attack Suro. Suro and Boyo are best friends and kind to each other, so Suro does not believe Cumi.

Cumi continues to lie to Suro but Suro does not believe him. Later, Cumi goes to the home of Boyo, the crocodile. Boyo also does not believe Cumi, but Cumi’s lies become so believable that finally Boyo believes what Cumi has to say. He gets upset and swims in a hurry to the home of Suro.  Boyo is angry and very strong. He attacks Suro and wounds him. Suro remains calm and does not fight back. But knowing that Boyo never stop attacking him, Suro begins to fight. The fight becomes so fierce that the sea turns red with their blood.

In the place where they fought, a city called Suroboyo was built. Suroboyo is a Javanese word derived from the name of the two fighting sea creatures. Suro means brave and Boyo means danger. Suroboyo (which is now translated as Surabaya in the Indonesian language) means Brave in Danger.

Sumber ; dougandyuli.com

The Legend of King Midas

A long, long time ago there was a king of Phrygia who was very greedy and stupid. One day Silenus, the god of the woods, who had been a guest of the king, offered, in return for his hospitality, to grant him a wish. After thinking for a long time about how he could become more rich and more powerful, Midas asked for a magic gift that would turn anything he touched to gold.

“So be it,” exclaimed Silenus.

Midas touched the seat he was sitting on and it immediately turned to solid gold. He touched his belt, his clothes, a vase, a statue.... everything turned to gold. He began to run about the palace, and everything he touched became gold: walls, furniture, ornaments....

Midas was delighted, but all the excitement had made him hungry, so he sat down at the table and prepared to eat. Then he realized that every piece of food he brought to his mouth was turning to gold before he could eat it. Thanks to his greed, it looked as though he was going to die of hunger.

Fortunately, Silenus, who had fore­seen what would happen, agreed to relieve Midas of his magic power. And so, for a bunch of grapes, Midas gave up all the gold in the world.

Terjemahan.....

The legend of coconut tree

Long ago a fairy called Batu Sumang Buyung was bathing in a river. Along came a magician called Bayang. Bayang was a clever and wicked magician who could make himself disappear. He wanted to marry the fairy because he thought it would in­crease his magical powers.

'Good morning, Lovely One,' he called to the fairy.

Batu Sumang Buyung was so startled that she hid behind a tree. The clever magician ran to the river bank and stole her magic sarong.

'Oh,' she cried, 'please give it back. Otherwise I cannot go home to the sky.'

The magician laughed. 'So, Lovely One, you will have to stay with me.' He took the fairy back to his house, and forced her to marry him.

Some time later a son was born to the fairy and the magi­cian. The fairy asked Bayang to give her sarong back, for she wanted to take their son to visit his grandmother in the sky. But the cruel magician knew that if he did that, she would never come back to him. So he refused to let her go.

Batu Sumang Buyung and her son stayed in the village with the magician. Although the villagers hated her husband, they knew that the fairy was kind and gentle. She did many things to help whenever she could.

Now, the villagers had good reason to hate Bayang. Once he had made a clay figure and stuck pins into it. The next morning one of the village leaders died.

The villagers went to see another, good, magician in the forest. They asked the good magician to put a curse on Bayang, and a few weeks later Bayang died. They cut off his fingers be­fore he was buried, so that he could not do any more mischief.

At last Batu Sumang Buyung was alone with her son. She wanted to visit her family in the sky, so she put on her magic sarong and flew there.

Her mother, the queen of the fairies, was not pleased with Batu Sumang Buyung. 'You have stayed away for a long, long time,' the queen said, 'and now you bring with you a child of the Earth. You must go back to where you came from, and take him with you.'

And so, Batu Sumang Buyung and her small son returned to Earth. She was very sad, and soon after that she gave her sarong to the headman for safekeeping and disappeared. Before long, the villagers learned that the fairy had died. They cared for her son, and he soon grew tall and strong.

When Batu Sumang Buyung's son was grown up, the headman came to see him. He carried the sarong left with him by the fairy. 'This was your mother's,' he said. 'If you wear it, you will fly to the sky. Your mother thought you might like to visit your grandmother.'

Batu Sumang Buyung's son took the sarong. He put it on and immediately flew to the sky. His grandmother was no hap­pier to see him this time than she had been when he was a young child. Still, she gave him a gift in memory of his mother. The gift was a round brown seed.

The fairy's son thanked his grandmother and returned to his village. He planted the seed in the ground, and soon it grew into a tall tree.

When the tree bore fruit, he gave some to the villagers. They were very pleased. 'The outside of the fruit is hard and coarse, like your father,' they said. The flesh inside is soft and white, like your mother. And the milk is sweet and reminds us that you are Batu Sumang Buyung's son.'

Before long, people from all over came to buy the fruit. Batu Sumang Buyung's son became a rich man. Those who bought his fruit also took the seeds back to their own countries. And that is how the coconut came to grow all over the world.